"Annerledes, you won't be needed during dinner service, for the coronation announcement is tonight," Jennie announced as Christie tiredly shuffled into the Kitchens a few days later. Her head had been soaring with pain ever since she woke up, yet for some odd reason, the aching would come and then subside a few minutes later. It came in waves and it made the feeling both unpredictable and strange. It was nerve-racking, even - which was hell in itself, particularly because it was a pain that she didn't understand.
It was certainly not of this world.
"Wait, the coronation's tonight?" Christie frowned at Jennie whilst tightly tying her apron around her waist.
"No no silly girl, the ANNOUNCEMENT," Delilah corrected her loudly, causing Christie to wince in discomfort and squeeze an eye shut. "It's when the King announces which brother is worthy to master the Mjolnir." Christie had absolutely no idea what any of those words actually meant, but she didn't care to ask - the pain in her head was distracting her from focussing on anything.
"Oh, so I basically have the afternoon off?" she asked wistfully.
"Correct, we all do in fact. It's a seriously huge occasion so they get official caterers in from the far West of Asgard. Their event platters are just divine, I've never tasted anything like it," Renesme gushed as she lifted a large silver tray off the countertop to wipe it down.
"Thor's been talking about that platter since his father's last birthday celebration," Jennie giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at Delilah and Renesme who giggled back. "I bet he's excited for tonight as well."
"Sounds…nice," Christie muttered quietly, clearly left out of the reference. "So, how does Loki feel about tonight?"
"Loki?" Delilah scoffed at the mention of his name alone.
"Yes," Christie gave her blunt reply, eyes darting across to hers, "you know, the prince that isn't Thor?" Her tone was edging slightly but the girls clearly didn't care enough to pick up on it.
"Oh Annerledes how should we know?" Jennie waved Christie's question off amusedly. "More importantly, who cares? We all know that Prince Thor is bound to get the Mjonlir. Dare I say he's the one that deserves it the most!" Delilah and Renesme nodded in thoughtless agreement without even looking up.
"Don't say that, you never know," Christie groaned back, bringing a hand up to her forehead as it began to burn again - this time around a thousand times hotter than before. "Guys, I don't feel too fantastic this morning. So would you just let me deliver this damn platter so I can go to bed and get some rest, please?" Delilah, Jennie and Renesme all exchanged odd looks with each other before giving Christie a nod and passing her the drinks platter. Christie took a deep breath and waited for the guards to open the great dining doors for her before scurrying across the polished floor, without spilling anything, to quickly place the platter on the table. Loki couldn't help but frown at her, already noticing the flustered state she was in. She couldn't even look up at him as she placed the drinks down this time. It felt like there were sharp daggers repeatedly piercing through her skull. She couldn't help but hiss in pain and clamp her hand over her forehead, trying her very hardest not to make a scene, but Frigga had already noticed her strange behaviour, and her eyebrows furrowed together in worry.
"Annerledes my dear, are you alright?" she asked quietly so that only she and Loki could hear. Odin and Thor were lost in their own booming conversations once again, chomping their breakfasts as if they had never been fed before.
"Yes, my queen. I've…I've just woken up with a really bad headache," Christie admitted, and to her horror, she heard her voice begin to wobble slightly.
Was she about to cry? Who the hell had she turned into? It was like her entire being was floating in a different body, a different shell that she wasn't used to.
"Shall I request a healer for you?" Frigga frowned, placing her hand on Christie's forehead to feel if she had a temperature. But her touch was so sharp that it burnt against Christie's skin immediately, causing her to hiss again in agony and to recoil her head from Frigga's palm. She securely placed her own trembling hands back on her forehead.
"N-no thank you," she stammered, just wanting to go to bed now. "I'll just go and have a lie down, with your permission of course, ma'am."
"I'll go with her and make sure she's fine, Mother," Loki muttered to Frigga as quietly as he could. "There's something not quite right here and I don't like it. I don't like it at all." Christie didn't like the sound of that either. She really didn't. Being ill was one thing but being ill in a completely new mythical world with these 'gods' being concerned?
That didn't sound like much of a party.
"Fine, take her back to her quarters and be with her for as long as she needs you to be. But son, ensure that you are be back when evening comes, for you cannot be late for this announcement," Frigga nodded in confirmation, a look of worry still lingering in her eyes. "If it looks like it's getting worse, contact me and I'll get the healers." Loki responded with a singular nod before standing up and, to Christie's surprise, lifting her up bridal style to carry her out of the room with ease, as if she weighed nothing.
Unexpected, a little close for comfort - but she didn't hate it.
"How do you feel Annerledes? Describe the pain to me the best you can," he murmured into Christie's ear as he carried her through a dark passageway that she had never seen before. Christie buried her head into Loki's chest, which she found somewhat comforting, and squeezed her eyes shut. In all her years of being an assassin she had never experienced something so painful. She had been through it all: daggers, electrocution torture, knives, guns, everything - but somehow, nothing was the same compared to this. The pain felt imbedded, as if no matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to shake it.
