A Failed Attempt

Loki had his eyes shut tightly as he dove into her mind to reach the very beginning of today's chaos. Nevaeh felt a jolt inside her head as soon as she realised what Loki was trying to do.

A flash of red sparked before Loki's shut eyes. He felt like someone had set the back of his hands on fire. He yelped in pain, opening his eyes. An unmoving Nevaeh fell to her knees as he released his hold around her to analyse his own hands. Surely, they were burnt and had left behind a hint of red across all his veins. He watched her move ahead on the floor and stand up.

Nevaeh turned around to reveal a piercingly glowing stone amidst her tiara which was making the silver-gold petal like sides to bathe in scarlet. She was gasping for breath.

'You are hell bent on impressing me today, aren't you?' Loki smiled as he twisted his burnt hands.

'You were going through my memories. Why? What do you need?' Nevaeh asked with a hint of desperation, unable to understand his actions.

Loki stared at her, unsure of what to say because he hadn't planned on saying anything. He was kind of sure that things would go his way.

'What? Why are you staring at me like that? Which memory did you want to see? Loki, this isn't like before when you would need tricks and illusion to get answers from me! I would have willingly shown you whatever you wanted! THEN WHY? Why did you invade my brain? WHAT DID YOU WANT TO SEE?' Nevaeh cried.

'I didn't do it because I wanted to see a memory. I did that for retrieving one,' Loki's voice came out as a whisper, but it ringed inside her ears.

'Retrieve? You – you tried to erase my memory?' Nevaeh hushed, barely believing it. 'You say that you care about me and the moment I turn my back around you, you try to wipe my memory!'

'I am doing this because I care about you! Look at your head! Do you have any idea of the amount of toxic information you have managed to gulp down? The stone is helping you process the information which is strongly contradictory to your Atheist self! If it hadn't been for the tiara, you would've collapsed before I could even reach here! The moment you take it off, your neurons will fire into your brain and drain you. Trust me when I say this, you can't wear a Norn all the time!' Loki yelled.

'Oh! So you had no ulterior motive whatsoever? Is that what you are trying to tell me?' Nevaeh asked scathingly.

Loki figured there was no point in being dishonest, because soon she would forget it all. The burn on the back of his hand was stubborn, his veins still red.

'I can't risk your conscience,' he whispered while taking a step towards her, 'the things you saw are unforgettable. No matter how much you claim to be at terms with them, they will constantly swirl in your mind, fogging your judgement, evoking fear. We are leaving tomorrow and you find this out today. I told you we need nothing but peace, and you happen to stumble upon the most devastatingly chaotic stories of myself! How ironic is that?' Loki finished, halting in front of her. Nevaeh had not backed an inch away from him, despite his recent stunt, and that was nothing but relief for Loki.

'What if I didn't take it off? I didn't have a hard time doing so all these days!' she said, waving her arms in frustration, 'I know I can handle it! Acting to care about my mind doesn't give you a ticket to invade the same!'Nevaeh hissed, stabbing a finger on his chest.

'Are you really that blind? Don't you see how you haven't once tried to attack me after I did that? You are not possibly restraining yourself because you are afraid of me after what you read! You are doing so because you have no strength left within you after brainstorming over this,' Loki stared into her slightly blood-shot eyes, whether they were because of the tears, or some side effect of the stone's constant buzzing, Loki felt lost about it.

'Oh, I have plenty of strength. Try something like that again if you wish to find out,' she hissed.

Loki held her wrist and pressed her fingers against it. Nevaeh blinked as she suddenly heard her rapid heartbeat, which would qualify as "not normal" on any EKG. She snapped her wrist from his grasp and spun on the spot while running a hand through her hair. 'Rapid heartbeat and a clear conscience are not good enough reasons!'

Loki laughed a little, unable to help himself at her wit. 'Reasons? I was merely clearing my conscience before moving onto yours! I hate the fact that your ape of an ex-boyfriend's actions had led me to commit this despicable act! I was taken by surprise when I arrived here; this wasn't even close to what I had expected! But I had decided on keeping you away from these mythological stories long ago, and for good reason, too. The reason I am telling you everything right now is because I can't possibly explain anything to you after I erase this lunatic afternoon,' Loki finished.

