Chapter 2:
Erica wasn't sure how she had managed it, but when the opportunity had presented itself while her parents and the All-Father grew consumed in their adult-talk, she jumped on it and now found herself slipping away from the scene.
Once she was out of the dining room, Erica released a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding as her legs swiftly carried her out of everyone's sight.
Or so she thought...
Watching the girl's pink form disappear around the corner, Loki turned to his brother, "She probably shouldn't be running off." he stated.
Thor grinned, "Probably...after all, father wanted us to get acquainted with her." the blonde boy reminded,
Loki nodded his dark head in agreement, "That he did." A slow, challenging grin stretched across his face, "Bet I can find her first."
Thor laughed, his blue eyes flashing, "Oh we'll see about that, brother."
Like a green flag had been waved in front of their eyes, the two young princes set off on a fast pursuit.
The boys kept pace with each as they left the dining hall, halting for but a moment when the granite corridor forked.
As Loki took the time to assess the situation, his dark head turning from one side to the other before his green eyes flickered straight ahead to where the black marble staircase ascended to the upper levels of the manor, his brother Thor, all pumped up with the challenge, already had made his mind up and was taking off once again.
"I'll go left." he called back over his shoulder.
Loki stared after Thor for but a moment before he turned and moved for the passageway that would take him right. But after a few steps, the raven haired prince stopped. Call it instinct if you will, but something told him that the girl wouldn't have bothered remaining on the lower level if it was her goal to get away from everyone in the first place.
And so with that in mind, he changed his direction.
He was going upstairs.
With her sketch book tucked safely under her arm while with a fresh quill and small jar of ink was secured in her hand, Erica peaked her head out of the doorway that led into her chamber and checked to see if the way was clear.
Satisfied when she couldn't detect a single presence nearby, Erica stepped out and quietly began making her way down the elegant, candle-lit passageway.
As she was nearing the main stairwell, her eyes locked on to the large door off to her right that was just feet away. It was wide open; a fact that filled her with suspicion.
"The library door had been closed when I had first came up here..." She noted in her head as a frown pulled down on her lips.
Drawn in by her curiosity, Erica moved cautiously till she stopped in front of the open doorway to look inside.
Her family's library was in immaculate condition, as always; not a single hardcover could be found out of place within the shelves that were lined from top to bottom with books of all textures and sizes along the walls.
Hardly anyone came into the library besides her father. However, when the nights were long and Erica found herself unable to sleep, she'd sneak in and steal a novel or two.
So it went without saying the surprise that flooded her when her eyes landed on the form of the raven haired prince. One could almost call her intrigued as she watched him run a pale hand over the spines of the books that were perfectly aligned, without a single speck of dust to be found anywhere on the shelves.
But suddenly, his movements ceased. Like he was able to sense that he was being watched, the dark prince turned around and his green eyes locked onto Erica in a heartbeat.
Mortified that she had been caught looking, Erica found a gasp slipping past her lips as her cheeks burned red with color.
Loki's mouth turned up in a slow grin in return.
Erica's brows furrowed with confusion at first, but her expressing melted into one of annoyance as she noted the arrogant gleam behind his emerald eyes.
"He looks so conceited." she thought to himself.
"I knew I'd find you first." he spoke as he began taking steps forward.
Erica was taken aback, "Find me?" she replied. Then it clicked.
So that was his angle.
He was here to fetch her and bring her back downstairs to everyone in the dining hall where she would probably be paraded about some more and then be forced to sit through boring conversations.
Well, not if she could help it.
Shifting the sketch book in her arm, Erica took hold of the doorknob. Shuffling back on her feet, the young girl loudly pulled the door to the library shut before taking off down the candle-lighted hallway. It took but a moment before she was swiftly ascending the black marble stairwell.
Barely making it down the first five steps, the distinctive sound of a door being thrown open reached Erica's ears, followed by the fall of footsteps coming after her in fast pursuit.
Minding the long hem of her gown that she was beginning to detest by the second , Erica continued tearing down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her.
Unfortunately for her, she wasn't quite fast enough.
"Wait...come back here!"
The dark prince's words weren't a friendly suggestion despite the cool laugh that came with them. It was a direct order. Even though he was just a boy, Loki's voice had already adapted that well renowned tone of authority only a Royal could possess.
Though she was annoyed beyond words, Erica found herself slowing down as she reached the final few steps.
As Loki swiftly began closing the distance off, his green eyes glued themselves to the back of the tiny girl in pink just a feet away. A haughty smile was curling his lips. There was just something about this girl that he finding to be too funny.
His humor however was cut short once he was within touching distance of Erica.
At the last minute, the girl took a subtle step to the side as if she was making room for the young prince to come along side her.
Mistaking that as yielding sign, Prince Loki sauntered forward without realizing the soft jut of leg that had been well concealed behind Erica's voluminous skirt.
Standing tall with her head held high, Erica watched with a growing satisfaction as the raven haired prince's foot snagged her limb, causing the boy to stumble and trip down the remaining three steps of the staircase before he landed right on his back with a soft groan.
Biting back a smile, the girl marched down to where the smug prince lied where she then proceeded to lean over his form, "Oh dear, Prince Loki..." she stated in an almost breathless tone as his narrowed green eyes locked onto her face, "...you've fallen."
Despite the sweetness that coated her young voice, Loki could easily make out the sarcasm that was laced in it. What made things even more interesting for him was the fact that he wasn't angered by her lack of propriety towards him.
