"Is that the last of it?"
"Should be, thanks for letting me stay here, Mobius."
"Hey, it's no trouble,you're my best friend,Loki," Mobius said as he patted him on the back,"Although, I still think you should have taken the house in the divorce."
"It's fine, I doubt I'd have been comfortable sleeping in that bedroom anymore."
The 'because my wife slept with my brother in it' was left unsaid.
"How's the family been taking the split?"
"Mother is very supportive of my leaving, as she never cared for Sif in the first place. Father is trying to get me to forgive his precious Thor before the scandal makes its way into the newspapers."
"I supposed that would be a bad look for Börsson industries."
"Oh yes, I can just imagine it, golden child and future CEO Thor Óðinsson isn't as perfect he claims," Loki said as he rolled his eyes," honestly it's sickening how much the old man lets him get away with."
"You know what you need?"
"Besides copious amounts of liquor?"
"A vacation....somewhere far away from this whole mess,and I have just the place."
"Mobius, that's not necessary,truly," Loki begged before his friend went out of his way even further," you've done so much for me already."
"It's not a big deal. I got this little seaside cottage,outside of Dublin,that's empty right now. You could get some time away from everything and enjoy the upcoming St. Patrick's Day festival...and I know how much you love anything involving the color green."
"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to go away for a little while....and you're sure it's no trouble?"
"Positive, besides it might be good material for that new book you were working on....the one about the pixies or whatever."
"Faeries,Mobius," he said with a laugh," It's on the history and folklore of faeries."
"Well, there you go! What better place to get some research in than where most of the legends originated. In fact, there's even one of those fairy circle things on the property that you could study."
"Say no more, friend, I'm convinced. Let's get this vacation started."
**************
Mobius's cottage was located about 12 miles away from Dublin, in the seaside city of Bray. His friend had mentioned that the four bedroom bungalow was in need of some repairs, but would otherwise be perfectly habitable, for however long he planned to stay. Loki wasn't sure what his exact tenure would be, but for now, all he cared about was finding a bed and crashing.
He passed by the large bay windows overlooking the backyard and stopped. Through the hanging vines and overgrown brush, he could see a small circular structure made out small, uneven stone blocks.
"That must be the faerie circle Mobius was talking about."
He set his bags down on the floor and headed out the back door. As he got closer, Loki noted with odd peculiarity that the area was the only tidy spot in the entire yard.
He'd heard various tales, both good and bad(mostly bad), about what could happen if someone stepped inside a faerie circle, but he didn't put much stock in all of that.
After all, he'd believed in true love once, and look where that had gotten him.
Loki took one step inside the ring and then another. He closed his eyes and waited for a few minutes, but when nothing happened,he shook his head and headed back inside.
"What on earth was I thinking....real faeries.. Preposterous."
He trudged up the stairs and made his way into the first bedroom on the right. He shucked off his clothes, threw himself onto the bed and let the weariness of the day overtake him.
**************
The next morning, Loki woke up slowly, stretching his limbs. Once his vision had properly adjusted, he decided to roll over....
And came face to face with a woman staring at him.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
He freaked out at the sight of the strange figure and scooted backwards until he fell right out of the bed. He tried to stand up, but he was too entangled in the sheet, and ended up scooting back against a wall instead.
"Who the bloody hell are you?!"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that question, seeing as how you invaded my circle last night?"
He didn't understand what she was talking about at first, then he remembered what happened right before he'd crashed the evening before.
"Wait....are you telling me that you're a faerie?"
"I am."
"Shouldn't you be a little...smaller and more glittery?"
"Who do you think I am, bloody Tinkerbell?" She said with a roll of her eyes," Honestly, there'd be none of us left if we didn't learn to blend in with the menfolk."
Well, she certainly had him there.
"So...no wings either?"
"Oh we've got those, but they're kept tucked away in their own pocket dimension when not in use."
"How come?"
She gave him a look that told him he'd just said something thoroughly stupid. The Faerie gave a roll of her shoulders, and a massive pair of wings appeared. Instead of being translucent like most folklore he'd read, they were covered in thick ebony feathers with a hint of purple at the tips.
"You just try getting something like these through a front door and see if you want to keep them out."
"I can understand why you don't,although it is a shame since they are quite beautiful," he said as he stood up and held out one hand while the other kept the sheet wrapped around his middle,"my name's Loki...what's yours?"
She smiled and grabbed the outstretched palm, the resulting jolt causing him to drop his precious covering.
"Sylvie, and I wouldn't worry too much about modesty, I've seen a lot of naked humans in my time...although I've got to say you are much more fit than the last bloke that stayed here."
"Uhm...well...I...er...thank you, I suppose...Funny though, Mobius didn't mention meeting any strange winged women in this place."
"Mobius? Is he a gent in his early fifties with a mustache and an obsession with watercrafts?"
"That's him, is he the one you met?"
"Yep...but he was so sloshed from the St Patrick's festival that I'd doubt he'd have been able to tell a faerie from a toadstool."
He chuckled at that. He remembered quite well what a lightweight his friend had been at his wedding reception.
The reminder of his ill-fated marriage caused the smile to fall from Loki's face, and he sat on the bed with a sigh.
"I apologize if I broke some faerie law when I disturbed your territory last night. Feel free to enact whatever punishment is appropriate for your kind."
"Pfft, I'm not going to punish you silly."
"....You're not?"
"Course not," she said with a giggle before vanishing her wings out of existence,"do you have any idea how many people, tourist or otherwise,trample through those things? There'd be no point."
"But then, why did you come?"
