A/N: I'm sorry that this took so long to publish. I hope you like the chapter!
3rd POV
"...and the king, fearing for his life, gave up his daughter to the soldier and they were married and lived happily ever after." Cass finished the story and smiled as the boy's mouth dropped.
"That's terrible! After all the bad things the soldier did to get revenge on the king, he still wins in the end?"
"That's right." Cass smirked.
"But that means that the bad guy won!" He sounded highly distressed.
She elbowed him slightly. "The good guy doesn't always win, you know. And not all the good guys get a happy ending."
"But the poor princess..." The boy sounded so regretful.
Laughing, Cass tweaked his nose playfully. "You sound unsatisfied. Shall I change up the ending for you?"
"Could you?"
"Of course." The slave girl closed her eyes, trying to come up with something happy. "At first, the princess was horrified and, despite her marriage, adamantly refused to fall in love with her husband. Said husband grew increasingly worried for her health and went again to the dwarf that had granted his wishes.
"The dwarf gave him a spell for him to use, to soften the princess's heart. Thanking him, the soldier went back to his palace and threw a party.
"As per the spell, the newly crowned king danced the entire time with his queen, who was trying not to enjoy herself.
"But as the evening wore on, she began to realize that her husband was not a completely terribly person. He had acted out of anger, and only wished for justice against the one who had done him wrong. With a start, she realized that it was her own father that was the bad guy in this story.
"And from that point on, she decided to love her husband, despite all of his wrongs. The End." Cass smiled. "Is that the kind of ending you were looking for, my lord?"
"Much better." The boy said in a satisfied voice. Then he frowned. "Just one question."
"Fire away."
"The soldier managed to do all that with a spell? How did the spell work?"
"Oh, that's simple. All he had to do... was treat her with kindness."
"Kindness?"
"Indeed. And..." She slid out of her seat and took the boys hands, leading him out to the dance floor with a sly smile. "...a dance. Would you grace me with your presence for a dance, my lord?"
He smiled back. "Of course." He dropped in a clumsy bow.
He watched her take the hands of the boy she had been telling a story to, and he could hear the smile in her voice if he couldn't see it on her face.
Despite the mask she was wearing, he clearly recognized her if by tone alone. Beatrice. The girl who saved the slave through wits.
The slave. That smiling little blonde girl, with the river blue eyes and fair skin. He wondered if she had delivered his flower.
Beatrice was dancing a waltz with the little boy, having to stoop so that he didn't have to put on stilts. It was an awkward pair, but the young woman was moving with enough grace to make up for the little boy's clumsiness.
Surprisingly, it stirred up a memory, one that the Dark Prince grabbed on to before it could slip away back into the white fog.
"You're late!" Cass pouted, her arms crossed, as Loki ran into the Library, panting, bracing his hands on his knees for support. He gave her a wry grin.
"Give me a break. I was in dance class and my instructor was keeping me after because I was extra sarcastic."
At the word dance, a mixture of emotions appeared on his friend's face. "You take dance classes?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, as a prince..." Here, he straightened and put on his sternest face, matching his voice to the high-pitched one of his teacher. "...I must not turn away any young woman in search of a dance. After all, it might make me seem rude and would reflect badly on my kingdom."
Cass giggled, but she still looked... sad.
A thought occured to him. "Cass, can you dance?"
The slave girl bowed her head and shook it, now just looking dejected. "I... my mother was going to teach me... but she never had the chance..."
Immediately, Loki mentally slapped himself. Cass usually never went into details about her family, or how she became a slave. That was one thing that she was very reserved about.
And then another idea came to him. "Well then. I know what we're doing today." And he grabbed her hand and marched out of the Library, searching for one of the abandoned ballrooms that he knew would be empty.
"Put your hand on my shoulder." He ordered, and placed a hand on her waist and wrapped his fingers around her free hand. "There. Now follow my lead, and don't look down at your feet."
"How is that possible?" Cass asked in a mock-frustrated tone, but he could tell she was excited. They started to turn. "I've always wanted to learn to dance." She admitted. "But I've just never had the chance..."
He spun in her in an untidy circle. "Well, now you have your chance."
"I'm horrid at this."
"Everyone's horrid when they first start. You should have seen me. You're actually doing a pretty good job. Are you sure you haven't danced before?"
"My mother was a dancer." She confessed. "And a singer. That's all I really know. I remember that my father used to play the piano, and she would take my hands in hers and we would dance around the living room... she was so beautiful, I felt like an ugly duckling next to her."
"You're beautiful." He blurted it out without thinking and flushed an uncharacteristic shade of red.
She smiled in thanks, but he noticed that the lightest of blushes colored her pale cheeks as well. "Thanks. You're a good friend, Loki."
"I'm your best friend. Always remember that."