It was like it was literally living within her.
"I feel like my head is on fire. It…stings," Christie whispered back, stroking the fabric of Loki's suit in a weak attempt to distract herself from the pain. Loki smiled slightly at her actions, even though it was too dark for her to see.
"Mmmm. Do not fret, we will be sure to take care of that," he assured her, before suddenly coming to a halt. Christie felt a gentle, soothing breeze around her and took this as a sign that she could open her eyes again. She became aware that they were standing in a small stone garden lined with bright, tropical flowers. Centring the garden was a beautiful water feature which consisted of a sweet little fountain that spouted crystal clear water. There were an array of roses and tulips amongst the soft juicy green grass that covered the width of the ground, and a simple stone bench at the top of the garden.
"My god, this is absolutely beautiful," Christie breathed in awe, although she still felt weak. "I didn't even know it existed. This palace is just full of secrets, huh?"
"Aha, I thought you might like it," Loki chuckled, genuinely pleased with her reaction. He carefully placed her back down on the ground again, steadying her once she was on her feet. "Now for that head pain." He took her delicate hand and led her to the bench where he sat himself down. He bent over and tapped the grass in front of him, implying that she should sit there too. Christie did as was implied and settled herself on the soft grass in front of him, almost between his legs. Loki gently led her head back so that she was resting on his lap and facing the sky. He carefully placed his cool hand on Christie's forehead and, ever so slowly, she felt the pain begin to subside. Christie breathed out a long breath of relief as the pressure eased off.
"How…the hell did you do that?" she murmured, pushing the messy wisps of her white hair away from her face.
"I'm more concerned about where such a sudden pain came from," Loki muttered quietly, now massaging Christie's temples with the tips of his fingers. Perfectly deflected question, but she didn't even care - she was just grateful for that sense of relief.
"I don't know, it was literally there a few minutes after I woke up. I got into the shower and all of a sudden I felt...angry," Christie tried to explain, allowing her eyelids flutter closed in pure relaxation. Loki paused the massaging for a second and stared down at her.
"Angry?" he repeated quickly.
"Yeah, or like…or like I was scared or something. Which is unusual to be honest, because-"
"Halt there, Annerledes - were you scared or angry? You must be specific," Loki persisted, his eyebrows knitting together in part confusion and part worry.
"I'm gonna go with scared," Christie finally decided. "It was like overwhelming anxiety, but it turned into anger in the kitchens and that's when the pain became-"
"The kitchens?" Loki interrupted her again at the speed of lightening. "What on earth happened in the kitchens? Did this happen this morning?"
"Yeah. The…the girls, they…um…" Christie wasn't too sure if she should tell him what the girls had said about Thor being bound to be successful during the choosing. She desperately racked her brains for a different excuse, but her mind still wasn't working to the speed it usually did, and this wasn't the time. She just didn't want to feed into his overwhelming self doubt and bitterness, because she had been there herself many times before with her own-
"Annerledes," Loki interrupted her thoughts and looked down so that he faced her properly, his deep green eyes now full of worry. "You have to tell me…it might provide an answer to a lot of questions."
Christie took a deep breath and decided that she had nothing left to lose.
"Fine…but please don't get upset. The girls basically said that Thor was bound to get the…whatever the hell it's called. I don't know what they meant but they didn't even consider you as a contender, and that really irritated me." She bit her lip regretfully and squeezed her eyes shut as soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth, not bearing to see his reaction.
There was a horrible silence where all she heard was Loki's breathing hasten a little, before suddenly slowing down again.
"And this….their presumptions angered you?" he clarified quietly.
"Yeah! Why shouldn't it? I mean, they're acting as if Thor is the only prince around this damn palace. But there are literally two of you, I can clearly see it and I haven't even been here a month! And you're both as good as each other…from what I've seen so far. I just hate, with a burning passion, when there are two siblings and one is automatically seen as the 'better' one. In all the years of those girls serving your family, have they even taken the time to get to know you? Or are they too busy letting their ovaries explode when they look at Thor?" Christie released a shaky breath once she was done - she hadn't been this rant-y or upset in what felt like years.
"So you're saying that you…you got angry because they were prejudging…me?" Loki whispered hollowly, not a hint of expression flickering on his face. Christie slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him properly.
"I mean, if that's the only thing you got from the literal mini breakdown I just had - then yes," she admitted. Loki nibbled his bottom lip, his mind racing without taking his eyes off of her.
Loki was faced with two options. He could either carry on massaging Christie's temple to finish soothing the pain and not refer back to this conversation ever again. Or, he could take the chance and do what he really wanted to do. He wanted to kiss her, to take the plunge as risky as it may seem, to release all those staggeringly loud emotions that he had bottled up since meeting her for the first time. One of those options was typical of his behaviour, and the other was scarily unlike him.
And guess which one he chose?