Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Another day at Asgard's slave market was finally coming to an end. Loki hated those long, hot Sundays he spent on his knees, head down, and hands tied behind his back. He had been in the same position since early morning, unable to straighten up, without water or any shade. Some of the slaves fainted sometimes, but he was strong enough to endure it. He wanted to avoid the lashes that awaited those who passed out. 

The worst thing was the absurdity of this action. He knew perfectly well that no one would ever buy him, he was sure that his owner knew it too, and yet he was forced to be here every second Sunday of the month for many long, terrible years.

Loki wasn't really even rebelling internally anymore. Despite the horrors that awaited him at the market, it was always a change from what his other days had been like for as long as he could remember. Every morning he was thrown into an empty room where he spent the entire day on the floor, naked and shackled to the wall. For a few coppers anyone could come in and do whatever they liked with him. In the evening, the owner of the brothel unfastened him and dragged him to an open bathhouse, where Loki had a few minutes to, together with the other slaves, wash off the dried sperm and blood with ice water. Afterward, they landed in a room full of straw mattresses on the floor and were given their daily ration of food before being allowed to sleep for a few hours in preparation for the next identical day. 

Loki had no memory of any other life. He knew that he was from Jotunheim and that he had probably been kidnapped from there as a child when his planet lost the battle against Asgard. Despite his best efforts, he could not remember his family or his home. He knew nothing beyond the building where he lived and worked, the slave market, and the short sandy road between them. 

He had no idea how young he was when his current owner bought him, but his first memories came from that brothel. For as long as he could remember, he had to work, help in the kitchen and clean up. He also remembered perfectly the day he learned his role in this place. 

He had not even started puberty when a wealthy man with a sick mind appeared in the brothel and paid a lot of money for his virtue. With a smile, Loki's owner threw him into a room and tied him to a bed, and then listened to his screams and begs for several hours. Loki still remembered the pain of his body being ripped open and his own shock when he finally realized that this would be his role for many, many years.

In his youth, he still had the illusion that something would change one day. He imagined endlessly that one of the clients would like him, maybe fall in love with him, that someone would save him, someone would help him. Now he was wiser and didn't allow himself to hope. He knew perfectly well that he would have to live out all his years in this place and that he would die just as he lived: invisible and unwanted. If he had at least the right looks, maybe fate would smile on him one day. Over the years, everyone he met in the brothel was sold on.

He mentally cursed his fate, which had not only made him a slave, but had also given him such an appearance. He was taller than all Asgardians, but much shorter and smaller than any adult Jotun. He knew there was something wrong with him, although he had no idea what could be the reason. Years of hunger and suffering had left him incredibly thin, most men taking him from behind were almost able to wrap their hands around his waist. He barely got any fresh air and his skin, which was vivid and blue on a normal Jotun, was dull and gray.

In those very rare moments when he managed to catch his reflection on the way to the market, he terrified himself. He had large, hungry eyes, shining from his sunken face with an unhealthy red glow. His black hair was always cut sloppily, close to the skin. Short hair has always been one of the symbols of slavery and his owner never forgot about it. 

He was not allowed to wear any clothes. The only thing he had was a narrow collar that he was unable to remove. It blocked his magic completely and every Jotun in Asgard had one. He was never even allowed to feel this magic, he had been enslaved since he was a small child, and until now Loki couldn't even imagine what it could actually be. 

As he now knelt endlessly on the sun-heated boards, with all his muscles tensed painfully, he thought with resignation that there were many things he couldn't imagine at all. He had never been taught to read, had never been anywhere, had never seen or experienced anything. Sometimes, when an idea formed in his head, he found himself at a loss for words to describe it. It was extremely frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Loki had only two things that kept him alive: his name and stories. 

He had been called many things over the years: trash, runt, slave, whore. He also had his own number in the brothel: L1130. Still, Loki also had a name and he clung to it like an amulet. He didn't know who had given it to him, whether it was his parents, some official, or a slave owner, but it didn't matter. It had been his name from the very beginning and it helped him believe that he was more than just a sex toy for his betters.

Apart from that, Loki had stories and it was only thanks to them that he was able to not go completely insane. He collected them in his head, aware that his thoughts were the only thing that could not be taken away from him. There were short, humorous stories that he listened to carefully when a group of clients visited him, most often men bored with their everyday lives. Usually, while one of them was taking his ass and another his throat, they were telling each other stories about their wives, their lovers, their work and their pastimes. Loki had no power over his own body, but no one could stop him from collecting these stories and recalling them over and over again to distract himself from his own terrible reality.

The most interesting, however, were the stories heard from other slaves. As they lay side by side at night, tired and worn out, sometimes someone had enough strength to tell the others a tale they had heard long ago in a pained whisper. These moments were the only ones in Loki's life that he truly treasured. Those few minutes every now and then, when he closed his eyes and imagined he was somewhere else, allowed him to survive the long years of suffering and lack of hope for his fate to improve. 

The stories varied, but his favorites were all about Jotunheim.

He imagined ceaselessly this incredible land, his true home. He knew he would never see it, but no one could take away this vision of snow-covered mountains, endless stretches of snow and ice, white trees and rocks, glass palaces and winding paths full of secrets. Loki had never seen mountains, or ice, or even a forest, but that didn't stop him from imagining it. He met several Jotnar who still remembered Jotunheim, and from their words and tales he formed an image in his head to which he returned in every moment of suffering. It was his only solace throughout his sad, terrifying life.

That Sunday, he also devoted himself to reflections on his true home. The sun beat down on him mercilessly and his dry throat burned painfully, but he imagined he wasn't here at all, that he had died and gone to a heaven that always looked like Jotunheim to him. He walked endlessly over the white hills, looked at the bright sky and almost felt the pleasant coldness of his imaginary snow under his feet. 

The voices of people arguing brought him out of his dreams. He immediately pricked up his ears, eager for a new story that might help him get through tomorrow, when he would once again be lying on the floor being fucked for hours. 

“I've had enough of this, another Sunday wasted on your whims.” The man spoke in a deep, low voice. “You don't know what you're looking for.” 

“I know exactly what I'm looking for.” A female voice replied, bored and sad. “If I find it, you'll know right away.” 

Loki carefully lifted his head enough to see two pairs of legs approaching in the distance, followed by several more. This was enough for him to judge that the man and woman talking must have been rich and well-to-do. They had expensive clothes and shoes, and were followed calmly by at least a few servants. He had no idea what they were doing in this part of the market where only the worst quality slaves could be found, the ones no one wanted. 

Such as him. 

The man apparently realized this too. 

“We should turn around.” He said loudly, not even trying to keep his words from reaching the kneeling slaves. “Don't you see where we are? You won't find anything sensible here.” 

But the woman clearly wasn't listening to him. Loki could see from the corner of his eye that she had left the man slightly behind and reached the row of slaves where Loki was. She walked slowly, apparently looking at everyone in turn. 

Loki remained motionless, as hopeless as ever. Even if for some twisted reason this rich lady was looking for a lower class sex slave, he was still the last one. Short and weak, with no talents other than what he had learned to do over the years with his tongue to give pleasure to the men and women who visited him.

Yet two tiny feet stopped in front of him, and Loki felt the woman staring at him, though with his head down, all he could see was the bottom of her dress and the pieces of her shoes sticking out from underneath. Shoes probably worth more than his entire life and a few slaves next to him. 

Before she moved on, Loki did something very foolish and very brave, something he had never allowed himself to do. 

He raised his head and looked into the woman's face. All he saw was pale, elegant skin and a pair of piercing green eyes before he lowered his head again and cursed himself silently. He could already hear his owner panting behind him and knew that as soon as the rich people disappeared over the horizon, he would receive a good series of lashes for disobedience. A slave looking at the nobility without permission was unacceptable. 

But the woman remained standing there, and after a moment Loki was surprised to feel a soft hand gently lifting his chin. 

He raised his eyes and this time looked at the stranger's face. 

He immediately decided that she must have been beautiful by Asgardian standards. Petite and elegant, she had flawless skin and a serious expression. Her hair was curled into an ornate, elegant updo. She was dressed in beautiful, embroidered dresses, undoubtedly expensive and fashionable, although Loki knew nothing about them. He had never seen any queen or princess, but from other people's stories, this was how he imagined them.

What was she doing in this gods forsaken corner? 

She looked at him carefully, shifting her gaze from one eye to the other, as if searching for something there. 

“Do you speak a common tongue?” She asked him quietly, still holding his chin gently.

“Yes, Mistress.” He whispered back weakly, his dry throat scratching cruelly. 

“Your Majesty, all my slaves speak a common language.” The owner standing behind Loki immediately interjected. “Some of them can even sing beautifully in it. If this interests you..."

“No.” The woman interrupted him quickly, keeping her eyes on Loki, and the owner fell silent immediately. 

“Sylvie, I'm begging you, let's get out of here.” The woman's companion muttered reluctantly, and Loki involuntarily glanced at him. 

He was a beautiful man, tall and muscular, with hair lighter than the woman's. He was equally lavishly dressed and was undoubtedly bored with all the fuss. The woman ignored him completely and ran her finger gently along the thin heritage line on Loki's cheek. 

"What's your name?" She whispered, leaning slightly towards him and Loki shivered. 

Nobody ever asked him for his name. No one was ever interested in him, no one wanted to buy a Jotun runt. A whore.

“Loki.” He whispered back, trying to push away the hope that suddenly sprouted in him. 

Perhaps this woman would somehow be willing to buy him? He knew from experience that women were often crueler than men. Men usually came to fuck his ass or mouth quickly, but women often had a richer imagination. There were those who tortured him with pleasure, inserted strange objects into him, tested him, beat him... 

This woman didn't seem cruel though. And even if she was, could his life be worse than it was already? At least she was rich, so maybe even if he continued to suffer like this, he would be at least a little better off than the flea-ridden hole he had been rotting in for so many years?

Either way, this was a chance to change his pitiful fate, and Loki could no longer contain his pathetic, senseless desire. 

“Can you read?” The woman asked him quietly now, and Loki felt this new hope drain from him instantly like water leaking from a strainer. 

“No Mistress.” He muttered resignedly.

"What can you do?" She asked undeterred, but before Loki could answer her, the owner interjected again. 

“Your Majesty… This is just a simple sex slave… If you are looking for someone with talents, I can show you…” 

"There's no need." The woman said firmly and finally lowered her hand from Loki's face and then took a step back to look at his figure. 

The owner immediately sensed an opportunity and grabbed Loki by the arm, brutally forcing him to stand up to present himself better. 

Loki didn't even dare to groan as his numb legs took the weight of his body. He continued to stare into this woman's eyes, silently pleading with her to want him. To give him a chance. To let him prove himself. He was ready for anything to get out of this hell. 

“You may test him, Your Highness.” The owner mumbled slyly. Loki knew that he too couldn't believe that maybe someone would finally be interested in him after all these years. “Or you can watch other slaves use him…” 

"There is no need." The woman said quickly and Loki saw disgust written on her face. “Let him go please.”

The owner immediately pushed Loki back to his knees. His hands were tied behind his back, keeping him from regaining his balance, but the woman moved forward and gently grabbed his shoulders, steadying him. And then, to the astonishment of everyone present, including Loki, she leaned into him, so close that her hair covered his face. 

She smelled clean and fresh, and Loki closed his eyes, savoring the scent of things he didn't know. He imagined that the meadow, clean sheets, maybe even snow smelled like this. 

And then a barely audible whisper rang in his ear. 

“What do you dream about, Loki?”

He ran out of air. What was he dreaming about? Nobody ever asked him about it. No one cared about the dreams of the slaves. Did he have any at all? He knew he would never be free, he would never see the mountains or the forest or the stars. He will never have power over his fate or even his own body, he will never start a family, he will never have anything of his own, apart from his name and these stolen stories that he lived in to avoid thinking about his suffering... 

He replied with the one thing that came to mind, the only thing that made sense to him. 

“Jotunheim.” He whispered as quietly as the woman, sure that no one but her would hear him. 

Her breathing hitched suddenly, and the nails on his arms scratched his flesh. She moved away from him instantly and, without looking at him, turned to the man standing next to her. 

Loki closed his eyes, dryly accepting the terrible disappointment that spread through his body. That was why he never allowed himself to hope.

And then suddenly he heard the woman's firm voice again. 

“I want him.” 

Loki opened his eyes, staring at the scene in disbelief. The woman stood in front of him, hands on her hips, staring at her companion, who was clearly as shocked as Loki. 

“Sylvie, you can't be serious.” The man spoke, casting a surprised look at Loki. “Was that what you were looking for?” 

"Yes." She said firmly and turned back to Loki who had forgotten how to breathe. “This is exactly what I've been looking for and you won't convince me otherwise.” 

“Sylvie, I'm begging you…” The man behind her moaned. “Just because our father allowed you to own a slave doesn't mean you have to buy a Jotun... And such a one at that. Come on, let's find some nice boy from Niflheim…"

“No, brother.” She continued to study Loki's face, this time with a gentle smile. “I chose him. Make the deal.”

“Why would you need such a slave…” The man continued to grumble, but took out a bag of money. “You're sleeping with half of Asgard, you should probably know that he's too big for you, what pleasure will you get from him?” 

"It's my business." She said cheerfully and urged the owner with a gesture. “How much do we pay?” 

“300.” Whispered the owner incredulously. He and the woman's companion quickly made the transaction and signed the appropriate documents. She just watched Loki's face with calm interest and something else he couldn't quite understand. 

He himself couldn't believe it all. He tried to breathe deeply, staring at the stranger who was about to change his entire life. He wasn't sure if it was for the better, but he had a hard time believing it could get any worse. What else could they possibly do to him? 

After a moment, the owner attached the leash to the collar around Loki’s neck and handed the end to the woman.

“Is that all?” The woman asked, looking at her companion. “He belongs to me?” 

"Yes." 

"Excellent." She said with a slightly more confident expression and turned to Loki again. “Get up, darling.” 

Loki rose obediently, surprised by her gentle voice. Pulled lightly by the leash, he jumped off the low platform on which he was kneeling, straight at the feet of his new owner. 

With a quick, confident movement, she unfastened the leash from his collar and dropped it to the ground. Then, with a delicate maneuver, she forced him to turn around. Before he could understand what was happening, she was undoing the ropes binding his hands. 

“Sylvie!” The man shouted as Loki's hands were free and the woman gently turned him towards her again. 

“My name is Sylvie.” She whispered, tilting her head up again to look at his face. He was over two heads taller than her. “This is my brother Thor. Don't worry about him.”

“What will you do if he escapes?” Said brother growled, giving Loki a doubtful look. 

“Do you think he has anywhere to escape?” She asked simply and called over the maid standing behind. She took the waterskin from her and pressed it into Loki's hands. “Drink, sweetheart.” 

Loki obediently took the waterskin from her and tipped it to his mouth with an incredible sense of relief. He drank the pure, deliciously cold water endlessly, feeling a disturbing, unhealthy hope come over him. 

The woman, meanwhile, was arguing with her brother again. 

“Give me your cape. He won't be walking naked through the city." 

Loki finally left the empty water container, immediately feeling much better. The headache from being exposed to the sun all day has subsided. 

With a disgruntled expression, Thor unbuttoned his long red cape and reluctantly handed it to his sister. She turned to Loki with a slight smile and, standing on her tiptoes, she put it on his shoulders. 

“Cover up, darling.” She whispered, gathering the cape at the front. Loki gasped in astonishment. The cape was heavy and thick, he had never even touched such a wonderful fabric. It fell down to his knees and he covered himself completely with it, holding it in front. Sex slaves were never allowed clothes, so he was used to his nakedness and now he felt very strange. 

“Send him ahead to the palace, let them prepare him.” Thor muttered reluctantly, eyeing Loki doubtfully as he wrapped himself in his cloak.

Loki felt the first stab of anxiety. Prepare for what? He had no idea what awaited him. For the first time, he also wondered who these people might be. They were talking about a palace... The owner called them Your Highness, they must be important... 

“No way. Loki will be where I am.” She waved her hand again at the maid in the neat blue dress and turned to her. “Take the carriage and get dinner and a bath ready. I want to take a walk.” 

The maid bowed and was gone.

Thor sighed in resignation. 

“I'm staying in town, I don't want to see it.” He glanced at Loki reluctantly. “Just don't blame me if he runs away. Or attacks you.” 

Loki involuntarily flinched at this insinuation. He had been highly trained all these years and would never be able to hurt his owner. He was too scared of punishment. He was beaten and starved more than once for much lesser transgressions. 

“He won't.” His mistress said calmly. “Just look at him, the poor thing is terrified.” Loki involuntarily moved slightly towards that kind, patient voice. Thor, on the other hand, had probably had enough. 

“I'll see you in the morning if you survive the night.” He called out to his sister and, gathering some of the servants, disappeared into the adjacent street. 

She turned to Loki again with a serious face. “Do you want to take something with you? Or say goodbye to someone?” 

“No, Mistress.”

She surprised him again. He knew that slaves generally did not receive the courtesy of saying goodbye to family or friends when they were sold on. Except he had no one or nothing. 

He only turned to his companions in misery, now staring at him with shock that matched his own. There was really nothing to say. He couldn't help them, and they couldn't help him. 

"Good luck." He whispered almost inaudibly and turned away, not even looking at his former owner. He took a deep breath and followed his new mistress into the unknown.

Chapter Text

They walked through the city for a long time. Two guards in shiny, ornate armor at the front, and behind them Mistress Sylvie, proudly upright and elegant. Loki followed two steps behind her, cloaked and uncertain. No one told him where they were going or what to do, so he kept his head down and walked in silence, hoping that would be enough to avoid potential punishment. He was followed by two giggling maids and two more guards. 

They passed buildings and streets unknown to him. Loki was afraid to look around, but he couldn't stop himself from casting curious, furtive glances. Perhaps they will soon lock him in a room for the rest of his life, this might be his only chance to see anything. 

It was only when they headed up the hill that Loki suddenly realized what any man smarter than him would have understood long ago. There was no doubt that they were heading to the palace. Loki had never seen it before, but he knew it well from stories. The reality was more beautiful than his imagination, golden towers rose to the sky, and the palace stretched on high ground in every direction. 

He stole another furtive glance at the woman walking in front of him. Impossible... and yet, there was no other option. People passing them bowed to her, everyone called her Your Majesty... She had guards and servants, beautiful dresses, and apparently lived in a palace. Terror gripped his insides as he finally realized that today he had met the prince and princess of Asgard. 

And that it was the princess of Asgard who personally selected and bought him. And that he belonged to her now.

Panic almost completely blinded him, and as they entered the palace, he no longer understood what was happening around him. He couldn't hear the conversations or register the faces of the servants and guards milling around them. 

He stared at the bottom of his Lady's skirt and followed her unconsciously. They passed through countless corridors and stairs and Loki was already dizzy from the multitude of sounds, smells and people. He had no idea where he was or what would happen to him. His hands were already starting to shake with fear and he couldn't stop them. Eventually they passed through a door and his Mistress stopped, so he stopped too.

He didn't dare raise his head to look around. He knew perfectly well that a slave was not entitled to such privileges. 

Princess turned to him. 

"Are you hungry?" She asked gently and moved closer to look into his face. 

"No, Mistress." He answered politely, even though his stomach was turning with hunger. It was nothing new to him anyway. He never ate more than once a day, sometimes being starved for days if he did something wrong. And even if he did get food, it was only small portions of something disgusting and probably of no value, poor quality bread or some vegetables, or scraps from better tables. 

Princess sighed doubtfully, obviously sensing the untruth in his voice, and Loki felt fear gnaw at his insides again, but she moved across the room, her eyes urging him to follow her. 

He decided that these must be her private chambers. He was afraid to look around, but even with his head lowered he could see elegant carpets and expensive furniture, all made of beautiful materials and in a style that Loki could not name. 

His Mistress led him to a lavishly set table in the center of the room. Loki thanked the heavens that he was well trained for such an occasion and at least knew what to do. Without a word, he passed the maids standing at the table and dropped to his knees near the armchair where he assumed his Mistress would be sitting. He knew full well that this was where he belonged, on the floor at her feet. He didn't dare look at the food on the table, but everything smelled amazing. He didn't see a separate portion for himself anywhere, so he imagined hopefully that he might be entitled to some leftovers from the table. 

He folded his hands politely in his lap and waited for his Mistress to take her place at the table, but she continued to stand motionless over him. 

"What are you doing?" She finally asked in a strangled voice, and now Loki was beyond scared. Had he read the situation wrong? Maybe there were different rules in the palace, maybe slaves had to stand here? Or perhaps they weren't even allowed to be in the same room as their owners ate?

“Get up, Loki.” Princess said and a wave of panic washed over Loki as he heard the anger in her voice. So that was it for his new life. He couldn't even handle the simplest of tasks. 

But she turned towards her maids. 

“Why is there only one place setting?” She asked in an ominous whisper and Loki, who had already stood up, cowered in fear, even though her anger was not yet directed at him. “You knew I would bring him here.” 

The maid in the blue dress that Loki had seen earlier in the market stepped forward boldly, but her voice was not confident. 

“Your Majesty… he's a slave after all.” 

Princess’s eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. 

“Does that mean he shouldn't eat? Or eat scraps off the floor like a dog?” She didn't wait for an answer, just raising her hand casually. “Is the bath ready?” 

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The same maid uttered again. “But the water will get cold before…” 

“Very good.” Mistress said firmly. “Leave us. All of you."

The guards standing in the doorway retreated without a word, but the maids hesitated. 

“Lady, your dress…” 

“I'll be fine.” She said carelessly and headed towards the table. “Let no one disturb me until morning.” 

The maids withdrew and bowed. Loki was absolutely terrified. They were finally alone and now he was about to find out what was really required of him. The scene he had just seen did not give him any encouragement. His new Mistress obviously didn't allow herself to be bothered. Apparently she had plans for him that night too, and Loki didn't want to imagine what kind of twisted imagination someone who already had everything could have. 

Her unexpectedly gentle voice pulled him from his dark thoughts. 

“Sit down at the table. On a chair, not on the floor.” She said calmly and Loki raised his eyes to her. 

This he couldn't do. He was never allowed to sit at the table, let alone in the company of free people. Not to mention the fact that it was the princess of Asgard standing before him.

On the other hand, he couldn't ignore a direct order either, and finally, under her urgent gaze, he sat tentatively on the edge of the chair, feeling that something terrible was about to happen. He knew he was shaking, but all he could do was pull the cape tighter around himself. 

Princess sat down in the other chair and pushed the empty plate towards him. 

“What would you like?” She asked calmly, now examining his face again. 

Loki felt like he was short of air. He did not understand any of it. Maybe it was supposed to be some kind of twisted test that he just failed spectacularly? She obviously saw his stress clearly, because she leaned across the table towards him with a sympathetic expression. 

"Don't be scared." She whispered calmly. "Everything is fine." 

But Loki wasn't stupid. He knew people often said that when everything wasn't fine. More than once, he was told not to be scared when someone pinned him to the floor or brutally fucked him until Loki lost consciousness. 

Now he wasn't fooled either and just sat motionless, waiting for a reprimand or a punishment or an order, he wasn’t sure what. Princess just sighed and picked up the plate. 

“Will you try a little bit of everything?” She asked quietly and began to spoon some from each plate. Loki didn't know the name of any of the things on the table, and he had never eaten any of them. Terrified but also curious, he looked at the full dishes, unknown fruits and flowers in vases.

After a while, she was pushing a full plate towards him. 

“Eat Loki.” She mumbled, handing him the silverware. “You must be very hungry. I can't eat. I still feel sick after what I saw today.” 

Loki knew she was referring to him and the place where she found him. He looked with fear at the elegant silver cutlery and realized with horror that he couldn't do that either. He had never held a fork and knife before. 

Apparently his Mistress understood his fear, because she reached for a fork and speared a piece of something that Loki assumed by the look of it was meat. And then she moved the fork slowly toward his face.

Obediently, he opened his mouth and ate what she gave him. He immediately knew that it was the best thing he had ever tried. Without protesting, he ate another forkful, and another one, and she patiently fed him until the plate was empty. Then she gave him small fruits, the names of which Loki also did not know, but which melted on his tongue, releasing a wonderful sweet and sour taste. Finally, she also fed him two baked desserts, so delicious that Loki felt like he could die from the sheer pleasure of eating them.

She didn't eat anything herself, but she watched him with obvious pleasure, and Loki relaxed a little. It was hard to be stressed when, for the first time in his life, he was full and of such wonderful things no less. 

But a moment later, Princess rose in her chair and panic gripped him once again as he heard her next words. 

“Come on, let's wash this dust off of you.” 

He followed her obediently across the room. They passed through the door into the next room and Loki swallowed at the sight of the large, extravagant bed. He was sure that he would soon be chained to it and that nothing pleasant would await him later. 

For now, though, she led him through another door and into a huge bathing room. In the center of the bright, elegant room was a huge bathtub filled to the brim with water. It could easily accommodate two or even three people, and Loki thought he already knew what awaited him. 

Although he had never sat in a bathtub himself, he had heard stories and knew that there were just as many opportunities to fuck someone in it as in a bed. At this point he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, at least for the first time. He wanted to find out just how bad it was going to be.

Princess leaned over the tub and tested the water with her hand. 

“Great, lukewarm.” She straightened up and smiled at him. “I'm sure you don't like hot water. I thought that a cool bath would do you good after such a day. Hop in.” 

Loki understood none of this. How did she know he didn't like hot water? He didn't like heat at all, he was constantly too hot, especially in summer when the sun was mercilessly heating up the walls and raising the temperature beyond his comfort level. 

Without a word, he took off the cape and politely put it on a piece of furniture standing by the wall. He entered the bathtub feeling very unsure, but immediately felt relief when he slowly immersed himself in the clean, fragrant water. It wasn't hot, but it also wasn't icy like the water he used to wash himself with, it matched his body temperature perfectly. 

He was surprised once again to see that Princess seemed to have no intention of joining him. She didn't undress or try to grope him. She pulled up a stool and sat down on it with a smile. 

“Tell me about yourself, Loki.” She whispered as she poured some scented oils into the bathtub. Loki felt increasingly tired, but he knew the night was just beginning. There were still many, many hours left until morning, which his Mistress surely intended to make good use of, since she had already gone to the trouble of going to the slave market and bringing him here. 

“There's nothing to tell.” He muttered, running his hand carefully over the surface of the water. He never expected that a bath could be so pleasant. If it weren't for the fear of what awaits him, he would be overjoyed lying in that fragrant water, with a full belly. For now, it all didn't seem real to him. He knew perfectly well that he would have to pay a price for this, he just didn't know what it was yet. “I come from Jotunheim. I spent my entire life in a brothel.”

He looked down, unable to bear the pure gaze piercing through him. 

“Do you have any family?” She asked, reaching for more bottles. “Any place you would like to go back to?”

"No, Mistress." He said simply and closed his eyes for a moment. He opened it when he felt a soft hand on his arm. 

"May I?" 

He just nodded, wondering why she pretended to ask his permission. They both knew that she could do whatever she wanted with him and that there would be no consequences for her, even if she allowed an entire army to fuck him and then killed him with extreme cruelty. 

But she was rubbing some oils into his skin, and Loki was surprised to feel his muscles relax under her skillful touch. After that she moved to his other hand and then gently pushed his body forward to reach his back.

She inhaled loudly as she looked at his back. Loki knew it was covered in scars, as were other parts of his body. Still, Princess ran her hands gently over his muscles and bones. 

“You are extremely skinny.” She mumbled as she ran her hand down his protruding spine. 

“I'm sorry, Mistress.” He whispered, cringing into himself. He knew he didn't meet her expectations. And yet she bought him, even though she had seen him in all his glory, so she obviously had some plan for him. 

“Wash the rest of your body.” She handed him the bottles and rose from the stool. “I'll be back soon.” 

He looked after her, surprised, as she walked quietly into the room. He didn't understand her behavior at all. He was sure that this bath was just an excuse to freely and comfortably access his body. He imagined that she would touch him, or have him touch her, or that he would please her. If she really just wanted to wash him, why didn't she have the servants scrub him clean under a stream of ice water? 

She returned a moment later carrying a small pile of green cloth. 

“I ordered pajamas once.” She said cheerfully and placed them on the counter next to the folded cape. “They may be a little too big because I was planning to buy a slightly larger Jotun, but I think they will be enough for a few days.”

Loki understood none of this. He had never had pajamas or any clothes at all before. His body had to be constantly available to anyone who wanted to use it. 

“Let me know when you have had enough of bathing.” She smiled at him and stepped back towards the door, but Loki stood up immediately, careful not to spill the water around him. The bath was nice, but he didn't deserve it, and he knew there was no point in delaying the inevitable. 

“Oh, alright.” Princess mumbled and pulled a giant towel out of the drawer and began wrapping it around him. Loki was so stressed that he could no longer stop his hands and legs from shaking. He stepped out of the bathtub and stood with his head down, shaking as if in the wind. 

"Don't be scared." She repeated, but again he didn't believe her. Her kindness wasn't normal and he knew it was just a cover for something terrible. He was already starting to regret wanting this change. How was he supposed to function now, when he had tasted this food and this bath, when he saw this magnificent palace and its rooms, when someone showed him more gentleness than he had ever known in his entire life?

His Mistress handed him the folded clothes. He quickly slipped his body into long, green fabric pants tied at the waist. They were a little too long, but he rolled the legs up efficiently. He never thought in his life that he would ever be wearing such fabric. He didn't know what it was, but he felt it must be an expensive piece of clothing, light and cozy, fitting easily to his body. She helped him put on a shirt of the same material, green with gold embroidery. He was convinced that only kings wore such clothes and he had no idea why she wanted him to have it on his ruined, pathetic body. 

“Better now, huh?” She asked happily and turned her back to him. “Will you help me with the dress?” 

Loki carefully began to untangle her corset. So the time has come. His heart was pounding like a caged bird when he finally managed to open the dress all the way and Princess stepped out, leaving only her long, richly decorated petticoat. She smiled at him shyly and pointed to the door. 

“Go to bed now. I need to freshen up a bit.” 

Without a word, Loki left the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and fearfully approached the bed in the corner of the room. It was huge, almost bigger than the room where he had spent his entire life being fucked endlessly on the floor like an animal.

The headboard was richly upholstered, and the whole thing was covered with countless bedspreads and blankets, as well as at least a dozen pillows. The same colors that decorated Sylvie's dresses were interwoven throughout: black, dark green and gold. Loki decided these must be her favorite colors. 

He carefully took off his pajamas and placed them neatly on the table next to the bed. He had no idea why she told him to put it on if he was about to take it off, but that wasn't the first thing he didn't understand today. 

He laid down on his stomach on the bed. Trying to hold back the sobs that were tearing from his throat, he focused on how soft the mattress was and how smooth the materials he was lying on were. He couldn't even imagine how happy someone must have been who slept in such a wonderful bed every day. 

He wondered where he would sleep. There was no cage or mattress in the room, so he assumed the floor awaited him. The floor next to the bed was the most obvious choice, but there was a thick, fluffy carpet there and Loki knew full well that he would never be allowed to sleep on it. When he thought about it, he decided that most likely the Princess would just throw him out of the room when she got bored with him and maybe the guards would take him to some slave room. Yes, that made more sense. 

He didn't have long to wait. After a moment, he heard the door creak open and soft footsteps as his Mistress entered the room. And then suddenly there was silence. 

“Why are you naked?” He heard her surprised voice and a wave of panic washed over him again. He got it all wrong again.

“I'm sorry, Mistress.” He muttered, jumping out of bed in stress and reaching for his clothes. He put them on, blinded by fear. "I did not know. Would you rather take them off me yourself? Or do you want to fuck me with these clothes on?” 

When he finally managed to pull his shirt on, he immediately fell to his knees in front of his mistress. He knew that begging for mercy usually made little sense, but that was all he had left. Hope that she wouldn't punish him so much for his obvious mistakes. He lowered his head, expecting to be hit or scream, but nothing happened. 

Carefully, he looked up at the Princess, still standing in the same spot, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Loki…” She moved a little closer to him and wrung her hands. “I have no intention of fucking you.” 

Loki felt his teeth shaking with fear. Thousands of terrible possibilities ran through his mind. If she wasn't planning on using him herself, what awaited him? He knew she wouldn't want him to fuck her, he was much too big for her, he would tear her in half. Did she buy him just for show? Maybe that's why she wanted a slave of the worst quality, so that now she can watch others take him without any qualms? Guards, perhaps even other slaves? He had no idea what else she could come up with. Maybe some elaborate torture awaited him? 

“So who's going to fuck me?” He whispered, too scared to stop himself from asking. He knew that a slave was not allowed to ask even about his own fate, and yet he exposed himself again because he could no longer bear it.

“Get up, Loki,” She whispered in a strangely haunted voice, and Loki jumped up immediately. To his astonishment, she took his hands in hers. He looked at her with his heart pounding loud. 

“Nobody is going to fuck you.” She said calmly and squeezed his hands. “No one will touch you. I may not have as much power and agency as I would like, but I can promise you this: as long as I live, no one will ever rape or hit you again." 

“But that's my role.” He whispered, feeling short of breath. 

“No, Loki.” She watched him with a sad smile and finally let go of one of his hands to place her own on his cheek. “You don't even know how terribly sorry I am for everything that happened to you... But it's over. You will never have sex again unless you want to.” 

“I'll never want to.” He said it right away before he could bite his tongue, but the Princess didn't seem outraged by his impertinence. 

"Let it be that way. Come to bed." 

She gently pulled him by the hand towards the large bed and began to unceremoniously throw the unnecessary pillows and bedspreads onto the floor. Finally she lifted the covers and urged him to get under it.

Loki, still paralyzed with fear, slid under the covers, feeling strangely unreal. He had never been so shocked in his life. As she moved around the bed and slipped under the covers on the other side, he decided it must be a dream. Perhaps he passed out from pain and fatigue, or he became ill and is now delirious. The only explanation for this beautiful, kind princess was hallucinations.

And yet she didn't disappear. She lay on her side, staring at his face, so he positioned himself the same way. The bed was incredibly soft and fragrant. Loki himself felt strangely soft and fragrant after this bath. 

“I know this is all new and scary.” Princess said softly and brushed away the hair that was falling on her face. “I promise I will explain everything to you soon. But I don't want to overwhelm you anymore today, you need to rest.” 

It had to be a dream or a hallucination. Loki stared at the face of the princess of Asgard as she lay in bed next to her slave and knew it couldn't be true. He also knew that he couldn't fall asleep because if he did, he would definitely wake up in the real world, hungry, dirty and tired. 

“I have something that might help you sleep…” She whispered, untangling herself from the sheets. Loki rose on his elbows, watching curiously as she searched through a small bookshelf. After a while, she returned to the bed, carrying a large book covered in elegant, purple-dyed leather. The cover shimmered with golden letters that Loki couldn't read. 

“These are the fairy tales my mother read to me when I was little.” She said, examining the decorated cover thoughtfully. “Maybe I can read to you, would you like it?” 

"Yes, Mistress." He whispered, overcome with emotion. Stories… She wanted to read stories to him… If this was a dream, Loki prayed he would never wake up. 

