A/N 1: ridiculously long chapter ahead. But it's totally worth the eye strain, I promise ;)
Loki awoke later than he normally did most mornings, frowning in confusion as he rolled from his front to his back and wondered where his sheets were. A glance to his right answered his question, and he smiled lightly at the little ball Aemilia was curled into underneath the sheets that she was hogging. Her face was only visible from her nose up, and she looked almost childlike.
She'd been sleeping in his bed every night since her "banishment" began, and it had been a pleasant strangeness to share his bed with another. He hadn't slept in the same bed as someone else since early in his youth, when he and Thor were inseparable, and the idea of doing so with a woman had been just strange at first. But where he'd expected clinginess and general discomfort, she turned out to be the ideal bedmate - quiet, not restless, and not one to cling.
And keeping her close throughout the night had its obvious benefits. She may have been a steady sleeper, but he was not, and during the many times a night that he'd wake for no clear reason, he'd occasionally take advantage of her willingness to let him have her whenever he wanted. The mornings would often provide the same advantages, and he found that there were no downsides to sleeping with her.
Today's sheet-hogging was inconsequential. He shifted closer to her and gently pried the sheet down from her face, causing her to stir slightly as he pulled it down to shoulder. He nuzzled her neck, kissing her skin that was a bit cooler than usual, feeling it heat quickly under his touch as she slowly awakened.
Her fingers found his hair as he continued to shower her neck with soft kisses, sliding through his messy strands as she hummed contentedly. Then he lifted his head and pressed his lips to hers, removing her cocoon of sheets fully and pulling her against him, and she happily complied, returning his kiss with sleepy enthusiasm.
He liked these mornings together, how in contrast they were to their nights. These early moments were lazier, more languid, utterly relaxed, and if left to themselves, they could waste an hour like this, not bothering to leave the bed and dress until they absolutely had to.
But this morning was doomed from the outset. Loki remembered from the moment his eyes opened what day it was, but Aemilia surely hadn't - if she had, she would have been shrieking about sleeping too late and running as fast as she could from his room in a sheer panic.
He waited for the realization to hit her, letting his kisses deepen and running his fingertips down the length of her body as she returned his touches, carefree.
"Is it late?" she eventually asked breathily against his lips.
"Quite," he chuckled in response, kissing her chin and then her jaw as she mewled in response.
She caught his lips with hers again, and he was halfway considering reminding her what the day held for them, but before he could, her lips suddenly froze against his. He opened his eyes, watching hers open wider, and he smiled as she jerked away from him and all but bolted from the bed.
"The party! Oh, no... I'm so far behind schedule... why didn't you wake me?! Oh, no, no, no..."
Loki sat up, watching in amusement as she tried to pull on her dress from the night before, so disheveled and panicked that she tried to put it on backwards. She mumbled the whole time, darting from one end of the room to the other, grabbing her shoes and then hurriedly running her fingers through her tangled hair with one hand while the other shoved the shoes on to her feet.
"Aemilia."
She looked up and saw him motion for her to come closer. "Loki, no, I have to-"
"Aemilia," he repeated, slightly more authoritative this time. "Come here."
She huffed and stomped over to him, and he narrowed his eyes playfully at her attitude before he waved a hand and put her back together perfectly. Then he grasped her hand, and she sighed in relief.
"I thought..."
"I know what you thought," he grinned.
"You need to teach me how to do that myself."
He shrugged. "Perhaps. Now go prepare yourself. We've a big day ahead of us."
She smiled, and it was an infectious thing. A moment later, he'd vanished her to her own room, and he was alone. He took a deep breath and ventured out of his bed to dress, contemplating the oddness of the day ahead.
Frigga had been most thrilled with his plans to escort Aemilia to the first round of celebrations being held in Thor's honor, placing them in the public eye as an official couple. This meant that he was now "courting" her - as odd a concept as that was - and to his relief, even Odin approved. He'd been a bit wary at first, due to the slight scandalous nature of the relationship following her previous engagement and subsequent banishment, but her noble status was intact, and Frigga wholeheartedly supported her. He gave his approval then, but Loki suspected that Odin would not have been so generous had Loki been heir to the the throne.
It didn't matter. He preferred it this way. He'd gotten his way, and unbeknownst to all but him, these celebrations would be in vain if his more secretive plans succeeded. The stage was already set, and now he needed only to wait play his part in the meantime.
His thoughts had placed him in a good mood, and after he dressed and left his room, he strolled down the hallway towards his mother's rooms, as per usual. He passed the two guards stationed at the end of the hall and then suddenly stopped, narrowing his eyes as he took a step back and looked at one of the guardsmen.
The man stared ahead, as was protocol, and Loki had to wonder if someone had stationed this man so close to his chambers as some kind of joke. Of all the places in the palace that Aemilia's ex-fiancé could have been assigned to, he gets assigned here.
"How long are you assigned to this post, Guardsman?" Loki asked.
"Two weeks, Your Highness," Dagr replied, still not looking the Prince in the eye. Now it was choice, not protocol.
"And your shift is?"
"Night to morning, Your Highness."
"Ah," Loki replied. He looked away, the wheels of mischief turning in his head as he began walking again. An idea was already forming in his head to further torture the poor man, and Loki had a feeling it would prove to be one of his more deliciously enjoyable ones.
She could not believe that today, of all days, she had overslept. She had already been nervous to begin with, but now, she was positively frantic.
Thanks to Loki's magic shortcuts, she'd made it to her final rehearsals almost on time, not late enough for anyone to notice otherwise. It had taken the better part of two hours, and once it was over, it was back to her room to quickly eat as Gunnvarr prepped and polished her, which was a whole other ordeal in itself.
Once she was bathed and scrubbed and smothered in fragrant oils to an inch of her life, she returned to her bedchamber with Gunnvarr and waited as the handmaid went to fetch her dress from the closet. When she came back, armed with a black dress bag, she laid it on the bed and quickly untied the bindings. Aemilia peered down at what lay inside and felt her jaw drop.
"Oh, my... is this what the Queen had made for you?"
She watched as Gunnvarr delicately picked up the dress and raked her eyes over it, somewhat dumbfounded. Aemilia had been fitted by one of the Queen's own dressmakers some weeks ago, and she had chosen a light aqua design for the gown that she would sing in today. But the dress before her now was nothing like the one she'd chosen, gold with subtle hints of green throughout, and certainly less tame.
"... No," Aemilia sighed, reaching out and touching the fabric. It felt as luxurious as it looked. "I suppose the colors make it clear who I have to thank for this."
"That Prince of yours is incorrigible. No shame at all, and he's been that way since he was a boy."
"You must have been in the Queen's service for some time," Aemilia observed as Gunnvarr swiftly undid the tiny buttons at the back of the dress.
"Since I was your age," she replied. "The Queen appreciates my firm hand. Any other royal would have dismissed me eons ago for it, but I have her trust. I suspect that's why she assigned me to you - to help keep an eye on her son and see that he treats you well. Now come on, step into this and let's see how it looks on you, child."
A few moments later, Aemilia stood in front of her full-length mirror, unable to deny that the dress looked rather amazing on her. It fit her perfectly, the gold, silk-like fabric wrapping around her curves and giving a gorgeous silhouette. The only part that gave her pause was the sheer section on her right side that ran all the way from her hipbone to the bottom of the skirt, shielded only by thin sheer fabric embellished with intricate swirls of shimmering gold with deep green accents. Along the neckline was a similar design, and at the back of the one-shouldered strap was a flowing cape-like swath that trailed the floor and made her look truly like a goddess.
It was daring, to be sure, but undeniably stunning.
"Well, that's not quite the dress I envisioned you in."
Aemilia turned and looked at her door, a faint heat reaching her cheeks as the Queen strode in.
