L O K I

"What?"

At any other time, Loki would have been proud of his deadly calm composure. The word came out blank and monotone, a stark contrast from the raging fire that had erupted inside him. It was as if the rage was so focused inside that no more was left to be expressed.

Never before had he felt such a sharp change in emotions in such a short period of time. It was a sudden drop, going from the highest elation to the darkest fury.

"Yes," Thor continued to ignorantly grin, "he has spent a great deal of time with Amora and has displayed his feelings for her countless times."

"Countless times"? What about me? What have I displayed?

It appeared that his attempts to hide his affections had only resulted in an aloof facade. Loki kept his jaw tightly shut so as to avoid a revealing outburst. Carefully, he opened his mouth and slowly said, "I am not sure if that is the best idea."

The bright grin on Thor's face immediately fell into a look of disappointed confusion. "What do you mean, brother?"

"I do not believe that Amora will approve of this," Loki silently prayed that his smooth words would not fail him, "and it is hardly what is best for her."

Indignation overtook Thor's features. "How could you say such a thing, Loki? I expected your support. You of all people would want to give Amora the happiness and protection that she deserves. How is Theoric not a proper suitor to do so?"

"You think Theoric will provide such things?" Loki's anger was only fueled by that of his brother.

"Yes! He genuinely cares for her. But what do you know of Amora's happiness? You wish to all but lock her up in the palace under the claim of 'keeping her safe'!"

"What do you know about Amora's safety?" Loki roared, "All you have ever done is put her in danger! Do you not recall the time when you put her on the brink of death? Because I do!"

The fire in Thor's eyes died, only leaving guilt in its wake. "I do apologize for that, Loki," he said quietly, "That day has always haunted me. Consider this my attempt at making up for my mistakes."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Well it is a poor attempt," he said coldly before stalking away.

His cold appearance held until he reached the privacy of his chambers. Loki then let out a shout of frustration as he slammed his fist into the wall.

* * *

A M O R A

"So she just let you go?"

Amora nodded enthusiastically as she handed the astonished Theoric a vial to place on one of the upper shelves. The soldier had been released from the healing rooms but reassigned to guarding the treasure room. Today, he had volunteered to assist her in stocking the new inventory given her inability to reach the less accessible areas of the storage room.

"How can you be sure of her motives? She is Thanos's daughter, after all," he asked as he reached up to place the potion in its designated spot.

Amora simply shook her head as she picked up another potion. "I cannot, but she was unlike her allies, so I suppose I can only hope for the best and be thankful that I left that realm in one piece."

As he took the vial, he fingers wrapped around Amora's hands, causing her to look up in mild surprise. Despite how she tensed at his touch, Theoric remained oblivious and smiled warmly. "We both can be thankful."

Amora could not help but return the smile, allowing the soldier's kindness to warm her heart. But the feeling instantly froze when she saw his eyes flicker down to her mouth. He may have started to lean toward her, but Amora ducked her head too quickly to know for certain.

Her mind spun as she fumbled through the crate for another vial. A small part of her wanted to kiss him, but something about it felt...wrong.

Clearing her throat, she lightly said, "The healing halls seem empty without you. How is the vault?"

A sharp laugh left Theoric as he turned away toward the shelf. "You think this place is empty? The treasury is essentially an isolation chamber."

"I am sure it is not that bad. You have other guards with you."

He scoffed. "The others are nothing more than a bunch of arrogant gossips."

"And what are you?" Amora teased, arching an eyebrow.

Theoric sat down on another crate and braced his elbows on his knees. "I am a glorified placeholder that spends his time staring at old pieces of junk."

"They are not 'pieces of junk'," Amora scolded lightly, "I wish that I could spend my day looking at relics like the Casket of Ancient Winters! Or the Eternal Flame!"

Chuckling at her burst of enthusiasm, Theoric gazed around the room and said, "Well, I wish that I were guarding these halls. At least then I'd be protecting actual treasure."

When his eyes landed purposefully on her, Amora blushed and looked away. Only then did she notice the tense figure lingering in the doorway.

"Loki," Amora greeted happily. She was delighted to see her friend, but she also felt how thick the air had suddenly become between the two men.

He paused before stating curtly, "You missed your lesson with my mother. She asked me to come and check on you."

"Oh Norns," Amora groaned, "I am so sorry. I lost track of time."

"Obviously," Loki clipped, his eyes bouncing back and forth between the pair. "Well, I will leave you be."