Princess opened the book to the first pages and slowly began to read with a soft, warm voice. 

Loki immediately closed his eyes and started imagining all the things he didn't know. The story she chose had everything it should: castles and mountains, dragons and princesses, betrayals, lies and intrigues, as well as romance, sacrifice and most importantly - a happy ending.

He knew that tears were finally falling silently down his cheeks, but he couldn't help it. Princess glanced at him over her book as she finished the story, but then turned the page and started reading the next one. And then another one. 

Loki didn't even know when he fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Loki woke up feeling strangely rested for perhaps the first time in his life. In disbelief, he felt the soft, smooth material he was lying on. It couldn't have been a dream, though, since he fell asleep and woke up in this place again. He also vaguely remembered that he had dreamed something during the night. Some foreign lands… 

He heard a quiet rustle of clothes and immediately opened his eyes. The princess was not lying next to him. He raised himself on his elbows and saw that she was already fully dressed and looking for something on the bookshelf from which she had taken the fairy tales the previous evening. 

Dread erupted in his stomach. He knew perfectly well that a slave was never allowed to sleep longer than his master. He should have been on his feet long ago, ready to serve her however she wished. 

He jumped out of bed and landed on his knees in front of her again, begging for forgiveness. At first she couldn't understand what was going on from his tearful mumbling. 

“You apologize for sleeping?” She looked at him in astonishment. “Loki, calm down, please.”

He fell silent immediately, looking at her fearfully from his place on the floor. 

"Come on." She said, giving him her hand and pulling him up. “We'll have breakfast.” 

They moved into the next room, where he glanced at the maids who were back at the table and the guards at the door as the princess sat him down again in the chair at the table, this time elegantly set for two. He couldn't understand why she was doing this. Everyone was well aware of the hierarchy on Asgard. First there was the aristocracy, the gods. Later, ordinary people, including servants like these three maids, dressed in nice dresses and obviously very well-kept. The final layer were the slaves who had no rights. On top of all this, he was at the very end of even the pathetic layer, a cheap sex slave with whom anyone could do whatever they liked.

And yet now he was sitting at the table with one of the most important people in the country. It didn't make any sense. 

Without a word, he ate whatever was given to him. Everything was equally unrealistically delicious. He held the fork with a shaky hand and tried to imitate his Mistress. If he was doing badly, at least she didn't comment. She ate quickly, and Loki immediately assumed she was in a hurry.

“I have a few things to take care of.” She said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Unfortunately, I can't take you with me, I don't have clothes for you, and you can't parade around the palace in pajamas. Which reminds me, I need to call a tailor. And the doctor." She thought for a moment, then got up from her seat. “Will you take care of yourself for a few hours?” 

“Yes, Mistress.” He said obediently, standing up immediately and bowing his head.

After a while, to his surprise, he was left completely alone. Both the maids and the guards followed the princess out, leaving him alone and without any further instructions. For a moment he stood there wondering what to do. And then he did the only thing that came to his mind: he sank to his knees by the door, waiting for his mistress to return. 

His legs felt stiff quickly, but he was used to it. Since he was alone, he allowed himself to sit back on his heels, ready to rise at any moment if he heard the door open. Despite the uncomfortable position, Loki enjoyed these few hours of solitude, because he finally had time to think. 

Nothing he had experienced since yesterday made the slightest sense. He didn't completely rule out the possibility that these were hallucinations or some kind of joke, he wasn't quite sure what yet. But if it was true... He had no idea what to think about it. Something was wrong, he knew that for sure. There was no way such graces could simply be bestowed upon him without any consequences.

He didn't understand at all what the princess could possibly want from him. Even if she wasn't a cruel person, her behavior towards him didn't make sense. She could have just bought him and set him free. Or send him to work in the kitchen, which would be a thousand times better than what he had been experiencing for so many years in the brothel. He knew she had some plan for him, but he couldn't imagine what it was. How could he be of any use to her if she wasn't going to use his body? He couldn't do anything, he had no knowledge, he didn't even have the looks that she could brag about or show off with him anywhere. His only advantage was a flexible body and a dexterous tongue. 

He spent several hours pondering his new goal. When he heard the creak of the floor behind the door and the clanking of the guards' armor, he quickly rose to the correct position. He politely placed his hands behind his back and bowed his head as he had always been trained to do. 

The princess flew into the room happily like a young bird and stopped suddenly when she saw him kneeling humbly on the floor.

“Loki!” She screamed in surprise. “What are you doing on your knees again?” 

“I'm waiting for you, Mistress.” He muttered, feeling the disapproving stares of the servants as they slid into the room behind his Mistress. 

“You spent the whole time I was gone like this?” 

“Yes, Mistress.” He whispered, horrified by the condemnation in her voice. 

The princess let out a loud sigh and turned to her servants. 

“Bring us something cold to drink. And to eat. Have the cook prepare the ice cream if possible.” She sighed again. “Go, all of you. I want to be left alone with him.” 

When everyone had left, closing the door again, the princess approached Loki, who was trembling unsteadily on his knees. She held out her hands to him. 

“Come on, darling.” She said quietly and helped him up. "I don't want to see you on your knees anymore, do you understand? There is no need for that.” 

He felt dizzy as she pulled him towards the large window. She pressed something and suddenly the window opened. Loki realized that it was a door and behind it was a huge balcony. He followed her out, feeling a wave of fresh, fragrant air hit him. They approached the railing and Loki looked down, fascinated.

Before them lay the most beautiful sight he could have ever imagined. Gardens full of trees and flowers cascaded lower and lower, descending gently on the hill, until far below they turned into a town separated only by a thin wall. Loki couldn't stop looking at the streets and buildings, the trees and bushes, and the blue, pristine sky before them. Far ahead lay stretches of deep blue water. Loki didn't know what it might be. He had no idea that Asgard was surrounded by water on all sides. 

He breathed in this amazing image with his whole body, trying to fix the sight in case he would never see anything so beautiful again. At least he would have this memory in his head, much more vivid and real than all the imaginations he had lived with up to this moment. 

When he finally looked at the princess standing at the railing next to him, he flinched. She wasn't looking at the sight in front of them at all, but was examining him carefully. 

“You've never seen this, have you?” She asked in a strangely sad, moved voice.

"No, Mistress." He muttered, looking down at her and wondering once again why she had brought him here. 

“Come on, let's sit down.” She led him to elegant, gold-upholstered armchairs surrounded by potted plants. Under her urgent gaze, Loki sat tentatively on one of them, and she sat on the other right next to him. 

"I would like to talk to you." She said calmly and gave him time to nod. “I'm sure you have plenty of questions.” 

"Yes, Mistress." He whispered, glancing timidly into her open, smooth face, as beautiful as the flowers and plants surrounding them, the names of which he did not know. 

“So ask and don't be afraid.” Her voice was sincere, and Loki decided to take the risk. 

“Is it true what you said last night? That you don't plan on…” He swallowed, unable to finish the sentence. 

“That I won't let anyone touch you?” She asked him directly, leaning forward a little. Loki felt her fresh, soothing scent again, now mixing with the overpowering smell of exotic flowers. “Of course it's true. I didn't buy you to use your body.” 

"Then why did you choose me?" He felt his head pounding from the excess of sensations. “There's nothing else I can do. I haven't done anything else... There are so many other talented slaves..." 

"I was not looking for a slave." She said calmly and leaned more comfortably against the back of the chair, closing her eyes and exposing her face to the sun. 

Loki leaned back shyly too, letting his back touch the soft pillows and almost moaning in pleasure. Either way, he didn't understand any of it. 

“My brother couldn't understand what I was looking for.” She continued speaking calmly, and Loki instantly sensed a good story. “A few months ago I convinced my father to let me buy a sex slave. I deliberately slept with anyone I could, getting caught sometimes, and I knew that my father was fed up with my promiscuity. On Asgard, having a sex slave is not as scandalous as inviting random people to bed. And it should be.” She grimaced in disgust. “Anyway, I knew it was my only chance. Except no one knows that I wasn't looking for a nice body to use in bed." She lifted her head from the backrest and looked at him carefully again. “I was looking for a partner and a friend.”

Loki looked at her in amazement. 

“And you chose me? A whore from the city's worst brothel? Why?" 

His Mistress shuddered. 

“I don't know, I can't explain it. I've always had good intuition.” She tilted her head and smiled at him at last. “I felt something when I saw you and I decided to follow it.” She laughed slightly at his shocked expression. “You'll soon learn that I'm never wrong.” She teasingly added and laughed again. “You'll see, we'll be good friends soon.” 

Loki couldn't imagine it. Her reasons for choosing him were completely ridiculous. And yet… She seemed sincere in what she said, and Loki dared slightly. 

“What use can someone like me be for you, Mistress?” He asked cautiously, and she laughed again. 

"You will see. I have big plans for you.” She didn't say anything more, because at that moment a maid came out onto the balcony with a huge tray full of dishes and placed it on the table in front of them. 

"Excellent." The princess exclaimed, clapping her hands. “That's it, leave us.” 

The maid left with a bow, and Loki glanced at the tray curiously. He couldn't believe they were offering him something to eat again, but it wasn't even one of the strangest things that day. 

“I think you'll like this.” His Mistress giggled and handed him a bowl with a strange, reddish mass, the consistency of which Loki could not determine. He put a little on the spoon she handed him and obediently popped it into his mouth. 

“This is called ice cream.” She said happily as a moan escaped Loki's throat. The substance was delicious, wonderfully cold and sweet, yet invigorating. It tasted like the little fruits the princess had fed him yesterday. He didn't need any further encouragement to eat another spoonful, and another. 

The princess laughed happily as she handed him another bowl, this time with a pale, almost white substance. 

“The first ones were raspberry. Now try the lemon ones.” 

This ice cream was equally good, maybe even better because it was more sour. He couldn't hold back anymore and finally smiled at his mistress over the empty bowl. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled. Perhaps never. 

Her eyes lit up at the sight. She handed him another bowl.

A few minutes later, Loki was so full that he wondered if, for the first time in his life, he might vomit from eating too much. The princess leaned back in her chair, so he allowed himself to lean back slightly and close his eyes, listening to the wind and the birds chirping. 

The minutes passed slowly and finally Loki glanced again at her, now pouring the brown liquid into two elegant cups. It was all incredibly enjoyable and Loki was eternally grateful for every moment, but he still didn't understand what exactly was expected of him. 

"Mistress?" He asked shyly as she slid a full cup across the table towards him. 

"I'm listening." 

“Since I'm no longer… a sex slave” He swallowed. “Then what kind of slave am I?” 

“Oh, you are no longer a slave at all.” She replied cheerfully and raised the cup to her lips with an innocent face. 

There was silence and Loki listened to his treacherous heart telling him that this was all some cosmic mistake. 

“How come?” He finally uttered, convinced that something very bad or very strange was about to happen. 

"Normally. I do not believe in slavery. I bought you because I had no other option, but you don't belong to me. You are free." 

Loki looked at her in disbelief. She wrinkled her nose slightly, glancing at him over her cup. If this was a joke, it was a really long and a particularly cruel one.

"I don't understand, Mistress." He said desperately and leaned involuntarily towards her. "What does all this mean?" 

“It means…” She replied to him calmly, finally setting down the cup. “That you can leave at any time. You will get money for your journey and documents proving that you are free.” 

She reached across the table and carefully took his hand. Loki stared in astonishment at her small, white hand intertwining with his long, worn fingers. 

“I also know you have nowhere to go.” She added sadly. “That's why I'm asking you to give me a chance to show you what you can have here. I would like to offer you a job for me.” 

Loki once heard from a customer about parallel universes. He didn't really understand what it was about then, but now he thought that maybe this was the universe he found himself in. Honestly, he didn't have the slightest desire to go back to the previous one.

“And what would I do?” He asked shyly, squeezing the delicate, warm fingers in his hand. 

“Oh, we'll find out in time.” She said cheerfully. “I think we'll pretend you're just my slave first, it'll be easiest. You will accompany me outside this chamber, go with me to meetings and councils, travel and watch everything with your head humbly lowered. Meanwhile, in this chamber…” Her eyes sparkled with joy. “I will take care of your education.” 

Loki really wanted to find out something else, but at that moment the maid came back with the information that the doctor had come and Loki immediately became stressed. 

"Do not be scared." Princess whispered and pulled him gently back into the room. “Unfortunately, you'll have to undress.” 

In a moment he was lying naked on his back on the bed, shaking from head to toe. In a brothel, a doctor never meant anything good, usually serious illness and death. No one called a doctor for minor problems. 

But now, apparently, this calm old man was going to examine every part of his body. Princess sat down on the bed next to him, and when the doctor's hands finally landed between his legs, she took his hand. 

"Don't be scared." She repeated, and the doctor looked at her, completely astonished. When they were finished, Loki dressed quickly and stood shyly in the back as his Mistress discussed his condition with the doctor. 

“It's not good, Your Majesty. Torn anus. Intestinal problems. The whole body is covered in bruises. Scars that have not healed well. Perhaps internal damage. He doesn't complain about pain because he's used to it." 

She let out a pained sigh. 

“I expected this, unfortunately. I'll need a detailed report. And the direction of treatment.” 

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

As soon as the doctor left, the maid brought in two women, whom Loki soon assumed were seamstresses. They must have known the princess well, because all three of them were laughing merrily as they discussed things he didn't understand. After a while, one of them placed Loki in the middle of the room and calmly measured him from all sides. The second one sat down with the princess at a small table, discussing materials and cuts. 

“No fancy rags for slaves.” Princess said immediately, flipping through the sheets of paper with drawings given to her by the seamstress. “We need practical clothes, decent and comfortable. Poor thing is not used to wearing anything.” She looked up at Loki, still standing nervously in the center of the room. “What color do you like, darling?” 

"I don't know, Mistress." He replied, horrified that someone was asking his opinion. And his preferences. As if he had some right to them. 

This day was getting weirder and weirder.

“Then maybe we'll dress you in my colors, what do you say?” She was obviously keen on the idea, because she was almost bouncing in her seat. “Yes, that's a great idea. Black, green and gold. You will look great.” 

When everyone finally left, his Mistress plopped down in her chair. Dusk was slowly falling and Loki timidly looked out the window. He's never seen a sunset. 

“I should write a few more letters, but it's been such a long day…” She sighed and glanced out the window too. “You know what, never mind, it's your first day. No more chores for today. Come." 

They went out onto the balcony again and Loki marveled at the multitude of colors covering the sky. His legs carried him all the way to the railing. He leaned through it, wanting to get as close to this beautiful phenomenon as possible. Reds mixed with oranges, and the sun hiding behind the horizon seemed enormous, almost unreal. He felt as if his soul was hurting from this incredible beauty.

The princess stood next to him and leaned against the railing. They stood there for a long time and Loki wondered about his life again. What an amazing combination of events made him kneel at the slave market yesterday, worn out and resigned, and today he was watching the sunset with the princess of Asgard, fed, clean, dressed and examined by a doctor. The world was an odd place. 

Once the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, the princess made her way to the same armchairs they had been sitting in earlier and patted the seat encouragingly. Loki obediently sat down, feeling increasingly less real. She reached for the blankets lying nearby on the stool and threw one over his lap. He wasn't cold, but the fabric was so cozy and light that he was glad to wrap himself in it. 

He looked up at the princess and gave her a grateful smile. She immediately reciprocated it.

"You have a lovely smile." She said cheerfully and covered herself with another blanket. “And in general, you are gorgeous. We just need to fatten you up a bit, because you look like you could break at the slightest gust of wind.” 

Loki thought that it shouldn't be difficult if they continued to feed him as they had been doing. As if on cue, servants carrying trays of food began to appear on the balcony. To his own surprise, he finally felt a little more confident and carefully began to eat what they gave him. Just like before, everything was delicious.

"What should I be doing, Mistress?" He asked shyly when they finished eating and the princess handed him a cup of hot drink, which he learned was called tea. 

“First of all, stop calling me mistress.” She laughed, taking a sip from her cup. “When we're alone, just call me Sylvie.” 

“It's not appropriate.” He whispered, confused. 

“I don't care what's appropriate.” She said with a perverse smile and made herself more comfortable. 

Later, as they lay in bed, Loki dared to ask another question. 

“Should I really be sleeping here?” 

Princess turned on her side and looked at him closely.

“Probably not, but I don't care. You'll get a place in the slave wing, but I'd prefer you not spend too much time there. Everyone will think that I take you every night and then dump you to sleep on the carpet. Let's not make them aware of the truth." 

Loki didn't ask her why she wasn’t taking him and dumping him on the carpet. He closed his eyes with terrible relief as she reached for the book and opened to another story. It didn't take much for him to drift off into dreamland.

Chapter Text

The next day, Loki fortunately woke up early. He lay there for a moment, listening to the calm breathing next to him. Next to him, the Princess was obviously still asleep.

Finally, terrified of his own boldness, he silently slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom and then to the balcony. His heart was pounding as he realized that this was the first time in his life that he had gone anywhere he wanted, even if it was just the balcony. 

He was fascinated by the sunrise and the city coming to life. Until now, he hadn't even realized how beautiful there was in the place where he had lived all his life. He was never allowed to see anything except the dirty floor, where every day he was abused worse than the most miserable animal. 

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Sylvie until she came to stand next to him. He instantly panicked. 

She grabbed his elbow firmly before he could fall to his knees, but he started apologizing to her anyway. 

“Stop it, Loki.” She cut him off firmly. “You don't have to keep begging me for forgiveness. You didn't do anything wrong.” 

But he knew better. Long years of training reminded him clearly of his place and role. He knew perfectly well that going anywhere without the owner's permission was wrong. Punishable.

He was now shaking under Sylvie's gentle gaze as she stroked his arm soothingly. 

“It's worse than I expected.” She muttered with a pained sigh. “But we'll get through it. After breakfast, I have to leave you again, but I forbid you to spend this time on your knees.”

This time, when he was left alone, Loki felt a bit more confident. Before leaving, Sylvie gave him a tour of her chambers, showing him what he could do during this time. She took him to the next room, which he hadn't been to yet, which turned out to be a sitting living room that was also her reading room and work place.

She told him he could take a nap, or sit in one of the armchairs and look through the books, some of them had drawings, or spend the time on the balcony, looking out at the gardens and eating the snacks she left for him. 

After some thought, he chose the balcony. He stood endlessly at the railing, breathing in the clean air and looking at the town in the distance. He still couldn't believe that he was allowed to just do nothing. That he had no handcuffs on his hands, that no one was standing over him with a whip. He hesitantly sat down on the edge of the chair, but no one came to punish him. 

He finally relaxed enough to sit more comfortably and even reached for the fruit on the table. It were delicious. He didn't remember ever eating fruit before, even though he knew what it was. He now saw it growing on the bushes beneath him and marveled at this wonder of nature. He thought that perhaps one day he would be allowed to go out into the garden and pick it himself. He felt a vague need for this connection with nature, with which he had had no contact until now. 

Sylvie found him asleep, sitting up in an armchair, wrapped in the wind and his fingers red with raspberries.

It was the most beautiful day in Loki's life so far. When he woke up from his nap, no one shouted at him and no one punished him. Sylvie was sitting quietly at the table writing letters and smiled happily when she saw him. 

“I'm glad you're getting some rest. Maybe after eating we can start learning to read?” 

This was already something completely amazing. Loki knew full well that the delicious food and comfortable bed could be taken away from him at any moment. If he learned to read, no one would take this skill away from him. Ever since Sylvie had mentioned this possibility, he had dreamed about it desperately. He knew that he had already received an incredible amount of benefits and that he shouldn't be greedy, and yet he couldn't help himself. He knew that the ability to read and write opened many new paths. Even if Sylvie changed her mind and sold him into slavery again, with this skill he would be a little higher in the hierarchy. 

As they sat down at the table together, he couldn't contain his excitement, and Sylvie's eyes sparkled with joy as she looked at him. Learning proved to be easier than he expected. Until now, he had thought that great concentration and vast knowledge were needed to decipher these sequences of stamps covering the pages of books. Meanwhile, it all turned out to be quite logical. It was all a bit confusing for him, but he thought he still did pretty well for his first lesson. Sylvie seemed to think so too. 

“You really never studied this?” She looked at him in amazement. 

“No, Mistress.”

"Sylvie." She corrected him firmly. 

“No, Sylvie.” He repeated obediently, and her name burned strangely on his tongue. Sylvie. 

She looked at him a little suspiciously, but then she beamed. 

"Then you have a natural talent. I knew I wasn't wrong about you.” 

He didn't ask her what she meant, too concerned with deciphering the short words in the children's book she brought him. 

The next day, when Sylvie went out to do her business again, Loki happily settled himself at a table on the balcony. He brought the book he studied from and the sheets of paper she gave him. He dipped the pen in the ink and reverently repeated the movements she taught him. He didn't get much out of it, but he wasn't discouraged at all. Sylvie promised that they would continue studying in the afternoon. 

He was so happy that it made him feel sick. A few days passed, and he received no punishment, no payment for the miracles that happened to him. He ate as much as he wanted, was free to roam Sylvie's chambers, and no one forced him to do anything. Sylvie even encouraged him to do whatever he liked and laughed happily when he started smiling at her. He slowly began to believe that maybe this really wasn't a dream or a joke, and that in some extraordinary way this was what his life was going to be like now. 

He looked up when he heard Sylvie come out onto the balcony. She wore a thin cloak over her dress, and Loki thought she was returning from outside. Without a second thought, he stood up as she approached him. She seemed exceptionally happy.

"I have something for you." She said excitedly. "Come." 

When they returned to the room, he immediately saw the clothes lying on the sofa. Sylvie was practically jumping for joy as she showed him simple black trousers and elegant green tunic, as well as a pair of gigantic leather boots. Loki has never worn shoes in his life. 

“I'll leave you to change your clothes.” 

She went out to the other room for a moment, but when she returned, Loki had only time to undress and put on new pants. It was strange, made of strong, durable material, and Loki, unaccustomed to clothes in general, couldn't cope with the ties around his waist. 

Sylvie quickly came over to help him and together they tackled his pants, shirt and finally his shoes. She grabbed his hand and dragged him in front of a large mirror.

Loki looked at himself in amazement. He didn't look like himself at all. If he didn't have blue skin and weren't so thin, he would look like an Asgardian lord. The clothes were beautifully decorated and certainly must have been very expensive. He glanced at the reflection of Sylvie standing next to him. She seemed so small next to him, almost dainty, and yet they fit together strangely because their clothes were in the same colors and with the same decorations. He had no idea if that was her intention, but the effect was amazing. 

"You look wonderful." She said with such delight that, for the first time in his life, Loki thought that maybe he wasn't as ugly as he thought. “They'll bring the rest of the clothes in a few days, but I wanted you to have something so you could finally leave these chambers.” 

His heart beat with hope. He wouldn't mind spending his life in Sylvie's magnificent rooms, but he couldn't pretend he didn't dream of seeing more. He chuckled to himself at his impertinence. A few days ago he dreamed of a slice of bread that would not be dry or moldy, today he longed for walks with the princess of Asgard. Life was truly surprising at times. 

A moment later, the guards were opening the door to the hall, and Loki followed Sylvie with a shiver of excitement. He walked two steps behind her, his head properly bowed. Two guards followed them. Sylvie quickly led them through the halls and stairs, and soon they were emerging into the gardens beneath her balcony. 

Before Loki could look around, he heard a woman's voice calling for Sylvie. He stopped obediently behind her. After the greetings, he quickly realized that Sylvie's mother Frigga and her servants had joined them. 

Queen of Asgard. 

He stood with his head politely bowed as expected, confident that no one would pay any attention to him. How wrong he was.

“And that must be Loki!” The queen called out friendly and Loki glanced at her uncertainly. She was beautiful and elegant, exactly as a queen should be. There was a strange, slow calm about her that Sylvie lacked, as if she had accepted her fate and as if nothing would surprise her anymore. 

She watched him with a gentle smile. 

“I've heard a lot about you.” She said cheerfully and cast a teasing glance at Sylvie. “My daughter loves to start scandals.” 

Sylvie rolled her eyes. 

“If you think that bringing a slave from the lower classes is more scandalous than the fact that we have slaves at all, then…”

"Be careful." The queen hissed, moving closer and glancing at the guards standing a few steps away. “I know you may disagree with a lot of things, but there's nothing you can do about it. Treat your slaves with kindness and that will be enough.” 

"It's not enough." Sylvie snapped with such sudden anger that Loki shook with fear. To his horror, he saw that her hands glowed with a faint green light. He had never seen anything like it. She flinched and the light disappeared immediately, but Loki knew he hadn't imagined it. And that he won't be able to forget about it. 

“Sylvie, do not disobey your father's laws.” The queen spoke softly. "You can not do anything." 

“I can and I will.” Sylvie announced ominously and waved her hand at Loki. “Come on Loki, I'll show you the gardens.” 

But before they left, the queen grabbed her wrist. 

“You have to be careful, Sylvie.” She whispered and cast a quick glance at Loki. “He's a sweet little thing, but you can't forget his place. And yours.” 

Sylvie snatched her hand away with an indignant expression and deliberately took Loki's arm, dragging him towards the gardens. 

“People will talk.” The queen added in a sad voice, looking after them. 

“So be it.” Sylvie muttered, and Loki was surprised by her wicked smile. 

Loki was probably less concerned about this than he should have been, but Sylvie's small hand in the crook of his elbow effectively pushed other worries from his mind. He was in the most beautiful place he had ever seen, wearing expensive robes, and leaning on his shoulder was the most perfect woman in the Nine Realms. Loki had always had a vivid imagination, and now he had no problem convincing himself for a moment that he was a handsome, wealthy prince from Vaneheim or Alfheim and that he had come here to meet his intended bride. The beautiful princess of Asgard would be smitten with him at first sight and would take him for a walk through the gardens, maybe he would steal a kiss or two from her, much to the outrage of the court... 

Sylvie's soft voice brought him back to earth. 

“Don't mind my mother. We won't make her aware of the truth for now." 

Loki said nothing to this, busy admiring the gardens. The guards were far behind them, and he thought that perhaps they had instructions to leave Sylvie alone when she went for walks here. 

They walked leisurely along the straight, pebbled path, and Sylvie told him about the plants and plantings they passed. Loki, to whom all this was completely new, absorbed all this knowledge with savage greed. He marveled at the fruit trees and blooming flowers, the neatly trimmed hedges, and the unruly bushes spreading in all directions. He never imagined there could be so much beauty in one place. 

Finally they sat down on a bench under a tree and Loki gazed with emotion at the clouds moving lazily over the horizon. It made him feel completely sick to think that he had been forced to live without it all for so many years, locked endlessly in one building. The pitifulness of his own fate suddenly tightened in his throat and he closed his eyes to hold back the treacherous tears.

But of course Sylvie noticed right away. 

“Is everything alright?” 

He couldn't speak, so he just waved his hand in an unspecified direction. Apparently that was enough to make Sylvie understand. 

“Your suffering is over, Loki.” She said in an exceptionally warm voice and placed her hand on his knee. “You are free now and you will never go back to the way things were.” 

He just nodded, still choking with emotion. 

They spent a few more hours in the gardens, walking and occasionally sitting on benches so Sylvie could tell him a story or just to look at the trees and the sky. Every now and then Sylvie bent down to pick a flower or two, and by the time they returned to the palace she had a large bouquet in her arms. Back in the chambers, she put it in a vase and placed it next to the bed, on the side where Loki slept. 

“You'll have a bit of nature around you.” She said cheerfully and he choked back his tears again. 

Until the next morning, Loki wasn't so nervous that he and Sylvie would go out every day from now on. Only after breakfast, as he watched her getting ready to leave, did he feel a terrible weight in his stomach. 

“Don't worry.” She told him calmly when they were alone for a moment. “You don't have to do anything, just follow two steps behind me and possibly carry my things. We will pretend for now that you are just a slave, that way I can take you everywhere and you will participate in everything. No one ever suspects that a slave could listen or, worse still, understand something.” 

This unfortunately scared him even more. Not only was he going to new places, but Sylvie obviously expected him to learn something. He didn't understand the faith she had in him at all. 

The first day wasn't that bad though. He walked quietly behind Sylvie and no one paid him much attention. At the council meeting, he stood politely behind the rest of the servants. He also finally saw Sylvie's father, Odin. The King of Asgard presided at the council table, though he rarely spoke. He looked like a serious, determined man, and Loki immediately took a dislike to him. This impression was only deepened by the unpleasant fact that he considered this man to be the main source of his misfortune. He couldn't understand how he could have fathered someone as wonderful as Sylvie.

Throughout the entire meeting, he admired her from politely lowered eyes. She was absolutely incredible. She had information prepared on every topic they discussed and was not afraid to speak up. He had no idea why she even attended these meetings, especially since he didn't see her brother there, but apparently those were the princess's duties. He quickly noticed that she was the only woman at the table.

To his surprise, Loki followed the proceedings of the meeting without any problem. Everyone used a lot of long words he didn't know, but the topics weren't complicated. Riots in Vanaheim. Problems with field irrigation. Labor shortage. A scandal at court. 

He tried to remember as much as possible. Names, places, numbers, solutions. He couldn't wait for the time when he would be able to read, when all this written knowledge would suddenly be available to him. It had never seemed possible to him before, and now… 

After the council, Sylvie participated in a short meeting with diplomats who arrived on Asgard for a few days. Loki stood at the back again, grateful for his anonymity. Even the most boring topics seemed extremely interesting to him. He memorized what he could, thinking that maybe Sylvie was taking him to remind her later of the details of the conversations. In the meantime, he was also wondering what role she had really planned for him and what she meant. 

Afterwards, Sylvie returned to her chambers with Loki trailing behind her like a shadow. While eating, she began to ask him about his impressions. 

“Did you remember all this?” She asked in amazement when Loki told her in detail the entire council meeting, as well as what everyone said, including the whispers of the servants. 

"Yes." He whispered, concerned that maybe he was supposed to have some other assignment. 

But Sylvie just smiled. 

"You are perfect." She said as she served him another portion of dessert. “In a few weeks, no one will believe that I found you at the slave market.” 

He didn't ask what she meant, busy devouring the cake.

Just a few days were enough for Loki to learn to read fluently and write quite well, although he still needed training. One evening Sylvie took him to the palace library. 

Loki walked through the heavy double wooden doors behind Sylvie, feeling like he was entering a temple without ever being inside one. 

The library was beautiful and ancient. Suspended in time. Shelves full of books stretched from the high ceiling to the floor, wrapped around the columns, and disappeared at the far end of the room. Everywhere there were tables full of atlases, large globes, display cases filled with drawings of plants and dried insects, models of planets and many other things whose purpose Loki did not know. He looked at everything, enchanted, almost afraid to breathe. 

“You can come here whenever you want.” Sylvie said, watching him with a slight smile. “The library is always open, you can borrow anything you want. If anyone ever asks you, say it's for me. But hardly anyone comes here apart from my mother.”

Loki couldn't believe that all this knowledge was simply available to him. At his fingertips. Thousands of stories… 

“What would you like first?” Sylvie asked as she ran her finger down one of the shelves. “Any other fairy tales? Parables of the Nine Realms? Or something a little more scientific? History, astronomy? Or maybe philosophy? Poetry?” 

He felt dizzy. 

"Everything." He whispered, looking at her hopefully. “I want to try everything.” 

They spent several more hours in the library because Loki couldn't get enough. First, Sylvie showed him maps and models of Asgard and the Nine Realms. It quickly turned out that Loki knew practically nothing except a few names, but she didn't make fun of him. Loki was immensely grateful to her for her infinite patience. Later, they walked among the glass cabinets and admired the plants and animals displayed there. Loki had never seen any of them. Finally, Sylvie pulled several books from the shelves and began to tell him about various fields of science and art.

His head was pounding from the overload of knowledge and impressions, but he groaned anyway when Sylvie finally herded him out. The only consolation was that she promised him that they would come tomorrow. And that they took entire armfuls of books from various fields. 

When they returned to her chambers, it was already quite late, but Loki had no desire to go to sleep. Sylvie quickly arranged for him to have his own place in the living room. Together they dragged a huge, quilted armchair under the window and next to the lamp. Sylvie also brought over a table on which they placed their books and a footstool, which Loki thought was too much. 

“This will be your corner, what do you think?” She asked smugly as she sat him down in a chair that was large enough even for his huge body. “I'm going to sleep, but if you want, read some more.” 

Loki wished her good night and delved into his book. He first chose the story of the Nine Realms, which turned out to be absolutely fascinating.

But he hadn't even finished the first chapter when Sylvie stood in the doorway again, looking strangely confused. 

“Loki…” She muttered as he jumped up from his chair at the sight of her. “Perhaps… perhaps you could finish reading in bed?” 

“And I won't bother you?” 

“No... The light from the lamp doesn't bother me. It's just... I would feel better if you were next to me." 

And Loki understood it perfectly. He took the lamp and, with the book under his arm, followed Sylvie into the bedroom. He leaned back against the mountain of pillows in bed and Sylvie lay on her side, facing him. 

"Thank you." She whispered and Loki looked at her in astonishment. 

She fell asleep instantly, and Loki sat for a long time over the book, glancing at it from time to time. When his eyes finally burned so much that he could no longer read, he lay down on his side and before turning off the lamp, he looked at the peacefully sleeping princess for a long time.

Chapter Text

Sylvie was attending a meeting with her mother, and ordered her head maid Wanda to lead Loki downstairs so he would finally see the slaves’ quarters where he was officially supposed to live. Loki obediently allowed himself to be led down a dark hallway and into a small windowless room with only 4 identical beds and 4 chairs and a small table.

"This one's going to be yours." Said Wanda showing him the bed in the depth of the room and then she left, closing the door behind her.

Now that was something he hadn't expected. Up until then he had been convinced that Sylvie only wanted to introduce him to these quarters, but that he was to return to her afterwards. Now he wasn't so sure. Clearly, she had instructed Wanda to leave him here, after all.

He glanced around the room. It wasn't so bad, in fact. The beds were modest, but kept clean. Above each hung a shelf on which the slaves arranged their belongings. Now they were all at work, but Loki knew that the other three beds must be occupied since there were evenly folded change clothes stacked above them.

He deeply lamented that Sylvie had taken him to her chambers first, only to have him sent away here later. Had he come here right off the street, he would have been delighted. Have his own safe bed, some work in cleaning or in the kitchen, certainly better food than he was getting in the brothel....

Now, however, after spending two weeks with the princess, he was unable to enjoy such a change. So he regretted the comfortable bed, the books, the balcony and, above all, Sylvie's constant companionship. There was sadness in him at the very mere thought that she had sent him off so soon.

He sat on the bed and realized that he had already missed her. After all, she was the very first person who had ever been concerned about him, had taken care of him. She was kind and wise. Up to now, he was silently, tentatively hoping that she planned to keep him with her for a while longer. While he had no idea what he might have been useful to her in, it seemed to him that she was rather pleased with him.

Before he could seriously contemplate what his role was supposed to be now, he heard the terrified voice of a guard from behind the door.

"Your Highness! You ought not to come down here Milady, allow me to escort you upstairs..."

"No thank you." Loki recognized Sylvie's fierce voice at once.

Seconds later, she rushed into the room and she was visibly relieved to find him there.

