Christine awoke the next morning to find herself alone in Loki's bed. Sitting up, she winced in pain.
"Ah!" Rubbing her side, Christine glanced over to the end of the bed and saw a note laying there, next to her clothes. She quickly crawled over and snatched it up.
"I'm sorry that I had to leave so soon. But I have business to attend to before the coronation. I will come to get you as soon as I can. ~ Loki"
Christine sighed and looked out of the large entrance that lead to the balcony; it was still partially dark out.
Getting to her feet, she grabbed her clothes, lit a few candles, and walked passed the full length mirror that stood in a corner of the room. But having caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she stopped dead in her tracks and slowly backed up so that she could see her reflection. Christine gasped and dropped her clothes. Large bruises had already began to form all over her pale body. She looked down and saw a line of bruises across her side where she had felt pain when she had sat up, only a few moments ago. Christine delicately arranged her fingers along the line of bruises and saw that they matched the markings almost perfectly. Then upon leaning her leg out to the side, Christine's eyes widened, seeing the damage done to her inner thighs. She walked closer to the mirror and turned her head to the side so that her neck was exposed. Two dark hickies had formed near her jawline.
"Well, damn..." Christine declared. Noticing the scratches on her shoulders as she turned her back to the mirror. Wincing in pain, Christine bent down and retrieved her clothes. "Loki, you perfect bastard." She thought to herself and smiled.
Christine saw that Loki's bathing tub was considerably larger than her own. It was basically a small swimming pool. She placed her clothes on the floor beside the tub, and walked down the steps. Standing in the middle of it, she slowly raised her hands to her side and found that once filled, the water would reach her hips.
"How much water does the man need?" Christine thought to herself, giggling. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a knock on the door.
"I'm here to draw the bath, miss." A snide voice spoke from outside.
Christine rolled her eyes and sighed.
"One moment please..." She walked over to one of Loki's dressers and pulled out a long, black cloak from the top drawer. Pulling it around her body, Christine raised her head and addressed the voice that had spoken.
"Come in..."
Three maids holding buckets of hot water, including Kalitari came through the open door. The skinny brunette walked in with her head held high, carrying a basket of various bath salts and towels.
"Good morning, deary." An elderly made smiled sweetly at Christine.
"Morning Violet." Christine smiled back.
"He left I see? Didn't want to wake up to your hideous face?" Kalitari snickered as she walked over to the tub and began preparing Christine's bath.
"Kalitari!" The maids stiffened, looking around at her in shock.
"I'm only asking her a question!" Kalitari grinned nastily.
Christine balled up her fists and gritted her teeth before composing herself with a deep breath.
"You would be wise to mind your tongue, Kalitari!"
"Hmm..." Kalitari hummed as she began to dump water into the tub from the buckets that the maids had brought in. "Like how you mind yours? I would hope I would be more lady-like than that."
"Yes, indeed!" A blonde hissed. "How dare you speak to an honored guest like that!"
"Honored, my ass..." Kalitari mumbled quietly.
It was taking all of Christine's strength not to kick Kalitari head first into the hot water.
"Kalitari! You're going to be banished if you keep on acting like this!"
"Like I care!" Kalitari suddenly burst out. "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET LOKI'S ATTENTION FOR THE PAST YEAR NOW! THEN THIS LITTLE TART COMES IN AND IN BARELY A MONTH, SHE'S SLEEPING WITH HIM!"
"KALITARI!" The blonde shrieked. "HIEMDALL CAN HEAR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE SAYING! YOU WILL BE BANISHED! SHUT UP!"
"No! Let her talk!" Christine snarled. "She's been holding it in long enough!"
"Oh, well thank you, you're highness!" Kalitari said in a snide voice, curtsying. "I have more looks then you ever will! What in Asgard does he see in you? You're just a scrawny, pale, ugly, little - little...beiskaldi! EVER SINCE you and that whore of a maid of yours came here, nothing has been the same! You and she can both go jump off of the Bifrost!"
Christine raised her eyebrows. She held her tongue when it came to Kalitari's taunts about she and Lucille. As for the name calling, she had been living in Asgard long enough to know what Kalitari had just called her.
"Bitch am I? A whore, is what you think of my maid? At least she and I are not a Mjonefr'ed, miklimunnr'ed, skirja!" From what Christine had learned, she knew that she had just called Kalitari a "stingy, thin nosed, loud mouthed, cow".
Kalitari's eyes widened and she screamed. The next thing that Christine knew, Kalitari had dropped the bath salts and had lunged for her. She knocked Christine to the ground and drew her hand back. Christine ducked her blow and Kalitari's fist landed hard into the cold, stone floor. Christine heard a crack and Kalitari's squeal of pain. Christine seized her chance. Kalitari was clutching her hand and raising her elbow above Christine's face, when Christine drew her own hand back and punched Kalitari right across the side of her jaw.
"WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN HERE?" The guards who had been outside of Loki's room last night were back at their posts.
"Get her out of here!" Christine snarled, kicking Kalitari off of her. Kalitari rolled away, holding onto her jaw and crying. "And never let her come near me ever again!"
