Prince and the Pauper: Curse of Surtr

CHAPTER ONE pt1

~ 150 years Pre-Thor ~

What is important

The day was warm in Asgard and the merchants market was the fullest it's ever been. Clear blue skies with no cloud in sight hung above as the sun smiled down upon the people and the stalls below.

Isaura took no notice of the sky or the fact the sun was particularly hot. Her focus was on the discarded half loaf of bread on the stall directly across from her on the other side of the market.

Her mouth watered and her stomach gave an angry growl at the sight of it. It'd been days since she'd last eaten and measly scraps stolen from the stalls weren't always enough. But it beat the trash cans and rotted produce in the alleyways.

When the coast was clear of guards, she pulled the hood of her tattered cloak over her head to cover her unusual hair. She looked both left and right, checking for the Kings men again to make sure, before stepping out of the alley and into the bustling crowds.

Slowly, Isaura moved with the crowd, her eyes fixated on the delicious morsel of food, determined. The stall moved closer as she steadily made her way to it. Her stomach growled, encouraging her and her mouth continued to water in anticipation. Her fingers twitched at her sides, longing to feel its coarse texture and the grainy taste on her tongue.

Just when the loaf was in reach a pair of guards appeared on her left. She stiffened. Her heart thudded in her chest and her nerves shook. The seconds dragged, hoping she hadn't been caught. But to her relief, the guards passed her by and continued down the line of stalls, chatting idly with each other.

After they were gone and out of sight, Isaura relaxed and continued her pursuit of her heavily delayed meal. Meters away she prepared to swiftly grab and calmly walk away, to disappear into the swarms of people.

When she was close enough, checking the teller was looking elsewhere, she snatched the bread from the stall and slipped it into her cloak.

But before she could disappear, a strong hand grabbed her wrist and yanked it roughly above her head revealing the stolen item.

She shrieked in shock at the strength, the force making her drop the bread and look up. She'd been caught! It took her seconds to realize. First thing she saw was silver armor, then his angry, sapphire eyes.

Time seemed to stop. Isaura's heart plummeted as the fury in those eyes turned her insides to stone. She'd never seen such anger before in so many years. It frightened her. Panic swiftly evaporated her stupor and her heart shot to her throat. Adrenalin thumbed in her veins and fear widened her golden eyes. Her complexion paled.

With strength she never knew she had, she ripped her aching wrist free from the man's steel grip and dug her heel, hard, into his foot. The man yelled out in pain and surprise giving her time to pick up the fallen bread and make a run for it.

She ran.

As she did, weaving through the crowd, the only thing on her mind was to get away. To escape so that she could fill her stomach that ached so much with hunger.

She ran as fast as she could in her starved state trying her best not to trip. She had to get as far away from her pursuers as possible. She could hear them behind her, shoving people aside and ordering the thief to halt.

Isaura took a sharp turn right into an alleyway and sprinted through the maze of buildings hoping to lose them. Because of her lack of nourishment she couldn't get far. She was tired, her energy running low fast. Her lungs burned and her legs screamed from over exhaustion.

But she kept going, willing herself to keep running away in order to eat. That's all she wanted – to eat. She was so hungry.

Soon the noise of her pursuers grew further away as she kept running and running. When she was sure she couldn't hear them anymore, she stopped and collapsed against an alley wall. Exhausted. The cool surface of it felt so good against her smoldering and damp skin.

It took Isaura quite a while to calm down, to ease her heart and breathing, before she was able to take her first bite of food in days. As soon as the freshly baked bread touched her tongue, tears brimmed her eyes. Tears of joy. She chewed slowly, savoring the taste and the distant memories of her father baking.

Oh, how she missed him. The man who'd risked everything to save her and her mother all those years ago. Though, he was not her biological father she still loved him like he was. But he was gone. Long gone, leaving her to fend for herself for 200 years.

A noise snapped her from her thoughts. Immediately she was alert. She stopped chewing and listened, her trained ears picking up the boots of two guards. Her heart began to race as they came closer and closer. It was too late to run so she pushed herself against the alley wall, concealing herself in the shadows.

She held her breath as a pair of guards passed her, chatting quietly to themselves. It seems, according to them, that the future King of Asgard had been chosen and preparations for the coronation were almost complete. There was to be a grand ball before the ceremony and a feast thereafter to celebrate.

It was too bad she couldn't attend. Like Cinderella she had no parents, no money or fancy dresses to wear to the ball. She had no title either, other than riffraff and stinking thief. And fairy godmothers definitely didn't give a hoot for people like her. She was alone and belonged nowhere. Fact.

Isaura watched in complete silence as the guards passed by, not giving the ball or any high class celebration a second thought. Princes were over glorified people with money. This was no fairy tale and beggar's never got the happy ending.

She focused on keeping herself hidden and silent. That's what was important, remaining hidden till it was safe.

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All parts/chapters are under regular edit and wordings may change.

This was the very first fanfiction I ever wrote for Loki. I found it in my old file of stories and poems and decided to revamp/rewrite/ continue it. And I'm having alot of fun so far.

In this story my main focus is the life of Isaura and the challenges she has to face. Second focus, is Loki and the journey he takes. All this takes place 150 years before Thor's Coronation and the events of the Marvel Movies. To which are not quite cannon.

Comments are welcome