It is hardly a secret that his lordship, Prince Loki, has quite an appetite. And not just for meat and wine either. We hear strange tales from friends. In the kitchens, maids get told off all the time for their gossips. Everyone giggles over dirty bed sheets in the laundry room. Servant boys and girls alike are quick to spread any rumors they overheard. Country people have their own stories to tell. Even nobility from the farthest of foreign lands has heard at least a thing or two.
People say rumors are not to be believed. But in the case of our noble prince, well, one can only say quite a number of them are probably not too far fetched. In fact, we believe much of it actually fell short of the fantastic reality. The truth is, no mind can be as imaginative as his liege, and none carries out a fancy like he does. Chances are, wherever you may be, you've heard of that one time he ran off disguised as a mare with the stallion Svaðilfari.
Who would have thought of anything in likeness?
Handsome mustangs aside, words floating around these days are about the number of innocent maids or lads there still is in the palace. A popular guess, not surprisingly, is none. But that is untrue. I, for one, has never been taken, by his lordship or anyone else. However, any attempt at declaring one's innocence (not that anyone really care for it), will be dismissed as lies. People like believing what they want to believe.
I wonder if for some reason the prince loathed me. Perhaps I am indeed the only virgin in the vicinity of the palace. Not that I really want to share a bed with him, but it does hurt one's ego if he take just about everyone else and left you alone for some hundreds of years.
I've been bringing meals to Prince Loki longings since my early teenage years. He likes burying himself in piles of spellbooks and rarely dine in the hall. On a bad day (for me), the table will suddenly refuse to be level, the carpet will be uneven and tripping even though I'm sure I've smoothed them out over a hundred times, or snakes and spiders may crawl out of the garblet even though moments before it was filled with mead; On a good day, he will give a nod of thanks; Most of the time the prince just ignores me. Never had I seen him with another being. It's hard to imagine how he managed to court anyone. But knowing Loki, well, he is the trickster. He is the sneaky one. And he was always alone.
Until now.
The sky was just getting light outside. The kitchen was in its usual frenzy to get meals ready and delivered. It is a delicate issue, taking care of the royal family. We dash about, trying to get everything done as quickly as possible, at the same time remain silent and mostly unseen or unnoticed. Serving Prince Loki is as difficult as it gets. He is perspective: Keen on hearing, sharp-eyed, and always alert. To slip past him is virtually impossible. One can't be more exposed banging shields in front of Heimdal. We learned to strade lightly and hope the prince is putting up with us.
Edging open the heavy doors of Loki's living quarters, I slipped inside with the breakfast tray carefully balanced over one arm. I left the door ajar. It's easier that way. When I turned around, a movement at the corner of my sight almost caused me to trip over backwards. Only years of training prevented my load from a trip to the carpet. A female form stirred in the prince's bed. It was Meg. She shares a room in the servants quarters with me and several other girls. She had been missing since the yesterday afternoon.
Composing myself, I arranged the tray by the dressing table, and set about tending the fire and refilling the water jugs. Meg was still sleeping. Prince Loki was no where in sight. Feeling like I have traded upon something private and forbidden, I wanted to get out as soon as possible with minimum commotion. I set the last water jug on the side table. Cold breath prickled the back of my neck.
"I thought I've told you to leave it by the window."
Startled, I turned around too quickly and upsetted the jug. It hit the floor with a loud clang and water spilled all over. The prince was standing in front of me, barefoot and naked from the waist up. And he was very, very close. Heat rushed to my face and I turned away. Beside us on the bed, Meg stirred, awoken by the commotion.
