A World of Fragile Things and Devil's Spirit

Ch.2: Broken Things

Faye woke up to gentle feather-light kisses on her breasts and abdomen. She kept her eyes closed, though fully awake in an instant, as the person hovering over her blew lightly across her nipples. She held still, managing to keep from squirming.

"Someone's starting early," she remarked pointedly. The actions stopped. Faye opened her eyes to see, with no surprise, Loki sitting up beside of her on the wide bed. The ceiling seemed even farther away than it had been when she had fallen asleep. He bent towards her ear, whispering, "It's still long before dawn."

Faye's smile fell. She had just noticed the dark circles under Loki's eyes, and the weariness in his face.

"You haven't slept at all tonight, have you?" She asked quietly, sitting up.

"Did you?" He murmured.

"You know what I mean," Faye chided half-heartedly. She stroked his unkempt hair away from his face tenderly, and he carefully pushed an overhanging strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Your mother is very sweet," she ventured after a while. Sometimes, she had learned, it did no good to be aggressive with him. Sometimes it took kindness and patience to tease out the smallest amount of true information. A pained expression danced across his countenance, and he began explaining, twisting the sheets between clenched fists.

"She has always been the most...understanding, if you will. The All-Father, on the other hand, is entirely different. He has declined your presence on the pretense of diplomatic affairs, but there are no alignments to be made, and there is relative peace and prosperity. He simply does not care."

"I don't think that's what it's all about," Faye began after a moment of contemplation, "But I'd say that you're lucky to have a father, considering I never did."

Loki stiffened, but Faye continued to hold his hand, head bowed, rubbing soothing patterns into it and his wrist.

"We shall agree to disagree," he said at last, and Faye said nothing. When she glanced upward, he was staring into the flames of the hearth a few feet away. Faye brought his hand to her mouth and kissed each knuckle, and then his palm, moving onto his wrist and progressing up his arm. He continued staring into the fire even as she sprinkled kisses across his shoulder and collarbone, and down his chest. Finally, he seemed to notice the attention, and he looked at her.

"Thinking about kneeling at last?" He asked, eyebrow raised. Faye paused, glancing at his facial features caught half between solemnity and humoring want.

"No, but you will be," she retorted, giving no warning before she pulled him around and pushed him onto his back. His eyes fluttered closed and his Adam's-apple bobbed. She drifted steadily down his torso with fluttering kisses, dipping her tongue into his belly-button as she descended further. She pulled away just above the valley falling between his hips and thighs, instead beginning to kiss upward from his left kneecap. Just as she had covered all she could of the inside of both thighs, she sat up and stretched upward to bend her head down by his ear. "Don't fall asleep."

In response, he started to roll around to find her, his eyes opening, but she stilled him with her hands, pushing him back down as she settled between his legs, pulling them apart with her hands and knees. She blew a long breath across his nether regions, and he shivered, choking on his own cry as she delivered long kisses and licks to first his slit, and then his entire length, tongue swirling around the entire diameter. She worked her tongue and lips around him, pulling gently, scraping softly with her teeth. Soon Faye had reduced him to a trembling mess, pulling off of him only long enough to reposition herself over him and slide onto him. He yanked her nearly flat against him, muffling his moan by burying his head into the crook of her neck. They moved together until they were both panting and laboring for breath, trembling into each other and clasping hands.

In the silence that followed, Faye drifted back to sleep for a time, splayed on top of him. Loki gently slid her off and cradled her to his chest, kissing her hair.

"What would I do without you?" He murmured.

...Xxxxxxx…

Just before dawn, he gently shook her awake. He handed her a robe, and led her to the private bathhouse for the royal family. They bathed quietly, almost absentmindedly, until an attendant knocked at the entrance. Loki moved so that his body sheltered Faye's from view by the open door, and Faye in turn shielded her breasts with her crossed arms.

"Enter," Loki called almost irritatedly. The man who had served wine just before Thor's coronation peeked his head around the door.

