The Warrior Princess - Loki Odinson Short Story.

Chapter Three

The morning passed quickly with no strange happenings, in fact, there were none until Ellri went into the gardens to attend the midday picnic hosted by Loki. When she walked in the grand garden gates she saw a few other princesses walking about on the arms of multiple versions of the Prince while the actual Prince lie on a bench and read a book. “Prince Loki, lovely to see you” she said once she'd made her way to his side, Loki on the other hand jolted up quickly once he realised that Ellri could see through the facade he'd created for the others. “Princess Ellri, I wasn't aware you were adept in magic” Loki said with a huff as he scanned the garden to ensure no-one saw their exchange, “I practise battle magic but I know when I'm in the presence of powerful spells”  Ellri said with a smirk creeping onto her face as she realised she'd caught the young god in the midst of a trick. “Perhaps you will join me, Lady Elaine and Lady Mire wish to play a game that requires four players” he said slowly and Ellri nodded feeling it was the least she could do since she'd just spoiled his fun. The two ladies were seated on a woven mat piled with heaps of comfortable cushions and scowled when they saw Ellri with the prince, it was becoming rather obvious that many ladies and princesses didn't like Ellri because she was a serious contender being the only princess of all the Light Elves and had a vast kingdom that would make a grand ally to Asgard. “The game is called Big Liar, each person must say three statements with two being true and one being false. The other players must guess which statement was the lie and if you guess wrong you are disqualified” Lady Elaine explained and Loki's eyes sparkled with excitement, this was exactly his kind of game. Lady Mire went first, “My mother once sold her hair to the fire goblins to survive the winter, my sister was born with her twin attached to her side and my hair is not actually blonde” she said and Elaine began giggling wildly, “Of course blonde isn't your natural hair colour! You've got no hair!” she cried before snatching the hair right off her friend's head revealing it was in fact a very well made wig. Mire ran from the garden in tears while Elaine held the wig triumphantly in hand and batted her eyes at the prince as if he'd find her cruel display enticing. “Ellri, you go next” Loki said looking not at all amused with Elaine's antics, “My mother once lost me for three days in the woods near our home, my escorts Kyn and Afli are twins and my dagger is made of elven silver” She said and Elaine's eyes narrowed with annoyance once she realised any of the statements might be the false one. “The statement about your mother is false” Elaine declared with such confidence, “No, that statement was true” Ellri said with a smile, Elaine's face was one of shock as she got to her feet and hurried off leaving Ellri alone with Loki on the mat. “Your dagger, it is not elven silver” Loki said softly and Ellri smiled as she drew the blade from it's sheath so that he might examine it. Loki's slim fingers turned the dagger around in his hands and couldn't believe his eyes, the dagger was indeed forged with the pure elven silver and stamped by the blacksmith as such. “My escorts are not twins, they are lovers” she said and Loki couldn't help but crack a very small smile at the woman who'd so cleverly deceived him. They sat for a moment in the warmth of the sun and let the laughter of the others wash over them, it was a lovely day to be outdoors. “Shall we sneak away? My chambers would be much more private” Loki asked quietly, his face barely an inch from hers as he leant in to speak so that only she might hear. “Don't mistake my attendance here as an agreement to be your bed partner” Ellri replied, her eyes glinting in annoyance at his advances. “My apologies Princess, perhaps I was wrong to invite you” he huffed hoping to rile her even more, “Goodbye Loki” Ellri said getting immediately to her feet and leaving the garden. She was not about to be spoken to as if she were some common whore out to find a patron for the evening that would line her pockets with coin.  She stalked to the training rooms and changed into her more comfortable clothes before beginning a gruelling routine that would have her muscles screaming in the morning. Afli and Kyn could only watch their Princess, neither was strong enough to get her to calm down any other way so they had to let Ellri get her frustration out of her system in her own way. “She's magnificent” Kyn heard behind her and when she whirled about to see who had spoken only to find Loki standing in the shadows watching Ellri go about her routine, using her powerful magic to obliterate the battle simulations entirely. “What are you doing here?” Afli demanded and Loki looked a little embarrassed as he stepped into the light, “I wished to apologize to Ellri for before, I shouldn't have propositioned her” he admitted, his pale cheeks taking on the faintest pink blush. “She's a good woman, stronger than anyone I've ever met and she deserves more that an entitled Prince who wishes to get her in bed and leave her hanging afterwards” Kyn said and Loki looked down seeming thoroughly chastised by the two women. “I'm