"There you are, Darling."

Loki, who had already managed to sit down on his new bed, now sprang to his feet.

"And where was I supposed to be?" He asked, wringing his hands anxiously.

"Come on, that's not the place for you." She took his hand and hauled him out of the room. Before he knew it, they were already in her chambers upstairs and Sylvie was shutting the bedchamber door behind them with evident relief. Loki was also greatly relieved to be back here, in these spacious, bright chambers brimming with flowers and soft pillows. And right next to Sylvie.

"Why were you sitting there?" She asked with a little resentment in her voice and Loki scowled inwardly. "Wanda was just supposed to show you where it was and bring you back here,"

"She left me there." He uttered quietly. "So I figured you wanted me to sleep there from now on."

Sylvie flinched.

"I'm all against violence but I have the desire to flog that girl. She is jealous of you." She squatted on the edge of the bed and observed him with slight concern.

"Jealous?" Whispered Loki pacing the room, hesitant about what to do and what was expected of him, until finally Sylvie patted the spot next to her. Cautiously, he moved over to her and perched on the edge of the bed as she did.

"You have my special favors." She whispered playfully and nudged him with her shoulder. "But that's hardly a reason to trick you into thinking you ought to stay back there. Your place is here, with me."

He glanced at her expectantly, feeling oddly alleviated by the thought of all this.

"Of course you can go there anytime you like." She continued speaking with a quizzical look on her face. "When you are tired of me. Still, I hope you'll want to come back here afterwards. I can't bear the thought of you having to sit there in such conditions."

Loki looked at her pensively. She seemed serious despite the strange look on her face.

"It's not so bad there." He muttered while dropping his gaze to his hands. Quite frankly, if it weren't for the comparison with Sylvie's chambers, he would have thought that the conditions downstairs were altogether luxurious.

"Not bad?" Sylvie stared at him in disbelief. "Several people sleeping in a pile, no windows and one bath chamber for all of them."

"There are worse things." Loki whispered still not looking at her. It was clear that she was unaware of exactly how bad things could possibly be. If it seemed terrible to her, Loki only prayed that she never saw what was going on in town.

But of course she had to know.

"Tell me Loki." She whispered and leaned back, positioning herself on her back. And then Loki felt her tentatively pull him by his shirt to lie down, as well. "Tell me about what it was like where you lived."

With a sigh, Loki lay down on his back and rolled over so he could look at her. Then he told her everything.

He told her that he didn't remember his family or his real home. He told her that his first memories were associated with the building where he later worked. He hardly ever left it even then. As a child, he scrubbed floors and sometimes helped in the kitchen. Once his virtue was sold, he stopped being a child and was raped every day from then on.

He recounted how he was woken up early in the morning, how he rose constantly tired and sore. How he walked resignedly, under threat of the whip, to the same room every day. The owner would chain him by his hands to the wall with long chains, so that Loki would never try anything. There was nothing for him to do, because there was no window in the room, and anyway he had nowhere to escape to. He had no way to kill himself either.

He told how the door of the brothel opened at the same time every day. A variety of people peeked in, some stayed, others went on to look for something else. The worst were the first clients of the day, when his body was not yet stretched. No one cared to prepare him or to take care of his pleasure. Most people didn't care about his hushed cries and whimpers of pain.

He told her how men usually took him from behind, grabbing him by the hips or around the waist, how sometimes at the same time someone else violated his mouth. How sometimes toys or random objects were inserted into him, just to see how much he could take. How he sometimes lay endlessly on his stomach satisfying some Asgardian woman with his mouth while her partner used his ass. How they often turned him on his back, pulling his legs up and raping him with laughter when at the time someone else sat on his face depriving him of breath for a while. How he was beaten and kicked, burned and forced to lick the cum off the floor. How in the evenings he would sometimes get a beating from his owner if he shouted too much on a given day. Or too little.

He told her how he closed his eyes whenever possible. He didn't want to see those faces and bodies. He closed his eyes and did what was demanded from him. The hours always stretched on forever, but he would retreat into his head and imagine better worlds. And a better life.

He told her how at the end of the day everything hurt so much that he was no longer able to cry. The owner unbuckled his chains and dragged him to the bathhouse. There Loki watched in horrified silence others like him, slaves from different worlds, of different skin, gender and age but with the same story. Kidnapped for punishment. Objectified. Ruined. They scraped off as much as they could before being herded to where they slept. Sometimes there was some soup for dinner. Sometimes leftover bread with some kind of cheese. Occasionally some unspecified meat, once Loki even ate fish. It didn't change the fact that everyone was malnourished and exhausted.

He told her how he waited for that moment, when the lights would finally go out and everyone would lie down on mattresses on the floor, taking a strange comfort from one another's presence. How he longed for those moments when someone, in a stifled whisper, would start telling some long-forgotten story. Sometimes somebody would reminisce about their home, tell of their world somewhere far away, on another planet, and Loki found it hard to believe that such extraordinary places could possibly exist. Sometimes one would tell an old legend or a tale, or make up some poignant story to bring them relief at least for a short moment. Loki also sometimes told in a hoarse voice some story heard long ago, which he kept in his heart like a treasure.

He told her how the days and years blended into one for him. The only break in the routine were those Sundays when the owner led them to the slave market, tired and bundled up like cattle. Loki would then kneel endlessly, fully aware that his fate would never change. As a child he still had hope, he was naive enough to believe that things would one day change. Then he came to terms with his pitifulness, with his ugliness, with his pathetic role in this world.

When he finished, Sylvie was not crying, but her face twisted in terror. Somewhere at the beginning of the story she had taken his hand and was now squeezing it tightly. For a while they lay like this in silence just looking at each other.

Loki was well aware that tears were pouring down his face. He never told this to anyone. He had no one to tell it to, and besides, no one cared about the story of a slave. He himself would gladly forget it if he could. How much easier his life would be if he had only those memories of the past weeks in his head. If all he knew was the soft bed, the green gardens and Sylvie's tender words.

"Loki..." She whispered in a pained voice. "I'm so sorry... I can't even imagine all of this..." She lifted their joined hands to her lips. "I'm so sorry darling."

She kissed his long, blue fingers gently. It shocked him so much that he ran out of air for a moment and stopped crying.

"I knew it was bad." She muttered with horror in her voice. "But I didn't think it was that bad. Poor thing..." She kissed his fingers again, squeezing his hand gently. "Thank you for telling me about it. It wasn't easy for you."

And just the fact that someone said it, confirming how awful his life was, squeezed tears from his eyes again.

"I felt invisible. No one ever seemed to care about me." He whispered, touched and scared to the core by his boldness. "As if I didn't exist at all. As if I hadn't lived for a single moment."

"Now you will live sweetheart." Sylvie muttered, grabbing his hand with another of her own and pressing them together. "I will take care of you."

Sylvie was keeping her word. She took care of him every step of the way. She would encourage him to try new foods and then order the ones he liked best. They ate ice cream almost every day, because Loki loved its cold, fresh taste and Sylvie always watched him with joy as he ate.

When he would sit up late over his books, she would drag him to bed promising him that tomorrow was also the day and that no one would take this knowledge away from him. She would go with him to the library, telling him about more realms, animals, traditions and fields of art. Her patience for his lack of knowledge never had an end. There wasn't much information about Jotunheim in the library or the palace in general, but Sylvie shared with him everything she found on her own.

She helped him with the fastenings of his clothes, which he was not used to and which sometimes caused him some trouble. He was sometimes embarrassed by his lack of basic skills, but Sylvie was not discouraged at all. She spent long hours teaching him palace savoir-vivre, and later even dancing and ballroom behavior.

In addition, she apparently made it her goal to teach him vanity. Sylvie worked hard, but she also knew how to relax. Loki, who until now had not been able to command either his own time or his body, had major problems with this. He constantly felt guilty when he sat down or did nothing for a while. Sylvie urged him to do it all the time.

"Come dear, sit down." She would say while taking his hand and pulling him to the sofa. "Have a little rest. How about I do some reading for you?" And Loki would relax quickly, leaning back comfortably and listening to Sylvie's smooth voice painting new and yet unknown stories for him.

Loki thought sometimes that she simply needed someone to spoil. He had no idea why she chose him and how he deserved it, but he wasn't about to question it. He wallowed with pleasure in her attention, delighted that someone showed concern for him. That someone cared about him. Additionally, someone as wonderful as Sylvie.

From the very beginning, he understood that she was extraordinary. As time went on, he started to get to know more and more people in the palace, but no one could compare to Sylvie. Sometimes standing behind her with his head politely lowered, he laughed to himself when she carried on a conversation with someone. He appreciated her cutting tongue, firm voice and the fact that she was ready to fight at any time when someone disagreed with her.

The only person she never berated was him. Even when she was in a bad mood and took it out on her courtiers or her brother, and sometimes even her servants, he was beyond the reach of her rage. He was the one she always came to in order to vent and improve her mood. When he once asked her coyly why she never got angry with him, she looked at him bewildered.

"And why should I be angry with you?" She asked tenderly, stroking him gently on the shoulder. "You are the most pleasant person I know. Your presence is very soothing to me."

Her face was completely open and sincere when she said this, and Loki vowed to be more supportive of her. When they were outside her chambers there was nothing he could do, but when they returned and Sylvie was in a bad mood, she sent the servants away and Loki took it upon himself to improve her mood. He began to read aloud tales to her just as she read to him, and then he would tell long-heard stories that had been lingering in his memory for years. He could see that for some reason Sylvie really relaxed in his presence, and he always tried to be just what she needed.

When the doctor sent recommendations and medication, his recovery officially began. Loki was absolutely convinced that the food alone, which he now had in abundance, as well as walks and fresh air, would be enough for him to recover, but Sylvie was adamant. With pedantic precision, she measured out for him the potions prepared by the doctor and made sure he consumed them. She would go to the gardens herself collecting herbs, and then have servants make teas and baths from them for him. She also had him apply ointments sent by the doctor.

With a startled look on her face, she asked him every night if he could take off his shirt so she could rub the scars on his back. She touched him carefully, but Loki felt no fear, only profound relief. He would sit on the edge of the bed, and Sylvie would settle down behind him. She would slowly rub his back, massage his shoulders, relax his muscles.

He was amazed to see in a short time that all this was producing an effect. The soaring pain between his legs, to which Loki had been completely accustomed for many years, disappeared entirely under the influence of the medicines and ointments, and above all thanks to the fact that no one was tearing his body apart anew every day. He was utterly shocked that the permanent stomach twist was not normal, and that he could get rid of it completely now that he was eating normally and not panicking about each coming day.

His skin, which until then had been dry and gray, had surprisingly turned more colorful. It became taut and shiny, in a healthy shade of indigo, and Loki began to look at himself in the mirror almost with contentment.

He was also slowly beginning to put on some weight. His face was no longer so frighteningly starved, his belly concave and his ribs protruding. Sylvie never allowed him to be hungry for even a moment. Once he felt particularly bad and couldn't eat dinner, but then at night he couldn't sleep. Sylvie awoke disturbed by his fidgeting. She turned on the lamp and looked at him carefully.

"What's the matter Loki?"

"Nothing, nothing." He muttered embarrassed by the commotion. "I'm sorry... You should be sleeping."

But she always knew.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" And before he had time to answer, she called the maid and sent her to the kitchen. Loki was cringing with shame and horror when Wanda brought in a tray full of food, fully aware that both she and the cook had been woken up in the middle of the night by his whimsy.

Sylvie was not concerned about this at all.

"Eat up Honey." She whispered, arranging herself on the pillows and reaching for a grape from the tray in his lap. "And next time, don't be afraid to say what you need. You'll get anything you desire."

Loki had recently been reading about animal behavior and thought that some of it suited Sylvie. Many animals were able to attack other creatures unscrupulously, even of the same species, while tenderly caring for their flock. Loki had no idea how this happened, but apparently he became a member of Sylvie's flock. Sometimes he had the feeling that he was the only one.

She was never cruel or openly unkind to courtiers or servants, but when it came to Loki, she got ruthless. No one had the right to criticize him or question his place at her side. When they first ran into a group of her friends at the palace, Loki quickly recognized Sylvie's force.

"Sylvie!" One of the men called out, and Loki stopped politely behind Sylvie, listening as she greeted everyone cheerfully. They were three men and a woman, all dressed in comfortable fighting clothes. Loki figured they might have been returning from training. He hoped Sylvie would tell him something about them later. Gossip from the court interested him madly.

"Thor says you finally found yourself a slave." Said the woman curiously, and Loki felt she was looking at him. Everyone was looking at him.

"Yes, this is Loki." Said Sylvie calmly and Loki timidly raised his gaze from the floor. Just as he thought, everyone was staring at him. The woman was very pretty, though not as beautiful as Sylvie. Each of the men had different hair color, but they all seemed wild to him. They scared him a little. He wondered if by chance any of them had come to visit him at the brothel, but he couldn't recall any of those faces.

"I thought Thor was joking." Said the black-haired man boldly, moving his eyes over Loki's body. "But you really did bring Jotun. He doesn't look very strong. Nor healthy."

Loki curled up a little inside himself. Such lines were nothing new to him, but he still really wanted to be back in Sylvie's chambers already. She was certainly never mean to him.

"I wonder how you would look." She growled now with her eyes directed at the black-haired man. "If you would have survived what he did."

"That's the role of slaves." The man answered her. "If Jotunheim hadn't rebelled, he'd never have been here. Asgard would not have had to subjugate them."

Loki was already trembling slightly. He hoped Sylvie would end the conversation and take him away from here, for he liked it less and less.

"You forget that I wouldn't be here either." Sylvie growled, nonetheless. Loki had no idea exactly what this was about, but he was already too scared to contemplate it.

"You are a different matter." The fair-haired man chuckled and glanced disgustedly at Loki. " Him, however... He shouldn't stare so insolently as we speak. Kneel, slave."

Loki hesitated for a second. The order was obvious and he was tempted to fall to his knees to avoid punishment. On the other hand, however, he was officially Sylvie's slave and only she could command him.

Before he had time to decide in his overwhelming panic, Sylvie grabbed his arm.

"Stop." She said softly, looking into his terrified face. "He has no right to give you orders."

And then she turned to the men.

"How dare you." She growled to the fair-haired man, who was watching the scene with his eyes wide open. "He is my slave. You will not push him around."

"All right, all right." Mumbled that one, and everyone stepped back under Sylvie's electrifying gaze. "Why is he even here?"

"And where is he supposed to be?" Asked Sylvie crossing her arms. Loki was slowly getting sick of all this. It stressed him that the conversation was going on about him.

"In your chamber, chained to the bed so he won't escape." Said the third man and laughed rudely.

Loki knew right away that Sylvie had had enough, as well. Rage radiated all the way from her. Sometimes he was afraid of her at such moments, even though her anger was not directed toward him.

"If this is how you treat slaves, no wonder they try to run away." She hissed in a voice saturated with venom. "Let's go Loki."

She moved proudly down the corridor, and Loki moved after her without looking at the men and the woman, but their voices followed them.

"What can she actually be doing with him?" One asked.

"I bet he has a skilled tongue. And pleasantly long fingers." A woman called out and they all laughed.

Loki, blinded by fear, followed Sylvie mindlessly until she led them out of the palace into the gardens. When they reached a bench hidden under a tree she settled down on it with a sigh and pulled him along. And then before he could realize what was happening, she leaned lightly against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Loki." She muttered. "It all shouldn't be like this."

He had no idea what to answer her. For him, this had always been the reality, he had always been treated badly just because he had the misfortune to be a slave. For being born a Jotun.

For some reason, the fact that he was of a different race never bothered her. Loki knew, of course, that by definition he was inferior to the Aesir, but Sylvie never let him say anything like that. Over time, he began to believe that he really was, at least in her eyes, on an equal level with everyone else. Besides, he didn't care so much anymore what others thought of him, as long as Sylvie looked out for him at every step of the way.

To Loki's sheer extreme excitement, being a slave to the princess of Asgard also entailed travelling. Loki had never been anywhere and never even dreamed that he would be, meanwhile such opportunities were opening up to him.

Sometimes Sylvie was sent on some diplomatic mission on behalf of her father. At first Loki wondered why Thor, as a crowned prince, was not being sent, but as he got to know him more closely, he quickly understood. Thor was brave and outspoken, but he was also impulsive and quickly growing bored with diplomacy. Loki had no idea for what reason he was the one typified as the future king of Asgard and not Sylvie, who was all around better in every way.

Nevertheless, these diplomatic trips were always exhilarating for Loki. They were sent to various places, most of which Loki had never even heard of. Sylvie always showed him on maps and sky models where they were going.

The first time he was to travel by Bifrost, his excitement kept him awake the night before. The very sight of the rainbow bridge and the golden dome in front of them gave him chills as he imagined the possibilities they offered. Thousands of worlds at his fingertips... He knew that the power of Asgard lay in large part precisely in this amazing place and its abilities. He was not afraid at all, because Sylvie was beside him all the time. Before taking off, she took him by the hand and together they dissolved into stellar light.

On the trips, as well as in the palace, she always kept him close to her. In many of the places they traveled to, slavery was forbidden. Sylvie then introduced him as her friend or lover or partner. They usually got separate rooms, but never once did they sleep separately. Loki found strange comfort in Sylvie's petite figure always sleeping peacefully next to him.

Thor was constantly roaming the nine kingdoms, defending the borders and helping the locals repel sudden attacks from outside. Sometimes for simpler actions, besides his companions, he would also take Sylvie, and of course she would bring Loki.

Loki quickly had to learn how to fight. When they were at the palace Sylvie would send him to train under the palace trainer, and Loki was pleased to see that he was getting good at wielding a sword. He had always been fast and sturdy, and now he was eating a lot and gaining strength quickly.

Sylvie in combat was amazing. She was fast and ruthless, and Loki couldn't take his eyes off her. She was always right next to him, ready to defend him from attacks. Fortunately, Loki was a quick learner, and after just a few actions he was able to defend her effectively. Over time they relied on each other so much that they always automatically positioned themselves with their backs to each other, confident that the other would shield them from the other side. Loki saw the occasional bewildered looks from Thor and his friends, but he didn't care.

The first time he saw Sylvie use magic in a fight, he got so caught up in the sight that he barely managed to dodge a dangerous blow. Then, despite the fight, he hardly took his eyes off her and had a chance to see a few more spells.

He had never seen real magic before.

He begged her later to show him some more, and she was happy to entertain him from then on with the spells her mother had taught her. Loki felt sick with excitement whenever he saw her change her outfit or the color of the leaves on the tree with a swipe of her hand. He almost had a heart attack the first time she showed him how she disappeared, and from then on he never grew tired of watching it.

He wondered if he, too, would have a fraction of that magic in him if he could take off the collar he had worn all his life. He wanted it terribly, but Sylvie never once started the subject and offered to take it off, so he didn't speak up either. He knew that he had already been showered with far more blessings than he could ever hope for anyway.

Chapter Text

Loki was generally convinced that Sylvie didn't want to stress him out, but sometimes he thought she must derive some sadistic pleasure from watching him force himself to attempt new things under her watchful gaze.

He was currently standing eye to eye with a gigantic black horse and wondered which of them was more terrified. He could see perfectly well that the horse was frightened by his huge figure and blue skin. On the other hand, Loki was panicky about the beast. Until now, he had not had any contact with animals, except for the occasional bumping into a rat or mouse in a brothel.

Sylvie stood beside him with a crooked smile and tried to persuade him to touch the horse, which he resisted as much as he could. The problem was that once Sylvie insisted on something, nothing could stop her and a few minutes later, without knowing how it happened himself, Loki was sitting perched on the back of the terrified animal, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

The servant handed him the reins, which Loki was now clinging to in panic, and pulled the horse gently. They set off slowly. Sylvie walked beside the horse, keeping her hand on Loki's calf. He felt her hand despite the thick leather boot covering his leg. Sylvie had ordered him a complete riding outfit, convinced that he would do great even before he even got close to the horse. He had no idea where she got this level of optimism.

"I'm going to fall." He muttered through clenched teeth, clinging desperately.

"Fall towards me." Said Sylvie cheerfully and patted him on the knee. "I'll catch you."

He dared to tear his gaze away from the horse and look at her. She looked phenomenal in her black leather riding outfit and smiled up at him from below, as if assuring him that everything was fine. He knew full well that him falling on top of her would have killed them both, but it was comforting to think that she wanted to reassure him.

After a few laps around the paddock, during which he indeed did not fall at all, Loki felt a little better and relaxed a little at last. Sylvie noticed this immediately.

"I think you're ready for a ride." She said with a gleam in her eye.

The servant leading the horse looked at her doubtfully, but she didn't care.

"Lean back Sweetheart." She said, patting his leg and beckoning the servant to give her a hand. A few seconds later she was firmly seated in front of Loki, not caring at all about the lack of a saddle. The servant looked at them in amazement, but she sent him away with a quick flick of her hand.

Loki just sat as if paralyzed. She was seated between his legs, practically resting her back against his chest. If he leaned forward slightly he could rest his chin on her head. His mind was getting messed up from her proximity.

"Don't be scared, I won't let you fall." She said calmly, turning her head to glance over her shoulder at his terrified face. "Hold on to me tight."

Loki hesitantly put his arms around her, but immediately tightened his grip as Sylvie hit the horse with her heels and they moved off.

"Don't be scared." She repeated quietly and placed one hand on his embracing shoulders. Loki felt the familiar buzz of her magic around him and thought with relief that she was belaying him this way.

They took two more laps around the paddock, then Sylvie steered the horse to the exit, waving at the servant to open the gate for them.

After a while, they rode quietly around the palace to the adjacent orchards. Loki didn't even look around, focused on the smooth movement of the animal beneath him and Sylvie in his arms. She leaned more comfortably against him, and he inhaled the scent of her hair in front of him with a pounding heart.

"How are you enjoying this?" She asked while stroking his thigh, which caused an even additional flip in his stomach.

"I'm not sure." To be honest, once the initial fear subsided, the ride was quite pleasant. Mostly because of Sylvie's closeness, but even beyond that it wasn't too bad.

"I bought this horse for you. I think it's big enough for you to feel comfortable." They reached the end of the palace grounds, right up to the wall, and Sylvie smoothly stopped the horse. "Mine is much smaller. Once you get some more practice, we can go for rides into town together."

She slid gracefully off the horse and held out her hands to him. He swung his leg over and somehow managed to get down, although his limbs were shaking badly. Relieved, he sat down on the ground, and Sylvie, after tying the horse, lounged comfortably on the grass beside him.

"Why do you do this?" He asked quietly, looking around. They were far from the palace and there was utter silence surrounding them. No one was around, just the two of them and an animal nibbling quietly on the grass.

"Do what, Darling?" Sylvie put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes, lying comfortably in the grass. Loki stared at her thoughtfully for a moment before answering.

"Why do you buy me a horse, teach me to ride? Why do you show me all these things, let me do whatever I want? All these books, clothes, these are not normal things for a slave, or even for a servant..." The words spilled out of his mouth endlessly, and Sylvie raised herself up on her elbow to look at him.

"You are not a slave or even a servant Loki." She scowled at him with a knowing gaze, and as usual, Loki thought she was searching for something in his face. "You've had a terrible life Sweetheart." She added in a more sorrowful tone. "Really awful. No one should experience what you did. All I want now is for you to be happy and to have everything you deserve."

Loki already felt a lump in his throat, but these words did not clarify anything for him at all.

"But why me?" He had already asked her this question once, but he wasn't satisfied with the answer. In his mind, absolutely nothing explained the amazing favors that had recently descended on him. Nothing explained this angel in the form of a woman who had decided to take such tender care of him. "Why did you even want a slave?"

Sylvie sighed softly and put her hands behind her head again.

"I'm selfish Loki." She closed her eyes with an uncertain expression. "I was bored and lonely. Besides, I'm rich and have the capacity to help. I have supported various organizations for years and tried to help the slaves... But I wanted to see a tangible result." She opened her eyes again and looked at him carefully. "I wanted to have someone to spoil by my side. Someone sweet whom I could realistically help. I chose you because I took a liking to you." She reached out her hand and Loki grasped it tentatively. "I had kind of a good feeling about you."

They remained silent for a moment and Loki considered this for a while in his mind. He opted for a question.

"And what do you think now..." He took a deep breath, suddenly stressed about the answer. "About this feeling?"

Sylvie rolled over onto her stomach and leaned on her elbows, looking at him.

"I think my intuition didn't let me down. I am very pleased with you. And what do you think?"

This caught him off guard. He was not yet used to anyone asking his opinion on any matter. Besides, she said she was pleased with him....

"I am very grateful to you for everything." He muttered while lowering his gaze. "You are too kind..."

"I'm not." Sylvie replied, reaching out again with her hand and stroking his leg. "I'll never be as kind as you. But maybe that's a good thing. We'll balance each other out just fine."

She smiled at him, and Loki's heart did a flip.

"You'll see that everything will work out well." She continued to whisper, and Loki finally smiled at her as well.

He was sure she was right, as usual.

The days were passing in a quiet routine for them, and Loki was amazed when he noticed that he had already been in the palace for more than half a year. By now, he had almost completely relaxed. He quickly realized that by being officially a private slave of the princess, only she was allowed to give him orders. Thus, no one else wanted anything from him and all Loki cared about was always having Sylvie in his sight. He listened carefully to everything that went on and learned quickly about life in the palace. He also listened to the whispers of the servants around him and these were equally engaging.

One evening he mused while standing in front of a mirror. Since he had arrived at the palace, he had not cut his hair, which was now the longest he had ever had. He was amazed to see that it waved elegantly, something that had never been possible before, as it had always been cut with a razor blade close to the skin. Slaves always had to have short hair. Lengthy ones were reserved for the gods and aristocracy.

"What are you contemplating?" Sylvie asked him cheerfully from her seat at the desk. Sometimes she sat up late over letters and documents.

Loki swallowed hard.

"Do you want me to cut my hair?"

She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"It doesn't matter what I want. What do you want?"

Loki sighed again, glancing at his hair in the mirror. He was still having a hard time getting used to the fact that he had the right to decide for himself and have some preferences. Sylvie categorically refused to decide for him, saying that he was free and could do as he wished. He was slowly starting to learn that.

"I think..." He swallowed again and turned to her. "I think I'd like to grow it."

Sylvie smiled at him and turned back to the paperwork.

"Alright Darling."

Loki settled back into his chair with a strange sense of relief and reached for the book. He had already delved into the new story when Sylvie spoke again.

"I think you'll look insanely attractive with long hair." She whispered perversely from above the letter and winked at him.

He hoped she didn't realize that at that sight his insides turned over and what that meant. It was enough that he already knew and had no idea what to do about it.

There were only two shadows falling on Loki's new, perfect life.

The first was Sylvie's actions. He learned quickly that Sylvie did what she wanted and no one could stop her. It generally worked out well for her, but sometimes Loki began to feel a little uneasy. He quickly realized that her authority in the palace was not as absolute as he thought at first. She was, of course, above all the servants and slaves, as well as the entire court, but she didn't have as much clout as her brother or mother. Absolute power was, of course, held by the king, and Loki would sometimes tremble with fear when Sylvie decided to fight some battle with him that she was unable to win.

The second thorn in his flesh was the plight of the other slaves. At first he was so terrified of his own fate and uncertain future that that he didn't think about it at all. Now that he was safe and well fed and getting a comfortable night's sleep every day, he found himself constantly thinking about the hundreds of other slaves who were not as incredibly fortunate as he was.

It bothered him so much that he finally decided to have a conversation with Sylvie about it. She continually convinced him that he could come to her with any problem and any request, but until now he had never taken advantage of this.

Evening had just fallen and they were sitting shoulder to shoulder at her huge desk by the window. Sylvie was poring over some documents, and Loki was delving into a fascinating book on botany. He had long since stopped wondering why she never sent him away to be alone for a while. Apparently she enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed hers. Over the past few months they had grown completely accustomed to each other, and Loki had to agree that she was absolutely right when she told him at the beginning that they would become good friends. He had never had a friend before, but he had to admit that it was a wonderful thing. Especially since his friend was a beautiful, kind being for whom he was ready to sell his soul.

"Sylvie?" He asked calmly and glanced at her from above the book.

"Yes Dear?" She looked at him inattentively from over her papers and moved a bowl of raspberries toward him. His favorites. He knew that at this time of year it no longer grew outside, but there was a huge glasshouse behind the palace and small amounts of fruit continued to be delivered to the palace. Sylvie made sure there was a steady supply of fruit to their chamber, especially the kind that Loki liked best. His throat tightened when he thought about it now.

"Haven't you had enough of me yet?" He asked quietly, uncertain how to approach the topic he wanted to discuss with her.

She put down the papers, looking at him bewildered.

"Why would I have enough of you?" She looked closely at his face and something strange glimmered in her eyes. "Do you... want to leave?"

Loki bit his lip and folded his hands in his lap with his old docile gesture.

"Of course I don't want to... But I thought... that maybe you should give someone else a chance."

Sylvie looked at him with such astonishment that he was momentarily dumbfounded.

"I mean... There are so many other slaves... Who were not as lucky as me."

Sylvie looked at him for a moment with a bizarre expression and then suddenly a sob shook her. She folded her hands on the table, hid her face in her hands and howled like a hurt child.

Loki fell into a state of panic. Up to that point, he had never seen her cry.

He had no idea what to do. Terrifying guilt burned in his throat as he almost involuntarily began to apologize to her, but it didn't help at all. She howled endlessly until finally Loki decided to do something he could regret later.

He pushed his chair closer to her and swept her into his arms. With a quick movement, he pulled her off her chair and settled her on his lap. Then he wrapped his arms around her tightly and leaned her against his chest.

He knew that for something like this a slave or even a servant could be killed or at least flogged properly. He pushed away the vision of punishment because he couldn't bear to see Sylvie in such a state. Her despair broke his heart, and he had to at least try a little to comfort her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered while hugging her close and swaying her slightly in his arms. "I'm sorry Sylvie."

To his relief, she didn't get angry or pull away. She clung with desperation to his shirt and continued to sob, letting him embrace her.

"I didn't mean to sadden you, please forgive me..." He mumbled once she had calmed down a bit.

She finally wiped away her tears and lifted her head from his chest to look at him. Loki almost couldn't believe how tiny and vulnerable she actually seemed to him in his arms.

"You didn't do anything..." She whispered, pushing back damp strands of hair from her face. "It's just..." She sighed deeply and suddenly put her arms around his neck and Loki ran out of breath.

It had suddenly occurred to him with full force that the princess of Asgard was sitting comfortably on his left knee. Her legs were tucked gracefully in the gown between his legs, and his arms encompassed her entire figure. Her warm hands on his neck evoked something strange in him that he couldn't name, and his head spun.

"I just realized..." She said quietly, sliding her hand gently over his line-crossed cheek. "How you must be agonizing with the realization that there are so many others suffering as you have suffered. It makes me suffer too." She closed her eyes and continued in a pained voice. "And I'm working on it, I swear to you I want to do something about it. I just don't know quite how yet."

Her sobs shook her again and Loki pressed her closer to him without hesitation. He bent down a little so that she could bury her face in his neck and inhaled her incredible scent, feeling with certainty that he was receiving far more grace in life than he deserved.

"I know it's wicked." Sylvie whispered into his neck, and a shiver went through him as he felt her warm breath so close to his skin. "But I imagined that since I couldn't help everyone, I would help at least one person. I thought I would ease my conscience a little, as I would take care of you, as I would pamper you, and as I would provide you with at least a little better life..."

She wept again and Loki gently pushed her away from him to look into her face.

"You changed my life..."

But she shook her head.

"It's not enough. You deserve more. All these people..."

"So we will help them." Whispered Loki gently wiping the tears from her cheeks. "You are capable of doing anything. And I will help you."

"Oh Loki." She looked at him with emotion. "I am so lucky you are here."

She was so close... Loki looked into her beautiful face and knew he was doomed. Her proximity awakened in him a whole new set of desires, ones that were never meant to find an outlet.

Sylvie's hand moved gently down his cheek to his lips and Loki absentmindedly kissed her tiny fingers. He was often not fully in control of himself in her presence. In fact, he didn't quite grasp what he actually desired.

He saw Sylvie's gaze move past her fingers to his lips. She moved even closer and Loki panicked completely.

"What can be done about the slaves?" He asked quickly, looking away from her beautiful, smooth face.

Sylvie also immediately recoiled. She carefully disentangled herself from his arms and slid off his lap back into her chair.

"Let me show you what I'm working on." She said, smiling shyly at him and fixing her hair. "I'd be very grateful if you really want to help me."

Loki laughed to himself as he leaned over to the papers on the desk with her. She should probably know by now that he would do pretty much anything for her. She could demand anything from him, even the most absurd or frightening, and he would do it without a moment's hesitation.

But perhaps she did not yet realize that he had surrendered his heart to her. He sincerely hoped so.

Chapter Text

Loki has enjoyed many luxuries since Sylvie brought him to the palace. The food, clothing and bathing were amazing. Even better were the gardens and the walks, and above all the freedom to go where and when he pleased. Most important of all, however, was the knowledge.

The ability to read opened up such possibilities for him that every now and then he wanted to weep out of joy. Sylvie gave him access to everything he could ever dream of. In just a few days he browsed through everything that interested him on the shelves in her chambers. After that, he ventured into the library more and more often.

On his first solo excursion, he was thoroughly terrified. Sylvie kept assuring him that he wasn't doing anything wrong, but he was still nervous. It seemed completely unbelievable to him that he could just walk alone through all those corridors, enter the library and take what he wanted. No one stopped him though, no one even asked what he was doing. He rushed to grab some books and evacuate back to the safety of Sylvie's chambers and his own nook.

With his next excursions, he got a little bolder. He found himself spending more time in the library and even sitting down at a table to flip through books and albums in peace. He generally didn't run into many people. Occasionally there were some courtiers wandering around, but he just lowered his head politely and bowed to everyone. Nobody paid much attention to him.

Sylvie made him a list of topics that might interest him, and Loki was going through it quickly. He started with history and geography, because that seemed the most urgent to him. With fascination, he studied the past of the nine kingdoms, learned about wars and conquests, browsed maps, atlases and globes. Soon after, he immersed himself in astronomy, which he quickly took a strong liking to. He absorbed everything that was available on the subject and Sylvie, laughing at his hunger for knowledge, sent letters to other libraries in the Nine Realms, asking them to send other positions.

In the meantime, Loki also read novels. After years of living on scraps of stories, he now never had enough. He read all of the fairy tales and all of the newer novels. Most of them had a happy ending, and that's what he always looked forward to the most. Those promises that even despite the various sufferings, everything would be all well in the end.

Sometimes he would see the queen in the library. He would jump up from his chair when she passed and bow to her courteously. She always greeted him politely, but never stopped to talk to him, which was logical given that he was only her daughter's slave.

Until one evening, when she approached him pulling just another volume off the shelf. He had recently become fascinated with philosophy and was just looking for some new trends when he heard a calm voice behind him.

"Good evening Loki."

He turned around momentarily, immediately lowering his gaze and pressing the book to himself.

"Good evening Your Highness." He whispered politely and bowed slightly.

Sylvie assured him to no end that he had every right to be here, but he was still very stressed. Since the queen approached him, it surely meant he had done something wrong.

