Passionate Misfortune

Chapter Three

Loki held a tray in his hands with Delysia's dinner and made his way to his chambers. He opened the door and almost dropped the tray as he found Delysia in a simple skirt and bra as the maids were sizing her. Loki quickly averted his eyes as Delysia grabbed her corset and held it against her chest. The maids stopped their work to surround themselves around the almost bare Delysia and Loki chuckled nervously.

"I'm terribly sorry. Um...I have your dinner here for you." Loki told her as he kept his eyes on the floor.

Delysia nodded her head and Loki set the tray on the bed.

"We are almost finish, prince Loki. All we require is a few more minutes." A maid told him.

"I'll wait outside." Loki mumbled as he paced out of the room.

Loki tapped his foot on the floor waiting for the maids to finish. After five minutes, the maids left the room and Loki walked back into his chambers. There, he found Delysia in his robe sitting at his desk eating her dinner.

"I'm truly sorry about earlier. I should have knocked." Loki told her.

She made no sound or movement that showed Loki she heard him.

"How is the food?" Loki asked.

Delysia did not reply and Loki sighed as he pulled up a seat next to her. She put her fork down and quickly glanced over at Loki and he smirked.

"Now, I know you must be scared about all of this...and especially the marriage. But, it was the only way to keep you from having the same fate as you had in Vanaheim. If I hadn't brought this up, you would have been put on display. This way, you can live a happy life free from anyone trying to harm you. You'll be safe." Loki explained.

He went to take her hand in his and she pulled it away, taking her fork and continuing to eat her dinner. Loki nodded his head and walked towards his closet.

"If you want, after you eat, you can take a bath in my bathroom." Loki told her.

Delysia continued to eat and Loki bit his lip as he pulled out his nightwear. Once she finished her meal, she walked into the bathroom and looked at Loki as she closed the door. Loki chuckled as he heard the lock click and changed into his nightwear. He got into bed and pulled out a book to read, waiting for Delysia to walk back into the room. Almost an hour had passed and he looked up from his book to find Delysia walk into the room holding a towel tightly to her body. Loki couldn't stop himself from looking her up and down and he furrowed his brow.

"Is something wrong?" Loki asked.

Delysia shook her head and walked towards the small dresser by the wall. He watched her pull out a nightdress left there by the maids. She then walked back into the bathroom and reemerged wearing the nightgown. It was simple and flowed off her body. Her body was small for a high elf but Loki assumed that was because of the mistreatment she had encountered. She walked to the edge of the bed and looked at him as he sighed.

"Um, since we are to be husband and wife, a second bed was not required for your move in." Loki told her.

Delysia looked at the floor and began to walk over to the small couch when Loki stopped her.

"I promise I won't do anything if you sleep in my bed. I'm not like that, Delysia. You can trust me. I want nothing more than to help you and give you a better life." Loki explained.

Delysia turned to face Loki and sighed before quickly walking back over to the bed and getting under the covers. Before Loki could even speak, she laid herself down and turned her back to him. Loki sighed before setting his book down, turning off the light and going to bed. The following morning, Loki woke up to find Delysia still asleep and decided not to wake her. He changed into his day clothes and made his way to the training grounds where he found Thor and Fandral sparing as Sif and Volstagg checked their weapons.

"Ah, good morning, Loki!" Thor exclaimed as he managed to push Fandral to the ground.

Fandral glared at Thor as he rubbed his shoulder before getting up.

"Nice to see you started without me." Loki commented.

"Nice to see you're getting married tomorrow." Thor teased.

Loki gave Thor a look as he began to laugh.

"You're getting married too, Thor. I don't see why it's funny." Loki retorted.

Thor immediately stopped laughing and Loki smirked.

"At least you got yourself a pretty girl." Fandral said.

"There's plenty of beautiful women here in Asgard." Volstagg commented.

"Ah, yes, but none like those of the high elves. They are said to be the most beautiful. Men and women." Fandral told him.

"I'm only doing this so she didn't have to have the same fate as she had in Vanaheim. She doesn't deserve what they did to her." Loki explained.

"If that's the case, why don't you let me have a go at her." Fandral chuckled.

