Chapter 10.
Lorien lay on the bed alone, Loki staring at her since he lay her there. He placed a moment, turning over what he saw in his mind and he pinched the bridge of his nose. She was so very beautiful, and he could not take his eyes off of her. He paced again, not understanding what he was feeling and he stopped as he saw himself in the mirror. His eyes were wide, and he looked into them and he stared at his pupils. They were dilated and he found himself not believing what he was seeing before him, he was a man besotted by the Slave on the bed behind him.
"I am in love with her." He whispered, his heart catching as he blinked at himself and he turned back to gaze at her. She turned to her side and sat up slowly, her hair falling over her shoulders and he watched her rub her eyes. She blinked at him, and he shook his head. It could never be, she would never love him in return and he pushed the thoughts of ever having her close to him again out of his head. She could never be his, he was already bethroved to another woman he hated. That awful Vanir Princess, and he coarse mannerisms. She was half the woman Lorien was, and he needed out of the political match he was trapped in.
"Sir?" She asked softly, her voice husky from sleep and crying. She stood up, her eyes on the floor at her feet. "Should I gather my things to leave?"
"Why would you think that? I still need a person to perform chores for me, and you are still in danger of being found out, should you find yourself bedded by a new Master." He said, swallowing his feelings and letting his disdain show. "You are also a witness for my cause, and will remain here until I have no further use for you."
"Yes Sir." She said, folding her hands over her skirts and she pressed her lips together. Will you tell them... about what I am?"
"No. I cannot have everyone trying to get to you to test theories about the temperature of what you have between your legs, I also have no want of having to sell off your offspring." He replied, hating himself for what he was saying as she nodded silently. She could not look him in the face, and he remembered her words like an echo. He did not want her to die of loneliness, he desperately wanted her filled with love. Her station, and his obligations getting between them and making her as unreachable, as if a great divide had opened between them. He turned, not able to look at her any more and he let out a long breath.
"Stay in these rooms, I need to alert Odin as to what we have discovered." He said and she shifted on her feet. "Read a book, or practice some other dalliance until I return. Make no mistake however, If you reveal what I am in the false hope for any gain, I will beat you within an inch of death."
"Yes Sir, I understand and will take your secret to Valhalla." She said, her voice shaking and she curtsied as he left the room. She walked to the lounge, sitting on it and picking up the book again and tried to read it. Her heart breaking from the loss of hope, and she could no longer concentrate on the words on the page. She fixed her eyes on the fire then, thinking about how the other girl died and she shivered. Loki had to know that Lord Brom planned to use her after the assination, he had to know how terrified she was. And she wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth and feeling more alone than she ever did before.
She had to save Loki, because he made her feel wanted.
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He walked from Odin's Chambers, handing him the news that an act of sedition was about to occur and he turned to face Frigga. It was her idea that he take the girl, forcing him to view slave after slave as they were presented to him in that filthy cart. She had to have known something was different about the girl, she had to have had a hand in all of this. He approached the large doors, opening them both and closing them behind her. The Maids all stood, and he stalked forward and he gestured them away.
"Leave us." He said, their hesitation going noticed and making him angry. "Now!"
"Loki..." Frigga started, standing up and he gestured for her to be silent. The women left, closing the door after them and he paced a moment.
"I was given some very fascinating information by my Slave today, and it both disturbed and intrigued me." He said and Frigga blinked in confusion at him. She walked forward, her shoes clicking on the floor and she shook her head.
"You bedded her, surely there was some blood to show that she was a Maiden. It is also far too soon to have any symptoms of pregnancy, I do not know what else it could have been." She replied, she opening her hands and looking up at him. He lifted a finger to her, pressing his lips together and groaned.
"I did not bed her, she is still intact. You cannot play the foolish woman with me, you knew fully what she was when you requested her brought here." He said and Frigga turned around and swallowed, shaking her head again and he closed his eyes in irritation.
"I do not know what you are talking about Loki, you like the girl, perhaps have feelings for her and I do not blame you. She is sweet natured, shy, but soft spoken and gentle. All the qualities you always admired in women, her manners are very good as well." Frigga replied, her calm exterior betraying nothing but confusion. She shook her head, trying to make him understand and she saw his shoulders slump in defeat.
