Chapter 2; Promises

Elaine couldn't resist dragging them both out to the field where usually they would spar, and have them sit down calmly and look up at the sky. Thor lay flat out on his back, staring up at the sky. Loki was similarly stretched out, but remained propped up his elbows and Elaine was sitting calmly, her legs tucked up to her and her book in her lap. Despite knowing the stars, both men seemed content to listen to the woman passionately talk about them. They knew that she would always love them.

"One day, I'll go to midguard and I'll study the stars there," She said waving her hand up at the sky, a dreamy look coming across her face.

"When I am king, perhaps I could take you?" Thor suggested turning his head to look at her. That sentence brought her back to reality.

"Really?" She said, barely able to contain her excitement as she looked at Thor who grinned. "Thank you! Thank you! I would give you a hug but I cannot reach you." He joined in with her laughter. She cast her gaze over to Loki, who was quiet as he stared up at the sky.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Elaine asked, leaning over to look at him. Loki spared her a glance before sighing softly, his eyes flicking to Thor for a moment. Elaine knew what that look meant, those sideways glances he gave his brother. She smiled softly and reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder gently. He smiled back for a moment before returning his gaze upwards. A bitter wind blew across them, causing a wild shiver down Elaine's spine, and throwing over pages in her book. She hurried to tug her cloak around her tighter whilst trying to find her page again. Reality came back to her once again when she found a cape being draped around her, this one of the deepest red. Blinking she looked up to see Thor standing above her now.

"I should return to the party, you can return that to me tomorrow Elaine," He said, patting her on the head like a child, laughing when she struck him in the leg.

"I will, go enjoy yourself," She said waving as he walked away. She turned back to find Loki watching Thor leaving, however his eyes quickly shifted to hers.

"Now will you tell me what is wrong?" Elaine asked, holding onto Thor's cape as she moved to sit beside him. He pushed himself up to sit properly, arms draped across his knees.

"Thor spoils you like a brother would a sister but had never offered such comfort like that to me. If I said I wanted to see the midguardian sky do you think he would so willingly take me there?" Loki asked quietly, turning his head to look at her. She frowned slightly before touching cold fingers to his chin.

"Head up, if I ask him Thor will surely let you come along," She said before touching him lightly on the nose with a smirk. "But there is still time, Thor is not yet king."

"He is not ready."

Elaine blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"He lusts for battle and I worry for him. He is not ready to be king, not yet. Maybe once he learns to control his temper, he would be a good king."

"Loki what are you planning?" Elaine had known him long enough to know that look on his face. He didn't answer right away, opting for the moment to stay quite. "Just…promise me it won't hurt anyone." She pleaded, holding out her pinkie finger to him. He looked at her, confused.

"It's some earth custom when making promises, I read it in a book," She said watching him smile slightly at her mentioning a book. He humoured her and raised his own pinkie to her watching curiously as she wrapped hers around his.

"If it goes according to plan, no-one will be injured, but it will put a damper on my brother's big day," Loki said quietly, and that was as close to a promise as she knew she would get from him. With a roll of her eyes she pulled her hand away and leaned over to kiss his brow gently.

"Then make sure it goes to plan," She said patting the side of his face gently before she hauled herself to her feet, picking up her book. "I should rest; I have more books to read tomorrow." She teased as she pulled the cape and the cloak around her tighter to her thin frame. Loki smirked and rose next to her, throwing a casual arm around her shoulders to pull her into his side. She was surprised but didn't resist, he was surprisingly warm despite his cold fingers. She smiled and slipped her arm around his waist, giving him a comforting squeeze.

Elaine didn't expect Loki to walk her all the way back to her room, but that was exactly what he did, keeping her pressed under his arm. They stopped in front of her doorway into her room and she turned to look at him with a smile.

"You didn't have walk me here."

"It was no problem," Loki replied with a small nod of his head. Elaine smiled before pulling off Thor's cape.

"Will you two be training tomorrow?" She asked, looking up at him, bundling up the cape in her arms.

"I would assume so. Brother does love a good fight." Loki replied with a small smile at the woman who laughed softly.

"Then I will come watch you, probably with a few books and maybe a sketch pad. And perhaps after you're finished, if the day is warm enough, we'll go down to the beach for a ride." Elaine said with a faint smile, tracing an absentminded pattern on the back of her book.

"That sounds like a good idea," He replied before bidding her farewell and walking away. Elaine pulled open her door and stepped into her room and almost collapsed onto the floor went her knees gave way. They'd been shaking the entire way from the field and she'd tried her best to keep them steady. Loki had always been somewhat of a mystery to her, and to be honest it was part of the reason she had become so taken with him lately. She'd always been friends with the brothers but when it came to love she was out of her depth.

Leaning back against the door she sunk down to the ground. Subconsciously, she'd always fancied Loki over Thor, not that she'd honestly given it much thought having been raised like a sibling to them. And then there were the woman who accused her of being infatuated with both of them, which was far from true. Thor was more the big brother type to her while Loki was just…Loki. Her mind didn't know what it thought of him, because of his darkness. A darkness she feared being dragged into. With a sigh she looked down at the red cape in her arms, patting the material gently. She loved them both dearly; but it would be foolish to fall in love with either of them. After all they were princes of Asgard and she was nothing more than a bookworm.