Chapter 4.
"You are staring at your dress again Floria." Loki chided gently, Floria looking up from the yellow silk dress she wore with embroidered blue and pink flowers. Frigga had it made for her, and Loki had to admit that she was very beautiful in it. She was innocence and desire, all as one. He smiled at her and she went back to practicing her letters as he set out for her. The kitten hopped up on the table then, nipping at the feather quill in her hand and tugging at it. She laughed, putting the kitten in the chair next to her, and returned to her practice. Loki straightened his tunic as he stood, finding the reading primer he was looking for in a trunk and laying it on the table.
"I am Sorry Sir." She said, and not her lip as she wrote the alphabet again. He looked over her shoulder and leaned close, looking at the page and getting distracted by the gold comb in her hair the maid used to hold her hair up in a loose bun.
"Your penmanship is very good Floria, I am very impressed with you. Finish the page, and we will begin some reading." He said and the kitten knocked the cup of quills off the table, scattering them all over the floor. Floria blinked at Crystal, fiddling nervously with the phesant feather in her hand.
"I will get them, it looks as if she wishes to play rather than see her Mistress learn." Loki said, crouching to get the Quills and cup. He reached for one under the table, the kitten batting at it with her paw and saw Floria' s toes on her injured foot peeking from under her skirts. He felt a bit wicked, and tickled them with the feather in his hand and she jumped. Her yellow shod foot kicked out, and she gasped suddenly. The pen in the bottle of ink jerking under her fingers and tipping it over, and the ink spilled on the table. Loki bumped his head, feeling something trickle onto his head and he stood quickly. He thought he was bleeding from the blow, but looked at his fingers to see that it was black ink.
"I am so sorry. It... The bottle spilled." Floria said in shock, her eyes wide. Loki sighed, laughing a bit and waved his hand to clean the mess away from himself and the table. He took a step toward her, and she shot from the chair in fear. She limped backwards, and he stopped.
"Floria, no one is ever going to hurt you here. Half of the accident with the ink was mine, and I would never be angry with you for something that was just a mere mishap." He said and took her hand. He helped her back to the seat, and took the paper she had written on. He looked at the letters and smiled his approval, pulling out the chair and he sat across from her.
"You did very well on this, I am very impressed with your efforts." He said and pushed the primer toward her. She opened the cover and she looked down at the front page, Loki motioning for her to turn it again. The simple sentences spelling out a little rhyme, and she looked confused for a moment.
"What does it say Sir?" She asked him and he leaned across the table to point at each word.
"The cat sat on the mat." He read and she followed the words with her eyes. He came to the end, and she pointed at the words and read them slowly, she looked up at him and gestured for her to read the next line.
"The mat sat u... upon the ff... fl... floor?" She read and he applauded her effort.
"Very good, keep trying." Loki said and she slowly read the entire page. She looked at him and a knock came, she pausing as he stood and let a Paige into the room. The boy handed him a summons to speak with Odin, and he let out a long mental groan. He dismissed the boy, turning to Floria and sighed.
"Practice that page, I have to go meet with the Allfather. I am sorry to leave like this suddenly during our lesson." He said and she nodded, she returned to reading the lines out loud and he smiled at her. She really wished to be a good student, and he was impressed with her trying so very hard to learn.
He closed the door behind him, trying to be quiet and walked toward Odin's study. He cursed the old man under his breath for pulling him away from Floria though, the thought of the lace cuff on her wrist making his heart pound. His mind wondering if he was going mad, and the rest of him wanting to protect and cherish the poor girl.
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She sat, practicing the page in the book until she could read it without having to pause. The kitten curled in her lap and she turned the page to try to read the next one, carefully sounding out each word and the sounds the letters made. An hour passed, and she struggled with the words, but eventually was able to read them. She smiled to herself, carefully reading both pages again and Crystal purred away his approval of her work.
The door behind her opened then, and she turned in her seat to tell Loki she had mastered the next page. He smile bright, then falling when Thor and a blonde, well dressed man with a moustache entered.
