Hello everyone! I present another chapter for you all! I do hope you enjoy it! Thank you once again for all the lovely reviews :) they really do brighten my day!

To the anonymous reviewer Kimchilicious: more back story on Rosa? Your wish is my command. I've been meaning to work it in somewhere anyway but your review really got my butt into gear!

And I don't want to toot my own horn or anything but I have to explain to you just how impressive it is that I managed to load this chapter as quickly as I did. You see, I have very recently discovered the Game of Thrones. In the past week I've watched both seasons in their entirety AND started reading the books. I'm insanely addicted! And I've been fighting the urge to start a fanfiction in that category so that I can give my full attention to this one! haha

Please enjoy!

Rosa sat with her legs folded beneath her at the Queen's feet. She held Frigga's hand in hers while she ran a rough sponge over the Royal woman's palm.

They were strange, the duties Rosa found herself required to perform. For starters, she had never imagined that a woman's hands might need such thorough attention. It seemed to her quite ridiculous, though she truly did like Queen Frigga, and so she was happy to do so. And furthermore, when she contrasted the graceful, smooth and delicate hands of the well cared for Queen with her own – marked and calloused from years of work – she supposed she saw the reasoning behind it.

"Tell me of yourself, child," Frigga asked softly, "of your family."

"They passed, my Lady. When I was younger. My Father was slain, fighting for the All-Father against the Joten's… and my Mother went soon after that. I was the only child they bore."

Frigga watched Rosa as she worked, "I am truly sorry for your loss."

An appreciative smile, "Thank you, my Queen."

"Is that how you came to work in the Palace, as a result of your parents passing?"

"Not at first, my Lady. We lived in the outskirts of the city, where the fields first come into view. We kept livestock and so my father worked with many men and knew a great many families. He was a kind man, admired by all who knew him.

"And so… when so many returned from the war without him, my mother and I were well cared for. She fell into a dark cloud of grief, the loss too much for her to bare… she and my father loved each other dearly, and soon after she passed as well. So I was taken in by my father's dearest friend. He raised me as his own, along with his daughter Lyora. There was scarcely a moment when we were apart. We are more like sisters than many who in fact share blood.

"We grew up, playing in the grass, gazing up at the magnificent golden Palace of the Mighty Asgardian God's. We dreamed of seeing it, every inch of it. And so… when we came of age, we left the fields we grew up in to find work here, in the Palace. To this day we share a room, in fact."

Frigga smiled, "Though I'm sure it's not exactly the life you pictured here as girls."

Rosa gave a small laugh as she dipped her sponge in a small dish of water and scented oil before her, "No my Lady, not exactly… still it is an honour to serve your family. And I am happy here."

"My mother," Frigga said gently, "Always insisted that a wise being searched for happiest in the simplest of forms. Anything else that came your way was merely good fortune-"

"Said the Queen of Asgard."

Maid and Queen alike turned towards the voice. It was a strange feeling, to have Loki enter the room and for Rosa to be unable to give a reaction. Thor followed closely behind him, and she bowed her head respectfully towards the brothers, minding not to meet Loki's eye. Just as she would with any other Lord or Lady.

A wave of relief washed through her… at least now he would know where she was. If Loki was at all surprised by her presence here, he showed no sign of it.

"My Sons," Frigga said, holding her hand out towards them, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

While Loki stood almost at attention, just inside the room, Thor moved towards the Queen. With a brilliant smile, he knelt before his mother. Rosa got to her feet and gave them a respectful amount of space, and out of the corner of her eye glanced Loki's way. He looked so different in the presence of others. Regal. His posture was so strong and proud, completely unlike his relaxed demeanour he had around her now. He would not meet her eye.

"Mother," came Thor's voice, "Loki and I head for the practice ring. It was he who pointed out just how long it has been since you were there to cheer for my victories-" Loki scowled at that, my victories "-Will you not accompany us on such a fine day?"

Frigga smiled and cupped her son's cheek, "Not a thing could entice me more, my son." She turned from him, "Rosa, Orellin was busy at work preparing for me a new cloak. Go to her and see if it is ready. I should like to wear it if I am to be amongst Asgard's Warriors."

"Of course, My Lady." She replied, and offered the Royal family a curtsey.

Thor's eyes flicked up to her face for a moment, lingering there for a moment before returning to his mother. Loki's gaze did not fall upon her at all. She hurried out of the room to find the seamstress, her footsteps echoing around her in the vast deserted hallway.