As he turned on his heel, Amora started to get out of her seat. Loki's recently lowering spirits had not gone unnoticed and she intended to lift them.

"Loki, wait!"

She thought she heard a hesitation in his departing footsteps but they continued to grow more distant.

With a grunt, she struggled to stand with her crutch. Theoric moved to help her, but she brushed him off and rushed down the hall.

Seeing no sign of the prince, Amora hobbled as fast as her legs would allow. However, she underestimated such an attempt and her clumsy feet quickly began tripping up. As her momentum propelled her forward, she braced for impact with the ground.

But rather than hitting the ground, Amora fell onto a chest as a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see wide, green ones.

"You need to be more careful, Amora," Loki scolded as he steadied her.

"Well you did not give me much of a choice, scrambling off like that."

He glanced away sheepishly and let go of her. "I apologize. I--"

"What happened to your hands?" Amora cried.

His knuckles were covered with cuts and bruises. A sad attempt at cleaning the blood left them stained and raw.

"Nothing. I merely--"

A sharp glare stopped the lie from proceeding. With a sigh, Loki refused to meet her gaze and said, "I was in a minor scuffle."

As Amora's brow drew together sharply, he rushed to explain, "It was in the defense of a friend."

Huffing, the healer dragged him to a small partition to treat his hands. "A minor scuffle," she muttered in disbelief, "A minor scuffle does not require treatment."

"This is not necessary," he winced as she began to apply ointment to the abrasions, "and I would hate to steal you from Theoric." His voice hardened at the end of the statement.

"Theoric can wait," Amora brushed off lowly as she carefully wrapped his hand with a bandage.

After she finished treating his hand, Loki asked, "So why did you chase me down?"

Oh yeah. Amora immediately straightened and dramatically placed her hands on her hips and, hoping to lighten his spirits, said, "Because, we have important matters to discuss, mischief."

Loki's lips quirked up as his brow slightly creased in confusion. "And what would that be?"

"Do you not remember what is fast approaching?"

He paused and slowly guessed, "Thor's coronation?"

An exasperated sigh burst out of the beaming Amora. "No! Well...yes. But our 600th anniversary will soon be upon us!"

Loki's eyes widened. They had always planned a small celebration to mark every 100 years since they first met in the marketplace. For their 500th, the two went to visit the famed libraries of Alfheim. And 2013 would be the 600th anniversary of that date.

This made him frown in thought. "That is not for another two years."

"But we still need to plan."

"We will," Loki assured, placing his hands on Amora's arms, "but right now I must go assist in preparing for Thor's rule."

"I can think of no better person to guide our realm's path."

Loki's eyes softened as he pulled Amora close and pressed a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Do not fret, love," he said as he exited the partition, "we will make plans once all of this madness is over."

* * *

L O K I

Once Loki was some distance from the healing halls, he glanced about for any people before disappearing with a green flash.

I did not lie, he reasoned as he appeared in the blindingly white cell, This is to prepare for Thor's rule. Or at least delay it for the time being.

As Loki turned to face Lorelei, the collared redhead smirked. "You just can't seem to be able to stay away from me, can you, Odinson?"

"I am here for your assistance, not your company."

Lorelei sighed. "Have I not already shown you enough? What more could you want?"

Loki hesitated. This would undoubtably anger Amora and did not promise a completely clean outcome. But it would be cleaner than Thor's chaotic rule.

"I want to open a portal to another realm. It must be within Asgard, but without anyone else's knowledge. Not even Heimdall."

The prisoner shook her head as a smile slowly creeped on her features. "You have always been one for mischief, Loki. But this is entirely different."

"I know," he said curtly, not wishing to dwell on the morality of his decision.

"So where do you want this portal to open to?" she asked.

Opening it in the vault would kill two birds with one stone, Loki thought, Thor's reign and Theoric's threat.

Amora's conversation with the soldier echoed in the prince's mind.

"I wish that I could spend my day looking at relics like the Casket of Ancient Winters."

Lifting his chin with newfound purpose, growing more secure in his plan.

"Jotunheim. I am sure that they would love to have the chance to reclaim their Casket."

* * *

First chapter of Thanksgiving Break!

We're about to reach the events of Thor!!! Let me know what you think of these recent developments and revelations!!

Also, BIG NEWS!!!
Enchanted is now a Featured story on Wattpad!!! What?!?! This absolutely blew my mind! I can't believe it!!

Anyways, I'll continue to notify you when a new chapter is published so keep an eye out!

Thanks!! :)