Chapter 2

Loki was scowling as he finished his meal in silence, angered by Kari's manner towards him. When he heard the distinct sound of particular footsteps towards the terrace, he groaned audibly.

"Loki, brother, I see that you have been stood up." Thor noted looking around.

"Indeed but I have not." Loki scoffed in return.

Thor looked around confused. "Well none other than ourselves are here and her plate is left untouched."

"She was here, but she has left." Loki grumbled, not sure as to why he was telling Thor so much.

"So is she gone to the bathroom then? You should know better than to have started eating without her. Mother would admonish you for such a thing." Loki stared out to the gardens with his elbow on the table and his finger to his lips as he shook his head in response. "Did you find her grotesque and sent her off?"

"She is most easy to look at actually, I would even go so far as to say that she is quite beautiful."

"Really" Thor raised his brows as he sat opposite Loki and began to eat at the second plate of food. "You seldom accuse women of being such a thing. So if she is so fetching, what happened?"

"She called me a 'pompous snob' and left."

Thor almost choked on the piece of chicken he had been chewing on, erupting in laughter at Loki's admission. "Oh, I think I like this woman already."

"I have little doubt she does not hold you in much better a regard as she does me." Loki scoffed.

"Don't care, still like her." Thor grinned. "So, other than the fact she is honest and beautiful, what else were you able to learn of her?"

"Only that she seems to like libraries and drawing rooms, especially as places to retreat from an unwanted soon to be spouse."

Thor gave another chortle, earning him a glare from Loki. "Yes, I heard mother state that she is quite the avid artist, and apparently loves poetry also. I would have thought you well suited, hence my being here now, I was expecting to see you both deep in conversation about some poet I was forced to study but never paid any actual attention to."

Loki gulped as he thought of what Thor had informed him. Kari was not some vapid beauty to just look good on his arm, she clearly was intelligent also. "Well she is not trained in how to address those if higher station than her." He commented childishly.

"According to mother, she was courteous and polite, though very shy." Thor informed him.

"She called me a pompous snob!" Loki argued.

"A fairly accurate analogy I would have thought." Thor grinned at seeing that Loki was less than happy. "Did you give her a valid reason to call you that?" Loki did not answer, which in itself was Thor's answer. "So you are annoyed that she did not take your condescending comments and tone without argument?"

"I was not condescending."

"What was it that you said?"

"That she was without title and lucky in her fortunes to be marrying as she is." Thor stared at him open mouthed. "Okay, so it may have been slightly condescending."

"Slightly? Loki it is only possible for you to have been more condescending if you had patted her on the head and asked her if she was bleeding at present. You truly have screwed up brother."

Loki glared spitefully at Thor, irked that the usually dim older prince was giving him advice. "Go annoy someone else." He snapped as he rose from his chair and stormed off in a similar manner as Kari before him.

Thor laughed loudly behind him. "You know that I am right brother." He called out thunderously.

Loki used his seidr to slam the door shut, effectively leaving Thor locked out on the terrace.

X

Loki paced for some time in his quarters, he needed to be the one to apologise, much to his chagrin, and he knew it. So he decided to think over what he would say, while he also sent his hand servant to retrieve something he thought would be a good gift for Kari. He was so occupied in thinking of what to say, that he failed to hear his mother enter his chambers. He had been pacing, and when he turned again and walked back towards the door he halted, seeing her disapproving face. "Oh."

"Loki Odinson, what on earth did you say to that poor girl?" Frigga questioned.

"She told you."

"I do not think she has been seen by anyone other than her handmaid since she had to so embarrassingly leave the lunch she was supposed to be having with you. I went to the terrace to see how you both were faring only to find Thor locked on it. And before you accuse him of being a blabbermouth, I demanded he tell me everything, crowned prince and warrior or not, he is not foolish enough to withhold anything from me."

"He still told you, so by definition, he is still one."

"Do not toy with me Loki." The Allmother warned.

"She said something that wounded my ego, so in retaliation, I said some horrible things, but I am currently working on remedying the situation." Loki explained.

Frigga looked at her son. "Set it right Loki."

"I am going to mother, you have my word." With a final nod, Frigga left, not all too happy with her son, but satisfied that he was going to try and rectify his error.

Loki paced outside the door of Kari's chambers for a few minutes holding the gift he had hoped would assist him in apologising to her. Finally, he built up the courage to knock.

A young woman answered, and on seeing the prince, she bowed. "My Lord, I fear my mistress is not here at present."

"Do you per chance know where she is?"

"To be honest your Highness, she told me in the off chance of you arriving here to tell you to…well it is not really fitting talk to have around a man of your standing. All I can tell you is that when she left, she took with her some paper and her favourite pencils, though she never actually specified where it was that she was going."

"What is it she most likes to draw?"

"Animals my Lord, especially wild ones."

Loki nodded as the maid closed the chambers door. He thought to himself. The palace used to have a menagerie, but his parents had thought it cruel to keep wild animals enclosed in such small spaces, so they had it closed down. Perhaps she could have gone to the gardens, the many colours of the flora within inspiring her, not to mention the endless insects and birds that inhabited them. But then again, their disastrous lunch may have marred their beauty for her. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes wearily with his hand. There were no wild animals at the palace, and not too many domestic ones either, bar a cat or two, and maybe the few hounds that were used for hunting. He froze as a though came to him; the other animal required for hunting, the horses. He would wager everything he owned that if there was any animal in the whole palace to pique her interest, it would surely be his father's eight legged steed, after all, he was the only such creature in all the realms, and now Kari would only need to ask and she would be shown him. Taking his gift, he rushed to the stables.