Come Running Through Rivers

The rest of the day passed normally for Mina. She enjoyed reading in the peace and quiet of the home until Oli came home. He was sweaty and sunburnt from a day out with the warriors, but all he wanted to do was the one thing he did better than anything. He was an excellent baker.
Mina walked out to the kitchen and sat down, quietly watching her older brother. After a few moments, he asked her, “How was tea with the Queen?”

“It was fun.” Mina smiled, “She served that rosebud tea that I like. How was your day?”

“That’s it?” He chuckled, putting a tray of meat pies in the oven, “Usually when you have the honour of tea with Queen Frigga, you aren’t able to be quiet.”
“I’m just in a quiet mood, I guess.” Mina replied as he sat down across from her, “We talked about more than just books today, and I’m just not used to conversations like that.”
“What did you talk about?”
“I don’t quite remember how the conversation got to this, but we discussed my future.” She slipped in the little white lie knowing that it might not be a good idea to discuss Loki at the moment. “She let me vent about how I’m not ready to settle down. I don’t think Father would understand even a fraction of how well Queen Frigga did.”

“Hey now, Give him more credit than that.” Oli rolled his eyes and chuckled, “He does not mean to be hard on you. “
“But he is.” Mina sighed, leaning back against her chair, “I love him to death, but he just does not understand that I am not ready to start looking for a man to settle down with.”
“Maybe he’s just desperate for grandchildren.” Oli shrugged, “Ever since he caught me with that knight, he’s had to admit to himself that he’s not getting any from me.”

Mina chuckled, “So I can blame it on you?”
Oli smirked, “If you must. Now come on, let’s clean up a little before Father gets home.”

Dinner went by as normal. Oli’s meat pies were delicious as normal, the family did not talk much during dinner as normal, and they all went their separate ways when it was over as normal. Feeling a bit stir crazy, Mina decided to go to the castle library for the rest of the evening.

It was her intention to go straight to the nonfiction section and read for a few hours, until she was asked to leave. However, she was spotted before she even passed the threshold of the castle.

“Lady Mina! What a pleasure to see you here again.” Loki grinned, walking up to her. She smiled shyly back, still not sure what to think of him.
“Hello, Prince Loki.” She replied, doing a little curtsy, “How are you this evening?”
“I am absolutely and terribly bored, and yourself?” He asked.
“Just the same, actually. I’m on my way to the library, care to join me?”
“Normally I would, but I’m in more of a social mood. I was gifted a bottle of ale and have no one to share it with. Care to join me?”
Mina chuckled, “You know that I can’t stand the taste of ale, Loki.”
“Yes, I do. I think you’ll like this one, though.”
“Alright, then. If you insist, I’ll give it a try.” She smiled, “Where shall we go?”
“Somewhere private. I have a small library not too far from here.”

Mina raised an eyebrow, and Loki quickly clarified, “I promise I won’t try anything. Besides, you’re more than welcome to look at my collection.”
“My brother and your mother would kill you if you did.” Mina chuckled, “Well, that does sound more fun than reading for the rest of the evening. Alright, we can do that.”
Loki smiled. “Excellent, I’ll lead the way.”

When they arrived at Loki’s library, Mina had a look around. While the room was small in comparison to the main castle library, but it was still a bit bigger than Mina’s bedroom. It was candlelit and had wall-to-wall bookshelves and a small table in the middle of the room. On that table were two goblets and a dark red bottle that Mina suspected held the ale.

“Please, Mina, have a seat.” Loki said as he closed the door behind them. She obliged, and he sat down across from her.
As he poured the ale into the first goblet, he asked Mina, “Now, what do you really want this to taste like? What dessert would you enjoy in a liquid form?”
Mina took a few seconds of thought and said, “I like cherry tarts. I think cherry-flavoured ale would taste good.”
He set the bottle of ale down and looked at the first goblet of wine. After he watched the liquid settle, he took a sip of it and passed it over to Mina. “Try it now.”