terribly sorry, I'll leave now” he said before hurrying out the exit just in time to avoid Ellri leaving the simulator in a layer of sweat. “I know he was here, his presence lingers” Ellri said as she wiped her brow with the cool cloth that had been set beside the basin, “He wished to apologize for his behavior” Afli said with a dreamy look on her face that had Ellri giggling, it seemed that the raven haired prince had yet another admirer. That evening Ellri ate her meal in her room alone while her escorts travelled into the village and spent the night drinking and conversing with the local people about the festivities and such happening at the castle. Ellri found she couldn't sleep well when she finally went to bed, she felt hot one second and cold the next and even after a nice warm bath she still couldn't settle. When Kyn and Afli returned from their little adventure at the village they found their princess lying face down on the cool marble floors of the bathroom wrapped loosely in a blanket. Her cheeks were two flaming patches of head and her forehead was damp with sweat. While it may have seemed like a fever to some, the escorts knew better and immediately turned Ellri onto her side and gasped in horror. Ellri’s mouth was stained black and a small puddle of strange goo dripped from her mouth like some sickening joke. “Get the healers now!” Kyn shouted and Afli ran out of the room as fast as she could knowing time was most definitely against them while Kyn began searching the room for the thing that had poisoned her princess. The search didn't take very long, the strong smell of the poison wafted from the nearly empty wine cup that stood by Ellri’s half eaten dinner having lost its enchantment spell that would have masked the odour. The poison itself was a particularly nasty one called Andlát Eitr meaning Death Poison and it could kill a normal person in a matter of hours and Kyn never was more thankful that her princess was not normal in the slightest way. The healers arrived a moment later carrying a stretcher, “She's been poisoned, find out who did this” Kyn ordered handing one of the healers the wine cup which she'd loosely wrapped in a cloth to avoid anyone accidentally poisoning themselves. Kyn and Afli were by Ellri’s side for the rest of the night just watching and waiting for her to wake up, in that time the Allfather and Queen Frigga had been woken and told the horrifying news and an investigation was underway lead by Frigga herself who used a unique spell that would track the poison back to it's owner and anyone who'd been in contact with it.By now the princes had also heard the awful news and volunteered to go with their mother on her hunt for the person who dared do such a thing to Ellri. The spell led Frigga and her sons first to the servant who'd delivered Ellri’s meal to her room and while he knew he had given the Princess poisoned wine he had still delivered it and wouldn't speak any more on the matter. The spell then led them through the palace to the floor where the noble ladies were being housed for the choosing ceremony and Frigga paused before a door painted a pretty shade of blue. “In here” Frigga said gravely and Thor wasted no time in using his hammer to break the door down to reveal Lady Elaine holding the now empty vial of poison which she was about to throw into the fire place to destroy the last shred of evidence that she'd been the one to poison Ellri. “Forgive me!” Elaine screeched pitifully when she caught sight of the furious allmother, her eyes beseeching the young princes to take pity on her but she'd committed an act of treachery and it would not be tolerated. Guards appeared to take Elaine to the prison where she would wait for her family to arrive so that a trial might take place so a punishment for her crime could be decided. “Loki, perhaps you should go and check in on Ellri and report any progress in her condition for me in the morning. Thor, I'd like for you to deliver the news of what has happened to the Light Elf Kingdom and invite Ellri’s parents here if they wish to be with their daughter” Frigga said giving each of her sons a firm look that meant that there was to be no funny business. The kingdom of Ljós was stunning in every way and when Thor made his way to the grand castle he couldn't help but notice how different Ellri was from her own people with their thin twirling dresses and loose shirts while she preferred the practical armor of leather and elven silver as her everyday outfit. Back on Asgard Loki sat in the only empty chair by the door and watched as Ellri breathed rhythmically but did not stir. The antidote for the poison had come just in time and now it was a waiting game for them all until she woke and they could assess her condition properly. When she did wake it was sudden, she nearly fell out of the bed with how harshly she'd jerked herself awake and in that moment it wasn't Kyn or Afli who was there to grab her and save her from hitting the hard marble floor but Loki. His long, slender arms grabbing her by her waist and hauling her back onto the narrow bed before she could even process what was happening. Ellri couldn't stop herself from staring and in that moment she felt herself drift, knowing that even if her escorts were away she would always be safe.