Betrothed - Thor Odinson x Reader

Chapter 5: Betrayed.

"Admit it, dear, you are smitten with him!" Hilde exclaimed, brushing your hair. You looked at her pointedly through the mirror, only to be met by her knowing smirk. "I am not!" you muttered, blushing. She simply laughed. The moment you returned from your outing with Thor you had called for her. You needed a friend to confide in and you were fairly certain Loki would prefer losing his hearing than listen to you gushing about his brother. Hilde had listened attentively, smiling the whole time. It had been weeks of seeing you act miserable and she was relieved.

"Darling, it's nothing to be ashamed of, he is to be your husband! I am quite happy to hear you like him." she reassured you, "Besides, you're young and have never been in love before. When I was your age, I used to meet an errand boy in secret every night, you know?".

"Hilde!" you exclaimed, shocked. "Oh, there's nothing wrong with young love!" your maid laughed at your outrage. You simply sighed, your face so red you could barely distinguish it from your bedding. Hilde looked at you pointedly before sitting at the foot of your bed and patting the spot beside her, gesturing for you to follow her. "How do you feel?" she asked once you sat down, taking one of your hands in hers.

"He was kind today, but he hasn't been before." you sighed, "He was rude at first this morning, but I had a nice time with him." She nodded slowly, looking at your joined hands, then at you. "He is a lot older than you, more than I would like." she muttered, making you laugh, "I will not claim to know what he is thinking nor feeling, but with age comes experience, which you do not have yet".

You gasped, faking outrage. "Oh, stop with that!" she scolded you with a sarcastic expression, "I simply mean he may take more time to allow himself to feel something for you, especially considering what you told me about that Jane. That would not make you a fool for liking him, if you do."

"I know," you said, nodding, "I do not know if I trust him yet, but I must. I don't know how soon the wedding will be announced."

"Well, he still has time to earn your trust, and even if the wedding were to be tomorrow, you two would still have the rest of your lives." she reassured you. She was right, you thought. You still did not know the man you were marrying, but he had showed you kindness.

That same night, Thor smiled at you when you joined his family for dinner. Frigga and Loki stu eyed you warily, worried about what had happened last night.

"How do you fare, child?" the queen smiled, tenderly. "Much better, I must say. Fresh air does wonders for the soul." you responded, not sure if Thor had told anyone about your outing. For a moment, you were worried that everything he had done that morning had been instructed by his family, but quickly shook the thought away. He had told you how he hates following his father's orders, he had no reason to lie about that. "You went to the gardens alone? You could have asked me to come with you." Loki asked, his expression confused. Before you could start stuttering an excuse, Thor responded. "Me and (Y/n) went riding together, brother."

Loki's eyes looked like they were about to exit his skull, while Frigga looked surprised but satisfied. "Oh, riding is lovely in this time of the year!" she exclaimed before changing the topic and addressing her husband. You allowed yourself to smile before starting to eat. It was Thor's idea, after all.

Dinner went by rather quickly but you hardly spoke throughout it, too busy smiling to yourself every time Thor's gaze focused on you, but his weren't the only pair of eyes you could feel on your figure. Loki kept his attention on you and his brother, his expression not betraying any of his thoughts. You would have been worried about it if you weren't so determined to allow yourself a chance to feel serene for the first time in a month. This time, Thor offered to escort you to your chambers after dinner. The two of you walked in silence until you reached your door, where he whispered a quick "Goodnight, my lady." and bowed his head.

