Love and Thunder

Lounging back, Amora swirled the herbal tea in her cup, glancing up at the sorcerer that sat across from her. The study of the Sanctum Sanctorum was lit by candlelight, and a thin layer of dust blanketed the surfaces around them. Subtle notes of incense and leather wafted through the air, as well as aftershave.

“What is it that you require of me, Mr. Strange?” She purred, tucking her right ankle behind her left.

“Doctor. It’s Doctor Strange” He gave a smug smile in response.

“Apologies…Doctor Strange” A smile poked at her vibrant red lips as she lifted the teacup to her lips. “This herbal tea is new to me…I am much more palatable to Asgardian herbal teas though”

“Perhaps you’ll bring me some”

“As you wish Doctor”

“Amora, I need your assistance on matters of magic” Stephen summoned a green leather-bound book into his tan gloved hand.

“Are you not sorcerer supreme?” Amora’s eyebrow raised as she took another sip of tea, carefully eyeing the book.

            Amora gazed across at her magical companion, watching him through jade-coloured eyes and wistful thoughts. A handsome sorcerer, she would give him that, but being all too familiar with his wife, Amora’s intentions could never be more than friendly. Not that she would want to make advances toward the sorcerer supreme, but it was a failsafe. Love magic being such a safety net was beginning to weigh on her. Stephen opened the book and flipped through the pages before sliding it across the coffee table to her.

“What do you know about the Norn Stones?” He asked.

Amora squinted in the candlelit light, “Norn Stones?”

She stared at the page, the penciled image of the Norn Stones staring back at her. Runes were inked on the opposite page, detailing what little was known about the powerful trinkets. The rough image of the Norn Stones looked as if a novice had sketched them. They looked like accidental ink blotches upon flower-pressed paper. A stain almost. Leaning back in her chair, Amora shoved the book back toward Stephen and sipped her tea.

“I only know as much as you” She shrugged.

“Really?”

“Yes,” She forced a smile.

“I was told that you lived in Nornheim for a considerable amount of your life…you must have known about them, maybe even heard about them from Karnilla”

“I know even less about the Norn queen, Doctor Strange”

“Karnilla was her mother.” A voice called out.

            Looking toward the doorway to the study they were sitting in; the purple draping gave away their identity instantly. Clea had a spell book in one hand and was pushing some of her ivory white hair behind her with the other as she walked in. Amora watched as the dark sorceress placed the spell book on a nearby bookshelf before turning to look at her.

“So lovely of you to have tea with my husband, Amora” She smiled.

“Clea…” Amora mumbled, the herbal tea no longer seeming as appealing.

“Wait,” Stephen interrupted. “Karnilla was your mother?”

“Yes…was” Amora sneered. “The day she was dragged into Hel was the day I finally found peace”

“And yet you still know nothing of the Norn Stones?”

            Clea crossed the study, sitting on the arm of Stephen’s chair and placing a kiss on his cheek. Amora watched as she reached across to the coffee table and spun the book back towards her and Stephen.

“Just because she was my mother does not mean I knew her…she was a stranger in her own right, especially to her daughters” Amora motioned to the book. “All you have is a very basic description of them…you wish to know their true properties?”

“Yes, as sorcerer supreme I would like to have a full documented catalog of all mystical things”

“I’m truly sorry Stephen, but I do not know them…in truth…no one does, save for Karnilla, and she’s long dead” Amora placed her teacup on the table in front of her and got up. “Even if I did know something about them, why would you think I would tell you?”

“Because Thor was the one who referred me to you” Stephen got up as well, smoothing out his robes.

“The Odinson’s judgment has never been very good I’m afraid…” Amora gave a polite nod and headed toward the door of the study.

