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Hydrangeas Say Our Family Will Flourish
Chapter Three: On The Subject of Elegance
The palace gardens were a beautiful sight, full of colourful summer blooms and sprigs of all sorts, and Amelia was feeling quite relaxed sitting slouched on the bench, shoes kicked off so that she could bury her bare feet into the soft blades of grass. Nature seemed happy in New Asgard, and that in turn made Amelia happy.
Loki was not currently with her, the prince had apologetically declared he had to visit the palace library to do some 'research', and that Amelia was welcome to do as she pleased until he returned, at which point they would attend the evening dinner together. He had suggested she explore a little, and that he would have a guard or two escort her to ensure she felt secure, but Amelia had protested and declared that there was somebody else she'd rather spend time with. Thus, she was joined by Inga and Signy, the palace's resident healer and seamstress, respectively, and two of Amelia's friends.
It was the first sign that Amelia had begun to feel more at ease in the palace without Loki by her side. She was pleased with the progress she had made in that regard, and she hoped she would only grow more content.
"So, what exactly did the prince have to do that was more important than spending time with his new bride?" Inga inquired from beside her; she was idly flicking through some sort of text, but most of her attention was on Amelia anyway.
Amelia snorted, "Said he had to look into something. I'm sure he had his reasons." Her husband had appeared a little absent-minded before heading off, but Amelia figured she would just ask him about it when he returned - there was no rush, if it was really important, he would let her know.
"Hmm," Signy hummed, "maybe he's planning some sort of lovely surprise for you!" Ever the optimistic one, Signy winked and wiggled a pointed finger matter-of-factly.
"Pft," was Inga's response to that.
Amelia quirked an eyebrow, giving Inga a curious smile, "How have you and Thor been getting along? Been on a date yet?" The urge to tease was substantial, and it was worth it to see the usually composed Inga's cheeks go pink.
"We haven't been on a 'date'! We've just… been talking," she averted her gaze back down to her book and cleared her throat, "the King likes to tell stories, and I like to hear stories, so when he has a spare moment, we will meet and he will regale me with some of his battles and triumphs over the years." By the time she had finished speaking, there was a dreamy haze in her eyes.
"Ah, so that's why you've been reading those romance novels," her sister exclaimed perkily, eyeing the book in Inga's grasp, "because you've been fantasising about the King. You never used to be interested in those kinds of fiction." Signy really knew how to embarrass her older sibling.
"Excuse you, sister, I think that's quite enough of that!" Inga snapped as she shoved the romance novel within the pockets of her pretty blue robes, "I am not some naive young woman, easily mesmerised by the notion of dalliance, especially with the likes of a King, so you can stop right there." She harrumphed, crossing her arms as she acted as though her face wasn't flushed from Signy's playful winding up.
Amelia caught another wink from Signy, and let out a chuckle. Inga was clearly smitten and in denial; Amelia wondered who would give in and proclaim their attraction first between Inga and Thor - it had been obvious from the get go and only became plainer the more Amelia watched them interact.
Before Amelia could steer the subject away from romance and ask the two girls what else they had been up to as of late, there was an interruption from one of the palace guards who approached with purpose.
"Princess Amelia, one of the King's confidante's wishes to speak with you in the advisory room beside the throne room," he spoke, motioning a hand back the way he had come, "if you'll follow me, I can take you there."
Amelia blinked rapidly, confused at the summoning, she sent a glance to the sisters beside her, who looked just as clueless as her, and frowned. She rose from her seat, toeing her shoes back on a little clumsily and asked, "Um, do you know why one of the advisors wants to speak with me?"
"My apologies, princess, I have only been sent to retrieve you. I know nothing more."
"Oh… okay." Amelia figured if one of the King's advisors needed to speak with her, it was probably something important that had been orchestrated by Thor - he was probably just too busy to talk to her himself. "See you later." She waved at Signy and Inga before following after the guard.
When she arrived at the advisory room, she was greeted with finely decorated space that resembled a sort of meeting room, a large table in the centre with a large rug that stretched the length below it, and a few smaller tables and armchairs at the sides. Sat in one of the large table's seats was a middle-aged looking man with ear-length blonde hair, dressed in formal gold and reddish-brown robes, looking quite distinguished and important. Amelia was sure she had seen the man before, probably speaking with Thor at some point, but she had never shared any words with him.