"What are you reading?" She asked softly and Loki immediately showed her the cover. "Philosophy? Is it my daughter who forces you to read it?"

Loki dared to glance into her face and immediately saw that she was watching him intently.

"No, Your Highness. The princess encourages me to read what I want."

"That's good." The queen sighed and looked around slightly. "She told me that the library would soon run out of books for you." She smiled softly and Loki felt a little better.

"The princess is exaggerating." He said quietly and also smiled a little at the kind face in front of him. "Besides, she orders books for me from other realms."

The queen looked at him closely again, as if searching for a lie in his face.

"Does she treat you well?"

Loki gasped for air. That was something he had not expected at all. He concluded from Sylvie's stories that the queen had to be a good person, but was she really concerned about his fate? Or was she rather trying to find out something about Sylvie?

"The princess is the kindest person I've ever met." This was the very truth. In fact, she was the only genuinely kind person he knew. Or at least she was the only one who cared about him.

He glanced shyly at the queen again, meeting her probing gaze.

"I don't doubt my daughter's good heart, but she never approved of slavery." She said with a quiet sigh. "That's why I can't understand what purpose this farce of keeping you in her bed is supposed to serve." At the sight of Loki's bewildered expression, she almost rolled her eyes. "She may be fooling others, but you and I know very well that she hasn't even touched you. Or am I mistaken?"

She looked at him as if she was drilling into his soul. Just like Sylvie.

"No, Your Highness." He muttered, terrified that Sylvie would get upset when she found out that her mother had figured her out so quickly.

"Don't worry, this stays between us." She reached out and stroked his cheek. "I have a strange feeling that you're going to change a lot here in the palace."

Loki glanced at her in wonder. It was a ridiculous statement to make. He knew full well that he had absolutely no power in the palace. What could a slave do? Even such formally free and with all the freedom Sylvie was giving him?

The queen seemed to understand his doubtful face, because she laughed softly.

"You'll see about that yet." She winked at him. "I'll send a servant later with some books for you, I think you'll like them. Good night Loki."

"Good night, Your Highness." He whispered looking after her receding silhouette. He didn't understand any of this.

Sylvie, on the other hand, understood just about everything, as usual.

He told her all about it when they were getting ready for bed. The queen supposedly said it stays between them, but Loki's loyalty lay entirely with Sylvie. Always in Sylvie.

"Oh, my mother is sly." She muttered, pushing back the blankets and sliding into bed. "She knows that I would never be able to take advantage of someone against their will. Even someone as gorgeous as you."

Loki momentarily stiffened, stressed on his half of the bed. Sylvie reacted immediately.

"I'm sorry Loki." She said instantly. "Your body has nothing to do with it. I'm sorry."

Loki smiled at her to reassure her.

"The books from your mother are amazing."

Sylvie with interest took out of his hands the book he had brought to bed for himself.

"Alchemy..." She whispered, sliding her fingers over the richly ornamented cover. "What else did she give you?"

"Runes." Loki couldn't hide his excitement. "A couple of books on herbology. And a history of magic."

Sylvie opened the book in the middle and plunged her face into it. Loki had gotten that gesture of sniffing the book before starting it from her, and now he grinned at the sight.

"My mother knows what's best." Sylvie winked at him and handed him the book. "Will you read some interesting section aloud to me?"

Loki already had the question on the tip of his tongue as to why the queen was slipping him books on magic, and whether Sylvie thought they might someday remove his collar... But Sylvie just settled down comfortably, waiting for his voice to lead her into the realm of dreams, and Loki postponed the conversation again for some other date.

On another day, he was just returning from the library in the evening and couldn't wait to show Sylvie the new books. It was already quite late, but he knew she was waiting for him. She was always waiting for him.

He took a turn into the next corridor and came face to face with two men he was not familiar with. Quickly he lowered his head and bowed slightly, stepping past them. All he thought about was botany and Sylvie until someone grabbed him by the elbow.

"Wait there slave." One of the men, a tall, dark-haired one, said cheerfully, and Loki looked at them with fear. They were quite young, Loki figured they probably belonged to the court but he had never noticed them before. "Where are you going at this hour?"

"I'm carrying books for my mistress." Mumbled Loki with terror tugging at his gut. He repeated to himself in his mind that he was allowed to be here. That he was doing nothing wrong. That no punishment awaited him.

"This is the princess's sex slave." Whispered the shorter of the men, looking at him closely. "Come here Jotun."

Before Loki realized it, they shoved him into the nearest room, which was entirely empty. He was already trembling all over, pressing the armload of books against him in anxiety. He wanted to go back. Sylvie was waiting for him. A soft bed and a lit lamp and her calm voice were waiting for him.

"I'm sure the princess wouldn't mind if we borrowed you for a little while." The first man laughed and tugged Loki brutally. "On your knees slave."

Loki then heard the sounds of the pants being opened that were so familiar to him, and he felt nauseous.

This was supposed to never happen again. He was not supposed to be forced to do it again. Sylvie had promised him that.

The thought of Sylvie stopped him from falling to his knees and getting down to work. She wouldn't want that for him. She wouldn't allow it. She always told him that he had a choice. That no one could force him to do anything. And certainly not this.

"Are you deaf?" Growled the shorter one. "Come here whore."

Loki finally made his decision. When one of the men grabbed him by the arm again, trying to pull him down to the floor, Loki dropped the books on the ground. Taking a swing, he knocked the man in the face. He pushed the other man who threw himself in his direction and stormed out of the room. He took off running, not looking back. To Sylvie.

When he reached her chambers, one of the guards opened the door for him quickly and Loki finally got inside. Safe.

Sylvie sat comfortably while one of the servants untangled her hair. At the sight of Loki, she sprang to her feet.

"What happened?" She asked immediately, pushing the maid's hand away and approaching him.

Loki was panting heavily, but couldn't get rid of the terror filling him. Now, far away from those men, he wasn't sure if he had done the right thing. Deep-rooted commands and orders were now coming to the surface, and Loki felt he had done something terrible.

"Sweetheart, are you hurt?" Sylvie reached out her hands to him. "Tell me what happened, I'll help you."

Loki only shook his head, unable to get anything out of himself. He was already trembling all over and felt like vomiting. He should have sucked off those men in that dark room and not made a spectacle of himself. There were worse things happening.

But Sylvie, with all the gentleness of this world, pulled him into the sitting room and closed the door behind them.

"Tell me everything Darling, it will be alright." She said with a frightened look on her face and gently seated him in his chair, and took a seat herself on the footstool in front of him. "Did someone hurt you?"

Loki shook his head again and swallowed hard.

"I was in the library." He whispered, staring at his hands placed politely in his lap. "I was already coming back and those two men, they... they..."

He immediately felt Sylvie's wrath. Her entire figure whirled with rage as she leaned toward him and her hands landed on his lap.

"What did they do to you Loki?" She whispered with a voice so dripping with venom that Loki flinched, "I'll kill them."

"They did nothing." He muttered, terrified to the core, and finally raised his eyes to her. She was leaning all the way toward him, staring into his face. "They... they wanted me to kneel down and... they undid their pants..." He shuddered as Sylvie's fingers tightened on his knees. "But I..."

He hesitated for a moment. He was frightened to tell her that he had run away. That he had allowed himself to be so disobedient.

But Sylvie leaned closer to him.

"You can tell me Loki." She whispered in a pained voice. "Whatever happened."

"I ran away." He muttered, finally staring into her eyes, begging for forgiveness. "I hit one, pushed the other away and came running here."

Sylvie's eyes lit up suddenly.

"Really?" When she nodded, she squeezed his legs again.

"I'm sorry." He muttered while shaking further. "Will there be problems?"

"Oh yes." Sylvie said immediately. Her eyes glittered dangerously, and he felt sick. He should have thought about this earlier. At best, a beating awaited the slave attacking the courtiers.

Why had he forgotten his place? The last few months with Sylvie had made him so spoiled, that now the very thought of lashes made him nauseous. On second thought, perhaps something much worse awaited him. If these men got mad, perhaps they would want him to pay for this insult with his life? Would Sylvie take his side? No one cared about him but her.

"I'll summon the entire court tomorrow." Sylvie whispered to him with an infuriated look on her face. "You will show me the two pieces of shit. I'll have them destroyed."

Loki looked at her bewildered.

"What do you mean?" He asked and involuntarily moved his hands to her palms resting on his knees. He didn't think much about it, just intertwined her fingers with his own. He was terrified and needed her proximity. "I attacked the courtiers. What will happen to me?"

"Nothing will happen Loki." She growled in an angry voice. "You were defending yourself. They are the ones who will pay for how they treated you."

It began to reach him what she was saying. She was not upset with him.

"You think I did the right thing?" He muttered needing some confirmation from her.

Now she was looking at him bewildered. Her fingers tightened on his.

"Of course, my dear." She moved closer to him. "I'm just sorry this happened to you. I will always send a guard with you from now on."

"No, no..." The profound relief that Sylvie was apparently on his side overwhelmed him. He moved his thumbs over her hands, trying to reassure her the way she had been reassuring him. "I don't want a guard. And I don't want revenge on those men over there..."

"But I do." Sylvie growled and suddenly rose from her footstool. "No one will treat you like this. I have something for you."

She knelt on the floor and with a deft movement unfastened something at the footstool, which immediately, to Loki's astonishment, opened like a chest.

"This is all for you." Said Sylvie calmly, looking up at him from the floor.

Loki quickly slid off his chair and sat on the floor beside her. He leaned over the chest with curiosity. It was stuffed with items. To begin with, Sylvie took out two beautiful, lavishly ornamented daggers.

"You should carry these with you." She whispered while pressing them into his hands. "I will teach you how to fight with them and you will be able to defend yourself."

Loki looked at the weapons in his hands. It was certainly very expensive. Perhaps a family heirloom. He had no idea why Sylvie was so keen about him.

"If I hurt an asgardian, I'll have problems. You will have problems because of me." He muttered, raising his eyes at her again.

"I won't let you be punished." She said firmly. "Even if you kill someone in self-defense and my father brings you to justice, you don't think I would leave you, do you?" She looked at him intently, and Loki's heart pounded loudly. "I'm the one who brought you here. I will get you out at any cost."

For a moment they simply looked into each other's eyes, and Loki, as usual, wondered what this was all about. Why did she care about him so much? There had to be some deeper meaning to all this.

But then Sylvie bit her lip uncertainly and reached deeper into the chest.

"No one knows about this hiding place, only the carpenter who made it and me. And now you." She whispered and took out an inconspicuous, modest bag. "This is for you."

Loki opened it with shaking hands. First he took out a bundle of documents and immediately began reading.

"These are the documents confirming that you are free." Sylvie spoke as quietly as if she was afraid the walls might overhear them. "And a letter of recommendation from me, it might come in handy someday. And a note to Heimdall to let you through the Bifrost."

Loki didn't comprehend any of this.

"Why..." He began, but Sylvie interrupted him.

"Just in case." She had a very serious look on her face. "If something were to happen to me, you will be protected. There's also money inside." She pointed to the bag in his hands. "Enough for you to start a good life anywhere in the Nine Realms where you like."

Silence fell as Loki tried to process it all. He was deeply touched that Sylvie had thought everything through so much, that she had provided for him in such a way. But he couldn't imagine a situation in which he would run away, leaving her behind.

"If something ever happens, go to my mother." She said in a breathless voice, stroking his calf lightly. "She will help you. And if she won't be there, just come here and take it all. Take what you need from my chambers and run away."

"I couldn't..." Muttered Loki, relishing her attention, her closeness and her beautiful eyes fixed on him.

"But if you have to, do it." Her voice allowed no objection. "You don't owe me anything."

But Loki knew that wasn't true. He owed her everything, because she was the one who got him out of hell. She didn't have to buy him, she didn't have to be so good to him, so tender, so patient.

He was sure that the world would be a perfect place if everyone was like Sylvie. If by some miracle all those brutal, indifferent people who filled his days in the past didn't exist. If instead all the slaves would experience what he experienced with her. If they never had to be slaves.

If he didn't have to worry that something could separate them. That there was even a possibility that he would have to leave, that something could happen to her.

"Everything is still ahead of you Loki." Sylvie whispered while still stroking his leg. "If it all turns to shit, just run and don't look back."

He knew she was sincere in what she said. And that she wished him well. But he had gotten to know himself enough in these past months to understand exactly what he wanted.

"I will not leave your side." He said calmly and saw her tremble at those words. Her huge eyes did not leave his for a second. "And if we are separated by force, I will find you."

He knew that this time she was the one who was touched. She lowered her gaze and began involuntarily playing with one of the daggers. The light reflecting off the precious stones splashed across the chamber, and Loki watched the glow dancing on her cheek. She was so beautiful. So unbreakable. So cunning. How could anything happen to her? He wasn't going to let that happen.

"You can count on me." He whispered, still feeling like it was some kind of solemn oath. Maybe he wanted it to be.

Sylvie blinked suspiciously, but then finally swallowed down and pulled herself together.

"We'll deal with these men tomorrow." She said and Loki heard the anger in her voice again. "Come to bed Darling, why don't we read something together before sleeping?"

Loki rose quickly from the floor and held out his hands to her. She grasped them with evident satisfaction and Loki pulled her up without the slightest difficulty. He realized something else.

"My new books... I'll have to come back for them tomorrow."

"There's no need." Said Sylvie and walked quickly to the other room. She summoned a guard and sent him to fetch Loki's books. Soon they were sitting together under the covers and looking through them.

Loki was only slowly relaxing. He was safe in Sylvie's chambers. She did not resent him, she thought he had done well.

Sylvie was apparently thinking the same thing. She stared inattentively at one of the books, running her fingers over the ornate cover.

"Loki..." She muttered quietly. "I'm glad you were able to defend yourself. No one has the right to touch you. Tomorrow we'll take care of those bastards."

"Sylvie..." He mumbled uncertain how to tell her what he thought. It was not easy for him to express his opinions. Especially if he had to openly disagree with Sylvie.

But she reached for his hand as usual.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't want to get revenge on them." He whispered, glancing at her uncertainly. "We should just make sure they don't hurt anyone else."

Sylvie looked closely at his face. He wasn't sure what she was seeking there.

"I'll do what you tell me, Sweetheart." She said calmly. "Their lives belong to you now."

"What do you mean?" He asked, increasingly horrified by all this.

"Just like that." Sylvie's voice was getting angry again and Loki shuddered with fear. "They attacked you. I promised you that you would be safe and happy Loki." Her fingers tightened on his. "You can demand their heads. We can throw them in prison. We can torture them. I'll do whatever you decide."

Loki looked into those wonderful, wise eyes and he was scared. He was afraid of what happened to Sylvie at such moments. To him, she had always been tender, completely gentle, but he had seen her seething with rage more than once. Now she was bubbling over with anger, too, and Loki was frightened beyond belief.

He was grateful to her for wanting to defend him, but he never cared about revenge. He would never be able to live with the knowledge that because of him someone was sentenced to death or imprisonment. Or worse, torture. Nor was he going to let Sylvie take such a thing on herself.

"I'd like you to gather the entire court tomorrow." He whispered in a shaky voice, still not believing that he could say such things. And that the princess of Asgard listens carefully to his every word. "I will show you these two men. You will officially say that only you can fuck me and that no courtiers have the right to touch your property. You will order them to leave the palace, that should be a sufficient warning to others."

Silence fell and Loki's heart pounded wildly in his chest. He was sure Sylvie should punish him for issuing orders like that. He shouldn't have any rights.

And yet she was granting him those rights. She was letting him choose and decide, she was listening to his advice. This time she was also going to listen to him.

"It will be as you said Loki." He saw that her rage had subsided slightly. She leaned more comfortably against the pillows, but still kept her eyes on him. "We will do exactly as you wish."

A calm silence fell between them and Loki also settled down more comfortably. So much time had passed, and he still often couldn't believe the extraordinary nature of his life since he met her. He used to have no power even over his own life, and now he was supposed to have power over someone else's. Would it have been normal for him if he had been born free? If he was an Asgardian, wouldn't he flinch from disposing of someone else's fate?

Sylvie's quiet voice snapped him out of his musings.

"Loki? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." He answered immediately and turned his gaze to her again. She was so small in that giant bed, so innocent. Would she really be able to kill these people if he asked her to?

"I'd like to know... Just hypothetically..." She bit her lower lip and Loki knew she was thinking about how to approach the subject appropriately. "If you were suddenly to have all the power and money of this world... What would you do?"

Loki heaved a bewildered sigh. He had never thought about such a thing, because he knew that nothing like this would ever happen. He was a nobody from nowhere. He had only as much power and money as Sylvie was giving him, which was still a million times more than he had ever expected.

However, the answer came to him immediately. He actually knew what he desired.

"I would like to go to Jotunheim." He whispered, leaning involuntarily toward her. Her incredible energy drew him always and he was less and less able to resist it. "I would like to free the other slaves and take them home."

Sylvie swept him with her gaze. She opened her mouth slightly and Loki had the feeling that she wanted to confess something to him, but it passed quickly. She quickly shrugged it off.

"What about Asgard?" She whispered so quietly that Loki barely heard her. "Would you take revenge for what was done to you?"

To this question Loki knew the answer perfectly well. There was grief in him, but he didn't let it turn into anger. He had not suffered so many years to condemn others to the same fate. He didn't want to repeat history, he didn't want to provoke a war, even if he had the ability to do so. He just wanted to be free.

"Do you think I would want to destroy your home?" He muttered gazing adoringly into his favorite face. Into that infinitely tender being who cared for him so much. "To kill your father?"

"You have the right to desire it." Sylvie muttered with an increasingly horrified expression. "After all you've been through, you have the right to do so." She was breathing fast, and Loki thought suddenly that she looked as if this conversation was very important to her. As if she had been preparing for it for a long time.

"Sylvie..."

"I'm sorry Loki." She interrupted him quickly. "You have an absolute right to take revenge. But I hope you'll forgive me and understand me if I say that I wouldn't let you kill my father, no matter what he did and..."

"Sylvie..." He gathered both her hands and tucked them in his own. "I swear I never wanted revenge. I never sought retaliation or anger in myself for what happened."

Sylvie was still panting heavily, and Loki knew he would die for her if she demanded it. He would do it with pleasure.

"I swear that I will never take revenge on Asgard. Nor on your father." He said solemnly, and Sylvie breathed a strange sigh.

The promise came all the more easily to him because he didn't expect to ever have any influence over anything or any opportunity for revenge. However, this was neither the first nor the last time the future was preparing a surprise for him.

Chapter Text

Officially, Loki had no duties at the court. His only responsibility was to satisfy Sylvie in bed, and it remained only between them that he didn't do that at all, either.

His position at Sylvie's side remained unaffected. She treated all her servants and palace slaves with courtesy and kindness, but only Loki received her special favors. He was the only one who ate with her every day, the only one who could be in her chambers all the time, the only one who slept in the same bed with her.

Formally, he remained her slave, but more and more people began to question this. No one dared to tell Sylvie this, however. No one except her brother.

They were all currently spending time on the training field. Sylvie, Thor and their friends, battered from training, sat at a table with beers and observed the way Loki faced Thor's squire.

Loki smiled under his breath, because at this stage this boy was no match for him. He could knock him down in a second, but he decided to show off a little first. He knew Sylvie was watching him.

He heard Thor's rumbling voice from afar. He knew that this one was sure Loki couldn't hear him, especially with the clanking of swords, but he always had excellent hearing.

"What are you doing Sylvie? Don't you know that the whole court is already talking about you?"

Loki didn't hear Sylvie's answer, but out of the corner of his eye he saw that she looked at her brother in wonder.

"I'm talking about Loki... You spoil him too much. He will eventually use it against you."

Loki knocked the squire to the ground just in time to hear Sylvie's reply, preceded by a short laugh.

"Don't be afraid, brother. Loki will never stand against me."

Loki smiled under his breath, giving the squire a hand and pulling him up.

They began another round. Loki attacked with languid, low-paced movements and felt Sylvie's eyes on him admiring his long, athletic body. He was doing it for her. He was doing everything for her.

"I've heard rumors that your servants must now always set the table for two, but I don't want to believe that you could be that stupid..." Thor went on to say, while his squire desperately tried to find some crack in Loki's defense. "Besides, no one ever sees him in the slave wing, where he belongs."

"His place is with me." Said Sylvie calmly right when Loki easily fended off another strike. "If I feel like fucking him every night, that's just my business."

"Be careful sister." Thor hissed some more. "You probably wouldn't want anyone to think you fancied a slave."

Without the slightest problem, Loki knocked the squire down a second time. He pressed him to the ground with his knees and put his sword to his neck.

For a second a vision flashed through his head of Sylvie lying beneath him like this, only without a sword, without clothes....

He shook his head and rose, again lifting the young boy upright. And then he moved towards the people watching him.

Sylvie smiled cheerfully at him and Loki stood beside her without hesitation.

"You were wonderful Loki."

She handed him her beer mug. The eyebrows of Thor's friends raised in unison in surprise and Loki flinched slightly, but took a sip nonetheless. Sylvie was not at all concerned.

"You'll need much more challenging opponents soon." She said, and her eyes sparkled merrily. "No one stands a chance against you."

Loki immediately saw Thor baring his teeth and already knew what was about to happen.

"I wonder if he has a chance with me."

"Thor!" Shouted Sylvie warningly, but her brother was already getting up from the bench and facing Loki.

With satisfaction, Loki noticed that despite the impressive size of the God of Thunder, he was still a bit taller than him. Thor was apparently not pleased with this.

"No thunderbolts, I promise. Pure sword fighting. How about it sister, will you put your slave at my mercy?"

"Loki will decide." She said calmly and didn't bother with the puzzled looks from Sif and the rest.

Loki knew his chances were slim and that he should back off, yet the vision of this fight tempted him too much....

"All right."

Everyone except Sylvie looked at him in surprise. She only smiled slyly.

Perhaps she knew his secret.

Because Loki had a secret fighting technique that Thor and no one else knew about. He assumed Sylvie didn't know it either, because how could she. Except that with her, nothing was ever certain.

Thor was the best warrior Loki had ever faced. He was fast and terrifyingly strong, and his strikes were almost undefeatable. But he was also huge and all too confident. And Loki was quick to employ his only technique.

He had long ago learned to rely on his imagination for more than his body. In the past, when his body suffered, his mind would take him to better places. Now when he fought, for real or in training, he began to use the same technique. When he started to lose or when the situation was getting dangerous, all he had to do was imagine the right scene.

Sylvie in danger. Sylvie whose life depended on his victory. Sylvie bleeding out on the battlefield and him, forced to knock down the last opponents intent on killing her.

When he thought about her, everything else was trivial. Thor was mighty, but Loki was determined and dangerous in his madness. He fended off blow after blow with only the one face that mattered to him in his mind. As if through a haze, he saw the amazement in Thor's eyes when Loki finally knocked him to the ground. He pressed him to the ground with his knees, just as he had done to his squire earlier, and with satisfaction put his sword to his neck.

As from afar he heard applause and whistles. He thought Thor would angrily reject his outstretched hand, but he was wrong, for the man accepted it without hesitation.

Thor was thrilled.

"Did you see that?" He called out exultantly to Sylvie and his friends, who had now gathered around them. Everyone was shocked, except Sylvie, who laughed merrily while brushing her brother off the dust.

"Thor hasn't lost a fight in a long time." Said Lady Sif, Thor's best friend, with a voice full of appreciation.

"That's true." Admitted Thor without shame, looking at Loki with new interest and hunger in his eyes. "I must admit that I would be eager to see what else this body is capable of."

The blood momentarily drained from Loki's face as panic flooded him.

Sylvie reacted immediately.

"No way." She positioned herself slightly in front of him, as if she imagined that her petite body would be able to shield him from greedy hands and eyes.

Thor's friends looked at her with curiosity.

"What's the problem?" Fandral, Thor's right hand, asked. His eyes also slid lustfully over Loki's body. "We would take him a couple of times and return him to you still in a good condition."

Loki already felt that he was losing ground. In panic, he grabbed the clothing at Sylvie’s back, who was standing in front of him, and she flinched.

"Oh, you can take him," She said in a voice trembling with rage. "Over my dead body."

"You've become strangely possessive." Sif muttered, looking at Sylvie closely. "We've always shared lovers, and no one has made a fuss about it."

"It's not even a lover." Fandral snorted. " It's just a slave who has nothing to say."

Loki could no longer control his shaking hands. He moved closer to Sylvie and was now clinging tightly to her leather armor, as if that would ground him. He saw that Thor had noticed this, but he was so terrified that he could no longer restrain himself.

"Loki belongs to me." A sword appeared out of nowhere in Sylvie's hands. "Anyone who touches him will have to face me." Her voice dripped with rage and everyone except Loki took a step back. "And I warn you that this will not be a clean duel. I will not fight to win. I will fight to kill."

She turned around, snatching her armor from Loki's shaking hands and grabbed his wrist. They rushed together towards the palace feeling the astonished stares on their backs.

When they burst into her chambers a moment later, Sylvie was still furious. Loki thought for a moment that she might want to take it out on him this time, but, as usual, her bad mood completely evaded him.

"I need a bath." She growled at the servants instead. "Immediately."

She paced around the room, and Loki watched her uncertainly. When the bath was prepared, one of the maids began undoing the intricate fastenings at Sylvie's armor, but she was going so slowly and clumsily that Loki lost his patience. He pushed the girl away and with quick movements freed Sylvie from her attire so that she was left in just her undergarments. The servant reached for her hair, but Loki stopped her again.

"Go now." He said, surveying Sylvie's nervous face. "I'll take care of it."

He wondered if he was going to get scolded for giving orders. All three servants looked at him with outrage, but Sylvie was content.

"You will do as he says. Out already, all of you," She growled at them and pulled Loki to the bathroom. On the way, she grabbed the wine from the table.

Loki slammed the door behind them, realizing that for the first time he would be helping her with bathing. When she sat down on a stool by the bathtub, he quickly helped her get rid of her shoes. Then he efficiently untangled her braid, which protected her hair during her workout, and pinned her hair up so it wouldn't get wet in the tub.

When she stood up, he turned around and closed his eyes as well, just in case. He swallowed hard as he heard the quiet noise of the fabric falling to the floor. And then the splash of water and Sylvie's quiet sigh.

“You can look now." She said in a calmer voice and Loki turned around.

She was sitting in the bathtub covered in thick foam up to her clavicles. She leaned back and Loki admired her long neck and smooth shoulder line with fascination. He took a seat on a stool and reached for a sponge. Gently he began to wash her dusty face.

He could see that she was only slowly beginning to relax under his touch. Then suddenly she looked at him more consciously.

"You're all dirty. I don't know why, since you haven't been lying on the ground once."

"I'll clean myself up later." He said calmly and soaked the sponge in warm water again.

"Loki..." She looked at him oddly unsure. "Do you want to get into the tub with me?"

Anxiety grasped his stomach again, and Sylvie seemed to notice.

"I'm not persuading you if you don't want to. But it's a big tub, I won't even touch you. We'll sit together... I swear Loki, I won't touch you."

He understood that this was a proposal and not an order. Sylvie, as usual, was letting him decide. He pondered the idea for a moment. After all, what could possibly happen? He trusted her and knew that this proposal had no hidden meaning in it. A slave bathing with a princess was scandalous, but how was that different from him sleeping in bed with her? Anyway, the whole court was already talking about them, and Sylvie didn't seem to care at all.

To his own disbelief, he stood up and began to unfasten his armor. Sylvie must have been surprised too, but she smiled and leaned her head back against the edge of the tub, closing her eyes.

Loki undressed efficiently and, feeling surprisingly comfortable, jumped into the tub opposite Sylvie, who drew her legs toward herself. She was right, there was plenty of space.

When he sat down comfortably, she looked at him out of her squinted eyes. She reached for the wine she had set earlier on the table by the bathtub and handed it to him.

"Slaves are not allowed to drink this much." He said curtly and took a decent sip, then another.

"You are not a slave." She took the bottle from him and began to drink greedily. "And I've had enough of it. Starting tomorrow, we are making changes."

"What changes?" He asked uncertainly, not quite focused on the conversation, as he just watched a trickle of wine run down her chin to her neck and disappear into the foam between her collarbones.

Sylvie glanced at him with a serious look.

"The time has come for you to join my court."

Sylvie never made empty promises. The next day she started her agenda with a very simple but very effective action.

She made Loki walk right by her side.

Until now, he had always walked an even two steps behind her, with his head politely lowered. Now she got him to walk side by side with her. And had him raise his head.

This was all deeply disturbing.

Loki immediately saw the astonished and indignant stares of all the people passing them, but Sylvie was adamant.

"They'll get used to it." She muttered to him as he tensed under yet another critical stare. "Stay by my side, Sweetheart."

At training sessions, she would set him up to fight courtiers and aristocrats, instead of the servants as before. Around the gardens she walked holding his arm. She began, in front of other people, to ask his opinion on various subjects. She ordered her servants to obey his every command. She stubbornly seated him next to her.

And then she launched a final attack.

One afternoon she invited her mother and brother to her chambers for a cup of tea. Her father was not ever present on these occasions.

Always in such situations Loki stood politely at the back together with the servants. This time, he knew that Sylvie was planning something bad, and he fixed his gaze on the floor with a sense of dread.

Frigga and Thor chatted casually as they sat at the elegantly set table, letting a servant pour them tea. Sylvie sat as if on tenterhooks. When silence finally descended for a moment, Sylvie fired up.

"Come Loki, sit with us."

Terror and the stares of everyone present pinned him to the floor. He couldn't move.

"Sylvie, what is the meaning of this?" Asked Frigga in a softly bewildered voice.

"I want Loki to have tea with us, I assume you don't mind?" Sylvie's voice was seemingly carefree, but Loki knew better. He knew that this was a perfectly planned plot. Her chambers, afternoon tea and the two people whose opinions counted most in this palace besides the king.

"Sister, you're forgetting yourself." Said Thor so surprised that he was almost horrified. Loki shuddered at the thought that not long ago this same man had said outright that he would like to bed Loki and do so against his will. Now, he was refusing to sit at the same table with him.

A strange injustice and rebellion struck him then for the first time. Under the scrutiny of stares, he walked a few steps and stopped next to a vacant chair near Sylvie.

"Will you please sit down, Loki?" She asked firmly and looked at him expectantly. He knew what he had to say.

"Yes, Sylvie."

He sank into a chair.

All three servants drew in the air in unison. Frigga's eyebrows rose high on her forehead. Thor, for his part, was no longer holding back at all.

"Have you lost your mind? You allow a slave to call you by your first name? To sit with you as equals?!"

Loki trembled with his eyes fixed on the table and he already knew what was about to happen. Sylvie had been preparing for this for a long time.

"Loki is no longer my slave."

There was utter silence in the room.

"What are you talking about, Dear?" Asked Frigga softly, looking at her daughter as if she had lost her mind.

But Sylvie did not let herself be put off.

"Loki is no longer a slave. I set him free." She reached for the tea pot and used her hand to dismiss the servant, who rushed over to help her. There was no fourth cup on the table, but Sylvie apparently saw no problem with that. She filled hers again and pressed it into Loki's trembling hands. Obediently, he took a sip under sharp stares.

"Why did you do that?" Loki had never seen Thor in such deep shock before, not even when he knocked him down in training.

"I've been sick of it. It can't go on like this anymore." Said Sylvie with a serious expression, and sparks shot from her eyes. "Slavery is not normal in a civilized country like ours. I don't have the power to free everyone." She grabbed her plate of cake and slid it over to Loki. "But I will no longer allow my friend and confidant to be treated this way."

"Friend?" Exploded Thor apparently shaken to the core. "You consider your sex toy a friend?"

"Oh, Loki is so much more than that." Sylvie's eyes glittered dangerously and Loki thought, not for the first time, that he wouldn't want to find himself against her in any fight. Not even a one like this. "But what do you know about it, if you never even bothered to ask the name of anyone to whose throat you were about to shove your cock."

"Sylvie!" shouted Frigga outraged and Thor sprang to his feet.

Sylvie also stood up, determined and majestic.

"Everyone out." She growled at the servants and guards at the door. "Not you." She added softer as Loki stirred anxiously in his chair.

Thor was panting heavily. When everyone finally left, he attacked.

"You've lost your mind. What is this Jotun doing to you in bed to make you care so much about him?"

Sylvie was also already panting harshly, staring at her brother with rage.

"You're pissed because for the first time there's someone you can't fuck."

Thor laughed coldly, nastily.

"Believe me sister, if I want him, I'll just take him."

Loki was startled to feel only anger instead of fear for the first time. Anger that this arrogant man was laying claim to his body, even though he knew perfectly well what his sister thought about it. Almost without realizing it, he rose from his chair and stood next to Sylvie.

"You are not going to do it." Sylvie hissed through clenched teeth. "Because then I'll kill you."

Frigga hid her face in her hands and Loki fleetingly thought that maybe she was crying, but he couldn't worry about that for now.

"You're insane." Said Thor already more puzzled than angry. "You would attack your own brother for a Jotun slave?"

"We all pick our fights." Said Sylvie also in an already calmer voice. "This is mine. And I'm ready for anything. And he is no longer a slave."

"You're insane." Repeated Thor again and moved proudly towards the door. "This is bound to end poorly, and I don't want to watch it anymore."

As he left, Sylvie settled into a chair with a sigh and urged Loki with a glance to sit down too. And then she looked at her mother, who raised her head from her hands.

"Loki is very intelligent." Whispered Sylvie looking at her mother almost pleadingly. "He helps me and advises me. He deserves a chance. I would like him to sit by my side at father's council. To have him join my court."

Frigga's eyes went to Loki and stayed there for a long time, watching him carefully. Loki trembled a little, but did not look away. Finally, the queen sighed.

"Maybe this will be better, anyway." She finally said thoughtfully and reached for a cup of tea. "People talk too much about you wandering around with a slave. We'll arrange private chambers for him, then at least I'll stop hearing that he sleeps in your chamber every night."

Sylvie beamed.

"I knew you'd think of something."

But Frigga didn't smile, she just kept examining her daughter with a serious look on her face.

"I will talk to your father. I just hope you realize that you will come to pay a high price for this. I don't yet know what kind."

Loki felt a strange sense of unease, as if the queen's words could somehow be prophetic. As if she had somehow predicted the dangerous consequences that were to fall on them in the future.

But Sylvie was fearless.

"I know." She said cheerfully and reached for a bowl of currants to press a few into Loki's hand right away. "I'm up for it."

Chapter Text

Loki had absolutely no clue how it happened, but the queen had somehow, quite miraculously, convinced the king to give Loki a chance. He didn't exchange a single word with Odin, but his position at court had been established and he openly ceased to be a slave. He got his private chambers, his own money, a fine horse, a seat on the council and a whole lot of new privileges.

Sylvie was thrilled with Loki's new position in the palace. She ordered even more ornate robes for him and persuaded him to wear a long, dark green cape. Everyone stared after them in the hallways.

Loki was somewhat overwhelmed by it all, especially when he was first shown his new chambers. They were naturally smaller than Sylvie's royal quarters, but he still had a pleasantly sized sitting room with a fireplace and table, a bath chamber and a small sleeping room with a strikingly comfortable, soft bed for his private use.

