An hour later, the sun had completely set over the horizon and the chamber was now softly illuminated by small lamps around the vast room and the natural light of the fireplace. They created a gentle, ethereal glow in the room and I couldn't help but feel relaxed here, despite the life changing events of the day. I had spent the last hour gazing out of the panoramic window from my seat at the empty dining table, staring out into the capital. The city was alive with little twinkling lights and, for a girl who had spent her entire life on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, it was rather breathtaking.
Taking my eyes away from the window, I glanced around the room. Thor, thankfully now clothed, was sitting at his desk again, the oak table top strewn with parchment, and Mjolnir resting at his feet. Vall was now sleeping on the fur rug in front of the fire, somehow managing to curl his vast body into a small, compact ball. My eyes snagged on the bookcase by the fireplace, surprised that I had not noticed it before. I bit my lip, wondering if it would be impertinent of me to ask...
Standing, I cleared my throat, "My Lord?" Thor looked up at me expectantly. Suddenly nervous, I stared down at the floor, "I was wondering...would you mind if I read one of your books?"
Thor raised his eyebrows in surprise and glanced over at the bookcase.
"You read?" he asked, obviously assuming that because I was a slave, I must be illiterate.
I smiled slightly and nodded, "Yes, my Lord. My father taught me."
Thor leaned back in his chair and crossed his thick arms over his chest, "Yes, that reminds me. Where is your family? Surely they would not let you be sold so easily?"
Clearing my throat nervously, I shuffled my feet, "I - my father and brothers were killed by marauders three days ago," I explained, trying to keep all emotion out of my voice, "I was found by slave traders the next day."
When there was silence, I peeked up at him from under the rim of my cap. He was staring down at his desk, a frown etched onto his features. He looked up, "I am sorry," he gestured to the bookcase, "Please, help yourself."
Nodding in thanks, I made my way over to the bookcase and searched the titles, scanning my eyes of the worn spines. There were a few I recognised, some that my father had read to me, but others spurred no familiarity. Pulling out a soft, leather-bound copy of a novel my brother had once owned, I flicked through the pages of soft parchment and sat back down at the table.
"And what of your mother?" Thor asked, and I looked up.
"She died when I was born," I answered, feeling the loss of the mother I never knew. I did not mind so much, I was only a baby of course. I had never even met the woman.
Thor looked as if he was going to speak again, but at that moment there was a knock at the door. When Thor bid them enter, the door swung open and a guard stood at the entrance.
"I was sent to inform you that dinner is about to be served, my Lord," the guard informed him and then bowed and left when Thor thanked him.
Walking behind Thor, we made our way down the grand corridors to the dining hall. It was odd walking with a prince, every now and then a passer-by would stop and bow politely and Thor would smile and nod in gratitude. He was not what I expected of a prince; he was not arrogant or pompous or dismissive, as I thought he would be. I was curious to find out what the rest of his family was like.
Finally, we arrived at a large room with long tables and benches running down its length. Light streamed from the chandeliers on the ceiling and the marble floor glittered beautifully in the pale glow. Undoubtedly, it would be a spectacular sight, but not wanting to be chastised, I kept my eyes downcast. However, instead of sitting at the long tables, Thor lead me to a smaller, yet still grand, dining room which was what I assumed was kept for normal meals - while the larger dining hall was reserved for special occasions.
Thor approached the table and greeted his companions.
"Good evening, Jane," grinned and bent down to kiss a short, dark-haired woman.
I recognised the name, Jane Foster was a mortal from Midgard whom Thor had fallen in love with some eighty years before. Not content with living so few years with his mortal wife, Thor had somehow managed to perfect an elixir which allowed Jane to live longer, she wouldn't live forever, but it was enough.
Thor gestured to me, "Jane, this is my new squire, Fell."
"My Lady," I bowed and she grinned.
"It's great to meet you, Fell. You'd better make sure you look after my husband," she warned in an odd accent.
I couldn't help but smile, she was truly beautiful; with long chestnut hair and large brown eyes that seemed to sparkle with friendly warmth. I could see why the mighty Thor had fallen for her.
"I will endeavour to, my Lady."
Thor sat down in a chair in the middle of the long table, with Jane and Fandral at his sides. Remembering that I was to keep my distance at such a private gathering, I stood at the wall, at least four meters away from the table, and bowed my head. More people arrived, but as I was keeping my eyes down, it was difficult to place the voices. Thor greeted his mother and a few more of his close knights until finally, they all sat down long enough for the servants to continue with their duties, bringing through trays and plates of copious amounts of delicacies.
"Where is Odin, Mother?" Thor asked when Odin did not show.
Frigga took a sip of her wine, "He apologises for his absence, but he had some things to attend to and wished to dine in his study tonight," she replied.
I relaxed a little at this news, for some reason I was not ready to be in the presence of the King of Asgard just yet.
They continued to converse among themselves and I paid little attention, staring down at the ground, but after a few minutes, I began to feel that familiar sensation in the bottom of my stomach. I took a deep breath for what I knew was to come and edged my way slightly further into the shadows.
Peeking up from beneath my lashes, I tilted my head just in time to see the God of Mischief enter through the doorway to my left. He had not yet seen me, so I took this time to finally observe his features. He was the exact opposite of his brother in every way. While they both were tall - Thor was stocky and heavily built but Loki was lean and graceful with incredibly long legs. His jet black hair pooled on his shoulders in waves, contrasting with his alabaster skin. My eyes drifted up and rested on his face a little too long; high cheekbones, sculpted jaw, straight nose, and sparkling green eyes that twinkled mischievously. Those eyes, so striking and vibrant against his pale skin and dark hair. While he was far less masculine than his brother, he was no less handsome.
