The Arrayed

Chapter 9

(Arraya)

The next morning when I awoke, I did not place eyes on the Prince for most of the day. Instead I was whisked away by a few of Frigga's handmaidens and made to spend my entire morning/afternoon filled with wedding plans and decisions. Frigga, Aunt Freya and myself spent the hours yay'ing and nay'ing wedding planner's designs. Once we all agreed with the perfect planner, we hired her and set her to work immediately. It was hard to believe that the wedding would be in a few days.

"So my dear" Frigga asked as we all still sat at the table in her quarters, "Do you like the dress maker's designs I gave you?"

"Yes your Majesty I do, he has a keen eye for color and fashion. I like the fact that he uses the styles from all the realms and combines them into an outfit. I have also noticed that he has a flair for Alfeim fashion and could see nuances in most of his designs. It would be great to have a wedding dress that would reflect the 3 realms that are apart of my life."

Aunt Freya smiled while placing a hand on my leg and Frigga smirked in delight.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed while clapping her hands, " We shall send word for him to accompany us to dinner tonight. We will commission him for your wedding."

At that moment the doors to her quarters opened quickly and Odin, Thor and Loki barreled through.

Odin quickly made his way to Frigga and kissed her dearly on the forehead before whispering quietly into her ear. Thor stood straight and smiled at us all and then winked at my Aunt. I kept looking between the two. Freya was all smiles and her whole demeanor seemed to have changed. She seemed delighted at Thor's presence; she seemed youthful even. As if she was a very young girl who was crushing on a young boy, I was surprised to say the least.

Then finally I looked to Loki. His eyes were trained on me so intently that it seemed as if he could care less of the others in the room, as if I were the only person present that seemed to really matter. Looking more closely at his appearance, I could see the heat that emanated within that stare. Instantly my thoughts veered to the events that had transpired between us the night before, and before I knew it I began to squirm in my seat. Loki noticed my momentary affliction and knowingly smirked at me.

"Pardon me ladies," Frigga announced, "It seems as I have sudden Queenly duties to attend to. Thank you for your time and I am very happy at our progress today. I will see you two at dinner tonight, along with Pierre'."

Freya and I both nodded and stood up to leave. As I passed by Loki, he grabbed my wrist and turned me towards him. He leaned in to whisper in my ear, "Be ready my love, for it will be my turn tonight." His hot breath surrounded my lobe and it sent a shiver down my spine. Loki then took my lobe into his mouth and playfully bit it before letting go. I was shocked by his public display of arousing affection to say the least. As he leaned back our eyes met and I noticed that I could hardly see a speck of emerald. His pupils were wide and black, and his breath was short and heavy. I looked around the room and could tell that no one had noticed our brief exchange. Loki smirked again, and then I knew he had used magic to conceal our interaction. Sneaky I thought.

So I in turn acted as if I did not know of our concealment and instead used it to my advantage. Soon I leaned back in to kiss him on the lips before stating quite loudly, "I can not wait my Prince."

Upon hearing these words I could hear Loki hiss out a breath of shock but I did not dare turn back to view his reaction. Instead I smirked and opened the door and left.

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(Loki)

All throughout the dinner I kept looking to Arraya. She looked beautiful in my colour of green, an outfit I had the servants lay out for her. So little to say, I was very happy seeing her arrive in the gown I had made special for her, and I was very glad that she chose to oblige my request. I myself was dressed in the matching colour to her beautiful gown, so it was easy to see who she clearly belonged to... just in case any of those brash nobles got any wrong ideas.