The joy of having his own rooms for the first time was dimmed slightly by the fact that they were so far from Sylvie's chambers. He had hoped that she would want him closer to her, but apparently she had no part in allocating the apartment.

That first evening, Loki couldn't calm down. He had already changed into his pajamas, but he paced endlessly around the bedroom, not fully comprehending his feelings himself.

He enjoyed the fact that he was at last officially no longer a slave, not only in Sylvie's eyes, but also to everyone else in the palace. He was glad that he had his chambers and privacy that he never even dared to dream of. He even got an assigned servant, with whom he had no idea what to do and whom he had already sent away that evening.

He glanced at the enormous bed.

Was it so very wrong that he didn't want to sleep in it alone?

Loki bit his lips, pacing further around the room. He was well aware that he was being insolent. Claimant. Greedy.

He wanted far more than he was entitled to. He was showered with favors that no one expected, and yet he couldn't help but want even more.

A quiet knock snapped him out of the fever that had gripped him. He threw himself towards the door, having no idea who might want something from him at this hour.

But of course there was only one person who could come to him.

Sylvie stood at the threshold with a slightly perplexed look on her face, and Loki, feeling strangely out of place, invited her in with a gesture. It was odd and almost inappropriate that she was the one coming to see him, but Loki was so delighted to see her that he didn't give it a second thought.

She was wearing her favorite long navy blue robe which was embroidered with golden birds, and she looked just like a dream. Loki couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked through the room admiring it all and asking him how he liked everything. She boldly entered the bedchamber and Loki followed her, savoring her warm voice and the scent she spread.

"At last you have your own bed." She said cheerfully and pressed the bundle she had brought to her chest. Loki didn't ask what it was, he was sure she would soon tell him herself. "You'll finally get plenty of sleep on your own."

Loki examined her smile and caught a glimpse of her true emotions beneath it.

He laughed inside at the realization that it seemed he knew why she had come here. He approached her slowly and took the bundle out of her hands, discovering that it was a book wrapped in cloth. He tossed it back on the bed. Then he reached for the strap of Sylvie's bathrobe, and her breathing stopped abruptly.

"Would it be very inappropriate..." He whispered untying her bathrobe and slipping it off her shoulders. "If I invited the princess of Asgard to accompany me this night?"

Sylvie's breathing was shallow and rapid as Loki took her hand and pulled her gently toward the bed.

"Very inappropriate..." She muttered allowing him to tilt back the quilts and tuck her underneath them. "Completely unsuitable."

"That's fine." Said Loki quietly, circling the bed and slipping under the covers on the other side. He reached for the book and saw that it was the same tales Sylvie had read to him in his early days at the palace.

"Wonderful." Whispered Sylvie settling comfortably on the pillows and watching him sleepily from under half-closed eyelids.

Loki giggled as he opened the book on the first story. As he began to read Sylvie only sighed with the relief that he himself felt within.

Loki did not spend a single lonely night in his bed. Sometimes Sylvie came to sleep with him, but most often they spent time together in her chambers. As time passed, he involuntarily began to take over more and more of the duties that her servants had so far conducted. He grew tired of their constant presence and began to do everything possible to get rid of them as often as possible and have Sylvie all to himself. Every evening it was he who untied her dresses, disentangled the ornaments from her hair and combed it until it crackled electrified in his hands. He carried things for her and handed her books, sharpened quills and poured tea.

He was just lying in her bathtub when she returned from a meeting with the ladies of the court. She always asked him if he wanted to go with her and sometimes he did. Today, however, he decided to stay and made wonderful use of the time pondering in the tub.

He smiled to himself as he heard her cheerful voice outside the door. After a while, there was a soft knocking.

"Loki? May I come in?"

Her behavior continued to baffle him. These were her chambers and her tub. He shouldn't be here at all, but in his rooms in a completely different part of the palace.

"Of course."

She entered peeking first cautiously to see if he wasn't by any chance naked. This also surprised him. Of course, she had already seen him in all his glory at the slave market. Nonetheless, after those first days, when he was just a shivering pile of misery, she never again allowed situations in which he would be naked in front of her. Loki, for whose privacy no one ever had any respect, perceived this with incredible relief. It was as if his body was finally slowly becoming his.

Now, however, he was hidden under a thick layer of foam and smiled cheerfully at Sylvie as she sat on a stool next to the tub.

She looked phenomenal in her new golden gown. He always accompanied her on her seamstress visits and on the shopping trips she sometimes went on for pleasure, and quickly became interested in fashion. He suspected that long years without access to any knowledge had now made his mind absorb everything with redoubled force. He quickly became familiar with the latest trends and began occasionally discussing them with seamstresses, to Sylvie's greatest amusement and the bewilderment of all the servants.

Those wide sleeves were his idea, and Sylvie looked extremely favorable in them, especially since the rest of the dress framed her very attractively. Loki couldn't get enough of her slender waist and proudly straight back, even now that she squatted on a stool and playfully dipped the tips of her fingers in the water near his shoulder.

"Pleasantly cool." She laughed at him. "Someone here doesn't like basking in hot water."

He wondered if she had entered the bathroom for any particular reason, but it looked like she simply wanted to talk after several hours of separation. He was coming to the conclusion lately that she must have missed him as much as he missed her every time they parted, even for a moment. He liked those quiet moments when he had time just for himself, but he felt much better being with her. Perhaps she felt the same way.

"What's new at the court?" He asked quietly as Sylvie rested her head on her hands and her arms on the edge of the tub. He knew that in no one else's company she would ever sit in such an undignified manner, but with him she felt at ease. He too leaned back comfortably, expecting a good dose of gossip. Sylvie always told him absolutely everything.

"Oh, basically not much new. Sif has a new horse, and Jane suspects that our second cook may be pregnant. Can you imagine the scandal?" They both giggled, and Loki involuntarily took one hand out of the water and began to run his finger over the embroidered flowers on Sylvie's sleeve.

"Ah and most importantly." She smiled at him slyly and a shiver went through him at the sight. "Several girls have asked me if I would set you up with them." She bared her teeth at him. "Half of Asgard wants to sleep with you."

Loki flinched. This was a disturbing piece of information, although Sylvie had mentioned something like this several times before. He wasn't sure if it was a positive thing.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" She laughed, wetting her fingers again and splashing him lightly with water. "Because you are beautiful. You have gained a nice body and have gorgeous skin. Besides, no one in Asgard has such amazing cheekbones."

Loki felt a blush coming out on those very cheeks as Sylvie moved a wet finger over one.

"I think there is another reason." He said quietly, suddenly strangely intimidated by her compliments and proximity. "Everyone knows that I spend all my nights in your bedchamber, and they probably think I have... some outstanding skills."

Sylvie splashed him with water again.

"Let them think whatever they want." She stood up and looked down at him with an unusually serious expression. "But if you're interested in someone, let me know. I always tell everyone I'm not going to share you so they'll leave you alone, but if you'd like..."

"No, please." He was horrified by the very possibility. "I don't want to, really..."

"I'm just saying." She was already standing in the bathroom doorway. "The choice is yours, Sweetheart."

When they were already lying in bed a little later, Loki reflected further on her words. Sylvie sat leaning comfortably and reading a terribly thick book on politics in the Nine Realms. Although Loki had brought a book on edible plants to bed with him, he didn't feel like reading. He lay on his side and watched Sylvie reading with pleasure.

"May I ask you something?" He risked at last.

"Of course, my dear." She answered him absentmindedly, flipping the pages of the book.

"I don't want to be impertinent..."

"But you are most certainly about to be." She said joyfully, finally putting down the book and giving him her full attention. "And as we know, I love it when you're being cheeky, so don't be shy."

This was acutely true, Sylvie constantly encouraged him to express his opinion openly, to defy her and say what he thought. He was learning this gradually, but the results apparently pleased her.

"Why don't you bed anyone?"

He immediately saw that he had succeeded in really catching her off guard. She placed herself on her side facing him and looked at his face.

"Why do you ask?"

He bit his lip, uncertain how to approach the subject delicately.

"I've heard more than once that you used to... Like to have fun."

Sylvie laughed briefly, humorless.

"This was all a path to get here. I wanted a slave by my side, and I knew my father would never permit me to buy one unless I made a scandal beforehand. Besides, I think I got bored with sex."

Loki glared at her.

"How come?" For him, sex had always been just a painful and humiliating chore, but he knew that most people who hadn't had such unpleasant experiences as he had seemed to love the activity.

"Just like that." She cringed and rolled onto her back with a sigh. "I've had a taste of everything, and I know perfectly well what I need to make sex interesting again, but I rather don't expect to be able to get it."

"What's that?" He asked with the utmost interest. He loved finding out new things about Sylvie and this topic was particularly engaging.

"I would have to bed someone I'm in love with and for them to be in love with me. I think that's when sex is best."

"Mhm." Loki also lay back and gazed at the canopy above them. Sylvie blew out the last candle and turned on her side, but he lay still on his back contemplating for a long time.

The day also eventually came when Loki finally won Thor's favor.

Loki until now, despite his new position, had not been treated by Thor and his friends as one of them, or even as one of the servants. They generally ignored him, occasionally throwing obnoxious remarks to which Loki might even have become accustomed if not for Sylvie. She always fought like feral on his behalf, not allowing them to openly disrespect him. Despite this, Loki felt their contempt.

He didn't care that much. As long as he remained around Sylvie, there was little that could really bother him. Besides, he was so used to being treated poorly that it was Sylvie's behavior toward him that he found more unusual than their disapproving glances.

They were all just getting ready for battle. The emergency message came from Vaneheim, where an unknown ship had landed in the town and attacked the local population. Thor immediately responded enthusiastically to the call, gathering friends and warriors, including Sylvie and Loki.

Loki was ready in a fraction of a second when Sylvie changed his and her daily clothes into lightweight leather armor with a quick flick of her hand. This was one of Loki's favorite tricks, but to his distress it sometimes caused him disturbing visions of Sylvie pulling off their clothes completely instead of just changing them....

Thor, for his part, was fumbling strangely, complaining about his squire and searching for pieces of his armor.

Finally Loki, who was exceptionally keen to fight, lost his patience. He grabbed the handle of Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and picked it up.

"Let's go already." He muttered and pressed the hammer into the hands of its owner, then moved toward the door.

An uneasy silence surrounded him and no one made a move to the exit.

He looked at the entire group of people, frozen in shock. For a moment, memories returned and he was frightened that he had allowed himself too much, practically giving an order to the prince of Asgard.

But then Sylvie burst out laughing. She bent in half and roared endlessly, clinging to her brother's arm and failing to catch her breath. Loki stared at her in amazement, but then he took a look at the faces of the others. Thor was paralyzed by shock, as were all his friends, who gazed after each other in disbelief.

But then Sylvie calmed down a bit and ran toward him. With a laugh she threw her arms around his neck and when he leaned into her obediently, she kissed his cheeks.

Loki understood none of this.

Only later did Sylvie remind him of a story he had heard a long time ago, but in which he had never believed. A hammer that decided for itself who was worthy and who was not to pick it up was an absurd idea. Except that so many incredible, unbelievable things had happened in Loki's life recently that he didn't even question this one.

He was frankly pretty uninterested in what Thor's weapon thought of him, but he felt a wild satisfaction when he recalled the look on his face. Here he saw what Loki was capable of. Loki, a slave from nowhere, a god of nothing, worthy to wield Thor's beloved hammer, of which he was always so boastful and took such pride in it.

Loki giggled under his breath whenever he remembered this.

In any case, from then on, both Thor and his friends treated Loki with respect. Maybe without any greater affection, but they began to treat him as one of them.

Sylvie triumphed.

Chapter Text

Another identical day in his life, again on scraped knees, taken from behind like an animal, beaten, scolded....

"Let's turn the Jotun slut on its back!"

And then a completely different voice somewhere in his head....

"Darling, you are delirious... hallucinating. You need to wake up."

He didn't want to wake up, he didn't want to leave his imagination, where so many incredible things had happened to him... He lived in a palace, he was in love... He didn't want to return again to this reality, where only a dirty floor and another humiliation awaited him.

"Sweetheart, wake up. Loki."

He suddenly opened his eyes and just a second later he was leaning over the bed and vomiting on the floor. Someone's warm hand stroked his bare back as he was shaken by convulsions.

When he realized what was happening first a profound, heartbreaking relief shook him. He really was in the palace. All this was not a product of his imagination. Sylvie was beside him and she was stroking his back reassuringly.

And then the deeply programmed stress came to the surface when he realized he had just vomited on the princess' carpet and who knows what else he had done before. He couldn't remember what had been happening and his mind was confused.

He hovered over the edge of the bed, breathing deeply and trying to gather himself. Before he could mumble an apology, Sylvie's surprisingly strong hands pulled him back so that he fell on his back against the pillows.

"It's all right my poor thing." Sylvie was leaning over him from the other side of the bed. She wiped his mouth with some cloth and Loki finally began to apologize to her.

"Calm down Darling." She said calmly and looked closely at his face. "You look a little more conscious at last."

He was alarmed by this sentence. And then more that the light outside the window looked as if dusk was falling. He had no memory of the morning.

"What happened?" He asked, dreading the answer and was horrified by his hoarse voice.

"You fell ill during the night. You got a fever." Whispered Sylvie, wiping his forehead now. "You were hallucinating, mumbling strange things... You were unconscious for most of the day."

Anxiety settled in his stomach. He remembered vividly the scene in his head just before waking up.

"What was I mumbling?" He asked, turning his eyes away to avoid looking at her.

"I don't think you dreamed of anything pleasant." She said sympathetically and heaved a painful sigh.

Two servants entered the room and Loki closed his eyes, not wanting to watch them have to clean up after him. They circled around them for a while, fetching water and mopping the floor, while Loki choked with guilt.

When they finally left, Loki was silent for a while trying to grasp reality. His head was pounding and his throat was scratchy. He was strangely sweaty, although for some reason he was shirtless. He realized that the room was surprisingly cold and opened his eyes. The balcony was open wide, and Sylvie was covered with two blankets. He immediately felt even worse.

"Why am I here? Send me back to my chambers or you'll get sick too..."

"I'm not sending you anywhere, Loki. The doctor has already visited you, I won't get sick." She stroked his hair and Loki was scared beyond belief.

"What's wrong with me?"

Sylvie got strangely sad all of a sudden. She moved a little away from him and Loki only now looked at her. She looked tired and he thought with concern that maybe she couldn't sleep because of him.

"You are too overwrought." She whispered in a frightened voice. "The doctor said that in spite of appearances, your body is still not that strong after so many years of exhaustion. I'm so sorry Loki, I'm demanding too much from you..."

"Hush." He whispered boldly and took her hand. "I'll be fine."

He wanted to say something more, but at that moment the maid peeked into the room and announced the queen's visit. Loki tried to get off the bed, but Sylvie's powerful grip held him firmly and the queen rushed into the room.

"I just got back to Asgard and immediately heard that you were ill!" She called out resentfully to her daughter, and only then did she notice the giant blue creature sprawled in the mangled sheets. "Oh."

Loki again tried to get up to stand up and bow, realizing full well that he was naked from the waist up, but Sylvie caught him again.

"Lie down, you're sick." She growled at him, then turned to her mother. "I'm not ill. It was Loki who got sick, and I didn't want to abandon him, so I declared that I was unwell to cancel all meetings and trips."

Frigga didn't seem outraged by this little lie. She grabbed an armchair and squatted it beside the bed on Loki's side, who was trembling all over feeling extremely out of place. He was lying half-naked with the princess in bed, and the queen looked at it without so much as a blink. Sometimes he didn't understand the rules of the palace at all, despite all those months that had passed.

"How are you feeling Dearest?" Frigga asked him softly, looking at him with attention, and Loki flinched again from those gentle words.

"I'm not sure Your Highness." He said frankly and pulled the quilt up to his chin in an attempt to cover himself a bit. "I dream terrible things..."

The queen shifted her gaze to Sylvie, who immediately replied.

"The doctor has already been here. He'll be fine, he needs to rest a bit." She stroked Loki's hair. "Sleep Darling."

Loki closed his eyes with relief and let Sylvie stroke his head gently. She and her mother began to gossip quietly about the queen's trip to Nilfheim and various matters from the court. Loki drifted off slowly and their soft voices no longer quite reached him.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing Sylvie?" It was likely the queen's voice, but it reached him as if through a fog. "I know it's the heart that decides, but..."

"I'm certain." A sweet voice whispered somewhere close to him and Loki, even in his sleep, turned toward him. A soft hand caressed his face tenderly. "He is everything."

He no longer understood anything, dreams blended in his head with reality. He moved closer to the voice he loved and he felt the warmth of a gentle arm wrapping around him.

"There will be problems out of this." Muttered the first voice in pain.

Loki already had enough problems in his life. He just wanted to rest. A warm arm drew him closer and he snuggled into the soft body beside him with relief.

"And I feel that all this is written for me." The sweet voice still resounded in his ear, but Loki had already drifted off completely.

He passed through snow-covered fields, strolling through his realms, proud, worthy, his cloak unfurled majestically behind him as he walked as a prince, as the king of this forgotten land....

In front of him the low stalls stretched, wooden elevations, all full of people... He walked slowly looking down at the kneeling slaves, all of them Aesir, terrified, naked, beaten, emaciated... He shifted his gaze from one to the other, until finally his eyes came across a woman at the end of the row, her petite figure shivering from the cold of this snowy land....

As he approached her she raised her eyes to him and Loki's heart stopped.

Oh, just not that...

"Sylvie... Sylvie no..."

Dread and terrifying guilt overpowered him as he fell to his knees in front of her and stretched out his arms to her... But he couldn't reach her....

"Sylvie..."

He didn't want that, surely... He didn't seek revenge, he didn't want a repetition of that dreadful tale....

"Sylvie please..."

"I'm here Loki, don't be scared..."

But he was scared beyond words, he was more frightened than he had ever been in his life, that it was his fault, that he was responsible for this, that all these people were here, that she was here....

"Loki my beloved, you're delirious, wake up... Loki..."

That was his name, he knew it, someone was calling him....

"Loki."

But it wasn't him in the first place, he wasn't there at all, he'd never been to Jotunheim, he had no responsibility for it... He was the one in this market, he was the one kneeling down and she was the one who found him... And brought him here, she was the one calling him now.

"Loki..."

He opened his eyes with difficulty and was not at all surprised to see her face suspended above him.

"Sylvie..." He growled and thoughtlessly reached out to her. He grabbed her dress and pulled her to him. He needed to feel the warmth of her body, to believe that she was right next to him. She squealed in amazement but did not protest.

She nestled against his chest, embraced him tightly, and slid her hands under his body.

The terrifying relief that it was all not true swept over his entire body. He couldn't even care anymore that he was sweaty and dirty, that he had vomited in the room, that he had unceremoniously snatched the princess of Asgard into his arms. The relief that he was here with her overshadowed everything else.

"It's all right Loki." Sylvie muttered somewhere in the crook of his neck. "You'll recover soon and everything will be as before."

He did in fact recover, but not everything was as before.

Sylvie canceled or postponed all meetings and other activities for the next few days claiming that she was sick and stayed in bed with him.

Loki was recovering quickly under her skillful hands. She didn't let anyone touch him except the elderly doctor who came every day. She cleaned him and applied ointments, helped him eat and endlessly read him all the tales that could be found on Asgard. Despite his illness, Loki soon decided that it had been a wonderful few days, as he had Sylvie all to himself.

After coming out of his fever, Loki felt pretty good overall, at least physically. What was going on in his head was another matter.

The vision of Sylvie at the slave market terrified him so much that every now and then he reached out to see if she was next to him. He was astonished to see that not only did she not push him away, but she seemed to seek that contact just as he did.

Ever since he had drawn her to him that time after waking up from the hallucination, Sylvie often hugged him. It was an absolutely amazing experience and Loki was never tired of it. He had never hugged anyone before, and Sylvie fit wonderfully in his arms. They began to fall asleep, cuddled up and woke up like this.

After a few days, Loki was pretty much fully recovered and Sylvie shoved him into the bathtub. She waited until he slowly undressed and hid under a layer of water and foam, then turned to him and sat on a stool.

After a moment, she was massaging his scalp, rubbing fragrant oils into it, then gently rinsing them off, endlessly muttering sweet nothings under her breath such as "my poor thing." Loki was melting under her affections.

He had been thinking lately that maybe his past misery was enough for him to live the rest of his life in this perfect bubble of happiness he found himself in. That maybe, by some cosmic miracle, he really could have everything he never even dared to dream of.

When she finished with his hair, Sylvie calmly moved on to his body. She rubbed and massaged his shoulder, back and neck muscles, and Loki could barely stop himself from starting to purr.

"I'm pleased you're feeling better." She whispered while looking at his contented face with a smile. "You look relaxed."

"You, however, look rather tired." He reached his hand to her cheek and gently stroked it. Her eyes were circled, and Loki knew full well that he was the reason. "You worried about me too much."

She only smiled at him and leaned on her arms on the edge of the tub, watching him.

And he finally gained the strength to say what he had longed to say for a very long time.

"Join me in the bath, Darling."

The little pet name slipped out before he could keep it on his tongue. Sylvie was calling him that all the time, but he had never gotten around to it before. He watched now with mild concern as astonishment dawned on her face. He wasn't sure if it was the result of the nickname or his suggestion.

After a moment, however, Sylvie laughed with poorly concealed delight and got up to untie the belt of her bathrobe.

Loki closed his eyes and covered them with his arm, just in case, so she wouldn't suspect him of peeping. He swallowed down when he heard a quiet rustling of fabric and then the water rose as Sylvie sat down at the other end of the giant tub.

"A little chilly." She said playfully and splashed him with water.

Loki opened one eye and glanced at her. She was sitting covered in foam almost up to her neck, with her arms around the edges of the tub. She smiled cheekily at him, and Loki yearned.

Desire boiled low in his stomach and spilled over his body destroying all other thoughts along the way. He knew it was wrong and sick and unreal, and yet he wanted it.

"You've taken wonderful care of me these past few days." He whispered low, trying to control himself and keep a neutral face. "Let me take care of you."

Sylvie answered nothing, just smiling at him, and Loki read this as sufficient encouragement. He rose slowly and changed his position so that he was now kneeling in front of her perched on his heels. While doing so, he was very careful not to emerge from the water even a little below his waist, but Sylvie's breathing immediately accelerated anyway. Her gaze moved slowly from his face across his body, encompassing his dripping arms and chest, tensed abdominal muscles and stopped at the water line. Loki, for his part, watched in fascination as Sylvie's breast rose and fell rapidly just below the surface of the water, just beneath that thin layer of foam....

He reached for the bottle of oil with which Sylvie had earlier rubbed his shoulders and back to relax him.

And then he slid his other hand into the water and easily found Sylvie's legs, positioned politely right in front of him. Her breathing stopped abruptly when he tightened his fingers on her left ankle and pulled it up. Sylvie sank slightly into the foam as he took her leg out of the water up to her knee and placed her foot on his stomach.

They measured each other with stares without saying a word. Loki waited for some kind of reaction, waited for her to yank her leg away from him or push him away, for her to laugh at him or scold him, but she sat speechless, apparently allowing him to do so.

He poured some oil on his hand and slowly began to massage her calf, still not taking his eyes off her face. She was breathing heavily as if after a training session, but still said nothing and didn't take her leg resting lightly against his body.

He massaged her tiny foot for a while, then returned to her calf again and moved on. His heart was pounding like crazy, but nevertheless he gently moved his hands over her knee and began to knead her thigh gently to where it was disappearing in water and foam.

Sylvie stared at him with wild intensity, and when she bit her lower lip lightly, his head spun.

He carefully put her foot down in the water, but before he could reach for the other one, she herself slid it out of the water and rested her foot on his body. Loki grasped it gently and gazed for a moment at her delicate white skin, contrasting so beautifully with his indigo fingers. And then he finally did what he yearned to do.

He leaned over a little and ran his long blue tongue over the skin of her calf.

Sylvie's head tilted back, and a low moan escaped from her throat. Loki lost control of himself.

She had wonderful, soft skin and Loki just wanted to eat her whole, sink into her and never come back. Completely unfamiliar feelings flooded his head as his body tensed dangerously....

He kissed her skin, moving from her ankle lower and lower, and Sylvie moaned deeply again as he reached her thigh with his lips, the inner part of which only a small piece protruded above the water....

He raised his head and was utterly confused as to how it had happened that he was so close to her. Her leg sank into the water and then somehow both her legs were on two sides of his body. Sylvie lay leaning with her back against the edge of the tub, trapped beneath his large body, as he suddenly leaned over her, braced himself with his arms against the sides of the tub and moved lower and lower staring into that incredible face....

Her hands finally found his body as she grabbed him around the waist to pull him slightly toward her. Her nails scratched his skin and that finally sobered him up.

He realized what was happening, as if he saw the scene from a different perspective, Sylvie trembling slightly and his body hovering dangerously above her, their shallow breaths and all the impropriety of the situation.

He withdrew immediately, splashing the water and biting his tongue to automatically keep the string of apologies from his mouth. He returned to his original position at the other end of the tub, but already felt he had to escape. He didn't look Sylvie in the face.

"I'll get out now." He whispered in the eerie, awkward silence. "You should rest here some more."

He glanced at her only for a moment to make sure her eyes were closed and then, catching his towel and his pajamas on the fly, he dashed for the door.

When much later Sylvie finally slipped out of the bath room, he was already pretending to be asleep. He was sure she knew he was faking, but she didn't say a word. The mattress sagged gently as she slid under the covers and then they lay for a long time in complete silence, each immersed in their own musings.

Chapter Text

He was dreading the morning, but when he woke up Sylvie was already roaming around the bedchamber with her usual grin.

"We have some chores planned for today." She chuckled cheerfully as he rose on his elbows, and Loki was pleased to see that she looked perfectly normal. "If you're feeling well, I'd be happy to take you with me."

The two of them threw themselves into their work without once mentioning what had happened in the bathtub and Loki quickly relaxed. They ended up spending a pleasant day, first dealing with the peaceful delegation from Niflheim, then writing back together on Sylvie's numerous correspondence and finally preparing arguments for the next council meeting. There was no indication that Sylvie held any grudges against him, or that their relationship had deteriorated in any way at all.

For the afternoon, Sylvie again summoned seamstresses, and Loki was currently standing in the middle of the room letting them press fabrics to his body.

"You've gained a lot of flesh lately." Said one of them, marking the width on the fabric.

"Loki has been training a lot." Exclaimed Sylvie cheerfully from her chair and reached for another pastry. "Although he was hard to resist even before."

The seamstresses giggled, and Loki suddenly ran out of air.

"You have to admit that I have found myself a very handsome lover." She chuckled lightly, gazing at Loki intensely above her baked goods with a completely innocent look on her face.

He didn't even hear the seamstresses' response anymore, too busy with what was going on in his heart.

In the days following the incident, Loki wondered if he had by any chance lost his mind. Not only did Sylvie not mention his behavior in the bath, but she became even more tender to him. She forbade him to practice fighting too hard and sit too long at the paperwork, reminding him constantly that he had been ill and should not exhaust himself.

Instead, she took him out for walks in the gardens and sometimes around the town. Slowly they explored all of Asgard together, sometimes walking, sometimes on horseback, sometimes flying on a boat. On the surface, everything was back to normal, but Loki felt that something had changed between them since his illness, although he couldn't fully say what.

He understood what had changed on his part. He finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Sylvie and that he had been in love with her for a long time. He pondered this endlessly, especially at night when he couldn't sleep at times and listened to the quiet breathing by his side.

He didn't know how it happened, but even after the incident in the bath, they continued to fall asleep cuddled up. Usually Sylvie would lay her head on his chest, and he would embrace her gently. Sometimes he would wake up with his back turned to her, and she would wrap her arms around him loosely from behind, with her head tucked between his shoulder blades. Occasionally he would tense up when he suddenly felt someone's touch on him, but then he would immediately remind himself that it was Sylvie and the distress would go away. Instead, he felt a terrifying relief.

It seemed that not only did Sylvie not resent him for practically throwing himself at her in the bathtub, but she sought even more contact with him. Loki had no idea what it all meant, but apparently she was quite pleased with their arrangement.

He wasn't quite sure why, but he was nervous about the upcoming ball. The solstice was being celebrated and a reception was being held, not a particularly grand one by palace standards. Loki had strange thoughts in his head as he watched Sylvie getting ready joyfully. She had ordered new attire for them for the occasion, bright green with silver embroidered patterns, and Loki knew they both looked marvelous.

"Do you think you'll ask me to dance tonight?" She asked him curtly as they entered the room and headed slowly toward Thor and his friends.

"Me?" He looked down at her, completely bewildered. "And am I allowed?"

"Loki. You're allowed everything." She giggled, looking around the room with satisfaction. "Unless you don't want to."

"Of course I want to." Loki looked at her in awe, as usual not believing that she was real. And that it was him she was holding by the arm. "Will you reserve your first dance for me?"

He felt strangely surreal as he said this, as if he had found himself in a parallel world. How could it be that a little over a year ago he had nothing and now unexpectedly he had absolutely everything?

"Naturally." Said Sylvie briefly and began greeting everyone they approached.

They all looked magnificent. Thor was wearing an especially ornate robe, full of gold embellishments and engraved runes. He even set aside his hammer for the occasion, but everyone knew he could summon it with a flick of his wrist. He looked, as usual, very pleased with himself. Suspended from his arm was Lady Sif, who looked very peculiar in an elegant purple dress. She typically wandered around the palace wearing no other clothes than leather armor, ready to fight or train with Thor at any time. Thor's three companions, who never did anything separately, looked a little bored, and Loki knew full well that before the end of the evening they would get drunk or have a fight, most likely both.

"You look magnificent, sister." Said Thor cheerfully, looking at Sylvie proudly. "I'm sure you wouldn't sit through a single dance, even if you weren't a princess."

"Dance your first dance with me Sylvie." Fandral chuckled, looking at her appreciatively, and Loki felt a disturbing stab of jealousy. But Sylvie burst out laughing.

"Unfortunately, I have the first dance already arranged." She said blithely. "Actually, when I think about it, I have almost all of them already filled. Maybe I'll squeeze you in somewhere near the end."

Everyone stared at her in amazement, completely ignoring Loki.

"The ball hasn't started yet." Sif was perhaps the most puzzled, and Loki thought with satisfaction that she herself probably didn't have any dance proposal yet. Or maybe she's as usual waiting for Thor, deluding herself that he'll finally see her as a woman and not a fellow friend.

Oh well, but she wasn't as beautiful as Sylvie. Loki, by the way, was perfectly confident that no one in the universe was as impeccably gorgeous as Sylvie, with her unruly curls and reddened cheeks, her joyful laugh and gentle hands.

Sylvie only shrugged her shoulders in response and laughed again.

By the time the music rang out, Loki was a bundle of nerves. Sylvie had been practicing dancing with him in her chamber for a long time, which he had completely failed to understand until now. It occurred to him that she had been preparing him for this moment for a long time. Which made him wonder what else she had planned for him.

Now, however, she pulled him gently onto the dance floor, completely ignoring the startled stares of her friends and the rest of the crowd. She positioned them smoothly as the first pair, and Loki realized with horror that the princess was opening the ball. And he along with her.

In fact, it wasn't too bad. He had this particular dance well-rehearsed thanks to Sylvie, and only mistook a step twice, and at insignificant moments. Besides, he had to be so focused all the time that he couldn't see anything but Sylvie, couldn't hear the bewildered whispers around him.

He was the only Jotun in the room, but Sylvie didn't care. She never took her careful eyes off him, leading him confidently in the dance and winking at him occasionally. It emboldened him so much that when she landed in his embrace at the end, he leaned into her ear.

"If I am not embarrassing you, I would be more than willing to stay on the dance floor with you for another dance. Unless it's true what you told Fandral and you've got all the dances covered."

Sylvie giggled cheerfully.

"Oh it just so happens that I reserved them all for you."

She stood with her head cocked looking at him fondly and Loki knew he would never recover from this. He would never again be able to live peacefully after he discovered what it was like to have her in his arms, to spin her around in a dance, to watch her gowns twirl, to see her laughing joyfully. The way she confidently holds out her hands to him. As if she truly believed he was worthy of her.

They danced a second and third dance together, and then Sylvie pulled him to a table and handed him some wine. The room was buzzing with rumors, but Sylvie didn't care, so he wasn't going to either.

Loki soon found the evening wonderful, even though Sylvie ended up dancing with Fandral and several other men. Loki watched her closely at the time and could see perfectly that with them she was not as cheerful and casual as with him. This brought him some disturbing amount of self-satisfaction and he poured far more wine into himself than he should have.

When the ball was over, they sat still in a small group in a side room drinking and laughing. There was an open hearth in the middle of the room, and steps around it, on which they were lounging. Thor was already utterly wasted and Loki was observing him carefully, ready to intervene if he fell into the fire, which was not entirely unlikely.

Sylvie sat on one of the higher steps and Loki two steps below her, leaning lightly against her legs and tilting his head back to discuss the events of the evening with her.

At one point Sylvie leaned forward and embraced him gently, nuzzling her cheek against his. He sat ever so serenely in her arms, although his heart was racing out of his chest. Tentatively, he placed his hands on her embracing arms. She rubbed her nose lightly against his cheek, and a shiver ran through him when her warm breath brushed his skin. He knew she was already drunk, too.

"Are you well?" He whispered so quietly that only she could hear.

"Mmm." She purred in his ear and embraced him tighter.

And then he felt her warm lips on his cheek. And then again a little further down. And again on his jaw.

Suddenly he was thoroughly hot, and his insides squirmed, which had nothing to do with the alcohol and food he had consumed that night, and everything with the proximity of Sylvie and the way she was doing things with him. Before he had time to react in any way, they were spotted.

"Oh, just look at those love birds!" Laughed Sif surveying them with a drunken glance.

Loki stiffened slightly, but Sylvie's arms didn't let go of him. She only drew him closer to her, so he leaned against her more comfortably and looked defiantly at Sif.

"Is that what this is all about?" Murmured Volstagg dragging himself along. "About stirring up jealousy?"

"What jealousy?" Sylvie again gently brushed her lips against Loki's cheek, eliciting delightful thrills from him.

"Jealousy of this. Whatever it is." Volstagg waved his hand in their direction. "You have initiated a new trend."

"What trend?" Murmured Sylvie vaguely, kissing the delicate skin behind Loki's ear and causing goosebumps all over his body.

"The trend for the shade of blue." Sif giggled while pouring another beer into herself. "Exotic is in fashion now."

Loki was long past the point where he would care about such things. He twisted slightly, giving Sylvie better access to his face, and she nudged him with her nose appreciatively. His only wish was that she would never stop touching him, and preferably that she would lay him down on the soft sheets and kiss him for real....

"You want us all to lust after him." Groaned Sif intensely. "You show him off in the palace, knowing that no one will get him..."

"Loki is not here for you to lust after him." Sylvie growled, immediately losing her lighthearted mood. Her hands tightened possessively on Loki's body. "Why can't you see how quickly he learns, how admirably he fights, how smart and cunning he is?"

