The Brightest Star

Chapter 14 - Confrontation

(Kára's POV):
"Are we really going to do this again?" I asked, watching as Loki tried to leave the room. Rather than reply verbally, he gave me a chilling smile before repairing the melted knob. I watched without saying a word as he easily penetrated the protection spell then left the room, figuring it was not worth going after him while he was this upset.

After leaving I examined the doorknob, finding the same traces of his magic lingering around my protection spell as had been around the lock of my chest. With a small smile, I left the room, knowing that he had just confessed that he had been breaking into my room, now all I needed to do was catch him.

I decided to relax in the library until getting notified of Loki's crime, where I could compose my daily report to Frigga and pass the time remaining before confronting him. Part of me feared that Loki would also chose to escape to the library, but thankfully the room was empty when I arrived.

Your Majesty,
Loki has taken a turn for the worst, although I do not understand why. He seemed to be opening up to me, we even had a brief discussion about Shakespeare outside of our lesson, but he showed up today the same way he had to the very first lesson. I cannot think of having said anything to offend him nor scare him away, I have no idea what happened. I have discovered that he has been reading our correspondences and I suspect that this has been going on for quite a while but I cannot remember having said anything in the letters recently that would offend him. I am terribly sorry that I have failed you, but I will continue trying to rebuild whatever trust I have broken with him. I also plan to confront him about his invasion of my privacy, which I fear may worsen the situation, but I am hoping that it will have the opposite effect and he will admire my willingness to stand up for myself. I shall continue trying to get close to him and report to you on my results.
Kára

After finishing the note, I decided to finish reading Hamlet as Loki had interrupted my read the night before. However, once again Loki interrupted me before the end when my upgraded protection spell alerting me that he was attempting to break into my chest. Sighing, I placed the book down on the table and grabbed my letter, folding it up and sticking it down the neckline of my dress before teleporting into my bedchambers.

The scene I arrived to was exactly as I was expecting. Loki was kneeling in front of my chest, a mildly confused look on his face as he tried to break through the protection spell.

"Having trouble?" I questioned causing Loki to jump up and spin around to face me. He seemed unable to formulate words, shocked to find me standing behind him. "Did the Queen never teach you that looking through other people's private belongings is rude?"

"I was wondering when you would discover what I have been doing," he finally spoke, leaning up against my vanity. "In my defense, I am the subject of those letters, so therefore I do believe I have a slight claim to read them."

I narrowed my eyes, not quite believing what I was hearing, "you know, one minute you seem like a fairly intelligent man and then the next minute you say idiotic things like that. You broke into my room everyday, bypassed my protection spell, and then read my private correspondence! Do you really think your mother will accept your flimsy excuse?"

"She is not my-" he burst out, although caught himself and took a breath. "She does not have the right to discuss me behind my back in this manner, especially not when she is trying to give you advice to befriend me."

I rolled my eyes, "it is not like any of her advice seems to have worked, you are just as stubborn as you were when we first met. Besides, there is nothing wrong with me sending her reports on your behavior, need I remind you that you are a criminal? If it were not for people like me who, I might add, have always had to send reports to your mother, then you would be rotting in a cell as we speak. Regardless of that, I think you are ignoring that you have been breaking into my bedchambers everyday and invading my privacy!"

He smirked as he approached me, standing so that our chests were nearly touching, "why do you care so much about that, do I make you uncomfortable? You really think that I care what you keep in your bedchambers? Besides, you have been in my chambers without my permission."

"You mean the time that you were exhausted and I brought you back to your bed to rest?! How is that in any way a fair comparison to your behavior?!"

"Oh, but I remember you coming back into my room while I was sleeping to leave that tea by my bedside!"

"I was trying to help you! Forgive me if I care about the person I am supposed to be saving from a lifetime in prison!"

A flash of surprise seemed to pass through Loki's eyes and he seemed to lean a bit further towards me, causing my heart to race inside my chest. However, he tilted his head to the side and whispered in my ear, "I would recommend being more careful with your words, Kára. Certainly you know that you cannot care for someone so far above your station. I can get you dismissed from the palace in a second and hearing that those words pass through your lips, no matter what you meant by them, gives me an easy excuse to report you. So I would suggest you let me go about my business, regardless of how it affects you, or else you will return to whatever slum you came here from."

With those words, Loki left my side, surprisingly choosing to use the door as opposed to merely teleporting away, which would have led to a more dramatic exit. However, his words resonated after he left and not only due to the chilling tone that planted fear within me. It suddenly dawned on me how tenuous my position here was and how easily I could be dismissed and return to my former state of unemployment. And now that I was on royalty's radar, I feared that it would be harder to steal from the marketplace without getting caught. My only choice was to do as Loki requested, no matter how much I disagreed with his methods.

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(A/N): Don't you just love angry Loki? I would probably go weak if he were to whisper in my ear, even if he was threatening me.

Anyway, who's excited for phase four! I must say, I'm not a fan of Thor 4's title, but oh my god we're getting Natalie Portman as female Thor!!!! Also, again not a huge fan of most of the logos, but Doctor Strange's and Shang-Chi's at the panel were absolutely gorgeous (the released ones not so much). But there are so many excited things that were announced like WandaVision taking place after Endgame?!?! Also the tone of Doctor Strange and the fact we get a Strange/Scarlet Witch team up??? I'm so pumped!! There's just so much to talk about so I'll leave it there and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!