Update 1/3/14: I promise I am going to add more as soon as I can! I've been a little busy with another fic and a novel (not to mention real life), but this one will get done too.
Yay, finally got another chapter up! (I wrote this in about day) This one is...unexpected. If you like it, let me know, that way I'll keep going with it! Like always, I appreciate your reviews, follows and favorites! Even if you don't like it, I'd love a review telling me how to improve :) Enjoy!
"I do hope your husband recovers, sleeping sickness is such a terrible affliction," Kenna smiled warmly as she patted the duchess's hand. Now please, please leave me alone for a minute. At first Kenna had genuinely felt sorry for the woman; but then she wouldn't stop talking about it, and that was the final straw for a night full of annoyances. No ball on Vanaheim was this long, or consisted of so much standing around rather than actual dancing. She felt like she was going to burst if she spent another minute sympathizing with strangers about their relatives.
The noblewoman smiled her thanks and turned away, leaving Kenna with a rare moment of not being involved in anyone's conversation. Her gaze flickered around – no one was paying any attention to her at the moment – and she decided to take a break. It would be brief, so as not to offend anyone, but she could easily brush it off as feeling hot and stepping out to get some fresh air, which wouldn't even be a lie.
Stepping quickly, she slipped out of a side door onto a balcony covered in ivy and fragrant night flowers that she thought was empty, until she stepped out a little further and realized that she wasn't alone. Curled up on the marble bench was Loki, clearly deeply enthralled by the book in his hands. He looked up sharply, and she could all but see the scorn on his lips – until he realized it was her, and he broke into a chuckle.
It took her all of two seconds to realize why he was so amused, and it was but a second after that that the warm rush of blood colored her cheeks. "This is not – I was not – oh, stop laughing at me!" she finally grinned.
"I am sorry, my princess," he said, trying to control his mirth, though it still danced in his bright green eyes. "It is just that this situation reminds me terribly of one I experienced earlier today, only now the roles have switched."
She gave a large sigh as she looked at him. "You know I feel awful about that; what I said to you was inexcusable, and I apologize. I think I may have misjudged you." He wasn't at all creepy like she'd thought he was; he was actually one of the sweetest people she'd ever met. True, he had said some fairly awful things to her, but she'd been rotten as well; people were always more cruel when someone else was being cruel with them.
He raised an eyebrow. "I do hope that is the case. Your first impression of me did not seem overly pleasant."
She laughed softly as she sat down next to him, murmuring a spell to keep her dress clean on the stone; she didn't want to ruin her gown, or give her maids heart attacks trying to get a stain out of the silk. "It was not, but like I said, I believe I was wrong." Kenna glanced curiously over at his book. "What were you reading, my prince?" Mmm, how lovely it felt to call him her prince.
"A book on the Asgardian form," he responded, flipping through to the spot he'd stopped at: a detailed description, complete with diagrams, of the design and function of an Asgardian's skeletal structure. "I had hoped to learn healing, but it seems I must know the body first."
A small smile formed on her lips. "You cannot hope to heal the body if you do not know how it works, but that is only part of it. You have to feel the energy, too." She placed a hand on his shoulder, where she sensed a dull, throbbing pain. "A sparring injury?"
Loki nodded, looking amazed. "But that is from a week ago!"
"It still hurts though, right?"
He seemed reluctant to admit it, but he nodded again. "It is not so bad; I am a prince of Asgard, I can take a little pain."
Men. Even he, it seemed, was not immune to that masculine need to deny ever feeling any pain. Kenna murmured a healing spell, smiling as she felt his body's natural energy return. "How is that?"
"Better," he smiled. "You truly are remarkable; it is always necessary to tell the healers here where the injury is, and it takes them twice as long to actual heal it."
"It must be different on Vanaheim," she said, brushing it off; she didn't like putting all of the attention on herself. Changing the subject, she asked him teasingly, "Why are you out here on your own? I know myself how great of company books can make, but you'll make the people morose for lack of your presence."
He snorted dismissively, but his face darkened in a way that revealed his inner resentment. "An unlikely tale. As long as my dear brother is out there, those fools will not notice my absence."
Kenna moved her hand down so it was resting on his, and gave it a small squeeze. "Loki, you know that's not true," she said seriously. Thor seemed a bit more popular than his brother, that she had noticed, but in general they seemed to be treated about equally. Then again, she hadn't been here very long at all, and no one was going to slight a prince in public.
