Your Majesty - Loki x OC

11: Magic Lessons

LOKI

"Freyja!" I called through the heavy stone door to her room. "Might you be awake by any chance?"

"No. I'm asleep." She answered, tone dripping with sarcasm and a distinct hostility. "Come back later."

I sighed and pushed the door open, sticking my head in. "Yes, very convincing. I just thought you should know, Jari came by and said..."

Something rather hard hit me flat in the face, cutting off my sentence. Pain shot through the bridge of my nose and my eyes began to water as I quickly pulled my head back through the door, out of the danger zone.

"What is your problem?" I yelled, massaging my nose. "Jari said dinner is almost over, if you want food."

I glanced down at the projectile Freyja so politely lobbed at my head, and my jaw practically came unhinged. "Where did you get this?"

Careful not to open the door any more than a crack, I knelt down and gingerly picked the beautiful, hard cover book.

"Some library that never asked for it back." She answered stiffly as she pulled the door open wider, her braid slightly disheveled. Standing there, she already looked leagues better than before. The dark circles had shrunk, and there was a glimmer in her gray eyes that wasn't there before. However, she also looked distinctly pissed off.

I peered over her shoulder and failed to keep my face straight. Her entire bedroom looked like a library, with piles of books spanning from wall to wall. The pleasant scent of old paper wafted out the open door, reminding me of long days spent in the library when I was younger.

"Odin's beard..." I breathed. She followed my gaze to the heaps of literature.

Despite her obvious tension, she smiled. "Would you consider yourself a reader?"

"Absolutely."

She threw her hands in the air, an exasperated expression crossing her face. "If I had known that, I would've asked if you want to borrow one days ago!"

All I could do was nod as she opened the door wider, allowing me to step inside. "Take your pick."

"There are more books in this room than there are people on Asgard. How an I supposed to pick?"

She strode down a small path through the maze of books, running her slender finger along the spines. Then, with a slight moment of hesitation, she selected one. Then another. Then three, four and five.

With the books in hand, she came back over and dumped them in my arms. "I don't know what your preferences are, but if you have any taste whatsoever, you'll enjoy these ones."

A bubble of excitement formed in my stomach. "Well, I know what I'm doing this evening."

She chuckled. "Sure you do. Give me one minute, then I'll take you to the cafeteria."

Rather unceremoniously, Freyja booted me out the door, but I hardly minded. By the time I walked to my room, set my beloved new books on the bed and returned, she was done.

"Took you long enough." She muttered as she tied the end of her braid off with a ribbon, despite the fact that she left her room seconds before I did. Her jacket was draped over her arm, and she threw it on as she walked past me.