The next morning, Loki found you in the library, curled up on your favorite armchair. "Goodnight, my lady." he said with a deep voice, bowing his head just as his brother had done. "How did you hear that?" you cocked an eyebrow and shut your book. "I have my ways. So, what happened yesterday?" he collapsed on the sofa in front of you and, when he saw you returning to the chapter you were reading with the clear intention of ignoring him, sent your book flying with a flick of his wrist. "I was reading that!" you yelled, jumping up to try and reach the now floating book. "I could see that. You are short for your age." he giggled, dropping the book a bit lower to let you think you could catch it before sending it even higher than it was before. "You won't give it back until I talk, will you?" you sighed, giving up once he nodded, a smug grin on his face. You snatched his feet and raised them, sitting on the pillow they were resting on and setting them on your lap. "He came to my door in the morning and asked me to ride with him. He took me to a lake in the woods behind the castle and we talked, that's all." you explained.

"Well, what did you talk about?" he leaned forward, clearly unsatisfied with your vague answer. "I told him about my mother and my life back home and he told me about his life here." you shrugged. Loki looked at you for a bit, seemingly unconvinced, but soon after he let the book drop on your lap, his interest probably satiated. You were interrupted just as you were about to open it again to get back to reading by the heavy thud of the door opening. You startled, sending a panicked look to Thor, who was leaning on the doorframe. "My lady, pardon my intrusion, I was looking for my brother and was told I would find him here." he said, leaving your confused for a moment until you realised the back of the couch was covering Loki's laid down body. The dark haired prince shot you an annoyed look and sat up. "I'm here, you oaf." he sighed. Thor's eyes darted between the two of you for a moment. Then, his brows furrowed in clear anger. "I didn't realise I was interrupting. I'll let you two get back to... reading." he snarled, turning on his heels and slamming the door behind him. Loki bursted out laughing.

"What just happened?" you asked him, but he seemed to enjoy your confusion as his laughter only got louder. You looked back at the door and stood up, following Thor in the corridor. "My prince!" you shouted after him, but he kept walking without looking back. "My lord, what happened?" you followed him as fast as you could, but his long legs were only going faster. "Thor!" you shouted, to which he turned around. "Don't you dare call me by my name!" he spat, his fists tightening. You looked back at the floor, confused and scared. No one had ever spoken to you like that before. "I do not understand why you are upset, my prince, but I am sorry to have caused it." you whispered. "You do not understand how catching you with my brother would upset me?" he shouted, to which you flinched. "We were simply reading together, we could stop if that bothers you." you replied, but you truly wished he wouldn't ask you to do that. You valued Loki's friendship and were truly happy each time you two would enjoy each other's company in the library. "You were simply reading, is that you your braids are falling apart and you were startled when you heard me coming in?" he accused, but you could not figure out what he was implying. You supposed your hair looked that way because of your jumping to reach the book, but he clearly thought it indicated something else. "I have truly no idea what you are talking about." you replied, finally looking up at him. Once he saw the sincerity on your face, his expression softened. Could you possibly be so innocent and naive as to not understand the implications in his words? If you truly were, he couldn't imagine you in such a compromising position with Loki.

"Oh, Gods, I'm so sorry," he murmured, raising his hands to cup your cheeks, "I misunderstood the situation, my lady, forgive me.". You were more confused now, if that was even possible. "What did you think was happening?" you asked, furrowing your brows. Thor took a deep breath. "I have been in love before, with a woman who was disloyal to me. I was scared it was happening again." he explained, with a sad smile. You thought back to what Loki had told you about Jane. "You thought I was kissing him?" you asked, stepping away from him. "Have you not been bedding women almost every night since I came here?" you raised your voice, your face red with anger. "That is completely different." he replied, confused as to how you could know that. Rumours spread quickly at court, but he wasn't aware of any connection you had to the servants or the nobles there. "Is it different because the future king does what he wants or is it because I'm a woman and that would make me a whore?" you shouted, surprising yourself with that language. You would have never thought to utter such words, but Thor's presence seemed to bring out the worse in you. "It is because of both, and I would suggest you mind your language." he spat, now red in the face again. "Or what? You would call the guards and imprison me for saying what you're thinking?" you hissed. "I have more pressing matters to attend rather than arguing with you." he sighed and resumed his walking, leaving you alone and furious in the corridor.