Water

Chapter 3

Loki was lying on his bed with his arms folded under his head just thinking. It had been a month since Nia had come to live at the palace as his betrothed; however it didn't feel as though they were to be wed, they hadn't had any "romantic" moments, only laughs. He had been surprised to find that Nia had quite a sense of humor that he cold easily warp to his own, she was quite easily manipulated when she didn't know it was happening.

He got up and began to dress, he was to pick Nia up in a few minutes; they had fallen into a sort of routine, Loki would pick Nia up from her quarters and they would go down to breakfast together, and then they would go up the library and spend a few hours there. Nia had been focusing on harnessing her magic; so far she hadn't gotten anywhere. Loki was proud of how determined she had become to excel at magic, he was pretty sure that she just needed to be in her element, obviously air wasn't for her.

It was raining, absolutely soaking all of Asgard. Loki was feeling glum that day, the rain had just set him off, but he dutifully walked to Nia's room although all he really wanted was to lie in bed all day. He knocked on the heavy door and awaited her arrival. However when she opened the door he was not greeted by a bright-faced Nia as per usual, but instead a girl who obviously hadn't slept much the prior night.

"Please Loki, can I just go back to bed. I don't want to do anything today." Nia inquired,

"Oh good, we have the same mindset today." Loki invited himself in and laid on her bed with his ankles crossed and his arms again folded under his head. Nia just sighed and joined him.

They lay there idly talking with Loki practicing magic at intervals. Nia was beginning to get frustrated with the fact that she could handle the magic that Loki had seen in her. He had told her that he could see it flare up once in a while when she was practicing; she just couldn't grasp it to manipulate it. Determination flooded her at that moment.

"I'm going to try." She said raising her hands above her.

Loki propped himself up on one elbow so he was lying on his side watching her. He watched her face screw up in concentration, as she struggled to grasp the magic that seemed just beyond her. But he saw a burst of blue rise up in her, as she seemed to finally take hold of it.

Sure enough, her eyes lit up as a ball of water appeared between her hands, she began thinking of what she wanted the water to do, and it obeyed her. Nia had never felt so empowered. She glanced over at Loki and was surprised to see him grinning back at her.

"It's from the rain, you're surrounded in your element now, water is falling all around you." Loki explained.

Loki felt a slight feeling of apprehension as he saw a familiar smirk slide across Nia's face, it diminished as he continued to watch her control the water. Then suddenly the water shot at him, soaking his hair and face.

"Nia!" Loki spluttered. Nia laughed and took off, understanding full well Loki would be getting immediate revenge. She flew out of her room and down the hall, she felt so alive, she could still feel the magic coursing through her.

Loki's nearing footfalls brought her back to reality, she continued running. Finally she slowed, her legs burned. Loki was there in an instant he grabbed her from behind, and Nia emitted a squeal as he lifted her off her feet.

"Are you going to keep running?" Loki whispered.

"Of course not, my Prince," the comment was laced with sarcasm, but there was a smile spread across her face.

"Whatever am I going to do with you Little Princess?" Loki drawled, contemplating her fate.

"Hmm, I'm not sure." Nia wiggled her feet onto the floor and turned to face him, still smiling. However her smile faltered when she saw Loki's facial expression; he was looking at her with a type of hunger she had never seen on a man's face when looking at her, his gaze was narrowed and his green eyes were burning. She suddenly felt as though she had crossed some sort of line. This was it; this was the moment, the moment where he would kiss her. She felt her nerves clam up; Loki was closer to her now, what was that noise?

"Calm down, Nia. You're hyperventilating." Loki leaned away from her with his head slightly tilted up; he crossed his arms and glared at her.

Nia finally calmed down enough to look up at him, "I'm sorry Loki."

He just shook his head, "Your heart still belongs to that warrior. I understand. However, you need to understand that we will be wed, and you will be mine, despite the fact that you may still love another man." Loki came closer to her and looked down at her, "It'll be easier on everyone if you could come to terms with your feelings so there is no more confusion."

Nia had never been looked at with such coldness, Loki had flipped like a switch so suddenly, he had been holding her, about to kiss her, and then because of her reaction he flipped to being cold and shut off. With tears streaming down her face as she walked slowly back up to her chambers and locked herself in.

Loki was sure he had made her cry, of that he was positive. He felt like a bit of a bully, but he quickly pushed those feelings down, she had rejected him.

"Brother, why the sour face?" Thor appeared suddenly (Loki still had no idea how Thor had snuck up on him).

"Nothing you could help me with." Loki sneered.

"Of come now, Loki, I am our brother! Indulge me in my believing that we still get along." Thor all but begged.

Loki rolled his eyes dramatically and caved, "I've upset Nia."

Thor laughed, "Wow, you managed to not upset her for a whole month! This is the first time you've upset her? It's a miracle."

Glaring at his brother Loki continued, "Well she upset me first." He said begrudgingly.