Remembering that I did, in fact, need to breath, I averted my eyes back down to the floor and let out my shaking breath. Loki's footsteps were light as he walked along the table towards his mother.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Mother," he apologised and kissed her cheek, sitting down in the empty chair beside her. I closed my eyes as a trickle ran up my spine. His voice. So deep and articulated, but with an underlying sense of amusement, as if he was in on a joke that nobody else was partial to.
After it had been so long since Loki had tried anything to take the throne the people of Asgard assumed, or hoped, that he was no longer a threat. But there was something about his voice, beneath all the charm, that glinted with dangerous animosity.
The uneasy feeling I was having stayed with me for the duration of the evening, but the sensation of dizziness never once appeared, although I was sure that Loki had spotted me in the shadows. I hoped that my earlier assumptions about his telepathic abilities had just been my imagination and that my secret was safe. But I could not rest easy; I could feel his eyes on me, those startling green eyes that seemed to never miss a thing. If he could not discover my secret through my thoughts, he may be able to with his ever-watchful eyes.
After around an hour of eating and drinking and conversing, the company stood to retire to the drawing room and Thor approached me.
"Fell, you may leave me for tonight. Supper will be waiting for you in the barracks - my guard will escort you" he clapped a hand on my shoulder, "Get some rest, I will need you up early in the morning."
I nodded and bowed, "Yes, my Lord. Good night," turning to leave, I heard Jane call me.
"Good night, Fell!" I looked back to see her with a grin on her face and I smiled, bowing low.
"My Lady," I bid her farewell and sneaked out of the room, asking the guard to show me where the knight's halls were.
I liked Jane, I thought. As she was born in Midgard, and therefore not into royalty, she did not have the same constraints of propriety as the royal family did. It must have been strange for her, a mere mortal marrying into the most powerful family in the Nine Realms.
After a few minutes of walking, the guard left me outside of the barracks and bid me farewell. Entering hesitantly, I kept my head down as I sneaked past the dining table full of large men eating their supper, and grabbed a lump of bread and slice of cold meat from the table behind them. Scuttling away before I was spotted, I hurried into the adjoining bed chambers where rows and rows of beds ran along the wall. Finding an empty one by the door, I sat down to eat my meal in silence.
Sitting in the darkened chamber, illuminated only by sparse torches along the stone wall, I thought of my family, would they have been proud of me? Their little sister, serving royalty. I don't know if they would be, the city of Asgard and its problems had never bothered us.
Alone in the room, I leaned my head back against the wall as I sat with my legs crossed, nibbling at the lump of bread. What was I doing here? Sitting in the palace, personally serving the Prince of Asgard himself. It was almost like a dream, or a nightmare. I poked a stray curl back underneath my cap. They were bound to find out sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.
I groaned in despair, finished the last of my meal, and could only shuffle out of my leather vest and boots before I pulled the wool blanket over me and fell into a deep, fitful sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sound of his steady footsteps echoed around him as Loki made his way down to the dining hall. He was late, again. Once more he had become engrossed in a new book and simply let time slip past him.
Loki could sense him before he had even entered the room. Stopping in the doorway, Loki glanced around the dimly lit chamber and finally spotted him in the shadows behind Thor, practically cowering against the wall. His fear was so potent he could almost smell it, heightened when he had stepped into the room. Loki resisted the urge to smile, he was right to be afraid of him, although his tyrannical days were far behind him.
Greeting his fellow companions, Loki sat down in the empty chair beside his mother, but not before apologising for his tardiness and kissing her lightly on the cheek. He may have been adopted, but she was still his mother in every way but blood.
As the night progressed, Loki was finding it hard to stop his eyes from drifting to the boy opposite him. He had his cap lowered over his eyes again, meaning that he still could not catch a good glimpse of his darkened face. There was something about him, Loki didn't know...it was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something strange.
Normally, he would simply look into his mind to find the answer but he knew that it would never work with him. It had shocked him when he had somehow been able to block him from entering his thoughts, something no man had ever managed before. This fact only strengthened his intrigue.
Eventually, everyone began to stand and retire to the drawing room. However, Loki remained in his seat and watched as Thor approached the boy and put his large hand on his shoulder. They spoke in low voices and no matter how hard he tried to strain his ears, Loki could not hear what was being said. Thor stepped away and the boy began to leave, but Jane called to him.
"Goodnight, Fell!" She grinned and waved.
The boy finally raised his head and smiled, revealing a pair of large eyes so brown they were almost black. There was a hint of sadness in their dark depths, despite his smile. Loki frowned.
"My Lady," was all he said before he bowed and left.
There was even something wrong about his voice, as if he was trying too hard to hide something. Loki stood when Thor turned in his direction.
"A new friend?" Loki asked, not unkindly.
There was no longer any animosity between them, but Thor still did not trust him as far as he could throw him, which was fairly far.
He chuckled, "My new squire, Fell. He was placed at the palace this morning," he informed Loki and he nodded, still staring at the doorway through which the boy had previously left. "Are you joining us?" Thor asked from his side, pulling Loki from his thoughts.
He paused, "No, thank you," He smiled and held up his hands, "I think I shall retire for the evening. Good night."
Thor nodded, "Farewell, brother."
Loki bowed his head slightly in response and left, slipping out of the door. Glancing down the hallway, he spotted the boy's small, disappearing figure as he followed the guard down the corridor. His jaw clenched in annoyance, frustrated beyond belief that he was able to hide something from him of all people. For the entire journey up to his chambers, Loki's thoughts were on the boy. There was something wrong with him, and by Odin, he was going to found out.