Chapter 9.
Lorien woke the next morning, finding Loki laying next to her and watching her sleep. The beam of sun between them on the silken sheets warm, and she glanced at the hand that rested with the palm down on the bed next to her. He rested a hand close to her's and she looked back into his eyes, her heart pounding at how intense they were. Slowly, achingly slow, his hand moved toward hers and she parted her lips in anticipation of the touch. She heard the whisper of his fingers over the sheet, and the tips of his fingers found hers. He smiled slightly, and she stared in suprise of the strange expression on his face.
Something odd filled her, and she knew it was something she fought against for so long. The emotions she fought against, repressed and hid them until she could find someone who would understand her. The dangers so real, yet so frighteningly close to her now.
She did not dare move, because to roll from her stomach onto her back would break the contact and she feared she would die. He licked his lips, and she watched his hand trace over the back of hers, slowly drifting up it and to the cuff that marked her as property. Her heart skipped beats, her eyes closing and she prayed that it was not a dream. She parted her lips, wanting to say so much but a knock at the door stopped his hand and he sat up to sigh.
He stood, and she pulled the covers over herself. She did not want anyone to see her then, the blush that covered her face and the way she squeezed her thighs together under the blankets. The warmth pooling between them something she had to deny, because any sort of attraction could lead to her undoing and she blinked back tears as she looked at her hand. She heard voices, and she could not discern what they were saying through the heavy doors. Her mind focused on the moment that was now lost, and she let a tear fall from her eye.
The doors opened again, and he returned. She wiped the sadness from her face, looking up at him and he collected clothes for the day.
"It seems that you have no chores for today, and that your sister is to meet her Tutor. This day is yours, I will be away on urgent business. Thor has taken it on himself to broker a treaty with the Jotun, the last time he did that a mess was created that had to be sorted out by cooler heads." He growled under his breath, remembering how he found out that his parentage was half bred Jotun, the bastard son of their King, Laufey and he ran his hands over his hair. "I truly hope he manages to control his arrogance until I get there, he is not clever or diplomatic at all."
"I will pray for your safe return, Sir." She said, standing up and he looked at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and he tried to forget that morning, how sweet she looked asleep and how much he found himself wanting to kiss her. She would never care for him, not the beast that he was and he thought best to leave her to her own longings for gentler men. Not monsters, used to terrify children.
"Thank you, I will most likely be back this evening. Even if I have to drag Thor back by his cloak." He said, pulling on a pair of leather gloves and walking to the door. He paused, looking back at her as if he wanted to say something but let it go. He walked on, closing the door after him and she could hear his footsteps echo down the hall.
She sat back on the bed, looking down at her feet and let out a long breath. She did not know what to do with herself, her hands folding and she sighed. She was so used to having some task or another, and now she would be idle for the rest of the day. She collected her things for the day, walking to the Bathing Chamber and glanced at the books on the shelves in the Sitting Room. There was no harm in reading, he may actually allow it.
She looked at the bindings, selecting one of myths and legends, adding it to the pile she carried and closed the door behind her to bathe.
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She turned the page in the illuminated text, her eyes following the words and she took another bite of bread as she lounged back on the Chaise. She let out a contented sigh when the door burst open, Loki storming through and whipping around as he looked for something. She sat up, his eyes falling on Lorien and he walked toward her. He took her by the shoulders, holding her and she saw desperation tinged in panic in his normally calm eyes. She was frightened by the visage, and the urgency in his voice made it worse.
"I need your help, do you turn sick at the sight of blood?" He asked her and she shook her head. He saw the open book, paising a moment and shook his head to glance back at her.
"No Sir. I... I am able to keep my stomach when someone is injured. I saw many wounds, growing up on Papa's farm." She replied and he motioned for her to follow him. She nearly ran to keep up with his stride, cries of pain behind a door and he turned back to her with his hand on the latch.
"Say nothing about what you see to anyone unless instructed by me, but be prepared. Thor and I found her on the road in a terrible state, keep your head and you may lament later. She may not live... her wounds seem to be mortal." He warned, his index finger pointed st her to make his point clear. She wrung her hands then, folding them to hide that they were shaking.
"Yes Sir, I will obey." She said and he opened to door, another cry filling the air and she blinked in horror at the woman lying on the bed. She recognized her immediately, despite the burns that marred her face and crawled across her body, the heavily destended belly, and the cuts to the backs of her knees to slice the tendons of her legs. Someone had shorn her hair as well, leaving a stray lick of red hair clinging to her scalp after beating her. Lorien suppressed a scream and it came out as a strangled gasp, and the girl looked at her and growled.