Nevaeh scoffed hysterically at his words. A twinge of fear was rising inside her heart at his firm statements. 'So, I don't even get a choice?' shrilled Nevaeh, although it was more of a rhetorical question. She pulled out her wand and held it in her right hand.

'Not this time, no, love. There are some things in which you have to trust my judgement,' Loki said quietly. He was glad that she had finally understood the fact that her resistance wouldn't matter in this situation.

'Not this time? When have I ever had a choice?' Nevaeh was getting hysterical by the second. She started counting on her fingers, 'you lied to me, tricked me, did everything your way, kept me ignorant of the fact that you were the King of the planet I was lost on! You tried to force me into getting myself healed! Even when you asked me to move into your palace, you gave me an ultimatum within three minutes! And then, you drugged me by your voodoo fire! WHAT CHOICES, Loki! You always back me in a corner!' she cried loudly, tears falling down her cheeks.

'You are still focusing on minor things,' Loki said in an urgent voice. Nevaeh felt like shoving her fist into his mouth, but she didn't. May be she was indeed tired after all, she thought. 'Tell me, how did you read those holograms?'

'I can read, Loki,' she scoffed, 'I'm not an illiterate!'

'You have no knowledge of Old Norse,' Loki said, 'yet you did read these holograms without any difficulty! How?'

'Even he did!' Nevaeh said in confusion, pointing at a distant Daniel. 'What is your point?'

Loki turned his attention towards Daniel. 'You can read those?'

Daniel nodded mutely.

'Speak up, boy!' Loki spat. 'What do you see written on those slides?'

'Umm the first slide says that you are the God of Evil,' Daniel said slowly, 'the second one—'

'Shut up,' Loki told him. 'You see what you have done?' he added to Nevaeh. 'Not only you but also this mortal can read it! You have no idea what you've done, do you?' he whispered. 'Those aren't written in English! It's Old Norse! Somehow, you have soaked up an entire, ancient language and are extending that knowledge to the mortal.' Loki rubbed his face in exasperation. 'This is unreal. I should've never given you that tiara.'

'What are you talking about?' Nevaeh laughed. 'I know which language I'm seeing by my eyes!'

'No, you don't, elskan min,' Loki said gravely.

Nevaeh opened her mouth to speak but he shushed her and looked at Daniel. 'Repeat what I said,' Loki ordered him.

'Umm, me?' Daniel said, 'okay. You said "No, you don't" and then something that I didn't understand.'

'Seriously, Dan?' Nevaeh scoffed. 'You could've just repeated the entire sentence—'

'Be glad that he can't.' Loki shook his head. 'But you can.'

'Yeah, you said "No, you don't, my love,' Nevaeh said.

'Nev, he didn't say that,' Daniel squeaked from the corner. 'He said something in some weird language.'

Nevaeh stared at them for a few moments. 'Whatever,' she said finally.

Loki started pacing in front of her. 'Now, do you believe me? You have soaked up an entire language! You are ignorant of the things capable of destroying your mind! I don't know how you used that stone, but this is getting out of hand! Tell me this, in the myths, what is the major peculiarity possessed by Heimdall, our gatekeeper?' Loki asked in a sharp voice.

'He is born of nine mothers,' Nevaeh said automatically. She blinked in bewilderment, having no clue of what had just happened.

'With whom did I father the serpent, the wolf and the goddess of death in Norse mythology?' Loki asked quietly.

'They are Loki's children, born of his affairs with a giantess named Angrboda,' Nevaeh's answer erupted from her mouth before she could even think about his question. Her head was feeling fine, other than the newfound information popping in her mind like popcorn.

'You did not read that here, never saw it on those frames. You never knew this. Yet, somehow you do now. That occurring is dangerous!' Loki said, finishing his point.

'I feel normal!' Nevaeh said honestly.

'Nevaeh, you used the stone for cramping a ridiculous amount of toxic information within minutes which has the power of flattening any human mind. When I touched your head, I saw that you – you sponged one hundred and twenty seven books of Norse, I am lost as to how you managed that within a matter of minutes, but that's not normal for anybody and it would damage your brain!' Loki said angrily.

'127? That's – that's not possible!' Nevaeh whispered faintly.

'Yet you did,' Loki said, 'this is how you knew the answer to every question I pose in front of you! And now, I have to clean up the mess that you made. I am sorry, love, but it's time for a memory wipe.'