"Lady Frigga has requested your presence and that of Lady Faye's before her once you are prepared."

His eyes strayed around the room, and he peered furiously into the shadows behind the price before him.

"The request is accepted and noted. You are dismissed."

The man jumped at the tone of Loki's voice, coming out as a low growling snarl.

"But of course," the man replied, backing out. The door closed with a resounding boom in the high room.

"Do you make a habit of scaring your help witless?" Faye asked. Loki's face was dark when he turned to face her. "You cannot hear his thoughts. You do not know what he would do should he find you."

Faye straightened, her eyes defiant, indignant, and fierce.

"You forget that I can take care of myself," she said haughtily, and not only did the entire bath ripple outward, but droplets rose around them like upwards falling rain. His face softened.

"Indeed," he assented, leaning down to kiss her.

"Now let's go see your mother."

The walk back to his quarters was uneventful. When they arrived, attendants were waiting in the corridor by the door with clothes for Faye. None of them would look her in the eye, instead leaving her to ready herself as quickly as possible. The door closed behind the last of them, Briahlee.

"Already blacklisted, I see," Faye remarked, scowling and turning away. Loki caught her wrist, turning her towards him again. He titled her chin up until he could gaze directly into her eyes.

"It has nothing to do with your own worth, Faye. They are wary because of who you choose to be with. I warned you this might happen."

Faye swallowed and blinked heavily. He drew her into the circle of his arms. "This is my legacy: pain, anguish, isolation. This is what belies the false brother of Thor."

"Why do we get burned at the stake when other people get a free pass?" Faye whispered. It was her one recurring quandary, if worded and phrased differently. "Is this our legacy?"

His arms tightened around her shoulders. "No. Not for much longer."

"What do you have planned?" Faye asked. Loki kissed her shoulder.

"But alas, I cannot tell you."

"Can't, or won't?" Faye countered, leaning back to see his face.

He traced her lips with his pinky finger. Faye closed her eyes.

"A bit of both."

"Damn you," she whispered. Her eyes opened. "Why don't we just try living without making the world ours."

"I thought you wanted power," he said, almost sounding confused.

"I-I did," Faye admitted, looking down. "But I think that this is enough. Us is enough for me. But if you need more..."

"Faye."

Her head had tilted downward as it had been before, but she lifted it again at that. His eyes were vulnerable once more, and Faye thought, to her amazement, that she saw a bit of wonder in them.

"Do you mean that?" He inquired seriously. Faye pulled out of his grasp.

"I'm not a liar," she retorted hotly.

"But I am," Loki asked quietly, "Is that what you meant to say? Do you not think that I value you, that I value us and this relationship? Ooh, I see. Well maybe you shouldn't have given your heart to a monster, foolish girl."

"You're a coward. And no matter how thick you make your skin, that doesn't change. Stop making everything about you. It's time you made decisions based on us.

"THIS IS FOR US! CAN'T-can't you see?" He exclaimed, voice lowering in volume at the end.

"No, frankly I don't. And I never thought I'd find someone more selfish than me. I learned I couldn't have both, or everything. But this-this isn't settling, for me. This is enough. This is all I have ever needed. Maybe I shouldn't have come at all."

Faye spun for the door, but Loki lunged forward and grabbed her, pushing her up against the wall and pressing his lips to hers hungrily.

"That was all I needed to hear," he muttered by her ear, one hand tracing the curve of her breasts and the other cupping her behind. Faye pushed him away in disbelief.

"You jackass, you were testing me!" She sibilated angrily. A vase in the room shattered. He grinned unabashedly.

"My mother awaits," he changed the subject pleasantly, swaggering to the door and opening it. He gestured for Faye to walk through first. Head thrown upward, she stalked past, and Loki closed the door behind them.

