"Ughmm." Allaysia groaned as her eyelids fluttered in protest against the stiffness in her body.
"I know you're awake, Allaysia dear. Open your eyes." A familiar low, smooth voice sounded right now to her ear.
Her eyes snapped open, swirling golden surprise and relief at the pair of emerald eyes flashing playfully in front of her.
"Loki!" Allaysia breathed out as her hands moved on their own accord to his face. She scanned him for signs of injury, not believing that he could have survived the fire unscathed.
Loki simply grinned and allowed her to hold his face.
"How?" She let go of him and struggled to sit up in the bed. A hiss of pain stopped her efforts as her muscles and joints protested furiously.
Chuckling softly, Loki moved closer and wrapped an arm behind and around her waist. With a gentle lift, he helped her to sit up and lean against the wall.
He sat down on the side of the bed and held out a bowl of very familiar liquid.
Allaysia grinned as he placed a spoonful near her mouth. Shared memories reflected in both of their eyes. Neither foresaw how quickly the roles were reversed.
She opened her mouth obediently and Loki fed her the nourishing liquid. It tasted sweeter than usual.
"Is she awake?" The young king bursted in with rather undignified haste. And stopped at the strangely intimate atmosphere between Loki and Allaysia.
Loki simply lifted a brow at the intrusion. Allaysia choked.
She grunted in pain as each wrack of her body caused her muscles to scream.
Loki pulled her close into his arms, gently but firmly hold her while she calmed down. With a fuming glare boring into his back, Loki lazily drawled a reply to Tauristrander, "Even if Allaysia weren't awake, Your Majesty's entrance would surely have wakened her." The glare turned into daggers.
"Allaysia, I'm glad that you're finally awake," Tauristrander decided to ignore Loki - his comment and his presence. Though, he made sure to pull the two apart before also taking a seat on the bed.
Tauristrander scanned her face, noting the dark circles around her eyes and the tight lines around the corners of her lips.
"Your Majesty," Allaysia quietly reminded the young king of his position.
Tauristrander frowned. Loki smirked.
"What happened to me?" She asked, truly disturbed by the condition of her body. It was as if she had spent almost all of her powers Healing someone. Her body was sore in every imaginable places and she felt weak to her core.
"I'm not quite sure." Tauristrander began slowly, frowning. "You dropped unconscious in the midst of everything and wouldn't wake up. Other Healers tell me that you seemed to be using your powers continuously, to an unidentifiable source." He scowled darkly at Loki. "It may have something to do with the layer of protection around this Asgardian when he was found under the rubbles. It allowed him to survive with minor injuries."
Allaysia's eyes widened in surprise. During the fire, she didn't place any protection on Loki because she had assumed that he would be able to use his Asgardian magic.
As she studied that face full of sharp angles, she saw the usual amusement and a glimmer of secrets in those gem-like eyes. What had really happened that night?
"Loki!" Allaysia exclaimed in shock as cold wetness slithered down the back of her neck.
They were hauling water from the stream nearby her garden, trying to save the few plants that survived from the fire. Though it was far from the temporary rooms that Tauristrander allocated for them in the palace, the two of them still made the trip everyday, salvaging whatever they could from the ashes.
Of course, Loki never missed a chance for some mischief.
She smothered a laughter and turned around. Naturally, her arms also swung around, releasing the content in her hands.
Loki yelped as a bucketful of cold stream water splatted him face-on. Pay back. Allaysia mimicked his smirk.
Loki smirked back, much more devastatingly so, and scooped up a handful of water. He threw it straight to her face.
Now laughing openly, Allaysia splashed up more water in return. Soon enough, the two of them were knee deep in the stream, playing like little children.
Bells of laughter echoed up towards the heavens above. Whose heart fluttered and opened in that beautiful afternoon?
"Achoo!"
"Are you cold, Allaysia dear?" Loki hooked an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close as they walked back to the royal castle. "Can't have you becoming ill."
She rolled her eyes at him, but moved closer to his warm body. "If I do become sick, I know exactly who to blame."
"Absolutely mine, of course." In a grave tone, Loki sounded almost serious.
Allaysia bursted out laughing.
He tried to look hurt but ended up grinning with her.
After the fire, the two of them often passed days like this. Getting water from the stream, rebuilding parts of her garden that was destroyed, just spending time together and laughing.
Allaysia laughed a lot when she was with Loki. Probably more than she had laughed in her whole life before she met him. She could feel the invisible thread tugging at her heart, trapped by those glittering, secretive green eyes.
"Where are you taking me, Loki?" Allaysia carefully placed her feet one in front of another.
"Don't you trust me, my dear Allaysia?" Loki held both of her hands and slowly led her into the room.
Even though her eyes were closed, she knew that he would be smirking in that charming, secretive way of his. She didn't know what to expect of this "surprise" that he had sprung on her so suddenly, although a vague sense of anticipation stirred in the depth of her mind.
Loki stopped, still holding on to one of her hands. "Open you eyes." His silk soft voice whispered seductively next to her ear.
Her eyelids fluttered and opened slowly, golden eyes widened as they drank in the sight. Her room was filled with purple flowers. Flickering purple light sparks danced above the open petals like playful fairies. A slightly sweet fragrance enveloped them like a soft blanket. The only light in the room came from the flowers.
"Oh my," She breathed out, couldn't believe what Loki had done. "Did you take all the purple flowers from the forest? There's probably a law against it, you know."
Loki raised a brow and gave a small sigh. "Allaysia dear, your response is not exactly what I had hoped for. Perhaps you could try to be a little more romantic?"
Allaysia bursted out laughing. Then she quickly straightened her face and managed an expression of tearful delight. Clearing her throat, she tried again in a breathy voice. "Oh my heavenly goodness, Loki dar-ling! You did this for me? I am so touched! My heart is all fluttery and such."
A low, velvety chuckle from Loki. "I must say, that reaction doesn't suite you very well."
His expression suddenly turned serious, the most serious she had ever seen. Even the ever-present mocking dancing in his eyes shrank back into only a small, dim flicker. Allaysia felt a tingle of nerve shiver down her back.
"Allaysia," Loki began in a intimately low voice. "As short as we have known each other, I feel this…" He fumbled slightly for the right word. "This connection between us. I can't stop thinking about you. Your smiles, your laughs, and your eye-rollings. So, here I am." From seemingly nowhere, he pulled out a Jinfleur, its golden petals glimmered and winked even in the dim-lit room.
A small gasp from Allaysia.
Jinfleur, the flower that bloom only once in a lifetime. The delicate flower that survives storms and hardships. The flower used in the most solemn marriage proposals.
"Would you marry me, Allaysia dear?"
For once, his voice no longer had the usual smug and confident tone. Allaysia's heart melted at that note of uncertainty and nervousness.
She smiled, a brilliant smile that casted a beautiful glow about her.
"Yes. Yes, Loki. Yes!" Tinkling with unmistaken joy, laughter bubbled out of her and filled the entire room.
Loki smiled and placed a kiss in the palms of both of her hands. Without taking his eyes off of hers, he pulled her close and bent his head.
Allaysia's eyelids fluttered close, but she opened them again. She wanted to see those brilliant, enthralling green eyes as they kissed. She wanted to imprint those eyes and this moment in her memory.
Her arms went around his neck. He deepened the kiss. Sparks shot up from the flowers, dancing like flames and heating up the room.
He picked her up without breaking the kiss and carried her to the bed. She gave him her unspoken permission.
The night was beautiful, and still young. Dim purple light leaked out of the windows, but otherwise, darkness enveloped the two lovers in her embrace.