Chapter 41.
Floria walked the next day toward the Library to meet Loki, her chores for Queen Frigga done for the day and she humming a song to herself. She gave a little skip as she walked, opening the doors silently and checking her lavender skirts as she slipped into the large depository. She looked around the stacks, the old and heavy looking volumes stretching up above her as she searched for Loki. She peered through the spaces in the bookshelf, seeing him pull down one large book and smile. She was going to walk forward, bit something stopped her in her tracks and her stomach dropped at the sight.
"Here it is, you may find this book of great use Lady Yolanda." He said and handed the red leather book to an amazingly beautiful woman in a peach colored gown. Her blonde hair fell about her shoulders in honey waves, and her high and proud chin curved into gentle, blushing cheeks. She had a small, button nose, large breasts, and a slender waist all making her a goddess to be desired.
"Thank You My Prince. You are so very knowledgeable of this place, and I do believe you are a most clever man." She said and Floria felt her eyes narrow and a ball form in her stomach. Loki grinned at her, his eyes studying the girl for a moment and he laughed. She giggled back, her hands cradling the book and she giggled.
"I have spent many hours among these stacks and archives. It was as if it were a second home to me, for a very long time." Loki said and she smiled, her full lips blushed the perfect shade of rose and her teeth were so perfectly white. She let out a long breath, shrugging at him. She walked closer to him, her hand letting go of the book to take hold of his wrist.
"Perhaps, I will see you here again?" She asked him, her eyes so deep and blue. Floria nearly gasped, and she backed away from the shelves she was peering through. She couldn't watch him kiss her, and she backed away with her mouth covered.
It was not fair to her, she was not born of Noble stock and she was plain standing next to that woman. Her own body short in stature and made of soft curves, but her own soft lips were not as full, nor where her hips and breasts. She was did have a slender waist, and a graceful neck, but she was born of Common blood and a Slave. She shook her head, tears blurring her eyes and she gasped when her back hit a shelf behind her and a book fell to the ground next to her feet.
"Floria?" Loki asked, his voice calm and she started to leave for the door. Her pace steady as she fled, and she heard his heavier steps behind her. Floria ran to the gardens, her hands over her mouth to hide her anguish from the people She passed. She reached the gate, running and sat in an alcove as she cried at what she saw.
A shadow fell across her, and she looked up into his face. He sat next to her, her eyes returning to her lap and he took her hand.
"I did not kiss her. I moved away from her before you announced you were eavesdropping." He said and she shook her head.
"You wanted to, and I do not blame you. She is far prettier than I am Sir, and in possession of certain graces." She replied and he lifted her chin.
"You are more than she is, so very much more." He said and wiped her tears away. "I could never be with a woman like her, because she has no heart for me. Lady Yolanda only has aspirations to get out of a marriage to a man two thousand years older than herself. She is bethrothed to another man, and hates him." He said and he took her repaired ring out of his pocket, slipping it onto her finger. "Your hand looked so naked without this."
"Thank you Sir." She said and smiled a bit, her heart fluttering at his touch. She was nervous still, worried that she now had a rival and was not sure how to handle such a woman. She frowned, a bird settling in the grass before her and it amazed her by it's size. She looked at the blue feathers and crest on the creature, gasping at it fanned out its tail in a display that amazed her.
"Mother keeps them in the gardens, they are called peacocks." Loki said and she watched the bird's display before it gave a cry and took flight again.
"It is beautiful! Did you see how it displayed the plumes of its tail?" She asked and he nodded, he smiled at her and stood to blur into one in front of her. She gazed down at him, and reached her hands out to touch the emerald and blue feathers. She giggled, watching him display his tail and they both turned when they saw Thor smiling at her and leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed.
"Forgive Me, I saw you alone and I felt I should warn you how foul tempered these beasts could be. I would be careful to reach for it, their bite is painful and can draw blood." Thor said and Floria shook her head, she was about to tell him that it was Loki but changed her mind when the bird took her little finger in it's beak gently.
"This one is rather nice My Prince." She said and Thor walked over. He laughed, looking down at the bird and stomped his foot at it. The bird backed up, opening its wings and settling again.
"Perhaps it is because you are so rude to them first Sir." She said and Thor laughed. He lifted her chin, looking into her amber brown eyes and grinned.
"No. I had one chase me around the garden when I was a child, mother had to use a blanket to get it to leave me alone." Thor said and she backed away from him, not liking how he touched her. He crossed his arms again, looking at Floria and smirked slightly.
"I can see why you would dislike them then Sir. A childhood fear is hard to dismiss." She replied and he laughed at her statement. Thor did not see Loki circle around behind him, opening his mouth to strike at his meaty backside with his sharp beak. He saw Floria look shy, and she gave him a curtsy.
"I should go then, I am meeting..." She started and Thor waved his hand at her. He took a step forward, admiring her dress and she stepped back softly.
"Why leave? I could keep you better entertained while Loki shoves his nose into a... OUCH!" Thor bellowed, the peacock behind him striking and pinching his backside in its beak. He turned, glaring at the bird and backed away. "It bit me!"