"Shut, up, Fandral." Loki said as he wrapped his hands up before making his way to the mats.

As the day went by, Loki saw all the maids and servants prepping the throne room for the wedding. As he walked through the halls, not once did he see Delysia walking around. He made his way to his chambers and found Delysia in one of her new dresses, examining the room.

"Have you left these chambers at all?" Loki asked from the doorway.

Delysia jumped as she turned to face Loki and shook her head. Loki sighed as he licked his lips and walked into the room.

"You can't stay here all day. It's not good for you." Loki said.

Delysia looked back at the bookcase and Loki closed the door behind him.

"How about you go out to the gardens? The weather is lovely today." Loki suggested.

Delysia made no response and Loki stood right next to her. He took in her features and could see the bone of her face and collarbone sticking out and some bruises along her neck and arms. Loki laid his hand on her shoulder and felt her muscles tense as he did.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm trying to keep you safe and help you. Some fresh air should do you good." Loki told her.

Delysia moved away from him and Loki sighed in defeat.

"You're going to be fine here. I promise." Loki said softly.

Delysia looked up at Loki as she rubbed her right upper arm and Loki smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry for what those animals did to you. Your people didn't deserve anything that happened to them. Here, I think you'll find it more welcoming." Loki told her.

Delysia gave Loki a weak smile and Loki beamed at her action.

"You must be starving." Loki said.

Delysia nodded her head and Loki motioned for her to follow him. She shook her head and Loki bit his lip.

"I'll go get you something to eat, okay?" Loki asked.

Delysia nodded her head and Loki left the room. He grabbed Delysia some food and ran into Frigga on his way back.

"How is she?" Frigga asked.

"She doesn't talk. She'll sometimes nod or shake her head but that's it. I'm telling her that by marrying her, I'm keeping her safe but, she's still shaken up and isn't trusting me." Loki explained.

"Give her some time. She's been through so much torture for years. Who knows what she's been through." Frigga told him.

"I'll try." Loki said.

"I'm glad to see you helping her. And watch out for any member of council if they get near her or ask questions about her. I read over the records and some of the suggestions were horrifying." Frigga explained.

"I most definitely will." Loki told her.

"Good. I shall see you tomorrow...at the wedding." Frigga smiled.

Loki walked back to his chambers and found Delysia reading a book sitting on his couch.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable," Loki said. "I've brought some fruit, bread and other things. And if I see that you have not eaten it all, I will not be pleased because I know you need to eat."

Delysia looked up from her book and watched as Loki set the tray down next to her.

"Which one are you reading?" Loki asked.

Delysia showed him the cover and Loki grinned.

"That's one of my favorites. Do you enjoy reading? I find it very calming and I love all the different types of characters and scenarios that they are put into." Loki told her.

He caught a weak smile form on her lips yet she did not respond.

"I will return later in the day." Loki said as he left the room.

Delysia watched as he left and once the door was closed, she looked down at the platter of food and beamed at his hospitality. She picked a grape from the platter and ate it slowly, savoring the taste of it before digging in to the rest of the food like an animal. Loki, Thor and the others walked through the gardens together.

"A wedding tomorrow, a coronation in a few months time and then another wedding. So much time has passed us by. We're men now." Thor told Loki.

"Maybe I should go destroy someone's army, demand a war prize and wed the woman they hand me over." Fandral joked.

"I'm not marrying her because I love her or because she's beautiful. I'm doing it to keep her safe." Loki explained.

"And you're just marrying me because we're betrothed." Sif said.

"Oh, no I'm not, Sif." Thor told her. "I'm marrying you because I love you with all my heart."

Thor wrapped his arm around Sif and kissed her as the other cheered them on. Loki sighed as he continued walking down the path.

"Don't worry, Loki. You'll learn to love her. I know I did with Sif." Thor told him.

"But, I've thrown any possible chance of finding my one true love away." Loki said.

"And so did I when I was betrothed to Sif at the age of two. Now, she is my true love and I want no one else but her as my wife and best friend. You are acting very spoiled, Loki." Thor explained.

"I am not!" Loki exclaimed.

"Yes, you are. You're acting like a child. Behave like an adult." Thor told him.

"I am acting like one!" Loki exclaimed.