Clearly, this girl had a lot more nerve than he thought from their introductions earlier. Back in the dining hall, she came across as the predictable sort; shy, naive...feeble, just like all the other young girls he's met.
But perhaps, he had judged her too quickly.
Sitting up slowly, Loki fixed Erica with an unwavering stare, "You tripped me..." he corrected.
Erica's face took up an expression of innocence, "I didn't mean to, prince." she answered in an almost perfect display of bashfulness as her eyes lowered themselves down her feet to prevent him from seeing the pleased look that would be sparkling within her blue-green orbs, "...it was an accident."
When her gaze finally moved back up towards him, she found the raven haired prince watching her with his sharp, steady eyes of emerald. After a moment or so, his mouth turned up into a half smile of resolution.
"I see..." he answered. With one swipe of his growing leg, Loki knocked Erica's feet right out from underneath her and sent the young girl falling right onto her backside in a pool of lace and skirts while dropping her sketch book, quill and spilling a glob of ink down the front of her dress.
Emitting a quick cry of outrage as she set aside the bottle, Erica frantically attempted to brush the black liquid off the fine, pink bodice but all that did was smear it in more and blacken both palms of her hands.
Looking down on herself, Erica's eyes narrowed in soft anger before raising her gaze to stare over at the dark prince who sat directly across from her, "This was a new dress..."
Prince Loki shrugged a shoulder and grinned, "Whoops..." he replied, "...it was an accident."
Sudden laughter filled their ears, "Well what do you know?"
Loki's and Erica's heads turned to see the older prince, Thor walking towards them. "You did find her first, brother."
The blonde offered a hand to his younger brother who accepted and was pulled back to his feet.
Not wanting a hand from either prince, Erica took the liberty of standing up on her own while Thor helped his brother straighten his green and black tunic out. Then, after taking a few seconds to brush her skirts off, she moved to collect her sketchbook and quill that lied a few feet away.
"Find me first?" she repeated disdainfully as she tucked her sketchbook back under her arm and fixed both princes with a cool look. "I didn't think Princes bothered playing games like Hide and Seek..." She didn't even bother to disguise her sarcasm this time.
Thor's grin widened, " Of course we do. We're the best at it back in Asgard." the blonde boasted as he clapped an arm around his darker brother.
Erica gave a derisive snort, "Well I don't know how you two play it, but usually you tell person who's suppose to hide first and then give them a fair heads start by counting."
The two princes shared a look while two devious smiles played across their faces, "What say you, Loki...think twenty is a fair enough start?"
Loki chuckled, "More than fair." The brother's grinned before nodding their head in agreement before turning their eyes completely upon Erica.
"What are you boys going on about?" Erica asked frowning as she was filled with suspicion at their sudden attention.
"1...2...3.." the brothers counted in perfect unison.
"Oh no...now wait a second, I did not say I wanted to play Hide and Seek right now."
"4..." Spoke Thor,
"5..." Followed Loki.
"You boys are mad!" Erica exclaimed.
"And you should probably start running." Loki suggested; his green eyes were sparkling with mischievousness.
Erica opened her mouth to protest further, but as the numbers kept going higher, she figured she didn't have much of an option but to play along.
With an irritable stomp of her foot, she whirled around and took off.
"10...15...19 and.." Knowingly skipping numbers, Thor looked over at his brother and winked.
Smirking, Loki fixed his eyes in the direction where Erica had run off in, "20."
The brothers were hot on her trail in just a matter of seconds.
Dashing back into the dining hall, Erica spared a glance over a shoulder to see the princes already coming after her.
"Ugh, boys..." she swore inside her head, "...they never play fair."
Indeed, it was quite the scene to watch; especially to their parents.
Odin, Rowen and Astrid found themselves speechless for a moment when their eyes first watched Erica hustle right on by their table, followed by the two princes just shortly after as they gained on her retreating form that disappeared into another side corridor.
Astrid brought a motherly hand to her mouth as she stared after the kids, even once they were long gone from site. "Oh dear...they're ganging up on her."
Odin and Rowen looked over at each other before chuckling.
"Nonsense...they're just having a bit of fun, dear." Rowen assured his wife.
Picking up his wine goblet, Odin took a swig, "A promising sign that shows them to be getting along quite nicely."
"Mmhmm.." Rowen agreed with a nod, "..If this arrangement clicks, our Realms will know a sustaining peace."
Odin smiled at the idea, "My friend that is my point, precisely."
Raising his goblet, Rowen winked, "To good parenting."
" And politics."
While the men enjoyed their drinks and carried on with their banter regarding the future, Astrid found herself staring down at her plate in silence.
Though the men had come to terms with the idea of joining Erica and one of the Princes together, Astrid had not. She never liked the idea of arranged marriages; it felt almost hypocritical that she would allow her only daughter to enter into such an agreement herself.
But then again, what if there was truth behind the All-Father's words? What if the children could get along with each other really well?
"I suppose so long as Erica has the chance to get to know her intended, it wouldn't be such a horrible thing." the auburn haired woman thought to herself.
Still, something troubled her mind, she just didn't know what.
After all, they were only kids now...who knows what it'll be like when they've matured and grown.
Time has a way of changing things.
"Quite so..." she thought.
With that in mind, Astrid felt herself relax some.
Erica was only a child...she shouldn't have to worry about the future now and neither should Astrid.
"When the time comes, things will play out for the best."
Or at least that was what she hoped for; for her daughter's sake.