Chapter 63.
They walked together among the sculptures, admiring them and enjoying the day. Floria stood in front of a large marble figure of a woman holding a child in her arms, the soft smile on the visage one of matronly love as the child touched her face. Loki studied the features and could appreciate the work that went into the piece, and he approved of how the gown the woman wore seemed to flow naturally.
"Wonderful skill." Loki said, approving of the work in front of him. "You can almost see the direction the wind blows her gown."
"Yes. This one is very good." Floria agreed and Loki offered her his elbow and they walked through to see the paintings. "I liked her smile, she looked so caring and sweet."
"I thought so as well, what do you want to view after the Gallery?" He asked and she shrugged her shoulders in response. She laughed, looking up at him and blushed. The habit she held for so long when he admired her, staying with her after all the time that had passed.
"I do not know, this is the first time I have seen this Fair." She said and Loki laughed at her. He stopped, thinking for a moment as she admired a painted landscape of a field of wild flowers.
"I hear they make an apple dipped in toffee, I have never tried one, but I have heard rumor that they are very good." He said and she smiled at him.
"I would like to try that treat." She said and they walked among the paintings for a long time, seeing no one and they turned a corner together and stopped in their tracks. Their eyes opened wide in shock and Loki's mouth fell open at the large painting.
"Is that supposed to be..." Floria asked, and pointed at the woman in the ethereal gown of pale rose and shimmering white. On top of her head was a golden crown of pearls, and she smiled sweetly while she cradled a lamb in her arms. She sat in a garden, and over her was a blooming cherry tree, her seat a stone bench.
"I believe it is you." Loki said and read the legend at the bottom of it. "In Kindness, Fidelity, and Gentle Nature... Our future Queen."
"It is very well done." Floria said and she blushed at it. "Am I really that pretty?"
"Floria, you are truly that beautiful." Loki replied and studied the perfect brush strokes and glanced back at her. "This work is exquisite, I can almost reach out and feel your dress. The artist did not use over ornimantation as well, the small smile is sweet, and kind. Norns! I want to pay this person for this work."
"How would we find them?" Floria asked and Loki regarded her a moment. A thin woman with a breaky nose peered around the corner at them, her thin hair hanging around her face, and she looked at him in shock. Floria saw her then and she curtsied to him, both noticing the paint on her apron.
"I painted it My Prince." She said and looked at her feet. "I like to paint people I find interesting."
"You?" He asked and she nodded softly. "This work is amazing, I wish to fund your work further."
"Sir?" She asked and Floria smiled. Her mouth hung open in shock, and her large eyes nearly fell out of her head at the surprise of his announcement. She covered her face then, thinking about how her luck had changed with one painting.
"Yes. That work is truly talented, and I celebrate true gift when I see it. Will six hundred gold be a good start to buy you more canvasses and pigments?" He asked her and she blinked at him in shock. She nodded and Loki produced a purse of gold, handing it to her. She shook, blinking at him and she handed him a slip of paper with the directions to her home and her name on it.
"I... I don't know what to say My Prince. This is more than generous." She replied and she looked at him in awe.
"My Wife needs an official portrait for the Royal Gallery, we will come by in very soon for you to paint her." He said and she smiled, hugging the purse to her.
"Yes! I would love to paint her! I find her most intriguing, she has been treated so poorly, but remains so kind." She said and curtsied to Floria. "Lady, thank you very much for the honor of having you sit for me."
"It is my honor Lady..." Floria began and the girl laughed.
p dir="ltr""Morrigan. My Husband is a Cobbler, and my studio is above his shop." Morrigan replied and Floria nodded.
"I look forward to seeing more of your work Lady Morrigan. Thank you for the honor of seeing this one." Loki said, giving the thin woman a bow and she blushed at him, her smile widened and Floria watched the scene closely. She worried then, that her fears were getting the better of her and pushed them aside to ensure she could enjoy the day properly. Loki took her hand, giving it a squeeze and they walked on.
"Perhaps we should try those apples we spoke of?" Floria suggested and Loki grinned at her.
"Yes, if that is what you want." He replied and they walked on and into the packed streets together. He looked at Floria, his gaze as if she were the only woman on all the Nine Realms and he held her hand as if it were the only thing holding him from fading to nothing.
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"Sari, Thor!" Floria called out, walking into their chambers and hearing giggles. "I am dusty and in need of a bath after the day, please draw me one. Loki also wishes a light dinner tonight, nothing heavy. We are so many things while out..."
She paused, not recieving a response and hear more giggles and a few coos coming from the Bed Chamber. She frowned, reaching for the handle and a giggle erupted from the room and she opened the door as silently as she could. She peered in and saw Sera with her back to her, her gown cast aside and her mouth falling open as she closed the door again. Tears pricked her eyes and she gasped at the pain in her chest, she gripped her dress and ran from the chambers and down the halls.
She had to ask Queen Frigga for a new accommodation, she would never lay with her husband after what she saw.
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"What was that?" Thor asked Sera, the elf shaking her head and kissing her now female husband.
"I don't know, we should not do this here though. You could get in so much more trouble than you already are. Next time, we will sneak to my chambers." Sera laughed and Thor kissed her again, cradling her cheek.
"Agreed, and I cannot wait to be a man again to love you properly." Thor replied and laughed at the woman she married, and now adored. She blushed, the tips of her pointed ears turning a rose pink and Thor kissed her again.
"Will we have children too?" She asked Her and Thor nodded, caressing Sera's stomach and tickling her.
"Of course, we should fix the bed now. They will be back soon, and I dont want my brother angry with the both of us." Thor replied and got up, picking up dresses and stockings as she moved to dress again. She put her chemise back on, smiling at the Alfar girl and hugged her close to her. "I love you Sera, and regret ever letting you go."
