A Gods Favor

The Library

A week later

It was late in the evening when Loki entered the library to swap out his stack of books. He'd spent the last week holed up in his room in an unexplainable bad mood. After he'd run into Yrsa and Elora he'd spent the whole day on edge and snapping at anyone he'd interacted with and that evening after supper, where he'd seen Fandral wrap and arm around Elora and learn in to whisper in her ear and making her throw her head back in laughter, he promptly stood and went to his rooms and hadn't left until tonight. He had no clue why the action had riled him so but no matter how hard he'd tried he couldn't put the image from his mind.

Now as he strolled through the stacks of the quiet library hoping desperately to find something that could pull him from his gloom he came upon the source of his frustration, or rather half of it, as Elora stood on her tiptoes scanning the spines on the higher shelves. He stopped, taking a few small steps back into the shadow to watch her. Her dark curls had been haphazardly pinned back looking as if a strong breeze would send the precarious mess tumbling down. The sleeves of her dress were pushed up and he could see she had ink stains on her fingers and a few smears on the side of her face. After several moments of going between the spines and a small slip of parchment in her hands she reached for a particular book.

"Odin's beard." Elora cursed softly as she stretched herself to the edge of snapping. Damn the fates for not blessing me with height like Yrsa she thought as she looked around, trying to find a step stool. Tired and unwilling to search farther than the aisle where she currently stood, because she wanted to finish the research Eir had assigned her, she hiked up the edge of her dress and placed a slippered foot on one of the lower shelves. Using what little arm strength she had she pulled herself up the extra few inches she needed to grasp the book. She hadn't however thought about how to get down and with only one hand holding herself up she tried to maneuver her skirts out of the way around the tome in her other hand when she felt her fingers slip. She closed her eyes and pulled the text tightly to her chest, not wanting it to get damaged, and waited for the harsh shock of impact of her backside hitting the marble floor...but it didn't come. Instead she heard a soft 'oomph' as her momentum stopped. Her eyes shot open and her face flushed as the second son of Odin stared down at her with a small smirk.

"My Prince!" She squeaked as she righted herself, wiping her ink stained fingers on her skirts as she dipped her head in a slight bow. She'd long since forgone the curtsies and bows with Thor and Yrsa when not at a public function but she'd never been able to drop the habit with Loki. A habit, she assumed, he preferred. Even though the four of them had grown up together, and despite the fact she considered Yrsa and Thor as close to her as siblings, Loki had always kept everyone around him at arm's length and he seemed to revel in the hierarchy his position as prince put him in. He was above those surrounding him and if they forgot he need only remind them of his title.

"You know they have stools and ladders to avoid situations like these."

Elora looked up, expecting to find the annoyed grimace often on the prince's face but he was smiling fully now as he relaxed and leaned onto the stacks from which she had just fallen. "Of course, I should have gone to find one. I was just trying to get through this last bit of reading Eir gave me so I could get to bed and..." She felt herself gearing up to ramble on about nonsense and stopped. Taking a deep breath she simply said, "I should have been more mindful, thank you for catching me."

"You're lucky I was here to save you. A fall like that would have left you bruised for weeks."

"Yes, it seems I was," she said looking around the library to the far windows as if just now realizing the hour. "What are you doing here so late anyways?" She instantly regretted the words once they left her lips. It was none of her business where or when he did anything and he was likely to tell her as much.

"Oh, aimlessly searching for something to pull me from the foul mood I've been in the last several days."

Elora's heart fluttered a bit at the fact that the prince was engaging with her. He was always polite, yes, but never so casual and she didn't know exactly how to respond. "Well, I hope you find what you're looking for. Your mother has missed you at lessons and I'm sure will be delighted upon your return." She said with a small curtsy before turning to head back to the table she'd been working from.

"Just my mother?" He asked, taking two long strides to catch up and walk beside her.

"What?" her face scrunched in confusion at his accompaniment.

"You said my mother has missed me at lessons," the mischievous gleam in his eyes as they surveyed her nearly made her stumble. "Is she the only one whose heart aches in my absence?"

This was a dream. She actually had fallen from the stacks and hit her head and this whole scenario was some delusion playing out in her mind as she lay on the floor unconscious. That was the excuse her brain related to her as her mouth spat out words she hadn't thought through. "Honestly, yes." She watched as Loki's face turned cold at her words and she stammered quickly trying to keep her delusion going for what little time she could. "Don't misunderstand me, Prince, I enjoy the lessons we share with Queen Frigga and I enjoy getting to watch the feats you can accomplish but I'm not quite as skilled as you so private tutelage has been nice. Although the timing could be a bit better." Her brow furrowing at her last words as they came to stand near her work station.

Loki took the book from her hands, tossing it on the table before he crossed his arms with a stern face. "And what, praytell, makes the timing of my deep dark depression inconvenient for you?" Elora began to fidget with her hands as she stuttered, her words jumbled together as they formed half sentences. He laughed softly before placing his hand on hers. "I'm only joking, El. I've just been a bit grumpy and I figured everyone would be better off if I shut myself up until it passed. But do tell me why you aren't more elated at the chance to try and catch up to me in magic lessons."

She let out a dry laugh. "Any other time I'd be ecstatic for the extra time with Frigga but lately I'm exhausted. My schedule was already busy but now between working evenings in the infirmary, the focused time with your mother and staying up late to fit in the extra reading Eir has given me to make up for the time missed with her I can barely hold up a weapon at training in the mornings. If it weren't for Yrsa's insistence that I need to learn and Fandral's encouragement I'd probably have given up after three days just from the aches alone."

At her last words Loki's hand slipped from hers and his normally irritated state returned. "You're still at it then? Training with Yrsa and...the rest."

She nodded. "Although if the sword doesn't start to lighten in my hands soon I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up."

"Well," he spoke with a sharpness in his voice that hadn't been there moments ago but that wasn't out of place for him and Elora began to think she'd imagined his previous playful kindness. "Don't let me keep you any later than necessary. Goodnight, Lady Elora."

With that Loki turned on his heels and walked away.