Mischief's Wings (Sequel to "By Name Only")

Chapter 12)

"Whatever it takes,
'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins..."

(Loki's POV)

I sit quietly against a pillar with my lunch. While many people don't eat much, as dinner is huge, I do because a lot of people gather in the Great Hall for the evening meal, and I can't be seen wolfing down my food. I'm not Thor, for goodness' sake. I have manners, and eat more slowly.

A glimmer of gold catches my attention. This normally wouldn't be unusual because the entire palace is made of gold, but the white backing it normally doesn't show up. Looking closely, I can see a familiar face across the Hall. A blonde head is bowed toward a small plate of food, the narrow shoulders that support it hunched. My heart breaks seeing her like this.

Standing, I traverse the vast space to get to her. She doesn't look up as I approach, and some of my hope begins to fade. I clear my throat.

"Is this seat taken?"

"No," she replies tonelessly. I cannot tell whether or not she wants me to sit beside her, but she did say that the spot wasn't taken, so I awkwardly sit down. She still doesn't look at me. I wrack my brains for a conversation starter.

"I, uh..." Tenshi glances up and goes back to her meal. Smooth, Loki. "I heard you playing in the garden earlier today. You - hm-! - you sounded beautiful."

"Thank you," she says in the same emotionless tone. I really hurt her. She has a bad habit of hiding her emotions when she's in pain.

She stands up when she finishes her meal and puts away her plate and fork, then leaves. I watch her go, a soft sigh leaving my lips. This is going to be harder than I thought.

(Tenshi's POV)

I exhale once I am out of range from Loki's hearing. It hurt seeing Loki across the Great Hall of Asgard. I had hoped that he would stay across the Hall, and leave me to my pain in peace, but instead, he came to me. I couldn't very well refuse a prince in his own home, so I let him sit. He tried, it was obvious, but it was painfully awkward to see his silver tongue fail him.

Pushing away my bleeding heart, I head to the library to read and hopefully forget about my situation for a while. The golden corriders are peaceful except for the random maid transitioning from one task to another. I keep my head down, my eyes on the bright floor, and as such, don't see the regal figure right in front of me. I look up, and my face immediately turns red.

I've run right into Queen Frigga. Dropping into a curtsey, I quickly stutter out an apology. She waves it off.

"It's alright, Dear," she tells me. "Where are you off to, looking so downhearted?"

I look up at her. Was it that obvious? "I- I'm going to the library, your Majesty," I reply softly. She smiles.

"Reading is a good way to forget one's troubles for a while," the Allmother agrees. "But the only way to truly rid oneself of a problem is to solve it before it gets more complicated. Don't hide from your problem forever, Dear, lest you lose your solution."

I nod. "I'll keep that in mind, your Majesty."

Frigga smiles and continues on her way. I keep going and slip inside the library, finding a book and taking a seat before starting to read. It doesn't take me long to immerse myselaf in the characters and plot, and my worries melt away for that blissful time.

A/n: Hello, readers! It's been a while, I know. I hope everyone has stayed safe during this Hell of a year and is having a good holiday season. 2020 is on it's way out, and I couldn't be happier. Hopefully, things will get better from here. So, my dear readers, I will see you on the other side.

All my love and best wishes,

Blue