Not long after, Thor and Loki emerged from Frigga's chambers. She told them that she would dress and attend the training fields soon after.

"I shall be matched with Fandral on this morn. And you shall find Loki anywhere in the vicinity that is near Lady Sif's side." Thor winked at his mother before shutting the door behind himself and his brother.

Loki scowled.

"Thor, I will not say this again; I will not pursue Sif." Loki's voice was low and dangerous. Anyone else would have dropped the subject.

Thor flashed a smile. He was so used to dazzling everyone around him with it, that Loki was sure his brother expected a swoon from him in return.

"Loki, I know you to be guarded when it comes to your emotions, but should you attempt to view Sif in such a light-"

"I tell you here and now brother, Sif is taken with you. It is no secret. And though you may try and fool those around you, playing yourself off as oblivious, I know better. You have noticed her affections but you will not have her for she is too strong willed, so you intend to have someone else – in this case, me – distract her. Sif would make a fine partner but you she would not do for you, would she brother? You seek not a woman, but a prize. You wait for perfection, and as soon as you find what you see to be a woman's flaw, you become completely disinterested."

Thor eyed his brother, his words had been laced with venom. Loki had always been short of temper, but he still found such a reaction to be strange. Was it that Loki did indeed hold Sif dearer to him than he let on, or did he truly disapprove of the way Thor treated women? Thor knew that he and Loki had always been worlds apart, and courtship was just another way in which they differed. He had never known his brother to be taken with a woman, and his attempts to win a Lady's affection were rarer than trips to Midgard. Loki was one for solitude. It was well known that he found the company of others taxing and for the most part, irritating.

Thor on the other hand attracted women in flocks. He had yet to meet a woman he was incapable of making blush. He was in no way ignorant to the fact that he could have any of them, and he had had many of them indeed. Still, he could not deny the truth in his brother's speech, he did not keep any of them long. They inspired lust in him, true enough, but never anything more.

This would not do, Thor decided. He would not just settle for that as truth. Something that Loki and he did have in common was their need to best the other. Sibling rivalry. And for this reason, Thor decided his best option was indeed to court a woman and prove his brother incorrect.

Thor then turned towards the noise of footsteps approaching from the far end of the corridor. His mother's handmaid was returning, in her arms she carried his mothers royal blue cloak. He had noted her appearance in his mother's chambers. She was attractive – for a maid, though nothing in comparison to the Ladies and Godesses he usually had in his company. He couldn't imagine her to have anything worthwhile to say. After all, did any of the servants? Bland, he concluded. A perfect specimen to serve his point.

Thor made his way towards her. Loki had seen him staring and his stomach clenched unpleasantly.

"What are you doing, brother?" he asked sharply.

"Proving a point," Thor told him before turning back to the approaching handmaid.

"Maiden," he said once he had reached her.

She glanced at him, confused before inclining her head. "My Lord."

"Your name?"

"Rosa, my Lord." She offered, glancing quickly in Loki's direction. He stood, glaring daggers at the back of his older brother's head. He knew what was coming and he was not impressed.

Thor took Rosa's hand in his and she could not help but to let out a small gasp of surprise. Thor brought her knuckles up to lips and pressed a kiss there. She was certain that she heard Loki let out a low hiss.

"Rosa," he repeated, flashing her a charming smile, "A beautiful name for a beautiful maiden. Would you not stay for a time in my company? It would delight me to have you cheering my name at the training arena and once I have conquered all those foolish enough to face me, I shall give you a tour of the Royal Gardens."

"That is most kind of you, My Lord," her eyes flickered over to a seething Loki once again, he looked as if it took every ounce of his will power not to leap across and gouge out his brother's eyes then and there. His cool gaze met hers, bitterness danced across his features. It seemed he had already concluded as to what her answer would be. What else would it be other than yes? Invited to spend some private time, courted by the Mighty Thor!

Rosa returned her gaze to the blond man before her. She smiled politely as she gently pulled her hand out of Thor's grasp "But, I fear I must decline."

Her answer seemed to Thor, so unexpected that he did not have the capacity to mask his surprise.

"I have many duties that must be seen to, My Lord, and I fear that I might be punished-" her eyes flicked to Loki's for only a second, he did not miss the seductive inclination in her tone, "-quite severely if I were to neglect them for an afternoon in your company."

