p class="MsoNoSpacing"strongspan lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"Chapter 4/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Time flowed on as it always had. After my report about the stake-out just outside the training field and the invisible path, guarding had been doubled. No guard walked alone, always together and no more than five minutes was alowed to pass between the rounds. No one would be able to enter the castle without being seen. Still worry lingered the air. Who was this invisible enemy? And more importantly what was their plan… /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"The extra security measures meant that besides sleep and work I hardly did anything at all. I had been appointed a partner, but he had dissaproved of me saying a mute women hardly could be considered a help in guarding the palace. Many had followed and thus I had been appointed to standing guard in and around the throne room. This mostly meant I was opening and closing doors or standing around looking dangerous to scare of potential threats./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"The ride with the prince and his apology together with his handling of Sleipnir bugged my thoughts on the long shifts of standing guard. Many hours of wandering thoughts had not provided me with an answer. I still wondered what precisly was the relationship between Loki and Sleipnir. If it was as loving as I thought it was, I wondered why he was so afraid. I wondered why he would have given his son to Odin if he loved him so dearly and why he never came to the stables to take care of Sleipnir./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"The long days of work tired me so much I wasn't able to properly train. I did some light training at my home to keep up the muscles I had, but proper sword practice took to much time and energy. This meant that I had not seen Thor around much except when he walked past me standing guard. Same could be said for his darker shadow that seemed to haunt my thoughts so much. Loki hurried past me on many a occasion but he had not spoken many a word to me except his usual tainting./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"And still time went on. When no threat came, safety measures became less and less until we were on our usual schedual. I took up my sword practices, and the physical training allowed me to stop thinking about Loki and Sleipnir. The princes however never joined. They were busy helping their father rule the country and this made me glad. I don't think I could stand seeing Loki any more often than I saw him now. His eyes streaking past mine only made me wonder more who really was behind the facade of the perfect trickster prince. I had seen a bit when he apologized to me, and I had seen more in his handling of Sleipnir. It was not for nothing that my grandpa always told me that you can only see the true man in his handling of a horse. Sleipnir wasn't exactly a horse but I figured it still counted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"My usual hacking on the dummy I had set up for practice was cut short when Neal one of my small group of friends tapped me on the back. For me he had learned signing, and through him I was able to communicate fairly easy with others. However he had been granted the honour of becoming captain of his own guard which meant I hardly ever saw him any more. He had wanted to take me into his squad of guards but I had declined. It would feel too much like he was doing me a favour, and I wanted to reach higher on my own strength. Then there also was the small problem of him fancying me. How could I accept his offer if I knew he wasn't objective towards me. It could ruin his carreer and would damage mine. Not to mention that the feelings weren't exactly returned from my side. I liked Neal. He was a great guy, sweat, strong and caring. The perfect man for many a women. Sadly not for me. I saw him as a close friend, a brother maybe, but not more. There would be no romantic future for us. Neal seemed to have accepted this as the gentleman he truly was, and made no big deal out of it. We were still friends, and we still talked a lot./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'Have you heared?' He said to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"What happened? /span/emspan lang="EN-GB"I signed back to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"He grinned to me, clearly happy to start telling th story. I could see him almost beaming with energy as he started. 'It is prince Loki. He had cut of the golden hair of Sif, Thor's wife, and when he went to the Dwarves on svartalfheim he made a bet. He bet /spanspan lang="EN-GB" style="color: #2b2b2b; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"Brokkr and Sindri that they could not make creations better than those made by the sons of Ivaldi/spanspan lang="EN-GB" as gifts for the gods. And guess what?! He lost, and as punishment his lips are sown shut. The famous silver tongue has been silenced!' He laughed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I did not laugh with him. Being silent myself I knew what a terrible fate it was, and it seemed like quite a harsh punishment. Then again I did not know of what Loki made a deal with them. If he had agreed to this fate then perhaps it was his own fault for making the deal in the first place./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Neal saw me frown and was quick to apologize for laughing. He ofcourse understood why I wasn't laughing, he was my best friend after all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'I am truly sorry Kyra. I shouldn't be laughing about a fate already yours. That was not right by me. Will you forgive me?'