Chapter 58.

Loki woke, the warm morning sun of late Summer bathing them in its light from the window. Floria shifted on the bed and he smiled, leaving a kiss on her forehead as he rose to walk into the Bathing Chamber. She lay on her side, her pale legs exposed from under her shift and he memorized every detail before leaving her. He let her sleep, laughing to himself as she rolled onto her stomach and sighed as she slept.

"Sleep Princess, and dream of moonlight dances." He said to himself, closing the door behind him soft enough to not disturb her slumber.

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Thor walked in to Loki's sitting room, the wine bottle slipping from his fingers and falling to the floor. It rolled, spilling the contents as it travelled and came to a rest near the fireplace. He looked around, bumping into a chair and grunting to himself. He needed to see his brother, to see if he was able to help his plight and he searched the still rooms for any signs of him. He did not see Loki, but he saw something even more desirable laying on the bed.

Floria lay on her stomach, her shift tangled around her legs and the view of her pale thighs stirring him. He walked in, ghosting his fingertips over her calf, giving the inner thigh a squeeze and he grinned as she swatted ineffectively with a hand in her sleep. She returned to her doze, the shift draping over her body delightfully and arousing him as he lifted it to look at her exposed backside. She swatted at his hand again, sighing and falling back into her sleep and snuggling into her pillow.

"Norns, you are perfect." He said and grinned, laying down of the bed next to her and wrapping and arm around her waist. She stirred, trying to push his arm away but he tightened his muscles and held her fast. His other hand moved to his trousers, opening them and freeing himself and she lifted her head. Something being not quite right in her sleep fogged mind, the arm did not feel right, it was too large and it crushed her painfully. She looked down at it, her eyes opening wide and she gasped in horror to see the size of it against her waist.

"Stop." She said, her voice shaking and she turned her head to see Thor grinning at her. "Thor, let me go. What game do you..."

"No game, I want what I have desired since I saw you first." He said and forced his knee between her legs while covering her mouth. His other hand struggled to lift her shift, but he had his knee on it and he could not get the garment out of his way. She cried against the hand over her mouth, attempting to get any sound to carry to alert someone and she felt hot tears burn her eyes. She struck at the hand, trying to move it and her fists beat against him with no avail. Tears filled her eyes and she tried to bite the hand, sinking her teeth into the palm as he tore the cloth blocking his access and began to position himself.

"Damned woman!" He shouted at her and he slapped her behind in anger. She struggled against him, he pinning her wrists above her head. "Hold still and don't make yourself suffer."

"NO!" She shrieked, slamming the back of her head into Thor's nose, tilting his head back and making it bleed and she screamed with everything she had in her.

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Loki pulled his tunic on over his head and heard a scream that lifted every hair on the back of his neck. Terror was carried on the sound, and he heard struggles and a bellow of pain as he burst through the door, his magic leaving it hanging from one hinge. His eyes shot daggers, and he saw Thor struggling on the bed with Floria, she fighting to keep her legs together and Thor trying to force them open.

"Stop fighting you stupid whore!" Thor shouted and struck her, rocking her head to the side and she screamed and kicked at him. Loki sprang, dragging Thor by his tunic off his shrieking Wife and slamming him into the wall across from him. She curled under the blankets, wrapping them around her and Loki saw her swelling eye and bleeding lip and nose.

He saw red, and he could not contain the rage he held for Thor then. Floria cried out, cowering back on the bed and she shivered at the anger she saw on his face. Loki turned, his hand clenching, and he stood over Thor and brought his fist down on him with every bit of fury he had. Bone crunched under his assualt, a cheekbone giving way and his foot kicked down onto his brother's ribs, fracturing them. The drunken Oaf had tried to dishonor Floria, and he would pay. He felt arms circle him, and someone pulled him back before he could summon a dagger to do further damage. Metal around his wrists, and the sound of restraints holding him back. He screamed, his lean muscles straining against the Guards and he heard the sound that drained his anger. A soft sobbing from the bed, and he looked through his tangled hair to see Floria hiding under the blankets and weeping.

"Princess, the Allmother is coming to care for you. Tell us what happened?" The Guard asked, but she would not let the man touch her. Loki looked at her, calming his breathing and his eyes filled with sorrow for what had happened to her.

"Thor tried to rape her." Loki said, and he groaned to himself as Odin entered the rooms, his private Guard following him. He leaned forward, his forehead hitting the floor and he screamed in rage.

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Sera, Frigga, and Sari sat around the tub, Floria curled in it and still in shock from what had happened. Her eyes were still puffy from crying, and she did not know where Loki had been taken. The three women cleaned her wounds, the large, red handprint on her bottom further evidence of the shameful act done against her. She shook, trying to forget that morning and failed. She looked at Sera, holding her child in her arms and Floria fighting mote tears.

"All is well now Dear." Frigga said, her voice soft and Floria put her forehead against her knees and started to cry again. Her back was covered in bruises, and her right eye swelled shut. The pain was bearable though, the true sorrow causing her to weep was the fact that Thor had nearly used her as he did so many other women.

"Princess, there was no damage to your reputation done. All the scorn falls on Prince Thor." Sari said and she shook in the water, her friends doing their best to offer comfort.

"Lady, do you wish to get out of the bath?" Sera said, terrified of what Thor's actions meant to her and Floria nodded. Frigga heard a gentle knock from the door and answered It, finding Odin standing in the room and two Maids taking away the bloodied sheets and making the bed.

"I need to speak to her, so that I may accurately pass judgment. I fear this will be awful for all involved, and need your advice more than ever Frigga." He said, his only eye blinking back tears. She nodded, pressing her lips together and swallowing hard. She slipped from the room, fidgeting with her hands and she frowned.

"Thor instigated it all. She was asleep on the bed and he crept in and tried to take advantage of Loki's Wife. There is no getting around this Husband, she was not being licentious, and she was in no way asking to be beaten for fighting him to protect herself, nor did she deserve to be raped." She said and Odin embraced her, his eye closing and he wept silently. He looked at Frigga, her arms holding onto him and he moaned.

"I must punish Thor then, and risk Loki traveling a dark road again for this." He said and Sari entered the room, collecting Floria's robe and the maids turned down the bed and prepared it for their mistress to rest. Sera walked in, handing Frigga the baby and she frowned.

"She asked to see Loki in the dungeons. I told her he would be released when all this was sorted out, but she demands to see him. She says that she needs him for her peace of mind, and refuses to say anything more until she sees her Husband." She said and Odin nodded, he looled at the Elf and sighed.

"I will take her myself." He said, and Sari walked past with a gown for her mistress. "It is the least that I can offer now, I owe Loki an apology and a release."