She eyed the goblet for a moment before trying a sip. The second she felt the wine touch her lip, she could smell and taste lightly sugared cherries. She set the goblet down and said, “That’s delicious, Loki. How did you do that?”
“Much like my mother likes to foster your love of reading, she likes to foster my love of magic.” He smiled triumphantly, “I haven’t had a chance to test that one out on someone who can’t stand the taste of ale. Take caution, though, you can still get drunk off of it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She smiled back, “Remind me to have you around the next time my brother insists that I join him and the others for dinner.”
Loki chuckled, “Does he do that often?”
“Often enough so that it’s rather annoying.” Mina replied between sips of her cherry ale.
“That’s odd. The two of you seem rather close.”
“Believe me, he’s still my overly protective big brother. He scolded me the other day for being alone with you.”

“How would he react if he knew that you and I were alone and drinking ale?” Loki asked, after finishing off his goblet.
“He would lock me in my room for a century.” She snickered, “Maybe two, but I think he wouldn’t do anything to you.”
“Is that because of my parents?”
Mina nodded, “If I was doing this with Fandral, there would be bloodshed.”
Loki poured himself another glass, “Well, that wouldn’t be worth centuries of isolation. Is this worth it?”

She said nothing at first. Then, she nodded without saying a word. Loki raised an eyebrow.
Mina sighed and explained, “I told you before that it was not a wise decision, but your mother and I talked after you left. She more or less told me that if we wanted to be together, she would convince the Allfather to let us be. Knowing that she would be fine with that makes me more comfortable about spending time with you, even in a platonic setting such as this. Besides, she would not let me be locked up for centuries.”

The room went silent again, before Loki quietly asked, “Do you want to be together with me?”
“I’m not sure.” She murmured, keeping her eyes down, “I do not wish to give up my independence, which is another thing we discussed.”
Loki looked up at her and said, “I would never make you do such a thing.”
“Do you want to be together with me?” Mina asked, finally looking up at him. His gaze on her was intense, but she could not read him very well.
“I would be willing to give us a try, and I’m more than willing to bet that we would be glorious together.” He admitted, “But I would understand if you wouldn’t want to.”

“I’m not sure if I want to.” She sighed, “Loki, you hurt me when you weren’t in that library after I recovered. We haven’t been close in years. We’ve said more to each other in the last few days than we have in the last year. I don’t fault you for your actions as a child, I fault you for never apologising.”

“I never meant to hurt you, Mina.” He said softly, “I was young, and didn’t like to be reminded that my best friend was so sick. I am sorry, and I should have apologised years ago. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, please let me know.”

Mina looked at him for a moment. As well known for lying as he is, he seemed to be genuinely sincere. She had never seen him look so willingly vulnerable, and she wasn’t quite sure how to react. “I still do not believe that I am ready for anything serious just yet.” She spoke gently, “But I would not be opposed to trying this out. Let’s just spend more time together before we decide on anything. Really, Loki, all I want from you is a friend. That will make up for the lost time. Anything more than friendship is welcome, but I still just want to be able to talk to you without it seeming strange.”

Loki absolutely lit up. “That sounds more than reasonable. I promise, I will never pressure you to do anything with me. I will wait as long as you would like to.”
She smiled warmly, “I don’t doubt that you would be wonderful, Loki. Most of my hesitance is because of me, not you. You’ve apologized, and that’s all that matters.”
“You have nothing to fear, my lady.” Loki said gently, reaching across the table and taking her hand.
She blushed, “It’s getting late, Loki. As much as I would love to stay, perhaps I should get going before my father worries.”
“I’ll escort you. I would not want anything to happen.”

“Maybe one last drink before we leave wouldn’t hurt.” She hinted, “You did very well with the cherry ale.”
“Alright,” He smirked, pouring the last of the bottle into both of their glasses, “Just remember that your brother will not be happy with me if he catches us.”
“I’ll tell him that we did nothing but drink and talk.” Mina said between sips, “If he chooses not to believe me, you can try to convince him.”
“If I had a younger sister who was as beautiful as you, I would be just as worried.” Loki chuckled, “He has every right to worry.”
Mina’s blush grew in colour and size. She said nothing and she tried to disguise her smile as she drank her ale.
“Now then,” He continued, putting down his goblet, “I am finished and ready to go when you are.”
Mina drank the last few sips and said, “Let’s get going then.”