She curtsied, "Prince Thor."

Rosa then turned to Loki, making sure to make meaningful eye contact with him as she bent before him gracefully. I am yours.

"My Lord." She said before making her way towards the door to the Queen's chambers.

"Perhaps she favours the fairer sex." Thor murmured as he watched her retreat.

Loki could not help the smug smirk he wore on his face, he loved that woman. There was not a doubt in his mind.

"Perhaps," he turned towards his brother, "you should not take Sif's advances lightly. It would appear that you are losing your touch."

No sooner had Rosa stepped through the door, re-entering the Queen's chambers that she was pulled violently towards the wall beside her. She let out a small squeal and shut her eyes as she flinched, expecting the pain that would come when her body was slammed up against stone. It did not come. Instead, she was pressed gently against the wall, two hands upon her hips and a warm body then pressed up against hers.

She opened her eyes to see Loki standing right before her. In horror, she glanced over his shoulder, preparing for the outrage of her Queen who stood only metres away. It did not come, for Queen Frigga was frozen in her place, halfway through the motion of standing from her seat, her mouth open ready to speak.

"She cannot see us," Loki whispered, "and I will be gone by the time she can move again. She will not know that anything has occured between you opening the door and her sentence beginning."

Rosa breathed a sigh of relief, "You frightened me."

He held her close and pressed a kiss against her throat. She let out a gasp and her fingers dug into Loki's shoulders.

"I've been standing here in shadows for hours now, waiting to have you alone once again. I could bear waiting no longer."

"But I was just with you-"

"A projection and nothing more… I've been hidden here the entire while. It is thoroughly displeasing, the fact we can no longer be alone."

"It worried me to the point of distraction, the thought of you entering the Library to find another in my place. Without warning of where I had gone." She whispered to him, his forehead was pressed to hers and his eyes were closed, savouring her presence.

"The new Bookkeeper, does she please the eye?" Rosa asked.

Loki's eyes snapped open suddenly, pure shock upon his features. Rosa smiled teasingly at him and he smirked. He lifted her up and pinned her against the wall a whole head above him, his arms around her waist. She giggled as he stared up at her.

"There is not a being in creation that could even hope to hold a candle to you, my star." He murmured.

The name made Rosa blush. She knew he said it in reference to their book, the first they had read together. Slowly he slid her back down to the ground, his eyes never once leaving her face. He pulled her into a kiss.

"Wait in the corridor adjoined to my chambers tonight, I will come for you."

Rosa nodded, her hands were upon his chest and she fought the urge to grip onto him. She wanted to make him stay right there with her.

He kissed her once more before she whispered, "Go…"

With one last glance at her he turned, opening the door and walking away from her. Every step took all the will power he possessed.

"I tried to make the flower bloom," Rosa told him, "I sat up most of the night staring at that wretched bud!"

Her smile was infectious, and inevitably a grin to match hers appeared up Loki's face as he reclined back against his pillows, watching her.

"I was sure I would eventually suffer from a nose bleed. Just sitting there for hours on end , straining, and glaring at a flower bud… I just wanted something to happen so badly. I wanted to be able to show you that I'd made it open."

"That is most likely half of your problem," Loki told her, "the amount of effort you are putting in. You cannot force it to happen, you merely have to make it happen."

Rosa gave a frustrated laugh and crawled towards him, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips and said, "What is the difference?"

"When you succeed… then you shall know the difference."

He cupped her cheek, admiring her beauty in the candle light. She truly was beautiful, he thought to himself, she who he came to see as the embodiment of passion, of goodness. Perhaps one day, it would be made known to Asgard that that was exactly who and what she was. The Goddess of Goodness… The Goddess of Vibrance… The Goddess of Stars.

"I have something for you," Loki told her, leaning over the side of his bed and reaching underneath it.

Rosa tilted her head, as the Prince sat back up he held his fist closed. He moved towards her, kneeling down where she sat. Then he held out his hand to reveal a beautiful gold chain. It was thin and delicate, and it glittering richly in the candle light. Upon it was a deep green emerald, in the shape of a teardrop. It was truly beautiful. A piece of jewellery fit for royalty.

Rosa was utterly speechless as she stared at it in disbelief. Her fingers touched it reverently, confirming that it was real, that it was for her.