Another attendant, this one an old bent woman, led them to Frigga, who happened to be walking through the garden. Quite suddenly, the three of them were alone. Frigga walked on, touching various plants. Each that she gave attention to seemed to straighten and grow taller, and become sevenfold more vivacious. After a short while, she turned to them, smiling easily, but it quickly vanished into worry.

"I regret my hasty departure when you first arrived."

"Yeah-what was that about?" Faye asked boldly. The worry at the edges of Frigga seemed to cloud over her features.

"There was urgent business to attend to. Jotunheim broke out in civil war, added to a slave rebellion and...Disquiet, such stirrings that have only been rumored to have occurred, due to the...Bifrost."

"Due to your precious Thor," Loki muttered, cutting himself off abruptly and glancing away when Frigga turned the entirety of her gaze on him.

"Your father is disquieted. You served punishment, and only committed your latter crimes under duress, and have since...changed, he hopes for the better. I am deeply troubled to say that not many trust you. You have not seen Thor, the Warriors Three, Sif, Tyr, or many others because they have been at council, and are now preparing to fight the Vagabonds. I apologize for your father. He was not at council all day. He was brooding in the Throne Room long before the news reached Asgard. I cannot tell you how I wish he had the courage that he uses in battle to speak to his son-"

"He is not my father," Loki interrupted quietly, having been flinching at each mention of the word or relationship and finally having head it enough, rebuffed it. Frigga stared at him sadly. Faye froze, waiting for something-anything-to happen and break the awful silence: she could practically hear Frigga's heart breaking.

"Then am I not your mother?" the Queen whispered. He seemed to pause and consider a beat.

"You are not." He whispered back. Frigga's eyes saddened considerably. She seemed about to speak when he continued. "Yet you are. You were my confidant and my friend, you held my heart in the palm of my hand. You were my guardian and my teacher. You were *everything to me, mother and father, because Odin never cared, and sister, because Thor was too thick to see how much I needed a sibling. You are not my mother because the word mother alone will never cover what you are to me-Frigga."

Faye felt tears on her cheeks. It broke her heart, but in a completely different way than before. She couldn't believe it- it was priceless, and beautiful, and likely never to be repeated, since Loki was never completely honest with anyone or at the very least, he never had been before. Frigga smiled tearily and embraced him. He stood very still, and then he melted into her in a way only a child may when their mother handles them. Faye decided to look away, and when she settled on them once more, Loki had gone and left her alone with Frigga.

"That bastard," she mumbled. Frigga laughed.

"You need not worry-I don't bite," she said in an obvious attempt to soothe over Faye's worry. "Walk with me."

Faye followed the Queen uncertainly.

"You love him," Frigga said after a moment. "You love him or you would not choose to be here. I assure you, he loves you very much, even though he may have not said it yet. I have a question of the most serious nature, one which is not taken lightly here in Asgard and many of the other Realms. Would you marry him, if given the chance?"

Faye halted. Frigga stopped and turned to look at her.

"That is a serious question," Faye said, "and luckily no one is dying. The Myth of Marriage...being pure and true...It's just a story the great-greats told their kids so they wouldn't have sex. It's an abstinence program at work."

"You don't have to lie to me or be frightened, Faye," Frigga told her quietly. "I know you are lovers. I merely want to ensure the happiness of my son and his bride to be, and on Asgard and other Realms, we have courts. It is about more than talk-let them talk themselves senseless. I want to ensure your rights, establish your place, have you taken seriously. I want you as a part of my family. He has never brought anyone before me...he must be sure. Faye Chamberlain, tell me, are you committed to my son?"

Faye didn't know what else to say besides the very painfully obvious and simple. "Yes."

Frigga stepped toward to embrace her, hugging her tightly. "I am glad. I know you will fight for him, and the two of you, and he will do the same. It gladdens my heart."

Faye said nothing.

