Loki and I walked in silence for a little while as he escorted me to safety, but I sensed him glance down at me multiple times. I was thankful for the lull in conversation, it gave me the time to calm down my racing heartbeat and buzzing thoughts, but after a while the silence dragged on and I could bare it no longer.
I cleared my throat, hoping to bring up something I had wanted to discuss for a while now.
"Uh, my Lord?"
"Loki."
I frowned in confusion, "I'm sorry?"
He glanced down at me, his lips twitching up in a momentary smile, "My name. It's Loki. Not 'my Lord.'"
"But -"
He sighed and interrupted me by raising a hand, "Please, just enough with the formalities, its so...tedious."
I nodded, although I was not in the least bit comfortable with such familiarity, "All right...Loki. I-um, I never got the chance to thank you for what you did for me."
His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he slowed his pace a little, "What I did?"
Swallowing heavily, I forced myself to speak, "Yes, firstly for standing up against your father for me, and then for protecting me from those guards the other day."
I failed to notice that he immediately stiffened when I referred to Odin as his father, but he quickly recovered with a small chuckle, "I think you had those guards well under control."
"Perhaps, although I think your presence had a bigger impact. But thank you anyway, truly."
He stopped at this point, and I finally realised that we were only a few metres from Thor's chambers. I turned to face Loki, the two of us standing in the bright rays of morning sunshine.
"It was the least I could do. After all, the road to redemption is a long and weary one." He spoke those last words quietly and morosely, staring over the top of my head, as if he was speaking to himself.
I was utterly confused now, "Redemption, sir?"
Snapping back to the present, Loki flashed a minor smile and shook his head a little, "It's nothing."
As soon as he had finished speaking, his countenance immediately took on a rigid, tense quality and his eyes hardened, as if he had suddenly remembered something, "Can I ask you a question?
I frowned at his sudden change in demeanour, but nodded, "Of course."
He took a step closer to me, looming over my short frame. I was still stunned by how quickly his mood had changed, from polite conversation to looking as if he wanted to murder someone. It was as if he had changed into another person.
"Do you trust me, Alva?"
The question took me off guard and my mouth dropped open, "What? I mean, uh...I'm not sure..."
In that moment, after a small amount of hesitation, I realised that I did. After all he had done for me, I had finally learned to trust him. I met his eyes then, striking both in their vibrancy of green but also now that they had taken on a sudden insistence, when they were usually so cool and disinterested.
I took a deep breath,"Yes, I think so."
He clenched his jaw tightly, as if he was barely controlling himself, "Then will you tell me why you were hiding from Fiske?"
A small part of me knew that this was coming, but I could not tell him. He could never know. I frowned up at him, feigning confusion.
"Sir?"
He growled irritably and ran a hand through his long, dark hair, becoming surprisingly distressed, "Come on, even Thor could decipher that you were scared by his presence earlier!"
I shook my head, "Sir, I don't know what you mean."
I was surprised when he suddenly flinched, as if my words had physically wounded him, "Don't lie to me."
In those four words, his tone instantly shifted to be far more menacing. My eyes widened in fear and I took a step away, my back coming into contact with the cool marble wall.
Sensing my fear, he relaxed his aggressive stance and sighed, shaking his head slightly. When he spoke again, his voice had reverted back to it's previous delicacy, "Your secret is out, surely you have nothing to fear from him now?"
Clenching my fists, I straightened my shoulders and tilted my jaw defiantly. I had to convince him I was telling the truth, "You're right. I fear nothing." I assured him, my voice hard.
After a beat of silence, he leaned his head down closer to me, lowering his voice a fraction. "Your scent's changed. You're trembling, and you're palms have begun to sweat."
I blinked up at him, "What are you talking about?"
He smirked coldly, "It's how I know that you're lying."
He straightened up again and laughed humourlessly, "Don't you get it? God of Lies and Mischief, probably not the best idea to try and lie to me."
Slumping my shoulders, I sighed, realising that he was right. It was useless to lie to him. After a moment and a deep breath, I lifted my suddenly heavy eyes and smiled sadly.
"My lord, you have nothing to worry about." It wasn't a lie, he needn't worry over me.
Realising that I was not going to budge on this matter, he straightened his shoulders and clenched his fists, "Fine, don't tell me. I'll just have to find out for myself." He took a step closer, lowering his voice," And believe me, I will. Good day, Alva."
And with that final threat, he spun on his heel and stalked off down the corridor, leaving me trembling against the wall. As soon as he was out of sight, I felt my composure finally break and I let out a pitiful whimper, sliding down the wall and holding my burning face in my hands.