Clea beat her to it, grabbing the door handle and pulling it open, “I’ll see you out”

‘I’d rather you didn’t’ Amora wanted to say but held her tongue in an attempt to be polite. She seemed to be doing a lot of that recently, being polite and thinking of others. Perhaps Thor was starting to rub off on her, with all his heroisms and valor. Centuries ago, Thor had told Amora that he believed that she was capable of good, of being good, and that she needn’t go to such lengths to ensure her future. Those words still felt as though a child had said them, seeing the world in easier ways than the reality that it was. Beauty only gets a woman so far; it is up to her to secure her place. For Amora, it was weaponizing the very thing men weakened themselves for, a beautiful woman. They see nothing more than a pound of flesh for their taking, and that is just what Amora seeks. The weakness of underestimating, the weakness of thinking that beauty has no thorns (or in this case a well-placed sword).

Thor was able to sit comfortably within his heroics, not having to worry about being underestimated. He was the God of Thunder, the Crown Prince of Asgard, for what did he have to think about weakness? He did not see that Amora’s weaponization of her beauty was her strongest ally, it was her Mjolnir, the thing that struck first. The most deadly of her tricks. Yes, she possessed magic beyond the years of the Sorcerer Supreme and his Dark Sorceress, but magic was easy, it was summoned at will no matter what. Her beauty? Well, that was constant, a weapon used to lure and capture the most weak-willed of men.

That is why she has found it nearly impossible to love. Love is weakness. Love is exploitative. Without love her beauty would not work, her spells would fail. In Fairy Tales of old she read of how love was the strongest magic there was. Love conquered evil blah blah blah. It was all horseshit, and she knew it. She saw how it bent to her will, how easy it was to shape and weaponize. Love was nothing more than another human emotion given a false title for the sake of giving hope.

Amora followed Clea closely behind, the click of their heels echoing throughout the halls of the Sanctum. She was curious as to why the dark sorceress had offered to escort her out, especially when she could just teleport out. Amora knew she could open a portal and just walk through but she just didn’t want to.

“We appreciate your help, Amora, Thor spoke highly of your knowledge of magic,” Clea said, speaking over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I could not be of more help…”

“It’s alright…you’ll tell us eventually”

“I know nothing of the stones, Clea”

Clea stopped in the middle of the staircase, turning to look up at Amora. “I know you do, you lived on Nornheim for far too long to not know anything”

Amora pressed her lips together.

“They are powerful magic, and my husband and I will have them cataloged as such, we can’t have them falling into the wrong hands”

Amora kept her stoic expression but felt a twinge of pain within her heart, Clea’s phrase ‘my husband and I’ echoed in her mind.

“Do you love Stephen?” Amora asked, not sure where the question manifested from.

“Pardon?” Clea’s brows knit together in confusion as she dropped the hostility.

“Do you love Stephen?” she repeated.

“Of course…he is my husband”

“Marriage does not equate to love”

“In this case, it does, why do you ask?” Clea snapped back.

Amora took a moment; she was not sure herself why she asked such a thing.

“Is it true, Amora, that you can sense when people are in love? Amplify the feeling as well as give the feeling to others?” Clea seemed to be examining her.  

“That is true, one of my many talents” Amora forced another smile, which was twice today.

“I can’t help but wonder…” Clea climbed the steps to be at eye level with Amora. “With all that power over love, do you have any idea what it is like to love?”

“It is a childish weakness, nothing more”

“And yet here I stand” Clea motioned downward to her body, “as well as Stephen, if it were weakness we would have been done in years ago”

“Luck be a lady” Amora continued on down the stairs, reaching the bottom with a weight in her chest that felt all-consuming.

“We will have those stones, Amora, that I promise you” Clea called out.

            Amora pulled open the door of the Sanctum Sanctorum and swiftly made her exit, convinced that if she turned around she would hit Clea with a blast of magic. The loud streets of New York City had been completely silent within the sanctum, now that she was outside they resumed their chaotic symphony. Adjusting the green cloak around her shoulders, Amora lifted off the sidewalk and into the air, hovering a good few feet above the tops of the cars. Tilting her body forward and leaning her arms and legs back, she took off into the air. Below her she could see the many citizens of the city carrying on their way, some even stopped to gawk at her in flight. It took mere moments to find her object of destination, the gaudy Avengers tower that sat erect in Midtown, Manhattan. It was a mystery why Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would advertise their place of residence with the list of enemies they’ve made, it was an easy target, but the enemies seemed too stupid to strike for the hive.