/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"You are forgiven /span/emspan lang="EN-GB"I signed back to him. emWill you spar with me? /emI questioned quickly, hoping to change the subject. The time had erased most of the prince from my thoughts and I wasn't about to let him back in. Whatever I had seen in him I should forget about it. He would always be the vain, dark prince that I first met, just one time of him acting differently wasn't about to change my mind. I wondered how long I would have to tell myself that lie before I started to believe it myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Sparring with Neal took my thoughts to more serious matters. The fact that he was able to beat me multiple times made clear how little I had been practicing and how bad my form had become. It became better after some time, and at the end of the last round it was me who helped him up from the sand instead of me biting the dust./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'You have lost quite much of your form Kyra.. You should really practice more, I know you can do way better than this.' /spanHe commented when I pulled him from the dust./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I nodded hopefully signing to him that I knew that already. More training was precisely why I was here today, I had to regain what skills I had lost. It was true that swordfighting wasn't easily forgotten, but it is important to stay in practice when one is aiming for perfection./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'I saw you have the whole day free today.' Neal spoke up. 'Care to join me for a drink tonight when my shift is over?'/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I felt inclined to decline but Neal was my friend and we hadn't spend any time together in a long time. It would also be great to spend some time with someone who could actually understand what I was saying too, and thus I nodded to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'Great see you at eight in the tavern.' He grinned before taking off, probably to start his shift. I waved him goodbye and headed towards the forest for a well deserved break. My stomach was churning with hunger, and my muscles were aching already from the harsh beating they had endured./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"While walking through the forest I was focussing on relaxing different muscle groups and thus did not focus as much as I should have. I had walked this path so many times that I could probably do it with my eyes closed, and that gave a sense of safety that was not really far. Even this close to the castle bandits were roaming through the forest, using the thick brush for coverage. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I had been slowly relaxing my sore muscles when a branch snapped close behind me. Immediatly all my senses went still, trying to figure out who or what was around me. My ears picked up the sound of breathing, and the soft crushing of sand between boots. Someone was aproaching me. I did not turn around, not letting the attacker know I had noticed him was the best tactic for now. When the breathing grew closer, I whirled around my sword swinging out to bite the attacker in the neck, and I came face to face with prince Loki. The one person I did not wish to see./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Loki stumbled back from my sword, ungracefully tripping over his own feet while trying to stay upright. He managed while I put my sword away and quickly bowed. I was not about to apologize for attacking him. Any person would know not to sneak upon a guard, you were bound to get hurt then. He could have simply called my name, I might be mute, but I was not deaf. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"That thought escaped me as soon as I saw his face again. His mouth was sown shut, the threads forming neat X shapes on his thin lips. The red skin and dripplets of blood clearly showing the damage he had undergone. It must hurt terrible!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"We stared at each other. Neither of us able to speak, untill I came out of my daze and motioned to my cabin, which was only a few hundred meters ahead. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Loki nodded and followed me. While walking thousands upon thousands of thoughts swirled my mind. The loudest being: Why is he here? What does he want from me?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"We reached my cabin in an uncomfortable silence that none of us was able to break. I motioned to the chairs on my front porch, hoping he understood the message and headed in. I had not brought my notebook for training, not deeming it necessary for the activity, but it was probably the only way of communication Loki and I had right now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Walking back outside and sitting down next to the prince did not feel real. I couldn't quite believe that he was really here. The second prince of Asgard sitting on my porch, the dark man that had held my thoughts for so long now just because of one ride./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"What can I do for you my prince? /span/emspan lang="EN-GB"I wrote down and passed the notebook on to Loki. His eyes scanned the writting before he wrote a reply. His beautiful handwriting brought mine to shame and distracted me from reading the message. I mean no one should be able to write with such a beautiful curls like that, that simply wasn't fair./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"I need your help./span/emspan lang="EN-GB" The message read when I forced myself not to be distracted by how it was written. I frowned. My help? What could he possibly be needing my help for? What could a mere guard mean to a prince?