"Are you hurt bad?" She asked and Thor turned to look back at her. He looked at Floria, and the bird struck again. This time taking a tear of leather from his thigh, dropping the cloth in the grass and ruffling his feathers. His shout of pain and anger getting the attention of Fandral and Sif, they walked over as the bird struck again. His arm began to bleed at the peck, and Fandral drew his sword. Floria saw what was happening and ran toward the peacock, shielding it from the attack.
"Don't hurt it!" She said and Fandral stopped in his tracks.
"It attacked me!" Thor said, holding his arm. Floria refused to move the three warriors standing down, and Sif sighing.
"You were probably too close to a nest Thor. Pay more attention to where you stand in the future." She said and crossed her arms. Floria followed the bird to another part of the garden, crossing her arms and pressing her lips together.
"That was rather mean Sir." She said and Loki returned to himself. He looked disgusted, debating if he should rinse his mouth.
"I know, I am going to need a great deal of wine after biting Thor in the ass." He said looking horrified. Floria gave him a look and he laughed, realizing that she was not going to let the matter drop.
"You are lucky he did not know it was you." She said and he laughed, hugging her close to him and kissing her forehead. "Fandral was going to slay you."
"Looks as if we were both a little jealous today about possible rivals." Loki chuckled, his eyes shining at her. "I only care if you forgive me, that is all."
"I shall, but Thor is hardly a rival against you." She said and his eyes went wide. Never had anyone chosen him over Thor, sometimes a lady would pretend to favor him to get close to the Golden Prince, but never did they choose to remain with him. He held Floria tighter, being careful to not hurt her and he blinked. His mind reeling from being chosen over his brother, and accepting it fully.
"I would choose you over any Noble Woman, for you are my heart." He said and she laughed into his chest.
"Even if she is pretty, graceful, and well endowed?" She asked and he lifted her chin, looking into her eyes.
"Of course Nightengale." He said and smiled at her, leaning close to her ear. "You are rather well endowed yourself, don't think you are undesirable."
She pulled back, her mouth open in shock and she slapped at his chest. She wiggled free, striking at him again and he ducked the blows. He laughed, running through the garden and she chasing after.
"I cannot believe you said that!" She said and he jumped over a low hedge to escape her, his laughter following behind.
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That evening, Floria stood in Queen Frigga's Chambers, her mouth open in shock as she went over the tradition of the Wedding Night. Floria shook her head, shaking and wanted to run from all this and demand that Loki tell her the truth. She looked at Frigga, refusing to believe what she had just heard.
"Must it be done... in front of an audience?" She asked, no longer comfortable about any of her first night with her Husband. "Can a... I mean to say... Can't an exception be made?"
"I am afraid not. This is a Royal wedding, and we have to have some proof that you both have consummated this marriage by having several persons be present. To witness the act." She replied, holding the girl's hands and she saw the fear in Floria's eyes. She nodded quietly, looking at the floor and wanting to sink through it.
"I can't... I... I don't want it to be that way." She said and her face turned pale as she stood with her Queen. She wished her mother was there, thinking that some sense could be talked into Frigga. She thought about how her Father turned his back, feeling very alone suddenly and wanted to cry.
"I had to do it that way, I am sure you will endure it for your love of Loki." She said and Floria shook her head, she looked at Frigga and her hands trembled at the thought of what was to happen.
"Please. Make an exception, I... I... don't know if I can do that." She whimpered, her eyes filling with tears. Frigga petted her hair, her own eyes locked on the scared girl and tried to calm her.
"I cannot go against tradition. It has all been arranged, and it is part of becoming the wife of a Prince." Frigga soothed, but it did nothing to calm the fears of the trembling girl in front of her.
"Yes My Queen." She said, nothing but fear in her voice. She waited until she was given her leave, turning quickly when it was given and she ran to her Chambers. Frigga standing, hoping that Loki would find a way to get her out of that awful tradition.
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He entered her chambers, finding Floria laying on her bed on her side. Her shift was the only thing covering her, and he walked toward her as quietly as he could to cover her so she could be warm. He picked up a blanket, his hands sliding over the smooth material and he stepped silently toward her. Her breathing was regular, and she hardly moved at all and he circled the bed with one purpose.
He looked down at her, finding her awake and her cat curled against her as she purred away. He looked down, frowning at her for a moment and she glanced at him. Her lips tightened, and he caressed her cheek gently.
"Why are you laying in the dark?" He asked her and she shifted slightly to sit up against the pillows.
"I am feeling a bit ill Sir." She said and her sensed the lie as soon as she said it. Her eyes looked pained, and she stroked the cat next to her. He worried then, looking down at her for a long time and sighed. He covered her, laying the blanket over her lap and smiled gently at her despite the outright lie.
"I will leave you to rest then." He said and she nodded softly. "If you need a Healer, come into my chambers and I will take you straight away."
"Thank you, and rest well Sir." She said, closing her eyes and trying to find sleep. He left, closing the doors behind him and thought about her actions that night. She had lied to him, something she had never done before and it worried and troubled him to have seen it.