"Um, hello? Did you wanna talk with me or something?" Amelia hesitantly asked, her discomfort jumping when the guard that had escorted her there left the room, leaving her alone with the man she had yet to be introduced to. She began fidgeting with her fingers almost immediately, a tell-tale sign that she didn't want to be there.
The man stood, breathing a sigh of what seemed like displeasure, and looked very close to rolling his eyes as he approached her. He was tall, but not quite as tall as Loki or Thor, though he did have a sort of imposing presence.
"Lady Amelia," he greeted, an unimpressed drawl in his voice, "I am King Thor's deputy advisor, Lord Reinn, and I have called you here so that I may give you a few lessons of… refinement. You will be taught how to act like a royal, so that you can show the level of elegance your position demands."
Amelia was shocked at the deputy advisor's proclamation, as well as just a little bit confused; she hadn't had any prior warning about receiving lessons for such a thing, and she was sure Loki or Thor would have mentioned it to her at some point, especially since she and Loki were still enjoying their honeymoon. Amelia hadn't expected lessons of refinement to be in her schedule at any point during their time in Asgard, but perhaps she had been wrong to assume anything like this wouldn't pop up.
Maybe Thor himself had asked his advisor to teach her a little grace - was he disappointed that she hadn't been acting… royal enough?
"Well, don't just stand there gawping," Reinn reprimanded, "we'll begin with your awful posture!"
Amelia curled in on herself slightly, affronted by the man's clear show of rudeness, but she kept a stiff upper lip and then straightened her back - because even Amelia could admit that she had been slumping. But, in her defense, her shoes didn't help her much. They were Asgardian-made and she wasn't at all used to the raised heel in the back, plus they were tight around the sides of her feet.
Then there was the fact that she had come to the end of her first trimester - her muscles were easily fatigued and her back often felt stiff. There were just too many things that were thrown into the mix that could be blamed for her deteriorated posture.
"Uh. Okay, can I take off my shoes?" Amelia asked, wiggling her toes within their confines.
"Absolutely not. You must acclimate yourself to being on your feet for hours at a time! You won't always be allowed to kick off your shoes or sit in comfort!" The advisor practically shrieked.
Really? Amelia thought irritably. Was there really going to be such occasions where a chance to sit down was unavailable?
"But I'm pregnant," Amelia pointed out, feeling very much like she was being unfairly treated, "I should hope I'll always have the option to sit down if I'm feeling tired."
"Tch. That's the kind of lazy entitlement that palace-workers and common folk will regard with aversion. Contrary to what you might believe, being a part of the royal family doesn't mean everybody will bow at your feet and bring you everything you desire. You do not have royal blood, it is only due to marital ties that you receive the privileges you do."
Amelia pursed her lips and clenched her hands tightly together as she began to fidget out of distress. She didn't want to be here in this man's presence, she wanted to be back with Inga and Signy, or Loki, back with somebody who actually cared about her, unlike this advisor who seemed to have it out for her.
She reached up and scratched her head idly, tousling her hair in the process, and Reinn let out another trying sigh, wagging an accusatory finger in her direction.
"You must stop fidgeting and scratching your head like that! Royals must appear composed and perfect at all times. If you stand around, slouching and mussing up your hair like that, the people will think you to be unhygienic and substandard!" He stepped towards Amelia, to her dismay, and pushed and prodded her into a more alert and put-together posture.
Amelia practically froze up the moment Reinn put his hands on her, nudging her into a stance he was happy with - it made her feel sick and repelled. She didn't want the man anywhere near her, but she couldn't so much as open her mouth to protest. The fear that something bad would happen if she were to vocally object was just too obtrusive, and perhaps it was her paranoia after her experience with Eruk and his goons, but she didn't feel safe in that moment.
"Show me how you walk across the room. A princess must move with grace - you must give off the idea that you are drifting more so than walking." Reinn ordered with a brief motion of his hand towards the other end of the room.
Amelia stiffly stepped away from Reinn, jumping at the opportunity to put some distance between herself and the older man, but she remained heedful in her slow movements, knowing she was just one mistake away from getting another earful from the clamorous advisor.
