The One That Wasn't || Loki

Chapter 2: The Garden of Life

"I, I, when I was younger
I, I, should have known better"
-

Cordelia turned around at the voice.

The boy in the green tunic had caught up to her. A strand of his black hair threatened to irritate his eyes, but he didn't seem to mind it. "Is this your first time on the palace grounds?"

Cordelia hesitated. She didn't know this boy. She now considered her other option of accompanying her mother inside the palace even though she would have been bored. It would have been better than having to converse with someone whom she has never met. 

"Y-yes."

"And what might your name be, if I may ask?"

She wouldn't tell a stranger her name but she was inside the palace. She was safe. 

"Cordelia."

He nodded. "That's a really pretty name."

"Thank you. I got it for my birthday."

He laughed, understanding her poor attempt at making a joke to help her calm down. 

"I'm L-Leif."

"Leif." She nodded. "Nice to meet you." She put forward her hand.

He looked at her hand for a few seconds before shaking it. "Nice to meet you too. I always thought that Asgardian male put their hand forward first for a handshake."

Cordelia shrugged. "I'm no ordinary girl."

Leif laughed once again, which made her comfortable somehow. It was good to know that he saw her beyond who she looked like. That was what mattered. "What is your business here? Have you accompanied someone?"

"Yes, I came here with my mother. She is the Queen's handmaiden. We don't have an accommodation here, though. We live on the edge of the grounds."

They started to make small talk when Cordelia happened to mention that her mother maintained a small but beautiful garden. "Is that so?" Leif asked. "I may have seen better."

"Oh yeah? And where might that particular garden be?"

He pointed to the palace on his left. "Right here."

Her eyes widened at him. "You don't mean....the Queen's garden, do you?" 

Queen Frigga's garden was the most talked about in all the lands. It was said to have an eternal rose only used when a warrior pledged to the crown passed away. It was supposedly the only garden in the entire universe to have the Fountain of the Youth, made specifically for the royal family's health by the dwarfs themselves in Nidavellir.

"That's precisely what I mean. Would you like to see?"

"No!" She shook her head. "No no no! I'm doubtful if I am allowed inside the palace in the first place without permission, or without my mother, and it wouldn't-"

"I am," he said, placing a hand on his chest. "I'm the prince's....apprentice, you could say. I can show you the garden if you want to win the bet."

Her eyebrows furrowed together, the side of her mouth twitching into a smile. "What bet?"

"I simply assumed you would want to see which garden is better. Unless you want to lose...."

He was taunting her. Cordelia knew that, but if she was to be making friends and getting out of her house once in a while, as her mother would put it, she couldn't back down now. 

"What does the winner get?"

Leif smirked. He could tell that the girl was a fighter the minute he saw her. There was a certain aura that she had that he couldn't place but which made him feel safe. Perhaps it was time to pay attention to Master Kanumba's classes.