Chapter 10

Aliah hopped out of bed away from Loki's grasp.

"Come on you." She said with a smile, "Grab what you need and say your goodbyes, then meet me at the stables in an hour."

With a wave of her hand she was fresh and clean and clothed in a dark blue riding entari and pants, her hair tied back for the journey.

"Don't be late handsome." She called, and headed to the door of his room and was gone.

Loki flopped back onto his pillows, a look of dazed amazement on his face.

'Oh my gods, finally something good! Thank you!' He thought.

He moved to get up out of bed and instantly felt like he had been trampled by an army. He fought to get up and walk to the shower, despite his legs feeling as if they were now made of jelly for some reason.

'That woman is going to kill me,' he thought. He shook his head and chuckled, unable to wipe the grin off his face as he walked to the shower feeling weak and extremely relaxed all at once.

Loki packed his things as quickly as he could, grabbing only his most prized books and his best outfits. As soon as he finished, he walked to his mother's chambers.

"Mother!" He called to her as she sat on her balcony.

"I'm off this morning, Aliah and I" he said.

"Ah my son," she called. "I know my dear, do you have everything?"

"Yes I think so…mother I…" he stammered.

Frigga grabbed him and hugged her youngest son close to her.

"I know dear," she called, "I'll see you soon. I know you'll do just fine. Do your best my son and learn all you can from her. I know she will be good to you."

"Yes mother," Loki answered. He hugged her back tightly. He hated to leave her but he was ready and more than a bit excited to be going with Aliah.

"I'll be home soon mother," he added. "I promise."

"My son," Frigga said. "I'm sure you'll make us proud."

The thought of his father made him grit his teeth, and he resolved himself to truly try.

"I'll try, maybe if father…" and he stopped. He smiled at his mother and nodded to her. He hugged her one last time and laid his forehead against hers, and then turned and left.

Despite her words to Loki, Aliah had been waiting at the stables for two hours now. The three horses were waiting there, already saddled and supplies strapped to the back of the great black one.

She was about to send Ulfr in after him to drag him out when she finally saw him walking towards her, a large duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

He walked up to her casually, a deep smile on his face and she noticed he had a slight limp he was hiding pretty well.

Aliah smirked to Ulfr from the corner of her eye, and he snorted back slightly.

"Well," she said to him as he finally met the two of them. "You finally ready I hope?" she asked.

"Ah yes," he answered. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?"

"No," she lied, "course not; you're only an hour late." She said slyly.

"Ah yes my apologies, I was caught rather off guard this morning." He answered.

Aliah smirked at his boldness and searched his face as he grinned at her. She heard absolutely nothing from his mind, his inner dialogue finally silenced for a time at least. She shook her head at him but couldn't help smiling at him.

"Loki, this is Ulfr, my guard when I travel. Ulfr, Loki, my pupil." She said nodding to Ulfr.

"Ah well met master Ulfr." Loki said nodding slightly.

"My lord." Ulfr said, and finished preparing the horses.

Aliah nodded an approving nod at Loki's courtesy towards her guard.

"Are we finally ready now then?" she asked.

"Of course," Loki answered, looking around for his horse.

"Ah…where's my horse?" he asked.

Aliah nodded to the great black mare with the supplies already on it.

"This one here, put your stuff on and let's go. It's a long ride." She answered.

Loki started to say something but aliah just looked at him and squinted her eyes. He decided to shut up quickly, and besides, the horse did look very strong and quite regal with its long, well-kept mane so he decided to just throw his bag onto its back and he hopped up on it.

They all mounted their horses and slowly walked out of the stables.

Loki looked back as he set off and saw his mother, waving goodbye to him, a smile on her face. He looked around to try and see his father but Odin was nowhere.

'Typical.' He thought. He waved to his mother even though they had said their goodbyes. He was thankful Thor had not been there.

'The big oafs probably sleeping off another hangover anyway." He thought scoffing to himself.

And with that, he turned around and followed the two of them away from the palace, towards his future.

It was around noon the next day when they finally crested the last ridge overlooking her lands. In the distance, the gleaming white stone and marble castle came into view.

"Ah, finally, it will be so good to get home." Aliah said.