"Why... why is that pampered bitch here? She is the fault of all this!" The girl demanded, Thor stood nearby with bandages in his hands and Loki washed his to examine her. "Make your slut leave, she is not like me! Given dresses, made to look pretty while I am to suffer!"
"Silence! Your Master did this to you, not her." Loki said, his voice harsher than he meant it to be. She cried out again, his hands moving over the swell and she wept as Thor handed her a bandage soaked in medicine for the burns on her leg. "She has been starved, her body burned and she is bleeding internally from the beating. Without a proper surgery, she will die."
"We should fetch a Healer then Brother." Thor said, Loki nodding. He looked at Lorien and the woman screamed as she put a wet cloth over a burn on her thigh. She thrashed her head, blood coming from under her from a wound in her side and she gasped for air.
"Fetch them now. We cannot move her, she is loosing too much blood." Loki demanded, looking down at the woman. She lay still, moaning and he leaned close as Lorien pressed another clean cloth to the oozing wound. "Why did he do this to you? Why did Brom beat you, and set you on fire?"
"Was... not... Was... not him." She gasped, her skin turning pale and Loki blinked at her. Thor ran from the room, and Lorien held steady and shivered as blood trickled over her hand. "They... coming... here."
"Who?" Loki demanded, his eyes fixing on Lorien. She shook her head, not understanding and the girl trembled with pain.
"Master... Vanir... allies with..." She whispered, her eyelids fluttering and Loki shook his head. He patted her cheek, causing her to cry out when his fingers brushed a burn.
"Sir, she is bleeding worse." Lorien said, pressing another cloth to another wound and she bit her lip. Her hands were trembling, and she felt dizzy as she had never seen such damage done to another person. Wounds from injuries on the farm were grevious, but they did not compare to what she was witnessing.
"Who are they allied with? What is the Vanir King planning?" He said, her eyes fading and Lorien saw the breath become shallow on the Slave Girl.
"Kill... every one..." She whispered and her breath was cut short. Her eyes glazed and Lorien covered her mouth, she shook and backed to the door and Loki pounded his fist on the table next to the dead woman. She jumped, her eyes wide and she picked up a sheet to shroud her with. Her trembling hands fumbling with the clean fabric and she dropped it, kneeling down to pick it up again and she remembered the blood on her hands.
"The Vanir have made an Alliance against Asgard with an unknown force, remember those words so you may stand as witness." Loki ordered, Lorien covered the body and tucked the sheet around her head so it would not fly off with a breeze. She felt sick, remembering how blood was coming from under her, and how she was angry with her for being unmolested. She nodded, walking to clean ther hands and she fought back tears for the girl.
"Yes... Yes Sir." She said softly, her knees feeling weak and she started as Thor returned with the Healers. They caught their breath, all of them stopping as they saw the girl had died. She stepped away from the basin, a hand circling her wrist and she looked to see Loki staring into her.
"You will remember what you saw, all of it. You will have to tell a tribunal all that you witnessed, with no fear. I know this will haunt you, but you are not to blame for her death. Give this girl justice through your words." Loki said and she nodded. Thor placed a hand on his shoulder, and Loki released her when he saw her tremble. She stepped back, pressing to the wall and she watched the Healers prepare to take the body away. She slipped to a low stool, half listening as Loki told Thor everything she had said. One Healer swallowed hard, getting the attention of the two men as she was ill.
"She was damaged, between her legs and internally. I can smell the infection from overuse..." The woman said, coughing and wiping her mouth. Lorien got the woman some water from a pitcher, helping her and Eir smiled at the girl. "Thank you. Count your blessings, The Prince is good to you at least."
"He has not done a thing to me, I clean his Chambers, Madam." Lorien replied, and her mouth fell open. She blinked at Loki, Thor crossing his arms and returning to their conversation. Lorien watched them bundle the dead girl up, and they carried her away. Two women whispered to eachother, their eyes on the pale, black haired girl and she heard a sound behind her.
"Sir?" She asked and Loki walked over to her. He put his hand on her back, leaning close to her as she stood and he spoke in a low voice.