"I - this was what was delivered, if it's in poor taste -"
Frigga smiled and shook her head. "No, no. You look lovely. And I'm sure Loki would hate to see his hard work go to waste."
Aemilia nodded, letting out a breath and deciding that the Queen was unquestionably her favorite person ever. "You don't think it indecent?"
Frigga came and stood behind her, appraising her reflection and musing, "Indecent, no. Attention-demanding and beautiful, yes. I admit that I wore similar gowns in my day."
Aemilia looked up at the smile on the Queen's reflection and she replied, "If I may say so, it is still very much your day, my Queen."
Frigga patted her shoulder. "Bless you for saying so, dear. Are you prepared for this day and what will undoubtedly follow?"
Aemilia took a breath and turned to face the Queen. "I believe so."
"You are about to face a level of scrutiny that you cannot yet fathom," Frigga warned. "Loki pretends that because he is not heir that there will be little interest, but he is wrong. Especially considering how the two of you came to be."
Aemilia nodded. "I know. I expect nothing less."
"Do you know what was said of me, when I came to live here after the war between Asgard and my homeland of Vanaheim?" Frigga asked. Aemilia shook her head. "I was eyed with distrust and suspicion, which only grew when I gained the King's attention. I was not of Asgardian blood, I had skill in magic that was unprecedented and immediately feared, and the people feared that I would attempt to control their noble King through my 'witchcraft'."
Aemilia had never heard a word of this before. To her knowledge, the Queen had always been universally loved and treasured by all of Asgard.
"Also," she sighed, "Vanir society is a bit more... relaxed than that of Asgard in some areas, so not only was I an untrustworthy witch, I was also not the pure bride the people wanted for their young King."
And the surprises just kept coming. "Oh."
Frigga smiled. "So as you can see, I caused quite the scandal in those days."
"How did you turn it around?"
"I was patient," the Queen replied. "I got to know the people, whether they liked it or not. I did not hide or pretend to be anything other than what I was. The people came to see, in time, that I was an asset to their country and to their King. And I've never given them a reason to believe otherwise." Frigga then took Aemilia's hand and added, "Be yourself. Be strong. Let the people gossip and say what they will. They will come to know you in time, just as they came to know me."
Aemilia nodded, struck by the way Frigga spoke in such long-term terminology. She and Loki were only going public with a supposed courtship, not announcing a wedding date. As she thanked the Queen for her kind and wise words, she found herself with the distinct impression once again that Frigga knew certain things that nobody else did. She certainly spoke with the subtle confidence of one with foresight.
"Now," Frigga sighed, motioning to Gunnvarr, "I believe it's time that I give you your gift."
"Oh, you didn't have to-"
"Of course I did," Frigga smiled, taking a long white box from the servant. "Don't be silly. Besides, this will go even better with that dress than the other one."
She handed the box to Aemilia, and she opened it to find a golden head chain inside. "Oh... wow."
Frigga smiled and picked up the chain, carefully lifting it from the box and placing it atop Aemilia's head to try it on her. She then turned to look at it in the mirror, admiring the delicate jewelry. Three chains on either side of her head draped and gathered at a large diamond that lay gently on her forehead, further anchored by one lone chain that ran into the middle of her hairline; the diamond was flawless, framed by smaller ones and holding three tiny dangling rows of yet more little diamonds, nearly long enough to touch between Aemilia's eyebrows.
"It is stunningly beautiful," she raved. "Thank you."
"It is dwarf made, spun with the finest gold in the realm. I saw it and thought would suit you well," Frigga smiled. "I've obviously never gotten to bestow such gifts upon my sons, so this is quite a new and enjoyable experience for me."
It was a bit overwhelming, but in a pleasant way. Frigga was clearly a spoiler at heart, far more so than Aemilia's own parents had ever been. She smiled at the Queen and thanked her again, and her gratitude encompassed far more than the jewelry.
"I will leave you to the rest of your preparations," Frigga smiled. "Do remember what I told you when the tongues start wagging."
Aemilia smiled back. "I will. Thank you, my Queen."
It took an hour of pain and discomfort before her hair was up and styled to Gunnvarr's satisfaction, but it was worth it. Aemilia's dark locks were curled and twisted intricately at the top of the back of her head, little pieces strategically pulled out to frame her face, and Frigga's gift looked exquisite atop her head. When it was finally done and all that were left were the finishing touches, there was a knock at her door.
Somehow she knew who it was before they entered. When he did, Gunnvarr glanced at the door and started huffing, and Aemilia almost laughed at the servant's reaction until she turned away from the mirror to look for herself.
Her eyes met Loki's and she quickly dismissed Gunnvarr. He was in his full Princely regalia, helm and all, and she couldn't help but bite her lip. On anyone else, the horns would have looked ridiculous; on him, they were exceptionally attractive.
He walked into the room slowly as Gunnvarr exited it, trailing his eyes up and down Aemilia's figure, clad in the dress he'd had designed for her. He took in each inch slowly, like he was committing it all to memory, and he especially lingered on the sheer part of her dress.
He didn't speak until they were only inches apart, and after he'd all but undressed her with his eyes. At last his gaze met hers. "You should let me dress you more often."
She rolled her eyes, but her smile was plastered to her lips. "You're usually too busy undressing me."
He smirked and then leaned forward, catching her lips in a hungry kiss. An arm snaked around her waist and yanked her to his chest, but he was careful to not disturb her hair or dress in his actions.
She would have loved to let him kiss her into oblivion, but they were on a timetable and she forced herself to pull away. She smiled up at him and asked, "Did you come here to make me late again?"
He grinned and shook his head, then removed one of his hands from her waist and replied, "Tempting thought, but not this time."
His fingers flicked against the air and a small box appeared in his hand. Her eyes widened and she half-groaned, "Oh, Nine Realms, another gift."
He chuckled, handing it out to her. "Open it."
She took the box with both hands, shaking her head slightly as she removed the lid. She peered into the little box and reached in, pulling out what appeared to be an arm band. It was gold and thin, wound around several times, almost snake-like, and at the top, the band split into two rising horn-like curves.
Because merely wearing his colors and being on his arm wasn't enough to mark her as his. She needed to bear the symbol of his helm, as well.
And she loved it.
"Do you like it?" he asked, taking it from her and sliding his finger along the inside of it, releasing a catch that opened the band.
She watched as he slid it on to her right arm, smiling as she replied, "Immensely. I might have to wear it regularly."
"Good," he grinned, securing it along her upper arm. He admired his handiwork for a moment, then turned his eyes back to hers and pulled her in for another kiss.
She reached up to place her palms on the cool metal that lined his face, finding him in his full armor and the symbolism in his gift to be far more of a turn on than she would have expected. She began to think, as he deepened the kiss, that maybe they did have a few minutes to spare. But before she could voice that thought, they were interrupted by Gunnvarr walking back into the room.
"No time for that! Forgive my intrusion, but we simply must finish your preparations, my lady!"
Loki groaned slightly as he pulled away, and Aemilia smiled up at his slightly frustrated expression. He addressed Gunnvarr without so much as a glance her way, "I've come to escort the Lady to the Hall. These preparations will have to do."
Aemilia glanced in the mirror as he took her hand, more than satisfied with how she looked, but Gunnvarr immediately started fussing and rushing towards them as Loki tugged on her arm.
"Gunnvarr, really, it's fine, I'm ready," Aemilia laughed as she let Loki drag her towards the door. The servant huffed some more but had no choice but to watch them go.
"Insufferable woman," Loki muttered as he pulled Aemilia into the hallway. "She's as annoying as she was when I was a child. Possibly more so."
"I like her," Aemilia replied, glancing down at their clasped hands as they walked.
"You would," he snorted, glancing down at her and finding that her eyes had travelled up to his helm. Again. He smirked. "Should I wear this for you more often?"
