Love, Magic and Lies (COMPLETE)

Chapter Ten; A Drunken Altercation

Never before in her life had she felt quite so rejected, not to mention foolish.
Her previous faux pas with Loki that occurred all those years ago, paled in significance compared  to this latest, monumental, mistake.
What had she been thinking?! Well, clearly she hadn't thought much at all, the amount of alcohol she'd glugged had severely impaired her judgement and prevented any coherent thought.

Amongst the terrible, jumbled mess of emotions, fear was also present. It was the fear that Heimdall may very well have seen the event unfold, and be sending a guard for her at any time. She waited expectantly, unable to shake off the dreaded feeling.
To her relief, no guard came....as yet.

After hiding out in her chambers for what seemed like an eternity; witnessing the sun rise and set from her window, the irritation began to well up inside her. A mixture of shame, frustration and annoyance with herself.
As she gazed into her mirror, she barely recognized the woman that she now saw. Her complexion was sallow, dark circles hampered her eyes, but most shocking of all was the protruding cheek bones.
Also she could not ignore the nagging thought at the back of her mind, that she was a coward. Shaken slightly, she slipped out of the night robe she'd been in for the past 24 hours and began to dress.

She chose her leather bodice and warrior skirt, deciding that some exercise and combat training would take her mind off things. So what if darkness would soon be falling? The crisp, night air would do her good.
However, the harsh reality of just how much weight she had inadvertently shed recently became blatantly clear. The skirt hung down lower than it should on her hips, and the bodice looked almost ridiculously loose around her considering it was supposed to be fitted leather.

Just then a loud knocking on the door startled her from her daze. She swallowed nervously, half expecting a guard, or worse; perhaps even Heimdall himself, to call out to her at any moment.
The hammering came again, louder, fiercer; she could have sworn that she saw the panels of the wooden door bending inwards under the weight of the pounding.
Then a deep voice called out. She recognised it instantly and suddenly the strength of the knocking became clear...it was Thor.

She breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly opened the door before it was removed from it's hinges or splintered. He wasn't angry, it was just typically Thor. He didn't know his own strength.
She absentmindedly recalled Loki once commenting that it was easy to hide from his big brother as Thor usually announced his presence by 'taking down a door'

She opened the door now and instinctively turned her back on him, heading back across her room. She was painfully aware of how thin she was looking and was hoping to hide it from him.
"Thor, it is good to see you, I am just..."
Her mind raced, searching for some excuse,
"....I was...just about to...change."
She managed at last, opening her closet and pretending to be deeply focused on its contents.

"That is one of the reasons I am here..."
Thor announced,
"...because you do seem to have...changed."

Forgetting herself, she spun around to face him, a frown forming across her brow,
"I meant my clothes, Thor."

He stared at her now with a worried expression,
"Yes I know what you meant Sif, but you have changed. Your behaviour, your habits- "

"My habits?"

"Yes, you rarely seem to be present when we dine, some days you aren't even seen at all. It is clear to us all that something is troubling you."

Sif forced a tight smile,
"Really Thor? I am surprised you have noticed being as you have barely spoken to me since..."
She hesitated, almost reluctant to speak the mischievous one's name aloud.
Whether this was because she did not wish to anger Thor, or because speaking of Loki these days always seemed to make her blush, she wasn't sure.