Fear

Out of the ashes into the flames

Notes:

OMG

I love you all, thank you so much! The response I've been getting is far too much, I really don't deserve it! You are all so wonderful, thank you, thank you, thank you!

I know, I know, I said chapter eight would include Loki feels....

It does. But wait till chapter 11................ hehehhehehheeeee

Days turned into weeks, and suddenly you had spent three weeks at the palace. You did your best to avoid Loki and you were successful. Every now and then you went to dine with everyone in the great hall, but you placed yourself as far away from Loki as possible.

Your bond with Thor strengthened the more time you spent with him, as he was more than happy to explain everything about the castle. One day, your conversation with him took a weird twist when he told you that the royal family had been spying on your village for a long time. Apparently Loki had been showing great interest in you for a while and always asked to go to the village. King Odin, probably believing Loki wanted to cause trouble, neglected him. You didn't believe your ears when Thor told you.

"But why me? Why am I special?" you asked him with deep skepticism. You weren't special, you knew that. You were just like everyone else, if not worse, since all you did was read and keep to yourself. You had never even been sexually involved with someone.

"I don't know", Thor laughed. "He kept talking about you, how beautiful you are, all that. He refused to admit that he was in love with you, though," he added. Your heart skipped a beat when you realized Thor hadn't said "how beautiful he thinks you are."

'Calm down, you're just playing yourself a trick. What does a prince have to find in you?'

'That's true. I'm just a girl.'

'But... why did he even take you in if he doesn't care about you?'

'Because...'

You struggled to find a good reason for Loki to be nice to you but failed.

'Because he wants something from you...'

"Milady, what are you thinking about?" Thor asked, a wide smile on his face. You stuttered a little while trying to find something to say.

"I'm just... I'm..."

"Don't waste your precious time thinking about my brother. He's a rotten fruit on the inside, I swear. I know him better than anyone; he used to steal my toys. Nobody noticed until he told me years later." Thor laughed, his blue eyes twinkling with memories. "By the way, I'm going to the armory to practice fighting. Would you like to watch?"

You had nothing better to do, so you followed Thor to the armory. You had been there a couple of times before, watching Thor practice or studying fighting techniques. You enjoyed watching him fly around in the little room where he practiced, hitting the dolls in the right places at the right time.

While Thor got his gear on (special plates of iron to protect him if one of the dolls might swing and hit him) you wandered over to the door that led to the room, only to hear thuds and grunts. Somebody was using the room.

"Thor? It's occupied," you said to Thor, who asked who it was.

"I don't know."

"Open the door and check."

You rolled your eyes and ignored the knot that formed in your stomach as you pushed the door open. With his back to you was Loki, shirtless, beating a large doll of its hinges. It fell to the floor with a loud thud and Loki turned to the next doll, already throwing punches everywhere. You were frozen to the ground, staring at him. Pearls of sweat gleamed in the light, his muscles visibly growing as he strained them while shooting strike after strike at the doll. The knot in your stomach untwisted as the stomach disappeared.