"I would not object if you did," she smiled in reply.
"I'll keep it in mind. Are you nervous?"
"About what? Letting the entire realm know about us, or singing in front of the entire realm?"
"Both," Loki grinned.
"I am a bit nervous," she replied truthfully. "But it's thrilling in a... pleasant way. I wouldn't change a thing about what's to come today."
They had neared the end of the hallway when he stopped unexpectedly and faced her, their hands still clasped. "Neither would I. And I mean that. Sincerely. I was a fool to not do this sooner."
She blinked up at his unexpected honesty, smiling gently before he placed a kiss to her lips.
"Now," he grinned as he pulled away, "let's go."
The Great Hall was as packed and filled as the streets outside of the palace were, all throughout the city of Asgard. It was a day for nobles and commoners alike, the grand start to a month that would end in a new King taking the throne, and naturally, that meant a bit of royal ceremony followed by a night of furiously celebratory drinking and merriment to be had throughout all of the land, by all of the current and future King's subjects.
The celebrations would begin with a quick address from Odin on the front steps of the palace, bridging the gap between the commoners on the street and the nobles that lined the hall. Then, an ancient anthem of Asgard would be sung, and the sound of the King's scepter striking the ground would signal the official start of the festivities.
Loki led Aemilia to the Great Hall's entrance within the palace and waited. He would be the first to walk through the Hall to the front steps outside, followed by Thor, and then by the King and Queen.
He could feel Aemilia's anxiety. It was all but rolling off of her in waves, punctuated by the magical energy within her that she was still in the process of fully controlling. He could feel the truth of her words, however, that it wasn't an unpleasant thrill that she felt. On the contrary, she seemed eager for what lay ahead.
He eyed the band on her arm, quietly pleased with himself and his idea to brand her with his emblem. He was even more pleased with her overall appearance, however - she looked like a goddess, as if she were born to be royalty herself, and though this day may be in his brother's honor, Loki not help but feel an immense triumph at he being the one to have such an exquisite woman on his arm, rather than his brother.
She had looked up at him and appeared to be on the verge of speaking when loud footsteps sounded behind them. Loki could distinguish his brother's footsteps from that of anyone else's with ease.
"At last," Loki said, turning to smirk at Thor as he came bounding towards them. "Nearly late to your own party."
"Ah, but my party has already begun," Thor winked, the distinct scent of a familiar feminine perfume hitting Loki's nose as Thor came to stop.
Loki raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm glad to see you managed to tear yourself away."
He then watched his brother and Aemilia exchange greetings, and then it was time to go.
He unclasped their hands and then offered his arm to her with a smile. "Ready, darling?"
She smiled back and linked her arm with his. "Ready."
She listened to a guard announce their names in the Hall, everything suddenly feeling extremely real and yet also surreal at the same time. Her arm was wrapped tightly in his, her fingers curled on his upper arm, and when they stepped through the Hall's doors and into the view of the nobles - nearly all of whom she'd met at some point in her young life - she smiled and held her head high as she walked by the Prince's side.
At first, the people didn't so much as bat an eye. So the Prince was escort the woman who would sing the anthem of Asgard - not an uncommon concept.
But then, she caught a few of the older ladies of the court whispering amongst themselves. One subtly pointed to her arm. Aemilia could almost see the clicking taking place in their minds.
Before this day, it had been rumored that she was living at the palace as a guest of Thor's. He had been seen greeting her the day she arrived, and dancing rambunctiously with her since then. She was never seen leaving her own room in the mornings, servants whispered; and she had been banished recently from her own home after refusing a marriage.
Now they would all know that she was indeed a companion of a Prince, just not the one they all originally assumed.
The older ladies stared with mostly stone faces, masking glowers. The men didn't seem overly interested, though they did feast their eyes upon her, predictably. The younger girls, some of whom Aemilia had played with as a child, wore shocked smiles. Other women, whom she'd never met before, glared at both her and Loki; she needed only one guess as to why.
Soon they neared the end of the Hall, and they walked to the top of the outside steps, where much less judgmental eyes awaited them. Aemilia watched as Loki, in statesman form, waved and smiled at the commoners lining and filling the courtyard and surrounding streets. A small nudge from him urged her to do the same, and she obliged, though she felt a bit out of sorts doing it.
Then Thor arrived behind them, and Loki led her to the left, where they stood and waited. Thor took much longer entertaining the crowd, proudly displaying Mjolnir as if the realm hadn't ever seen it before, and Aemilia could nearly feel Loki's eyes rolling.
But when she looked up at Loki, she didn't see ridicule. She didn't even see a blank, bored expression. Instead, she saw genuine, if slightly exasperated, affection as he watched his brother play to the crowd.
She looked away when Thor finally moved to the right, and then the King and Queen arrived. That was when the crowd truly cheered and made their adoration known, and Aemilia took a moment to fully take in the fact that she was standing here, on the steps of the palace, with the royal family, at the start of one of the most important months the realm had seen in possibly millennia.
All because one day, in a streak of rebellion, she'd allowed a Prince to kiss her in the moonlight, in this very palace.
How unexpectedly enormous one's smallest action could prove.
The King spoke briefly to the people, far more briefly than she had anticipated. Then he introduced her, and moved to join Thor's side. Frigga took Loki's side, and Aemilia stared at the spot where Odin had stood, her own feet gracefully taking her there.
Behind her, Loki made a motion with his hand, magically amplifying her voice for all of the crowd to hear. The atmosphere became silent as she took her place before the people, and where a lesser woman would have been terrified, she looked out at the city before her feet and smiled.
This was already one of the best moments of her life, and she hadn't even begun to sing yet.
Loki had not seen many sights that he would qualify as breathtaking. His breath was, generally speaking, quite steady and firm in his lungs, and taking it away was no easy task. However, when this beautiful creature, dressed elegantly in his colors, wearing the symbol of his helm on her arm and his mother's gift upon her head, walked to where his father had stood only a moment before and opened her mouth, letting that glorious voice of hers wash over the ears of the kingdom as she sang one of its oldest songs, he finally understood what it meant to truly have your breath taken away.
The song was sung in battle and in state alike, a vocally demanding tribute to the everlasting strength and beauty of Asgard, as well as that of its oldest ancestors. She carried the notes with ease, her arms rising from her sides with the highest notes, the large swath of emerald-lined gold fabric behind her shoulder billowing in the wind and giving her an even more goddess-like appearance.
If he could have his way, he would always see her like this. This was Aemilia in her element, at the height of confidence, the single most beautiful thing he'd seen in his thousand years.
And he didn't think such things lightly.
He felt a gaze on him, and he expected it to be from his mother, smiling in that knowing, insightful way of hers. Instead, he glanced over and caught Thor grinning at him as subtly as he could manage.
Thor was happy for him, as happy as any brother would be for another who'd found an exceptional woman. It was written on his face. And it gave rise to a small pang of guilt that Loki instantly brushed aside.
He smiled back at his brother, then turned his eyes back to Aemilia as she reached the final notes.
He certainly had found an exceptional woman, the most exceptional woman, in his opinion. What had begun as a game, a way to pass the time and ruin an innocent woman for the fun of it, had become something else entirely, and he couldn't even pinpoint when it had begun to change for him.
It was the height of irony; he had originally set out to ruin her for all others, force her to crave him for all of her many years when she could no longer have him, and yet now he could not imagine feeling the touch of any woman other than her. She had ruined him as effectively as he'd ruined her.
Her final note soared over the crowd, over the city, and rose up to the cloudless sky above. It went on and on, and he reveled in it, a grin reaching his lips when the city began their applause before she had even fully ended it.
His own applause followed, as she gave a graceful, humble bow to her audience. Then he glanced at his father to gauge his reaction. Odin approved, smiling with his usual grave undertone as he also applauded.
