Several more days pass in Asgard. Several more mornings woken by warm sunshine on your face, and Loki's arm around your waist. Several more afternoons shared walking through the palace gardens, lounging in the library, sneaking around the kitchens, and exploring the village. And several more nights of passionate moans and heated kisses.
But upon waking this morning, Loki hadn't been in bed.
Or even in the room.
Unusual, but not exactly concerned, you decide to take a few precious moments to yourself and lounge in the massive shower of the ensuite. But you don't linger long - eager to find out where your prince has run off too. He so rarely leaves your side, it must be something interesting. And quite frankly, you're bored.
You dry off and wrap yourself in a towel before wandering over to the wardrobe to look through all of the beautiful, brightly colored dresses. As your fingers skim the fabric, moving from blues to greens to yellows, you notice the atmosphere has shifted. The feeling of being watched prickles the hair on the back of your neck.
You smile.
"Loki, how many times have I told you not to pop in like this? You have to knock like a normal person!" you laugh, turning to find Loki leaning against your bedpost.
"I have to knock?" he almost laughs, arching a brow. "Darling, you're in my room."
"Okay fine, you don't have to know," you laugh. "But at least don't stalk me - especially while you're invisible!"
Loki tuts disapprovingly. "Come now, love. You know I can't turn myself invisible. You just don't pay close enough attention."
"Creating an illusion of an empty room counts as being invisible," you shoot back.
Loki groans and leans his head back against the bed post.
"I can't help it love. I love to watch you as you live blissfully unaware of my presence," he says, pushing himself from the bed post and coming up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist as you try to hold your towel in place.
"But I wasn't unaware of your presence," you say. "At least, not for more than ten seconds."
"And how can you be sure I haven't been here the whole time?" he jests.
You lean your toweled head back into him as he places a small kiss on your freshly washed cheek. "Because I actually showered in peace," you say pointedly.
Loki says nothing, but chuckles warmly, letting his fingers drag up and down your arms - featherlight.
"Will you walk with me, love?" Loki says.
"Not like this!" you giggle, motioning to your wet hair and towel-covered body.
"Let me help," Loki says in a low, seductive voice.
Pulling the towel gently from your hair, he runs his fingers through, a green glow causing your head, neck and shoulders to feel warm and tingly. You're never sure how he does it, but your hair is now dry.
With a single, effortless flourish Loki pulls the towel from around your body and tosses it aside. You shiver as the air hits your damp skin, and Loki chases those shivers with tiny kisses running across your bare shoulders as his hands dance down your back. That warm, tingling sensation trickles down your spine as his magic dresses you.
"There," he smiles, coming to the front to face you. "You look beautiful."
With a gentle hand he guides you to the tall mirror on the dresser door, and a gasp slips from between your lips. Loki has styled your hair perfectly, pinned back on one side as the rest flows over your shoulder and down your back like currents in a waterfall. And he's dressed you in a gown unlike any you've worn before. It's a beautiful dress of ivory, with dainty green and gold accents pleated effortlessly through the skirt and bodice. Long sleeves hang off your shoulders, accented by a corset laced with golden threads.
As cliché as it sounds, you feel like a princess.
"It's beautiful," you whisper.
"No," Loki whispers from behind. "It's only fabric. You make it beautiful."
Your heart flutters, and you turn to find Loki has magically changed his clothes as well. He now stands before in matching ivory robes, a golden cape replacing his normal emerald green.
"What is going on?" you whisper, taking in the sight of the God before you. "Are we meeting with your father?"
Loki lets out a small laugh, and offers you his arm.
"No, my love. I simply wonder if you'll walk with me to the gardens?"
"Of course," you say breathlessly. Confused, and overwhelmed.
You take his arm, and he begins to guide you through the halls. You cast a few curious glances up at him, and you know he can feel your stare. Yet he doesn't look down, but rather keeps an impish smile on his face.
And for the first time, Loki's face beams with...pride. It's an incredible, almost unrecognizable change. His shoulders stand tall, his chest puffed out as he leads you on his arm through the palace. There's color in his cheeks, and determination on his face.
"Why are we going to the gardens?" you ask.
"I have something I need to speak with you about," Loki says with a grin.
You're so enraptured by Loki that you aren't watching where you're going, and as you turn the corner, you run right into Fandral.
"My lady!" he exclaims, catching your shoulders and helping you regain your collective balance. "My sincerest apologies, I didn't see-," he stops suddenly, his jaw dropping as his gaze travels up and down your body. "Lady Y/n of Midgard," Fandral says, seemingly stunned by your appearance. "You look...beautiful."
