The Brightest Star

Chapter 25 - A Changed Man

(Loki's POV):
I opened my eyes, finding myself still holding Kára close to my chest, however we seemed to have become more entangled than we were when we had fallen asleep. It would have been impossible to move without disturbing her rest, so instead I resigned myself to lying next to her, enjoying how her face was free from stress and worry in her sleep.

"Good morning Loki, I am glad to see that you are awake," a voice spoke from the side of my bed.

"Mother, wh-what are you doing here?" I asked in response, finding myself slightly embarrassed in the position that she caught us in.

A large smile spread across her lips, making me try to recall the last time I had seen her genuinely smile at me, "I wanted to see how you were feeling this morning, I heard that Kára was able to find a cure, which I am most impressed by. I also wanted to inform you that those behind the plot to kill you have been dealt with by your father, they will be locked up in the dungeon for a few years and then when they are finally released that will not be allowed to work at the palace any longer."

I knew that the punishment was not as severe as it would have been if someone had tried to kill Thor or Odin or even Frigga, but I was pleasantly surprised that they received any sort of consequence at all by Odin. I put these feelings aside as I addressed my mother, "thank you for letting me know, I will admit that I am still feeling a bit weak and nauseous, but it is nothing compared to how terrible I felt yesterday. I am sure I shall be fully recovered by tomorrow at the latest. Now may I ask how long you have been waiting for one of us to wake up?"

"It was not long, I can assure you. I did not want to disturb either of you as I am sure that you both need your rest after the events of yesterday and, besides, this visit was authorized by Odin so I am able to escape all of my other duties to be here. I trust that you have stopped your idiotic stubbornness towards Lady Kára and have finally let her in?"

I glanced down at the beautiful woman sleeping in my arms, "I am not going to lie, the last time you asked about her, I was not entirely truthful to you. I thought that by lying to you about my feelings towards her, I would be able to remind myself not to fall for her. But the truth is that I have found myself deeply in love with her for a while now, despite the fact that I know I do not deserve her and I will only bring her pain."

"How many times must I tell you that you are certainly not underserving of me, it is most actually the other way around, you are a prince after all," Kára spoke, her voice coated with sleep as she opened her eyes and turned to face me.

"Being a prince is simply a title and not one that I earned. But you, you have earned my respect and my love because of how hard you work and how caring your heart is. You were one of the few who have actually listened to me and show that you care, you are truly incredible, Kára, and I cannot compete with that," I replied, finding myself entranced by her beautiful hazel eyes.

(Kára's POV):
I blushed at Loki's words and certainly would have pulled him into a kiss had I not known that his mother was sitting in the room. Instead I gave him small smile and muttered, "thank you for the compliment, Loki, but it does not change my feelings."

Loki looked as though he were about to argue further, so I turned to his mother, "Your Majesty, I hope that you are having a good morning."

"My dear, I thought I told you to simply call me Frigga," she scolded kindly, giving me a warm smile. "But I am rather enjoying my morning thus far, thank you for asking. And thank you for saving my son's life, your work in finding a cure is something that I can never repay you for."

"Well thank you for your praise, but I certainly could not let him die on me, who else would I be a glorified servant to?" I replied, squeezing Loki's hand.

"You seriously are never going to let that go, will you?" He questioned as Frigga watched us, raising her eyebrow.

"Never, darling," I replied as I kissed his cheek.

"Mother, certainly you need no further proof that I have opened myself up to the idea that Lady Kára is not as useless or terrible as I wanted to believe. Are you happy? You can tell Odin that your plan has worked," Loki spoke to Frigga, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"How about you, Kára, do you believe that Loki has become humanized with your presence here?" She asked me, making me feel really nervous now that Loki's future rested in my hands.

"He is certainly getting better," I smiled, placing my hand over his. "I doubt he will ever stop being the mischievous man he is known for, nor do I want that to happen, but I do think that he is beginning to let himself care about others again. He was even willing to open up to me about his past and I think he is taking great strides in becoming a better man. I am confident in his transition and I would be willing testify to Odin about that."

"That is all I needed to hear, thank you Kára," Frigga replied, standing from her chair. "Loki, you should be thankful to have such a woman by your side and I do hope that you finish recovering soon. I shall visit you again tomorrow to see how you are doing."

"Good day, mother," Loki bid her farewell, watching her leave the room, before turning back to me. "You really think you are changing me, don't you?"

"Loki, you never would never have let yourself fall in love with a peasant had you not changed. Though to be completely honest, I do not think that you needed to be changed, I think you merely needed to be reminded that you do not have to hide behind a harsh facade to find happiness."

"Mm, so you think I am happy here?" He questioned, moving so that our faces were mere centimeters apart.

I smiled, "I know you are, I can read your mind, remember?"

"And what am I thinking right now?" He questioned with a playful smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes, "I do not need to be telepathic to know that, but I am afraid that I am going to have to disappoint you. I am going to go get us breakfast and you are not allowed to leave that bed for long periods of time today, I want to make sure that you are fully healed before letting you exert too much energy."

"But Kára," Loki began to whine as I untangled myself from him as slid out of bed, getting cut off as I placed my finger atop his lips.

"Not buts, Loki. Until you are one hundred percent cured, I am in charge of you and you will do as I say, understand? I promise to make it up to you when you are feeling better," I placed a kiss on his cheek before leaving the room so that I could get us some food.

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(A/N): I am impatiently awaiting the Loki show because it is taking far too long to be released (and yes, I know that they're only in early stages of pre-production) but at least I'm going to go see Tom is Betrayal!! Our seats suck because it's super expensive, even with TodayTix, but I'll still get to see my baby live!