When Aemilia finally turned, when the applause had finally lessened after what had felt like a blessedly very long time, she smiled at the family behind her and took the hand that Loki offered to her. She returned to his side, her hand shaking in his with all of the leftover adrenaline running through her veins, as Odin stood in the center once more and began the festivities with a strike of Gungnir,
The crowd's cheering began anew, this time in exultation of the fabulous city-wide celebrations that had officially just begun. Loki and the rest of the family bade the public a farewell, then headed back inside the palace, to the Great Hall, where their own party awaited.
On their way back inside, Loki grinned down at Aemilia, who was positively radiating from her performance, and bent down to nuzzle her ear as they walked.
"You should be proud, my little Goddess of Song."
A shiver ran down her spine at his words. She was already humming and buzzing with energy, on a pure, unadulterated high following her performance on the palace steps, and Loki's whisper in her ear only amplified the dizzying sensations.
"I wasn't aware that you had the authority to bestow titles like that," she smiled up at him, shifting her hand in his so that their fingers laced and interlocked together.
"If I did, it would be yours," he replied sincerely. Then his eyes flickered forward and lost some of their mirth, and she followed his gaze and was surprised to see a gaggle of nobles all but tripping over themselves to get to her.
Right. This was what Frigga had been warning her about.
She smiled and received the attention as graciously as she could, having her hand and cheeks kissed within an inch of her life, and Loki stood by her for as long as he could, before he was eventually and inevitably pulled away in another direction.
Having been raised among these people, she wasn't surprised by the candor in their questions and statements, but it was still jarring at times.
One older woman, who she knew to be moderately well acquainted with her mother, fussed and gave her a particularly hard time after lavishing the appropriate praise for her performance.
"I heard the news some time ago, but I could hardly believe it!" she said, sounding aghast. "You, banished! I never would have believed it if I hadn't heard it from your mother's own lips! But even that isn't as shocking as this!"
The woman then touched Aemilia's arm band, and Aemilia shrugged before replying, "Yes, well... so far, things seem to have worked out for the best."
"Yes, yes, I would say so... but the younger Prince... he's always struck me as just a bit... different."
"Then we make a fine match, indeed," Aemilia replied tersely. "Now, if you'll excuse me -"
"Oh, no, my dear, do not take offense!" she hastened to add, stopping Aemilia from escaping. "I only mean to say that I would expect the daughter of Ayre to set her sights on the throne, if you get my meaning."
Aemilia opened her mouth and was on the verge of an agitated retort when a hand suddenly snatched her wrist and a deeper voice spoke next to her, "The lady understands your meaning, I am sure of it. In fact, I'd venture to say she's had her fill of understanding for the night."
Aemilia blinked at her unexpected savior, surprised to see that it was Fandral of all people now whisking her away from the nosey crowd. "Ah... thank you?"
He relinquished his hold on her wrist once they were safely away, and he smiled brightly in response. "You're very welcome, my lady! My congratulations on the finest rendition of our anthem that I've heard in centuries! Now, tell me why on Asgard would Loki leave you to deal with that alone?"
"He was pulled away for something, I told him it was fine -"
Fandral merely tsked with a wave of his hand, then raised a brow to her as he said, "But see, he left you alone to be found and picked up by someone infinitely preferable - namely, me. A common mistake by foolish men, I'm sad to say."
He winked, and she laughed. "Forgive me for not recognizing your innate preferability."
"You are forgiven," he said, eyes leaving hers and trailing down over her body as he sighed. "But you are not forgiven for showing up here in that. It is a device of personal torture of which you cannot imagine."
She smiled, finding the wistfully lustful look in his eyes to be hilarious. "Loki designed it, so you can blame him."
"Of course he did," Fandral muttered, tearing his eyes away. "He's rather fond of torture, you know. Of me, in particular. Haven't the slightest clue why."
"Perhaps he dislikes you least of everyone and doesn't know how else to express it," Aemilia shrugged.
"... Perhaps. In any case, I cannot bear to behold your beauty any longer, so I shall leave you to your Prince, who is right there, looking as in need of rescue as you were," Fandral said, motioning ahead, and sure enough there stood Loki, standing beside his father and brother as they spoke to a particularly uptight looking family. Clearly, the nobles were nowhere near drunk enough for the party to be an actual party yet.
"Thank you for your intervention," Aemilia smiled, and Fandral gave a lightheartedly dramatic bow in response.
"Anything for you, my lady," he drawled, smiling as he turned and left. She smiled after him and then set off towards Loki, catching his eye halfway there and feeling her stomach flip a little at the way his eyes lit up when he saw her.
She watched him mutter something to the King and get a nod in response, and then he was walking towards her. The first thing out of his mouth when he reached her was an apology.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you alone with those people," he said, taking her by the wrist and leading her away. "Especially not before they're drunk enough to be mildly pleasant."
"It's all right," she assured him. "I'm more than capable of holding my own in these circles."
"I don't doubt that. But," he stopped and faced her, "this is is supposed to be a party. And after the way that you blew away the entire realm with that voice of yours, I think you deserve to actually enjoy yourself."
A servant bearing goblets of sparkling wine walked by, and Loki snatched two of them and held one out to Aemilia. She reached out to take it, but when her fingers curled around it and tried to pull it from his grip, he held it and said, "Do not get drunk. I need you with your wits intact for later."
She raised an eyebrow. "What's later?"
"Something far more enjoyable than mingling with our charming nobles, I assure you," Loki grinned before finally letting her have the glass.
"I wonder what you could possibly mean by that," she grinned back before taking a sip of the wine.
"You'll find out soon enough."
She took another sip, then let her eyes run unabashedly up and down the length of him, from the tips of his horns to the leather of his boots, and then back up a bit, up the long lengths of his legs, which was when she choked on her wine.
"Are you all right?"
She coughed into her arm, nodding until the fit passed, then glancing back at him and saying, "I didn't - until now, I hadn't... realized quite how fitted certain parts of your full armor is."
"Ah," he smiled, suddenly delighted. "Find it distracting?"
She rolled her eyes, coughing a few last times. "I... no, not at all."
"Of course not," he grinned, taking her hand again. "Now come along. Before I decide to forgo this party entirely."
Despite the rough start, the party did pick up, and with a vengeance, due mostly to Thor's antics. Once he got into the thick of it, inhaling the ale and dancing with every girl he could get his hands on, the others followed suit, and a party living up to Asgard's reputations was at hand.
The last time Aemilia had been to a party here, she had been the date of another and had shared a tense but brief dance with Loki while doing her best to not give away the true nature of their relationship to onlookers. Now that there were no such barriers in place, and she was free to act how she pleased with him, it was nothing short of exhilarating.
He kept her by his side and sent his helm vanishing off somewhere before he danced with her the way Thor had a week or two ago, exuberantly amid the sea of other couples, but she enjoyed it a thousand times more this time around. He lifted her up and tossed her around, spun her, dipped her and caught her, jumped with her when the crowd around them did, and she couldn't remember ever seeing him smile or laugh as much as he was now. Once, he'd almost dropped her when Thor knocked into him from behind, and he half-fell to his knees clutching her to his chest, and he laughed so hard into her hair that it had inspired her own silly giggles, and they didn't get back up to their feet until they got yelled at by irritated other couples who didn't feel like stepping over them.
He was usually so serious, even when he was playful and lighthearted with her, but dancing with him brought out a different side of him that she'd never seen before and hoped to see more of in the future. Carefree and fun were good looks on him, and made him look every bit the young Prince that he was, underneath the intellect and skills that made him seem much older than he was at times.
When the dancing had slowed down slightly, he pulled her to his chest and nuzzled her neck, chuckling against her skin as he danced her around more causally. "I like this."
"So do I," she replied, arms around his neck. He kissed her neck lightly and she giggled at the way it tickled, her eyes darting around at some spectators as she whispered, "People are watching."
