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˖*°࿐chapter one i. BROODMARE
"LAELIA! LAELIA! I'VE GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU!"
Laelia's brother, Aeneas, cried as he rounded the corner to the bath chambers. Laelia turned her head slightly at the sound of her name, and as he called to her once more, she went into the chamber through the curtains. "It is the finest silk from the old dressmaker in that ruddy old shop. C'mon, feel it." Laelia ran her hand across the grey silk. "Mmm, beautiful isn't it?"
She nods her head in answer, looking up at her brother, seeing his familiar blue eyes and silver hair. "You're slouching," Aeneas gives the dress to a maid and stares at Laelia until the maid is nowhere in sight. "You're a woman now." He unties the dress and lets it slip to the tiled floor, his sister's nipples hardening in the cool air. He runs his finger over the rose-colored bud, Laelia's breath coming out in a shaky manner.
"You need to show off your body; let the world see it," he whispers. "You would be married off to one of Asgard's princes in order for me to get an army to take back my throne. You would be good to him, please him in all manners. I would let him and his men - Hel! Even his horses - fuck you if that's what it took to get it. Do you understand?"
"Yes," she nods, swallowing thickly.
"You don't want to awaken the dragon, do you?"
"No."
"Alright, then. Hurry with your bath, he's going to be here in the next hour. Wear the dress!"
Aeneas walks out of the bath chamber with a flourish, Laelia turning to her steaming bath. The water still boiled slightly. She stepped up onto the edge of the large pool and once she took a step in the water, a maid hurries behind her. "It's too hot, M'Lady."
Laelia keeps stepping deeper into the bath, not feeling any pain from it, only comfort. She remembered her house's motto: Fire and Blood. The Greystones were known for their ability to walk through fire, for their ability to withstand its heat, and for their ability to speak to dragons. Dragons were long gone now, but as a gift, she was given a dragon tooth ring as a child. She wore it every day - it was too large for her when she was younger so she kept it on a necklace - but now she wore it on her finger. She prayed to the gods that her encounter with her future husband was a good one.
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LOKI AND SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS rode through the outskirts of Asgard, in a place where they were separated by houses, not mixing amongst one another like all the others in the city. The grass was high; the winds were turbulent, and the sun was beating down on them with much more heat than they could fathom. "How can people live in these conditions?" One of his men asks. Another speaks up. "They were born and raised in this weather; they are used to it unlike us."
"Would you be quiet you oafs?" Loki snaps.
The men quickly shut up, riding into the streets of a small villa. "They live in the Great City, Aeneas, they will not be punctual."
Soon Loki and his followers reach the villa's main house, seeing a man with two people in front of him; one was a girl, whom he presumed was his future wife and Aeneas. The girl walks up to him and he realizes that she isn't wearing a bra; he could see the outline of her nipples through her dress's grey fabric. She looks beautiful to him, with her innocent blue eyes, silvery-white hair; she would make an amazing wife.
He says nothing as he turns to leave, and he hears Aeneas beginning to ramble in the background.
"Wait! Where are they going? Why didn't he say anything? Doesn't he like her?"
"Believe me, Aeneas, we would know if he did not like your sister."
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AENEAS AND ATTICUS WALK side-by-side, Laelia following close behind them like a lost puppy. She had just met the man she would marry, and she was honestly terrified at her encounter. He had looked at her with such an icy glare that sent chills down her spine; she did not know what went wrong. Was she not pretty enough? Was she not the right woman for him? Did he think that she was too young for him? All these questions ran through her head aimlessly, no sign of any type of answer nearby.
"When we sell her off -"
"I don't want to be his queen. I just want to go home."
Aeneas turns to his sister, putting his hand gently on her throat and running his finger across her chin. "I do too, dear sister, but if I do not get his army, what chance of home would we have? Hm? Just to let you know, I would let him, his army, and even his horses fuck you if that's what it took. Understand?"
