Lust of Mischief

Habits

In order for our royal couple to adapt to each other, they must get used to one another's habits. Zenia is a book lover and will read until she falls asleep eventually. Loki is also a book lover but he knows his limits. Whenever he felt tired, he'll close the book and get to bed. Zenia is not like that. She'll read on the bed and will fall asleep while reading it.

Loki noticed this when he was reading reports at night by the fire. Report after report, complaint after complaint, his eyelids started to get heavy. He put the papers down and went to get ready for bed. As he was about to get in, Zenia was already sprawled on the bed with a book in front her and her night dress lifted high enough to reveal her legs. Loki shook her shoulder gently to wake her but she only stirred. He let out a sigh and lifted her bridal style to her side of the bed and tucked her in. He closed the book that he was reading and placed it on her bedside table. This is going to take a while.

***

The morning went on as usual and wedding preparations kept going and going until Loki got fed up by it and walked away. Zenia felt the same but she couldn't get to go anywhere as Frigga and Sif will be looking for her if she's out of their sight. After hours of warning and being asked to stay, she put on an invisibility spell on herself and left without nobody knowing.

After she walked aimlessly far enough to get away from them, she took of the spell and let out a sigh of relief. I need to find Loki, she thought. As she took her first step, the world around her seemed dark. She squinted her eyes but it didn't do any good. She took a step back and heard a voice in her head, "Zenia... Zenia...," it called for her. Then she saw a certain kind of darkness surrounding her and wanting to take her away. She closed her eyes and hoped that it will be gone by the time she opened them but nothing happened. Suddenly, a pale-skinned man with hair colour similar to his skin and red eyes and poinyed ears appeared. "My daughter," it said to her. It's the man from my nightmare, she thought. Fear took her over but the man did come any nearer to her as if knowing that she was afraid of him. Her vision got blurry and her knees hit ground and everything went black.

"nia.... Zenia.. Zenia, wake up," said a familiar voice. She fluttered her eyes open and Loki was in front of her holding her right hand in his. Her eyes moved around the space and it's the room that she usually sleeps in at night. She sat up but a pound in her head stopped her from getting any higher. She placed her left palm on her forehead and felt strands of her hair untied. "Are you alright?" Loki asked her. She heard him and could only shake her head for response. He called for the healer to come and tend to her. "What happened? At first, it was all dark and someone or something came by and now a headache," she said. He placed a soft kiss on her head and it soothed the pain a little. "The guards found you on the floor unconcious. They called me to come here and I woke you up. What darkness are you talking about? It's in the daytime now," he said. Suddenly, Frigga and Sif barged into the room with worried expressions of their faces. "There you are, we've been looking all over for you," said Frigga. Loki turned to look at them and let out a frustrated sigh. "She just woke up with a headache and you two came barging in out of the blue." he said to them angrily. Zenia placed a hand on his to calm him down. They left quietly from the room leaving the couple alone.

Zenia ran her fingers through Loki's hair and contact soothed his anger. Then she remembered why her headache happened. She has spent most of the day just following those two around the palace who were excited about her wedding pestering her what she would eat, where she would sit, how, why and all those other question and she had no say for it. She got frustrated and tired of it until she decided to leave. Now, she's glad to be in her room with Loki alone. She just needed some time away from them. She turned to her side and noticed the pillow smelled different. It has a mint-like smell with a little blend of fresh wood. She sniffed the pillow and brought it to her chest and hugged it like how a child would hold a stuffed animal. "This is you pillow, isn't it?" she asked. Loki smiled and nodded. "I like your smell, love," she said again. Loki embraced her from the side and held her tightly. "I like your smell too, dearest," he said. The healer knocked on the door and they pulled away from the embrace. Loki let him in and he handed Zenia a vial that contained a medicine for headaches. He advised her to take it only when necessary.