Part 4: Ake

(A/N The woman is Erin Chambers and no copyright is intended, anyway this is what I think Eerika would look like when she's made-up, I don't know just thought she was pretty XD )

I reached the training grounds rather quickly as I ran. It was like an arena, large in size with plenty of seating for an army. I took myself up to the third row and looked over the equipment used in training, and there was plenty of it. Although I couldn't wait to use it all, I found myself more interested in the small red book that lay in my palms.

The cover was plain and the spine was worn so I had no idea what he had given me. I stared at it blankly, all I could think about was our conversation. What went wrong first? The conversation itself, as I said I'm not even allowed to say hello to him. Second? Well there was the awkwardness of it. Third? Was my 'faux pa' when I blurted out about seeing him being teased.

A king is strong, a king is proud, though I didn't believe he was our true king, he wasn't what a king should be, but he was proud. Knowing that I saw him that day and remembering others had too, must have wounded his pride.

A cold wind came and as I closed my eyes against it, the pages of the book flicked through rapidly. Once it had passed I opened my eyes and turned it back to the first page and flicked through it myself. I found it to be a book of the nine realms myths and legends, each realm was divided into sections or volumes where it would have a few stories from that realm. I had only one volume, a small book dedicated to Midgardian tales of woe.

This was the kind of book you would read as a bedtime story to your child. My aunt read me one similar, the stories in these kinds of books are darker than most, designed to scare children into being behaved. Some were quite gory and some were sweet enough.

My favourites were the stories from Midgard which was a perfect coincidence, written by people called Grimm.

(A/N in case you didn't already know, before fairy tales we know and love today, brothers Grimm wrote some pretty well... Grim stuff, very dark and they still told them to children, obviously since then they've been softened down... Thank goodness)

I liked them best because Midgardians were always the best at telling stories, well they'd have to be to do us Asgardians justice.

I began to wonder why Loki would love this book, I thought it would be history or something, but this was a simple children's book so I couldn't understand the appeal to a man like him. It was like Thor having a little pink blanket and sucking his thumb, you just couldn't picture it.

So why would Loki treasure this book above all else? It held no value and no true fact, someone like Loki didn't seem the type to read fictional stories or be interested in them. They had to hold some sentimental value to him, something that really meant something.

I began reading one about a girl with long long hair, which reached to the bottom of the tallest tower, where she was imprisoned, then we she meets her prince he impregnates her, which she finds out as her clothes begin to get too small, and so the story goes on.

Time began to pass quickly as I read on, about a girl who was as white as snow's own mother tried to murder her, a group of boys who slaughtered their own blood relations and so on and so fourth. So much pain and so much depression, but they open your eyes to how things are really done, how things really work.

Asgard is different, but bad things still happen. We're attacked, innocents are murdered, we lose our king, we gain a new one, a psychopath. Yeah, bad things happen, these books tell you that, they teach you about the people who overcome that, but they don't scratch the surface with the ones who cause the devastation. So when you meet someone like that, you aren't prepared for it.

Loki had completely caught me by surprise. I was told he was a monster, which he might still be, but he had shown me much kindness and I felt uttermost sympathy for him, which was the last thing he would want me to feel for him, people in his position don't take too kindly to pity.

I didn't believe we could ever be friends, he didn't seem the type, but he had shown me some kindness and I was thankful for it "someone looks deep in thought" I turned my head around to see Ake standing on the row of chairs below me.

"Sorry I was just thinking"

"Why are you apologising?" His voice was smooth like velvet "at least you can think, I don't think the other three know how to" he laughed slightly and so did I, it's awkward to laugh with someone when you've never talked to them before.

"Have you spoken with them before?"

He considered it for a moment "yes, well only Colby, but... I saw that Gustav guy pick his nose so I don't have much hope for the other one" we laughed again but this time for longer "I don't know what's in Loki's head putting them three in charge"

"Shh"

"What?" He looked around him for someone but no one was there, so he looked back at me confused "why shh?"

"He hears everything" I directed my eyes to the palace and then back to him.

He followed my gaze "well good, the Kingdom will fall to ruin if those morons are allowed out by themselves" I began laughing uncontrollably and he did too.

"Well then, you should keep an eye on them, maybe when they fail, Loki will put you in charge" I winked jokingly.

But he shrugged his shoulders "I asked not to be"

I furrowed my brows for a second, slightly surprised "why? You'd be a good leader"

"And you know that do you? You don't even know me" I felt like we were in one of these stories, like he was the prince and I was the princess, and this was the part in the story when we kiss and get married immediately. I wasn't a princess, he wasn't a prince,

"I have a good perception of people, I can tell you would be, so why would you ask not to be a leader and be so selfish as to let them be in charge?" I was probably in way over my head but as I've said I'm very curious and forward.

"Selfish?" He giggled slightly with a look of 'unbelievable' on his face "I'm being selfish?" I wasn't sure what was going on anymore, whether we were play fighting or what but it felt normal, it felt right to talk to him. More than it did to talk to Loki.

"Yes selfish"

"I don't believe I'm good for the job" he spoke honestly.

I thought for a second "do you pick your nose?"

"Do you?" He looked at me with a joking face.

"Fine well are you Gustav?" I didn't know enough about them to make a comparison.

"Erm... No?" Well I should hope not, but he sounded unsure, probably because of my strange question.

"Are you Colby?"

"No"

"Are you Endre?"

His expression became confused "well no"

I stood up slowly "well then you would make an excellent leader" he smiled warmly at me and I did the same "I have to get back, make sure no one is trying to burn down the palace" he nodded sadly which made my stomach flutter, because he didn't want me to go. But like I said I had to, even though Loki had said we were allowed to skive off, he hired me and I was determined to do something in this job.

I was right about Ake, he was calm and sweet, patient, funny, the perfect husband, just not for me. I made my way to the end of the row, and then down the stairs so I could walk across the training field back to the palace. But when I got there I was told that my shift was over, which was news to me, because I hadn't actually been told when I start and when I finished. This job was possibly the worst prepared job I had ever had, I didn't know my posts, I didn't know when I had to start and finish, I didn't know anything about it. Unfortunately there was only one person who can explain it all to me.