She made her way back to their rooms slowly. They were empty when she arrived. She sat on the bed, staring into the fire. Something her mother had told her echoed through her head, from a time when they had been discussing Charles. 'You might not know this, but...Men have the most fragile of hearts, especially when they entrust them to a woman's hands - one squeeze, and they are devastated. You don't have to be beautiful or skilled to kill someone or break their spirit-you just have to make them love you; then they know why storms are named after women often times.'

Faye drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. When she loved someone, she loved hard; and when she committed to something, it was to the bitter end. This time around, however, she had to consider what she would do with that commitment, and what it meant. She knew in her heart she loved Loki, and had not merely become entranced with the idea of them or what they did together. Faye realized she was very, very serious about him, had only hoped for so long that he was about her. She sat in silent contemplation at every implication. Could she leave her Circle? They were relatively safe, and not only would she know if they were not, but if she were an Aesir, she could protect them tenfold better. She shook her head. She couldn't make this about power or protection, or even her Circle. She had to make a decision for Faye, and the brooding prince she had inherited by accident and never let go of. Long into the night, she pondered her predicament, until she crawled sleepily into the center of the bed and drifted off.

Faye blinked blearily. Morning light came through the open curtains of the high windows. She shivered, sitting up. The room was cold, the fire had gone out, and no other soul appeared present save for her. Loki had not returned, then. He had left her to herself. Yawning and stretching, Faye forced herself upward. She selected another dress and laid it out on the bed before stripping and grabbing a robe to take down to the bathhouse she had visited the previous day.

The stones were cold underfoot, but the water warmed her as she slipped the robe off and slid into the bath. Once she had scrubbed herself down and washed her hair, she hurried back to what she had been growing to call their rooms and shimmied into her clothes. She wondered what they did for their weddings on Asgard.

Faye paused in the hallway outside of entrance. Which way did she go to reach the dining hall? She racked her brains for a moment before deciding to make use of the many attendants floating around. There were hardly any guards-she guessed they were either training or away fighting. What a lovely time for a wedding. Wedding. She leaned her head against the cold ancient stones. Did she truly know what she was doing? She knew she loved him, but marriage? Eternal tethering not only to him, but to his people, or at least any alliance he made. Could she leave behind everyone she knew and loved? Well, who was she kidding? She was just making frightened excuses. There was no one on Earth-Midgard-that she couldn't live without. And the Witchglass would let her see both her mother and her Circle. How would she tell him though? She wouldn't: she would wait until she was asked, that's what she would do. She straightened, and found a dark Warrior Woman staring at her calculatingly.

Her eyes took note of everything, not just Faye, but their surroundings, and where Faye had come from. Her eyes narrowed.

"You are the woman Frigga spoke of. The Midgardian witch that broke the imp out of his cell."

"Frigga doesn't seem like the kind of Lady to spread rumors," Faye challenged. The warrior stiffened.

"I am Sif, friend of Thor and the Warriors Three. Thor said Frigga spoke to him of what she called wondrous news for his dear brother."

The words 'dear brother' had a sour twist coming out of Sif's mouth, and Faye's patience was thinning. She was hungry and cold, and she wanted to see other parts of the place that had been described to her. Sif continued.

"I want what is best for Thor, as do we all...or so I would hope-" here she shot Faye a sharp, pointed glance "-but he cannot be happy, it seems, while he pines away for the Midgardian he calls Jane."

"I'm sorry-but is there some point to this," Faye interrupted. Sif stared at her. She stepped closer to Faye. "How is it that you are here and she is not? The Bifrost is broken and travel to any Realm has become difficult without taking steps-yet you arrived here so easily. It does not please my heart to have Thor caught up in all of this strife. She would die unless made one of us and he would never be the same. All the same, others like myself are curious as to how and why the Trickster has once again gotten exactly what he wanted."

Faye closed the remaining distance between them, thrusting her face a breadth away from that of Sif.