            There was a balcony that protruded from one of the floors of the tower that was different from the rest. It rested at the top of the tower and was singed from years of travel, as Amora neared it she could see smoldering specs still burning. Either the Odinson had just left or had just returned, she was about to find out. Landing on the balcony, Amora gently lifted her cloak so it wouldn’t be dirtied and headed into the tower. Each Avenger had their own floor, specifically designed to accommodate them and their needs. Thor’s was no different. Walking onto his floor was like walking into the royal wing of the Asgardian palace. Golden pillars, walls, floors, and furniture decorated every corner and crevice. The finest furs and leathers were imported from Asgard to make the prince feel more at home when he wasn’t.

            A small fire roared in the center of the living room, circled by golden sofas draped in animal furs. Amora glided her hand across them as she passed, smelling the Aesir flames that reminded her of the realm eternal. As she passed through the living room the sound of thudding echoed down one of the halls. Turning her attention to it, she grinned as a large black dog with red pupils bounded toward her. Quickly she dropped to her knees and opened her arms to receive the dog. The instant his body met hers his tail thumped against the floor, and he began licking her face.

“Oh hello” she giggled, scratching the dog’s back. “Hello, my baby, how have you been?”

Amora cupped the dog’s face in her hands and made kissing noises to him.

“Thori has missed mistress so much!” The dog barked. “Master has missed her even more, but Thori is not to tell mistress that, in fact, master has told Thori to stop calling beautiful lady ‘mistress’”

Amora laughed, a blush warming her cheeks. “Where is your master? Smiting giants again?”

“Taking a shower actually” Thor walked out of the hallway, a towel secured around his waist and a smaller one drying his hair.

“Apologies my lord, if I had known I wouldn’t have intruded” Amora quickly stood up and bowed her head, trying to avoid looking at the barely clothed prince.

“You’ve no need for formalities around me Amora, you know this, and it truly was no intrusion, what brings you to Midgard?” Thor crossed the living room toward the kitchen.

Amora followed, Thori tagging closely behind. “Doctor Strange called upon me, about the Norn Stones, it seems someone referred me to him”

Thor pulled a bread roll from one of the cupboards, “Ah, I see, were you able to help the Doctor in his endeavors?”

“No. I know frighteningly little about the Norn Stones, as well as their whereabouts”

Thor nodded, taking a bite of the roll he had in his hand. “Will you return to Asgard now?”

“I was planning to; thought I’d stop by first” she smiled softly.

“If you are in no rush…care to join me for dinner?”

Thor’s gaze was a piercing blue, as it always had been, and it cut through Amora like a bolt of electricity. Her eyes traced over the wet strands of blond hair that clung to the mighty thunder god’s wet torso, the droplets of water that clung to each muscle and ab that was visible. Loki always told her that she had difficulty saying ‘no’ to Thor, but how could she not? She yearned for his touch for centuries, it burned her to see him in the arms of another, and still she felt as if he was out of reach.

“What did you have in mind, Odinson?” She smirked.

“The Avengers have put me on to something called Chinese takeout…we feasted on it some nights ago and I have been wanting to have more ever since”

“Oh, Thori would love for Master to order takeout!” Thori jumped up, placing his front paws on the counter. “Thori would love it even more if mistress stayed for dinner!”

Amora watched a blush cross Thor’s cheeks, a strange stillness filling the air between them.  Meeting his gaze, Amora smiled, but she didn’t force it, this time it was a natural tight-lipped smile.

“I would be honored, Odinson”

                                                                        *********

            Amora sat on the sofa with one leg tucked under her and the other hanging over the side, the takeout box in her hands didn’t look like she put a dent in it. Sticking the fork back in to get another mouthful of beef, noodles, and bits of broccoli, Amora kept her focus on Thor. The Thunder God sat next to her, having consumed far more food than she had already.