Everyone looked at her in amazement, even the completely drunk Thor raised his head. Sylvie snorted with disdain.

"No. All you see is a pretty face, long fingers and a nice little ass." She growled discouraged. "It's pointless, really."

And then, despite his condition, Loki got genuinely nervous. Was that what this was all about? Was he here to prove a point? To show what potential the Jotnar had? If so, he was failing spectacularly. Despite his many successes at court, despite the position he held, everyone remained most interested in what he was doing to the princess in bed, that he remained her favorite.

Sylvie apparently noticed his nervousness, for she slid her hand reassuringly over his face.

"You have such soft skin." She whispered tenderly right into his ear, so quietly that no one but him could hear. "You are a delicate little creature, aren't you?"

Loki barely held back from whimpering. No one had ever spoken to him like this, no one had ever treated him with such tenderness... Sylvie's lips moved unhurriedly over his skin again, and he closed his eyes savoring the sensation and properly forgetting where they were.

Sylvie apparently forgot herself for a moment, too, because she slid her hand into his hair, tilting his head slightly, moving with her mouth down his jaw until it was almost on his neck and Loki forgot how to breathe. He succumbed to her completely, but then they were interrupted again.

"Sylvie, enough of this." Mumbled Fandral apparently having trouble focusing on them. "Come to bed with me."

Thor growled some unintelligible threat and rolled off the step he was lying on.

"Not tonight." Said Sylvie unusually firmly for the state she was in. "And not in a million years."

"You don't stand a chance, Fandral." Murmured Hogun while pouring another beer into himself. "Your cock is not all blue and ribbed."

"You're right." growled Fandral, focusing his gaze on Loki. "After something like this, a regular sized cock will never satisfy her again."

This was already too much for Loki. He tore himself away from Sylvie, sprang to his feet and leaped toward Fandral. He had almost reached him when Sylvie grabbed his cape and pulled him back slightly. He had no idea how she was so fast, but he knew it was her, because her arms immediately wrapped around his waist from behind.

He could have easily pushed her away, as he was much stronger than her, but even in this state he preferred to stay in her arms. Her slender body clung to him as she held him firmly, but even so, Loki was still furious.

"You will not insult her." He growled to Fandral, no longer in complete control of himself. "Say something about her or me again, then you'll see what else I can do."

"Loki, come on." Whispered Sylvie behind his back. Her hands on his stomach tightened warningly. "Everyone is drunk."

"It's none of your concern what we do in our bedchamber." He growled, looking around resentfully. "You'll never know."

Everyone looked at him in wonder.

"I want to go to sleep." He finally muttered in complete silence.

Sylvie finally let go of him and spun him around to look into his face. It seemed as if she was quite relieved. She took his hand and pulled him toward the door without a word.

She had already sent her guards off to rest a few hours ago, telling them that Loki would escort her back, so now it was just the two of them walking down the dormant corridors. Anger quickly melted in Loki under the weight of Sylvie's tiny hand clenched in his. Not fast enough.

"I don't like the way they treat you." He said boldly and looked at Sylvie walking leisurely beside him. He knew she was very drunk, as she was staggering slightly.

"It doesn't matter." She muttered while closing her eyes. "We know the truth."

"What is the truth?" He asked calmly, but didn't hear an answer as Sylvie tripped. He caught her efficiently before she fell and ran out of breath when she raised her eyes to him.

She was looking at him in such a way... No one had ever looked at him like that. It was as if she saw something in him that he didn't see in himself. Supposedly he knew perfectly well that there was no way the princess would be attracted to him, and yet in such moments....

Sylvie took a step back and bumped into the wall, leaning against it. Loki, without realizing what he was doing, followed her as if pulled by a magnet. His head was confused from the alcohol, to which he was not accustomed, and from Sylvie's incredible eyes staring intently at him. He hadn't planned on it, but leaned against the wall above her head, leaning into her....

Why wasn't she scared of him? He was twice as big and stronger than her, they were alone in a dark corridor, drunk... Sure, even in this state she could knock him down in a second thanks to her magic, but still....

But she just stood there with her head cocked, and a moment later her hands came to rest on his hips as if involuntarily. Loki could already feel the shivers of excitement, once completely unknown to him, but now increasingly frequent in her company, and wondered what it all meant.

"What do you want Loki?" She whispered, drawing him to her as gently as if she didn't mean it at all.

He was short of breath when he looked down at her like that, so delicate, trapped between him and the wall and yet trusting... What did he want? He had no idea, everything more he could desire seemed unreal, even at this moment with Sylvie basically in his arms.

What could she possibly want? She was staring at him like that... He was almost ready to think that she really wanted him, that at that moment and many others like it she was waiting for him to kiss her or make some kind of move. That another one of his improbable dreams might come true.

But even after so many months with her, he wasn't brazen enough to actually believe it.

"I want you to go to sleep, it is late and you are very drunk." He whispered and leaned over to kiss her forehead. That was as much as he could allow himself in this dark hallway.

Sylvie sighed quizzically, and as he pulled away from her, he saw shadows sweep across her face. But soon after, she was cheerful again.

"Race me to the chamber." She squealed and before he knew it she was running down the hallway tapping her heels and tripping over her gowns.

In her condition she was not as fast as she thought and Loki caught up with her momentarily on his long legs. She laughed as she staggered and continued trying to run away. Finally Loki caught her in half and threw her over his shoulder.

He knew she should have him flogged for it and that she never will. Instead, she laughed quietly, patting him on the back, and he held her legs tightly while carrying her to the chambers and inhaling her scent.

"You won't run away from me." He whispered snuggling his face into her dress on his shoulder.

"I don't intend to." She muttered and Loki could have sworn he was able to hear her smile.

Sylvie had thoughtfully not scheduled any work for them for the day after the ball so they could recover in peace, and Loki was deeply appreciative of this.

He woke up with a terrible headache. Sylvie was still asleep with her back turned to him, curled up as usual. At such moments, she looked nothing like a proud princess, and more like a frightened child.

Loki watched her delicate back and mangled hair for a while. When they returned from the ball, they hadn't even changed into their pajamas. Loki just helped her get out of her dress and out of her shoes, and she fell on the bed in her petticoat and after a while she was asleep. He took off what he could and lay down in just his pants. Now those pants bothered him a lot, but he didn't feel like getting up to change yet.

Slightly stupefied with fatigue and a headache, he scooted over to the sleeping Sylvie and wrapped his long body around hers. He put his arms around her and snuggled into her back. At this stage, being right next to her felt much more natural to him than being further away from her. He could no longer fall asleep, but savored her warm body and the way she almost soundlessly purred in her sleep while nestled into him.

He perfectly sensed the moment when Sylvie began to awaken. She stretched slightly and then stiffened for a moment, feeling his body wrapping around her. And then, when Loki was actually considering revealing to her that he wasn't sleeping at all, she snuggled comfortably into him. She hugged his embracing arm, and Loki had to stifle tears of emotion.

It seemed to him that he was faking sleep reasonably well, but Sylvie, as usual, was not fooled.

"I know you're awake." She muttered sleepily.

Loki knew he should be ashamed, but it felt too damn good, even despite his headache and fatigue. He just pressed her even closer to him and hid his face in her hair.

Sylvie only sighed with pleasure and they lay like that for a long time in the blissful silence of the morning.

In the late afternoon they sat together on the balcony, Sylvie tucked under a blanket, him stretched comfortably in the fresh, chilly air. Each of them had a book in front of them, but Loki only pretended to read.

Inside, he was fighting with himself. On the one hand, he was aware of what he desired, and he knew that he had no rights to it. That he shouldn't have any, not even the slightest hope that Sylvie might want the same thing. On the other hand... Why was she acting like this? If he was completely indifferent to her, surely she wouldn't allow him to indulge in such behaviors?

But what was he actually hoping for? Not only did they have a different social status, but they weren't even of the same species. What was to come out of this? Aesir relationships with other races were not forbidden, but it was rare, because generally the others were slaves. He had never heard of a relationship between a Jotun and an Aesir. He knew that women of other races sometimes bore children to Aesirs, so conception was possible. However, he didn't expect it to work the other way around; very few Asgardian women would survive intercourse with a Jotun man.

Even if Sylvie somehow desired him, what would happen? What could she possibly want to do with him? Loki was absolutely terrified of sex, he knew he was doomed forever. He would never feel any pleasure from being fucked. He couldn't fuck her either, she was far too small for him.

He couldn't imagine that Sylvie could ever want him and not his body. Everyone always desired only his body. Before he met Sylvie, that was the only thing he had to offer. And even that was being taken away from him.

Sylvie, however, saw something more in him from the beginning. He knew that she was fond of him. She asked his opinion and considered him. She asked him for advice. She cared about him. She didn't touch him when she saw he wasn't comfortable with it. And she didn't let anyone else touch him.

He was still not quite sure what he hoped for. What he had now with Sylvie was amazing, but he could tell that something was missing. That he wanted more. He had never been in love before and had no idea what to do about it.

"Loki?"

He jerked his head up from the book. Sylvie was leaning toward him slightly from her chair. She was wearing a delicate green gown, all decorated with golden flowers, and looked absolutely adorable, even with a slightly concerned look on her face, as she did now.

At times he still couldn't believe how utterly beautiful she was. Before meeting her, he would never have been able to imagine in his life that he could be so attracted to someone. Let alone an Asgardian. Let alone a princess....

"Have you ever been kissed?"

He saw her lips move when she said this and yet he didn't believe it. He stared into her face for a long moment before finally forcing himself to answer.

"Not if I could avoid it."

Sylvie put the book down on the table between them.

"And have you ever thought about kissing someone you liked?"

She stared at him in such a way... Excitement bubbled over his body already, although stress was still holding him back.

"No." He answered slowly and involuntarily leaned forward to get at least a little closer to that beautiful face, those soft lips....

"And what would you do..." She whispered with a concerned look on her face, and Loki ran out of breath again at this sight. "If I kissed you now?"

The silence that followed rang in Loki's ears as terror and happiness fought for precedence in his soul.

" I would say that you are insane..." He uttered at last.

As he wrestled with himself and with hope flooding his brain, Sylvie's face turned to horror. She jumped to her feet.

"I'm so sorry Loki." She muttered, looking at him with dread. "You know I'll never do something you don't want me to..."

She sneaked past him, running away from the balcony, but he managed to grab her wrist.

She looked at him in astonishment, almost fear, and exhilaration exploded in his stomach.

"Come here." He growled and in one motion pulled her onto his lap and into his arms. She collapsed into him with a surprised scream, but Loki quickly slipped his hand into her hair and pulled her face toward him.

And then without hesitation, as if he had been planning this for a long time, as if he had done it millions of times, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, he leaned over and gently kissed her.

Chapter Text

Sylvie was kissing him immediately the way she lived: without hesitation, without uncertainty, all at once. Loki pulled her closer to him and returned the kisses with delight. Her lips were warm and soft, and Loki quickly lost himself in it. He realized that until now he had never derived the slightest pleasure from any physical contact, even that had been taken away from him... And now he couldn't even imagine anything better than Sylvie in his arms.

Surprised at his boldness, he moved his hands down her back and shoulders, tilted her slightly back, following her with his lips... She kissed him over and over again and Loki couldn't get enough, convinced that Ragnarok could come and they wouldn't even notice.

But eventually they had to pull away from each other to take deeper breaths, and Sylvie grinned joyfully at him.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time." She purred, placing a gentle kiss on his chin. "But I was scared you wouldn't want to."

"Who would not want to kiss you." He muttered leaning into her again and catching her lips in his.

For how long they sat like that, he didn't know. Much later, he leaned back comfortably in his armchair, and Sylvie nestled against his chest.

"There's something you should know..." She ran her hand gently over his skin and Loki could purr with pleasure. "I mean, I'm sure you already know, because it's no secret... But I wanted you to hear it from me at last."

Of the many things she could tell him, this was the one he completely didn't expect. He knew the story well, it had been one of his all-time favorites.

Many years ago, when the war finally came to an end and the King of Jotunheim, Laufey, fell in the last battle, Asgard reigned undivided over the Nine Realms. Laufey, dying on the battlefield at the feet of the King of Asgard, confessed to him with his last breath that he had left a child in the temple, the heir to the throne, and asked for mercy for it. Odin went to the temple and found Laufey's child lying alone. He took it with him and, as a last grace to commemorate the conquered kingdom, took it in as his own. From then on, he raised the enemy's child as equal to his trueborn son.

The story from Sylvie's mouth sounded even more incredible, and Loki gasped when she finished claiming that she was really the child of Laufey and that it was all true.

The problem was that Loki never believed the story and he didn't do so now either. He loved the tale for it was remarkable and providing hope, which is what he needed at difficult times in his life. It was just that it didn't make much sense. Odin would never raise an enemy's child as his own when he was simultaneously enslaving hundreds of innocent people from this realm.

Besides, ever since he met Sylvie he knew for sure that this was not true, because she was an Aesir in every little way and resembled Jotun in nothing. How could she be one of them?

"It's a beautiful story." He said softly and stroked her face with pleasure. "But in the end, you know perfectly well that it's just a fairy tale."

She looked at him in amazement.

"Is that what you think?"

Now he was puzzled and looked at her closely until she finally laughed, disentangling herself from his arms.

"Then you are in for quite a surprise!" She called out cheerfully and turned her back to him. "Help me out with my gown."

Every day he helped her undress, completely taking over her maid's duties, and yet today was very different. After what they had just done, he felt awkward untying her corset, and couldn't stop a purple blush rising to his cheeks as he helped her get out of her layers of clothing.

"I am the heir of Jotunheim and I can prove it to you now." She said boldly and took a few steps back. Loki couldn't stop looking at her, in that ethereal petticoat and flowing hair, with a face flushed with enthusiasm. She was spectacular.

And then suddenly she began to change. She grew unexpectedly fast, shooting upward so that they were now of similar height. Her white skin darkened, took on an eerie deep blue shade and was now covered with heritage lines, the sort that adorned his entire body. When she blinked the green of her eyes suddenly disappeared, giving way to a vibrant crimson red.

Sylvie stood before him as a flesh and blood Jotun.

His legs gave way under him. She was so strikingly beautiful, so dangerous, all filled with light and magic, that Loki was ready to die here and now looking at her. Her huge red eyes glittered ominously as she spread out her arms, and a moan broke from Loki's throat.

He understood everything at once. He understood her dislike of slavery, her arguments with her mother, her long conversations with her brother designed to reassure her of his intentions when he would take the throne of Asgard... Her presence at the endless meetings, her letters and her fight for every little change regarding the slaves.

He understood his role in all these efforts and his head spun. He also finally grasped why she had chosen him. He realized the impression his desperate whisper had made on her then at that market, when he told her he dreamed of Jotunheim... She understood him, because that was her dream too.

"I will take over Jotunheim." She whispered without taking her eyes off his face. "And you will stand by my side."

Loki could not imagine a more glorious purpose for himself.

By supper time she switched back, but Loki could not calm down. He ate as quickly as possible, longing to get rid of the servants and lock himself in the bedroom with her as he did every night. He didn't register what he was eating or what was going on around him at all, overwhelmed by the day's events.

Sylvie is a Jotun, like him. The princess of Asgard is from his world. And she plans to reclaim it.

Sylvie kissed him. She said she had wanted to kiss him for a long time.

These two facts were turning his brain into mush.

As soon as Sylvie finished eating, he broke away from the table and ran to the balcony, where he decided to wait for her. It was still quite early, and usually after supper they sat for a few more hours on the balcony or in the sitting room reading their books, but this time Loki couldn't take it. He couldn't sit still. He paced around the terrace listening to the servants gather from the table behind the door and Sylvie teasing them as always. When the door to the hallway finally slammed and the voices quieted, Loki was a bundle of nerves.

Sylvie stepped out onto the balcony as if nothing had happened and smiled at him in a friendly manner.

"You shot up from the table. The girls got scared. They think you got sick or something..."

But he completely didn't care.

"Set me free." He demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Excuse me?" She glared at him with terrified eyes.

But Loki had had enough. He thought it all over supper and realized what he was missing. What was still left to discover.

"Release my magic." He requested in a softer tone this time.

Sylvie immediately grinned.

"I already thought you would never ask."

With that, she caught him by surprise. He was sure that she had deliberately left that collar around his neck, that despite his apparent freedom it was yet to be the last symbol of his inferior status. And above all, that she didn't want him to be reunited with his seidr. Asgardians were afraid of the powerful magic wielded by the Jotnar.

"I kept waiting for you to be ready." She said calmly, as she gently disentangled herself from his grasp. "I thought maybe you were too overwhelmed by all this to deal with magic yet."

"I'm ready." He said immediately and straightened up. Exhilaration filled his body like air. And then he came up with something else. "Wait... I'd like you to..." He hesitated. Until now, he had often found it hard to express his wishes. Sometimes he went on not believing that he had the right to do so.

But Sylvie understood him without words.

"I have to take off my dress, or I'll suffocate in it, or tear it..." She turned her back to him and Loki unceremoniously began to rip off her clothes. He didn't even bother to worry about destroying anything anymore. She squealed in surprise, but did not protest.

Excitement exploded in his stomach as Sylvie stepped out of her dress and turned to him with a smile. She immediately began to transform and within moments she was standing in front of him in her Jotun form.

They looked at each other thrilled for a moment, until finally Sylvie reached out to touch his neck.

"Just don't panic." She whispered cautiously. "I don't quite know what will happen when you feel your seidr for the first time after so many years. No sudden movements."

But Loki was already trembling with anticipation.

"Please..." He whispered and Sylvie winked at him. And then she whispered some incantations and the collar opened with a quiet clatter to fall to the ground.

There was nothing happening for a moment. Sylvie took a few steps back, watching him carefully, and he was flooded with a feeling of disappointment when absolutely nothing changed.

And then suddenly a powerful impact almost knocked him off his feet. Invisible forces flowing from every direction hit him, broke into him, filled his entire body. The power poured over him like a wave and almost unconsciously he spread out his arms, letting it flow through him and connect him to the world. He tilted his head back and laughed, laughed madly like never before, and the whole world laughed with him, rejoicing in his happiness.

He was free. He was free at last, as free as he should have always been, united with his seidr and with the nature he so longed for. He was one with the world around him, and he couldn't believe how he had lived without it until now.

He leaned back even further and looked up into the starry sky, calling on his ancestors to rejoice with him as he finally found himself, sending energy out into the world, wishing with all his heart that everyone would find what he had found.

And then he lowered his gaze and looked at Sylvie. She was crying and laughing along with him. When she reached out to him, he snatched her into his arms without thinking about it at all.

He immediately felt her seidr connect with his own, felt everything vibrating around them in excitement that it had finally found its place. The energy was filling him to the brim and he needed to find an outlet for it. As Sylvie wrapped her arms around his waist, he brought his hands up and let the magic flow through them like a vessel. A rain of sparks poured down on them from his hands, and Loki laughed again, turning the sparks into fireworks, shooting them into the sky and waking up all of Asgard, singing with magic about his freedom.

He didn't know how long they stood there watching the fireworks he created and the lights and sparks and wind that surrounded them like a tornado lifting their clothes and hair. When he finally cooled down a bit and when the magic bubbling in his veins toned down a little, Sylvie was still embracing him tightly.

"I've never seen anything so remarkable." She said in awe and Loki gazed into her amazing ruby eyes. It was the most beautiful moment of his life and he was thrilled to the depths of his being that Sylvie was here with him.

"Thank you." He whispered and finally enveloped her in a hug. "For all this."

"It all always belonged to you. But I'm pleased to have been a part of it." She said cheerfully and gently maneuvered herself out of his embrace. "I think that's enough of this madness for today. You need to rest."

He wasn't the least bit tired, but without protest he returned with her to the room. He didn't feel like taking a bath or doing anything at all, he just changed into his pajamas and when Sylvie disappeared into the bathing room, he paced around the chamber excitedly. Eventually he came up with a splendid idea.

He didn't find what he was looking for on the bookshelf in the sleeping room, so he immediately moved to the sitting room and started browsing the shelves. He selected a few spellbooks that seemed most promising at first glance, and with his arms full, returned to the bedchamber.

Sylvie had already stepped out of the bathing room in her elegant nightgown, much too short on her Jotun body, and Loki's blood pressure jumped when he saw her graceful blue legs sticking out from under the fabric.

She laughed at the sight of him bending under the weight of the books and began to remove them from his arms and put them down on the table.

"We don't need all this, I will teach you everything"

"Will you?" Loki glanced at her with hope, putting down the last book on a sizable pile.

"Of course, Loki." She said cheerfully and headed toward the bed. "I'll teach you everything I know myself. But not tonight."

Loki, too, approached the bed, although the energy burned under his fingertips and he knew he wasn't going to be able to calm down for a long time yet. But then Sylvie settled comfortably under the covers and with a shy smile stretched her arms out to him.

"Come to me, my Darling." She whispered and Loki smiled.

With a sense of terrifying, profound relief, he slipped under the covers and into her arms. Her body in this form was pleasantly cool and fit perfectly against his. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.

He had no idea what they were to each other and what to make of it all. The fundamentals hadn't changed, she was still the princess and he was here to serve her, but at this point he didn't want to worry about that. He just wanted to lie endlessly safe in the arms of the being who had brought him back to life.

Chapter Text

He expected to be exhausted the next morning after the previous day's events, but he woke up bursting with energy. His seidr pulsed lazily under his skin, and Loki savored this unusual feeling for a while.

He was free. Free, free, free. He will never allow this collar to be put on him again, no one will have power over him anymore, no one will force him to submit. Sylvie is going to teach him spells, or he will learn them himself, he will absorb this knowledge with ferocious joy.

At last, at long last, after so many terrible, pointless years, when he was rotting in captivity, when he was wasting away, despairing over his fate, now he could have everything. All of it.

He felt dizzy at the very thought of the possibilities that were opening up to him. He had the feeling that last night he had merely licked the paper in which his magic was wrapped, now he wanted to unwrap it all and get a taste of it. Speaking of licking…

He opened his eyes.

Sylvie was lying next to him on her side and apparently watching him. Overnight she had returned to her Aesir form. He felt himself blush under her warm gaze and was pleased when she first started talking.

"How do you feel?"

"Excellent." He muttered, gazing into her unusual green eyes. He was equally fond of her in this form. In both she was powerful and amazing. Beautiful. "I've never felt better."

"You were wonderful yesterday." She whispered and shifted a little closer, and he ran out of breath. "You have an incredibly strong seidr. I've never seen anything like it."

"You promised to teach me some spells..." She was so close again... He couldn't help but slide his fingers over her delicate face. The dark cobalt of his skin contrasted amazingly with her pure white.

"Anything you want. Anything." Her breathing quickened under his touch and Loki already knew what he wanted.

He just kissed her.

She was incredibly warm and soft and made delightful noises when he moved his tongue over her lips.

For a moment, he feared that this would lead to something more, but neither Sylvie's hands nor lips began to wander over his body. She only moved her fingers gently across his cheek and smiled when they finally pulled away from each other.

"Why have you never told me?"

That question fell out of his lips before he could stop it. He was a little frightened that he was being too impertinent, but Sylvie was not outraged. She kept embracing him and Loki savored the warmth of her body.

And yet he had to know. They had spent so many months together and she had never told him that she was also a Jotun. She was not obliged to tell him of course, but Loki felt some slight grudge at the thought.

Sylvie apparently sensed it right away.

"I'm so sorry Loki." She said immediately. "I know I should have told you a long time ago. I assume you've heard the story of my parentage a long time ago..."

"I never believed it." He muttered pulling her to him again. How was he supposed to believe all this? It was as abstract as his current life.

And yet it was true.

Her lips were suddenly on his cheek and then on his jaw. Loki tensed up for a second and Sylvie immediately pulled away.

"I think a lot of people don't believe it." She muttered while gazing at him. "I myself couldn't quite believe it when I found out."

"How so?"

Sylvie sighed looking at him thoughtfully. Loki, as usual, sensed a good story.

"My parents told me years ago." She whispered, tracing the lines on his cheeks with her fingers. "It was a shock to me, I couldn't get used to the thought for a long time. Up to now, I find it rather hard to show myself to anyone in a Jotun body." She swallowed hard. "Among other reasons, that's also why I wanted to choose a Jotun slave."

A horrible thought crossed Loki's mind.

"Are you... disgusted by your Jotun body? Are you disgusted with me?"

Sylvie looked at him in bewilderment and immediately drew him closer to her.

"Of course not Darling." She said immediately, but Loki was not convinced.

"Am I... some kind of exotic to you?"

He wasn't sure himself what was contained in that question. He was afraid of the answer, afraid that Sylvie might want to have him next to her just because of his body or....

"You are familiar, Loki." She whispered looking at him with a slight smile. "It's like you're some old piece of me... lost long ago and now found."

He had no idea how she always knew what to say. Her tender voice so emboldened him that he risked another question.

"How long have you wanted to kiss me?" He asked cheekily and even dared to slide his finger over her lip, causing her to tremble slightly under his touch.

"For a very long time." She muttered and Loki involuntarily giggled at her embarrassed voice. "But don't think that's why I brought you here..."

"I know." He leaned in again to kiss her. "I know that's not why you brought me here, don't ever worry..."

"I didn't plan to have such feelings for you." She surrendered to his touch, sliding her hand into his hair and pulling him closer to her, yet her voice remained tense. "I honestly didn't think that after all you've been through you would remain so... Human."

"Human?" Loki marveled at her choice of words. "We're no humans..."

"I know, but... You are so dedicated. So curious about the world. I thought that for the first weeks you would just eat and sleep." She looked at him uncertainly. "I thought the trauma would completely crush you... And you just got up from your knees, shrugged it off and moved forward." She smiled sadly at him and squeezed him closer. "I've never been so proud of anyone in my life."

She kissed him gently and Loki lost himself in her with delight. She was proud of him... She was well aware of the nature of his trauma and what his life was like, and yet she lay in bed with him and kissed him devotedly. Was there anything more he could possibly ask for?

Tentatively, he slid his hand into her hair and pressed her closer to him, deepening the kiss. Her tongue glided over his lips, slid inside, and his head spun. He wondered what the next step would be, what Sylvie would want to do with him, but so far nothing more was happening. They kissed to no end, and Sylvie's gentle hands stroked his face and hair.

He suddenly felt with astonishment how her seidr buzzed and her body began to grow in his embrace. He pulled back slightly and watched her transformation with utter fascination. Her limbs stretched out and her skin once again took on a deep indigo color. Her incredible eyes gazed at him and sparkled with excitement.

"I can't believe you're a Jotun, too." He whispered, reaching out to run his fingers over her cool, smooth skin. "You transform with such ease."

"It cost me years of work." She grinned at him. "But I have a strange feeling that it will go much faster for you."

Loki lost his breath for a moment.

"Do you think I too... would be able to?"

"Of course you would." She replied immediately and moved closer. His head spun from her cool breath on his face. She was so pretty... "You'll see that you will quickly find what it takes to pull the Aesir look out. But we'll start with simpler incantations."

Happiness rippling from inside pushed him forward. He kissed her again, but this time her lips were cool and taut. Perfectly matched to his, as if they were made for each other.

Her whole body clung to him and Loki barely restrained himself from moaning pitifully with pleasure. Soon a tentative knocking echoed at the door.

"It's Wanda." Mumbled Sylvie, pulling away from him reluctantly. "Duty calls."

Loki finally let out a groan as Sylvie kissed him on the cheek again. She smiled at the look on his face.

"We have a lot of work today Loki. Two delegations and some paperwork... And by the evening we can start with the spells."

Loki immediately felt another rush of energy.

"Let's go then." He called out cheerfully and jumped out of bed.

The day flew by extremely fast for him. As usual, they had a lot of work to do, but Loki was not as focused as usual. Exhilarated by his magic coursing through his body and the memory of Sylvie's lips, he devoted all his energy to keeping a neutral face among the delegates from the other kingdoms.

When they finally returned to Sylvie's chambers after all was done, Loki was bursting at the seams. Waiting for them was the standard row of servants, a set table, wine and another quiet meal, the same as dozens of such meals before it.

But this time Loki couldn't bear it. Sylvie was rattling happily with the servants, but he could barely hold on. He wanted to snatch her in his arms and carry her to the bedchamber and not let her leave for a long, long time. He tamed the urge somewhat and timidly pulled her by the sleeve, nodding toward the chamber. Her lips twitched suspiciously when she saw the look on his face, but without a word she walked into the other room. Loki happily followed her and closed the door behind them.

As soon as he turned toward her, she grabbed his clothes and gently pulled him down to kiss him. He leaned against the door, spreading his legs wide to get at the height of Sylvie standing on her toes.

Loki could feel her magic vibrating gently along with his own, and it was the best sensation in the world. He had no idea how he could have lived without it before, how he couldn't know at all, how pointless everything was when he didn't have it.

They kissed for a long time and Loki's mind floated in delight. Sylvie wrapped her arms around his neck and he tentatively held her shoulders. Again, for a moment, he was afraid that she might start to undress him, but she did nothing of the sort, and just kept on kissing him with tenderness.

"You're a great kisser." She giggled when they finally pulled away from each other slightly.

"Sylvie..." He muttered, leaning over to touch her cheeks with his lips, and then her forehead and nose. He was incapable of tearing himself away from her. "What do you expect from me?"

Sylvie moved slightly away to look at him and her hands fell from his neck to his chest. He took them in his own and pressed them to his chest, feeling his heart pounding beneath them.

"I don't expect anything, Sweetheart." She stared at him with such intensity... "There is nothing you have to do. But if you wish, you could kiss me some more, and then we'll go get something to eat."

Loki only smiled before he leaned into her again.

Later, they sat facing each other on the carpet, legs crossed, hands joined. Sylvie was teaching him the simplest spells, and to his amazement, the magic flowing in his body obeyed him. As if it had always belonged to him, as if he had not lived without it for so many years.

"You have a natural talent." Whispered Sylvie looking at him in awe. "You will be much more powerful than me."

"It's entirely thanks to you." He looked at their joined hands, again not believing it all, not comprehending the turn his life had taken since he met her. How very much at peace he felt here with her, enveloped by their joined magic.

"This has always been yours. You should grow up with this seidr..." She suddenly became strangely sad. "We should both grow up on Jotunheim..."

Loki squeezed her delicate hands gently.

"Even there you were a princess, and I was a nobody."

"Well, I don't know... I think you must come from some powerful family. I've never seen such seidr."

Her thumbs stroked the top of his palms lightly, and Loki thought with pain that for so many years he had suffered in solitude without even a hint of the tenderness he was receiving now.

"It doesn't matter anymore, because we'll never know." He leaned forward and saw that she was finally smiling again. "I'm delighted with what I have now."

She raised herself slightly and kissed him again. So gently, as if he might fall apart at a firmer touch.

Studying magic turned out to be particularly enjoyable. Sylvie proved to be a brilliant teacher in this area as well, patient and dedicated. And then everything was natural. Loki instinctively understood his seidr and had no major difficulties in bending it to his needs. He quickly learned small tricks and dedicatedly began to train them on Thor and his friends, to their dismay and Sylvie's delight. From a distance and with a completely innocent face, he made their hair suddenly change color, or their cloaks fall to the ground, or their horses stop for no reason at all. At first, no one suspected him. Thor would occasionally cast an accusing glance at Sylvie, but Loki always charmed in a way that the blame would not fall on her. And then they would both laugh it off to tears.

After several weeks of rigorous practice, the moment Loki had been waiting for the most finally arrived: Sylvie told him he was ready to change his body. That meant invisibility and teleportation, and both possibilities have been causing Loki to shiver with relish ever since Sylvie first showed him how she disappeared.

In addition, there was also the change of appearance, and Loki was looking forward to that too. The ease with which Sylvie changed her skin consistently left him in rapture. That's what they started with one quiet evening, when Sylvie had already disposed of the servants and locked herself and Loki in her bedchamber.

They stood together in front of a tall mirror that Loki had fetched from the other room and stared at their reflections. Sylvie was wearing only a thin petticoat and Loki's eyes wandered hungrily over her body, at the moment in Aesir form. She winked at him and transformed into Jotun. All the while, she held his hand and Loki could clearly feel her tiny hand growing into his, with subtle lines appearing on top of it.

He gazed at her reflection. Her red eyes sparkled merrily and Loki could stand like that indefinitely, just looking at her.

"Your turn, Love." She said calmly and Loki took a deep breath.

In theory he knew what he was supposed to do, Sylvie had prepared him well. Draw the magic into himself, let it transform him, imagine his body changing, his skin getting lighter, his eyes losing their bloodshade....

"Don't be scared." Whispered Sylvie tenderly to his reflection. "I will transform along with you. Follow my seidr."

And Loki did exactly that. He watched her transform and did the same, drawing the magic into himself, letting it change him from the inside out, vibrating all over with effort, but his body knew exactly what to do. Everything clicked into place.

In place of the two Jotuns in the mirror, there were now two Aesirs. Sylvie, such as he usually saw her, and he himself - brand new.

He looked into his bewildered eyes in the mirror and couldn't believe it.

He was shorter than in his Jotun form, but not very much, maybe almost Thor's height. The shape of his body was similar, but smaller. His skin was identically white as Sylvie's and just as flawless. His black hair was unchanged, falling back in waves, but his eyes had changed smoothly from ruby to a beautiful, deep green.

A quiet moan escaped from Sylvie's throat and Loki quickly glanced at her. She stared at him in awe.

"You are so beautiful Loki... in every form."

He smiled at her, that new but somehow familiar smile, and swept her into his arms.

She seemed larger to him than usual in this form, by virtue of the fact that he was somewhat smaller. In addition, her body was colder than normal, and Loki was surprised to find that he was feeling generally cooler. His new body was better adapted to the higher temperatures.

He eagerly leaned in to kiss her and Sylvie threw her arms around his neck.

"I didn't think you would succeed so instantly." She whispered between kisses.

After a while, he pulled away from her and stared into the mirror again. Without a second thought, he grabbed his now oversized tunic and pulled it over his head. He surveyed his body in amazement, similar and yet completely different. He had an urge to find out what the rest of it looked like, but knew he shouldn't undress in front of Sylvie. He glanced at her in the mirror.

For a moment he felt uneasy when he saw that she moved her gaze over his body. Being desired had so far been associated in his mind only with unpleasant things.

But Sylvie stepped up beside him and leaned lightly against his shoulder, looking into his eyes in the mirror. He felt her intertwine her fingers with his and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Half of Asgard is already in love with you." She said cheerfully and winked at him. "When you go out like this, undoubtedly the other half will also fall for you."

Loki did not ask her which half she belonged to. He suspected that he already knew the answer anyway.

They decided to test his new appearance on seamstresses. Either way, Loki needed new garments for his smaller body and Sylvie was eager for action.

She called the seamstresses for the afternoon and arranged Loki strategically in an armchair. He was in his Aesir body, which he was slowly getting used to. When they entered, he rose automatically, but they only bowed to him and, without paying much attention to him, began gossiping with Sylvie as usual.

"Loki is not here today?" Asked the younger seamstress, who was always taking measurements and adjusting clothes.

"Maria has a crush on him." Whispered the older seamstress in a raised whisper, to Sylvie's delight and Maria's visible horror.