"You need to shut up and get out of my way before I move you myself. It was a spell, a fluke spell. What happened, happened. I'm sorry that you're having angst-filled inner conflict over whose undersized head Thor bats his idiotic oversized lashes at while he breaks things with his toy hammer. You're mistaking me for someone who cares about your love triangle-or lack thereof. You also need to stay out of my way and leave us alone. Don't try to be a smartass. I am that mean girl everyone talks about."

Faye moved away from Sif. Sif caught at her arm, and Faye spun back around.

"Get your hands off of me," she warned. Sif stared coldly at her.

"I wish only to caution you on what you use your sorcery for."

Faye met her hard gaze evenly. "Are you threatening me, Lady Sif?" she remarked lightly. If possible, Sif's eyes slitted even further.

"Do you feel threatened, Lady Faye?" Sif replied coldly.

"Hardly," Faye scoffed scornfully, wrenching her arm away and nearly ripping her sleeve before stalking off.

A little while later, with the help of the girl attendant of Frigga's that she had met her first day, Faye was seated in the Feast Hall.

Someone set good, sweet rolls, two types of cheeses, fruits, and spiced meet before her on a golden plate, a goblet of dark mead to one side and another smaller plate holding only a golden apple. Faye eyed it, picking it up and turning it over in her hands and sniffing before taking a small bite. It was divine: her mouth burst with indescribable flavor that bombarded her taste-buds. Faye closed her eyes, and then took another bite, followed by another until she could lay the core down on the plate to lick her fingers. She felt better than she had when attempting to channel Cassie's dark magic. Her blood sang and her magic accompanied it with a symphony of its own. She felt stronger, faster, better, energized, powerful, and even more confident. She smiled. Was that what she has been missing out on? She could hear and see things she never thought she would, and her heart galloped along. A smile curled her lips upward in a pleased grin. Faye ate the rest of her meal in undisturbed silence.

When her plate was empty and she had drank the last drop in her goblet, her dishes were cleared. She stood and exited the Hall, stopping a man carrying a stack of dirty platters. He turned, and she saw that it was the attendant that had come to the bathhouse the day before. He leered at her, and she felt a twinge of irritation.

"Could you be a good boy and tell me where the library is?" Faye inquired, speaking slowly, a saccharine smile plastered across her face.

The man scowled and pointed. Faye glanced down at the crystal to see if he was lying-it remained clear. Faye tilted her head to the side.

"Seems like you were telling the truth: good for you."

Suddenly he flew against the wall, plates clattering everywhere, and Faye held him there by his right shoulder.

"If you ever look at me like that again, touch me, or try anything, you won't have to worry about what magic trick Loki will use on you because I will throw you out like the trash from the roof. Understood?"

He slid down the wall, glaring. "Witch," he spat. Faye stepped back and smiled. "I know."

…Xxxxxxx…

Faye was in the section on magic when she felt someone slip into the isle behind her, pressing her into the shelves from behind.

"If you want to live, you'll let me go before you're hexed by one of two very unforgiving magic wielders."

"Oh, I think you'll change your tune," a familiar voice whispered seductively in her ear, all velvet.

"Damn you, Loki," she hissed, "You absolute ass-you ditched me with your mother," Faye muttered, pushing the book back into its place on the shelf.

"I rather thought I did you a favor, giving you time to gather your thoughts; and I can never deny my mother her indulgence of motherly interference when it has a proper place in my plans."

While he spoke, his hand had slid around her waist, up the front of her dress, over her bodice, stopping over her breasts to play with her nipples through the fabric.

"Plans?" Faye sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head back into his shoulder.

"For us," he murmured against the side of her throat. "I would rather like for you to share my life, and trust in me. You are all I want, and everything I need in someone else...in a partner. Faye...stay with me...as my wife."

That infernal continuous circling of his had Faye biting her lip to keep silent.

"Will you-" he ground against her, pressing her up against the dark wood "-marry me-" his other hand ripped her dress open from behind "-Lady Faye?"

