Chapter 25

It was passed noon when Lagertha exited Loki's chambers again. Her lips swollen and deep red, just as Loki had sworn they would be, her hair tossed and her clothes crumpled. One of the maids, Myra was walking up the corridor the same time, the maid could not help but notice her dishevelled appearance, her eyes widening as Lagertha cursed herself for not thinking to ask Loki to use his seidr to at least make her look less like she was mauled by a wild beast. "Myra, could you please get the lunch and leave it on the table outside the quarters half way down the private hall on the right?"

Myra frowned for a moment at being given conflicting orders, as Lagertha had instructed her not to concern herself with meals that very morning, but knowing her place, the maid said nothing and simply nodded as she did what was asked of her.

Lagertha went to her own rooms, she washed herself, shocked at how red her lips were, and they were severely tender, she put on a different dress and tidied her hair also. Her heart felt as though it was flittering in excitement as she thought of how she had passed the morning with Loki since his declaration, she thought of her boldness at kissing him in return, and of their endless kisses after. It set her mind alight.

Lagertha could not contain her smiles and giggles as she went through the hallways to the library. She chastised herself for her childish behaviour, but she found she could not control it. She picked the books Loki requested she get before heading back to his rooms just as Myra arrived with the food.

"Perfect, thank you." She smiled to the maid. "Just leave it there on the table."

The maid watched as Lagertha opened the door to enter herself. "Do you wish for me to bring it in for you?"

"That is not necessary, thank you, though I do need you to take away the morning tray." She turned around to head to the bed chambers but chuckled to herself when she noticed that Loki had used his seidr to magic the broken breakfast delph to the front room, only with all the crockery repaired. "Here you are." She smiled brightly handing the maid the old tray. "Than you again Myra."

Myra looked at her curiously before nodding and heading back down the halls with the tray towards the kitchens.

Lagertha grabbed the full tray and brought it through to Loki's bed chambers, where he was sitting up in the bed waiting, and looking somewhat impatient. "What took you so long?"

"Not all of us are capable of using teleportation to get around the place. Besides, I had to reorganise myself somewhat." She retorted, sticking out her tongue playfully.

"I will not apologise for missing you."

"That's fine, as I would never want you to." She placed the tray of food in front of him. "Eat, the sooner you gain your strength, the sooner you will feel better."

"Very well, but only if you join me." He smiled, waving his hand, which caused a duplicate tray of food to appear beside his own.

"That seems to be a fair request." Lagertha acknowledged, sitting near him on the oversized bed.

"You too require sustenance my darling Gertie." He smiled, gently leaning toward her.

"Do not." She warned. "We may very well end up spending the afternoon as she spent the morning if you start that again."

She grabbed a grape to throw at him but he caught her wrist with his hand and gently lent forward and looked her in the eye as he used her hand to place it in his mouth. Lagertha remained silently staring as he did so. "Would that really be so bad?" He smiled as he recalled their morning together.

"When you have yet to eat anything bar that grape today, yes, very much so." She admonished. "Eat, now."

"Then perhaps more kissing later?" He grinned wolfishly.

"Perhaps." She shrugged in return, though her smile confirmed she wished to do so too.

"You drive a hard bargain." Loki laughed before tucking into the food in front of him.

X

"Do you ever think that you will speak with your father again?" Loki asked curiously. They had spent the afternoon in each others company, reading and conversing on several different topics, as a result, it had passed faster than either of them had expected it to.

Lagertha looked at the book in her hand for a moment, toying with it. "I truly hope so." She admitted. "I get that he is worried for me, but how he spoke, it was as though I was a mindless imbecile not capable of the most basic logical thought or rationale."

"Your mother was taken from you both by a most tragic occurrence. He was probably not too pleased at your willingness to leave too. Perhaps he viewed it as somewhat of a betrayal. Since it had only been you two since her passing, he was more than likely was not prepared for you to go." Loki theorised, feeling horrible guilt for having been the one to separate them initially.

"I understand that, but I was bound to leave home eventually regardless. I was always going to want a life of my own at some point, to have my own family."

Loki swallowed hard. "Perhaps you should write him? Tell him of how you are doing, what has happened, the weather even, anything. Send one of the maids to the village with it then, and see what happens."

"That is not a bad idea." She smiled, rising from the bed and heading to the door.

"Pen and paper?" Loki called with a smile after her.

"That obvious?" She chuckled.

"Little bit. Could you get a little extra? I must do something myself."

Lagertha darted back over and gave him a chaste kiss, as her lips were still quite sore. "You got it." She smiled as she headed out the door of the room. As she closed it and hummed to herself as she made her way to the hallway, she failed to see the concerned look on Loki's face.

They spent the majority of the evening in silence, thinking of what they wished to say in their respective letters. By the time either of them actually put pen to paper, it was long after nightfall.

Loki's writing was slow and methodical, and had Lagertha taken a moment to notice, she would have realised that he spent a large portion of the time staring at her, worrying his lip with his teeth.

Lagertha on the other hand, wrote fast and with great purpose. She needed to get her father to realise that she was of her own mind when she decided to return to the Palace, and of her not regretting her decision. She also wanted to state that Loki was not at all how her father had assumed, and how had suffered excruciating agony willingly to save her life. She stated how Loki was everything she could have wanted from a partner in life, and that she loved him dearly, faults and all. She wrote that she hoped her father could see the conviction of her feelings, and that she missed him dearly, and how she wanted him back in her life.

The next morn, the letters were sealed and dispatched. One to Æðelstan in the village, and the other, only for the attention of the King of the Æsir, Allfather and Protector of the Nine Realms, King Thor.