The guards nodded hastily and with frightened glances over their shoulders at Christine, they carried Kalitari away. The doors slammed shut with the sounds of Kalitari's whimpering growing fainter and fainter down the hall. Silence followed. Christine, breathing heavily, slowly chanced a look over at the other maids. All of which, were frozen, staring down at Christine in shock.
"Well..." The blonde finally spoke after a moment of continued silence. "That was...umm..."
"AMAZING!" A voice squeaked from the corner of the room by the doors.
Christine and the maids turned their heads to see who had spoken. Lucille stood with her hands in front of her face, as if she were about to clap.
"Oh, Christine!" Lucille ran over to Christine and hugged her. "I'm so sorry! I'm so, so very, very sorry for ignoring you and being so hateful all of this time! I- I don't know what I was thinking! Please, oh please, forgive me!"
"Okay! I forgive you! Just, please, let go of me! I'm naked and you're going to make my robe come off!" Christine pulled the collar of the robe back up over her freckled shoulder and smiled up at Lucille.
Lucille laughed and drew back from Christine.
"I'm so sorry, Christine! I was such a - a well, whatever you called her!" Lucille laughed again and gestured behind her to the door where Kalitari had been led out of.
"Its okay Luce...help me up would you?" Christine raised her hand and Lucille grabbed it, pulling her to her feet.
"Well...your bath is ready." The elderly woman sighed, picking up the buckets and leaving the bath salts in a neat row along the edge of the tub.
"Well, I'll leave you be!" Lucille said brightly.
"Lucille..." Christine said in a low voice, grabbing a hold of the blonde's wrist. The maids all gathered their things and walked out of the bedroom. Christine watched them leave and then said in a louder tone, looking back at Lucille. "I'm still going to be seeing Loki...you know that, correct?"
Lucille gulped and pursed her lips.
"Yes...I know." She said in a dry voice.
"And you won't be having a problem with that, will you." It was not a question. It was an order and Christine knew that Lucille knew it. She nodded. "So whatever issue you had with me seeing him, it stops now, or you just keep it to yourself. Understand?"
"Yes...I understand." Lucille pulled her wrist away from Christine and looked down. "I...its just I...I've heard things about him Christine...and I- I don't want you to get hurt."
"You know full well that I can protect myself Lucille! And besides...Loki would never hurt me!"
"But look at what he's done to you already!" Lucille said in a high voice, indicating the bruises and hickies that peeked out from underneath the collar of the robe that Christine was wearing. She pulled it in tighter around her neck and crossed her arms.
"He didn't do this on purpose you know! We were just-"
"I know what you were doing Christine. I'm worried that he's going to get you pregnant!"
"Is that what this was all about?" Christine said in astonishment, her arms falling limply to her sides. "You were worried that I would have his baby?"
"Well, yes! You don't know what kind of a child you would have Christine! Who knew if you could carry it full term! We don't know for certain if you would survive giving birth to a god's child!"
Christine blinked and looked down.
"I don't know if I can Lucille..."
"I know, that's what I just said!"
"No...I don't think I can...can..." Christine trailed off as a tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly as comprehension fell across Lucille's face.
"Oh...! You mean you can't..."
"I don't think so..." Christine sniffed and continued to stare down at the ground.
"Oh, oh Christine...I'm so sorry! But, how can you be sure?"
Christine laughed sadly.
"Come on Luce...you know what we do! I mean look at me..." Christine shrugged the robe off a little and turned, revealing the scratches down her back that Loki had left.
"Oh, fuck!" Lucille breathed, walking over and lightly running her fingers down the scratches. "He's an animal!"
Christine laughed and tugged the robe back into place around her shoulders, turning to Lucille.
"You have no idea Lucille...my legs feel like jello and everything hurts."
"A bad hurt?" Lucille inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Christine smiled.
"No...its most definitely a good hurt. I've never felt better actually!"
Lucille didn't say anything for a moment and the two girls just stood there in silence. Then Lucille finally spoke.
"So...he really makes you happy?"
Christine thought about everything that had happened to her before coming to Asgard and meeting Loki. She thought about the abuse from her parents and siblings and about how lonely she had always been. She looked into Lucille's eyes and smiled.
"Yes. He really does, Luce. I've never been happier as a matter of fact!"
Lucille bit her lip and sighed. Closing her eyes, she kneaded her brow in between her fingertips.
"Alright then..." She finally said. "if he truly makes you happy..." Lucille glared up at Christine and let out an exasperated noise. "Fine! I won't be a bitch to him anymore!"
Christine laughed and hugged Lucille.
"You've always been there for me Luce...you're the greatest friend I've ever had. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
Lucille patted Christine's back gingerly and pushed her away, grimacing.
"Well, the first thing you can do is get your 'Asgardian fluid' covered self away from me, and take a bath!"
"You hugged me before!" Christine snorted, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah...that was before I knew that you did more than snuggle in the buff together..."
"You're an idiot. Okay, get out and let me get ready!"
"Whatever..." Lucille crinkled her nose and began to walk out.
"SAY HI TO FANDRAL FOR ME!" Christine yelled after her.
Lucille froze.
"How did you-" She said, her mouth held wide.
"Buh-bye now!" Christine laughed, waving Lucille out. Lucille's cheeks flushed as she closed the door behind her.