"How did she do that?" Thor asked, now genuinely concerned. He knew that Loki didn't get easily upset.

"She was in love prior to coming here. She will never come close to loving me. I have come in second again." Loki admitted.

Thor's brow furrowed, he hated it when his brother got down on himself, "There was another? But Father made sure all the girls had to have had no current suitor in order to come here."

"Yes well he wasn't officially courting her. They met through a mutual friend and began seeing each other in secret. Her parents would never have approved of her being courted by a warrior of the court." Loki said through clenched teeth.

"Well there's nothing wrong with being a warrior!" Thro exclaimed.

"Brother, he is a mere foot soldier, he hasn't made a name for himself. He is basically nothing." Loki said.

"Well still… Why don't you give the girl some more time, she's only been here a short time, I'm sure she'll warm up to you yet." Thor clasped Loki on the back. "Come have a drink with me and the Warriors Three, you seem to need it."

Loki usually denied Thor's invites, but tonight he felt like indulging.

Nia was sitting on the bench by her window, breathing on it and then drawing in the fog and then using magic to make the droplets of water clear her picture away. She had really messed up, in the past month she had gotten to know Loki and grown to like him; she genuinely enjoyed his company, but she didn't love him. She couldn't help but wonder vaguely what love was, had she actually loved Marcus? She wasn't sure, he would have been her first lover, how would she know any better. She sighed; she wanted to see Marcus, just to get some closure so she could move on with her life. Loki was her future now; she needed to dispel any feelings she had for Marcus.

She began thinking of Loki, he had been kind to her, a few snide remarks, but he had never intentionally hurt her. Freyja then chose to jump up onto her lap.

"I have to fix this, don't I?" she asked the cat, Freyja purred in response. "Oh alright, I shouldn't have done that to Loki today, he has been nothing but kind to me. I think maybe I'll go find Marcus and speak my peace and move on. After I speak with Marcus and tell him I'm happy with my new life then I will be able to move forward." With a spurred determination Nia stood up and fetched her cloak, wrapped it securely around her neck she left her room.

Nia found her way to the stable and asked the young stable boy for a steady horse. A grey mare was lead out for her, she thanked him and mounted the horse and was on her way. She easily found her way to Marcus' home; he lived with four other young men who were also soldiers. She dismounted and knocked on the door.

"How can I help you?" a young dark haired man asked.

"I'm here to see Marcus." Nia said, keeping her hood up.

He eyed her warily and then shut the door; she heard a bellow and footsteps stomping down the stairs. Marcus opened the door; she quickly grabbed him and towed him to an ally. She let her hood fall away.

"Nia." He breathed.

She smiled at his voice; suddenly she noticed things about Marcus she had never seen before, like how he looked nothing like Loki and that bothered her.

"Have you escaped?" He asked excitedly.

"Escaped?" She questioned.

"Yes! From the evil Prince Loki!" Marcus looked angry now.

"Of course not! I was never being held against my will." Nia stated, hands on her hips. "Loki and the rest of the Royal Family have never treated me wrongly."

Marcus looked confused, "So you don't want to run away with me?"

"No!" Nina exclaimed, "I just wanted to let you know that I m happy in my new life and I wish for you to be happy in yours." She finished; she was beginning to get uncomfortable.

"So you're just going to leave me now that a better offer came along?" Marcus demanded.

"Loki wasn't a better offer, my parents didn't know of your courtship so they saw fit to send me there, I was just lucky he chose me I suppose." Nia said slowly backing away.

"And what does your Prince think of you secretly courting a foot soldier?" Marcus sneered.

Nia was getting angry now, "He didn't judge me, I've told him everything and he has never judged me."

"Oh please, Prince Loki is not the forgiving type, he's a cruel person who doesn't deserve you." He scoffed.

"Marcus, you need to stop saying these things. I really don't appreciate you talking about Loki that way, he has taught me a lot and I am far from hating him as you think I should." Nia yelled and turned her back, but before she could leave, Marcus shouted at her.

"You should see your gallant Prince and his brother in the local pub! I just came from there; they were having an amazing time without you. Obviously your Prince isn't as devoted to you as you are to him." Marcus shouted.

Nia got on her mare and trotted away, but she couldn't help the niggling feeling eating away at her, she needed to see if Marcus had been lying or not. She dismounted from her horse as they got to the pub, sure enough Thor was there with the Warriors Three, they were all drinking and each had a maiden at his side, then she saw Loki, he too had a mug in his hand, he too had a maiden at his side. Nia almost brushed it off as a girl hoping too much for a Prince, but then Loki dipped his head and kissed the girl on the mouth.

Anger swept through her, like it never had before. Nia recognized the power she felt, her anger was influencing her magic. The window she was standing in front of shattered. There was just enough time for Nia to catch Loki's eye as she leapt onto the grey mare and took off.