"You did not know that she was half bred Jotun like me?" He asked her and Frigga shook her head in shock, she covered her mouth with wide eyes and she gasped.
"She told you this?"
"She showed me it." He said, sitting down in the couch and shaking his head. He leaned forward, husbands on his head and she groaned to himself. "I thought you chose her because of what she was, I... I was cruel to her and pushed her away just a few moments ago. I am a fool."
"Loki." She said, sitting next to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and he turned to face her, licking his lips and he sighed.
"I have sentiments toward her, but I cannot have such things due to my being trapped by an obligation Odin forced upon me. I thought it was a you trying to place me with her, so I treated her poorly after she told me what she was. I made her feel as if she was nothing and pushed her away, she was broken when I left her." He said, his hands shaking. He looked at Frigga and his eyes were rimmed in red with unshed tears, her hand turning his head and he blinked at her.
"You still have a chance with her, just stop being so short and mercurial in your temperament. You brought her half sister here out of those feelings, you paid for her brother and father to have proper funerary rites. She saw that above all her other fears she trusts you, she would not have done what you both were doing in her hall earlier if she did not." She said and he turned red at her hearing about his trick. "I know it was to protect her, and yes, I did hear about it. As for the other matter, I always disliked it and wish it undone. You should never have been forced to take the Princess after Thor rejected her, I asked Odin to not make a contract then."
"I did ask her to forgive me for the ploy. Gods how I wanted to lay with her in all honesty, to wrap her around me and breathe her scent. To hold her to me as we slept, and to never let go of her. She is perfection in my eyes, and no other woman will ever compare to her. No Noble or Princess will tear my heart from hers, I want her as more than a lover." He groaned and Frigga blushed at him in shock. She laughed, looking at him and she smiled at him.
"Perhaps, she was born so that you would find your perfect companion." She suggested and she smiled wider at her son. "I knew that one day, a girl would come into your life and you would never be able to let her go. And I am so glad it is her, you need a patient woman."
"Mother!" He said, jerking out of her embrace and she laughed at him.
"Well, it is true. You need a patient woman, as much as Thor needs one without a sense of smell. Norns know that I do love him, but he can drive a bilgesnipe away with his musk." She sighed, Loki repressing a laugh at her statement. He did return from some battles smelling rather ripe and the days he sparred, he could clear a training yard by lifting his arms.
"You did always have an answer for us Mother." Loki said, a smile on his face and she nodded.
"Of course. That is what Mother's do best, they guide their children and watch them grow." She replied, kissing his cheek and he stood. He looked down, laughing to himself and he blinked a moment.
"I never thought another being like me could exist, and now one sits in my Chambers. Nine hels, I am truly a fool
" He laughed to himself, leaving Frigga with a bow and the Maids jumped as they stood in the hall. They curtsied as he passed, walking back to his chambers to see if he could repair the damage he had done to the girl in them.
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She was still sitting on the Lounge when her returned, she stared into the flames and she kept quiet. He walked toward her, she trembling in fear but as he sat down. He watched her for a long while, and her eyes remained fixed on the glowing embers.
"We must go to Odin and the Council with your information." He said and she stood, lowering her eyes and nodded.
"Yes Sir." She said and she waited, she was trembling, holding in her sadness and she waited. He shook his head and gestured for her to sit back down, she doing as she was told obediently and he sighing.
"It is too late for that now. We will go in the morning... do you... I mean to ask, fear me?" He said then, her eyes shooting up and staring at him in suprise of his question.
"I... I don't know Sir." She said and he stared back at her. He gestured for her to continue and she watched him closely, fearing any offense. "I know that you have been most good to me, giving me clothes, food, and not forcing yourself on me... but sometimes you do act as though I am a burden. I am sorry if I am, and I do work to complete the chores you give me to show my gratitude. Sometimes, you do frighten me, when you shout or I see you tense, but... but not always."
"I appreciate your honesty Lorien." He said, standing up and he saw her eyes follow him. He stood at the glass doors to the balcony, staring out at the darkening sky and he folded his hands behind his back. He relaxed his shoulders, resting one hand on the stone, and stated out the window in silence.
