The Witch's Familiar

Chapter 22

"Gladly. Thank you for your assistance, Mother," he leaned down to kiss her cheek without his grip on you changing at all. She touched his cheek fondly.

"Of course, darling,"

Loki stepped through the doorway of the workshop and a moment later you were back in the bedchamber. "Don't scare me like that again, love," he told you softly as he tucked you back into the plush bed.

"Didn't mean to...didn't know," you told him softly. You hadn't expected to find a familiar here, much less be called like that. It usually happened far less dramatically.

He kissed you lightly. "I'm just glad you're alright. Rest, love. You still have quite a bit of recovering to do." That was an understatement. Whatever the witch hunters had drugged you with had been designed to incapacitate you quickly and brutally.

"You'll stay?" you asked, your voice soft. You didn't want to be alone in this unknown world.

"I will be here when you wake," he promised.

You reached up to stroke his hair, starting in the place where his cat-ears had been. "You kept them around longer for me, didn't you?" you asked him. It was illogical to miss the silly cat-ears. They weren't part of his natural form and you knew it, but...

"I did," he admitted softly, looking embarrassed. "You liked them..."

"I love you," you replied. "No matter your form, silly Lokitty," you added warmly. "Why lose the ears now, though?"

He smiled. "Because my family would not understand. Also...I am a master magician here... It wouldn't do for the people to think less of my abilities, which they would if they thought I had lost control of a spell in that manner..." he tried to explain. You smiled warmly at him.

"You're a prince. You have to keep up appearances for the sake of the royal family," you summarized for him and bit back a yawn.

"Yes, darling. Now go back to sleep. Those drugs wreaked havoc on you," he snarled softly that you'd been harmed. "And this morning's adventure didn't help anything." You tiredly grabbed his arm and tried to pull him onto the bed with you. He sighed, looked put-upon, and reclined against the pillows next to you, letting you curl yourself into his arms and pillow your head on his chest. "Your mom's gonna hate me," you murmured once you were comfortable.

He kissed your forehead. "Why do you say that, dearest?"

"I'm weak...not worthy of you," your murmurs were becoming softer.

You felt rather than hurt Loki's sigh. "Darling, if you only understood how very wrong you are. Mother will love you when you can meet her properly. She is very much aware that you were attacked and will not judge you on your current state. I promise, my love. It means the world that you wish for my family to like you," he kissed your forehead again and you heard and felt the purrs rumbling through his chest, a relaxing soothing sound. "It is I who am unworthy of you, dearest. Now go back to sleep. You need rest,"

*

"Darling? Y/N, wake up," Loki told you urgently. His urgent tone had your eyes snapping open.

"Whas-goin-on?" you asked stupidly as you tried to wake the rest of the way. Your brain hadn't woken as fast as your eyes. Your depleted magic wasn't helping anything either. You felt something move in your lap and looked down at the egg you still had cradled in your arms. The creature inside was moving, there were cracks already forming in the shell. You sat up quickly. "Come on, Seraphina," you encouraged the creature in the egg.

The cracks spread and the egg began to crumble as the creature pushed its way out. You cooed and encouraged and finally the creature escaped from the shell. It was a tiny, scaly black dragon with bright green eyes. "Good job, Sera," you told her and managed to summon a towel to clean her off. That took more power than you wanted to admit. The little dragon made a happy trilling noise when she was clean.