Prices to be Paid- Epilogue
This is truly the end of Prices to be Paid. Thank you guy’s so much for all of your support it meant a lot to me. It really did. I hope you loved this story as much as I love all of you. And if you want some more of my writing you can check out Sanctuary which I can now focus all of my attention on
Epilogue
Sand was sprayed up as the little girl ran away from the chasing boy. She ran giggling, her brown hair flowing behind her, and her green eyes sparkling. The boy had his arms reached out, his gray eyes were set with determination, and his black hair was slicked back. A small black puppy ran between the feet of the children barking and wagging its tail.
Rebecca closed her eyes, sighed, and started to gently rock back and forth in the chair. It creaked on the old wood and the sound made Rebecca smile. Her children were happy, she was happy, and so was Loki. She heard the door creak open and then close. Loki sat down in the chair next to her and took her hand, “Remind me why we got a puppy?”
“Because puppies are adorable and I wanted one.”
Loki chuckled and observed the bright blue sky, “He’ll be here shortly.”
“Yes, I know.” Rebecca opened her eyes and looked at Loki, “You put the kettle on, right?”
“Yes, Rebecca,” sighed Loki.
“And you took out the special cup that can’t break?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m still mad that he broke my favorite mug.”
“Well, you’re the one that gave it to him!”
“Because you forgot to wash dishes!”
Loki grumbled a response under his breath. Knowing she had won, Rebecca laughed. She laid her head back and smiled. Rebecca had lost count of the years that she had spent with Loki here on the beach. Every day she would wake up and sit in her chair. She’d watch as the waves would crash down on the shore and feel the breeze run through her hair.
At night, after Astrid and Lucas had been put to sleep, she and Loki would walk along the beach hand in hand. No sound except for the waves. It was everything she dreamed of. Of course there were the weekly visits from Uncle Thor, as the kids called him, which were part of the sentence issued by Odin. That was such a scary day for Rebecca. When she awoke after nearly bleeding to death with Loki near her side everything became better.
There was a clap of thunder in the distance and a flash of light. The kids stopped running around and stood still. Smiles spread across their faces when the thunder was just above them. Another flash of light and Thor was crouched a few feet away from the cottage.
“Uncle Thor!”
“Uncle Thor!”
The children bounded across the sand towards Thor. “Uncle Thor,” called Lucas as he ran into Thor’s opened arms, “Daddy took me fishing yesterday and we caught a fish this big,” he separated his arms to show how big the fish was. Astrid came crashing into Lucas and Thor smashed them both into a hug and picked them, chuckling as he did so. When Thor put the children back Astrid was scowling at her brother, “Daddy took me fishing too, and my fish was bigger than Lukey’s!”
“Was not!”
“Was too!” With that, the children were off, running, chasing, and screaming. Thor laughed as he strode over to Loki and Rebecca who were standing and smiling at Thor. Loki smiled and hugged his brother, “Thor, how nice of you to stop by.” The both chuckled. Thor stepped towards Rebecca and bear hugged her, Rebecca tried to swat him off as he picked her up, “Thor, put me down!”
Thor placed her down gently laughing and kissed her lightly on the cheek, “So how is everything over here you two?”
Loki grinned and started to say something but Rebecca cut him off, “Listen you two, the sky is clouding over, I see some lightning in the distance, and I don’t want to be stuck in this storm!” Thor and Loki walked inside as Rebecca called for the kids to head inside, “But Mom,” pleaded Astrid, “We want to play!” Lucas nodded his head in agreement, “Please Mom!”
Rebecca shook her head, “Get inside you two, you know the rules when there’s a storm coming.” The children bowed their heads in defeat as they trudged inside. When Rebecca walked inside, Thor and Loki were in a deep conversation. Loki’s chin was cupped in his hand as he leaned against the counter and nodded his head. Thor was moving his hands and speaking rapidly in hushed tones. Rebecca felt something was off. She ushered the kids to their rooms. She tried to tidy up a bit and stay out of the men’s hair. Thunder clapped in the distance and rain started to fall from the skies. Rebecca smiled and walked over to the sitting room window and peered out, she loved storms on the beach.
This whispers were getting more excited and Rebecca couldn’t hold back the urge to satisfy her curiosity and longer. When she appeared at Loki’s side Thor stopped talking and smiled at Loki. Loki smiled back at Thor. They were up to something and Rebecca wanted to know what, “Well,” questioned Rebecca, “what’s going on?”
Loki smiled at Thor who gave him a slight head nod, “Odin has invited us to come back to Asgard.”
Rebecca cocked an eyebrow, “Why?”
Loki looked at Thor who was grinning like a maniac, “Thor, I think you should tell her.”
Rebecca looked at Thor who was hopping from foot to foot eagerly, “Well, spit it out, Thor!”
“Father has invited you and Loki to come to Asgard and have a proper wedding.”
Rebecca sat in a stunned silence. Over the years there had never been any message from Odin. There was never the slightest message that he wanted to tell her and Loki. When they gave pictures to Thor about the kids to show Odin there had been nothing. Rebecca couldn’t believe what she had heard. “You’re shitting me.”
“Nope,” grinned Thor.
“So Odin wants us back?”
“He’s given you his blessing!”
Rebecca squealed as she tackle-hugged Thor, “I’ve always wanted a wedding!” Rebecca let go of Thor and turned her hug onto Loki, “When do we leave, darling?”
Loki kissed Rebecca’s forehead, “Odin has requested our presence as soon as possible.”
Rebecca smiled and kissed Loki, “I’ll go tell the kids to pack.”
—-
Astrid glanced shyly across the long dinner table crowded with food and new relatives she had no idea existed towards Odin. She could hardly see him over the stuffed bird whose name was too hard for to pronounce. Odin noticed the little girl who was peering over the food and chuckled when she looked down quickly. He studied her and her brother Lucas. They were so different yet they displayed the characteristics of their parents. Lucas was just like his father with such a high intelligence for a ten year old and certain air of mischief. Astrid couldn’t be any more like her mother with a deep thoughtful expression on her face and a tough-as-nails attitude.
Odin’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard Astrid clear her throat, “So, you’re daddy’s daddy?”
Odin smiled, “Yes dear.”
Lucas felt the need to speak, “But you don’t look anything like daddy! Uncle Thor looks like you and Grandma!”
The tension increased in the room. Loki and Rebecca stared at Odin awaiting his response. They never told their children about whom their father was, what he did, or why they met, everything was kept a secret and was to be locked away until the proper time. Odin chuckled which eased some of the tension, “Just because your father doesn’t look like me, doesn’t mean anything. I still love him more than anything.” Odin looked Loki in the eyes as he spoke and Loki smiled a bit.
Tears were beginning to fill Loki’s eyes and Rebecca squeezed his hand under the table, “Thank you, Father,” he mumbled.
Astrid looked at Odin, “And what about Mommy? What do you think about her?” Lucas nodded in agreement.
“Your mother is a spectacular person. Even in her darkest days she was strong and she refused to be broken. She is truly a remarkable human being and I was a fool not to realize that at first. It was wrong of me to have done the things I did and I only hope she can find it in her heart to forgive me.”
This time it was Loki who squeezed Rebecca’s hand, “I forgive you Odin. I forgave you a long time ago.” Grins were spreading across the faces of everyone sitting at the table together as tension eased and the food was taken away.
Thor stood up and clapped his hands together, “Well this was a lovely dinner and I do believe that these two,” he gestured towards Rebecca and Loki, “have a big day together.”
Previous Chapter