"No, no! That's all wrong." His vociferous exclamation came as expected, but that didn't mean Amelia wasn't flinching from the volume of it. "You must keep your back straight! Do you humans ever listen?" He scoffed as if disgusted with Amelia, "And lower your shoulders! You're acting as though you're being hunted like a mouse!"
Amelia might as well have felt like a mouse being hunted, and she outright refused to relax her posture, turning around to give the advisor a watery scowl, lips pulled down in a clear frown.
"No princess should be seen with such an expression," Reinn once again scolded, and Amelia couldn't tell if the man was oblivious to his insensitivity, or if he knew very much that he was upsetting her, and continued to do so at her expense, "you have to appear neutral and in control of your emotions. Agh, enough about that, we have to work on your voice!"
Amelia swallowed tightly. "My voice?" She inquired rigidly.
There was no way Thor had authorised these heartless lessons, Amelia was sure of it. Thor never showed any antipathy to Amelia for the way she walked and talked and did anything else she ever did. He didn't care about that kind of thing - they were friends, and Thor wouldn't treat his friends this way.
If on the off chance Thor felt Amelia needed to take up a few 'elegance' lessons, he would most certainly do it in a much more amiable way.
"Yes, your voice. It's simply awful. It's grating for my ears, such a prominent, unpolished twang. It honestly makes me want to gag."
Amelia stared at Reinn, fighting the urge to grab something off the long table - that vase looked mighty heavy - and throw it at his face.
"I can't just change my accent," Amelia argued, chewing the inside of her lip as a form of restraint.
"Of course you can," Reinn retorted, "a few voice-coaching lessons and then perhaps the palace-dwellers will be spared the jarring unpleasantries of your speaking voice."
This time, Amelia failed to hold back her tears, and they promptly rolled down her cheeks, betraying just how affected she was by the cruel advisor's tasteless remarks.
"Oh, you can't surely be crying?" the advisor snapped, seemingly displeased with the display, "Because of a few criticisms? You will need to learn to take evaluations like this in stride if you ever want to play the part of Asgard's new princess, and the mother of Prince Loki's children. Princesses do not cry, especially not because they cannot deal with fair admonishment."
And then, he moved suddenly towards her, still blaring on and mocking her dejection, and Amelia acted on impulse, quickly swiping up what appeared to be a dull butter knife from the table and holding it like a weapon - like Loki had briefly shown her with her dagger shortly after the Eruk fiasco. In fact, she found herself wishing she had taken it with her to Asgard instead of leaving it at home in Avengers tower.
Before Reinn could begin to screech about Amelia brandishing a butter knife at him, the double doors flew open and Loki burst in, his face enraged as he clutched a book under his arm.
"What is the meaning of this?" Loki roared, but Amelia couldn't have been more relieved to see him. She dropped the knife and scurried to Loki's side, almost stumbling in her rush to be beside him once again. Loki inspected her face, his eyes wide with anger, but in his rage, he still retained enough tenderness to brush away a few of her tears with his thumb.
"I won't ask again, Reinn," Loki seethed as he held Amelia firmly to his side, "what is the meaning of this intervention?"
"Surely you saw her waving a knife at me, my prince!? It is abundantly clear that your wife requires a great deal of behavioural management! She will never be befitting of a royal title unless she makes some serious adjustments to her conduct!" Reinn's words had Amelia shutting her eyes tightly and covering her face, her distress more than evident.
"Enough!" Loki barked, "I will hear no more of your prejudiced words. Ever since the announcement of mine and Amelia's engagement, you've seemed to go out of your way to find fault in her. I assure you that any negative things you have to say against my wife are unfounded!"
Amelia realised then that her presumption was true - Thor had not arranged for this horrible man to give her lessons. He had likely gone behind the King's back to search for a reason to throw a wrench into her marriage with Loki; the revelation sprung more tears from her eyes, but hearing Loki defend her truly warmed her heart.
"You have been blinded, my prince. She is a human, her flaws are boundless, and you should not have married her!" Reinn bellowed.
"Hold your tongue!" Loki snarled, his voice echoing off the walls of the room, "Before I cut it out!"