It was strange that Beatrice always brought back the memories he had of Cass. Loki tried to remember more, but his mind did not yield. He sighed.
Would he ever have all his memories of Cass back? Only time would tell.
Back to the situation at hand. Beatrice was still dancing with the boy- in fact, if Loki wa quite honest with himself, he was pretty sure that he was a god- but the song was drawing to a close. Soon, with one more quavering note from the musicians, the melody ended.
Beatrice smiled once more, curtsied, and left the dance floor, heading to the refreshment table, undoubtedly for some sort of drink. Loki silently followed.
Cass exhaled and fanned herself with her hand. Whew. For such a little boy, he sure had a lot of energy. And he was a pretty good dancer for one so young.
She remember when she had been at that age...
Stop it! Again, she mentally kicked herself. You can't afford to get swept up in the past, Cassiopeia Quintonsdottir!
Sighing and with a tiny shake of her head, she headed over to the food table, hoping to get a drink of water (no alcohol for her; despite her being overage, she couldn't afford to addle her wits tonight).
Just as she had received a crystal flute from a passing waiter, she felt a hand at her shoulder. "Hey."
She turned, and with a faint horror, realized that it was Lenora's boyfriend, with his dark hair and dark complexion and dark eyes. For one terrifying second, she thought that he had recognized her, but then he graced upon her a seductive smile and her fears were banished.
No way he would flirt with a slave. She breathed a sigh of relief. My disguise is actually working quite well.
"Hello." He said in a sickly sweet voice that made her want to gag. He bowed, offerring her a hand. "Do you mind dancing with me?"
Her initial thought was No way in Helheim! but she knew that she couldn't refuse in such a way to a powerful noble.
But that didn't mean that she couldn't refuse.
"N-no thank you, my lord." She stammered out, stepping away slightly. "I'm rather tired right now..."
"Come on." He flashed that smile up at her again. "Just one dance?"
Cass's blood roared in her ears. Just a mere two hours ago he was mocking her and kicking over her bucket, with the intention of giving her more work, and now that she was all prettied up and masked, he was directing his attentions to her. Pathetic. And I thought Asgardian nobles could stoop no lower.
"No." She said, more firmly now, stepping backwards.
Now he frowned, realizing that she wasn't just playing hard to get but just rejecting him completely. He took a step forward, and then another, forcing her to retreat even further from him. "Hey, I'm just trying to-"
Cass stepped on the back of her dress, causing her to stumble and cry out, falling backwards. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the hard floor beneath her...
...it never came. Instead, she felt someone catch her, arms encircling around her waist in an attempt to keep her aloft.
Cass opened one eye a crack to see- with even more horror- that it was Prince Loki who was her savior. She was so shocked that she didn't even move, didin't even try to break away from his paralyzing emerald stare.
No. No no no no no no no, this can not be happening. Cass's brain was spinning. How come I keep running into him like this?! Why can't the Fates just leave me alone?! I can never go back!
The moment was shattered when Lenora's lover muscled his way through the crowd, and when he saw the object of his flirtatious attentions in the arm of another- the second prince of Asgard, make no mistake- his frown deepened into a scowl. "Excuse me, my prince-" The title was no more than mockery on his lips. "-but didn't you notice that I was talking to her first?"
"In fact, I did notice that." Loki said evenly, pulling Cass to her feet but not letting go of her. She stayed frozen. "And did you notice that she did not want to talk to you at all?" Here, he smirked. "I wonder what your girlfriend would say if she knew that you were flirting with another- even better, I wonder what she would say if she knew that you were cheating on her with that serving maid that cleans your father's castle."
Lenora's boyfriend engaged in a short stare-off, trying to see if Loki was serious about the threat. He was. So with a short, "Take her.", he left.
Also leaving Cass in an impossible situation.
As soon as that insufferable noble left, Beatrice seemed to find a sudden fascination with her shoes.
Loki let go of her, finally. "Well, thanks the gods he's gone."
"Can gods thank themselves?" She asked, but still didn't meet his gaze.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Good question. I would not know." The next song started, giving him an idea. He bowed. "Fair maiden, would you give me the honor of gracing your humble prince with your presence for the next dance?"
At his pretentious words, she couldn't help it. She laughed openly, turning away slightly from him to smother her giggles.
He seemed suprised. "What amuses you?"
"I... I'm sorry, it's just... such fanfare. Forgive me for saying this, but... in all honesty, propriety bores me."
"And here I was thinking I was the only one." She chanced a glance at him and she could tell that he was smiling behind his mask.
She knew that she shouldn't, but Cass took this brief amount of time to examine Loki, her prince, all grown up into a proper royal now. She justified her actions with Well, when will I ever see him again? Might as well.
