Chapter 7: The next morning

Darkness. This was all she could remember from her dream. It was as if she had a nightmare, but like a child, her mind tried to shut it out. Only, it was still there, tugging at the back of her memory. She sat on the edge of her bed, legs dangling over the soft linen. With her head in her hands and her elbows propped on her knees, she rubbed her eyes profusely. Trying to rub the pain of her tears away, she managed to make herself weep once more. It seemed as if her life was now the nightmare, and she hoped that none of it was real. Although, the pain between her thighs told her otherwise.

Sif came early to bring her friend breakfast, as well as to check on her. When the nurses had let them go last night, Celestrial asked her to stay. After what had happened, she did not want to be alone. She allowed the young woman to cry into her lap. She gently stroked her head, and whispered empty promises of "He'll never touch you again," or "It will get better." She knew of nothing else to do for her. What are you supposed to do for somebody who had just been raped? Sif knew not, for it hadn't happened to anybody she knew. After she felt her fall asleep, she slowly got off the bed, and went to her own chambers.

In her hands, she held a tray of fruits, bread, cheese, and some wine. She figured Cellie could use the wine to calm her nerves. When she finally reached the door, she knocked and called, but did not hear a reply. Barely pushing the door open, Sif made sure everything was fine. Curled up a lounge chair, was puffy eyed, Celestrial. She looked up briefly only to see who it was, "Hey." "Hey. How are you this morning?" A moment of uncertainty. "I am fine." Cellie turned her head to the window, slowly stood, and made her way to her small table. "Come. Let us eat," she said, waving the brunette over. "Thank you," said a sad Sif, "but I must go to training. I came to make sure you were all right." "I understand," came a soft reply. "Return when can. I would very much appreciate it." "I will my friend." She walked out, and closed her door with a small thud. Very quickly though, a knock sounded from her door.

Thinking Sif had forgotten something, she simply called out, "Come on in you forgetful silly." Just saying that made her feel better. Maybe things would start getting better. When her door opened however, a confused palace guard poked his head around the corner. She instantly stood up. "My lady, the king requests your immediate presence." Her eyes widened in shock. What did he want? Was he going to announce to the whole realm what he had done? Would he abuse her in front of the court? Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage, "Lead the way," and followed the guard to the throne room.

There, on the throne, sat nothing. The guard had left her at the door, so she was alone. Looking around she spotted something in the corner. Cautiously walking towards it, she noticed it was a goblet of wine sitting on a small golden table. "Why don't you take a sip, my lady?" She spun around to meet green eyes. "What do you want Loki? You already took me in my own chambers. What else is there for you?" A small chuckle formed in his throat. "My dear," as he took her hand, "I simply want to show you my love." With a slight grin, he took the goblet in his free hand, and lifted it to her lips. "Drink." She pushed it away, "What did you do to it?" "I, have done nothing to this." He pushed it to her lips again, with more force this time, "Now, follow your kings' command and drink." Shaking her head, she knocked the wine from his hand, causing it to spill.

"You little wench!" SLAP. She looked up, and felt the familiar stinging sensation. With tears in her eyes, she ran not back to her room, but to find Sif. Half an hour had passed, and she couldn't fine her friend anywhere. Passing a small alley way in the towns, she did manage to find someone she did know. As usual, he was surrounded by several women, giggling as he told his stories of glorious battle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Celestrial gingerly walking to him. "Excuse me ladies, I have some business to attend to," he said as he walked away. "My lady," he took her hand and kissed the back of it, but noticed her hand was warm. "Are you alright? You feel as if you may have a fever," his concerned eyes glanced over her face, and noticed she had been crying.

"I am not ill, Fandral. I..I." "Come, let us go somewhere more private," he said as he saw the look on her face. He pulled her off of the street, and started towards a small river. As soon as he reached his destination, he stopped her and held her face in his hands, "Please, Celestrial, tell me, what has Loki done to you today." She looked him in the eyes, and tried to speak, but the tears poured out, and her body started to quiver. "I'm scared, Fandral. Loki hurt me last night, he took away my most precious value. This morning, I think he tried to poison me.." "What?" His face dropped with shock, "Why would he do something like that? I know of last night, but what would make him want to poison you?" She looked down at her feet, and saw small flowers blooming a bright purple. Trying to avoid the answer, she kept glancing around, taking in her surroundings at the small river.

Realizing she did not want to answer, he sat down with her at the edge of the cool water. She took off her shoes and dipped her feet in, before quickly taking them out. "Too cold," she chuckled. "Well," he laughed, "it is getting close to Autumn. The leaves are already changing." He pointed up and looked at the bright blue sky, then looked at her. He couldn't blame Loki for wanting her. She was beautiful. He can not understand why he did that to her. Sure, she was pretty and smart, but what drove him to do something so drastic, it would change her life? "My lady," he quietly asked, "How much do you love Thor?" She tilted her head to the side, and thought for second. "I love him so much, that even in his banishment, I refuse to be with any other man. He may never return, but with my faithfulness, I have hope. If he were to come back, and see that I have married, it would break both of our hearts. I just hope that he is happy, and learning what is needed for him to come back to me."

Fandral smiled only slightly, for he knew of Thor's actions on Midgard. He went to Heimdall daily to check on him, and for each day he watched him, he saw the feelings Thor had for a certain mortal grow. His hope was for him to realize what was going on, before it was too late. "Would you like something to eat?" Her stomach grumbled at the mention of food. The tray that Sif had brought her earlier sat untouched in her room. "Well," she placed a hand on her stomach, "I did not get to eat breakfast." "Then let's go." He stood quickly and reached for her hand. Helping her up, he mentioned that Volstagg was in the palace, probably eating all of the food in Asgard. She laughed happily, and they walked to the kitchens of the grand palace. Sure enough, there was robust redhead. He was chatting with Hogun as they snacked on the foods that had been left out.

"Why hello my lady," exclaimed a jolly Volstagg, "what bring in you here?" Opening her mouth to talk, Fandral cut in, "She has yet to eat my friends, so if you would kindly calm your gullets and step aside.." "Oh, why of course!" They grabbed a couple of more things, and sat down on the bench that was provided next to the table. After a few bites, Celestrial started to feel uneasy. It was as if someone was watching her. She continued, but the feeling kept growing. She could tell whoever it was, either was walking closer to her, or had already come up behind the group. She looked up just in time to hear, "Come. We have some unfinished business to attend to." The three men looked behind them and saw Loki. What they saw on his face however, almost shocked them. Hogun spoke up, "We are having lunch, my king. We will escort her your way when we have finished." Taken aback, the angry king exclaimed, "If I command her to come with me, then she must! I am the king, and my orders must be obeyed!"

All the men in the room look to where Celestrial was sitting. They were surprised to see that she was not there. While the men had Loki distracted, she slipped under the table. However, this was planned. They had been planning it when he walked up. Loki glanced around the room, growled, and swept out. "Celestrial, I command you to come here!" They could hear him yelling this all the way down the corridor. "Thank you guys," she said sheepishly as she climbed out from under the table. "Anytime my lady. You do not deserve to be treated as such. Besides, I am large enough to hide you myself without having these two help," he chuckled loudly. "So, why is he so mad at you," Fandral questioned. "Because...," she hesitated, "I slapped him."

Author's Note: So, this one took me a while. I'm trying to lengthen the story, because I have so much I want to do. The time frame is going to be a lot longer, but I'll have the same basic story line. Reviews please! Keep me motivated! Thanks!