Affection 2

Affection 2: Part 12

Later that night at the dinner table, the golden halls lit with glowing amber torches and servants running about, the royal family and friends of Asgard sat down for a lovely meal.

Loki was actually surprised that he was having a good time; it had been quite a while since he actually had a pleasant time with his family. To be honest, he longed for those days, but in his mind he thought he'd never get them back, so his smiles that evening were genuine.

It was a joyous occasion. Everybody was laughing –mostly as Loki and Thor's expense. Even Loki was laughing at the things everybody was saying; he couldn't be cheerful. He was practically on cloud 9, but…

…He couldn't help but have the thought on Dreco on his thoughts in the back of his head as well; the mysterious Elf on the opposite side of Loki, but in front of Luna, enjoying the in the playful banter going around the table while he's eating his food.

If anything, it had to be about Loki's demise; he still remembered his old "friend's" ways. He always took side glances at the Elf, he just had to ask him. Just to know.

While everybody was eating their main course, he asked.

"Dreco, what is the real reason that you are here?" Loki inquired with an intense stare. "I mean, you couldn't have come here just to chat. That's not like you at all. You only talk to people when you need something…" He finished with a smirk. The talking at the table died down a little to hear the conversation.

Loki could feel it. He finally had Dreco.

Dreco looked up at Loki in mid-chew and rolled his eyes.

"Looks like you've got me, Loki. You know me all too well for comfort."

"Well, then?"

Dreco sighed and put his hands together. "Not that long ago, I was appointed King of Alfheim and, well, I wouldn't feel complete without a beautiful and powerful Queen by my side."

Loki didn't believe this for a second. "So, what you're saying is that you've been trekking all around the nine realms to find a suitable wife to rule with you?"

A smile started to curl on Dreco's lips as he nodded. "Yes…you could say that, friend."

"But…you do realize that she has to be of royal blood, right?"

Dreco's smile got shyly bigger as he chuckled. "Not necessarily…"

Loki's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Oh, really?"

"Yes. If she exhibits the regal nature of a royal and I'm attracted to her, she could be a Queen."

"Really?" Luna asked, suddenly intrigued. "Have you found her yet? Is she in this realm?"

At that question, everybody turned to Dreco because, believe it or not, they all wanted to know who he picked.

Dreco blushed and licked his lips as he chuckled, a tad bit nervous with everyone's eyes on him.

He hesitated. "…I picked you, Luna…"

All you could hear in the dining room was stunned silence; the only thing you heard was the hurried footsteps of the servants, but even then some of them stopped when they heard what Dreco had said.

Luna dropped her fork one her plate, the sound echoing through the hall. It was as if all time had stopped.

"…what?" She finally said. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I've picked you as my Queen." The Elf repeated.

"Uh, Dreco, my friend," Thor started, trying to fix the situation. "I think you're making a terrible mistake." He knew how Loki was towards his family, and this just made it a thousand times worse.