❦𝗪𝗲 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝗕𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲❦

❦Chapter 11❦

𒊹︎Your POV𒊹︎

It's been almost two months since I cleaned that ink stain off of Loki's desk, and two months since I substituted as his maid for a day.

Ever since his confession, Loki and I have grown closer as friends. We now spend most of our free time together, learning more about each other. Faline also enjoyed Loki's company, as of course mine as well, and we became very close as a group.

I liked to think that Loki and I were gaining ground on each other on the road towards a more a intimate relationship, but I couldn't tell for sure. I had definitely noticed that he became more affectionate, always using pet names, and holding my hand in a comforting manner, witch I reveled in. One fact that made my stomach settle with uncertainty though, was the fact that he never brought up the kiss that we shared not so long ago. Part of me was terrified that he just wanted to forget it.

Faline had been released from the medical wing, and she now shared a room with me. It comforted us to be in some type of normalcy, going back to the way things were before. Faline has become an expert at finding her way around the palace, with nothing to do all day long. She uses up her spare time by feeling her way around hallways and different rooms, so much so that she's been dubbed the 'explorer' by many members of the royal staff, and the royal family. Everyone is very kind and patient with her, but not too much so that they make her feel unable to do things on her own. She even has taken up a hobby in cooking, becoming an apprentice of the head chef.

Today was a similar Saturday in the palace, as Loki, Faline, and I were gathered in the library, just hanging around. I had the weekends off, upon Frigga's order, and I used my free days to pick up hobbies.

I had picked up an interest in drawing, and I often drew pictures of flowers, learning to shade them in perfectly, so that I could describe the flowers in the garden to Faline, no matter where we were.

Faline, however, doesn't know about this hobby. I'm saving the drawings, and in a month, when Faline's twelfth birthday arrives, I will gift them to her. Loki has also been helping with Faline's present, and he identifies the flowers, educated me about them, and writes the names of the flowers on the bottom corners of the drawings.

Loki was reading to Faline and I inside of the library. A Midgardian book called 'Frankenstein'(1) I believe it was called. He had just finished a chapter when he handed the book to me. I looked at his outstretched hand holding the book strangely.

"Why don't you read, darling? I've never heard you read before." He smiled kindly as he pushed the book onto my lap.

I looked down at the book as if it were some sort of dangerous animal that had crawled on me. I glanced between Loki and the book, and took a deep breath. I opened the book to where he had left off, and panicked as I laid my eyes on words I'd never seen before.

I read slowly, taking my time to sound out the words that I didn't know silently. Growing up without schooling, I hadn't had the opportunity to learn skills such as fluently reading. I could read enough to get by, like the way I read that flyer in the village, but that was about the extent.

When I got half of the page read, I pushed the book back towards Loki. He looked up at me with curiosity.

"Keep reading." He ordered me softly, and I shook my head gently.

"I......I can't." My lip quivered as I finally confessed my illiteracy.

When I met Loki's eyes, they weren't filled with humor, or pity, but understanding. He knew about my past, and he understood why I couldn't go on.

"Faline...why don't you go to the gardens." Loki told her, but his gaze remained on me.

Faline left without argument, and soon, Loki and I had moved to one of the soft couches, sitting pressed to each other's sides. Loki held the book between us, and with one simple word, my anxiety shot up.

"Read."

*****

Loki and I spend the next hour and a half reading. I would read until I reached a word I knew(which wasn't very long), and then he would make me sound it out until I said the word right.

By now, I could pronounce most words, even though I didn't know what they all meant. Loki looked so proud every time I got a word right. I'd taken a break for now, and Loki was reading silently to himself, while I laid my head in his lap.

This was quite the compromising position, but learning new things was extremely tiring. There was a comfortable and deep silence settled over us like a blanket, until I broke it.

"Can I tell you something? A secret, I mean." I drew circles on his knee.

"Of course." I turned to see him not even looking up from his book, but I knew that he was serious.

"I can't write, either. Can't even sign my name." I smiled sadly as I shifted to lie on my back so I could look up at Loki.

"Well then let me be your teacher." He put his book aside, giving me his full, sincere attention.

I nodded gratefully to him, but after a spell of silence, a small smirk made its way to my face.

"Isn't it wrong to.....feel this, this way....about your teacher?" I smiled shyly as I struggled to find the right word to describe what I was feeling.

"To have butterflies while around your teacher?" He smirked and leaned down so that our faces were a little closer together.

"Yes...." I trailed off as I sat up, remaining close to him.

I got a sudden splurge of hidden confidence, as I grasped the back of his neck, my fingers carding into his raven colored locks. He closed his eyes, and before I could think, he surged forward and claimed my lips with his. My stomach did a flip, but a joyful one, that made me crave to have the feeling again, but I pulled away before I had the chance.

"I-I've never kissed anyone before....." I stuttered as my lips tingled from the contact.

"Then I will be your teacher for that subject as well, darling." He smirked and pulled me back into him.

FOOTNOTES:

(1) Frankenstein is a gothic novel by the British novelist, Mary Shelley, published in 1818.