“Here” Thor stuck his fork into a doughy-looking half-moon-shaped food.

“What is it?” She chuckled, setting her fork into the carton and placing it on the coffee table.

“Here just try it” Thor smiled, holding it out to her. “They call it a potsticker”

Amora leaned forward and took a bite out of the potsticker, a new and wonderful flavor filled her mouth.

“It’s so good!” She giggled, covering her mouth as she was still chewing.

“I knew you’d like it” Thor smiled.

“These Midgardian meals are quite something”

The two shared a moment of silence between them, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the food.

“I can’t remember the last time we…” Thor trailed off, clearing his throat and setting the box of potstickers on the coffee table. “Amora I-“

Amora stole the moment, placing her lips over Thor’s and holding his face in her hands. Thor returned the intimate gesture as his larger calloused hands traipsed around her waist. As Thor deepened the kiss, Amora climbed onto his lap with one leg situated on either side of his thighs. Her fingers found their way through his thick mess of blonde hair, some were still damp from his earlier shower. Amora felt Thor’s hands slide down her waist to her butt, holding it tightly with a squeeze. A small gasp escaped her lips, breaking the steamy make-out session.

“Should we continue this where we always end up or would you prefer the couch again?” Amora said and licked her lips.

Thor grinned and got up, holding Amora as if she weighed nothing, “wherever we end up we end up”

Amora wrapped her legs around his waist as best she could as well as locking her arms around his neck. A playful grin spread across her face before she pressed her lips to Thor’s once again.

The two gods found their way into Thor’s bed chambers, falling onto his Alaskan King mattress. Amora’s hands grasped the animal skins beneath her as Thor left more and more marks across her skin. They had lost some articles of clothing on their way to his bed chambers. Thor’s shirt was somewhere in the hallway, Amora’s notable circle leggings had been cast across the room along with her bodice, and Thor’s pants. Thor’s lips met with hers once again,

“Amora” he breathed out her name.

“What?”

“I love you” Thor panted.

All the lust Amora was feeling suddenly evaporated.

“What?” She panted.

“I love you” Thor placed his hand gently on her cheek, going in for another kiss.

Quickly, Amora pushed out from underneath the Thunder God, getting up from the bed.

“Amora?” Thor got up as well, hesitant to approach her.

“I have to go” she mumbled, picking her clothing up off the floor and quickly putting it back on.

“Amora what are you-“

“I just have to go okay!” She snapped, rushing out of the room.

While pulling up her leggings and grabbing her cloak from off of one of the sofas, Thor came rushing after her. He was still buttoning up his pants but had forgotten to grab his shirt on the way.

“Amora, can we talk about this please?” He pleaded.

Thori, who had been sleeping in the living room, woke up and looked toward the couple.

“What is there to talk about? I need to go back to Asgard” She sighed, fluffing her hair and adjusting her cloak.

“This is about what I said, isn’t it…Amora can we please just talk about it” Thor grabbed Amora’s arm and pulled her back toward him.

“Thor-“ she protested, trying to avoid his gaze.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…” he trailed off.

Amora took this moment of vulnerability into her own hands. While she had Thor close, she sneakily summoned her magic. There was a strong pulse within his chest, Amora knew it instantly and it only made her want to leave more.

‘Is it true, Amora, that you can sense when people are in love?’

Clea’s voice echoed in her mind.

Thor’s love for her was passionate, fervent, and powerful. It was unlike any love Amora had encountered before, this felt…different. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, she was perfectly fine with what her and Thor had going on, why did he have to change that?

“I can’t take back what I said to you Amora, it’s the truth” Thor sighed. “I love you”

“I heard you the first time” Amora snapped. “Stop saying that”

“But it’s the truth”

“Thor I…” She took a moment to compose herself. “I don’t love you, I…can’t love you, I was perfectly fine with the relationship we had”

            Thor’s face fell, Amora felt something in her break as she looked at him. It was as if she ripped out all the happiness that Thor had. His blue eyes grew solemn and sad, gray and empty in a matter of seconds. The grip that he had on her loosened, his arms falling to his side and his shoulders going slack. She had never seen the Odinson this sad before, it felt as if a shadow was cast over his face.