He dragged his lips up to her ear and murmured back, "Let them."
She shivered as he left tiny kisses under her ear, along her cheek, all while they danced slowly and gained more attention from onlookers.
His breath ghosted along her lips. "Let them see what's mine. I want their envy."
She looked up into his eyes, feeling his lips brush against hers, and throwing caution to the wind, she kissed her Prince in front of all of them. A part of her hoped her mother was somewhere among them, to see this and see that she could not be happier with her life as a banished outcast.
The kiss was short, certainly brief by their usual standards, and they'd stopped dancing entirely by the end of it. He led her away from the floor after a moment, and then they got dragged to a table by Thor a moment later.
The table was packed, with the Warriors Three, Sif and others, so Aemilia opted to sit on Loki's lap rather than try to smush between him and his hulking brother. His hand rested on her hip, a proud sort of possession palpable in his touch, and she rested an arm around his shoulders in response. She might have wanted some envy of her own.
Gone tonight was the tension usually evident in group conversations like the one currently at hand. She heard no jests at Loki's expense, saw no sideways glares from anyone, not even Sif, though she suspected that might have something to do with the fact that Thor had an arm slung over her shoulders. Aemilia hoped he meant the gesture as sincerely as Sif seemed to be taking it, but she had a bad feeling that he didn't.
Loki procured another glass of wine and shared it between them, and when the conversation drifted away from them for a moment, her mind flickered back to what Loki had said earlier, over their first glass.
Without anyone noticing, she leaned her lips down to his ear and brushed them teasingly against him before asking in a whisper, "Care to tell me yet what you have planned tonight?"
His grip on her hip tightened just fractionally as he leaned back, looking up at her in amusement. "Do you ever think of anything else?"
"Do you?" she retorted.
"When I must," he grinned.
"Answer my question," she said, shifting a little bit in his lap, getting just a little bit closer to him. When he only raised an eyebrow in response, she gave a quiet little plea. "Please?"
He smiled faintly at her plea. Then he motioned for her to come closer with one finger, and she did, placing her ear at his lips.
He spoke his next words in a low, velvety, almost menacing whisper that would have made her heart pound even without the shock of his actual words. "I'm going to break you."
She froze for a few seconds, her eyes widening at the words, which she had not been expecting at all. Then she pulled away, almost jerking back to her previous position, and stared at him only to find him looking up at her in complete innocence as he sipped their wine.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
He didn't blink. "Precisely what it does mean."
She furrowed her brows. "But..."
He suddenly laughed, running his finger along her cheek and saying low enough so that only she would hear, "Don't look so concerned, darling. You're going to enjoy every last moment of it."
She stared at him a moment longer and then snatched the wine out of his hand. He snatched it back before she could have another sip.
"A-ah. I told you, I need you fully in control of yourself tonight. Because if you do not have control, " he leaned forward and brushed his lips against her ear, dropping his voice back down to that terrible, wonderful whisper, "then how am I supposed to strip it away from you?"
He punctuated his words with a hard little nip to her earlobe that nobody else saw. Her heart was already pounding and her blood was flowing with arousal, instantly spiked by his voice and his worrisome (but enticing) words.
She'd long been under the impression that he had "broken" her and taken away her self-control a long time ago. But, apparently he didn't agree, and he planned to remedy this tonight.
She swallowed dryly and looked around the table, realizing that now, for better or worse, for the rest of the evening, she wasn't going to think about a single thing other than what Loki had in store for her later.
"I really don't see what all the fuss is about."
Aemilia looked up from the basin she washed her hands in, turning her head to identify the source of the voice. She was in the huge, ornate ladies' washroom connected through a small corridor to the Great Hall, and Loki was waiting for her back at the party. It took her a moment to locate the woman leaning against a column near a row of other basins, but once she did, she narrowed her eyes slightly.
The woman had a headful of pale blonde hair, so blonde that it was almost white, and she wore a scarlet dress that was nothing short of scandalous. Aemilia recognized her instantly as Ilyana, renowned whore of noble blood who Loki's sole indiscretion had been committed with.
"You're pretty, I suppose," she mused, crossing her arms, turning a more critical eye to Aemilia. "But I've seen prettier. Talented to be sure, but I've always taken Loki for one to value less... respectable talents."
Maybe it was the wine she'd consumed, or maybe it was the fact that she was incredibly sick of justifying herself to nosey people who felt it was their duty to comment on her personal choices, but Aemilia decided to let loose all of the sharp responses she'd been holding back the whole night.
"Well," she smiled, "he's stated on numerous occasion that my less respectable talents are among the best he's seen. Even better than the whores he's had in the past."
"The not so distant past," Ilyana smiled back. "Though I suppose he wouldn't have told you about that."
"Oh, no, he did. He also told me how he thought of me the entire time and how he threw you out before you could finish your task."
"Is that what he told you?" Ilyana asked, one thin brow arching up towards her hairline. "You know that he's not called the God of Lies for nothing, yes?"
"I'll believe him over the likes of you," Aemilia shrugged.
Ilyana smiled again and eyed the band on Aemilia's arm. "You're amusing, I'll concede that. But he'll tire of you, like he's tired of the others. He's not one to stay satisfied for very long. Or perhaps you've noticed."
"If he does, it still won't be any concern of yours," Aemilia replied. "So I am not sure that I understand the point of this talk."
"I only wanted to see for myself this supposed 'great beauty' who's so entranced the Prince that used to be so much more fun than he is these days. And I still don't see what all the fuss is about."
"Frankly, I could say the same for you," Aemilia replied. "For a woman who's had so many noblemen and caused the disruption of so many marriages, I don't see what makes you so irresistible."
"You wouldn't," Ilyana smiled. "You're but a little girl, far from home, trying to find a place among those whom you think you understand."
"Oh spare me, you foul woman," a voice from behind Aemilia. She turned to see Sif walking purposefully towards them, glaring at Ilyana with a look that had made men tremble in their boots on the battlefield. "Keep your viper's tongue behind your teeth lest one sees fit to cut it out."
Ilyana merely smiled. "Lady Sif! How lovely to see you. Prince Thor always has such lovely things to say about you."
"Out," Sif said sternly, standing at her full height and staring the other woman down and Aemilia almost shrank away herself - Sif could truly be terrifying when the situation called for it. "I'm sure there's no shortage of idiotic men willing to entertain you back in the Hall."
"You shouldn't speak of the future King so poorly," Ilyana said, smiling as she began to walk past them. "Perhaps that's why it was I who 'entertained' him this afternoon and not you."
Then she was gone, and Aemilia looked at Sif with slight sympathy. The woman's words had gotten to her, though Sif was intent on not letting it show.
"Charming woman," Aemilia remarked.
Sif glanced at her, shaking her head slightly. "I believe that she may enjoy taunting the women affected by her exploits more than the exploits themselves."
Aemilia wasn't sure what to say, not wanting to worsen the situation. Sif's affection for Thor was glaringly obvious if one knew to look for it, and the glint in her eye was nearly murderous following Ilyana's words.
"Perhaps she was lying," Aemilia eventually settled with.
Sif shook her head, eyes averted as she replied, "I've smelled her on him all night."
"Then he's as foolish as his brother was," Aemilia replied.
Sif laughed humorlessly. "I fear that all men are nothing but blind fools who occasionally have moments of wisdom."
Aemilia smiled sadly. "Perhaps not all men, but certainly Prince Thor."
Sif looked at her and asked, "Do I not make it clear enough for him? Or does he see and simply not care?"
"I think he's too caught up in himself to notice," Aemilia answered honestly. "But surely he will not always be."
Sif sighed. "You've barely been in our company for two weeks and you see what he has been unable to since we were children."
Aemilia shrugged. "Some truths are easier to see from the outside."
