Chapter 34
I trudged sleepily back into the palace and through the hallways. I decided not to go back to Thor and instead go to Lokis chamber. I crept along the corridor, trying to muffle the echo of my footsteps. After what seemed like an age, I arrived at Lokis bedroom door, I slipped inside and locked the door behind me. I went to the closet and found a low cut, slim, dark red velvet dress and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. I turned on the water and stepped into the shower. I winced at the touch of the hot water on my skin, and let myself adjust to the temperature. I sighed sadly and massaged some shampoo into my hair. I thought about Loki and the condition that he was in and how long he'd been like that and was there any chance of recovery and... I shook my head clear of the thoughts and started to sing to try and cheer myself up. Needless to say, it worked, and pretty soon I was singing at the top of my lungs. All thoughts of Loki and everything else temporarily absent from my mind. I stepped out of the shower, feeling a little more lighthearted than this morning. I slipped on my dress and grabbed a pair of black flats. Unlocking the door, I walked in the direction of the dining room, enjoying the echo of my footsteps off the walls, to see if anyone was in. I hummed as I walked and as I rounded a corner I nearly ran into Owen. Neither of us was really focusing on what was happening and we both started to apologise, then we both looked up at each other and smiled. I grinned and we hugged, then I said,
"Oh! Sorry Owen! I haven't seen you in a while, how've you been?" He smiled back politely,
"Yeah, sorry. I've been well. And you?" I shrugged, sighed and said quietly,
"As well as I can be I suppose." He smiled sadly at me and nodded understandingly,
"I know what you mean." I shrugged and looked up at him,
"Hey, would you like to join me for breakfast?" He smiled and bowed slightly,
"I would be honoured, my lady." I laughed and gave him a light shove,
"Oh stop, it's just Jenny and the honour is all mine, Mr. Royal Guardsman Sir." We both laughed and started walking towards the dining room again. I then realised that Owen was probably doing something, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important, was I?" He thought for a bit, then shook his head,
"No, not really. I was just making my normal rounds. There should be another guy to cover me." Here he paused and looked down at me and smiled, "I'll just say I was invited to dine with a lady of Asgard." I giggled, and curtsied as he opened the door to the main dining room. We walked in together and sat at the end of one of the long tables, "So, got any cravings?" Owen asked. I thought for a moment and finally said,
"Yeah actually, I've had a really bad craving for waffles for a long time." He grinned and beckoned over one of the waiters that was standing around the edges of the room,
"Two stacks of waffles with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, powdered sugar and syrup on the side for the lady and I. Thank you." The waiter bowed and turned away, as soon as he did I let out a giggle. Owen looked up at me with a questioning glance,
"Well just look at you, all important and stuff." We both laughed and I rolled my eyes, "And how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a lady. I'm really just a nobody here." Owen gave me a scolding look as if taken aback,
"A nobody you say? You seem to be in an intimate relationship with one of the princes of Asgard. To me, that makes you a lady." I blushed and shrugged,
"Think of me as you wish, but I still prefer you to call me Jenny. 'My lady' sounds much too formal for me." I smiled up at him, and he smiled back and shrugged lightly,
"As you wish, Jenny." I laughed and replied,
"Hey, you catch on pretty fast." Owen just sighed and rolled his eyes playfully, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. We chatted for a while and Owen filled me in about what was happening around the palace, since I had been fairly scarce for the past week or so. After a few minutes two men in white aprons came out of a set of double doors each carrying a silver plate piled high with waffles. The men set the plates down in front of us and my stomach growled. I picked up the little jug of syrup and drizzled a healthy amount over my waffles, Owen did the same and we grinned at each other before cutting into the stack of food in front of each of us. We took our first bites at the same time, the combination of the light, fluffy texture of the excellently made waffles, the creaminess of the whipped cream, the powdery sugar and the sweet, bright taste of the fresh strawberries combined to make the most heavenly breakfast I have ever come across. I stared in shock from the stack of waffles to Owen for a good few minutes before tearing back into the breakfast. His expression changed from amusement to astonishment as I devoured my plate, I would have been amazed at my stamina and ability to consume that amount of food, but since it was my first proper meal in around seven days, I wasn't. Owen ate about ¾ of his stack before declaring he was full and gawked at me while I basically licked my plate clean,
"My god Jenny, when was the last time you had a proper meal?" I shrugged,.