A silence fell across the room, one that made the small hairs on the back of Amelia's neck stand on end from the sudden absence of shouting; her hand fell instinctively to her stomach. Amelia did not know at which point unborn babies developed their sense of hearing, but she sure hoped that if they were listening to this racket, they knew that their father was passionately defending their mother's honour.
Loki's next few words were hushed and deadly. "You don't have to like my wife, Reinn," he practically spat the advisor's name, "but you will respect her. She outranks you."
There was nothing more satisfying than hearing the cruel son of a bitch being rebuked so icily.
"I will ensure my brother hears about your impertinence." Loki concluded, before beginning to usher Amelia out of the room with a secure hand on the small of her back. Amelia went without a fuss.
Reinn began to object, "This is a mistake! Lady Amelia is-"
"Princess Amelia." Loki stonily corrected the man.
With that, Loki guided Amelia out of the room and down the hall. It was amazing how quickly Amelia began to feel better after dealing with the stress of being in that grievous man's presence, and she rubbed the moisture from her cheeks, sniffling as she walked plastered to Loki's side.
"I'm sorry, Amelia," Loki murmured after several minutes, "I shouldn't have left you alone…"
"No, no," Amelia shook her head, "this wasn't your fault." She was quick to point out that the problem lied only with Reinn, because she didn't want to keep expecting things like this to happen every time she was apart from Loki. It was a one time thing, that was what she needed to believe. "I'm fine, anyway," she sniffed, "I'm okay…"
She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Loki or herself, because her heart had jumped out of her chest when Reinn had made that sudden movement towards her, and she definitely had not been okay then.
"I, ah, I think that guy must've woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Amelia stammered as she tried to draw humour into the moment, in order to distract her from the unsettling feelings she had felt.
"He is a fool. And soon he will no longer be one of Thor's advisors. It is about time the King kicked Reinn's despicable ass out of the court." His last remark sounded an awful lot like the kind of thing Amelia would say, and it made her smile. "Reinn used to be the chief advisor to Odin."
That told Amelia all she needed to know.
"Nowadays, instead of offering any useful input, he sulks in his jealousy and tries to convince Thor that his hostile agenda is the correct way to go. Thor is an oaf, but he's not stupid enough to listen to him."
Amelia nodded her head, "What's he jealous of?"
"When Thor became king, Reinn was demoted from chief advisor to deputy advisor," Loki informed, "I think he's still stewing over that."
"Oh, right," Amelia hummed, "but… who's the chief advisor?"
Loki looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow and a small smile on his face, "I am."
Amelia squeezed Loki's hand proudly and smiled, "I should've known." They carried on towards the feasting hall where Thor was likely to be at this hour, so that Loki could have a very clear and concise chat with him - probably something along the lines of 'your deputy advisor is a dick, fire him' - and Amelia's gaze fell to the book that was tucked in Loki's other arm.
"What's that?" Amelia inquired, and Loki's pace slowed a little as he followed her gaze.
Loki let out a slow sigh and cleared his throat, "It's… another of my mother's texts. This is one of her early journals that she wrote… a long time ago… shortly after I was brought into the family."
Amelia's eyes widened slightly as she eyed the book. Just like the spell tome that belonged to Frigga, it was frayed at the edges and musty looking, which didn't surprise Amelia given that the book must have been over a thousand years old, if Loki was right about its originating date.
"There are some passages where she talks about me, and the differences that came from raising a frost giant, as opposed to a normal Asgardian baby…"
Loki appeared forlorn all of a sudden, and Amelia frowned, tilting her head and placing a consoling hand on his arm. He looked at her, a very serious expression on his face, and sighed, "Amelia, I need to talk to you… it's about the children."
Amelia swallowed, her nerves spiking up like a wave over her body. "Is something wrong?" She asked in a small voice.
Loki shook his head, "No, it's- it's not like that, it's just…" he peered back over his shoulder, looking both ways down the hallway, "we should talk about it later, in the privacy of our room, after dinner. First, we will talk to Thor about Reinn."
He continued on, urging Amelia to walk close to him again. She kept a worried eye on her husband as they headed to the feasting hall. It was simply unfortunate that Amelia wasn't feeling too hungry anymore, not while her stomach was filled with nervous butterflies.
Oooh, what does Loki need to talk to Amelia about? Find out next chapter ;)
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