"No you are not. Look at yourself. You think that once you marry this woman, your life will be over. Try for the god's sakes. You're being unreasonable. Learn to accept your situation and I promise you your life will get better. Now, stop moping and have some fun." Thor explained.

Loki scoffed as he rolled his eyes and watched as everyone nodded their heads in agreement before walking past him. He walked on after them and after the day was done, he was rushed to his chambers to find the Delysia was still there. In the morning, she would be whisked away before he awoke to get fitted into her dress. She was sprawled out on the couch, sound asleep with the book on the floor mere inches away from her hand. The platter of food was empty except for a few bread crumbs. Loki smiled weakly before walking over to her and gently picking her up into his arms. It didn't surprise him very much when she seemed almost weightless. He tucked her into the bed and watched as she got comfortable and heard her mumble a few words. He stepped into his closet and changed into his night wear before pulling out a blanket and laying down on the couch. In the middle of the night, Loki awoke to movement in the room and saw that the balcony windows had been opened and Delysia was outside. Loki got up from the couch and quietly walked onto the balcony. When he came into view, Delysia jumped and covered her mouth to hold back her scream. Loki put his hands up and chuckled nervously.

"It's only me." Loki said.

Delysia put her hand on her chest and swallowed before turning back to look up at the sky.

"Can you listen to me?" Loki asked.

Delysia made no movement and Loki sighed in frustration.

"And acknowledge me when I speak?" Loki asked.

Delysia quickly turned to ace him and raised her brow.

"Now, I know that tomorrow we are to be husband and wife. And I know that it will be hard given the circumstances. To be honest, I am not at all happy given that I am marrying a woman I don't love just to save her from more years of torture and discrimination." Loki told her.

Delysia looked back at the sky upon his last sentence and Loki bit his lip thinking of what else to say.

"I know you don't love me either. We're are both giving up our chances of finding our match but I can assure you that when we are wed, we do not have to carry on as husband and wife." Loki continued.

Delysia raised her brow as she turned to look at him and Loki chuckled nervously.

"I just hope that with the time we are to spend together, we can become friends." Loki told her.

Delysia looked down at the stone floor and then back up at the sky.

"You should come back inside. It's getting cold." Loki said.

Delysia continued to look at the sky and Loki smiled weakly.

"The stars are beautiful here. Were the stars like this in Vanaheim?" Loki asked.

"I never saw them." Delysia spoke.

Loki inhaled sharply as he heard her speak.

"Until now." Delysia whispered.

"Then I'll be sure to let you stargaze for as long as you like and whenever you please." Loki told her.

"Why are you kind...to me?" Delysia asked.

"I have told you before. I hate to see innocent people, such as yourself, go through what you've been through. I want you to have a better life than what it was on Vanaheim. You deserve more than anything the Gods could ever give you." Loki told her.

Delysia chuckled and Loki furrowed his brow.

"You speak as though you love me." Delysia said.

"I would speak that way to any man, woman, or child that has gone through what you've been through. I am a man of peace and equality. I only wish to protect you and hope that you will thrive here in Asgard." Loki explained.

"Do not think that by marrying me, you can keep me safe," Delysia told him. "Wherever I go, the people will stop and stare. Others will want to take me as theirs and use me for money. I know what I'm worth. But don't think for a second that I'll be safe here. No matter where you go in this world, people will be greedy and will do anything to get what they want."

"Delysia-"

"Think that you can protect me all you like, but, it will never work. I'm worth more than the crown of Asgard. I could supply a family with food for possibly six generations." Delysia interjected.

"I promise you that no one will ever harm you. You have my word." Loki told her.

"Promises are easy." Delysia commented.

"Come back inside. The cold weather here is brutal." Loki told her.

Delysia smiled as she made her way back into the chambers and Loki shut the windows.

"I appreciated your gesture of moving me into the bed." Delysia said.

"A woman always needs her beauty sleep before her wedding day." Loki teased.

Delysia chuckled as she got into the bed and looked over at Loki.

"I heard a lot about you in Vanaheim, as well as your brother. You were never really liked there." Delysia told him.

"Sleep now." Loki smiled.

Delysia laid back down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.