"'Loki is not here." Said Sylvie bubbling with excitement. "Today I want you to dress my new lover."

She pointed at Loki and the seamstresses looked at him with poorly concealed reluctance.

"Of course, Your Highness."

Loki quickly grew a little tired of the spectacle, but he could see that Sylvie was having a great time.

"I got bored with Loki." She chuckled lightly, watching the women's reactions carefully. "I replaced him with a finer specimen."

"As you wish, Your Highness." Said the seamstress calmly, proceeding to measure Loki. "But it's a pity." She added quietly, as if with fear.

"Why a pity?" Sylvie asked immediately.

"Loki has always been so kind." Maria muttered with a sigh. "Please forgive my boldness, Your Highness... But it was clear that you two liked each other."

Sylvie laughed out loud and walked over to Loki. She put her arm around him and turned to face the women.

"Because we do like each other. In every form." She added with a crooked smile.

Loki rolled his eyes as the seamstresses looked at them with their mouths open, but Sylvie only laughed at the mischief.

Chapter Text

Loki was aware of just how fine he looked. Sylvie's eyes followed him with admiration as he strolled through her chambers, getting used to his new body and his new attire, tailored to his smaller figure. He was wearing expensive black leathers that framed his muscular body almost obscenely. He stopped in front of the mirror and looked at himself contentedly.

He knew Sylvie was fond of his Jotun body, but evidently she enjoyed this version too. She sat comfortably in her chair, but the book in her lap remained closed. She rested her head on her shoulder and watched him with a slight smile. Loki sometimes wondered if she was satisfied with her creation. For there was no doubt that she had created him.

He looked at his face in the mirror again. It was much alike, and he could easily recognize himself now, but the first few times were a bit shocking. He ran his hand over his smooth cheek with fascination, missing a little the lines that usually adorned it.

His hair was now very long. He brushed it back, and it fell down his neck and back in graceful waves. Sylvie was spending a lot of time combing it and rubbing oils into it, visibly thrilled that Loki was allowing her to do so. He, meanwhile, was delighted that someone was taking care of him and would occasionally fall asleep purring with pleasure as Sylvie endlessly brushed his dark waves.

"You need to be careful Loki." Her sly voice came from behind him, so he turned towards her. Crossing her legs, she stared at him cheekily. "You look way too hot for your own good. You'll be getting quite a lot of bed invitations later tonight."

They were going to a feast hosted by Thor tonight and Loki was about to leave as Aesir for the first time. Until now, he had only been seen in this form by Sylvie and her seamstresses. Now he was to present himself officially in front of the entire court, and he knew that Sylvie was looking forward to the fuss as much as he was.

He looked at her carefully. Her face was neutral, but Loki had already learned to read it well and immediately sensed a slight anxiety. He laughed inside, understanding its source.

"There is only one bed I want to be in." As he approached her, he grabbed her hands. He pulled her up, and her book fell to the floor. Neither of them cared, as Sylvie happily threw her arms around his neck. "I have no interest in anyone else."

He was shorter than in his Jotun body but still had to lean in to kiss her. Sylvie took advantage of the moment to push him onto the seat and get on his lap. He embraced her gladly.

"Promise you will not take your eyes off me." He whispered tenderly in her ear. "Promise you'll be right next to me all the time."

Sylvie squeezed herself closer to him.

"You know very well that I don't want it any other way."

Sylvie was, obviously, exactly right. For better effect, they burst into the room after the feast had already begun and all eyes turned to them. Unlike the seamstresses, Thor immediately recognized his sister's lover in this new body.

"Loki?!" He shouted, rushing to his feet from the table.

Loki knew that Sylvie was delighted by the commotion. He briefly became stressed as Sylvie's and Thor's friends started inspecting him all around, as if he were a slave at the market again. Sylvie immediately noticed this and clung to his arm.

"Come on Darling, let's eat something. We need to celebrate yet another battle won by my brother."

But Thor's accomplishments on the battlefield faded completely into the background, as everyone was occupied with staring at Loki and asking Sylvie how she managed that.

"I didn't do anything." She said cheerfully, pouring the wine into two glasses and handing one to Loki. "It's entirely Loki and his seidr."

They sat together against the wall, and everyone gathered around them. Loki felt a little tense until Sylvie put a gentle hand on his knee. She winked at him playfully when he looked at her.

"Incredible!" Exclaimed Thor moving his chair closer and looking at Loki curiously. "You look just like an average Asgardian."

"Much better than an average Asgardian." Sif muttered, moving her hungry eyes over his body. Sylvie giggled quietly and Sif turned her gaze to her. "I can't believe you found something like this at the slave market."

Sylvie immediately stiffened, and her fingers on Loki's knee tightened slightly.

"And that's exactly Asgard's biggest problem." She growled. "That very ignorance."

Loki quickly put his arm around her and kissed her temple to calm her down. Sylvie gave in to him with a quiet sigh.

"Incredible." Repeated Thor once more without taking his eyes off them, and Loki laughed into Sylvie's fragrant hair.

The first invitation came from Sif, when Loki was just standing by the table refilling wine for himself and Sylvie and reaching for snacks.

"Sylvie has always had impeccable taste." Said Sif examining him again from top to bottom. "I'm a little jealous."

"Why?" Asked Loki without much interest, but to keep the conversation going.

"We used to exchange lovers." Sif sighed, now looking at Sylvie chatting happily with her friends. "And since you showed up..." She took a sip and looked at him again. "Do you think she would object if you wanted to join me in my bed?"

Loki knew the answer perfectly well, and yet he pondered a moment.

"No." He said quietly. "She would let me choose."

Sylvie grinned at him across the room. He knew it was the truth. She always honored his choices. Even if he chose to do something like this.

"But you don't want to?" Sif asked quietly, but Loki didn't return his gaze to her.

"No." He said and finally grabbed the wine glasses. "There is only her."

He ended the conversation without regret and walked over to Sylvie. She was just in the middle of some story, but that didn't stop her from reaching out to him and pulling him close. Loki handed her the wine and embraced her as well.

Despite that, two more women and two men invited him to their chambers that night. Loki declined politely each time, content with the fact that these were invitations, not commands. He knew that Sylvie was watching him keenly and that she was probably aware of the topic of these conversations.

When they were returning to her chambers at night, Sylvie snuggled into him with evident pleasure.

"I'm very pleased with you." She muttered while pulling him into her chambers. "You've come a long way."

"Do you mean my new appearance?" He whispered, reaching into her hair and disentangling it from the complicated updo. Sylvie, meanwhile, was unfastening a heavy, luxurious cape from his shoulders.

"Your appearance has nothing to do with it Sweetheart." She said calmly, turning around so he could untangle her gowns. "I'm just glad you're doing so well."

Moments later, already in their pajamas, they slipped under the covers. Loki gladly put his arms around her and snuggled into her, feeling exceptionally well and safe.

"No one can believe that the princess found a lover at the slave market." He mumbled sleepily as Sylvie hid her face in the bend of his neck and her warm, fragrant breath enveloped him all over.

"They can't believe I found love at the slave market." She corrected him quietly, and his heart stopped for a moment.

He stiffened all over, but Sylvie's warm lips moved gently over his skin. She wrapped a quilt around them on each side and slid her hands under his body. They lay for a while in utter silence, hidden from the world in each other's embrace in that huge bed.

"Is that what this is? Love?" He whispered terrified, as quietly as he could, but she heard anyway. Her breath on his neck broke off suddenly and he knew she must have been slightly distressed. And yet she pressed him closer to her and her lips brushed his skin again.

"Yes Loki. I think that is exactly it."

A peaceful silence fell around them and Loki contemplated it all very touched.

Never before had he known love. He knew that Sylvie had to have been perfectly aware of it. She had certainly been in love before, besides, she loved her family and was loved by many people.

He had been sure for many years that just as he would never taste freedom, he would never know love in any form. Who would love him and for what. What did he have to offer besides a horrific past and a damaged, worn-out body.

And it was all true. Until Sylvie.

"You don't have to be afraid of that, my Darling." Sylvie whispered with a tenderness that squeezed tears from his eyes. "Just sleep tight in my arms."

And he did.

He didn't know how she managed that, but one day Sylvie finally persuaded her father to let them visit the vault with his greatest treasures. Loki was very eager to see it, as he had already been hearing from Sylvie about all the unbelievable things that could be found there.

Odin only allowed them a brief visit and surrounded by many guards, but it was enough to ignite another desire in Loki.

They walked swiftly through the vault, accompanied by a skeptical Thor. The two of them paused while telling Loki briefly about the artifacts they passed. He was fascinated by all of them, although he found the eternal fire to be the most unusual. He imagined that something like that could be very useful on the icy Jotunheim.

Eventually, however, they reached the end of the chamber and before the sight of what they had come here for.

The Casket of Ancient Winters stood on a raised platform, gleaming elegantly with an eerie blue light.

Loki stared at it in awe. He had heard stories about this legendary heart of Jotunheim, taken by Odin at the end of the war, but he never imagined he would ever get to see it. He knew immediately that all these stories were true, as he could sense the magic surrounding the artifact, and his own magic lurched forward....

He reached out his hand, just wanting to touch a piece of his world, but Thor quickly grabbed his arm.

"Don't touch." He said surprisingly gently and pulled him back slightly. "The guards will attack you. Besides, this doesn't belong to you."

Loki refused with all his might to acknowledge this fact. He stared at the casket and knew, felt in his whole body, that it belonged to him. To him.

He had no idea how he knew this, but he was absolutely convinced that he was entitled to it, that he should be allowed to have it... Thor let go of him quickly, but he stood there as if enchanted, staring still at this extraordinary phenomenon.

He felt Sylvie's hand in his and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The blue light was reflected in her eyes as she too stared endlessly. Thor finally managed to coax them out of there, but for a long time Loki couldn't get rid of the thought haunting him that the casket should belong to him.

"We'll get it back." Whispered Sylvie as they returned to her chambers later that evening. "We'll take it back to Jotuneheim, where it belongs."

What was this strange feeling that was pulling him toward the casket? Was it the magic of the artifact that was calling him so, trying to convince him to take it to Jotuneheim? He would do it if he could. Maybe someday he will be able to... Maybe one day Sylvie will finally triumph and get what she dreamed of, maybe they will be able to slowly raise Jotunheim from the ruins. Loki had no idea what significance the casket really had in this, but he was absolutely confident that it was immense.

Sylvie disappeared into the bath chamber, and Loki stretched out in an armchair. He delved into a fascinating book about the use of runes in enchantment spells and did not particularly pay attention to what was going on around him.

"What is your secret?"

Loki raised his head, realizing that this question must be directed at him. He looked in surprise at Wanda, Sylvie's head maid.

"Excuse me?"

It was already late in the evening, Sylvie was still in the bath chamber, and her servants were roaming around the rooms, getting everything ready for the next day. Finally, only he and Wanda, who apparently wanted something from him, remained in the bedchamber.

"What is your secret? What did you do?" She asked in a curious voice.

Loki put down the book and looked at her in wonder. They generally didn't talk much, they were polite to each other and that was it. Loki knew that Sylvie's maids were not particularly fond of him, although in his view he had done nothing to dishearten them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He choked out at last, wondering what this might be about.

"You know damn well." Wanda muttered without taking her eyes off him. "You came out of nowhere and suddenly you're the princess' favorite? Have you enchanted her with your Jotun magic?"

"How so?" Loki hadn't been so stunned in a long time. "I only recently got access to it..."

"No, that can't be it." Wanda turned her head slightly and looked at him carefully. "It must be some of your skills. What did they teach you in that brothel?"

Loki sighed in shock. He would never have expected such a conversation. Was this one of the servants' topics of conversation? His potential extraordinary bedding talents that secured his position at Sylvie's side?

It was so horrifying and disgusting that Loki could not find the strength in himself to answer. He leaned against the back of his chair, crushed by this revelation, even if that was hardly anything new.

"I have been her maid for many, many years." Wanda continued, moving slowly in his direction. "I've seen hoards of men and women passing through this chamber. You can't even imagine. And no one has ever had the favors you have. Everyone can see how absolutely crazy she is about you. No one else has existed since you came along. What are you doing with her in that bed?"

So here it was again. Again no one saw anything else in him, just a flexible body. Again Loki had no value, only as a bed toy. No one even considered that maybe he had something more to offer. No one but Sylvie…

"I didn't do anything." He whispered, terrified to the core. "The princess just likes me. We understand each other well..."

"Yes, sure." Wanda took another step toward him. "You think I don't remember how she brought you here? You looked like shit. But then at least you knew your place. On the floor at her feet." She looked at him reluctantly, and Loki felt his stomach twist with stress. "And now? You're strutting around like you're better than all of us..."

Loki looked at her horrified, forgetting how to breathe.

"I didn't ask for this." He whispered. "I didn't know Sylvie would grow so fond of me..."

"Sylvie." Wanda snorted with dislike. "You're impertinent. I can't wait until she finally gets tired of you and returns you to where you came from."

"She wouldn't." Whispered Loki, desperately searching for the remnants of confidence in himself. Sylvie can't get bored with him. She would never hurt him. Would she?

"Don't worry." Wanda added spitefully. "There will be a queue of courtiers lining up for you. I can hear what they're saying and the other servants relay to me what's going on behind closed doors... Virtually everyone in this palace wants to get their hands on your exotic blue skin and finally find out what's so unusual about you."

To Loki's horror, she was standing right above him and leaning toward him.

"Is it those long fingers of yours? Or that insolent tongue?"

Her hand was suddenly on his crotch and squeezed lightly, and the terror in Loki exploded like a bomb.

"Or is it what's in your pants?" She moaned quietly and suddenly kissed him.

Panic flooded all over him and he couldn't move in his terror. Then suddenly they heard a calm voice.

"Loki, if you want to entertain the servants like this, I would kindly request that you do it in your own chambers."

Panic practically blinded him as Wanda pulled away from him with a squeal of fear, though her hand still squeezed his crotch.

Sylvie stood in the doorway and watched them with distaste. It immediately occurred to Loki that she thought it was his actions, that he wanted it and the sheer terror practically knocked him out.

But then their eyes met and Loki immediately conveyed to her with his gaze what the truth was. He knew that she understood him, that she saw his horror, because her reluctance turned to fury in a split second as her gaze shifted to Wanda.

"Get your hands off him." She growled low and held out her hand.

A howl of green magic threw the bewildered maid back slightly, and Sylvie looked again at Loki shaking in his chair.

"Did you want her to touch you? For her to kiss you?" She asked calmly, although he could already see that she was shaking with rage.

"No." He replied immediately, trying to calm his breathing.

All of Sylvie's rage now turned to Wanda.

"How dare you touch him without his consent." She growled at the maid, who was cringing with fear. "How dare you put him under stress in my own rooms?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Your Majesty." Groaned Wanda in despair. "I just wanted to... Everyone is wondering..."

"What?" Sylvie rested her hands on her hips. Her gaze was steadfast, and Loki only slowly began to breathe again seeing that as usual she took his side without hesitation.

"Why... Why do you favor him so much." Whispered Wanda in a horrified voice. "Everyone asks me if he has some unusual sexual talent..."

Sylvie snorted with disdain.

"You're an idiot." She growled reluctantly. "You, my brother, my friends, other servants. You have no idea about anything."

She glanced at Loki and her gaze softened a bit. But then she turned to Wanda again with wild determination.

"You are dismissed. I never wish to see you again."

"No..." Mouthed Loki as Wanda burst out crying. "Wait, Sylvie..."

He rose from his seat and walked over to her. She was shaking all over with rage and Loki gently grabbed her shoulders.

"Don't dismiss her." He asked quietly. "I'm sure this will never happen again."

"Never again... I swear." Wanda sobbed.

Sylvie raised her eyes to him. For a moment they simply looked at each other and Loki silently tried to calm her down. He succeeded enough that she finally took a deep breath.

"Is this your wish?" She asked quietly and finally yielded to his touch.

"Yes." He whispered quietly and Sylvie nodded.

Wanda began to gather her things in a hurry.

"Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you." She looked at Loki. "Thank you Loki."

Loki only nodded, knowing full well that her dislike of him had not diminished at all. Sylvie, for her part, grew angry anew and turned to face the maid.

"If you ever again do something he doesn't want..." She growled, letting Loki put his arms around her. "Next time, make sure he wants to be kissed."

"There won't be a next time." Wanda whispered and shifted her gaze to Loki again. "Sorry, Loki."

Loki only nodded and pulled Sylvie closer to him. Unfortunately, she had not yet fully recovered. Before Wanda had time to leave the chamber, Sylvie attacked again.

"You won't treat him like that." She said sharply, still staring at her maid. "Who am I?"

"What?" Wanda asked in a trembling voice, and Loki again sincerely pitied her. He imagined it was nothing pleasant to find oneself on the other end of Sylvie's rage.

"Tell me who you think I am." Sylvie growled.

"You are the princess of Asgard, Your Highness." Whispered Wanda, visibly horrified to the core.

"Correct. And who is Loki?"

Sylvie's arms finally embraced him gently, but she turned further to her maid.

"Your lover." Wanda whispered uncertainly. "A member of your court, Your Grace."

"Wrong." Sylvie growled and her hands tightened possessively around Loki's waist. "You said it yourself. He is my favorite. My match. He is the chosen one of the princess of Asgard. So how will you treat him?"

"Like a royalty." Wanda replied immediately, and Loki's heart stopped for a moment.

Sylvie finally looked satisfied.

"Very good. Now go on, we wish to be left alone."

"Of course. Good night, Your Highness." Whispered Wanda bowing to Sylvie. Then she shifted her gaze to Loki and bowed to him as well. "Your Highness."

She ran off before Loki had time to react. As the door closed behind her, he turned a bewildered gaze to Sylvie.

"You're insane." He said, unable to contain the note of amusement with her in his voice. "Was that really necessary?"

Sylvie shrugged her shoulders and embraced him more tightly.

"We've established that I'm a princess right? I can do what I like."

"And what do you like?" He asked, leaning in to kiss her temples and forehead. He could see that she was only slowly easing up.

"I like you, Loki." She murmured tenderly and pulled him toward the bed. "Come, you will tell me all about the runes."

Loki let himself be pulled under the covers and into her arms without the slightest objection. It was so peaceful and safe, so unrealistically good to just lie with her in silence.

"I'm sorry about Wanda." She muttered while cuddling into him. "She is extremely stupid and insolent. How dare she attack you like that..."

"She's just curious." Loki pushed her slightly away from him to look into her steadfast eyes. "Everyone is curious and so am I... How did an unwanted sex slave end up in the arms of a princess."

"Everyone is an idiot." She muttered, moving a soft hand across his face. "And you should be smarter by now, too. You're not a slave. And you're certainly not unwanted, I think you already know that."

They lay in silence for a while and Loki savored Sylvie's warm hands stroking his body. He still wasn't used to someone treating him with such gentleness, with such care....

"I knew it would be like this." Whispered Sylvie in a strangely pained voice and Loki pressed her closer to him. "You see yourself that all of this is wrong. I'm sick of it. These rules, these designated roles..."

Loki sighed in pain, contemplating all this, but Sylvie unexpectedly grinned.

"Things will be different on Jotunheim." She said in a more cheerful voice. "We'll do everything from scratch and not look back at Asgard."

"I'm looking forward to that." He whispered leaning over to lick her skin and Sylvie purred softly under his touch. "The Jotnar will be very lucky to have such a princess."

Sylvie tilted her head slightly and Loki, to his own surprise, moved with his lips from her jaw to her neck. She had gorgeous skin and he dared slightly, kissing her with increasing boldness. Sylvie slid her hand into his hair, moaning softly, and then he was suddenly reminded of an unpleasant thing. He pulled away from her to look into her face.

"Are you going to get bored with me? Will you give me away?"

Sylvie yanked her eyes up at him and her arms immediately embraced him. He didn't know what she was looking for in his face, but what she found brought out a deep sigh.

"No, Loki." With a gentle movement, she tilted his head to the side and now it was her who slid her lips along his neck. Loki lost his breath for a moment feeling her warm lips on his cool skin. "You will stay here with me as long as you want."

Loki swallowed down, feeling her tongue sliding over the soft skin under his ear. Everything she did to him instantly became his favorite thing in the world.

"What if..." He hesitated for a moment, and Sylvie's lips paused. "What if I want to stay permanently?"

Sylvie raised herself up on her elbow and looked into his face again. For a moment they simply held each other's gazes, and then finally Sylvie smiled fondly at him. She leaned over and blew out the last candle illuminating them.

"Nothing would make me happier." She whispered and Loki drew her close. She placed her head on his chest.

Loki smiled under his breath, feeling terribly relieved. Why was he letting Wanda and other people mess with his mind about what he had with Sylvie? Their opinions didn't matter, all that mattered was their connection. No one but them understood it, but that's what it was. It was a small price to pay for the extraordinary life he had in Sylvie's company.

"If we trust each other, Loki..." A sweet whisper rang out in his ear. "If we always put us first and always have each other's back... This can be the most amazing thing in the entire universe."

A thrill of delight went through him all over. In all the universes, was there anyone more blessed than him?

"I trust you completely." He said covering her with quilts and hiding them from the whole world. Just the two of them against everything. "And you are always the only thing that matters to me."

He knew she was touched. She nudged him lightly with her nose, snuggling into him contentedly. Before he drifted off completely into dreamland, he still heard a sleepy voice filled with affection in his ear.

"I have been looking for you for a very long time, Loki."

Chapter Text

Warm light poured in through the open window and reflected off the smooth surface of Sylvie's hair. Loki gently combed the shiny wave again and gazed in awe at the result of his work.

"You are gorgeous." He whispered, pulling his gaze away from her hair and bringing it to Sylvie's face in the mirror.

She was currently sitting at her vanity table, while Loki stood behind her and brushed her hair devotedly. His own was already shining as it had been brushed out by her a moment ago and pinned up. Sylvie was thrilled when he was letting her do his hair.

She smiled at him when he looked at her in the mirror and sent him a kiss.

Loki absolutely adored his new life.

It had already been wonderful in recent times, but since Sylvie kissed him, everything was even more extraordinary. All his shy desires of the past months were now coming true in Sylvie's arms. He couldn't believe it at first, but apparently Sylvie was as much in love with him as he was with her. It was absurd, because he had no idea what someone like her could see in him. And yet she did.

What a marvel it was to be loved.

He leaned over to kiss her head when they heard a knock on the door. A moment later, Sylvie's young guard slipped into the chamber with a frightened look on his face.

Loki liked him quite a lot. His name was Casey and he was very discreet and calm. Loki always chatted him up and never sensed any aversion, and that was already a great deal for him.

Sylvie instructed her maids and guards to listen to Loki's every command. He didn't like giving orders, but he loved his position at Sylvie's side. He was the only one who could enter and leave her chambers without knocking or announcing. The guards always opened the door for him without asking.

He smiled at Casey, but he had his gaze fixed on the floor.

"I bring a message from your father, Your Highness." The guard muttered, finally glancing at Sylvie.

Loki felt an unpleasant twist in his stomach. He quickly put his hands on Sylvie's shoulders and squeezed them lightly. She only sighed heavily and urged the guard with a hand gesture to speak.

"He invites you to dine with him tonight, Your Highness... You and... and y-your... partner."

Loki met Sylvie's puzzled gaze in the mirror before she turned to face the guard with her eyebrows raised high.

"My partner? Is that how my father has put it?"

"No Your Grace." Whispered a horrified Casey. "He said that you should bring your... pet."

Loki only sighed with resignation, but Sylvie got instantly annoyed. She turned back to the mirror, fixing her hair furiously.

"Please convey to my father that I will not be attending." She said in exasperation and reached for Loki's hand resting on her shoulder.

"Wait Casey." Exclaimed Loki quickly to the already retreating guard. He leaned over to Sylvie and put his arms around her. "Sweetheart..." He whispered as their gazes crossed in the mirror. "We should go. Your father has never invited me before."

"You heard what he called you Loki." She growled, surrendering to his touch. "I will not have him disrespect you..."

"And yet he invites me." He whispered, kissing her hair. "He'll be offended if we decide not to attend. You care about having a good relationship with him, after all."

Sylvie kept making an affronted expression, but her fury eased a bit when Loki, not caring a bit about the guard's presence, began kissing her forehead and temples.

"If that is what you wish." She whispered finally and turned toward Casey again. "All right. Tell my father we'll be there."

When they were finally left alone, Loki perched on the armrest of Sylvie's chair and put his arm around her.

"It will be fine, Sylvie." He said softly, gazing into her troubled face. "What can your father do to us?"

"Loki..." She groaned, leaning against him and pulling him closer. "Don't be naive. He can do anything. He might try to tear us apart..."

"We won't allow him to divide us." He said boldly. He had been allowing himself to be increasingly brazen lately.

Sylvie looked at him thoughtfully, so he smiled encouragingly at her. She grabbed him gently and pulled him close so that he sank into her arms. He squished them both a little, but Sylvie only laughed happily.

Loki laughed too, squeezed like a pretzel in that chair too small for the two of them. In fact, what was the worst possible thing that could happen?

His confidence and good mood abandoned him completely as he stood side by side with Sylvie in front of her father's chambers. Still, he knew that he would have to face Sylvie's father sooner rather than later, and until now he had mainly seen him at council meetings, where the man seemingly paid little attention to him.

But now apparently the Allfather had somehow finally acknowledged his presence by his daughter's side, and Loki wasn't sure of the implications.

Sylvie apparently wasn't starting the evening in the best mood either.

"I don't know what will come of this, Loki." She whispered, taking his hand. "I apologize to you in advance for what may happen tonight."

"We are in this together." He said wishing to give her encouragement. "Don't worry too much."

They walked inside arm in arm and all eyes turned to them. Loki was immediately startled to see that there were so many people inside. He assumed Odin had rather planned this occasion to talk to them in private, but no. The Queen and Thor were already seated inside, along with several of Odin's advisors and the Queen's courtiers.

The last two chairs awaited the two of them.

Loki boldly shoved himself in front of the royal servants and pushed back the chair for Sylvie himself in order to help her sit down. Only after that did he himself sit proudly by her side.

Him and the princess of Asgard, sitting side by side at the royal table. The abstractness of this situation struck him, causing a slightly mischievous smile on his face, and Thor, sitting a little further away, looked at him curiously. Loki grinned at him.

Behold, all could see what power Sylvie held. She had snatched him from filth and humiliation, a nameless, illiterate slave, and now the king's servants were pouring him wine and putting food on his plate. No one should doubt the capabilities of the princess of Asgard, not when her latest creation in the form of Loki looked so exquisite.

Loki knew he had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Thanks to Sylvie, his table manners were impeccable. He was able to carry on a conversation smoothly with those around him, and knew all the dishes and customs. In addition, he looked splendid in an elegant attire that lay immaculately on his Aesir body. Sylvie's maids braided not only her hair this time, but also his, in the fashionable Asgardian style, which only added to his charm. Even if he didn't know himself that he looked wonderful, Sylvie had told him so at least a dozen times before they came here.

He glanced to the side at her. She was acting casual, discussing Svartalfheim, but Loki knew that she expected unpleasant events later that evening. As everyone occupied themselves with the pastry that had just been brought to the table, he dared to lean toward her.

"You're stunning." He whispered right in her ear, and she giggled silently and winked at him as he returned to his seat.

The meal proceeded peacefully. Odin paid no more attention to Loki than he usually did at council meetings. The affairs of the court were discussed freely, and Loki was chatting acerbically with Thor and Sylvie about the planned expedition to Vanaheim. They planned to go as a larger group for a few days. Loki really wanted to see the witch villages that Sylvie had told him about and learn about the magic there. He knew that this was where Sylvie's mother had come from and that there were bound to be plenty of intriguing things to explore.

"If you and Fandral are planning to wreak havoc there, I won't acknowledge you at all." Said Sylvie boldly to her brother. "Besides, Loki wants to spend some time in the library there, they have an amazing collection of books with ancient incantations..."

"Come on, we are not traveling there to sit in a bloody dusty library." Groaned Thor shifting his gaze to Loki. "I thought we were going to have fun."

"Do what you want." Sylvie answered him cheerfully. "I will do whatever my Sweetheart pleases."

Loki looked at her with gratitude and they gave each other a smile. Thor only rolled his eyes.

"Your Sweetheart?" A calm voice at the head of the table suddenly sounded and all three of them looked at Odin observing them intently. " Are you referring to your... lover?"

"Yes." Said Sylvie boldly, although her voice trembled slightly. "I'm talking about Loki."

"My dear." The Queen turned to her husband with a slight smile. "Don't you remember anymore what it's like to be young and in love?"

"In love?" Odin burst out laughing. He seemed genuinely amused and it made Loki shiver. "Is that what it's supposed to be? Is that what this is all about? Love?"

He pronounced the last word in such a wicked tone that Loki couldn't blame Sylvie, who flinched all over in her chair.

"Yes." She said bravely, raising her head proudly. "That's exactly it."

Odin kept on laughing. Loki glanced tentatively at Frigga and Thor, who were watching the scene with uncertain faces.

"I always had you for a clever one." Said Odin turning to his daughter, apparently in awe of himself. "I don't think you mean to tell me that you are that stupid. So you saw the long legs and the big, sad eyes and you think..."

Loki managed to grab Sylvie's elbow just before she bolted from the table with an indignant face. He yanked her a bit more brutally than he had planned and she fell back into her chair.

"Calm down." He whispered pleadingly, aware that Odin was watching them closely.

"Well, well..." The Allfather reached for his wine goblet, still watching them with interest. "It would appear that your lover is wiser than you. You don't understand either his place or your own."

Sylvie was panting heavily and Loki knew she was barely holding back her outburst. He didn't let go of her arm, trying to calm her down a bit, but he knew that this rage would have to find an outlet sooner or later. He only hoped that this later would happen only after they left here. Sylvie might not fear her father, but Loki was terrified of him to his core as he was well aware of his power. His one word could wipe Loki off the face of the world, and he wasn't about to endanger himself unnecessarily. Nor to expose Sylvie.

"His place is at my side..." Sylvie began, but Odin interrupted her with a careless movement of his hand. And then he suddenly addressed Loki.

"What are your expectations boy?" He asked calmly, and Loki's heart stopped for a moment.

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?" He whispered fearfully. Sylvie's hand found his knee under the table and squeezed it tightly.

"What are you counting on?" Odin smiled rudely, leaning across the table toward Loki. "In a short time you have leaped the entire hierarchy of Asgard. Do you aspire to go higher?"

Loki's brain was working at maximum capacity, yet he could not find an answer to this strange question. What could the Allfather have in mind? What could have been higher than the princess' chosen one?

"I will only do whatever your daughter demands of me, Allfather." He replied slowly, weighing his words and wondering what this was even about.

"What if I ordered you to leave? Leave Asgard and the Nine Kingdoms?" Odin looked at him carefully, sipping wine from his goblet.

"I would not defy my King's order." Muttered Loki, fighting with all his might against the panic that was gripping him. But then Sylvie's fingers tightened on his knee and with a sudden surge of courage he added something else. "But I'm afraid Sylvie would object."

Odin's eyes narrowed dangerously. Sylvie for her part pushed her way into the conversation without hesitation.

"Yes." She chuckled boldly. "Sylvie would object."

"I am wondering, how would you do it?" The Allfather asked cheerfully. "How would you stop my order to send him to another realm?"

"I wouldn't have to stop it." Sylvie growled. "I would simply follow him."

Odin looked at her for a moment, sipping his wine.

"Would you be so stupid as to leave it all?"

Loki found Sylvie's hand on his knee and squeezed it warningly, but she threw her words out anyway.

"Yes father, I am just that stupid. Or I simply do know what I want."

"And I want nothing but the best for you." Odin said calmly and shifted his cool gaze to Loki trembling restlessly in his chair. "I'm not sure this is your best."

"You're right." Said Sylvie immediately and intertwined her fingers with Loki's. She held out their joined hands and placed them on the table, looking back defiantly at her father. "Loki is a little too good for me. That's why I have to keep trying to be better for him."

Odin did not respond to this anymore, merely smiling slyly under his breath, which caused Loki to shiver. Everyone went back to eating, but the tense atmosphere did not leave the chamber, and after a while, Odin attacked again.

"Maybe we should have a discussion about Jotunheim." He said joyfully.

Sylvie stiffened in her chair. Loki didn't even flinch, but within he was growing irritated. He knew full well that the Allfather was trying to provoke Sylvie by bringing up two topics in which she was keenly interested: Loki and Jotunheim.

"We discuss Jotunheim at every council meeting." Said Sylvie calmly, although her voice was shaking slightly. "You know exactly what I want."

"What you want is a childish dream." Odin settled more comfortably in his chair, looking thoughtfully at his daughter. "You don't know what Jotunheim looks like, I do. There is nothing there. Ruins. It's not worth investing in."

Loki loathed it. How the Allfather treated him with contempt was not surprising to him. That he was so dismissive of Sylvie was unthinkable.

"But I'll try anyway." Snarled Sylvie leaning across the table towards her father. "With or without your help, I will rebuild Jotunheim."

"I'm very curious to see how you'll do it alone." Odin chuckled cheerfully.

"She won't be alone." Said Loki to the amazement of everyone present as well as himself. "I'll help her."

Sylvie squeezed his hand and looked at him appreciatively. Odin on the other hand laughed merrily.

"Well, yes, if you help her, then everything is bound to work out." He giggled mischievously. "Your skills in fucking will definitely be of great help in rebuilding the realm."

"Husband!" Frigga shouted.

Loki was exceptionally fed up and knew full well that Sylvie was too. She was quivering with rage.

"Hush." He muttered leaning towards her. She raised her eyes at him and he knew she was barely holding back anymore. When she opened her mouth, he closed his eyes preparing for a brawl.

But Sylvie attacked from another direction.

"Why did you take me?" She asked with her eyes fixed on her father. "Why did you take Laufey's child if now you don't approve of me bringing another Jotun to the palace, of me thinking about rebuilding Jotunheim?"

Odin did not answer directly, seemingly preoccupied with his wine glass. Loki glanced at Thor, who was panting heavily over his plate, and at Frigga, who was staring blankly at the wall.

Passive. Passive, passive, passive. They were not going to help Sylvie, they were not going to expose themselves to the wrath of the Allfather.

At that very moment, Loki vowed to himself that he would never remain passive. Never again would he allow Sylvie to stand alone, to be forced to fight this battle on her own. That's what she brought him here for, she wanted support, she needed inspiration and a partner in this fight. Loki intended to be exactly that.

He raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed Sylvie's fingers, never taking his eyes off the Allfather. A cold gaze followed his movement and Odin's narrow lips lifted in a mocking smile.

"I took you because royal blood runs in your veins." The Allfather finally replied, returning his gaze to his daughter. "Laufey was a rebel, but he was also a king, and I wanted his bloodline to survive."

"What does it matter..." Groaned Sylvie reluctantly. "Who cares about the blood that flows through my veins..."

"Everyone." Odin said immediately. "We live in a world where your royal blood matters to everyone..."

"Not to me." Said Loki boldly and everyone looked at him. "For me it doesn't matter at all."

Sylvie fixed her eyes on him and he glanced at her too. That was the truth. Odin could wallow in his rules and privileges, Loki didn't have to care.

