Leyla smiled to Balder as they finished breakfast. "You still have not told me how it went last night!" he boomed and Leyla laughed, shaking her head.
"Well. It went well. He was very kind to me." she finally said as she smiled to her friend. Her mind had been swimming with Loki all night. She could barely sleep. Her emotions were somewhat conflicting. She was happy that he had been kind to her, but she was worried. He had struck her once, what was stopping him from striking her again? She had finally decided that if it happened again, she would be forced to remove herself from his life permanently. And the thought killed her.
"Kind is not a word used for Prince Loki very often." Balder said and Leyla chuckled as she put a few of the foods on a tray to take to Loki.
She turned to Balder and flashed him a smile. "I know. But he is very kind to me." she said as she picked up the tray.

She had spoken to Frigga the night before and she agreed to serve Loki once more, much to the Queen's surprise, but she didn't question Leyla.
"Well, if he strikes you again, make sure you let Prince Thor know. I believe he thinks very highly of you." Balder said and Leyla smiled.
"Please, Balder. If Loki strikes me again, Thor won't have to deal with him." she said with a simple smile. Balder chuckled, shaking his head.

Loki looked up at the ceiling of his cell. He had been awake all night, hoping Leyla would return, but she hadn't. He closed his eyes, turning over to sleep a bit when he heard her footsteps. Light, as though she was walking on clouds. He sat up and watched her walk towards his cell, a smile on her face. He had to bite his cheek to keep from grinning and showing exactly how ecstatic he was to see her.
"Loki." she said as she entered the cell, sitting the tray down. He stood and walked to her, stopping in front of her. She smiled up at him. "Good morning, My Prince." she said softly and Loki let a small smile slip.

"Good morning." he said, lifting a hand to push back a strand of hair that had fallen from her braid. She smiled up at him gently as he rested his hand on her cheek softly. "You returned." he said gently and she nodded.
"I promised I would. So here I am." she whispered. "I wanted to see you... I don't know how to explain it." she said softly, looking him over for a second before grinning. "Have you missed me?" she asked.
He nodded slightly. "I told you I have." he mumbled, running his thumb along her cheekbone. She leaned against his hand.

She looking him over for a moment. "I have to warn you, Loki." she started softly, taking his hand from her cheek and placing it it both of her hands. "If you strike me again, I will leave and I will not return. You will not get another chance. I will not return. Ever." she looked into his eyes, letting him know that she was not lying.
He shook his head. "I will not strike you again, Leyla. Never." and he wouldn't. He couldn't let her slip again. He didn't want to hurt her. He wanted to see her happy, giving him her usual grin. He wanted to be the one to make her smile, not make her hurt.

She smiled again. "Alright." she whispered. She looked to the stack of books on the floor. "Would you like for me to gather you new books?" she asked and he quickly shook his head.
"No. I want you to remain here, with me for now." he said and Leyla nodded, sitting in a chair.
Leyla watched him as he sat in front of her. She was fiddling with her fingers quietly, looking at her feet. "Loki." she glanced up at him. He looked at her, a small smile on his lips. "Why..." she paused, obviously struggling with words. "Why do you... Why did you care so much when I did not return?" she asked softly and Loki tensed. He had asked himself that question many times, and he wasn't sure that he liked the true answer.

"As I have said. You have been the only thing that has kept me sane." he whispered. She nodded a little and smiled, reaching over to grip his hand.
Her lips pursed for a second before her smile returned. "Why are you so tender towards me?" she asked and he felt his muscles tense again.
"I... I am not sure." he looked at her. "Why are you so kind to me?" he returned and she smiled warmly.
Her hand tightened around his own. "I... I have certain emotions towards you that I have never felt before. I am not sure how exactly to explain them... I am... Happy when I am around you. I do not know why... I do not know how, but while serving you, you became my friend. And you became even more to me.. And I am not sure why." She whispered, looking at him.

He looked her face over and smiled slightly, taking her hand and pulling her towards him, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face into her hair. "I understand what you are saying." he mumbled, holding her tightly against him. He felt her smile against his neck.

Leyla sighed softly as she walked down the hallway towards the library, slowing as she saw Thor walking down the hallway, a young woman at his side. "Thor?" Leyla called, walking towards him. He smiled, opening his arms and wrapping them around Leyla, making her smile warmly. "Who is this?" she asked, looking towards the woman. She looked so different. And then it hit her. "You must be Jane!" she said happily, taking her hands and smiling warmly. "It is so wonderful to finally meet you! I am Leyla." she said kindly, grinning at her.
Jane smiled at her before looking to Thor, obviously confused. "Leyla was one of my mother's servants. She now serves Loki in his cell." Thor explained.
Leyla nodded with a smile. "Thor speaks very highly of you." she said gently.

"Well, his father seems to disagree." she said and Leyla almost giggled.
She bowed her head to them. "Excuse me, I need to get to the library." she grinned at them before heading to the library, turning to look at them for a moment.

She was reaching for a book when she felt the floor beneath her feet shaking. She frowned, looking down for a moment and then she heard an explosion. What was going on? She walked out of the library slowly, leaving the books in the library and then she saw them. Creatures that she had never seen before, only heard whispers of, storming the hallways. Her heart stopped as she saw a few of the servants running for their lives and she opened the door a crack, watching as they ran in before she quietly closed. it.

Leyla took a deep breath before looking to the others, pressing her finger to her lips. "Hide." she whispered. For once, she was happy for her short stature. She crawled into a small cabinet and closed it, taking a few deep breaths. She could tell something was wrong. The others were so shaken. The castle didn't shake easily, and the explosions. Something was not right. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that they didn't touch the dungeons.

This was a horrible chapter, forgive me. The next one will be better, I promise!