"I tell you Fandral, he is keeping a girl in his chambers. Mother is preparing a fine room for her, but she is only a Slave Girl. And there she is!" Thor said and Fandral and he stopped, looking at her as she looked back at then with large eyes. She stood, holding onto the chair to balance on her good foot and she curtseyed to them.
"Norns! She is beautiful!" Fandral said and walked to her. "What is she doing there?"
"Yes, what are you doing girl?" Thor asked, crossing his arms and looking at her with a smirk. She picked up the book, showing them and she backed away against the table. Fandral laughed, and waved for her to demonstrate her latest trick like a trained dog. She froze and looked down at the page, unable to sound out a single word and her mouth worked at forming anything to make them leave.
"Ah, he is teaching you to read?" Fandral said and he took the book from her hands. "A pretty girl like you does not need to learn such a thing, all you need to learn is how to dance and play."
"I... I like... Sir." She stammered, and yelped when Fandral lifted her off her feet and began turning her around the room by her waist and gripped her hand. She felt dizzy, her free hand pushing against his chest and he laughed.
"Much more fun, don't you think girl?" Fandral said and he handed her to Thor who trapped her in his arms. He sat in a chair, pulling her on his leg to sit and she trembled in fear. Not understanding that they were teasing her, or flirting in their own way.
"Sir..." She stammered and Thor laughed. "Must... I promised... I was asked... The book."
"Fandral, give her the book if she wants it. Maybe it will calm her down." He said and bounced his knee with her on it. She squeaked in shock, grabbing his thigh to keep herself from falling over backwards. Her injured foot bumped the ground too hard, and she cried in pain.
"Here you go darling. Are you sure you would not like to ride to town with the both of us?" Fandral said, leaving the innuendo open and she clutched the book to her chest. Thor turned her face to him and his rough, calloused hands brushed her cheek.
"Maybe she is shy, a little fawn lost in the woods is hard to coax out of her hiding spot in the brush." Thor said and she wanted to pull away. She trembled and he pulled her toward him and she shivered, his mead laced breath making her stomach churn.
"Let me have a kiss next Lady." Fandral said and she screamed, bolting away from Thor and crouching in the corner. She crushed the book to her chest, tears streaming down her face and they both approached her. She screamed again, crawling across the floor and her skirts tore from her bodice in her panic. She hurried still, the lacing on her back that held her dress shut breaking as a pair of masculine fingers grabbed them. She looked around for an escape, and opened the wardrobe and climbed inside it.
"A shy deer." Fandral laughed and slapped Thor on the back. He closed the door, and she shivered in the darkness.
"I almost got a kiss." Thor laughed, and she shivered at the memory of his breath. She heard them leave and she wept into her hands, sinking to the bottom and laying on her side.
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Loki walked back to his chambers, annoyed at the interruption and could only think to get back to Floria. He hoped she had not gotten bored, and given up on learning to read. He wanted to show her so much, fill her head with knowledge, perhaps see if she had any talent for magic herself.
He turned the corner, Thor and Fandral in the hall laughing and he groaned to himself. He saw Fandral pretend to cower, and he laughed with Thor at something. Something about what they were acting out made him worry, and he felt the urge to run to his chambers. He walked calmly however, and his concern worsened when he saw the doors were cracked and the kitten in the hall.
He scooped the protesting ball of white fur up, looking around the sitting room and finding a tear of yellow silk on the floor. He picked it up, and he opened the doors to the bedroom and looked around. She was nowhere to be seen, and he nearly shouted in anger when he opened the door to the bathing chamber to find it vacant as well. He sat on the bed, putting the kitten on the pillows and he looked at the tear of fabric.
"How dare they!" He shouted and he heard a sob from the wardrobe. He walked to it and opened one door slowly, finding her laying on her side and the book clutched to her her chest. She wept silently, scooting her body toward the back and sobbing harder. He saw the tears to her dress, and her hair tangled about her face. He wanted to rage, but he knew that if he did, she would fear him in the end and he did not want that. He reached his hand out, and she cried and hid her face behind the book.
"Floria." He said gently, using his gifts to calm her. "No one will harm you Nightingale, come out please."
"I tore... I tore my dress Master." She said and whimpered, he held his hand out and offered it to her.