"I did not mean to be harsh, forgive me but I needed to ensure that you knew the gravity of the situation." He said, she nodded to him and she looked at his face. "Go back to my Chambers, do not linger in the halls and I will be there shortly. This girl was murdered to keep her silence, I need to know that you and your sister are safe now. Remember..."
"Close my hand over the cuff and say your name." She said, forgetting to end her statement with the title and he nodded. He gently nudged her toward the door, she pausing to give both Princes a curtsy. "I am glad you are both safe in your return from Jotunheim Sirs."
"Thank you, do as your Master says now Little One." Thor said, and Loki opened the door for her to leave. She walked back the way she came from, her eyes fixed on the floor and she turned a corner to see Lord Brom talking to a man she had never seen before. She squeezed herself behind a statue, and she deliberated using the cuff to bring Loki. A statement stopping her, and she listened quietly.
"The Celebration is in a few days. Are your people in place?" Brom asked the man and she heard a shift of footing. She held her breath, knowing that it was only a few days until all of Asgard celebrated the crowning of King Odin. So many people would flock to the city, and all would be waiting for the Ceremony that would tie Asgard as the roots of the Life Tree.
"They will be, Thor's arrogance in going to Jotunheim nearly put everything in peril. We will see the House of Odin fall, and the Jotun and Vanir peoples will stand over it all. Is the girl who found out you plans taken care of?." The other man said, Lorien clamping a hand over her mouth in horror. They were allied with the Jotun, and they were coming to kill the Royal Family, she was as threatened as they were. If Lord Brom succeeded, he would be able to claim her and she blinked back tears of terror. She would die the same way that the other girl did, infected and used like a piece of meat.
"She is, most likely a pile of ash in the woods, pity though, she was a good fuck. Make sure they are ready, I will personally enjoy cutting the throat of the half breed that Odin keeps as a Prince, he took something I wanted and humiliated me multiple times." He hissed, the sound of their feet shuffling closer making her heart pound in her chest. "I will let you use her when I am done, I will try to leave her tight."
"You make a tempting offer my friend, but I have no interest in breaking Asgardian Girls. Their bodies are too warm for my liking." His companion replied, Lorien watching them walk on and a distinctly blue hand showing from under his heavy clothes. Her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat as the two men separated and walked different ways. She waited until she counted twenty seconds however, making sure she would not be discovered and slipped from her hiding spot. She took a step back, peering down the hall and turned, catching a scream in her throat at the sudden appearance of a person behind her.
"I told you to return to my Chambers, why are you lingering here?" Loki asked, his anger at her disobedience showing. He saw her fear, and she lowered her hands from her mouth and she shivered.
"I... I saw Lord Brom speaking with another man just now. I... I... heard everything, they plan to kill you..." She said, her head spinning and he grabbed her arm. She felt him pull her close to him, and her cheek pressed into the leather of his overcoat and he walked with her. Her fingers found some of the fabric, and she held onto it as if it were a lifeline. Her heart pounded harder, and he placed his hand on the back of her head to steady her.
"Tell me everything, but calm yourself first. I cannot have you fainting on me, you have gone through much today, but I need you to endure a bit longer." He said, his hand stroking over her silken hair and he marveled at how soft it was. She nodded, her breathing calming and he placed her forehead against his chest. His own heart beat a bit harder, but he managed to control his emotions. She whimpered softly, and he saw Lord Brom walking his way. He had to think quickly, his mind working to save the life of the delicate girl her held now.
"Forgive me." He said quickly, hiking her up and forcing her legs apart. She cried out, and he clamped his mouth over hers while holding her skirts to hide that his pants we still laced. Her eyes went wide, and she curled her hands into fists and beat against his chest as she fought what Loki was doing to her. She trembled, wrapping a leg around his thighs and she felt his hands wrap around her wrists and she tried to scream around his mouth.
"Gods! In the hall My Prince?" Another Ambassador for the Alfar Court gasped, Brom glaring at the both of them. Lorien threw her head back, trying to hide how embarrassed she was by this and she gasped as he knocked his hips against hers.
"What can I say? The girl has a tight Quim." He grunted, grabbing her other leg and pulling it up and around him. She covered her face, whimpering and she closed her eyes in shame. The two men walked on, Loki stopping and she felt him help her down to her feet, she turned and covered her face.
"Was that...Why?" She asked, her fingers shaking and she started to cry. She turned around again and she slapped at his chest, her hands connecting with his breastplate and he grabbed her wrists to stop her.