"I forgive you Thor. And would show you how I love you if you did not have your bleed." She laughed and Thor hugged her again. They both dressed, fixing the bed and not yet realizing the accidental chaos they both created in their actions.
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Loki entered his Chambers, the table set for the both of them and frowning at the lack of his wife being there. He looked in the Bathing Chambers, then the nursery, his Daughter missing as well and he walked through to the hall doors again. He was not overly starved, so he would wait for her. His mind thinking that she only wanted to spend some time with their Daughter and he sat in his chair by the fire and began to read.
Hours passed, and not even Sari or Thor entered to see if their Mistress needed their help for the evening. He began to worry, and stood to go look for his wife and daughter. He opened the doors, finding a Paige in the hall and the boy bowed to him.
"What is it?" Loki asked, and the boy swallowed hard.
"Queen Frigga has asked me to tell you that Princess Floria has come to her with disturbing news and has been moved to other accommodations My Prince. She advises that you speak to her in the morning as she and King Odin have gone to see a play this evening." The boy replied and Loki felt his heart stop.
"What has happened Boy? Is my Wife unwell?" He demanded and he saw Thor in the hall with her mouth open. The blonde girl turned, running and Loki ran after him.
"Thor! What have you done?" Loki demanded, racing after her and he saw Sera in the hall, Thor stopped and grabbed her hand and they both began running together. Loki gave chase, but lost both women in the garden as they ran around a hedge and vanished down a forest path. He roared at the sky, cursing Thor and Sera and stormed back to the castle. He saw the Paige and glared at him.
"Where is my Wife!" He hissed and the boy took a step back and shivered at him.
"She has been given accommodations off the Queen's chambers. I do not know why." He said and Loki walked toward Frigga'a rooms. As he approached the doors, he heard soft sobbing coming from a guest room near Friggas and opened the door to see Floria weeping by the fire. Sari stood in mute shock, and she walked forward.
"She wished no visitors Sir, please let her be..." The girl said and he walked past the girl to see his Wife. She cradled their Daughter in her arms, the one year old Princess sleeping and Floria shook her head at him.
"Leave me, I do not want to see you." Floria said and Loki looked at her in mute shock. He stood over her, reaching out for her and she pulled away, Sari taking the baby from her and Floria wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Floria, what is going on? How have I offended you?" He asked her and she glared at him.
"How? How did you offend me?" She said and stood from the chair. "You wear so many masks, that I do not know how you keep them all so organized. Today alone, you were one of the Loving Husband, then the Scholar. Now you appear before me wearing one of the Innocent Man! Which masks did you wear for her, and which ones does she wear for you?"
"I... What are you talking about Floria? What masks?" He asked her, shaking his head and fearing that some influence had come over her. He reached for her cheek and she backed away, her eyes set and angry.
"I saw you and she, in our bed. Rutting with her, and she enjoying you as I do!" She shouted back. "You sullied our bed, and you now ask me how you lied to me? Is it because of how Thor thought to have me that you would have his Wife in revenge?"
"What did you see? What madness has gotten into your head woman?" He asked her and she shook her head at him. She crossed her arms, refusing to speak anymore and he reached out faster than she could react. He pressed his thumb against her forehead and saw in her memories, he saw what she did in their bed and Loki looked at Floria in shock.
"Dont you dare touch me! You... you Defilier! You Monster!" She screamed and he reeled as if he had been struck. He stepped back, and Floria looked at him with regret at what she said and he set his jaw. He walked to the doors, opening them and walked out of them. He paused before leaving, bowing to her and did his best not to rage at his Wife.
"I leave you to your rest. Goodnight." He said and closed the door with a hollow click. He saw Frigga and Odin walking toward him, they both pausing and he regarded them for a moment.
"Loki." Frigga said, the lips a thin line and Loki nodded to them both. He turned on his heel, leaving and Odin stopped him by clearing his throat.
"We will find out what happened, all parties involved need rest now." Odin said and Loki turned back with a grin.
"It is most easy Odin, I lay with the Alfar girl and was caught. Perhaps, you cannot tame the animal that I am and will never truly find any reason to keep me locked in your Castle. I leave at dawn for another Realm, goodnight." He said and Frigga saw right through his lie. He walked on, refusing to look back and Frigga tried to stop him.
"If you leave, you will regret your actions. Your Daughter will never know you, and both she and Floria will have no protection against this cruel world. Think about that before you leave." Frigga said, and he kept walking on. The only words on his mind where Floria's, the echo of the word "Monster" and how it so easily passed her lips.
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"We have to tell them the truth!" Sera said, pacing her chambers and looked at Thor. "Damn lust, and all that we have done."
"They may not understand, we are physically two women. I am afraid for you now, I did not even hear her, or think that we had that little time." Thor replied, opening her arms and holding her Wife. "I still think like a man, even if I am a woman in this body."
"I will be shamed if we don't tell them the truth, our marriage will be Annulled, and I will be sent back to marry a Lord." Sera said, trying not to cry. "I had dreams of children with you, a family, and a home that we could fill with happiness."
"And we will have that. We have to go and talk to Frigga and Loki." Thor said and sighed. She looked down at Sera and kissed her cheeks. "We will repair this damage tonight. And together, we will face the consequences of what we have done."
"Very well. Just know how much I love you." Sera said and her fingers laced in between Thor's.
"I do, and will fight for us until my dying breath." Thor said and smiled at her, taking her hand and leading her through the halls. Walking toward Frigga'a chambers and raising a hand to knock on her door.