Ana was sitting by the small stream that was in the shade of the meadow. She let her fingers run through the clear water. It was cool and refreshing. She vaguely wondered if the stream led to a lake of sorts, and if so, if it'd be good enough for swimming. Then again, she might have a hard time of explaining her wet clothes to her mother. She was beginning to become more of a young lady and she was expected to grow out of these childish ways and fantasies. Truth be told, she never wanted to grow up. Sometimes she felt she shared this connection with Loki—not in the way that he didn't want to grow up, but in the way that they both had somewhat a fear of the future and what was to become of them. Both knew what their fate was and there was hardly enough room to deviate from the given path.
Loki was late. They'd started synching their meetings so they'd know when to expect each other. Meeting by chance was becoming harder and harder, and Ana still had yet to see him outside of her meadow. After all, he was a prince. They didn't run in the same circles.
However, Ana had contented herself with some alone time. There was never any use looking for Loki—she'd learned this when she'd gone searching for him before. If Loki did not desire to be found, he wouldn't be, the tricky bastard.
She untied her sandals, careful not to soil her dress, and watched as the water engulfed her feet. It felt nice, and she wondered why she didn't do it more often. Then she thought better of it and pulled her feet out; perhaps she was becoming too much of a sentimentalist.
From the opposite end of the meadow, she heard a noise. She turned around. Loki's entrance was usually silent; he liked to startle her, and though she'd grown accustomed to it, she jumped nearly every time and he earned a swat on the shoulder. This time, however, Loki's entrance was noisy and…clumsy. He stumbled into the edge of the meadow, holding his side a bit, face lowered and hidden by the shadows of the trees.
"Loki?" Ana asked, standing and walking toward him. "Are you…what happened?"
Loki slowly straightened his posture, wincing slightly. He looked at her, regaining his casual air. "Sorry I'm late," he said lowly, voice a little strained. His face was a mess, blood running from both his nose and mouth. His skin was exceptionally pale, even for Loki.
"What happened to you?" Ana went to put a hand on his shoulder, but thought better of it.
Loki shrugged, as usual. "I may've had a run-in with some people," he said vaguely, carefully stepping around her and stumbling a bit. Ana sighed and helped him sit down as he continued. "Some barbarian and his friends thought it'd be fun to use me as a punching bag."
"Wait here," she said. She ran to the stream and looked down at her dress regretfully before tearing a piece of it. She wet the cloth and ran back to Loki, beginning to clean up his face.
He winced. "You really don't have to—," he began.
"If I don't, who will?" she asked bluntly. Loki was silent. She wiped at the dried blood as carefully as she could. "So what really happened?"
"I told you," Loki persisted, voice muffled by the cloth as she wiped at his lips.
"No," Ana said, "I want the real story. Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't deserve this." She suppressed a grin; she knew Loki, and whatever had happened, she was nearly sure he deserved it. Though, in her eyes, that didn't justify the violence.
Loki twisted his mouth a bit. "Well, I may have taken something of his."
"You stole something?"
"I wouldn't say 'stole' so much as 'borrowed'," he rationalized. "And it wasn't his to begin with. It was our sword master's. He conveniently 'borrowed' it to show it off as if it were his own."
Ana shot him a look. "So you stole it from him to get him in trouble. Why didn't you just give it back?"
Loki dodged her look of disapproval. "I didn't have it."
Ana raised her eyebrows. "You lost it?"
Loki chuckled. "I wouldn't say it was 'lost' so much as 'thrown down a well', but yes, that seems to be the gist of it."
Ana shoved his shoulder, but grinned in spite of herself. Loki laughed and held his side, groaning. "I think I bruised a rib or two."
Ana laughed. "I think you deserved it, you idiot." She shoved him lightly again, careful not to hurt him. "Where was Thor in all this?"
Loki's smile faded. "I don't need Thor to fight my battles."
"If he's willing, it may be the smart thing to do," Ana said.
Loki was quiet. "Thor needn't know about this." He looked at Ana for a moment, then away.
"Why are you so adamant about refusing Thor's help? What've you got to prove?" Her tone was soft and imploring. She only wanted to know why he was being so stubborn. Thor could've easily helped him out of a situation like this, yet Loki seemed to think this was the worst possible solution.
Loki was very quiet. He looked out into the forest and whispered one word: "Everything."
Ana didn't quite understand, but before she had the chance to question him, he changed the subject. "Perhaps you can come to visit me sometime," he mused. "I'd love to show you the library. You could even borrow some books if you want."
Ana's eyes lit up. "Really? Could I?"
Loki smiled. "So long as we keep this place a secret." He looked around at the peaceful meadow. Ana nodded in agreement. She had never wanted anyone to find out about this place, but if there was one person she was willing to share it with, it was Loki.
"Deal," she said with a smile.
That night when she returned home, her mother scolded her for the rip in her dress. She apologized and got sent to her room without food, yet again. Ana had long since given up trying to convince her mother of her friendship with the prince. Now, she merely lied about things. She'd said she'd caught her dress on a basket at the marketplace. Ana felt bad about lying. Perhaps Loki was comfortable with his silver tongue, but Ana wasn't. One day, her mother would know the truth, but for now Ana felt her friend was best kept a secret.
