Chapter Seventeen

You laughed; it had to be a joke. Loki was second only to Thor as the most desired man in Asgard, though having known both, in appearance and in mind; Loki was far more to your liking. Loki was somewhat hurt by your reaction. He had been nervously hopeful before, but as you began to laugh, he felt foolish and bit his lips together as his heart began to break.

"Wow, of all the jokes you could have possibly thought to play on me, this is by far crueller than any I thought you capable of." His face then turned to one of confusion. "I get it, I am ugly and undesirable because of my scar, but I really thought of you as my ally, my friend. Well done, you got me. I fell for one of the Trickster's finer tricks." Loki just stood there open mouthed as you ranted. "Gods, how could I have been so stupid?" You laughed as tears welled in your eyes. "I really hoped you were being sincere when saying you enjoyed my company,"

"El, stop, just stop. I am not lying, and I am most certainly not trying to trick you. I am being sincere. I know I am not renowned for such, but truly, I am." You stared back at him, studying his face and voice for any falseness. "I meant every word I said. I want you to come back to the palace with me, and I wish for you to be my wife. I do not for one instance think you ugly, quite the opposite in fact. I do not think your mark grotesque, and if I am to be completely honest, I have found myself more than once wishing that the rumours of what people say happened in my tent to be true." He looked into your eyes to try and convey he was telling the truth.

You bit on your lip and looked away. "Loki." You started sadly.

"You do not share my feelings." His voice was small with resignation. "That is alright, I understand." He turned to walk away, feeling humiliated. "I rather you here and happy than with me and unhappy." He smiled sadly as he looked back. Unable to speak, you watched as he walked back into the darkness once more.

The silence around you almost seemed to scream, you looked around but there was no sign of anyone. The tears that fell from your eyes were heavy and fast as you turned and ran back to the house. You burst in the door, startling your mother who dropped the vase of flowers she was carrying as she called your name while you bolted for your room. Once inside, you slammed the door shut and leant against it; gut wrenching sobs racked your being as you did.

"Eleonora let me in." Your father ordered, banging on the door.

"Go away." You whimpered.

"Eleonora, either let me in, or I will break the blasted door in, I mean it." He threatened. Shocked by his tone, you rose from the floor and opened it. On seeing you, his stern exterior fell and he walked in and over to sit on the window sill. "Cubby, tell me what is going on."

"He…"

"Prince Loki?"

You nodded. "He said he spoke to you."

"He did, we had quite the discussion. I can honestly say that that boy is smitten for you." Tears fell even faster. "What happened?"

"I…He…I thought he was playing me for a fool."

"Cubby?"

"I thought he was being cruel, because well, who could ever…?"

"What? Who could ever what, Eleonora?"

"Look at me."

"I am, sweetheart. Do you know what I see, a beautiful, strong willed, able minded, quick witted woman. And the thing is, he does too. So what is the problem? Do you not like him?" You shrugged. "Were you happy when he came here?" You nodded. "Do you enjoy his company?" Another nod. "Do you find him attractive?" You stared back, unable to hide the way your cheeks were turning crimson. "Come now Cubby, you are Æsir; you are going to find some people attractive. I am just glad you find him amiable in all ways."

"But he left."

"You know where the palace is, and it's not like you are short of a horse to get there." He shrugged. "What is the real issue?"

"I am not sure how I feel."

"In what way?"

"When I saw him at the palace, in the company of some harpy of a social climber, I felt horrible, like my stomach was boiling." You explained.

"I see, and what do you feel when you think of him in general?" your father queried.

"My stomach feels off, as though I feel slightly nauseous. And…Why are you laughing at me?" you demanded indignantly.

"Oh my sweet innocent little girl." He chuckled. "Have you really been reared not to know envy?" he laughed, but then his face fell. "Or even love?"

"I know love." You defended. "I love you and mother, but I never felt that way with either of you."

"That is a different love my dear child, I mean the love you can only have for the one who takes your heart."

"Mother and tutors never taught me anything like that."

"This is not something that can be taught Eleonora, I would have thought you would recognise it from your mother and I, I clearly have failed both of you."

"None can love another like you and mother love each other. I see the way you are together; there will never be a fair comparison."

"And yet you cannot see the obvious between you and Loki."

"Did he really say his objective was to come here and steal me?"

"Something along those words, he apologised that as much as he would love for you both to remain here and see you happy doing what you adore, it is not possible with his position, and that he would do whatever he could to entice you to the palace with him, but he swore that he would spend the next four thousand years or so doing everything in his considerable power to make you happy. I never thought the day would come Cubby, but you have found the one man I think worthy of you."

"Because he is a prince?"

"No. You were always my little princess, my tomboy princess, but a princess nonetheless but this is nothing to do with his title, or his status. It is his solely based on the fact his personality is akin to yours in so many ways, and even in the ways it is not, you seem to compliment one another." He explained.

"That is why you invited him to stay, to scope him out." You realised.

"Of course." Your father smiled. "I noticed his demeanour at the mere mention of your name, and then of course when he saw you on the floor when you fell, his feelings were blatantly obvious. I had to see if his feelings were reciprocated. Now that I know they are, I feel as a father it is my duty to get you to get your head out of your behind my dear and get after him." You lunged forward and hug him tightly as he stroked your hair. "I am going to miss having you here with me Cubs, but at least this time I will be able to visit you whenever I choose, I will endure that blasted city for you."

"And I would endure it for him." You admitted.

"Well then, it is obvious what you need to do is it not?" you stood up and ran out the door, grateful you had kept on the evening cloak that you had been wearing beforehand as you reached the bitter cold air outside. You ran for the stables, ignoring the concerned looks from both your mother and Katrin stood watching you from the doorway since they had been cleaning the broken vase while you ran passed.

In the stables you searched round, thinking of which horse would be best to take. Agnar was more than likely tired after his long hunt during the day, though he was faithful and obedient, Skundi was faster than any other, but he was nowhere near as reliable. With time being of the essence, you went over to Skundi and began to take down his bridle when a snort came from behind you. Turning you saw Agnar staring at you almost indignantly. "What? Do you want me to take you?" You asked, you got a whinny in response. "Do you have enough left in you to get me to the palace boy?" You enquired, having placed the other bridle back and walked over to his. A snort was his reply. Not wanting to waste anymore time, you went into the stall and the horse lowered his head obediently, hastening your work. Knowing he would never purposely throw you, you decided to forego the saddle, and took him out of the stall. He was tall for someone of your stature, so you used a hay bale to help you up and faced the door. As though sensing your urgency, Agnar began to canter immediately. On reaching the barn door, you faced him in the direction of the palace and he broke into a full gallop.

It was almost pitch black as you galloped on, praying you did not collide with anything on the path, glints of colour occurred every so often as you passed something or another that reflected the very slight light of the moon, at nearly half way you began to see the glow of the city. Agnar continued his speed, his deep snorts rhythmically keeping beat with his gait, and he never faltered as he unrelentingly pushed on.

You had no idea what you would even say to Loki, or if he would even want to hear it. With hindsight you could see the hurt in his features at your reaction and he had been willing you suffer heartache in the belief that you were happy without him. You bit your lip thinking of that, angry at yourself for hurting him so. As Agnar galloped an odd flash of white caught your peripheral vision for the briefest of moments. It took a moment for your brain to process what it was you had seen, pulling on the reins, you caused the horse to stop and turned him, trotting back to the object that caught your attention. You came to a halt right in from of it, looking down from Agnar's back.

"Loki."