She had decided to ride easy, Loki was a good rider but she saw the telltale signs of tiredness in his thighs. Since she had thought they would be gone longer, they camped for the night and continued on early the next day.

Now they stood staring at the valley that was Annwyn.

"It's beautiful." Loki said to her. "The castle seems so small from here."

"I'm sure it would to you, "she said and winked at him.

Loki just smiled and they set off again.

As they made their way through the town surrounding the castle the people came out of the shops and homes to greet them. Various people called to her as they rode.

"Welcome back my lady!" they heard from the people, some with their heads sticking out the windows and shops. A few were holding their young children up for them to see as they went past.

Aliah nodded to every one of them and smiled as they trotted past.

"The people seem to love you." Loki said as he rode beside her. "You must be a good ruler indeed to have the love of your people so." He said as he smiled.

"I do try." Aliah answered. "It is hard sometimes, but I make sure they are as happy as can be. Of course sometimes that means I have to hand out the hard justice." She said to him with a slight frown.

Loki looked at her with a puzzled look.

"Don't worry," aliah added. "You'll learn that soon enough as well."

She soothed his look with a great smile and a wink adding, "My people are happy here, and I'm sure you will be as well."

Loki smiled at her and turned to watch the people as they walked past, smiling at them as they went.

As they walked towards the edge of town leading to her castle, children ran past them and threw flowers onto them, Aliah laughed and waved to them. Loki felt a sense of true happiness in his heart as he watched Aliah as she laughed, the wind blowing through her hair.

They past a small hut away from the town, and they heard a noise from the side of the little thatched house. A small child sat there crying in the dirt.

Aliah stopped her horse and got down, walking over to the little child and picked her up, holding her close despite her filthy gown and bare feet.

Loki watched her quietly, a small frown on his face feeling sorry for the child. He was intrigued to see what she would do.

She let a deep frown grow onto her face as she patted the girl and whispered shushing sounds to her. She walked over to the door of the hut and banged on it with her hand.

"Who lives here?' she called loudly. " I demand you come out and answer for this!" slowly the door opened and a small skinny man and a rather large woman stood on the doorway.

"Is this your child?" aliah asked in an angry tone.

"Oh my lady!" the woman answered. "Ah yes, I'm so sorry!" as she reached for her.

Aliah held the child away before answering her with a, "why is this poor child out here dirty and crying?" "What are you doing in there to ignore this little one this way?"

The lady looked towards the ground and turned beet red.

"ANSWER ME!" Aliah demanded.

"Ah my lady, I have four other mouths to feed and I was trying to prepare some food for us all, it being afternoon break and all, she must have crawled out, I swear to you, I would never overlook my child my lady!" and bowed herself over in a deep bow before her.

Aliah held the child as she waved them aside and looked into the hut. It was dark inside, a small window was the only light inside she could see from. The floors were packed dirt and the thatching was coming out in patches here and there. Inside four children sat around a simple table before bowls and wooden spoons in their hands.

Aliah looked back at the woman who bowed towards her.

She looked over to the man, skinny from hard work and a face covered in dirt.

"What do you do for a living?" Aliah asked him

"Me lady," he answered as he bowed. "I be the poor dungman round ers. I collect it from the animals around ere and make eh best fertilizer. I sell it to the others ere for der gardens and such." He looked ashamed suddenly and tried to hide his face.

"Is your business not good?" she asked. "Surely there is no one else who sells your ware?"

"Naw is not me lady," he answered, "I have not ene tools…I canna even grow much food, we ave nothing to plow a patch... it doesn't fetch much and ah….dey only buy it in dah early spring anyway."

Aliah handed the child over to her mother, who gratefully took her back and bobbed her on her hip.

"Mind her better." Aliah said simply.

"My lady, yes of course, thank you." She answered.

Aliah mounted her horse and looked at the house, from her side, Loki studied her carefully.

Aliah carefully raised her three fingers, not drawing attention to them as much as possible, but Loki saw her fingers raise slightly and knew what she was preparing to do.

Instantly, the thatched roof was repaired and new, a fresh coat of plaster appearing on the outside. A window appeared on the other side of the house; letting in much needed light, and the floor inside became paved with fresh clean stone. Two large barrels appeared before them, filled with food and provisions that would last them no doubt, a few months.