He was tall, taller than even Thor now, and his dark hair was still neatly trimmed; unlike his older brother, who let his golden hair grow out long. His form was lean and lithe, reminding her of a cat, and his skin was still as pale as ever. His profile seemed somewhat sharper, but not unpleasantly so.
Now that he was an adult, his godliness was much more prominent, and he seemed a little too perfect, a little too beautiful. She found herself missing the timid child that she had once known, when they had seemed equal.
Now he really seemed like a prince and she... she was only a slave.
But her eyes flicked once more to his, and suddenly her smile grew. His eyes were still the same, the same bright, emerald green, mischeivous and full of devilry.
Well, when will I ever see him again?
Cass placed her hand in his. "I accept your offer of a dance, though." She said in her most airy voice.
"You honor me." With another smirk, he pulled her to the dancefloor. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he put a hand on her waist, and they slowly spun.
"You're quite the dancer." He noted after a few seconds of silence.
She couldn't help but smile again, and she realized that she was actually enjoying herself. Well, when will I ever see him again? "I did learn from the best."
"Oh?" He twirled her around. "And who could that be?"
"A good friend of mine. When we were children, he taught me."
"He taught you well."
Even Cass with her skills had trouble keeping up with his steps. "Not well-enough, it seems."
"Don't sell yourself sho-"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, your highness!"
Suddenly someone bumped into the two, driving them apart, and Cass stumbled backwards. Loki too, looked surprised.
And then the slave felt like her heart had been replaced with a lead weight.
It was Lenora. And of all the times to show up...
"He won't be able to take his eyes off me."
Cass had to admit that Lenora looked simply gorgeous. Her light brown hair had been put into a rosette braid, with precious stones and flowers woven into her locks. Her dark scarlet dress was fitting and flattered every part of her, obviously tailored to fit her form, and the bodice was woven with gilt threads. Her mask might have hidden the top portion of her face, but her amber eyes stood out as striking as gold and her makeup was engineered in a way that she was recognizable and still more attractive.
With a look like that, you could've mistaken her for a goddess.
After shooting Cass a very dirty look, (but it didn't look like she had recognized her) Lenora immediately turned towards Loki, flashing him her perfect smile. "My sincerest apologies, your highness." She all but purred. "I was not looking where I was going..."
Cass swallowed her disappointment. Seems like my time in his presence has come to and end... She did not hope for her prince to be invulnerable. After all, no man had been able to resist Lenora in all her days.
But, to both maidens' surprise, Loki looked completely unfazed. "It's fine." He sidestepped the noble and placed himself back at Cass's side. "Thank you for apologizing." And with that, he merely took the slave's hand in his again and pulled her away.
Cass felt like cheering. Way to go, Loki! He really wasn't that shy prince anymore, to go and rebuff Lenora's- Lenora's- charms so easily.
When the other maiden had showed up, his decision had been simple.
He could have danced with her. She obviously showed interest in him, which was a surprise. Most of the women at dances directed their attentions towards his brother.
But he didn't want to. The noblewoman just seemed so... artificial. So fake. Why would he spend his time in company that constantly reminded him of the terrible, suffocating propriety of royalty when there was Beatrice?
Beatrice. "Propriety bores me." She disliked all of the foofaraw* of nobility, and disregarded it for honest kindness and friendship. She was a breath of warm air, of spring wind, in the desolation of cold winter.
And yes, she reminded him of Cass.
He would never had admited it out loud, but that little similarity put him more at ease than he had ever been before. He just felt comfortable around her, as if they were best friends. Yes, she might not have been the slave girl, but... her personality comforted him anyway.
It was the closest he had to seeing Cass again.
"Where are we going?" Beatrice asked as he started to tug her away from the crowd.
"Away from this damn party." Was his reply.
She was glad when he took her to the royal gardens. She visibly relaxed, and let the familiarity of the place wash over her and transport her to places that she had sworn never to visit.
I played so many times here, with the other slaves, with Loki... A wave of sadness hit her. And I can never return.
Cass was happy that she had been saved from the party. It was way too proper for her, unknown territory; she didn't know how to act like a noble lady. Out here, no one would care if she acted normal or not.
She pretended not to, but she feared that her rouse would be discovered. That someone would notice that she did not belong and point her out to their friends, and no one would know who she was, and she would be found out.
Loki let her catch her breath by sitting down on one of the benches. She panted quietly, and grimaced.
"Something wrong?" He asked her.
She shook her head ruefully. "Have you ever tried running in high heels?"
"Not really, no..." He replied dryly. "But it sounds like a painful endeavor."
"It is." She stood up and smirked. "Any real reason why you removed me from the ballroom?"
He wasn't fazed and instead offered her his arm. "I assumed you were tired of dances and decided to take you to somewhere more peaceful."
She laced her arm through his. Well, when will I ever see him again? "You assume correctly."