"It is," he said bitterly, and she felt his hand tighten under hers. "You may not see it now, but you will as you stay here longer. There's a reason everyone thinks it is a given you are going to marry Thor."
She looked him square in the eyes, every word coming from her lips loaded with firmness and emotion. "I think you are a hundred times the man your brother is, and anyone who disagrees can face my anger." Loki was a better man than Thor, at least to her; to one who valued rashness and cockiness, Thor would win without question, but Kenna thought kindness, intelligence, and thoughtfulness, all of which Loki had shown himself to possess, were far more important.
Trepidation flickered in his eyes, and for a moment she was confused, but that moment didn't last. In a movement that somehow seemed both excruciatingly slow and faster than a flash of lightning, Loki leaned in towards her face, and she found herself leaning back, then joining her lips to his.
It started slow and gentle as they melded together with eyes closed, both of them unsure, but she felt the fire grow in him as surely as it grew in her, and their simple kiss changed into something far more intimate. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, entwining her fingers in his dark hair. He pulled her closer, placing his hands on her hips. Kenna had never before felt so wild, so alive – so complete. Here was someone whose very body moved with hers and whose body made hers sing and crackle. Whether it was lust or love she could not say, but whatever it was, it was perfection.
"I've never wanted anything so badly," she whispered longingly.
"Then take it," he said in an almost growl, kissing her jaw.
Kenna sighed as she touched his face. "I can't. I have duty, and I've already gone too far…I wish I could. You have no idea how much I want to."
Loki kissed her cheek with a soft passion. "You can, though. Choose me now. Walk back in there with me and tell them you've decided." Another kiss. "They will not say no to you."
She laughed uncomfortably, shifting a little away from him. "Loki, I…it has been but a day. Less than that even, I can't…"
"You did not love that? You did not feel yourself blossom at my touch?"
"No, I did, but…I barely know you, I haven't even properly gotten to know your brother…this is for life, Loki…" she murmured, her eyes open and letting all of her confusion show.
He stopped kissing her then, his face suddenly hard. "You do not want to commit to the second son until you have thoroughly surveyed the future king. I see."
"I am choosing my husband, I just want to get to know you first, get to know you both. I love you best now, I won't deny it, but I have to be sure. I have to be sure."
"You have to be sure?" he mocked scathingly. "You were pretty sure a few moments ago. I truly believed you were different, Kenna, but it seems to me you are like every other whore in this palace: perfectly content to love a man in the shadows, but afraid to be seen with him in the light."
That was when she felt herself snap. She rose abruptly, blinking back tears of frustration and anger. "Why do you have to be so cruel? I am trying, Loki, I am trying as hard as I can; is that not clear to you? Is that not good enough for you? No. Do not speak to me." Blue dress swirling, she turned and went back into the ballroom, both her head and heart more of a mess than they'd ever been before.
Why couldn't he stay sweet and tender? She was so sure of her feelings for him when he was like that. But as soon as that biting harshness came out and his walls went up, she didn't even know who she was dealing with. She couldn't deal with his confusion when she was so confused herself.
"Princess Kenna! Is something wrong?" Thor asked as he approached her, a look of concern knitting his golden brows together.
She pulled together a smile, and shook her head. "I am fine, but thank you."
Apparently she wasn't as convincing as she would've liked, for he stepped closer, placing his large, warm hand on her shoulder and saying, "If someone has wronged you, they will pay for it dearly."
A wry smile tugged on her lips, and she shook her head again, looking towards the ground. It seemed Thor did have some warmth to him after all. "It is fine. I am merely…tired, that is all; today has been a long day."
"Then let me escort you to your rooms," he offered gallantly. "I will apologize for your absence and inform everyone that you needed rest. Come, Kenna, you do need rest; I would not want you to fall ill."
"I suppose that would be fine," she said, her eyes flickering up to his. Things couldn't just be simple, could they. They slipped out of the ballroom and went back to her rooms.
Before leaving her, Thor kissed the back of her hand like a perfect gentleman. "Rest well, princess. I hope to see you on the morrow."
"And I you," she whispered to his back. Rubbing her temples – her mind was even more muddled now – Kenna collapsed on her bed and promptly fell asleep.