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"He saw me frowning and motioned to the notebook. I gave it back, understanding that he wanted to ellaborate on his statement. He started writing. Long sentences in his perfect writing, and I was trying to contain my curiosity. I was about to burst when he was finally ready. Typically the silver tongue to express himself quite so elaborate even when he can't speak./span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"emspan lang="EN-GB"I can't speak any more for gods know how long. I need your help in order to communicate properly with the world around me. I couldn't possibly act out my duties as a prince of this realm when I can't speak with a living soul./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Time flowed on as it always had. After my report about the stake-out just outside the training field and the invisible path, guarding had been doubled. No guard walked alone, always together and no more than five minutes was alowed to pass between the rounds. No one would be able to enter the castle without being seen. Still worry lingered the air. Who was this invisible enemy? And more importantly what was their plan… /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"The extra security measures meant that besides sleep and work I hardly did anything at all. I had been appointed a partner, but he had dissaproved of me saying a mute women hardly could be considered a help in guarding the palace. Many had followed and thus I had been appointed to standing guard in and around the throne room. This mostly meant I was opening and closing doors or standing around looking dangerous to scare of potential threats./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"The ride with the prince and his apology together with his handling of Sleipnir bugged my thoughts on the long shifts of standing guard. Many hours of wandering thoughts had not provided me with an answer. I still wondered what precisly was the relationship between Loki and Sleipnir. If it was as loving as I thought it was, I wondered why he was so afraid. I wondered why he would have given his son to Odin if he loved him so dearly and why he never came to the stables to take care of Sleipnir./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"The long days of work tired me so much I wasn't able to properly train. I did some light training at my home to keep up the muscles I had, but proper sword practice took to much time and energy. This meant that I had not seen Thor around much except when he walked past me standing guard. Same could be said for his darker shadow that seemed to haunt my thoughts so much. Loki hurried past me on many a occasion but he had not spoken many a word to me except his usual tainting./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"And still time went on. When no threat came, safety measures became less and less until we were on our usual schedual. I took up my sword practices, and the physical training allowed me to stop thinking about Loki and Sleipnir. The princes however never joined. They were busy helping their father rule the country and this made me glad. I don't think I could stand seeing Loki any more often than I saw him now. His eyes streaking past mine only made me wonder more who really was behind the facade of the perfect trickster prince. I had seen a bit when he apologized to me, and I had seen more in his handling of Sleipnir. It was not for nothing that my grandpa always told me that you can only see the true man in his handling of a horse. Sleipnir wasn't exactly a horse but I figured it still counted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"My usual hacking on the dummy I had set up for practice was cut short when Neal one of my small group of friends tapped me on the back. For me he had learned signing, and through him I was able to communicate fairly easy with others. However he had been granted the honour of becoming captain of his own guard which meant I hardly ever saw him any more. He had wanted to take me into his squad of guards but I had declined. It would feel too much like he was doing me a favour, and I wanted to reach higher on my own strength. Then there also was the small problem of him fancying me. How could I accept his offer if I knew he wasn't objective towards me. It could ruin his carreer and would damage mine. Not to mention that the feelings weren't exactly returned from my side. I liked Neal. He was a great guy, sweat, strong and caring. The perfect man for many a women. Sadly not for me. I saw him as a close friend, a brother maybe, but not more. There would be no romantic future for us. Neal seemed to have accepted this as the gentleman he truly was, and made no big deal out of it. We were still friends, and we still talked a lot./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'Have you heared?' He said to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"What happened? /span/emspan lang="EN-GB"I signed back to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"He grinned to me, clearly happy to start telling th story. I could see him almost beaming with energy as he started. 'It is prince Loki. He had cut of the golden hair of Sif, Thor's wife, and when he went to the Dwarves on svartalfheim he made a bet. He bet /spanspan lang="EN-GB" style="color: #2b2b2b; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"Brokkr and Sindri that they could not make creations better than those made by the sons of Ivaldi/spanspan lang="EN-GB" as gifts for the gods. And guess what?! He lost, and as punishment his lips are sown shut. The famous silver tongue has been silenced!' He laughed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I did not laugh with him. Being silent myself I knew what a terrible fate it was, and it seemed like quite a harsh punishment. Then again I did not know of what Loki made a deal with them. If he had agreed to this fate then perhaps it was his own fault for making the deal in the first place./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Neal saw me frown and was quick to apologize for laughing. He ofcourse understood why I wasn't laughing, he was my best friend after all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'I am truly sorry Kyra. I shouldn't be laughing about a fate already yours. That was not right by me. Will you forgive me?'