He takes your hand and places a kiss atop it. But before you can react, Loki growls and gives Fandral a powerful shove, causing him to fall on the ground. Fandral, usually somewhat passive in his encounters with Loki, looks up, anger burning in his eyes. He leaps back to his feet and reaches for the sword at his side, unsheathing it as Loki pulls his blades.
They both take an angry step toward each other, weapons raised.
"NO!" you shout, throwing yourself between them just as another figure, a woman, leaps into the mix.
"Enough!" she barks - stern and forceful.
Both men pull back, you facing Loki, the woman at your back, facing Fandral.
"Put it down, Fandral," you hear the woman say in a threatening tone.
"Loki," you say sternly.
Both men reluctantly sheath their weapons. Fandral takes a breath as if to speak, but the woman at your back speaks first.
"Do not let that mouth of your get you into trouble, friend," she says, more gently this time. "He is still your prince."
Fandral adjusts his tunic, and gives you a bow. "My lady," he says politely, before shooting a sharp glare at Loki and walking off. Loki takes an aggravated step after him, but you put a hand to his chest.
"No, Loki. Walk it off."
He stares at Fandral's retreating figure, before looking down at you.
"Walk the other way," you say firmly. You've had to deal with Loki's temper when it comes to Fandral before, and quite frankly you don't want to deal with it again.
"But, love," Loki frowns. "We were-."
"No, Loki. Go. Walk it off. Come find me when you've calmed down."
Loki's nostrils flare in anger as he turns his back and storms off, leaving you alone in the hall with the person who had intervened. You turn to her, and find a stunningly gorgeous dark-haired woman about your age.
"Thanks," you say with an exasperated smile. "I don't think I would've been able to stop them on my own."
"It was nothing. This is not the first time I have had to part Fandral and the young prince," she smirks. "It seems neither has managed to mature over the past several hundred years."
"Apparently not," you grin.
The woman smiles at you, but her gaze turns appraising. "You must be Loki's muse, Lady Y/n of Midgard," she says. "Thor tells me that you're here to stay. Welcome to Asgard," she says, giving you a friendly smile.
You feel a strange whooshing feeling in your chest when she calls you Loki's muse. It makes you smile.
"Thank you," you say, already feeling a kinship beginning to grow. "And you are?"
"I am Lady Sif, of Asgard. Friend of Thor and the Warriors Three."
"You're Sif?!" you exclaim excitedly. "The incredible warrior? You're just as beautiful as Thor described! It's an honor to meet you, I've heard so much about your adventures," you say, almost fawning over her.
As you had been recovering in Asgard, Thor had often told you stories of him and his friends. One of them he had spoken of most frequently was Sif. You have wanted to meet her ever since Thor told you of the time when, as children, Sif released two dozen chickens in Loki's room in retribution after he cut off her hair while she slept one night.
Apparently Loki found feathers in unmentionable places for weeks.
Thor greatly enjoyed telling you that particular story.
"Well I...I am honored," Sif says, a smile painting her face. "Thor told you these things?" she asks.
"Oh yeah," you say. "He talked about you all the time when I was here recovering a few months ago."
Sif was clearly a woman of great fortitude, but you could see her working to control the scarlet tinge in her cheeks. Perhaps Sif and Thor were...more?
"I am simply glad to see that you are adjusting to life as an honorary Aesir," Sif says, changing the topic. "And quite frankly, it's nice to see Loki's jealousy aimed at someone other than his brother, for once."
"I wish he wouldn't aim it anywhere," you grumble. Sif laughs and you laugh along with her.
"I have only just returned to the city from a journey that took me to Svartalfheim. But even in the briefest of violent interactions I have had with Loki since our mutual returns, I can see a change in him. How he walks. How he carries himself. I never thought I'd see the day, but I believe you may have just touched that icy blue heart of his," Sif says, placing a friendly hand on your shoulder.
"I just don't think people really understand him," you frown. "Not that he's every really let anyone try."
"He's let you try, it seems," she grins, her gaze caressing the golden threads of your corset and falling down the curve of your hip. "I can see why. Although from what I hear of you, your wit gives our prince a challenge as well."
Sif laughs as you make a flustered attempt to thank her for the compliment, and starts walking backward down the hall.
"It has been an honor to make your acquaintance," she calls out. "Our paths will cross again soon, I hope. There are never enough women that walk these halls!"
With a friendly wink, Sif turns on her heel and disappears around the corner. Overwhelmed, and almost giddy at the idea that you might have a friend in the palace, you turn to begin your journey back to your room to wait for Loki.