Collection of One-Shots

》choice of the heart

She hurt. With every pitiful step and movement, she hurt. Safina was terrified to look at her own appearance after the raid, after the pillaging. Her left knee was twisted outward, her entire leg dragging behind her with each step. She was bruised but there was also blood. Where it came from she did not know, but when she coughed it spluttered on the back of her hand and palm. It hurt to breathe yet she pushed through. Safina's feet were bare against the forest floor, every branch and stone cut into already tender and burnt soles. She cried because she hurt.

Civilization was once again close with the sounds of the large city but her mother had told her to go to the palace. Seek refuge with Odin and Frigga, serve them if it was offered as it would get her away from her own village. Safina closed her eyes and everything hurt once again. The sight of her mother being drug away from their home, her father fighting valiantly until one of the elves brought its poisoned blade to his neck. They found her cowering in the small cubby she called a room and with sheer luck she escaped with the injuries she had now, but she escaped with her life. Her home and village was in flames as she ran. She cried because everything was gone. The tears stung though, they stung because her face had been burned and when she opened her eyes only one gave sight. Half of her world had gone dark.

Safina trudged through thinning trees, each step was harder than the last and hurt more than the last. There was a clearing, small but safe as she was far away from her home now. When she stopped her body collapsed into a heap under the largest tree. The sky was peaceful and birds happily sang their song in the canopy but still she hurt but when Safina closed her eyes the hurting stopped.

Loki wandered out to his secret place, away from the palace but too far. A heavy tome was tucked beneath his arm, for the younger prince it was light reading for his brother it would have taken a century. He had scaled one the trees with grace and ease. Perched on a branch he opened the book and began reading. From the sun alone he could tell that it was growing later in the afternoon and reluctantly the prince closed the book, set on descending back to the ground when he heard twigs snapping in the distance.

With instinct taking over Loki pulled a short throwing dagger from his boot and watched with keen eyes to see who was there and it could be a rouse to have revenge because of his tricks. What he saw though was a girl no older than himself, she was petite with dirty skin and what appeared to be once blonde hair but she would pose no threat to Loki. In fact, he was feeling rather territorial that someone had discovered his spot. The prince watched the girl for a few moments, hardly paying her much mind until she collapsed at the trunk of the tree he was perched in.

Immediately, he sent his book away, knowing that when he returned to his room it would be awaiting on his desk and with the agility of a dancer he landed on the ground, hardly making a sound. Safina had curled herself as small as possible and now her back faced the prince and she still had not awakened. Her breathing was uneven, had she been conscious it would have hurt, like everything else. Curious, Loki turned her so that she laid on her back. First he took in her face, where it was burned and scarred as well as coated with dirt and soot, but he suspected that she could have been quite pretty.

Seeing as the girl was not waking he took in the most obvious of her injuries. Burns, bruises were the most prominent, Eir would be able to further asses her injuries for treatment. Though it would have been just as easy to leave her in the woods, Loki thought better as he did not want to return to his spot and find it reeking of a decomposing corpse. Heaving a sigh he slipped his arms under Safina and lifted her from the ground, close to his chest.

Safina could tell that she was no longer on the ground, but she was moving. Her eyes shot open in panic and as she could not see who was carrying her she lashed out, squirming like an injured snake until she landed on the ground causing everything to hurt. "You are hurt." Came a calm voice, it was melodic and immediately put her at ease. "Let me help you to the healers." She found her rescuer alas. Loki looked down at her and she saw his sleek black hair and piercing green eyes, but she had yet to realize who he was.