/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"You are forgiven /span/emspan lang="EN-GB"I signed back to him. emWill you spar with me? /emI questioned quickly, hoping to change the subject. The time had erased most of the prince from my thoughts and I wasn't about to let him back in. Whatever I had seen in him I should forget about it. He would always be the vain, dark prince that I first met, just one time of him acting differently wasn't about to change my mind. I wondered how long I would have to tell myself that lie before I started to believe it myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Sparring with Neal took my thoughts to more serious matters. The fact that he was able to beat me multiple times made clear how little I had been practicing and how bad my form had become. It became better after some time, and at the end of the last round it was me who helped him up from the sand instead of me biting the dust./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'You have lost quite much of your form Kyra.. You should really practice more, I know you can do way better than this.' /spanHe commented when I pulled him from the dust./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I nodded hopefully signing to him that I knew that already. More training was precisely why I was here today, I had to regain what skills I had lost. It was true that swordfighting wasn't easily forgotten, but it is important to stay in practice when one is aiming for perfection./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'I saw you have the whole day free today.' Neal spoke up. 'Care to join me for a drink tonight when my shift is over?'/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I felt inclined to decline but Neal was my friend and we hadn't spend any time together in a long time. It would also be great to spend some time with someone who could actually understand what I was saying too, and thus I nodded to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"'Great see you at eight in the tavern.' He grinned before taking off, probably to start his shift. I waved him goodbye and headed towards the forest for a well deserved break. My stomach was churning with hunger, and my muscles were aching already from the harsh beating they had endured./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"While walking through the forest I was focussing on relaxing different muscle groups and thus did not focus as much as I should have. I had walked this path so many times that I could probably do it with my eyes closed, and that gave a sense of safety that was not really far. Even this close to the castle bandits were roaming through the forest, using the thick brush for coverage. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"I had been slowly relaxing my sore muscles when a branch snapped close behind me. Immediatly all my senses went still, trying to figure out who or what was around me. My ears picked up the sound of breathing, and the soft crushing of sand between boots. Someone was aproaching me. I did not turn around, not letting the attacker know I had noticed him was the best tactic for now. When the breathing grew closer, I whirled around my sword swinging out to bite the attacker in the neck, and I came face to face with prince Loki. The one person I did not wish to see./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Loki stumbled back from my sword, ungracefully tripping over his own feet while trying to stay upright. He managed while I put my sword away and quickly bowed. I was not about to apologize for attacking him. Any person would know not to sneak upon a guard, you were bound to get hurt then. He could have simply called my name, I might be mute, but I was not deaf. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"That thought escaped me as soon as I saw his face again. His mouth was sown shut, the threads forming neat X shapes on his thin lips. The red skin and dripplets of blood clearly showing the damage he had undergone. It must hurt terrible!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"We stared at each other. Neither of us able to speak, untill I came out of my daze and motioned to my cabin, which was only a few hundred meters ahead. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Loki nodded and followed me. While walking thousands upon thousands of thoughts swirled my mind. The loudest being: Why is he here? What does he want from me?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"We reached my cabin in an uncomfortable silence that none of us was able to break. I motioned to the chairs on my front porch, hoping he understood the message and headed in. I had not brought my notebook for training, not deeming it necessary for the activity, but it was probably the only way of communication Loki and I had right now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"Walking back outside and sitting down next to the prince did not feel real. I couldn't quite believe that he was really here. The second prince of Asgard sitting on my porch, the dark man that had held my thoughts for so long now just because of one ride./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"What can I do for you my prince? /span/emspan lang="EN-GB"I wrote down and passed the notebook on to Loki. His eyes scanned the writting before he wrote a reply. His beautiful handwriting brought mine to shame and distracted me from reading the message. I mean no one should be able to write with such a beautiful curls like that, that simply wasn't fair./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"emspan lang="EN-GB"I need your help./span/emspan lang="EN-GB" The message read when I forced myself not to be distracted by how it was written. I frowned. My help? What could he possibly be needing my help for? What could a mere guard mean to a prince?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span lang="EN-GB"He saw me frowning and motioned to the notebook. I gave it back, understanding that he wanted to ellaborate on his statement. He started writing. Long sentences in his perfect writing, and I was trying to contain my curiosity. I was about to burst when he was finally ready. Typically the silver tongue to express himself quite so elaborate even when he can't speak./span/p
p class="MsoNoSpacing"emspan lang="EN-GB"I can't speak any more for gods know how long. I need your help in order to communicate properly with the world around me. I couldn't possibly act out my duties as a prince of this realm when I can't speak with a living soul./span/em/p