"I did not mean to offend you if I did Sir." She said softly and he looked back over his shoulder at her. She stood, her heart pounding and she blinked at what she was feeling. She was confused, her stomach filled with butterflies, and she feeling so small. Her head told her to stop, to turn back and never look that way again. Her heart, the less wise of the two, whispered to take the chance. That if the risk proved to be a good one, that the reward would be so beautiful.
"I am not offended by honesty, I find it..." he said, looking at her to see her small hand covering his. He turned around, opening his hands in front of him and he saw how delicate her hands were compared to his. She snatched it back, timidly looking around her and he turned his over with the palm up. She stared at it, and slowly lay her hand in his. Her thin, graceful fingers tipped with pink clamshell nails, and the soft curves of her knuckles so gentle.
He lay his other hand over hers, the small appendage so warm he thought it would burn him and he stepped closer to her. She looked up at him with her emerald pools, the mystery behind them nearly drowning him and he moved his hand slowly to caress her cheek. She was small compared to him, and she had to look up to see his face as he rubbed his thumb across her pink, rosy lips. His head bowed, not attached to him nor under the control of his mind and she rested her hand on his forearm. All Lorien saw was the warm glow of sunset on his face, and the way his ocean blue eyes shone at her touch. She wanted to stay in that moment for the rest of her life, and she stepped up on her toes to meet his lips. Her heart ricocheted off her ribs, the hand that was once on her cheek slowly wrapping around her waist and pulling her close to him. She could smell something exotic on his skin, leather, bergamot, and the undertone of nature and freedom. Her mind focused on the sensation on her lips, and the way it was soft and sweet as he opened his mouth slowly to suck slightly on her lower lip. She recropicated, her hand slipping under his arm to hold his back and she felt him stop. She took in a long breath as he pulled away from her, and she shivered in delight as she relished in the recent memory. He stepped away from her, her fingers wanting to hold him longer, to not let go. Her eyes opening and she saw him blinking at her in suprise, his hands taking her wrists and she looked down at them.
"Lorien..." He whispered and she looked into his eyes, his cheeks a bit more pale and he shook his head in disbelief. She worried a moment, stepping back and her hands slipped from his. The magic fading as she returned to her natural pose, and her heart calming slowly. She folded them over her skirts, her eyes falling to the floor and she tried to find her voice.
"I am sorry Sir." She said, whispering the words and he saw anguish fill her eyes. He nodded, his own mind reeling from the kiss and what was in it. His hand closed on her shoulder and he blinked down at her. He had what Thor never did, for all his anger and rage, he still had in him a spark of fire that could burn hotter than a thousand suns. He had a woman who saw the monster in him, and offered him love instead of fear.
"Don't... don't be sorry." He said, and she blinked at him. He had to step away from her, before the space between them turned to tigers and he tore that dress from her body and lay her on his bed. She looked at him in perfect trust, and he did not dare move as a knock came to the door. The last of the sun dipped over the horizon, and he cradled her cheek in his hand before answering the persistent sound.
"Yes." He said, the Paige standing with his hands folded and he looked nervous.
"I am sorry to disturb you My Prince, but Prince Thor has requested your presence at once." The red haired boy said. Lorien walked over to the balcony, and he nodded to the nervous child.
"Tell him I will come in a moment, I need to see to something first." He said, closing the door before the boy could say anything else. He walked out onto the balcony, looking at Lorien and he stood next to her.
"You need to go Sir." She said softly. He nodded, watching the way she rested her hands on the stone railing and he thought hard about what to say. He could tell her that it was a kiss and nothing more, spare her feelings when he was forced into that dammned Political Marriage mandated by Odin. He could lie, but his heart ached not to, it told him to be honest with her and tell her that he would pledge himself to her alone. A Slave with no future other than the one he gave her, a girl he never wanted to let go of.
"I will ward the doors, should anyone pass them or break the ward, I will know at once. Remember the cuff, and call for me if you feel even the smallest fear. I will come, I promise you that." He said, she looking up at him and she nodded. He moved to leave her, pausing and he leaned close to her to gently kiss her lips. She looked at him in shock, her eyes going wide and he pulled away, going to his Chamber Doors and walking through them. He put his hand on the wood, putting a ward over them and he hurried to see what Thor wanted, not seeing the shadow that lurked in the hall near his rooms.