The palace had become unusually busy with wedding preparations, and both Eirlys and Loki had been given the unenviable task of choosing what they would wear for the ceremony. Eirlys had claimed one of the larger rooms, where several gowns and ceremonial robes had been brought for her consideration. Sif sat nearby, offering opinions when asked, while Jane had been allowed to remain and help despite Eirlys having rejected nearly every suggestion she had made earlier.
Across the palace, Loki was facing a similar ordeal. Thor, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun had been summoned to help him decide between several formal Asgardian garments. Loki found the entire process tedious, but at least the company kept him from having to listen to his own thoughts. Except Thor was not there. Loki noticed his absence after several minutes.
At first, he assumed Thor had simply wandered away. Then he remembered that night, the way Thor had watched him leave Eirlys's chambers, and the expression on his brother's face. Suspicion settled heavily in Loki's mind. He excused himself without explanation and went searching. There was only one place he thought Thor might have gone. Eirlys.
The thought followed him down the corridor, becoming more unpleasant with every step. He imagined Thor alone with her, speaking to her, perhaps reminding her of everything they had once shared. By the time Loki reached Eirlys's rooms, his jealousy had already convinced him of the worst.
He pushed the doors open without knocking. "Eirlys, I need to know what you and Thor are—"
He stilled in his place as he saw Eirlys standing near the table, holding two pieces of fabric while Sif sat beside her and Jane was examining another garment. Silence filled the room as the three women stared at him. Loki stared back at all three women, his expression slowly losing every trace of confidence.
Eirlys's head snapped toward him. "Loki! You cannot simply barge in here!"
"I forgot something." He looked around shooting Jane and Sif an uninterested look.
"Yeah, you forgot your manners."
"I…" He looked toward the empty space behind Eirlys, as though Thor might somehow materialize there and rescue him from the situation, he did not.
Eirlys slowly lowered the fabric in her hands. "Were you expecting someone else?"
Loki opened his mouth but nothing useful came out. "I was merely…"
"And that doesn't make it acceptable." Her expression became increasingly exasperated. "What if any of us were changing?"
That made Loki pause, he actually looked humiliated. "I hadn't considered that."
Eirlys's eyes narrowed. "You barged into my room without knocking because you thought I was alone with Thor?"
He stopped again, his pale face turning red in embarrassment. Sif's lips twitched, and Jane looked increasingly confused. Loki straightened, desperately attempting to recover his dignity. "I had reason to believe—"
"No, you had an imagination."
That silenced him entirely as Eirlys just called him out on something anyone never had. She placed the fabric down with deliberate care. "I am trying to choose what I am going to wear for our wedding, Loki. With Sif and Jane. I hope you can see that Thor is not here."
Loki glanced at the two women again. "Yes. I see that now."
Sif finally let out a huff making Loki close his eyes for a brief moment, silently cursing himself. He had come prepared to confront Thor. Instead, he had walked directly into a room full of women and made a fool of himself. And judging by Eirlys's expression, he was about to hear exactly how much she disliked that. He discovered, rather quickly, that Eirlys had very little patience left for him. She had been seated with Sif and Jane, surrounded by fabrics, jewelries, and enough wedding arrangements to make even Odin surrender. Loki had wandered into the room with absolutely no intention of discussing clothing.
Eirlys looked up again. "Why aren't you in your room checking out your robes?"
Loki blinked. "My robes?"
"Yes, your robes." She gestured toward the doorway as though personally willing him through it. "You need to take this seriously."
"I assure you, I am taking our marriage very seriously."
"The marriage, probably," she repeated flatly. "But clearly not your clothes."
Loki leaned against the doorway, amused. "I was unaware my robes required such concern."
"They do when you are going to stand beside me in front of half of Asgard and Vanaheim."
"I had assumed standing upright would be sufficient."
Eirlys shot a glare at him. "Loki."
It made him smile. "I am listening."
"No, you're not. You are treating this entire thing as though you can simply appear at the ceremony wearing whatever you happen to find first."
"I have excellent taste."
"That is precisely what worries me."
Sif snorted from beside her and Loki looked offended. "You wound me."
"I am trying to prevent you from making me look ridiculous," Eirlys continued. "I refuse to spend my precious time arranging a beautiful wedding only to stand beside a prince who looks as though he wandered into the ceremony by accident."
That finally made Loki straighten. "You think I would make you look ridiculous?"
"I think you are perfectly capable of doing so."
His smile returned. "You care how I look."
"I care how we look."
The distinction was immediate, Loki noticed it, and Eirlys noticed that he noticed. She immediately turned back toward the fabrics. "Now go."
"Very well."
"And Loki?"
He paused at the doorway. "Actually inspect the robes. Don't simply choose the first black or green thing you see."
His eyebrows lifted. "You know me remarkably well."
"Unfortunately." He laughed under his breath and finally left. He disappeared behind the door and Eirlys exhaled.
Sif looked at her. "You're very patient with him."
Eirlys stared at the closed door. "No. I'm simply very tired."
Eirlys had never imagined that preparing for a wedding could be this exhausting. Every day brought another decision, another fitting, another discussion about flowers, food, guests, jewellery, or ceremonies. Everyone seemed to have an opinion, and somehow, she was expected to have answers to all of them. Every day by evening, her body ached, her mind felt heavy, and all she wanted was to crawl into bed and forget that a wedding was approaching at all.
Yet somehow, Loki was the one thing she could not stop thinking about. That was what confused her most. She had spent some time trying to resent him, blame him for the circumstances that had brought them together. She had convinced herself that whatever existed between them was nothing more than obligation and familiarity. But lately, every time Loki smiled at her, teased her, or quietly stayed beside her when she was overwhelmed, something inside her softened.
She did not know when his presence had become comforting, his touch had started making her heart race, and she certainly did not know what to call the strange warmth that filled her whenever she caught him watching her.
Perhaps she was simply tired, the wedding stress was making her emotions irrational. Or, perhaps somewhere along the way, Eirlys had started to care for the man way more than she ever though she would.