They walked, silently, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was the serene silence between two friends that have known each other for so long that they just let the quiet speak for them.
Eventually, he said, "So, Beatrice. From what realm do you hail?"
"Uh-uh!" She placed a finger over her lips. "Isn't information like that supposed to be classified today?"
"Then let's play a game." He gave her a challenging look. "Twenty questions. I have twenty questions to find out who you are."
"Too easy." Cass retorted.
"No direct questions."
"You only get five questions."
"Fifteen."
"Ten."
"Best offer I'll get, right? Fine, ten." He was quiet for a moment, considering what to ask.
They were walking through the garden pathways, arm-in-arm. The moonlight turned the frosted grass to silver, and the flowers drifted gently in the breeze.
"You are an Asgardian, correct?"
Cass nodded. It wasn't a lie. "By birth, yes. Nine questions left."
He rolled his eyes, but forged on. "What is your father like?"
Here, Cass paused. "I..." She had to come up with something. She couldn't say that he was dead. "He's a pianist." She said finally. "He's a kind man."
"Rather vague description."
"Not at all. Most nobles value strength above the arts and dedicate their time to fighting. Most don't take the time to learn to play instruments." She countered.
"True." He conceded, and she could tell that he was smiling behind his mask.
"Eight questions."
"What is your mother like?"
"She's a dancer." She said immediately. "And a singer. Her hair is the same color as mine, and... she's beautiful." Cass smiled and unconsciously echoed words that she said a long time ago. "I felt like an ugly duckling next to her."
Loki went silent, and suddenly Cass kicked herself for letting herself relive her past. He doesn't even remember you, so don't even try.
"Seven questions."
"Right." He said absently, and the slave girl noticed with amusement that he looked a little flushed. "Um... what's your favorite flower?"
"That's an interesting question."
"Humor me."
Cass grinned. "Dahlias. They're gorgeous."
"Mm." With a snap of his fingers, a white dahlia appeared in his hands. He nodded towards her hair. "May I?"
Well, when will I ever see him again? The slave barely nodded, and couldn't help another smile. His magic tricks have improved.
He brushed a few strands of her caramel hair behind her ear as he perched the flower in her hair.
They had reached a gazebo, the wood painted white. Loki pulled her up the steps and bowed.
"May I offer you a dance, my lady?"
"Is that your fifth question?"
He smirked. "Yes."
Well, when will I ever see him again? "Then yes."
They listened to the echo of the music back in the hall, and he placed his hand on her waist and took her hand in his other, synchronizing their heartbeats to the melody inside. And then they slowly revolved on the spot.
"You still have five questions."
"Favorite dance?"
That was easy. He had taught it to her himself. "The Scandinavian Beggar Dance."
"Interesting taste."
"I'm an interesting person."
"Obviously." He twirled her around.
"Four questions."
"Favorite color?"
Loki's questions- which were originally intended to reveal more of her identity- were transforming into more of a getting-to-know-you game.
Looking up, she met his eyes. "Green. Any shade, but the darker ones are prettier in my opinion. Three questions now." She added.
"Which do you like better: Odin or Frigga?"
Cass raised her eyebrows. "I have to choose between your parents?"
"I won't tell them, I swear. I'm merely curious."
"Well..." Cass concentrated on her steps for a little while, contemplating her answer, before replying. "Queen Frigga."
"Why?"
"That's your penultimate question. I like her because she's the kindest woman I've ever known. I- some of my friends say that she even gives food away to the slaves." Here, she smirked. "She's the heart of the kingdom."
She pretended not to notice the sharp look that he gave her. She knew that she was dropping way too many past conversations for it to be considered normal, but at that moment she really didn't care. When will I ever see him again?
He was silent as he continued to dance with her. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's wrong?"
Loki gave a sigh of frustration. "I'm almost out of questions and I can honestly say that I have absolutely no clue to who you are."
"You still have one left."
"Indeed." His eyes traveled down her face, as he was searching for something in it. "Just give me a moment."
Slowly he halted their dancing, but he didn't let go of her. She didn't move to pull away either.
It was electrifying, this one moment, the prince and the slave, staring at each other, both wanting to scream a question at the other but neither of them having the courage to ask.
Is that you? Loki's eyes asked.
Can I go back? Cass's eyes asked.
He took a step closer to her, and she did too. The Dark Prince dipped his head, bringing their faces milimeters apart.
Cass closed her eyes, and felt her hands shaking. Well, when will I ever see him again?
He slowly leaned down, hands moving towards her mask...
A/N: Yeah, I know I'm evil to stop it right there.
They finally meet for the second time! And this time, they're actually talking. :)
But by what time did Cinderella need to get home? And what time is it nearing?
Tell me what you think; please review!
Review, favorite, follow.
