Thor and Loki walked through the woods, close behind Percy, who wielded a sword and shield, slowly guiding them through, looking back behind him every so often to ensure no one was following them. This was beginning to get on Loki’s nerves.

“Percy, water boy, why must we walk so slow? My clothes will tarnish in this heat.”

“Shush, lover boy.” Percy retorted. “We have to keep a low profile. Unless you feel like being attacked by a nymph or hydra, or worse, a harpy.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Please, who would dare attempt to fight the norse god of Chaos and Mischief and Lies?”

“I would.” Both Thor and Percy spoke up.

“Well, the two of you are different.” Loki muttered. He took a deep breath and sighed. This was clearly going to be a long walk.

He looked around him, taking in the beauty of the forest. Granted, this couldn’t even compare to the beauty of Asguard, but the way the trees whispered in the wind above, crickets chirped and sang, birds bellowed their little hearts out, the ground crunched beneath his feat as he walked, little bugs flying about, some collecting sweet nectar from bright flowers that bloomed on fluffy thick bushes, the air sweet yet bitter at the same time, and ever so soothing to aching bones, cool, yet warm. This was a paradise of its own.

Loki tilted his head, able to hear a waterfall far off in the distance, along with a river that flowed gracefully and strong. It made him think of you. The way you were, you were like a river. Fast, yet slow. Calm, yet wild. And brave. Oh, you were so brave. You didn’t fear anything, and you spoke your mind as you wanted. Loki’s heart beat wild at the mere thought of you.

He remembered, long ago, Frigga, his and Thor’s mother, had once pulled him aside to talk. “One day,” She had said. “You will understand the meaning of love.”

“But what if I want to know now?” Loki begged, his small immatured voice calling out to his dear mother to tell him. His large green eyes sparkling in the light. Frigg smiled softly, and picked him up.

“You must wait. Love is something you learn over time. You can’t know immediately, or you wouldn’t grow. However, when you fall in love, you will know immediately because it is the most wonderful yet horrible thing in the universe. It can cause happiness, fulfilment and joy, yet sorrow, pain and doubt all at the same time.”

Little Loki scrunched his nose. “I don’t like the sound of that. I’ll never fall in love!”

Loki’s lips curled into a smile remembering that promise he made himself. He knew it would be broken, he just didn’t expect it to be so soon. And his mother was right. Love did feel amazing, yet horrible all at the same time.

Amazing because when he thought of you, his heart soared above the clouds, taking the rest of him along for the ride. Yet, knowing his own brother had those same exact feelings about you made his insides ache and churn into a disgusting mixture of hatred and anger. A smoothie that no soul enjoys.

“We’re here.” Percy said, pulling Loki from his thought process. “Right past this gate. Uh, I’m not sure if it will let you guys through, but we can try.”

Percy stepped through and a blue coloured shield rippled, and allowed him to pass. Loki and Thor looked at each other before taking a deep breath and stepping in. a weird tingly sensation ran through his body, into every crevice and every nook and cranny, leaving an unpleasant sense of insecurity. His heart pumped rapidly, and soon, it was over. He had crossed through the shield that prevented other entities from entering.

“Huh.” Percy stated. “I guess Norse Gods still count as Gods the shield.”

“Clearly.” Loki muttered. Thor whacked his back.

“Come on, brother!” He practically yelled cheerfully in his ear. “Don’t be so down! Smile a bit!”

Loki pried Thor’s arm off of his shoulder. “No thank you, I’d much rather stick to my lonely and oh so sorrowful woe is me brooding.”

“You sound like a party pooper.” Percy mentioned. Loki glared at him.

“And you seem to not understand the concept of sarcasm.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “Come on, this way.”

He led the brothers through some more forestry to a strange ancient military-like camp. There were people practicing archery and sword fighting, and a couple people horseback riding.

A girl who was sword-fighting another girl looked over and smiled wide at percy. Her curly blonde hair bounced gently as she lowered her sword and walked over, dropping her sword completely before jumping up and hugging Percy.

“You’re back!” She said excitedly. Percy smiled wide and kissed her.

“Hey, Annabeth. I want you to meet some friends of mine. This is Thor, Norse god of Thunder, and Loki, Norse god of mischief, chaos and lies.”

Annabeth turned her attention to the two godly brothers and nodded, acknowledging their existence. “So, you two are the guys Percy’s been so determined to keep away from his sister.” Thor laughed a big, hearty laugh.

“That’s right, however, young lady, we are teaming up to save Lady Y/n.”

“Wait, what?”

“Uh…” Percy started, pulling his lover’s attention. “Well, Hades kinda kidnapped Y/n. can you get Grover and-”

“Already here.” A half goat-half man stated, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. “What do you need, my wonderful bestest friend?” Grover smiled wide at Percy.

“We need to go back to the underworld. This time, Annabeth and I will enter alone while the three of you keep watch, so we can all come back. We just need to get some more pearls…”

“Alright, well that shouldn’t be an issue since you originally got them from your dad, right?”

“Yeah… I hope…”

Meanwhile, you and Persephone were having a blast, talking trash on the men, and just being girls. It had been a while since you got to have quality girl time. This was nice. You painted Persephone’s nails a bright pearly pink, and she painted yours aquamarine. (colour code: 2EE8BB)

Soon, you fell asleep in the comfy bed in the guest room and Persephone left after tucking you in. she turned out the light and retreated to her quarters for the rest of the night.