"Loki…" she managed as she met his eye and he watched her with a smirk upon his lips.

"Will you wear it for me?" He asked.

Rosa suddenly bowed her head, embarrassed, "Loki, I cannot…"

With furrowed eyebrows, he studied her. Pulling his hand back a little, "It does not please you."

"No, of course it does, Loki." She told him quickly, her hands coming up to caress his jawline so that he would meet her eye, "I love it. Truly. It's just…"

"…what?"

Rosa sighed, "You forget me Loki… who I am. A maid cannot wear something this beautiful. It will be assumed that I have stolen it and I shall face punishment."

Loki cupped her chin and pressed a kiss to her forehead. As he did so, he reached up behind her and he clasped the chain around her neck. Her fingers came quickly to rest upon his.

"Loki-"

"It's alright," Loki hushed her, running his fingers down the chain. It shifted as he did so, changing, "No one shall know. No one shall see it… But it is yours."

Rosa looked down and the gold had been turned to leather, the emerald now a jade stone. She ran her fingers over it and thought it just as lovely as it had been in it's original state.

"And one day, you shall wear it – in it's true form – with pride." It was a promise to himself as much as it was to her.

Rosa only smiled.

The sun was only just beginning to peak through the golden curtains spilling light over the couple.
Loki lay on his back, Rosa's head rested on his bare chest, her hair pooling onto his stomach. She ran her fingers lazily up and down his bicep and stared absent-mindedly as her fingers worked. His eyes were shut but he wasn't sleeping. Neither of them had managed a wink of sleep that night.

The lay in comfortable silence, basking in the feeling of contentment and the comfort of each other.

"I love you." Rosa whispered, her strokes on his arm faltering when she felt him tense up.

He had stopped breathing and when she glanced up at him he stared down at her, wide eyed. She moved off of him as he sat up and stared at her.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice strained.

"Nothing." She answered quickly, averting her eyes. "I should go."

She leapt up, sheet wrapped around her as she searched the floor for her clothes.

"Rosa, say it again…" Loki got up in a dazed sort of state, he followed around the room as she shuffled back into the garments she had worn the previous night.

"I must go, Loki," she reached for the door, but Loki threw his hands up by either side of her, closing the door and pinning her where she stood.

"I said, say it again." He whispered, huskily. He moved closer to her, invading her space.

"I didn't say anything." Rosa tried, her knees weakening at the sensation of his breath on her neck.

He cupped her cheek gently, lovingly, "Rosa," Loki whispered, a smile on his face, "Tell me again."

She stared into the deep blue pools of his eyes, her hands finding their way to gently settle upon his bare chest, "I love you." She said, before his lips were on hers.

This was a new kiss, one Loki had never let slip to her before. It was vulnerable. And it caught her off guard. She had never experienced Loki baring himself to her like this. He held her as if she would disappear if he let go. When his lips finally left hers he wrapped his arms around her and he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

They stood there, wrapped in each others embrace in total silence. Rosa would have worn that she had felt a tear drop onto her shoulder. She didn't acknowledge it, she knew he wouldn't like that. Rosa stroked his hair gently with a furrowed brow. Why had her words inspired this reaction?

Loki placed soft kisses against the skin of her neck. He felt like he was breaking. As if her words had pushed themselves inside him and grown white hot, expanding until they would cause him to explode. She had no idea what her words – her three simple words – had meant to him. That she, the most wonderful person he had ever met, had picked him.

He was aware that he was jealous. His envy of Thor was palpable. And there was no denying Thor's attention being directed towards Rosa that day had terrified him. He would never admit it to her, or to anyone else, but he had been sure in that moment that he would never see her again.

She could have had Thor, the Nation's favourite. Everyone's favourite. And yet here she stood, in his arms, confessing her love for him.

"Say it one more time," He begged in a whisper, his forehead nudging up against her jaw line. His eyes were closed and he breathed in deeply, savouring this moment. Rosa moved to place a hand on either side of his face, lifting his head so that he would meet her eye. He did so reluctantly. She saw it when their eyes did meet; the vulnerability, the sheer need for her to tell him that it was real, that she meant it.

A smile bloomed upon her lips, "I love you, Loki…"

He kissed her once more, "Rosa, I-"

He could not say the words, yet Rosa heard them all the same.

I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading :) Any feedback is much loved and appreciated!

Until next time! ;) xoxo