Sif nodded. "That is true. And applies to you and Loki, as well."
"How?"
"I've known him his whole life," Sif said. "I've never once seen him look at a woman the way he looks at you. I've also never seen him look as happy as he has this night. Well... perhaps apart from the time he left me all but bald."
Aemilia laughed. "Thank you for saying so. He's not always easy to read."
"Neither am I, apparently," Sif sighed. "Come along, let's return to the party before I lose the mood entirely."
When they did, they found that a circle had formed around Thor, and as Mjolnir sat at his feet on the floor, men lined up to try their best to lift it. Nobody could, of course, and Loki stood at his side, laughing at all of the hilariously ill-fated attempts.
To add insult to injury, Loki started shocking the attempters with magic when they'd touch the hammer. When that got boring, he turned one of the men into a ferret at the first touch, and all the while Thor roared with laughter at his side. Loki seemed to revel in Thor's appreciative laughs, and Aemilia hadn't realized she'd been staring until Loki's gaze met hers and heat suddenly coursed within her at the memory of what awaited her when the party was over.
His eyes softened as he smiled at her, then darkened with mischief that made her nearly squeak in anticipation as his smile became a smirk.
Sif nudged her side. "See what I mean? Although I'd say he looks a bit more predatory than loving at the moment, but you see my point."
"I do," Aemilia smiled.
She'd take Sif's word over Ilyana's any day.
He waited until he knew the tension he'd sparked between himself and Aemilia was peaking before he decided that they'd spent long enough at the party. He had thoroughly enjoyed watching the wheels turning frantically in her head, the blush that crept up on her cheeks when their eyes would meet, her anticipation building visibly in her body language. Half the fun of what he'd planned was watching her go crazy waiting for it.
But his own patience began to wear thin, and when it ran out entirely, he vanished as she set out to look for him. He watched her turn this way and that through the crowd, searching for a sign of his whereabouts, and when she stopped and huffed in frustration at the edge of the hall, he grinned and reappeared behind her.
He clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her cry of surprise as his other arm snaked around her waist and yanked her against him. "I think it's time for the real party, don't you think?"
A blink of an eye later, they were out of the Great Hall and in his chambers. His hand left her mouth and curled painlessly around her throat as he spun her around and slammed her against his door. She squeaked in surprise and looked up at him in slight alarm when she hit the door, but desire quickly overtook her features as he looked upon her like she was a feast and he a starving king.
His hand left her throat and rose to her hair, threading through it as he tilted his head to the side and smirked at her as her chest heaved up and down. "Already gasping for breath and we've yet to even begin."
"I wasn't expecting -"
"Don't speak," he said, his tone dropping low and serious and sensual. "Do not say a word unless I command it."
He watched her pupils dilate with those words, watched her reflexively swallow and nod at him, and he could almost feel the excitement running rampant through her veins.
"I've so enjoyed watching you wrack that brain of yours, trying to figure out what exactly I had in store for you tonight," he said, trailing both of his hands down her shoulders, one continuing down to her wrist, which he grasped, and the other lingering at her arm band. "But... the truth is..." he tapped his fingertips along the gold and it shifted on her skin, then all on its own, slithered down to her wrist as he continued, "I doubt you've come close to even a slightly accurate guess."
Then he swiftly seized both of her wrists and gathered them together over her head, pinning them to the door as the golden band wrapped around her other wrist and then clamped firmly to the door, binding her there. She craned her neck up to look as Loki took half a step back and admired his handiwork.
It was a sight he wanted to remember forever; her, in the dress he'd designed, bound by his multitalented little gift, flushed and looking up at him with anticipation and arousal lighting up her darkening eyes. She was beautiful, elegant, almost ethereal, and his.
"Now isn't this familiar? Do you remember the first time I had you bound to this very door?"
She bit her lip as she stared back at him, and he leaned in close, placing his hands on either side of her head on the door. His nose brushed hers and his lips almost touched hers, but he stayed just out of her reach as his voice dropped to a whisper. "Even then I sensed the spirit caged within you. I still sense it now. Even after all this time... all the ways you've given yourself to me, submitted so freely to me... you've still held yourself back."
Delicately, he reached to her hair and lifted his mother's gift from her head, then vanished it safely between his hands. Then he grasped her chin and forced her to look fully up at him as he spoke again. "Tonight I am going to push you further than I ever have before. You will not be freed from your binds until I will it. You will not come until I will it, until you are driven to such desperation that you will shock yourself with what words leave your lips in your frustration and yearning."
His fingertips traced her lips, his other hand still bracing himself on the door, and his voice became a mere whisper as he looked into her wide eyes and said, "I will break you, sweet one. I will take away every last ounce of control you think you have." He trailed tiny, feather-soft kisses along her jaw. "You will beg, you will plead, you will cry for me to end the sweet torture that I will unleash upon you, but I will not grant your wish until you are but pieces of yourself, crumbled in my hand, ready to be put back together, by me and me alone."
He spoke the last words into her ear, and when he drew back to look at her, she was panting and staring at him pleadingly, already straining against her bonds, desperate to be closer to him.
"Are you ready to begin, Aemilia?" he asked, and she nodded so hard and quickly that he almost laughed. "There is something else I must tell you first. Tonight, you must ask me for what you desire. I will do anything you wish, but only if you say the words first, and only if I deem them satisfying."
Now, even more than before, she blushed a furious shade of red. He fought hard not to smirk.
This was going to be exquisite. "Do you understand?"
Despite her blush, despite everything, she nodded. He smiled and trailed his finger along her jaw. "Then you may speak. What will you have me do first?"
Her words were a strangled choke from the depths of her throat. "Kiss me, please, kiss me."
Her heart was pounding, her limbs shaking, her entire body trembling, and there was already a painful throbbing between her legs, and all he'd really done so far was slam her against a door and speak. Not that those things weren't more than enough.
Her words had caused him to raise an eyebrow and inch closer as he asked for clarification. "And how would you like me to kiss you?"
"Hard," she whispered, and he complied instantly. Her head bounced back against the door with the force of his ravaging kiss, and her hands strained against her bonds, needing to feel his hair between her fingers, but all she did was cause a sharp pain in her wrists.
His tongue and lips and teeth were insistent, not a trace of gentleness as he pillaged her mouth, but it wasn't enough.
"Harder," she managed to gasp against his lips, and he responded by growling and grabbing a handful of her hair, yanking her head back and fulfilling her wish. She arched against him, though it barely got her any closer to him, and her dress suddenly felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
"My dress," she panted when he stopped for a breath, "take off my dress."
It was gone with a wave of his hand, and then he was pressed against her, shocking her with the sensation of the cool metal of his armor against her heated skin. For a moment she almost asked him to take it off, but then she realized how stunningly erotic it was to be in this position with him in his full Princely armor and cape. He was definitely keeping it all on, if she had a say in the matter.
His lips had drifted to her neck, and they were kissing her there with equal fervor as with her mouth, leaving a multitude of marks for later, and his fingertips were digging into her hips as they pulled her closer against him. She tried to grind against his hardness, looking for any kind of friction she could get, but the way he held her thwarted her efforts.
"Do you ache for me?" he asked, trailing the tip of his tongue over her rapid little pulse as the hand not buried in her hair trailed down her neck, over her collarbone to her breast.
"Yes," she moaned, nails biting into the palms of her fisted hands as he kissed down her chest, mouth enclosing over a nipple while his thumb mimicked his tongue's movements on her other. She slammed her head back against the door, her need bordering on excruciating, but she knew it would only get worse from here.
"Do you crave more?"
The vibrations of his voice on her sensitive skin was almost too much. "Yes!"
"Then say it," he murmured, trailing his lips up slowly as his hand descended lower, to the soft skin of her belly. "Tell me what you want."
"Anything," she panted.
