❀ Beauty and the Beast ↠

❀15❀

I woke with a start to the sound of a loud banging from outside. I jumped up to find that I was still in last nights clothes and beside me was the prince who jumped up beside me. He looked at the door and groaned. "The oaf!" He growled before standing and helping me up, smoothing himself down as did I but he stopped suddenly, looking me up and down in an almost horrified manor. He rushed over to me, placing a calm hand on my shoulder and edging me towards the bathroom. "Hide, we'll never hear the end if he catches you," He told me. I knew exactly what he was insinuating and he was clearly embarrassed to admit it so I shuffled into the bathroom without so much as a squeak. Nearly the second that I had pulled the door too, Thor walked in - or more bounded in. "I've told you to knock," Loki groaned as he stormed in with a huge grin on his face but stopped when he saw his brother's attire. He questioned as to why he was still dressed the same as he was the previous night. "I fell asleep - is that so hard to believe?" The other brother took a gander around the room as if he was searching for leverage to hold against his brother though he neglected to check the bathroom; not that I wasn't sure that Loki would sooner throw him over the balcony than let him into this room. I had never seen the prince so nervous, he held his hands behind his back and bit his lower lip as Thor made his away around the room. When he realised that there was nothing in the room, his face turned angry and he turned to his brother in lightning speed. 
"Where is she?" He asked advancing on Loki who began to stutter though was cut short. "Where is Freya?" He demanded backing Loki against a desk. He began to stammer saying that he had no idea. He began suggesting all sorts of places where I could be other than crouching against his bathroom door in last nights clothes including my own chambers. "Funny how her handmaid hasn't seen her since last night," He pushed. Loki was becoming nervous. Not of his brother's anger, I could tell, but the fact that any second Thor would discover my presence. 

"Perhaps she went out early riding?" Loki began to excuse as Thor backed away and rubbed his face in frustration. "You would know that she enjoys that if you cared to talk to her about herself for once!" He yelled flailing his arm with equal frustration. 

"Damn it Loki," Thor cursed as he turned to his brother with a pointed finger. Loki's face read 'how dare you point at me' and, frankly, I agreed with him. "If you hurt her," Thor warned before turning to leave but Loki wasn't done. 

"And your intentions were so honourable!" He dismissed the unfairness of the situation. Intentions? I knew very well the reputation of the brothers and women. Loki was a dangerous man and Thor very much enjoyed the female company. But if Loki's intentions were anything less than honourable, as Thor suggests, then why hadn't I seen such a side to him? Every woman in Asgard seemed to fear the younger brother, I found it rather hard to believe that any of them would be brave enough to be crawling into bed with a frost giant anytime soon. Thor, on the other hand, seemed far more popular with the ladies. I couldn't help but think that Loki was on to something with his bold comment. 

"Women don't fear me brother! What is your reputation? No woman in Asgard is bold enough to approach you!" That must have hurt. I was fighting every urge in my body not to storm out of the bathroom where I hid and give the older brother a piece of my mind. I felt my hand curl into fists as Loki backed away and began to maul with something on his desk. Thor had won. Why wasn't he fighting back? Why didn't he stand up for himself. Thor recoiled as he saw this. "I shall see you at breakfast, brother," With that the man left, leaving Loki defeated still focused on some piece of paper on his desk. Once I was sure Thor was gone, I crept from the room and tried to approach Loki. As I raised a hand to him tenderly, he turned his head away. I muttered his name but he did not respond. 

"Ignore him," I told him gently. "What does he know?" I scoffed and turned laughing at the whole confrontation but Loki snapped. 

"More than you!" He told me which caused me to turn back to see his face scrunched and angry. "Did you ever consider that my reputation was warranted? As is Thor's?" He asked as he stood from the desk and approached menacingly. "Did you ever consider that I had hurt women?" He was still approaching. I had faced many beasts in battle including frost giants but somehow, none of that scared me compared to Loki now.

"Stop this!" I told him as I turned my head but continued to back into the wall next to the door. He didn't stop. "Loki you're scaring me," I told him as he came so close that I could feel his breath on the side of my face. 

"You should be," He warned. With that, I no longer cared who saw me! I rolled away from him against the wall, threw open the door and ran. I didn't want to think about what would have happened if I had stayed but he seemed to let me go. He could have put up a good fight to keep me there if he had wanted to, but he didn't. Luckily, not many people saw me anyway. A couple of servants that would spark a little gossip, nothing more. When I reached my room, Ragna was pacing around the room like a madwoman. Before she could even speak, I took her by the shoulders, sat her beside me on the bed and demanded she tell me about the younger prince. The poor woman stuttered and began to ask me softly if the prince had hurt me but I wasn't in the mood to talk about it. 

"He did nothing!" I snapped. "But tell me, why are the women scared of him so," I begged as she shifted awkwardly on the bed as if the subject was rather controversial. "Please," Ragna looked up at me with her big sad brown eyes and inhaled deeply, taking my hands tenderly. 

"Loki is not known to be a gentle man, Freya," She told me. "You must have known this," What I knew was that Loki was an intelligent young man who seemed to be afraid of his own emotions however, violent was not something that I had picked up on. So no, I did not. 

"No, but I do now," I spat sourly. With that I stood and took a silver-handled brush from the vanity and lifted it to my head. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone," Ragna did not argue, it was as if she knew what had happened but if I was honest to myself, it wasn't that hard to guess.