Gardenias (L. Laufeyson)

Chapter 11

"Loki, where are we going?" Maeve mumbled sleepily. The prince only grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hallways, still dark in the early hours of morning.

"It's a surprise," he said, grinning. The two of them traveled outside to the stables, where Loki led Twilight out. Maeve could mount a horse just fine but allowed him to assist her before he smoothly mounted behind her.

"It's still dark out here!"

"Fantastic observation, Maeve. You truly have brilliant eyesight."

"I'm serious- where are we going?"

"You'll see." He clicked his tongue and the horse trotted off into the early morning mist.

Instead of taking them into the village, Loki steered Twilight into the woods. The late-summer air hung around them in a humid fog. The prince glanced around at their surroundings nervously. The weather certainly didn't look promising, which could potentially ruin his plan.

"So," he said, just to keep the conversation moving, "tell me something about yourself I don't know."

"Hm, lets see... I don't like chocolate."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I think it's disgusting."

"Are you being serious?"

"Yes."

"I guess that's it, then." He sighed dramatically. "I can't marry you, Maeve. I'm sorry."

She giggled. "That's not really your choice."

"I'll find a way to get out of it."

"Oh? Like what?"

He pretended to think about it. "I'll run away to Midgard and disguise myself as a lowly human. Better to suffer on Earth than marry a woman who doesn't like chocolate."

"Be serious!"

"You don't believe me?" There was a moment of silence, then he spoke again. "I'm always serious. Turn around."

Maeve did as he said and gasped. Sitting behind her was a young man with red hair and black glasses. He wore a shirt bearing the words 'Star Wars', though Maeve didn't know what it meant.

"Loki!"

"I don't know who you're talking about," he said in a perfect American accent. "I'm Joe Smith, from Arkansas. I like playing video games in my parents' basement because I flunked out of design school. Life is rad."

Maeve still hadn't stopped laughing. She laughed so hard that she almost fell off of the horse. Loki (or Joe, depending how she looked at it) held her so she didn't slip.

"You are too much," she said, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "I don't know the last time I laughed that hard."

Everything, she realized, was a bit brighter with Loki at her side. The sunrise more vivid, the flowers more fragrant. The world lit up when he looked at her.

"You have a pretty laugh. You should laugh more often." He morphed back into his Asgardian form and led the horse down a rocky path. "I'm glad I amuse you."

"You do. Trust me." She winked at him. He fought off an embarrassed but pleased expression. "What's something I don't know about you?"

"I got stuck as a cat for a month when I was young."

"Really?"

He chuckled to himself as he recalled the memory. "Mother was teaching me how to morph to different forms. I successfully transformed into this teeny fluffy black cat, but I couldn't figure out how to then myself back. I had to ride around in Mother's purse for an entire month until we found a spell to turn me back."