"I am not your Master Floria, you have none here and I am happy to remind you of that every time. I am also not angry at all about the dress, just happy that you are not hurt." He said and she sat up, a tunic falling from above and over her face. He laughed, and moved the shirt aside and grinned at her.
"No need to hide under my clothes, I will not hurt you. I promise you that." He said and she took his hand. He helped her out of the small space, and saw the tears to her skirts and lacing. His anger flared, cursing Thor for advancing on a woman without her consent.
"Let me fix that." He said and waved his hand. The dress restored, and she looked down at herself in amazement. He mouth fell open and she backed from him with a limp, turning to see herself in the mirror.
"Are you recovered any?" He asked her and gestured to the bed. She shook, misreading his intentions and clutched the book to herself.
"I learned the... I learned the second page Sir." She said in a shaky voice, trying to distract him from the bed and he smiled at her. He walked toward her with open hands and a smile, and he cupped her cheeks gently in his hands.
"By yourself! You are clever, but please lay down and rest from your shock. I am earnest to see you demonstrate your new talent, but I want to fetch Queen Frigga so she may see how much you have learned." He said and she limped to the bed. He took the book from her, and covered her with a light blanket after removing her shoe. She blinked in shock that he was not trying to have his pleasure with her, and she trembled at the thought of being alone again.
"Rest, I will go and invite her to hear you read. No one will come beyond those doors except for me, I promise you." He said and she nodded. He ran a thumb across her forehead, casting a spell to help her sleep and seeing her memory of what happened. He growled to himself, clenching a fist and saw how she was now so terrified.
He backed from the bed, and let Floria sleep on. Leaving the room and slamming his hand against the doubled doors, he left a spell over it that would only allow he or Floria to open them and walked to see Frigga.
"I pray I do not cross paths with those two." He growled under his breath and turned the corner. "I will have another chamber in the dungeons for cutting off their hands."
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"You put you hands on a girl who has suffered terribly, and cannot defend herself." Frigga scolded Thor and Fandral. They looked at the ground, hiding their shame.
"Loki keeps her as a bird, locked away and hidden." Thor protested and Frigga silenced them with a gesture.
"And he has done nothing improper toward her. You have much to learn from your Brother, and should use this as a moment to reflect. Your Father..." She began, but was intrupted.
"Is more than disappointed in your actions." Odin said, glaring at his son. "You are to be a King, not a bastard who mounts innocent girls and torments them for his pleasure. She made no pretense of desire toward you, yet you sought to attack her as if she were a toy you desired!"
"Father..." Thor said and he silenced his son with a gesture. He turned to Loki, regarding him for a moment and softened his features.
"Heimdall has confirmed your claims, should you need other primers to teach the poor girl... I forget her name." Odin said and waved a hand.
"Floria." Loki corrected, and Odin nodded.
"Floria, lovely name. None the less, I am impressed with how you have chosen to share knowledge with her. I will send other primers for you to continue to instruct her. Do not forget Arithmetic however, she will need to learn how to count for when she is paid as Frigga's handmaiden." Odin said, turning back to the two shocked men. They both looked taken aback by the praise the Old King gave to his fallen and adopted son. Loki hiding his astoundment at what had just happened, but was still amused by it in full.
"You will both leave the girl alone, she has suffered much and will soon have her own chambers. I have given your Mother the freedom to have them arranged for her, and I believe it best that she have them near Loki's. Seeing as he has become a mentor of sorts to her." Odin said, and looked at his wife.
"I will see that she understands all that I can educate her on." Loki said, and Thor rolled his eyes.
"You are a kind Queen my dear." He said, and Frigga smiled.
"Thank you, and I think you should meet this lovely girl, she has the sweetest smile." Frigga said and Odin nodded.
"Only when it is convent, and I am not interrupting her lessons. Those are rather important at this time." Odin said and looked at Loki. "You are doing well to teach her all that you can, but if her Master finds her she is still property and I cannot intervene."
"I will continue them then, and hope that she remains safe from that beast." He said, and the group watched Odin leave. Thor crossing his arms and glaring at his brother, showing that he was not about to let the matter of Floria end. Thor was determined to have her, and to show his brother who the better man was.