Fear

The ball

You sighed and sipped the wine again. You had stood in the corner for almost twenty minutes while Loki was being introduced to a princess by his mother.

You sighed again and let your eyes sweep over the crowd in the great hall, there were people everywhere: kings, queens, princes and princesses. Thor was standing in another corner, surrounded by a group of girls. They laughed and he took the chance to drink more wine, though if he continued, you suspected he would most likely do something he would regret. You rolled your eyes as he had a servant refill his cup and walked over there.

You caught his eye and he nodded. He excused himself and followed you out to an empty corridor.

"How many cups of wine have you had?" you asked accusingly. He chuckled.

"Too many, I know. I suppose my father sent you to keep me away from it?"

"That and the girls," you said with a smile. He chuckled again.

"So if I keep away from them, what do I get?"

"You will run free from my punishments," you joked and he broke out into laughter. You saw a jealous face peek around the corner and raised your eyebrow. Thor followed your gaze and, when he discovered his pursuer, jogged over to her. You rolled your eyes and walked back into the hall.

Loki was talking quietly to an old man in the corner where you had stood earlier. You walked over to him and smiled as you saw his eyes light up. He pulled you into an embrace and then kissed your forehead, but not after whispering "she was dull" in your ear. You rolled your eyes at him and he smirked.

The old man scratched his gray beard and looked at you.

"My lady, I know you from somewhere. Have we met?"

You frowned. You did not recognize the man at all.

"You must be mistaken, sir, for I do not recognize you," you said with a smile, "but perhaps you have met my mother. I am said to look a lot like her."

"It must be so. I have traveled a lot across the land, I might once have stayed in her village."

You smiled and nodded. The three of you talked animatedly for a while more, until Frigga dragged Loki away to meet another princess. Somebody tapped your shoulder and you turned to find a young male who looked strikingly much like Aliyah smiling at you.

"May I have this dance?"

You thought for a moment. Loki wouldn't like it, you knew that, but you were bored and he wouldn't be able to sneak away for a while, so you nodded. The man took your hand and introduced himself as Prince Lel of Heidmar, brother of Aliyah. As you danced around among the other couples, he barely spoke except for when asking for your name, but afterwards as you were both having a refreshing drink, he kept a conversation up. As he was in the middle of describing the wonderful lakes of Heidmar, his eyes widened and he looked at something over your shoulder.

In the next moment, Loki's arms sneaked around your waist and he whispered in your ear:

"Enjoying yourself?"

His voice was gentle, but with a small tone of jealousy.

"Yes, actually." you answered, and anyone but Loki would have missed the teasing tone in your voice. He chuckled.

"How about some fresh air?"

It was obvious that he wanted to be alone with you.

You looked at Prince Lel, who was smiling at you, and he nodded. After thanking you for the dance, he disappeared into the crowd and you and Loki went out to a balcony. It was empty and quiet after the loud music and voices inside, and a chilly breeze gave you goose bumps as you leaned onto the rail. Loki stood next to you and looked out over the village.