The Lost Asgardian (A Loki X Reader Story)

Part 5

Your eyes widened as you tried to make sense of what Loki just said.
"We- we what?"
"Our marriage was arranged when we were children, not long before you were taken."
You struggled for the right words as a million thoughts flooded your mind. You forgot all of the rules and formalities and spoke your mind. "Why? I'm not- you said my parents were mere friends of King Odin and Queen Frigga, they're not royalty. Why would a marriage be arranged between the two of us?"
Loki's brows raised slightly at your question. "Well, mother and father thought that you would be a good fit for me. You were learning to harness your abilities, and to be honest you were becoming quite the trickster." A small smile crossed his face as he continued.
"In that, you were my equal. You also knew how to handle my worst tantrums, and I think everyone knew that would be worth quite a bit one day."
He laughed in a short, nervous way before falling silent once again. The weight of things left unsaid settled in the corners of his eyes, and you felt pain at the sorrow reflected in his features.
After thinking for a long moment, you questioned softly, "We were still only children.. were you not opposed?"
Loki's tone matched yours as he said, "No, Y/N, I wasn't. It made sense, and.. you grew on me a great deal more than I thought you would. Especially at that age, I didn't get along with others much then. I admit- I still don't, but.."
Despite the jumbled mess of thoughts in your head, you laughed. You felt comfortable enough to reply, "Really, your highness? You're.. much different than what I was expecting. Or, what I was led to believe anyway."
Loki's face fell a little and his brow furrowed. "Despite what you may have heard, I care about my people- and that includes you, does it not?"
Your eyes widened and you were quick to say, "Of course, your highness. Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend.."
After a pause, Loki explained, "It is my own fault. You haven't done anything to be forgiven for." His expression returned to one of contentment and he quickly said, "Although, there is one thing that I wish you wouldn't do."
You held your breath, afraid you'd done something wrong already.
"I wish you wouldn't call me things like 'your highness' when it's only the two of us. It just- it doesn't feel right."
You were flooded with relief, and you responded, "As you wish, your- Loki." You quickly corrected yourself and a blush rose to your cheeks.
Loki smiled at you and for a few moments there was a warm silence. "May I walk you back to your room?"
You nodded and stood from your chair, Loki extending his arm for you to take once more. The difference was that this time you could walk just fine without falling, but you accepted his arm gratefully anyway. You had a feeling you knew what Loki would say if you didn't.
You took note of the rooms you passed as you walked, remembering the corridors you turned down to reach your room.
You took a moment before you got to your door to glance at Loki, thinking that if you'd never been taken that you would know his features almost as well as your own. The thought left you feeling strangely bitter as well as hollow, and you turned your attention to what Loki was saying to distract yourself from your unwarranted emotions. You let go of Loki's arm as he turned towards you, saying,
"Someone will come by in the morning to assist you in washing up, and then as I promised we will have our hand at archery."
Loki's eyes sparkled as your face lit with excitement, and you quickly nodded in response to the eagerly awaited plans.
You turned to enter your room, pausing as your fingers brushed the door handle.
Without looking back, you said sincerely, "Thank you, Loki." When you said those words, you weren't just thanking him for tomorrow- you were grateful for everything.
You slowly pushed the door open and closed it behind you without a backwards glance, your back hitting the solid surface as soon as it shut.
You replayed the whole conversation with Loki over in your head before realizing just how exhausted you were.
You sunk into the bed and your breathing slowed as your head hit the pillow. It was only a moment after your body fully relaxed that your tired mind drifted into unconsciousness.
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You awoke to a warm and golden sunshine streaming from the window, and for the first time in a while you felt calm and at peace. You slowly sat up as you rubbed your eyes, but when you lowered your hands you were met with a startling sight.
An older woman was folding towels in the corner of the room next to the bath, and when she heard you inhale sharply in surprise, she turned towards you.
"Oh, dear. I didn't wake you, did I?"
You rose slowly from the bed, shaking your head.
"Good. My, my, just look at you. You've grown so much!"
You took a hesitant step closer to the woman, noting the kind and caring expression on her face.
"You knew me-before..?"
"Yes, child. My name is June and I was your governess before you were taken, just as I was your mother's."
Your eyes brightened at the mention of your mother, your voice coming out in a rush as you asked, "Really? So you know her well, then?"
June smiled softly at you and turned to prepare a bath, answering, "Yes, I practically raised her. It nearly crushed her when you were separated from us.. you don't want to hear that, though, do you? I suppose not. Anyway, we must get you into the bath if you're to be ready soon."
She gestured for you to undress and turned her back towards you to give you some privacy. Once you were in the water, June handed you the things that you'd need to wash up before going back to folding towels.
You lathered a foamy substance into your hair, closing your eyes as you enjoyed the relaxing feeling of the warm water.
"You remind me of her, you know, when she was your age. She always had this.. almost magic to her, and I see that in you too."
You loved hearing about your family, but it also made you realize just how much you'd missed out on.
You dunked your head in under the water to rinse the substance from your hair.
When you came back up, June changed the subject to one that left you feeling a little more relaxed.