"I dunno. A week, maybe longer." His mouth dropped open,
"Are you serious? Jenny, you need to eat more." I shrugged again,
"Well, I guess I kinda forgot, I've been kind of busy…" I pointed at his plate and said casually, "You gonna finish those?" He shook his head and pushed his plate towards me politely,
"You never cease to amaze me Jenny." I smiled at him with my mouth full and he laughed out loud. After I finished the rest of his breakfast and had something to drink we started to talk some more. Both of us were really full and didn't really feel like moving, so we just stayed where we were. After a while of chat I asked Owen a question I had been thinking about all day,
"Do you know a place where I can hide?" Owen stared at me concerned and a little curiously,
"Yeah, sure, but wh-" I cut him off,
"I just need to get away from Thor and everything else for a while." He nodded,
"You're welcome to stay with me for a while, if you want. Or I have a friend, Lyra, who I'm sure would be willing to lend you a place to stay for a while. She's really sweet and if you needed some female company instead of hanging out with all us guys." I smiled gratefully,
"Thank you so much Owen. I don't know what I would do without you." He grinned and replied,
"Crash and burn." We both laughed and got up from our chairs. I sighed contentedly and said, "Ready to go?" He nodded and we walked out of the dining room. We walked for a while in silence before I asked suddenly,
"Owen," He looked over at me,
"Yeah?" I stared at the ground,
"Do... do you think Loki is going to survive?" He sighed and put his arm around my shoulders in a friendly way and pulled me closer to him comfortingly,
"You know what?" He looked down at me and squeezed my shoulders reassuringly, "I think he will. If he hasn't given up by now, he's not going too any time soon. I also think he's going to make it because he has such a beautiful woman to come back too." I smiled and looked up at him,
"You sure do talk pretty." He laughed and I poked him in the ribs, "Shut up, flattery isn't going to work on me, I'm not that pretty. Where are we going anyways." He laughed again and shrugged,
"I don't know. Where do you want to go?" I pushed his arm off my shoulder and shouldered him lightly,
"I thought you had a plan!" He laughed,
"Ha! Me? Plan? Unheard of!" He replied, shouldering me back. I thought for a moment,
"Can we go practice fighting techniques?" He nodded and glanced over at me,
"Sure. You gonna train in that, though?" He gestured towards my dress. I snorted and retorted sarcastically,
"Yeah. Totally. I'm just that cool." I paused and he looked at me, slightly befuddled. I laughed and continued, "Of course I'm not! It was sarcasm you idiot. If we stop by Lokis room, I can get changed and we can go from there." He nodded,
"Sounds good. Let's go." We changed direction and walked back towards Lokis room. Within a few short minutes we arrived and Owen and I walked in. Owen looked around and made a slight huff of approvement, "Nice room. Pays to be royalty, huh?" I chuckled and nodded as I walked into the closet,
"Yep. I won't be a moment." Owen called out a reply, but I couldn't hear him. I found my training gear and jumped out of the dress and put on the gear. I adjusted my top and laced up my boots, walking out of the closet I spun around and heard Owen do a low whistle,
"Lookin' good." I grinned and bowed at the waist, grabbing my sword from the corner of the room and fastening the hilt to my belt. I stopped and looked at him,
"Ready?" He grinned and held out and arm,
"Ready." I skipped over to him and instead of taking his arm I grabbed his elbow and pulled him along the hallway and outside to the training area. I ran and Owen stumbled along behind me occasionally shouting, "Jenny, slow down a minute!" I just laughed and kept running, slowing down a little bit when we got to the doorway. A little out of breath, I turned around and grinned at Owen, who had his hands on his knees and was breathing heavily,
"A little out of shape there are we?" He laughed breathlessly and straightened up,
"No. You were just running too fast." I smiled mischievously and replied,
"Outrun by a girl, how sad." I shrugged my shoulders dramatically and let my hands slap my thighs, "And here I was thinking that you were all manly and stuff." I sighed, "Oh well…" He crossed his arms across his chest and looked at me, I mirrored his pose in a challenging stance,
"Was that a challenge I heard?" I gave him a half grin and raised an eyebrow,
"Would you take it if it was?" He gave me a wide grin,
"Damn straight I would." I uncrossed my arms and placed my hands on my hips,
"Alright lets do it. You get to pick the challenge..." I paused for a moment and he said,
"Great." I put a finger up and continued,
"BUT, I get 30 minutes to practice in whatever skill you choose." He shrugged, too confidently and replied,
"Okay, fine. It's a deal." He held out his hand and I shook it once.
"No going back on your word." He had a serious face on,
"Never." I grinned and dropped his hand,
"Great! Any ideas for the first the challenge?" He smiled,
"Oh yes. How does archery sound?" I shrugged, and crossed my arms,
"Never tried it. Sounds like fun though." He laughed and said,
"Okay, let's go. You can have your 30 minutes."