Aliah nodded to the couple and spurred her horse onward.

Silently, Loki smiled deeply and averted his eyes, a look of proud satisfaction on his face to be in the company of a caring woman.

The couple gasped in surprise and fell to their knees as they rode off. From behind them, they heard the couple thanking her and crying at once. 'My lady, thank you! Bless our lady Aliah, bless her!" they called.

"Ulfr," Aliah called. He waited for her to catch up to him and answered her with a "my lady?" when she did.

"When we return, make sure they get a plow and a horse as well as other tools to have a decent garden." She said.

"As you wish." He answered.

Aliah kicked up her horse and hurried towards the castle now, spurring the others with her as well.

"Almost home boys," She called. "I'm ready for a bath and a meal aren't you?"

They both nodded and smiled wide, following after her quickly.

Riding up to the castle they came round the courtyard and stopped at the stable blocks. A page boy came out and steadied the horse as she dismounted.

"My lady!" he said. "Welcome back!"

"Ah yes, it's good to be back." She answered as they all eased off their horses.

"Ulfr," she called. "Please have the supplies I ordered delivered to my rooms."

"Of course," Ulfr answered. Aliah slapped him on his great arm and gave him a deep smile. "Thank you my friend." She said to him.

"And you Loki," she said as she turned to him. "Let's get you settled into a nice room shall we?"

"Ah yes please." He answered with a smile, his thighs screaming at him.

Aliah opened a door and held her arm out for Loki, beckoning him to enter.

"Your room my lord." She said to him with a grin.

Loki walked in and slung his bag onto the floor. The room was of course not as big as in the palace, but the white stone was beautiful, bright and clean. A balcony was across the way from the entrance that overlooked the beautiful valley below. A welcoming fireplace was at one end with large comfortable looking leather chairs set before it. A little ornate wood desk and chair sat just to the side of the fireplace in front of a small bookcase.

On the other end, a large 4 poster bed sat beside a large window, an elegant little pull cord with a tassel just within reach hanging beside it. Elegant end tables framed the bed and he smiled to see it was draped in green and gold colors. At the end of the bed a large mirror was setting on the floor beside a large wardrobe of dark carved wood. Elegant green and black carpets were laid across the stone floor making the place very comfortable and inviting.

An archway of marble pillars led into a bath with a large stone tub lie waiting as well as a walk in shower of stones with living ferns and flowers growing out of pockets all around the inside. A great stained glass window of multiple colors reflected beautiful light into the bath. A marble wash stand stood in one corner with an ornate copper mirror before the basin.

Loki smiled wide as he looked around.

"This will be very fine. Thank you Aliah." He called.

"Ah good, I thought you would like the colors." She said. "And now, I'll let you relax and rest. Dinner is at six, you are free to roam the castle at your leisure." She said.

She turned to walk away but Loki caught her before she walked off.

"Aliah," he said reaching for her arm gently.

Aliah turned and looked into his eyes.

"Thank you." He said sincerely. "For ah…everything. I'm looking forward to our time together." he said, a slight blush coming to his face.

Aliah smirked and took his hand from her arm and held his hand up to her lips, gently she kissed his hand and smiled a grin at him. "See you at dinner." She said simply, and walked away down the hall, her robes swishing at her manly steps.

Loki closed the door and sighed deeply. He flopped onto the great bed and sank into the soft mattress, immediately falling into a restful nap, exhausted from the trip.

Aliah walked into her room a few floors above Loki's and threw off her clothes. She walked to her bath and flipped a handle, filling the great stone tub with hot water.

As it filled, she walked over to her entryway again, looking at the large parcel left by a porter from Ulfr. She opened the wrappings and looked through the items she requested. Various potion ingredients were inside ranging from different plants and animals as well as some small boxes of minerals and other elements.

She pulled out another small parcel and unwrapped it, quills and paper stared back at her as well as various books on many topics. She searched through the other items and noted them, not pulling them out. Deciding her entire list had been filled she nodded in contentment and walked back to the bath.