"The librarian will hear," Faye gasped quietly as he slipped his hand inside of her dress to cup her breast.

"There is no librarian, you know that. You're stalling, my dear witch."

He pulled his hands away and stepped away from her. Faye turned to see him staring at her. By then she knew that look-the look he got when he thought someone was going to push him away or reject him, or choose something or someone else over him.

Faye tilted her head. "We are married, for all intents and purposes that matter. What's a little decree?" And then she let her dress fall to the floor.

"You're shameless," he said, flicking his hand. Faye assumed some elaborate illusion had just went up. "But so am I," he added after a moment.

... Xxxxx…

Loki had scooped her up, carrying her to a nearby table, articles on top flying everywhere before he laid her in their place. It seemed as if he was in one of his slow, persistent, and gentle moods. His hands gave soft caresses, teasing her nipples with barely-present fingers, finding spots to kiss and suck. He had only light armor on, and it pressed into her skin, cold and metallic, and Faye shivered a bit. Noticing, he backed away, changing it into a soft tunic and breeches that stood no chance against Faye, who pulled him down to straddle her.

He kissed her face adoringly, cradling it between his hands, trailing them down her neck, shoulder, sides, hips, and thighs. His hand slid between them, and Faye gasped softly as he stroked along her folds delicately, parting and stretching her lips, caressing her slit, and slowly pushing in one long, thin finger, his thumb circling her clit. Her thighs trembled, and Loki feared he would unravel the woman beneath him too soon. He removed his hands and slid down her body, kisses and licks trailing in his wake, accompanied by sucking. He pressed a last kiss to her belly button before starting up her right leg. His lips and teeth grazed the inside of her thighs, and Faye arched upward off of the table. Her nails dug into the wooden tabletop as he peppered the entire valley between her thighs with kisses and licks, used his tongue and mouth to work her folds like the lips of her mouth. Faye twitched as he parted them with his tongue, finding her sinfully moist. He stretched it as far as it would go, straightened it, curled it, flicked it so it hit her clit, laved his tongue over that when he found it.

Faye let loose a strangled yelp as she felt the rising tension implode. Loki had pulled away just before, and he was straddling her again before she had even stopped trembling. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I had to see you. You were taking too damn long to think when you already had your answer."

She reached an arm up to loop around his neck and pull him close. "You should have known, genius."

He ground against her, his hardness brushing past her entrance, and Faye had to choke back a cry. She was practically aching.

"Do you remember when I told you that you would be mine and mine alone?" he said softly in her ear.

"I told you I wasn't a possession," Faye replied.

"Yet you knew what I truly meant," he continued lightly, toying absentmindedly with her breast. "Or at least you should. Your mortal could have made you happy. We both know what I made you feel."

"Wanted," Faye admitted softly. Her lips curled mischievously. "Ecstasy," she added.

He tilted his head so that he could look into her eyes, resting his forehead against hers. "I will always want you. What you wish, you shall have. What you lack, I will provide."

"Do you love me?" Faye whispered. His eyes widened.

"Have I not shown you how I feel?" He murmured.

"Then put the same trust in me that you want from me, ye of little faith," Faye said softly, caressing his cheek. His eyes glistened, and Faye cursed herself. She had never seen him cry before. He had never allowed it. Now she found it all the more endearing. She stretched her body upward to press her lips against his, but he stopped her with his hand.

"Our marriages are usually forever," he warned quietly. Faye kissed the hand blocking her path, moving so that their legs tangled and they were on their sides.

"I can live with that," she responded, "can't you?"

She wriggled her hips, and, taking his cue, Loki moved into her. A few teardrops glistened on his cheeks. Faye kissed them away as they moved together, hands clasped, feet sliding past each other, bodies pressed so close they could neither tell where one began nor where one ended. She could feel Loki's heart beating against her chest.

Long after they had finished and gone quiet, they lay stretched across the table, curled around each other...until the table shuddered and fell, landing them both in the floor.