Chapter 2

“Well, we ran around the Central Park, have looked in dozens of shop windows and have seen mortal women behaving like bilgesnipe. So, what’s next in your plans?” Loki asked as the crossed a very busy and hectic street with dozens of other people. It was starting to get darker, so they had time for one more thing before they had to find a place to sleep.

Looking around the city and at a map Lucy had snagged from a booth, an idea hit her, and indecently, all of the Christmas lights that were on timers around the buildings and trees lit up too. “Come on! I know exactly where we need to go!” Lucy said, grabbing her brother’s hand and dragging him behind her. She was so excited that Loki had to keep her from floating off the ground. Turning a few corners and weaving around people, Lucy guided them to their destination: The Rockefeller Center. Tons of people ice skating, couples enjoying hot chocolate, and in the middle of it all, a huge, glittering Christmas tree.

Lucy saw the booth where you had to pay to get into the skating area. She looked to Loki, who, with a sly grin, made skates appear on their feet. He never ceased to amaze her. “Wait,” she said, feeling a little guilty. “We really ought to pay. I don’t want the guy at the booth getting in trouble.” Loki rolled his eyes, but reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Midgardian money. “Woah! How did you do that one?”

“Conjuring spell. A simple one really. I’ll show you later,” Loki said, walking with perfect balance to the clerk running the entrance, and then turning back to Lucy when he had given the man the exact amount that they had needed to pay. “Well, come on then.” They hobbled over to the entrance, then both with a little hesitation, stepped out onto the ice. “Do you know how to do this?”

“Loki, I haven’t even seen snow, let alone put on a pair of skates. We don’t really have those back home,” she said, holding onto the railing and trying to figure out how to glide across the ice. Loki was a bit more daring than Lucy and wasn’t holding onto the railing, and he got a good ten feet before he fell to the ice, landing on his back side. Lucy burst out laughing, which made her loose her balance and fall over too. Both getting to their feet again, they tried again, and this time Loki was able to figure it out. He was a fast learner like that, and he was able to circle around the rink and catch back up with Lucy, who was still trying to figure out how not to fall over.

“Still haven’t mastered it yet Sister?” Loki teased, skating beside her.

“Well, we can’t be as talented as you,” Lucy said. “It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be. If I can fly I should be able to do this!”

Loki grinned, then offered his hand. “Come on now, I’ll help you.” Lucy sighed, but smiled too, and took his hand and let him help her from falling over. Gliding on the ink together hand in hand, they both successfully made it around the rink without falling over. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”

Easy for you to say, since you were the one holding me up,” Lucy said with a grin. Letting go of his hand, she skated about ten feet by herself, but she hit the ice hard, though this time it wasn’t her fault, it was the fault of two teenage boys who skated super fast on either side of her and knocked her over.

“Hey!” Lucy shouted after them, brushing the powdered ice off of her coat.

The two were laughing their heads off, and the taller of the two shouted back at her. “Why don’t you go crying to your boyfriend back there?”

“Boyfriend?” Loki asked, pulling her up.

Lucy felt mortified. Those stupid boys thought that her older brother was her boyfriend! “A boyfriend is like when you’re courting Loki.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And they think that…”

“Yes.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Loki exclaimed, glaring in the direction of the boys. He then got a mischievous look in his eyes, and Lucy grinned.

“What are you thinking?” He bent over and whispered in her ear. With a chuckle, she nodded and sat back against the wall while Loki circled around the rink again. Lucy watched for the two boys to come back around again, and looked away as they started to come close. Just as the taller one came right past her, she flicked her hand and his skates went right out from under him and he fell hard on his backside in a heap, very confused as to why he fell. Just as his friend tried to help him up, Loki came up behind him and tripped him, knocking him onto his back. Before either boy could see him though, Loki disappeared and the real Loki came skating up beside his sister and leaned against the wall.

“Those were some pretty nasty falls,” Lucy remarked with a laugh. “Weren’t they, Brother,” she added, emphasizing the last word.

“Yes, quite Sister,” Loki said, smirking.

“How did you do that?” the shorter boy said, wobbling to his feet, panting a little.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lucy said innocently.

“You did something alright!” the taller boy said, staring Lucy down.

“Well, I guess we’ll never know,” Loki said. He took Lucy’s hand. “Let’s go, these two aren’t worth the trouble.” They started skating off, and they heard the two boys starting to come after them. Speeding up, Loki told Lucy to hang on tight, and with a flash, they disappeared from the rink, leaving the two boys completely dumbfounded.

The two reappeared on the other side of the skating rink, skates down and converse back on. Glancing at a huge clock, Lucy was surprised to see that it was already 11, just an hour away to Christmas Eve, and then she realized that even though she was super excited for the next day, she was quite tired. Walking arm in arm with Loki down the still bustling streets, enjoyed the beautiful lights and sights of the city.

“I guess we ought to sleep at some point, don’t you agree?” Loki asked. Lucy nodded in agreement. “Well then, where should we go?”

“Any hotel really.” They were on 5th Avenue, and there were hotels everywhere. “There, that one looks nice.” Walking through the doors, they came to the young woman who was sitting at the front desk.

“Welcome to the Plaza Hotel, can I help you?”

“Yes, can we get a suite please?” Loki asked after glancing over the information on the desk.

“You’re in luck, we just have one left,” she said, typing away at her computer. “Do you have any luggage?”

“We can manage thank you,” Loki answered, not mentioning the fact that they didn’t have any.

“Alright then, here’s your key,” she said, handing the key to Loki. “I’m guessing that you two are out of town. Just visiting family?”

“No, not really, but we are from out of town. Just having some brother sister time,” Lucy said, hoping that this sounded Migardian enough without giving away too much.

The woman smiled, a looking the slightest bit relieved. ‘Did she think that we were boyfriend and girlfriend too?’ Lucy thought to herself. She had never dealt with this sort of stuff when she lived on Earth, and she had to agree with Loki: Mortals could be very petty. But, she just smiled and thanked the woman.

“Merry Christmas!” Lucy said she and Loki were walking away.

“And to you too!” The lady called, seeming to be a bit happier. Lucy wondered if anyone had told her that today. People seemed to busy that they weren’t taking time to be kind and considerate to one another, which was kind of throwing Lucy off. When she remembered her Christmases, she thought of love, joy and happiness, but some people were just being crazy and stressful. ‘Things change when you leave Lucy,’ she thought to herself as she trailed off behind Loki, but when he turned around and gave her a little grin, she smiled back. ‘But most of them are for the better.’