Dragonscales

Chapter 23|The Truth Revealed

Thistle's POV

I laid in my Infirmary bed, counting the potion bottles on the wall. Amare had left for a house call, leaving me by myself. Besides, I could tell she was getting bored of entertaining the disgraced princess, even if it was just catching up. The door creaked as someone entered the room. "Hello, flower." He said. Loki wore a green tunic laced with golden thread and a pair of black pants. Elven clothes suited him. 

I smiled. He walked over and sat at the foot of my bed. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked. "Yeah, just really tired. The cure worked like magic, probably because it is magic." I said. "And what is this cure we had to travel for so long to get?" "A potion. There's a special ingredient that only grows here." Loki smirked. "Well, at least we were able to save the life of a stubborn elf." I giggled.

Loki's expression fell. "You're a princess, why did you keep it a secret?" I sighed. "I just... wanted to put my past behind me. I was disgraced from the throne and banished so I didn't think it was that important." I explained. "Thistle... why does iron burn you? The guard said only the fae could be burned by iron. Even when we were in the tower you avoided it." I gripped my blankets. Loki put a cold reassuring hand on mine. "I'm not entirely elf. What I mean is, my father was an elf, but my mother was a fairy. Which is why I have some fae traits, like my affinity with plants." I looked up to meet Loki's green eyes. "Is that why you don't have markings on your face like the rest of the elves?" I nodded. Loki cradled my hands in his. They were so big compared to mine. "Thank you for telling me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." "Please don't." He nodded solemnly.

"There's one more thing we kinda need to talk about." I said. "What?" Loki tilted his head to the side. "I want to court you. Or as humans call it, date." Pink dusted Loki's cheeks. "I was hoping you would ask that. I would love to go on a date." I smirked. Loki leaned in for a kiss but I pushed him away. "I'm not completely healed, Lokes. Maybe in a few days." His blush deepened as he scratched the back of his neck. "O- of course, I... forgot. Even though that's the reason we're in your village." 

I giggled, then put my hand on his cheek. "It's fine. So, what do you think of my former home?" "It is very lovely, darling. Although your cousin accused me of birthing an eight-legged horse." He rolled his eyes. "I told Snow to not ask too many questions." I muttered. Loki laughed.

It was nice to be alive, even if I had accepted death. I was glad Aunt Astra wasn't queen anymore, since she probably would've let me die. Snowdrop was much more forgiving, and she knew I didn't do anything wrong.

***

I yawned as I hand fed Tourmaline some fruit. It was called crescentfruit, because it was white in color and had a magical connection to the moon. If made into a juice it had a high concentration of magical energy. I threw one in the air and she snapped it up. We had just gone through an obstacle course. Snowdrop wanted to test if it was still usable after five hundred years of neglect. So she made us test it. Yesterday Amare had released me from the infirmary after four days of strict bed rest.   

The large wooden doors opened as Loki stepped through the threshold. He kissed my forehead in greeting. Tourmaline rolled her eyes and ate the last of the pile of crescentfruit. "I just sent the letter with an messenger raven." Loki announced. "Thank you. I'm sure the Avengers will be pleased to know I haven't died and we'll be in my village for a few more days." I brushed the dust off of my pants and got up. "Care to go for a walk around the village?" I asked. I stretched out my hand. Loki intertwined his fingers with mine. "Of course, darling."