❀ Beauty and the Beast ↠

❀7❀

I was livid. I was used to being shunned for being a woman but to hear it from a man that I had previously thought as intelligent and calculating hurt a lot. I stormed out of the grand hall. Did he follow me? Or did he just remain outside in the huff that I had left him. I could feel the organza attached to my upper arms flowing behind me, I don't think that I had moved so fast in such a setting in my life. When I reached my room, I stormed in to see Ragna tending the bed. Her eyes shot up at me as I went over to the dressing table in a huff. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down from my eyes. I felt the muscles of my chin tremble like a small child and I looked toward the window, as if the stars could soothe me but there was no stars. I thought that, here, I would not be mistreated for the fact that I was a woman but yet again I was wrong. There was static in my head once more, the side effect of this blind rage, constant hate I live with. I hear my own sounds, like a distressed child, raw from the inside - not something that you would expect from a war heroine. It takes something out of me I didn't know I had left to give. That's the way it is when others are harsh. It's like a theft of the spirit, an injury no other person can see. Ragna ran over and dropped to her knees taking my hands in hers. "My dear, what is it?" I tried to stop my flow of tears and looked away from her eyes because I knew that if I saw her, I would burst into tears once more. I shook my head and threw her hands away, telling her that she was right about the youngest prince. That he was a monster. I begged her to explain to me how a son of the Allfather Odin could be so cold. It was then that Ragna stopped. She stood straight and looked down at me in confusion. After a few moments of silence, her face dropped in realisation. "You didn't hear the news, did you?" She asked quietly. Of course I didn't! I heard nothing whilst I was at war. Hell, I could have missed the Allfather's death if it occurred. "Loki is not Odin's son," She told me. I was in shock. My brain stuttered for a moment and my eyes took in more light than I expected, every part of me went on pause while my thoughts caught up. How? Figga would never stray from Odin! I yelled this fact at her, insulted that she shun the queen that had been so kind to me in such a way but Ragna just shook her head. "Loki is Laufey's son. Odin found him as an infant and raised him here," My lungs held a breath. It was as if the impact of this revelation had knocked every wisp of air from my lungs, and I sat there struggling to inhale, to exhale, to do anything. That's how I felt, trying to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned as the name bounced around inside my skull. I had heard horrific stories about what the frost giants had done. No wonder all of the servants feared him! But he did not look like a frost giant. He had long dark hair, pale human skin and was far too small to be considered a giant. At most he would be considered a tall man but even then, the elder brother was taller still. I stuttered at her, telling her that I didn't understand. Loki was a frost giant. if that was so, why had he spoken with such softness before? Why would he sit and dine and attend parties? That was not in the nature of a frost giant. I couldn't be true! Ragna just shook her head and began to fold up the dirty sheets that she had been changing. "Don't be fooled by his appearance, Lady Freya," She warned. "He's a beast," and with that, she left me for the night. I knew that if this fact was true, a 'beast' was nothing but a fair name for him yet the man that I had met did not warrant such a name. Yes he was cruel to me but I was already aware that the trickster god had a renowned temper. He was no monster and that much was clear. I sighed and wiped away my tears with a small cloth. I hated my natures. On one hand I was the strong willed goddess of death and war, and on the other, the fragile, elegant goddess of love and fertility. It was a bipolar mix for sure. The cold onshore breeze blew right through my dress and I bowed her head to one side, closing lashes weighed down with mascara to keep out the freezing sting. The coldness of the night was making its way though the thin fabric and I hugged her knees close. My hair fell loose about my face and back, tousled, tangled from the wind. Under the faded moon it appeared to glow golden, the honey blonde streaks shining in the night. I could hear the celebrations continuing below me but I had no intention of re-joining them only for the prince to seer me with more of his harsh words even if he didn't mean them. I felt my eyes gravitate once again to the princes balcony. He had not yet returned, that much was obvious. This time, I managed to get a good look at his chamber through the glass doors. His room was quite the state. Bed unmade, clothes tossed over the bedframe, books, papers and scrolls pilled on every surface. Despite his horrid misogyny, I pitied the prince. If he truly was a frost giant, he was torn between two worlds. It was clear that he was feared by the servants both from Ragna's words and the state of his chambers. He was all alone. The only member of the royal family who seemed to give him the time of day was Frigga but then again it was always known that she was closer to the younger son. It was then that a candle was lit in his chamber which brought me from my thoughts. I rushed back into my chamber and closed the doors as fast as I could. Did he see me? Was it even him? I didn't care anyway. Frost giant or not, he was still cruel and I yearned for an apology.