"I had to." He said, whispering to her and she stared at him. "I had to simulate taking you in order to make them see a different reason for you being so pale. If they find out that you have information against them... I... I could not live with myself if they hurt you."
"It was not... you did not..." She whimpered, her heart pounded and he laughed at her. He shook his head, throwing his head back and she stood back against the wall.
"You are truly innocent and pure, it is almost refreshing. You are still a Maiden, I merely created a ruse to keep you from being found out." He said and pulled her along the halls, she hurried with him and he opened the door to let her enter. She sank to the Chaise, sitting on it and she wrapped her arms around herself and began to rock back and forth. Loki poured himself some wine, filling a goblet for her and adding something from a smaller bottle to the drink.
"What is that Sir?" She asked and he sat next to her. She took the goblet and he motioned for her to drink, she sipping it and finding it sweet.
"I potion to calm your nerves, nothing more. Tell me what you heard, I have to know in order to save the persons targeted." He said and she took another sip of the drink, her hands shaking and she started to cry.
"The Vanir have allied with Jotunheim, I saw Lord Brom talking to a Jotun in the hall. They are coming to kill all of the House of Odin during the ceremony." She gasped, her shaking beginning and she had to stand up. Loki walked to her, holding her shoulders and looked I to her eyes as he took the cup from her.
"I do not like doing this, especially to you, but I must see." He said and he placed his thumb against her forehead, her memory of the clandestine meeting filling his mind and he gasped at what he saw. She sagged forward, his arms circling her and he lifted the to rest her on the Chaise. She shivered in her semi-concous state, and whimpered as her eyes opened and blinked at him.
"What? What was that Sir?" She asked and he let out a breath.
"I can see memories when I touch a person, taking the information I need and I pulled what you saw from your mind. I needed it unaltered, and I fear now that you fear me because of what was said. It is not common knowledge outside of the Family that I am of two realms." He said, she sitting up and shaking her head. She touched his hand, her fingers shaking and he looked at her.
"I will tell no one Sir. You have my word on that, I... I owe you so much for saving my life." She said and he smiled thinly at her, he saw truth in her words and he frowned then the memory of a conversation in the garden coming back.
"You do not look like your Sister, and I was privy to your conversation yesterday with her in the garden. What did you mean when you said that she could not tell anyone you were her half sister? You said it would cause you trouble if she revealed it." He said and Lorien stood up, her heart pounding and she nearly cried. "I also know that you name is not traditionally Asgardian, nor is it Alfar. Who was your Mother?"
"I... I promised my father to never tell, it could mean my death." She said and he stood, his eyes narrowed at her and she shrank back.
"Is your being here a coincidence? Or did the Vanir plant you here to be bought by me?" He growled, his frame seeming larger and she pushed against his chest with her hands. She shook her head, and she tried to ease herself through the wall. He stood in front of her then, his eyes filled with anger and he grabbed her wrists and held them above her head.
"You will tell me, or I will rip the information from your skull!" He shouted at her, she crying out in fear. He stared at her and a tear traced down her cheek, her eyes shifting red and her skin turning blue. The raised markings revealing the Jotun clan her mother was from, and he stared in disbelief. He let her go and she covered her face, her hands shifting and she whimpered.
"I am half bred Sir. My father laid with a Jotun woman and I was the result. I am a bastard of two worlds, never to belong in either." She said, hiding her face as she slipped to the floor and he felt the wind leave his body. She sobbed into the marble tiles, her skin shifting back and she wept as she curled into a ball on her side. "Lorien was the name she gave me after I was born, it means "Gentle Frost" in their language. She made me then brought me to my father's door so I would not be killed by the other Jotun for being so small and weak. I am not planted here, I was not told to kill you. I promised to never bear a child to hide what I am, to never know love or the touch of a man because I am beast."
"Lorien. Nine Hels! You are no more a beast than a kitten, you should never have been forced to hide." Loki said, she sitting up on her hip and looking at him. Her eyes were wide, and she swallowed her fears.
"Do you know what it is to desire that any person can look beyond the winter inside you? To not have to carry the knowledge that it is not love that kills, but the crushing loneliness of hiding yourself in plain sight?" She said, her face covered in tears. He crouched near her, pulling her to him and wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed against him, her whole body shaking with the pain she hid for so long.
"I do know, I know it all to well." He said and she whispered as she wept. He sank to sit on the floor, holding her and letting her cry herself to sleep. His hands trembling to find someone like him, yet not knowing what to think if this revelation.