Dinner was in a minor chamber set aside for meals that usually only included she and a few others. Tonight, as would be most nights, it included only her and Loki, as well as the captain of the guard, her closest adviser, her chamberlain as well as her constable.

As Aliah walked into dinner everyone rose to greet her, sadly she noticed Loki was not among them. She sat down at the head of her table and frowned at his empty chair. Aliah called her butler over and informed him to go wake up Loki, who was undoubtedly asleep.

She turned back to her table and smirked at them all. "The journey must have taken it out of the poor dear." She said to them.

They all smiled and nodded to her and they happily started their meal.

Loki walked in a short time later looking extremely ashamed as her adviser was talking to her about various topics.

"Ah Loki," she called, a smirk on her face as she did so, "so nice of you to join us."

Loki bowed slightly before her as he took his seat next to her. "Forgive me my lady," he said, "I was more tired from the ride than I was aware, it won't happen again." He said.

"I'm sure it will my dear." She teased.

"Everyone, this is my pupil Loki, he now holds the title of master of the bedchamber…( at this Loki turned a light shade of plaid but stared intently at his food finding it incredibly interesting just then.) …and will be with us for some time." She then introduced each one present in turn, giving their names and titles.

She had seen his embarrassment at the title he now held and reminded herself to inform him later of the true nature of the name and duties that went with it, it was all perfectly normal and found his embarrassment abnormally endearing for some reason.

Loki just smiled and nodded to them all and started into his food, now realizing he was ravenous.

"Do continue Bjorn," she called.

"Ah yes, my lady, as I was saying, the monthly people's court will be held in 3 days. I have a docket of the grievances already drawn up and will be presenting it to you tomorrow." He said.

"Very good Bjorn, anything in particular I should be aware of? Or is it the usual grievances?" she asked.

"There is one, my lady," he said carefully. "You should be aware of…"

"Hmmm, I see, I will of course make sure to examine it tomorrow, I am much too tired after the week I have had. Thank you Bjorn." She said.

After dinner was finished Aliah walked Loki back to his room.

"I'm sure you're very tired." She said to him. She was extremely tired herself and was looking forward to her own bed again after being away.

"I will let you get some much needed rest. I have some business to attend to tomorrow so I will see you at dinner if nothing else." She said.

Loki nodded to her, his eyes drooping as he felt the bed calling him again, but even so, He looked into her eyes with a slightly sad face.

"Ah now what's that face for? She asked him. "You are more than welcome to come and find me any time you please. Understand?" she asked.

Loki smiled and felt much better, he had been worried he was to be nothing more than a caged bird but the freedom she afforded him of movement and access to her, which he deeply wanted more of, set his mind at ease.

"Thank you…I was worried you wouldn't see much of me." He said timidly.

"Oh, of course not, don't feel that way," she said. "Come and see me tomorrow whenever you please, I'm sure I'll be in either my offices or at my chair." She answered.

And with that, she reached out and cupped his cheek in her hand, he loved when she did this, her touch always sending a surge of electricity through him ending straight in his groin.

She reached up and kissed him deeply, snaking her hand around his head and slipping her fingers through his hair.

Loki woke up at her touch and hugged her close to him, deepening his kiss and begging for entry into her mouth with his tongue.

Aliah pushed against him and backed him up against his door, sucking his tongue into her mouth and raking her teeth against it gently. She wrestled with his tongue for a while and finally pulled away gently, finishing the kiss by gently sucking his bottom lip into her mouth. She looked up at him as she finished and gave him a sleepy wicked smile.

"Now now," she called to him quietly. "We're both too tired for that tonight handsome. I'll see you tomorrow, sleep well." She said as he nodded and smiled back finally.

She turned and wearily walked to the stairs heading for her room. He watched her slowly walk away, he was tired and couldn't wait to lie down, but he also wanted desperately to crawl in bed with her and let her ravage him again. His exhaustion won out and he decided to simply go inside and crawl into bed.

That night Loki dreamed of riding horses across landscapes populated with large trays of food and odd towns he had never seen before. Everyone cheered at him as he rode by suddenly sharing a saddle with Aliah while chamberlains and advisers shouted cheers. Suddenly they were calling him master of the lady's bedchamber and he wasn't sure how he felt about that as passing cows and deer looked at him.