He bit her shoulder sharply in reply. She yelped at the unexpectedly painful sensation, though it only served to heighten her already unbearable tension.
"Not good enough," he said, soothing the bite with his tongue. "Tell me what you want."
She groaned in frustration, squirming as she tried to make herself say the words. His hand trailed below her belly, brushing teasingly between her thighs before quickly retreating, to her frustration.
"I... please..."
He kissed her, then leaned his forehead against hers and said, "Please what, Aemilia?"
"Your hand, just - touch me," she squeaked out, and she was immediately granted her wish. He kissed her hard and fast and set his fingers to her, stroking her slowly and lightly, a contradiction she didn't really want.
She rocked against his hand, and wrenched her lips away from his after a moment to whine, "More, faster."
This time, he chuckled and started dragging his lips towards her ear, all while his fingers worked languidly. "Now that, I cannot do. Remember... you choose your pleasure, but I, and I alone, control it."
She made another sound of frustration, and his voice reverberated against her skin as he grazed his teeth along the side of her neck. "Did you think this would be easy, little one? Did you think I would give in so early to your little pleas? I told you that I would break you... did you not think me serious?"
Her lips parted as he slid a lone finger within her, now pointedly ignoring the aching nerves she most needed him to touch, and he watched her in delight as she squirmed in futility.
"Is this not enough for you?" he asked, finger in the midst of a casual, teasing massage that only left her needing so much more. "Would you rather it was my tongue giving you pleasure instead of my hand? Or would you prefer both?"
His finger curled and she let out a choked little moan, nodding rapidly.
"Then ask for it."
His finger left her then, and she whimpered at the loss of contact. His lips descended on hers and kissed her harshly for a moment, until he drew away by an inch and whispered huskily against her lips, "You deny my pleasure as much as you deny your own with your silence."
"I..." She wracked her brain trying to come up with a way to ask for it, pushing away vulgarities too foreign on her tongue to be uttered. She whispered helplessly as words she hoped were good enough tumbled out of her mouth. "Please... taste me."
To her relief, he did seem to think they were good enough, because he groaned and immediately dropped down to one knee before her. Her legs were shaking as he took her left one and bent it with his hand under her knee, kissing the inside of it as he draped the leg over his shoulder. She looked down and watched as he kissed a torturous, slow line up to her thigh, almost choking in delight at the way this Prince, in all of his royal garb apart from his helm, was knelt before her, cape pooling on the floor behind him.
But delight turned quickly to frustration as he took his time kissing his way up her inner thigh, only to switch to the other one to give it equal attention, again ignoring her most urgent needs. Her wrists ached, her arms were numb, and her lip was bleeding slightly from how deeply she was biting into it to jerk from screaming at him to stop teasing her. But then, maybe that was what he wanted.
"Loki..."
A purring sound as he licked a line up her thigh was her only acknowledgment, closed-eyed and focused.
"Please don't tease me anymore."
"I don't mean to tease," he replied, shifting on his knee so that he was closer to her. His hand adjusted the leg on his shoulder, spreading it outwards as he leaned forward and nuzzled her. "I mean to torture."
She groaned at his words and then gasped at his first kiss, so light that it was little more than a tickle. Then there was the fleeting warmth of his tongue, gone as soon as it had come, and a series of little kisses that did nothing to ease her aching but only enhanced it.
Broken words fell from her lips, and after only a moment of maliciously teasing touches of his tongue and lips, her eyes were squeezed shut and she was vaguely aware of moisture rolling down from them. She whispered a ragged plea, thinking it would surely be in vain, then cried out when he listened and suddenly set to her with a passion, growling low in his throat as he did.
There was no holding back, no more teasing, and she arched and struggled against the bonds with a force unlike any before. His hands on her hips held her fast to the door despite her wriggling, and before she had a chance to truly savor his expert attentions, she tensed and felt herself teetering on the edge.
He stopped immediately, almost harshly, and looked up at her with a smirk. "Not until I say."
If she'd had use of her hands, she might have throttled him. Instead, she curled them into tighter fists and then moaned again when he returned his mouth to her, this time joined by two fingers inside of her to further add to her torture.
This time she fought the pleasure, sure that she wouldn't be able to handle it if he didn't let her reach her peak again. But her efforts were in vain, and there was no fighting the ball of tension coiling within her again, desperate to snap, so close to exploding in a storm of stars behind her eyes when he again stopped and withdrew from her completely.
"Bastard," she gasped, clenching her eyes shut as he sat back and enjoyed the view of her breasts heaving up and down as she panted exhaustively.
He grinned. "Do you think cursing me will earn my mercy?"
She shook her head, still keeping her eyes closed as her body trembled all over. "Just... just... please..."
"Look at me," he admonished, and she opened her eyes to him instantly. "What do you want?"
She ached all over. Her arms were in pain, her legs were shaking, but the ache between her legs was impossibly terrible, a kind like she'd never felt before this moment. She felt empty, desperate to be filled, and her answer was a half-yell, half-whine. "You."
Slowly, and with a chuckle, he rose from his knee, sliding his lips along her upper body as he went. His hand toyed with a breast as he stood at his full height, smirking down at her as he said, "Me? That's a very broad answer, Aemilia."
"You know what I mean," she grumbled, breath hitching as his fingers tortured her nipple.
"I'm afraid I don't. You'll have to be more... specific."
So distracted she'd been by his words and one of his hands that she hadn't noticed his other sliding between them and releasing himself. She only realized what he'd done when she felt smooth hardness resting against her thigh, and her ache grew to impossible new heights.
"Tell me, and anything you wish will be yours," he murmured into her ear, grinding slightly against her.
She panted, mind going blank, and then she felt a slight rocking motion between them. She opened her eyes - she kept closing them without realizing - and looked down only to see his hand wrapped around his own length, moving along it slowly, while he breathed hotly against her ear.
She stared shamelessly.
"Tell me, Aemilia," he growled. "I need you as badly as you need me. Say it and I'll end this torture."
"T-take me," she stammered out. He released his hold on himself and then grabbed her, lifting her up and winding her legs around his hips, and she almost sighed in relief. But relief was still not at hand.
"You can do better than that," he said, holding her to him with one arm while the other hand lifted her chin. "Say it. You know what I wish to hear."
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She stared up at him, seeing the desperation in his own eyes as the tip of his length grazed her entrance - one push and he'd be inside of her, but he held impossibly still.
She knew what he wanted her to say. Her cheeks blushed red and she couldn't form a single word.
"I... I don't think I can, please -"
A sharp, stinging slap to the outside of her thigh cut her off and made her yelp in shock. She looked up and lost her breath at the animalistic glint in his eyes, and she realized then that he had tortured himself as much as he'd tortured her.
"Say it," he hissed lowly, demanding, dangerous.
Something in his slap had changed things, and it took her a moment to realize exactly how. If she had been burning before, now she was positively in the middle of a raging inferno.
She shook her head. "I can't."
Another slap, to the same spot as the first time, harder now. Instead of yelping, this time she moaned, and he looked at her in delighted, delicious surprise. His head tilted and his own breath became shaky as she rolled her hips against him, almost making him forget what he was pushing her to do.
"Say it, you wanton little vixen," he hissed, placing his forehead to hers as he all but spat out his next words. "Let your words match your vulgar mind. Beg me to fuck you."
She'd never heard that word leave his lips before, and the harsh way that he said it made her ache even more for him.
But she still said nothing.
"Come on," he growled, delivering another slap, this time to her other thigh. She bit back her moan this time, but there was no hiding how much she liked it. She knew he felt the way her thighs squeezed tighter around him, the way she ground involuntarily against him in response. She also knew that he enjoyed her enjoyment more than his words could express.
