Loki and the Witchling

Chapter 38

   The suite was gorgeous and perfect, soft and comfortable with plenty of bookshelves all over. It had obviously been decorated for you. You found the hot bath waiting for you like Loki said it would be. Once you were clean you fell into the overly soft bed to recharge for a few hours.

The maids did wake you for dinner and insisted on helping you dress and doing your hair. You couldn't figure out how to politely tell them that you were perfectly capable of managing on your own. Especially since you had magic. You'd have to ask Loki how to get rid of them later.

Loki was waiting outside of your suite and you hugged him when you saw him. "Did you sleep well, witchling?" he asked with a smile.

"The beds are so soft," you purred. It had been the best you'd slept in maybe ever. He chuckled.

"That they are. Mother said she had a collection of books that she thought might interest you sent to your suite,"

"It's full of books!" you told him. You grabbed his hand and tried to pull him inside so he could see. He planted his feet.

"We must pretend to care about propriety until after tomorrow's ceremony," he reminded you.

"Propriety is so tedious," you grumbled, but let him lead you to dinner instead of showing off your suite.

"It is pretense, love," he reminded you softly.

Dinner was a giant feast of an affair. At least you could sit between Thor and Loki and talk about familiar things with them. Frigga kept glancing over at the three of you and smiling at how well you were all getting along. She also made a comment during the evening about your impressive healing abilities for managing to heal an entire village in one afternoon. That got you a lot of credit from the court.

There was dancing after the feast. Thor stole you for the first dance, despite Loki's protests. You laughed and swung with him to the cheerful rowdy song. It was a wonderful evening of dancing. Each of the Warriors Three claimed you for a dance. Fandal was by far the best of the three of them. Finally, you were swung into Loki's arms for a dance with him. It was even one of the more formal court dances that he preferred. He moved with such grace and joy that it warmed your heart to see him so happy.

As soon as you could, you and Loki escaped from the frivolity. He showed you to one of the gardens. "This one is my favorite," he told you as you strolled arm in arm through the paved walkways between the flowers. He summoned a cape for you and draped it over your shoulders.

"It's gorgeous," you told him, admiring all of the foreign flowers.

"It is even better for this," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He darted between a gap in two hedges, pulling you with him. The gap couldn't be seen from the path and was barely big enough for you to slip through. Inside was a little alcove with a bench, surrounded by tall hedges. Loki pulled you to him and kissed you deeply. You wrapped your arms around his neck automatically. You kissed in the alcove for a long time, stopping and hiding your giggles when you heard people passing by the gap in the hedges. No one could find you here to interrupt your fun.

*

The next morning you found Sif at breakfast. "Morning, Sig," she greeted you.

"Morning, Sif," you replied, wary as to why she was so excited this early in the morning. Loki looked equally wary.

"I'll show you some tricks after breakfast. There's nothing for you to do until the ceremony tonight anyway." You nodded and sat down with Loki at the table with Sif, the warrior boys, and Thor to eat a quick breakfast.