            Without another word, Amora quickly made her departure, heading to the Bifrost platform as quickly as she could. She didn’t look back, she couldn’t, not after seeing how shattered he had looked.

“Mistress! Mistress!” Thori barked after her.

Amora stole a glance over her shoulder toward the dog, Thor was holding him back by the collar.

“Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!” She shouted.

The Bifrost felt as if it took minutes rather than seconds to arrive, she could still hear the barks and yelps of Thori trying to get to her. Her chest felt heavy and empty, it was an emotion that she had never experienced before. Something was wrong. Did she regret her actions? Why was she feeling this way?

            The Bifrost sped around her and soon enough she was standing in the golden observatory of Asgard. Heimdall eyed her curiously as she wiped some tears from her eyes.

“Welcome back to Asgard my lady” He smiled.

Amora crossed the observatory toward the rainbow bridge, “Thank you Heimdall”

“My lady,” Heimdall said.

“What?” She stopped walking and looked over her shoulder.

“If I may…as you know, I see all that transpires throughout the nine realms”

“Heimdall, please, if this is what happened between Thor and I-“

“Then I will say no more” He smiled curtly and retook his post.

            Amora took no time to get back to her palace on the Realm Eternal. The looming royal palace shadowed in the distance. Amora had dismissed her servants for the night and stood alone on her bed chamber balcony. She was on her fifth goblet of mead and was afraid that it wasn’t taking effect as she’d like. Her palace was silent, but each subtle noise would give Amora pause. She would stop to listen, it didn’t matter what the sound was, she always listened. Loki called it a trauma response, from the years of listening out for Karnilla, but she didn’t quite believe that. Amora both enjoyed the solitude of being alone and dreaded it at the same time. Being alone meant she was able to collect her thoughts, plot, scheme, and relax; but it also meant she was vulnerable.

            Looking down at the almost empty goblet of mead in her hand, Amora tossed the remaining liquid off the balcony and into the river below. Turning around, she headed swiftly into her bed chambers, closing the balcony doors and tossing the goblet into a corner.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this destroyed”

Amora’s head snapped toward the source of the voice.

Lounging peacefully on her bed was Loki, his arms tucked behind his head and ankles crossed. He looked as if he had been peacefully napping and not trespassing on Amora’s alone time.

“Get out” Amora snapped.

“Oooo, is there a draft? It suddenly got cold in here” Loki smiled, swinging his legs over the side of her bed and standing up.

“I said get out, trickster, I’ve no need for your nonsense right now”

“Come now Amora” Loki pouted playfully. “That was quite the show, in fact, I would love to see it again, the moment you disavow his affections toward you…oooh…I’ve wanted to see that look for centuries”

Amora glared at Loki as the god paced around her chambers.

“If you’ve come to revel in his pain, you’ve come to the wrong place,” Amora said.

“It seems so…don’t tell me you actually do love my oaf of a brother” Loki feigned a dramatic gasp.

“Absolutely not!” She protested.

“Then why are you sulking and drinking when we should be celebrating this triumph?”

“How is it a triumph, Loki?”

“Well, me making my brother’s life miserable is a favorable past time, and you just cut his heart out and stomped on it so…in other words, thank you”

“You really need a new hobby” Amora rolled her eyes. “After all, love is a boring misinterpreted waste clouding the minds of the weak and feeble, threading false hope into their otherwise boring and sorrowful lives”

“That’s the Amora I know!” Loki pointed at her before summoning two goblets, handing her one. “To Thor’s broken heart, we finally found the mighty thunder god’s weakness” Loki threw his head back, guzzling the liquid in his cup.

Amora looked down at the cup, staring at her reflection in the dark alcohol before drinking.