Then he pinned her tightly to the wall with his body, freeing the arm that had been holding her up, and his hand slid over her throat as his other soothed over her thigh. "You never fail to surprise me, Aemilia," he said, barely above a whisper. "What a wild, deviant spirit lurks beneath such an innocent exterior..."
One more slap, the hardest one yet, and she almost came undone right then. He was so close to sliding inside of her, just one little tiny push and he'd he where she needed him, but she knew she wouldn't get it, not until she gave him what he demanded.
"Now surprise me one more time," he said into her ear, tongue flicking underneath it between sentences. "Let me hear the words leave your mouth."
He delivered one final slap, and he growled one final word. "Now."
And then she broke. "Fuck me! Please, please, Loki, fuck me!"
It felt like someone else's voice had left her mouth, and she was so far beyond blushing that she feared she'd combust into flames instead, but then Loki all but snarled her name as he drove into her with such force it was a wonder he didn't break the door. She gasped, moaned, even shrieked in relief and delight, begging him to take her even harder and he did, his own uncontrollable sounds mingling with hers and giving away fully just how desperate he'd been.
He licked, bit, and sucked at her neck as he pounded her to the door, and only when she opened her eyes and saw her arms around his neck did she realize he'd released her from her bonds. The arm band was back around her upper arm, in its original form, and her arms were tingling with the renewed bloodflow within them. She dragged her nails into his hair and pulled, making him groan and suddenly clutch her even tighter as he spun them away from the door.
They knocked over a lit lantern in the process. It hit his floor and the flames slowly spread to a dark green cloth covering a table. They didn't notice.
She didn't know where he'd intended to take them at first, but once she wrenched her lips away from his to give his neck a bite of her own and gripped two handfuls of his hair in a painful tug, he had her on her back in the middle of the floor before she could so much as breathe.
The torture, the waiting, and the words exchanged between them had taken the sensations to new heights, and she could not think or speak or breathe as he took her savagely on the floor. She only wanted him more, harder, faster, regardless of the bruises he'd be leaving in his wake.
The first time she began tensing and clenching around him, his voice cut through the haze of her mind. "Not yet."
She could have cried in frustration. How was she supposed to fight it?
"I... Loki, I..."
"Wait for me," he said, kissing her lips, and his command was unexpectedly soft. "You can do that for me, can't you?"
She wanted to say no, wanted to take her well-earned pleasure and then collapse in a heap and not move for several days, but she could not.
He didn't help her when his mouth trailed wet kisses down her chest, and the added pleasure of his tongue tracing her breast sent her spiraling, clenching around him again.
"Not yet," he moaned through gritted teeth.
The sound of frustration that left her lips sounded unnatural to her ears, even more so than the new curse he'd forced her to say only moments ago as it came flying out of her mouth a second time.
He really had broken her.
Then his lips returned to hers, and she could have wept in relief when he finally groaned against her mouth. "Now, Aemilia, now."
It felt as if her entire body was imploding all around her, like she was tearing apart from the inside out in a blinding burst of the single most powerful pleasure she'd ever felt before in her life. She didn't register her own scream, didn't hear Loki's accompanying cry as he emptied himself within her, didn't smell the smoke that was slowly filling his room from the growing fire on the other side of it. She knew only what it felt like to soar carelessly as she indeed broke apart in pieces into her Prince's metaphorical hands.
She would have been content to fall asleep on the floor, underneath the limp weight of Loki's still-fully-clothed body. She knew he had no intention of moving either.
But then there were shouts on the other side of his door and frantic knocks. She opened her terribly heavy, glazed eyes and widened them when she saw the smoke filling the room.
"Loki."
He didn't move. He appeared to be already asleep, or at least very close to it.
She hurriedly shook him. "Loki! Your room is on fire!"
He jarred awake at that, right at the same moment that his door burst open and two guards came hurtling inside.
Aemilia gaped in shock and scrambled to cover herself when she saw her ex-fiancé, of all the possible guards who could have rushed in, standing in the doorway and staring not at the growing fire but at her. Loki cursed and quickly conjured a dress to her body, while he fixed his own clothes, but she was already past the point of humiliation.
"We saw smoke and... heard... screaming," Dagr said dumbly as the other guard set about actually putting out the fire, as he should have been doing.
"How exciting to hear," Loki snapped, getting to his feet and conjuring a jug of water in his hands. "Now would you terribly mind putting out the fire rather than standing there staring like the idiot you are?"
Dagr seemed to snap out of it then, but Aemilia didn't move from the floor. Something wasn't right.
He said he'd heard screaming. But Loki always cast a spell to soundproof his room, without fail. It wasn't something he ever forgot.
And for Dagr to have been the first to burst into his room, it meant he had to be currently stationed nearby, down the hall.
She watched with narrowed eyes as Loki tossed water on the fire and then moved across the room to open the doors to his balcony, letting the smoke air out. She then slowly got up, leaning against the closest wall with crossed arms as she waited for the fire to be put out.
It didn't take long, as it was a rather small fire, though it had been a swiftly growing one. Once it was done, she stared at the floor to avoid anymore awkward eye contact with Dagr.
When he and the other guard had left, and the door was shut behind them, Aemilia looked up and glared at Loki as he repaired the damage left by the fire with a few swipes of his hand.
When he felt her hard gaze and turned to look at her, he merely smirked in response. "What troubles you, Aemilia?"
"You wanted him to hear me, didn't you?"
He looked so innocent that she knew he was guilty. "I haven't the faintest idea what you mean."
She didn't expect to feel tears prickling at her eyes. But she was still trembling slightly for two very different reasons, one because she was still recovering from one of the most intense experiences of her life, and the other because she'd also never felt such stinging humiliation.
Rationally, she knew that Loki had not meant to start a fire, surely, and the fire had been to blame for Dagr's intrusion. But even without the fire, Dagr still would have heard her, and those sounds and words were not meant for anyone but the man standing in front of her now, still looking so innocent that she could have slapped him.
She knew he was possessive and could be cruel. That he'd want to rub their relationship in Dagr's face was no surprise. But this was taking it much too far.
She gritted her teeth. "I'm sleeping in my room tonight."
"What?"
She moved for the door, ignoring him, but he appeared in front of her and snatched her wrist. She yanked it away. "Am I a fool to trust you as I do?" she asked, tears that she still didn't understand threatening to spill over. "How could you do that? Did you not know that I'd be humiliated when I found out? Or did you think I never would?"
She watched his eyes flicker then, and his lips pursed slightly. She thought she might have seen slight guilt somewhere in his eyes, as if he'd never thought about her reaction at all, and that may have been what hurt the most.
When he spoke, his tone was soothing and sincere. "Aemilia... I didn't -"
"Don't," she shook her head, side stepping him and making for the door again. "I want to be alone."
He didn't try to stop her that time, and she stomped out of his room and slammed the door behind her with a thud. She walked the long way to her room, to avoid walking past Dagr, and even though she felt ridiculous for crying, she let the stubborn tears flow anyway.
One thing she knew for sure; one way or another, she'd get Loki back for what he'd done.
A/N: So. Yeah. *clears throat* hope everyone's ok with that smut... because I think I had more fun writing that scene than any other scene ever before. It. Was. Fun. :p And Aemilia's definitely going to be getting her revenge on Loki next chapter, so even more fun ahead! Mwahaha! And plot too, of course, and in fact something rather major is happening very soon that I'm excited to write. Thank you everyone for your reviews, faves, alerts, messages, and general awesomeness :D Also big BIG thanks to midnightwings96 for helping me out with SO MUCH in this chapter, and every chapter, but especially this chapter. Hope you guys liked this horrendously long chapter as much as I liked writing it! Also - I've got a new bonus chapter for you all tonight! :))) It's called Goddess of Mischief, and it is the weirdest thing I've ever written, so hop on over to my profile and give it a read :D Thanks again to all of you, lots and lots of love :D