"Prince Loki mentioned that you'll be spending quite some time outside this morning, is that right?"
You smiled fondly as you spread soap over your skin, replying, "Yes, I hope so. I wish to learn how to shoot, and the prince has been gracious enough to offer to show me."
You washed the soap from your body and stood from the water, reaching for a nearby towel to wrap around you. When you'd finished drying off, you slid on the undergarments that June laid out for you. As soon as you did so, June brought a few dresses over for you to choose from.
"Oh my.." you gasped, looking at the elegant pieces of clothing June held in her hands.
"These are some of the things that the Queen picked out for you yesterday evening.. she suggested you wear this one, but you have the freedom to choose." As she said 'this one', she held up one of the dresses and you saw why Queen Frigga had suggested it. It was made of a deep maroon silk, and you fell in love with it as soon as you laid eyes on it.
June saw your eyes brighten and she smiled warmly, handing you the maroon dress and putting away the others.
You held it in your hands for a moment, enjoying the feel of it before slipping it on over your undergarments.
You looked at yourself in the mirror and your eyes widened at the way the dress fit you, almost as if it were made specifically for you.
"You look lovely, dear." June smiled at your reflection, and you felt grateful that she was here to help you.
Your hands went to your hair, not knowing entirely what to do with it, and June said, "Leave it to me, child. Have a seat in front of the mirror."
You smiled as you sat down, watching June's reflection pull up a chair behind you. You closed your eyes as she gently ran a comb through your hair, expertly smoothing out all the tangles and knots.
June had just finished making your hair presentable when you both heard a knock at the door. June quickly rose to open the door and curtsied as Loki entered the room. You jumped to your feet, following June's lead in curtsying. You mentally chastised yourself for never doing it before, but when you glanced back up at Loki there was a look of disappointment on his face.
You spoke as June slipped out of the room. "Is something wrong, your highness?" Loki's expression quickly softened, and he said, "No, Y/N. Are you ready?"
You nodded and Loki extended his arm to you as he did before. Would he always do that? You accepted nevertheless, and you walked arm in arm with Loki to the practice area. You both were silent the whole way there, but it was a comfortable silence and you honestly didn't mind it. You were filled with excitement and if you spoke, you were likely to ramble on and on.
When you were finally outside, the crisp autumn breeze gently swayed Loki's hair and you mentally thanked June for putting your hair in a braid- otherwise it would be all over the place. "I assume you've never used or held a bow before. Am I correct?" Loki gently pulled his arm away before guiding you towards a wooden bow that was propped against a quiver of arrows.
You nodded in response as Loki glanced at you.
"Alright, then, I'll show you."
Loki handed the bow to you, saying, "This hand should go-" Loki moved your hand along the bow to where it needed to be, "here as you nock the arrow."
Loki handed you an arrow and watched carefully as you readied the bow for shooting. You brought the bow up the way you'd seen many archers do before, pulling the string back next to your mouth.
"Since this is your first time, that is the right place to anchor. But-"
Loki placed a hand on your back and your arm, moving you so you had the right form and were in line with the target. The warmth of his hands lingered after he'd removed them, and it took all you had to concentrate on the bow in your hands.
"It looks like you're ready to give it a shot."
You took a deep breath and focused on the target, releasing the string as you exhaled. You were stunned as you watched the arrow sink into the middle of the target, almost exactly in the center.
A rush of excitement coursed through your body, and you opened your mouth to say something but the words caught in your throat. The arrows in the quiver in front of you shot up seemingly of their own accord and darted through the air. You dropped the bow as Loki quickly pulled you behind a tree for shelter.
He placed both hands on your shoulders and said, "Y/N, you're the one moving those arrows- it's okay, I just need you to calm down, can you do that for me?"
You were scared but you closed your eyes, focusing on taking deep breaths and clearing your mind.
After what felt like forever, Loki said, "Y/N, it stopped- it's okay." When you finally opened your eyes, Loki was staring at you concernedly. You swallowed and tried to keep the tears at bay, hating that familiar feeling of helplessness constricting your lungs.
"What- what did I do?" You heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching from behind you, and you watched as Loki furrowed his brow and waved the person away. You assumed it was a guard, and it suddenly hit you that Loki could have been seriously hurt. "I'm so sorry- I don't know what happened!"
"Shh, it's alright. It wasn't your fault, Y/N- I should have remembered."
Loki rubbed your arms as tears ran down your cheeks. "Look at me. You did nothing wrong, okay?" After a few moments, you stopped crying and Loki explained what happened.
"You were only just beginning training when you were taken and you hadn't gained full control of your abilities yet. Anytime you were upset or felt any kind of strong emotion, your abilities would become enhanced and you would move things without consciously deciding to. And you said that your captor suppressed your abilities until he wanted you to use them, right?"
You nodded as Loki's hands fell back to his sides. "Y/N, you have to understand that we will need to work on controlling your abilities.. for your own safety."
"Of course, your majesty. Whatever I need to do to keep something like that from happening again, I'll do it. I cannot be responsible for you or anyone else in the palace getting hurt."
Loki seemed upset at your words but he replied, "Good. We'll begin training this afternoon then."
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