A Golden Cage (Loki x OC)

Part 2

Laetherea's heart constricted in her chest when she rummaged through the richly ornate chest that contained her clothes in order to find something to wear. Time went by unevenly out of Loki's presence, such was the realization that dawned upon her after the last months of solitude. Therefore it came as no surprise to her when she saw that the moon hadn't yet reached her peak. The deafening silence in the room made her ears ring unpleasantly, but at least she was clean – as often, the warm water had wash away more than the filth, and Laetherea's anger went down the drain with the light pink water after rubbing away the dried blood.

Eventually she abandoned her research – it was too late to dress up, she would feel silly wearing a dress at this time of night. Laetherea returned to the bathroom attached to the main room and fetched her dressing gown, a delicate thing made out of yards and yards of the finest silk, as light as a feather on her shoulders. The last one of a long series of robes Loki had gifted her throughout the years. He always insisted that she ought to have the best but she knew better – he liked having her wear robes instead of dresses because he could undress her simply by pulling on the waist belt. It forced a tiny smile on her lips.

Hopefully, it wasn't too late to retrieve this Loki from the darkness he was plunged into against his will.

For the last hour or so now, Laetherea has been standing by the railing on the balcony to escape the silence of the room, wishing she could go down to the garden. It had been a forbidden place for so long that it took her a minute to realize she was allowed to now. But she dared not leave Loki's chambers, for fear he wouldn't let her back in, or worse, that he would come back only to find it empty. Although it was quite a ridiculous thought for she could hear his voice from where she stood. She had had her idea of where he was headed when he left earlier but now she knew she was right – Queen Frigga's private Boudoir, near the gardens. Laetherea could not hear what they were discussing so animatedly about but Loki's voice always stood out. Like a lighthouse it guided her through the blackest nights.

Her eyes lingered on the fountain standing in the middle of the garden, lulling her with its steady music, and she was thrown back years before, when she first saw it and marveled at it.

Laetherea was not born into this life of riches and abundance, she was the daughter of a servant. A maid to Queen Frigga's service who had been seduced by a guard, then abandoned by him. From a very early age Laetherea accompanied her mother to the palace. More often then not, Laetherea played with the flowers and watched the other kids at the palace because she was under strict instructions not to cause any trouble. But the most fascinating activities were the young princes' teachings. Prince Thor's daily training in all military things, although he was already much older than Laetherea who was maybe seven, or eight at the time. Prince Loki was closer to her in age and less prone to wave around a sword in his free time, always sitting somewhere with a book in his hands, or mischief twinkling in his eyes.

Her mother had told her it was forbidden to bother the princes, therefore she kept a safe distance between them, but she imagined they would be friends if the circumstances allowed it. However the situation as it was did not permit this friendship, so Laetherea stayed away, though not quite far enough. No never too far away. Especially not when Queen Frigga tried to teach her youngest son magic.

Watching the queen cast sparks from the tip of her fingers, or produce a cloud-berry cake out of nowhere was source of endless marvel to a young Laetherea. Prince Loki was an impatient child and did not appreciate the lack of result the first few times he tried, but Laetherea never gave up, however improbable it was for her to do magic.

After all, it wasn't like anybody could use magic, one either had the gift or didn't. But a little girl could dream.

"Do not fret, Loki," Queen Frigga's gentle voice said in an attempt to calm her quick-tempered son. "Keep trying. Efforts always pay off in the end, therefore you mustn't give up."