"Because, our kind can sense things...feelings and whatnot, especially when it's close to the barrier. Loki, you were radiating so much sadness, that the entire realm felt it. I just had to find out what kind of creature could possibly be so miserable."
"Ah, well that's a simple tale. Recently I discovered that my wife was having an affair with my older brother...came home and found them in bed together. A part of me knew that she'd wanted him, but a bigger, more desparate part of me had hoped that since we were married....she'd want me just a little bit more."
"cic sciobtha san asal!" She cursed, sending out sparks of energy that bounced off the walls and made Loki's hair stand on edge," what a rotten way to treat someone your supposed to love....want me to gouge out their eyeballs?"
"No...no...I don't think violence will be necessary....not yet at least."
They sat in silence after that,each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Sylvie's eyes lit up and she popped off the bed.
"Sylvie?"
"Come on, Loki, I want to show you something."
"I'd love to, but...uhm...."
She looked down at where he was staring, and her face flushed crimson when she realized he was still naked.
"Oooh...right."
She snapped her fingers,and in a wash of green magic he was covered in a solid black Versace suit.
"How did you..."
"Faerie, duh....now come on."
She led him outside to where the circle was. Before stepping inside, she grasped both of his hands in hers and released her wings.
"Now hold on tight, Loki, this might be a bit of a bumpy ride."
They went into the faerie ring, and with flap and a gust of wind, dissapeared from the mortal world.
*************
Brightness.
That was the first thing he noticed when they landed in Sylvie's realm. Despite the sky being inky black, everywhere else had a brightness to it that was nearly blinding.
The second thing he noticed were all the creatures(people?) celebrating along the golden pathways that seem to run for miles past rows and rows of quaint, uniquely shaped houses.
"What is all this?"
"You didn't think humans were the only ones who held parties this time of year did you? Let's go!
She drug him along into the thick of the celebrations. For hours he danced, sang, and made merry amongst the fairfolk. At one point, he tripped and fell into something that covered him with glitter, causing Sylvie to bend over in raucous laughter.
Loki discovered he rather enjoyed the sound.
Halfway through the festivities, The Queen of the Faeries arrived. He feared she may be displeased to see a mortal, but Ravonna merely smiled after giving him a thorough once-over, before turning her attention to Sylvie.
"This one's cute.....he's not obsessed with jet skis is he?"
"No, and unlike the last mortal, Loki here is completely sober."
"Aaah, so maybe this will be the one you give the apple to, eh?"
"Vonna!" Sylvie hissed,"I haven't told him yet!"
"Told me what?"
"Nevermind! We'll talk about it later....have a good evening your majesty."
They walked away quickly, and Ravonna held back a snicker while directing a servant to make up an extra place at the palace dinner table.
She had a feeling they were going to need it.
*************
"So, that was your Queen?"
"Yup."
"You certainly have a rude tone when dealing with royalty."
"Well, she's my sister, so..."
Sylvie stopped mid-sentence when she noticed he was staring at her with a gobsmacked expression.
"What?"
"She's your sister?!"
"Why is that so hard to believe? Is it just because we don't look alike?!"
"No no, nothing like that," Loki said with his hands up in surrender,"It's just hard to imagine someone as vulgar as you are as a princess."
She smacked him on the arm, causing him to start laughing, which caused her to join in, until they were both so hysterical they nearly fell off the bridge they were sitting on.
When they finally calmed down, Loki decided to ask about the thing that Ravonna had mentioned.
"So tell me about this apple..."
"Every three hundred years, an orchard in the royal palace produces a batch of golden apples. These fruit have the ability to turn a mortal into one of the Fae."
"I'd never heard of that legend before."
"It's one of the few tales we take extra precaution to not let on to the outside world, otherwise there'd be chaos, and not the good kind," she said before placing her hand on his," as such, they're highly guarded and rarely given out....but I want to give one to you."
"You do?"
"Yes...I know we haven't known each other long but, I like you Loki, and I sense something special about you that I've never been able to pick up from another human before. You deserve so much more than what this life has offered so far, but I warn you, once you eat the fruit, you'll stop aging. You would never be able to go back to your normal life."
She produced the apple from her pocket dimension and held it out in front of him.
"Tell me, do you have anything worth going back to?"
He thought about it....about the wife and brother that betrayed him, the father that could care less. His mother might miss him, and possibly Mobius, but they would be fine. He knew then he would have the same answer now as he would have had the first time he stepped into that circle.
"No, no I don't."
************
Seasons come and seasons go, as they often do. When several weeks went by with no word from Loki, Mobius flew out to the cottage only to find that it was completely uninhabited, and all trace of his friend was gone.
A police report was filed, but as weeks turned into months and then years, the case turned cold and was gradually forgotten. The only conclusion authorities came to was that Loki's soon-to-be ex-wife Sif had murdered him and disposed of the body, judging by the hefty life insurance policies they found in her name. She was carted off to jail, but before she could stand trial, they found her dead in her cell.
The consensus was suicide....although they couldn't explain the missing eyeballs.
Thor, horrified that his actions led to his brother's death, renounced his job title, inheritance, and moved to the other side of the globe to do humanitarian work with a young doctor by the name of Jane. Coupled with his wife leaving, Óðin Börsson wound up dying in the same manner he'd always left his youngest child- cold and alone.
Centuries passed, and legends were changed and re-written time and time again. But one thing that stayed the same was the Irish people's belief in faeries, and for those curious enough to get close enough to their circles, they might catch a glimpse of black feathers with purple tips.....and the luminescent green of their steadfast companion.