"What doesn't matter is your opinion, boy." Odin giggled, and Loki understood. In the opinion of the Allfather, he posed no threat. He was allowing it because he didn't believe Loki could have any influence on anything.

And Loki immediately decided to take advantage of that. May the Allfather have fun at his expense as long as he was blind to what was really going on. Since he refused to see the slave's potential, he'll have himself to blame.

Loki smiled gleefully at Sylvie, still staring at him with slight apprehension. May they all think whatever they want, may they continue to wonder why Sylvie likes him, may they focus on the fanciful sexual talents he supposedly possessed.

He, meanwhile, will take care of what matters most. Sylvie. And Jotunheim.

Once a slave, he now sat at the table with the King of Asgard. Once any commoner could fuck his body any way possible, now Sylvie had her eyes only on him. Once he dreamed of seeing the forest and the night sky one day, now he had magic under his fingertips ready at his every beck and call.

He had been able to make Sylvie fall in love with him, even though he hadn't even laid a finger on her, he had been able to beat Thor in combat, to learn to read, to dance, to converse. Why shouldn't he be able to help Sylvie get what she dreamed of? What they both dreamed of?

Sylvie watched him closely, and he knew she must have already noticed the gleam in his eyes. So be it.

But then Odin spoke again, turning to his daughter with a nasty smile.

"What are you willing to do to get Jotunheim?"

"Anything." Sylvie replied immediately.

Odin smiled under his breath, eliciting a shudder of worry from Loki.

"Really? What if I told you that you could have Jotunheim..." Allfather shifted his cold gaze to Loki. "But for that your lover has to go back to the brothel he used to work in?"

The complete silence that spread through the chamber rang in Loki's ears like a bell. It couldn't be possible. Surely that was not an option? Why would Odin care about Loki returning to that brothel?

At the very thought, everything he ate moved back up his throat. So he would die in combat, because he would never let himself be placed back in that hell. He would much rather die than allow that collar to be put on again, to be chained to the wall, to be reduced to the status of a sex toy again... He would die instantly. He would burn it all down, destroy it, they wouldn't get him, they wouldn't lock him up again, they wouldn't take it all away from him....

But Sylvie would surely never let that happen. She swore to him that he would never go back there. That now that he was free, he could decide for himself. Wouldn't she fight by his side? So far she had never let him down, never abandoned him....

But what if she asked him to do so? He grew cold at the thought. But surely she couldn't demand it of him? She certainly wouldn't want that, even in the name of Jotunheim, would she?

Sylvie's hand tightened on his like a vice.

"You're sick." She growled at her father. "Sick."

The Allfather merely laughed.

"Then no? Not even for Jotunheim?"

"Is this some kind of test, father?" Sylvie asked dryly. "I would never condemn a stranger to such a fate, and you ask if I would do it with my friend, my lover? Do you think I could live with myself after something like that?"

"That's purely a hypothetical question." The Allfather threw in carelessly and Loki's blood boiled.

Is that what they were to him? Pawns on a board? Was he trying to manipulate his daughter in this way, questioning her love for Jotunheim? And for Loki?

"What if he were to return there for just one day?" Odin asked with a nasty smile. "One day, and you could inspect Jotunheim on that day?"

Loki's heart was pounding like crazy. Was what the Allfather was saying possible? Was he willing to make Jotunheim available to Sylvie in exchange for sacrificing Loki? It seemed to him like a trial or almost blackmail, in any case an attempt to break Sylvie.

But Sylvie did not let herself be broken so easily.

"Loki will never go back there." She said firmly. "Even if you offered me the Nine Realms in return. Loki is more important to me."

Loki flinched. He relished her loyalty and devotion, but he would have preferred her to say nothing. He was certain it was a mistake, this kind of unveiling to the Allfather. He was frightened of what might happen when Odin fully realizes their bond.

Odin's lips twitched dangerously and Loki turned a pleading gaze to Sylvie. She responded to his silent request immediately.

"Thank you for the informative supper, father." She said suddenly. "I'm tired, I will go to bed now."

She started to rise from her chair and Loki immediately sprang up with her, pushing away the servants' hands and helping her move the chair back himself.

"I am very grateful for the invitation, Allfather." He said, forcing his most courteous, peaceful voice.

Odin only nodded, watching as Loki offered his arm to Sylvie. They left the room escorted by the gazes of everyone present, and only after crossing the threshold did Sylvie breathe deeply. Her guards moved to follow them, but Loki quickly sent them away. He wanted to finally be left alone with Sylvie.

They walked in silence for a while, each immersed in their own musings, until finally Sylvie spoke up first.

"Maybe you should leave Loki." She whispered in a horrified tone. "It would be safer for you that way."

"Leave where?" He instantly felt fear far greater than in Odin's presence. That Odin wanted to destroy him was not surprising, but did Sylvie want to get rid of him?

"Away from me and away from Asgard." She whispered in a pained tone. "Somewhere where you could start over. Maybe on Vanaheim? There's a lot of magic there..."

"What are you talking about?" His confidence immediately vanished. He stopped in mid-step and turned Sylvie in his direction. She didn't really mean it, did she?

"Your freedom and safety will always be my priority." She whispered affectionately. "You heard my father... I'm afraid of what he might come up with."

"Your father was right about one thing." Said Loki calmly and Sylvie's eyebrows furrowed with concern. "Sometimes you're really stupid."

In one deft motion, he swept her legs and snatched her into his arms. She only squealed, but Loki was already carrying her steadily toward her chambers.

"You wanted a Jotun slave to support you in the fight for your dream. That's what I intend to do." He announced with confidence and looked down at Sylvie cuddled up to him. She did not take her eyes off him. "I told you this already. I will not leave your side."

Several servants passed by them looking at them in amazement, but Loki didn't care. Sylvie timidly stroked his face.

"Loki..." She whispered looking at him almost fearfully. "Are you sure? I don't want to put you in danger just because I'm afraid to be alone..."

"I'm sure." He said cheerfully and pressed her closer to him. "You won't be alone. We will accomplish everything you have been dreaming of."

Sylvie sighed deeply and finally smiled uncertainly.

"It might take years... And it certainly won't be easy."

Loki laughed and cheekily nodded to the bewildered courtiers they passed.

"Time will pass anyway, Darling." He said affectionately and Sylvie finally giggled too. "And we can have great fun on the way."

As he started to run, Sylvie laughed happily. He laughed with her, so loudly and insolently so that even the Allfather scheming behind the closed doors of his kingdom could hear them.

Chapter Text

The days passed leisurely after that. Loki woke up every morning in Sylvie's arms and they enjoyed some time together in bed languidly kissing. After breakfast there was always a lot of work, meetings, councils, delegations, formal teas, hosted meals, supporting foundations. Sylvie's activity never ended, and Loki accompanied her every step of the way. His constant presence by her side was generally accepted, or at least tolerated. Now he would always get his own chair, right next to Sylvie's seat, and everyone apparently got used to the fact that the princess of Asgard always made an appearance holding her lover's arm. To reduce the scale of the scandal a bit, Loki was now appearing in his Aesir form, and every time he saw his and Sylvie's reflection somewhere, he couldn't get over how marvelous they looked together.

From the beginning, Sylvie had refused to dress him in robes typical for slaves: all bright, see-through and airy, full of strings and chains, emphasizing that the slave was just another ornament. Even before his official liberation, Loki wore simple, dark clothes, practical and heavy. This didn't puzzle him at first, as he was unfamiliar with clothing, but now he noticed that even then Sylvie had shied away from presenting him as a toy in the palace. Since he officially became part of her court, she took even more care with his outfit. Loki felt perfectly comfortable in her show-off colors and wore them permanently.

She called the seamstresses to him as often as to herself. When she commissioned a new gown for herself, she simultaneously ordered new attire for him. If her new gown was trimmed with golden florals, the same pattern appeared on his vest. If she ordered a new cloak for herself, a long one in a lavish bottle-green color, he would get a thick cape of the same fabric. He knew they looked phenomenal walking through town together, arm in arm, fitting into each other like two pieces of a puzzle.

People often looked over at them, and Loki knew that no one would have believed that a little over a year earlier he was just a sex slave. Now he strolled around the palace like a prince, almost as if he were worthy of courting a princess. Almost.

They would often have afternoons to themselves. During that time, they delved into their cause of helping slaves, or practiced spells, or wandered through the gardens. Evenings were usually spent together reading books, and then they lay for a long time in each other's arms, kissing again and enjoying each other's presence.

Except that somehow, slowly, those tender kisses were no longer enough for him. These evenings and mornings with Sylvie in his arms were awakening desires he never expected to have before, and it was really starting to bother him.

Since those many months ago he finally believed that Sylvie really wasn't going to use his body, he happily vowed to himself that he would never have sex again. This was not a difficult promise, anyway, as he had never felt any pleasure, only terrible pain and humiliation.

Now, however, his body was finally healed under the attentive care of Sylvie and her doctor, recovering healthily when no one was ripping him open or beating him. To his own amazement, he was now waking up hard and, worse, desiring. He had never even bothered to pleasure himself, as until now he had only associated it with the forced, painful ejaculations that clients sometimes extracted from his exhausted body, but now he was considering various options.

He knew full well that Sylvie deliberately never moved her hands lower than his waist. He realized that she was afraid of his reaction and the trauma that a different touch might trigger. He adored her for this and couldn't marvel at what cosmic coincidence he was so lucky to have her be the one to find him and take such tender care of him.

And yet he found it increasingly difficult to do nothing about all this. With each passing day, he questioned more and more whether there was any way he could find sex pleasant instead of frightening. And whether he could somehow give pleasure to Sylvie, who was perhaps waiting for his move. As usual, she was giving him a choice.

One evening, he finally made up his mind. They were both in their Jotun forms at the time, and Loki considered it a good time to have a talk.

“Sylvie?” He muttered, pulling her hair back gently and kissing her softly on the forehead and along her temples. “Don't you ever crave anything more than just kissing?”

She moved away from him gently and looked at him with a thoughtful gaze.

“Why do you ask?”

Loki felt suddenly uneasy, regretting at all that he had started the topic. He wanted to turn his head away, but Sylvie caught him lightly by the chin.

“Do not be scared, Loki.”  She whispered fondly. “It doesn't lead to anything else, alright? You are safe with me.”

He looked at her not believing how lucky he was. And yet he didn't feel relaxed.

“What would you normally do with a lover in bed?” He asked uncertainly, trailing his fingers across her face.

Sylvie didn't laugh, and Loki knew this was a serious topic for her, as well.

“Various kinds of things.” She answered him calmly. “But it doesn't matter. You are much more important to me than any other lover. And I don't mind if kisses are all we will ever do.”

“What if they didn't have to be?” He muttered surprised at his own boldness.

Sylvie's arms embraced him and pulled him closer. She kissed him softly and Loki melted as usual under her tender touch.

“You don't owe me anything Darling.” She whispered in his ear, and her hand stroked his back gently. “Don't be afraid.”

They kissed endlessly and Loki contemplated it all. Would Sylvie really be fine with it if they never did anything more? Until now, everyone in his life took slaves by force, completely disregarding their pain and fear, not even mentioning their desires. Sex was more important to everyone than anything else.

Except Sylvie wasn't like everyone else, and he was aware of that all along. He knew she would never harm him. And yet she had to have her needs too....

“I would like to please you...” He whispered boldly, but Sylvie shook her head with a sad smile.

“That's not your role, Sweetheart.”

He loved her so much that it made him sick.

“Sylvie...” He muttered kissing her face. She had gorgeous, smooth skin and Loki could never get enough of it. Pulling himself together, he moved his hand down her back to her buttock. Stress overwhelmed him a little, but he didn't back down.

Sylvie froze in his arms. She pulled away slightly from him and her incredulous gaze pierced him as usual.

“I can satisfy you.” He said boldly, although his insides were twisting with fear. “I'm trained in this. This will relax you.”

The silence that followed was not what Loki expected from his bold confession. Sylvie stared at him in complete amazement, and he fought with himself not to burst out crying.

“Is that the kind of person you have me as?” Sylvie finally whispered in an anguished voice, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. “Do you think that's why I brought you here? To force you to please me? I thought you had a little better opinion of me....”

Loki couldn't remember the last time he had been so terrified. He could endure anything but Sylvie's disappointment. Everything but her condemning stare. He was already trembling all over, but she didn't push him away.

“I know that's not why you brought me here.” He choked out when he finally calmed down a bit. “You're the only one who cares about me...”

“Then how can you think I would derive any pleasure from seeing you suffer.” She said immediately and her fingers tightened slightly on his body. She wasn't angry, just disappointed, and that freaked him out even more.

“You must have some needs after all.” He muttered, surprised at his courage, despite the terror squeezing at his throat.

“Of course I do.” She snarled impatiently and Loki flinched all over. He expected Sylvie's outburst of malice, which he had so often observed directed at others. Even this time, however, her anger spread somewhere along the sides, and what was left was more like exasperation and resignation. “Who wouldn't have, going to sleep every night in the arms of the most alluring being in the world.”

Loki forgot how to breathe. He listened to his inner self, searching it for fear, but found only shock and joy that Sylvie found him so desirable. He tried to explain to himself hastily that lust was no good, since it always led only to pain and humiliation, but his mind was not fooled. He knew full well that being desired by Sylvie was a completely different story.

“You think it's easy for me...” She went on, and Loki drank every word from her lips. “You are so beautiful, so innocent, so delicate... So happy at last after so many years of suffering...” She shook her head with resignation. “I will never do anything to remind you of your past. My desires don't matter.”

Loki was already panting heavily, overwhelmed by her confessions. He stared at that steadfast face and refused to believe that someone like that really existed. It made no sense, no logical explanation, and yet here Sylvie was, trembling in his arms.

“So why aren't you bedding anyone else?” He asked before he had time to consider it.

Sylvie turned her head slightly, her eyes piercing him nearly straight through.

“Is it so hard to understand why?” She asked, clearly no longer able to hide her irritation. “Since I met you, no one else matters to me, I thought you already knew that. How could I do it with someone else when all I think about is you...”

“So it's my fault.” He whispered shocked and amazed, but Sylvie immediately brushed him off with a kiss.

“You're a fool Loki.” She muttered sliding her lips over his face. “I don't regret it. The only thing I feel sorry for is how you suffered and that you don't even know how wonderful it can be with a lover in bed when you both want it...”

Loki surrendered completely to her soft lips and gentle hands. She laid him on his back and kissed him devotedly on his cheeks, on his jaw, on his forehead....

“You think there's no hope for me?” He groaned before he could stop himself. “Do you think I am doomed for eternity?”

Sylvie moved away gently to look at his face again. Loki bravely withstood her penetrating, serious gaze and even tried to smile, although he wasn't amused at all.

“Why did you start this topic, Loki?” She asked slowly instead of answering his question. “Just because you are afraid that I am not satisfied?”

Loki swallowed his dismay, wondering how to explain it to her. But Sylvie, as usual, read the answer from the look on his face.

“Do you have any unsatisfied needs, Darling?” She whispered, watching him carefully.

Loki took a moment to think about the answer. He himself didn't quite know what he craved. He couldn't think of a version of sex that wouldn't send him into a panic, and yet he knew he was missing something right now.

“I don't know...” He choked out at last, intimidated by it all. “I have a feeling that... that I would like to be closer to you.”

It was completely non-sense, because he was as close to her as possible all the time. He spent every night in her arms and every day in her immediate proximity. And yet he sensed that he needed to feel her even more.

“I don't think you're doomed forever.” Sylvie whispered, answering his earlier question. She smiled shyly at him and leaned into his mouth again, making him short of breath. Loki embraced her shyly, and she slid her arms under his body.

“If you want, we can try, what's good.” She whispered between kisses, effectively speeding up his heart rate. “But it has to be your decision, Darling. I do not want to put you under pressure.”

“I know.” He muttered, looking into her ruby eyes, so different from her green ones, yet somehow alike. “I would like to give it a try...”

Sylvie looked at him with delight and laughed lightly. But then she suddenly became serious again.

“It's all up to you, Sweetheart. We won't do anything you don't want. And we can stop at any time.”

And Loki knew it was true, he trusted her once again. He kissed her one more time and drew her close. Her arms embraced him tentatively.

Sylvie gently pushed him onto his back. Slowly, intently, she began kissing his neck and his breathing quickly quickened.

“You're the one in control, Loki.” She whispered while tentatively pulling up his shirt. They were both long since in their pajamas, warmed up in the comfortable bed, and Loki felt himself melting under her gentle touch.

And then her cool lips slowly began to move down his stomach.

And he waited, almost palpably waited, for the panic to set in, for the awful memories to flood him, for him to pull away from her or start crying.

Nothing of the sort happened. He wasn't lying on the dirty, cold floor, wasn't chained to the wall. His body was not emaciated, ravaged, beaten, he was fed, clothed, healthy.

Brute hands did not hold him, no one tugged or beat him, no one forcibly opened his legs or ripped his body apart. Sylvie's infinitely patient hands caressed him gently, as if she was afraid of scaring him. She kissed his stomach and moved no further, while he listened to her feelings.

“You are safe with me, Loki.” Sylvie repeated, raising her head and looking at him carefully. “We can pause at any time.”

But Loki did not want to pause. He rose to a sitting position and let Sylvie slowly remove his shirt. She put it aside and her hands tenderly began to move over his body. Then she gently pushed him onto his back again.

Her hands wavered at the binding of his pants and Sylvie suddenly backed away. Loki was already about to call it all off and not return to the topic when Sylvie suddenly knelt on the bed. Still looking into his eyes, she grabbed the hem of her ornate, far too short nightgown. One languid movement and she was naked.

Loki's breath stopped in his chest. Finally, after so many months, he saw her naked. How symbolic it was for him that it was in her Jotun form, in that body that so matched his own, in which they were so similar.

Tentatively, he reached out his hand to her. He moved light fingers along her shoulder, up to her collarbones, tracing the line of heritage running there.

“You are gorgeous...” He whispered, watching with fascination her breasts rising with her rapid breathing. She had a beautiful, smooth body, similar to his own, yet completely different.

Sylvie smiled serenely at him.

“Not as gorgeous as you.” Her hands landed on his hips again and Loki lost his breath. “Do you want me to take these pants off you, Darling? I would like to see you whole.”

“You've already seen all of me.” He muttered, now suddenly stressed again. “The day we met...”

Sylvie leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his chest. And then another on his sternum.

“Then you had no choice.” She whispered between kisses. “You were frightened and exhausted, and my heart ached when I looked at you.” She raised her eyes to him and Loki gasped at what he saw in them. “But now you have a choice, my Dear. You know I won't hurt you.”

Loki only nodded, pulling himself together. No matter what was about to happen, he had already decided that he would not back down now. After everything Sylvie had done for him, he wasn't going to deny any of her wishes. If seeing him nude was going to give her pleasure, Loki was ready for it.

But Sylvie froze motionless, watching him intently.

'We'll only do what you want. I won't do anything that stresses you out, Loki.”

For a moment they simply looked at each other without saying a word. Loki listened to his feelings and finally reached hesitantly with trembling fingers to the binding of his pants.

“Everything will be alright, Love.” Sylvie whispered, gently helping him pull down his pants. Loki lifted his hips slightly and Sylvie slowly pulled the material off his long legs and set it aside. Then she turned her gaze on him.

Loki was panting heavily, searching her face for the disgust or lust or cruelty he was used to. He found nothing of the sort. Her eyes moved calmly over his trembling body and then returned to his face as Sylvie smiled softly.

“You are lovely.” She whispered, leaning in to kiss the skin on his shoulder. “Flawless. So pure...”

“I'm not.” Whispered Loki, completely overwhelmed by it all. “I'm ruined. Just look at me...”

“I am.” Sylvie shifted her gaze again all the way to his feet. “You are perfect.”

She arranged herself on her side next to him.

“You may touch me if you wish.” She whispered fondly and Loki moved his hand tentatively over her skin.

He devoured her with his eyes, so innocent, stretched out before him on the bed. Her long body was covered with beautiful cobalt skin and Loki traced with his fingers the thin lines running across her shoulders, her breasts and stomach, so resembling his own lines.

“We are so similar...” He whispered, sliding his finger along her hip, watching her curves bend incredibly under his touch.

“We are the same, you and I.” She pulled him carefully to her and embraced his body so that he was lying on top of her, pressing her gently against the mattress. He got anxious for a moment, but Sylvie began to gently stroke his back, relaxing him, and then she lifted her head slightly and kissed him on the tip of his nose. She did it so lightly and playfully that he had to laugh and the stress immediately left him. He arranged himself more comfortably, his body covering hers, her arms embracing him gently. As if it was where he belonged.

“I'm truly happy you found me.” He whispered into the small distance between their faces. “And not just because you gave me back my freedom and granted me this new life...” He hesitated for a moment, but Sylvie understood him anyway. She always understood him.

“I know Darling.” She carefully brushed away the hair falling on his forehead. “We had to meet, even in this world that doesn't belong to us. Soulmates will always find each other in the end.”

Only then did he cry. He lay in her arms endlessly and cried, and she sobbed with him.

He felt she was right, that they were the very same. Perhaps it could be true that they shared one soul. Loki had no idea what to think or do about it, but he was so happy that he didn't worry.

That night they did nothing more but Loki knew they had time.

Chapter Text

The next few days felt like a dream to him. Every evening Sylvie disrobed him with solemnity. She would lay him gently on the bed and kiss his entire body. She spoke to him all the time.

“You are safe with me Loki.” She would whisper as her tongue wandered over the lines on his shoulder, or as her hands moved down his legs.

“You are in control of everything Darling.” She would mumble, kissing the soft skin on his hips or stroking his hair affectionately.

“We won't do anything you don't want.” She would speak calmly, sliding her finger playfully over his nose and kissing his chest.

Loki, to his own amazement, felt wonderful. No one had ever shown him so much attention. His body, in two forms, evidently appealed to Sylvie. Even so, she did not try to use it to please herself.

He wondered if they would go further, but days passed and Sylvie didn't try anything else. Finally, he figured out that it was once again up to him to decide.

“Darling...” He whispered one evening.

“Yes Loki?” Sylvie raised her head. She lay beside him, her fingers wandering unhurriedly over his body. They were both in their Asgardian forms and Sylvie's slight figure fit perfectly in his arms.

“I think I'm ready.” He said in a trembling voice, suddenly stressed again. Sylvie immediately embraced him.

“What are you ready for dear?”

He didn't quite know himself. What was the next step? Was this already the moment for Sylvie to slip her fingers into him, was he able to endure it? The very thought made him sick all over. What else could they do?

What did Sylvie want to do with him? He knew she wouldn't take pleasure in his distress or misery, but she must have had a plan? Loki had no idea what normal people did with their lovers in bed. Everything that had been done to him so far seemed horrifying to him.

He was properly resigned to the fact that he himself would experience no pleasure. He couldn't even imagine that it could be otherwise, he was too damaged. He just wanted to push himself enough to give pleasure to Sylvie, however she desired it.

Sylvie studied his face thoughtfully.

“You're a dumbass Loki.” She finally whispered fondly and kissed him, but he couldn't relax and Sylvie apparently sensed it. She pulled back slightly and stroked his face.

“Have you ever felt any pleasure at all from sex or anything whatsoever?” She asked quietly and Loki flinched.

“No.” He replied immediately. “Only with you.”

“You will be only with me all the time, love.” Her lips touched his skin gently once again. Her hand slowly moved down the taut muscles of his abdomen all the way between his legs and Loki lost his breath. “I can teach you pleasure, if you want.”

And he was terrified, petrified, and at the same time he wanted it so badly. Sylvie in his arms was tranquil, calm, almost languid. She kissed him, touched him, whispered how wonderful he was.

“Let me take care of you Loki.” She muttered in his ear, and a thrill of excitement ran through his entire body. “I will not hurt you.”

He knew it was genuine. Sylvie had never done anything to harm him. He trusted her also here. He nodded, and she smiled slyly under her breath.

He didn't even know how it happened but a second later she was kneeling between his legs, taking him into her mouth and he lost touch with reality. Her lips were warm and delightfully wet and she apparently knew what she was doing. Her tongue slid along his length, her hands caressed his body gently, and he was already moaning loudly, not able to hold back. The very thought of her doing this to him was turning his brain to mush. The princess of Asgard, the most beautiful woman in the world, was kneeling between his legs and sucking him off with apparent pleasure. It was so abstract that if Loki had been capable of arranging any sensible thoughts in his head, he would certainly find it preposterous.

It only took a brief moment of her caressing him for him to come suddenly in her mouth. He tried to push her away in advance, but she wouldn't let him, carrying him through with enthusiasm. A wave of orgasm swept him away, leaving nothing behind.

While he was panting heavily, Sylvie rose up and cuddled into him with a satisfied grin. She kissed him gently on the neck and shoulder, and Loki was still trembling, overwhelmed by the orgasm and her affection. He was in a profound state of shock.

“What did you do?” He finally mouthed when he had recovered a bit.

Sylvie raised her eyes at him, suddenly visibly stressed.

“You didn't enjoy it?” She asked nervously, and Loki laughed, so absurd it was. The princess of Asgard went down on him with evident pleasure, took care of him, made sure he was well-pleased for the first time in his life, and now she was worried.

“Come here.” He whispered, pulling her closer and arranged her comfortably on her back. He knew perfectly well what he wanted to do, but he wasn't sure he would be able to succeed. He felt surprisingly comfortable with what they had been doing so far, but he was concerned that this could change at any moment.

Before he could move with his lips lower than Sylvie's breasts, her hands stopped him firmly.

“Wait, Sweetheart.” She whispered in a serious voice. “Don't do anything you don't want, okay? You don't owe me anything.”

But Loki, excited by the sight of her and his recent orgasm, no longer wanted to hold back. He kissed her breasts and stomach going lower and lower, while Sylvie's hands stroked him tenderly on his back and through his hair. He finally opened her legs and lay on his stomach between them.

He had done this thousands of times, to thousands of different women, but now for the first time he had a choice. And he wanted to do it. He thought this position would bring bad memories but no, he looked at Sylvie stretched freely in front of him, smiling and calm.

“You don't have to do anything Loki.” She whispered while stroking his hair. “I don't expect anything.”

“I know.” He muttered and finally immersed his face between her thighs.

His tongue quickly recalled the trained movements, but his head was preoccupied with Sylvie, her breathing that immediately sped up, her beautiful body arched, her sweet voice when she whispered his name. He focused on the fact that he was with the woman he loved and that he was giving her pleasure and enjoying it himself. After Sylvie's first orgasm, he relaxed completely.

“You're the only one who matters Loki... Only you...” She mumbled unconsciously, writhing in the bedclothes as he pushed her over the edge a second and third time, exultant to the core that he had such an effect on her, that he could slide his hands over her belly, slide two fingers into her, kiss her thighs, that she moaned his name again and again....

Finally, Sylvie pulled him up and put her arms around him.

She whispered sweet nothings in his ear, and he kissed her neck, her face, as she moved her hand lazily along his length. He didn't plan it, he didn't know how it happened, but he soon slid into her slowly, her legs embracing him loosely and her eyes following his with devotion. And he didn't understand any of this himself, but he looked at her, felt her with all his being, and knew that everything was in place. Their combined magic bubbled under his skin, and he moved slowly inside her, loving her in ways he never even dreamed of.

When he came inside her, not knowing quite what was happening, Sylvie's arms did not let go of him. Shocked and exhausted to the core, he lay down on top of her and hid his face in her hair. His heart was pounding wildly and he couldn't control the thoughts rippling in all directions.

“Are you alright Loki?” Sylvie whispered and he heard the fear in her voice.

He raised his head and looked into her face. He immediately saw that she was terrified.

“Are you alright?” She repeated and Loki understood. Apparently she thought that perhaps he was faking pleasure, that he had been trained to pretend to please others.

Surprised by his own calmness, he grinned at her.

“I've never felt better.”

He immediately saw that she was relieved. Apparently she knew he couldn't lie to her. He leaned over and kissed her again.

“You are wonderful Loki.” She whispered between kisses. “Wonderful.”

He didn't know what to think about all this. His head was stirring from what they had done and from Sylvie's proximity.

“I never thought that sex could be like this.” He whispered shyly, hoping she would understand him.

Sylvie looked at him with infinite tenderness.

“Because you've never had sex before, my love.” She muttered while stroking his body gently. “You were abused and tormented. My poor thing...”

But Loki didn't want to think about all that now. The realization that he had just made love to Sylvie slowly fell over his body like a cozy blanket. He breathed deeply feeling her heated body under him, joined still further into one with his.

He carefully slid out of her and lay down by her side, and she clung to him trustingly.

“Think it all through in peace.” She whispered, apparently noticing how frantically the cogs in his head were turning in an attempt to process reality. “I swear I have no expectations. We're not going to do anything you're not comfortable with. I just want you to be well, to...”

Loki interrupted her by putting his tongue in her mouth and his hand between her legs. If the first time was so great, he saw no reason why they shouldn't do it again.

At first Loki hardly believed in his reality. The nights following that first time were forever fixed in his mind as a strange, vague tangle of kisses and moans. Every night Sylvie took him apart piece by piece and then put him back together as carefully as if the fate of the universe depended on it.

From the beginning of his stay at the palace, Loki had heard that the princess used to like to fool around, but he himself had never seen it. Ever since she brought him, she hadn't bedded anyone, with only him sleeping in her bed. Now, however, after the first few tentative times, when Sylvie watched him carefully making sure he felt comfortable and safe, apparently something was triggered in her.

Loki was not about to complain.

Sex with her turned out to be wonderful. Hardly a day went by that she didn't surprise him with something. With her, he learned pleasure quickly, as Sylvie never stopped in her attempts. He quickly concluded that she had set her sights on replacing all his bad memories with good ones. He often caught her reading complicated books on dealing with trauma, and he knew that she handled him very carefully. He saw that, especially in the beginning, she was very watchful with him. Even in moments of elation, she observed him carefully, ready to stop when she noticed any discomfort on his face.

Once, when she lay on top of him and grabbed his wrists, he panicked. Another time, when she sat perched on his back to give him a massage, he began to shake with fear. He knew that Sylvie was quick to pick out what put him under stress and what didn't. He preferred to be on top of her, although underneath was fine too, as long as his hands were free. Under no circumstances could he be on all fours or lying on his back with his legs raised, he could not be restrained in any way. Over time, they both learned exactly what they could do without any problems and what would cause him stress. Anyway, after time Loki became so relaxed in her arms that even what once seemed absolutely impossible was now pleasant or at least neutral.

Sometimes they did it in their Aesir bodies, and sometimes in their Jotun ones. Sylvie showed him one position after another, and Loki quickly realized that this in no way resembled what he had called sex up to that point. Sylvie never tried to put anything inside him, never tied him up, tugged at his hair or threw him to the floor. She kissed him endlessly and whispered that he was wonderful.

She would seat him comfortably on the bed and sit on top of him, wrapping her arms around him and looking into his eyes. She would arrange herself on the bed and pull him on top of her so that his body covered all of her. She always let him set the rhythm and decide on everything.

Loki was in the midst of ecstasy. Not only did it turn out that he could give Sylvie pleasure without panicking, but also that, astonishingly, he himself could still derive pleasure from that. Much more than he had expected. Only now did he understand what it was that people saw in sex and why everyone seemed to love it.

To his deepest amazement and Sylvie's delight, he never had enough. He would wake up in the morning hard and ready to engage in fun. Sometimes they satisfied each other with their hands or mouths, sometimes they made love lazily until the servants started knocking on the bedchamber door, reminding Sylvie of her duties.

There usually wasn't time for much during the day, but that didn't stop them. Loki quickly noticed that Sylvie evidently couldn't take her hands off him. They kissed shamelessly in the hallways and gardens, and they were constantly making out by the walls and on the benches.

He knew that the entire court was watching them closely, but he didn't bother to care. He indulged himself too much, appropriating the princess for himself, and yet she was thrilled about it. In fact, he wasn't afraid at all. He knew that Sylvie would not let him be touched. As long as he was with her nothing threatened him.

The real fun was starting in the evenings. Sylvie would undress him with urgency and pull him into bed. Loki loved those moments when, after a long day, they were finally alone and Sylvie belonged only to him.

Every day he became more and more daring as she would allow him to do whatever he wished. They tested new things and Loki was euphoric. He started taking her from behind and took wild satisfaction from this sight of her beautiful body stretched out for him, her low moans and shaking legs. They fucked on the balcony, in the bathtub and on his huge armchair in the sitting room. Sylvie would sit on top of him with her arms around him and ride him, and he would moan her name, driving his fingers into her hips and thanking the world for all the blessings that had fallen on him.

One evening he was so emboldened that he decided to surprise her this time. When she went to the bathtub he, feeling extremely masculine in his Jotun form, stripped naked in the bedchamber and, concentrating, teleported straight into the tub. The effect was not what he had intended, as he slightly squeezed her leg and splashed water over half the room. However, despite her first cry of dread, Sylvie started laughing a moment later.

“You are insufferable.” She laughed and stretched her arms out to him, but he had another idea. He leaned comfortably against the other end of the tub and grabbed her ankle under the water. Splashing even more water, he drew her to him and arranged her in his arms. She leaned comfortably against him and he embraced her tightly, knowing full well how horrendously fortunate he was.

“And you are incredible.” He whispered and pulled her up a little more. A quiet moan ripped from her throat as he began kissing her exposed neck. She was in her usual body and seemed terribly small to him again. His hands found her thighs and opened them. He unceremoniously flipped her legs over the sides of the tub, opening her up even more for himself. With one hand, he held her tightly to him, and slipped the other between her legs.

“Loki...” She moaned as his fingers found her clit. He knew he couldn't fuck her while they were in those forms, but he also understood that his long fingers alone were driving her crazy, and he quickly began to take advantage of that. Before she even had time to squeal, he slid two fingers into her up to the very bends, and her body arched.

As Sylvie began to howl his name, Loki smiled under his breath. Everything was as it should be.

At times, he would still visit his past in his dreams. He was sure these were more memories than dreams, since everything was the same as always. Terror and violence, his pain and loneliness, more abuse.

He was once again emaciated and dirty, yanking his hands caught in shackles, screaming and crying, calling for Sylvie, begging her to get him out of there, to save him....

He would wake up screaming, covered in cold sweat. Sylvie would always be right next to him.

“It's just a dream Darling.” She would whisper tenderly, hugging him close, and Loki would cling to her in desperation. “It will never happen again.”

“How do you know?” He mumbled terrified. He knew full well that nothing lasts forever. He was deeply happy with the perfect life he had now, but there was no guarantee that it would always be like this. Even Sylvie couldn't promise him that.

“I will never let that happen.” Sylvie repeated with a serious face.

“Swear you'll never give me up.” He muttered each time just as terrified. Sylvie was never resentful or weary of promising him that everything would be fine.

“I will never give you up.” She spoke with the same confidence each time. “You are never going to be alone. I will never leave you.”

One time she added something else, and only then did Loki calm down.

“If one day it all goes to shit.” She whispered in his ear. “If we can't escape or they want to enslave you again and I can't free you... Then I'll kill you.”

Loki was shaken by a shudder, so incredible and terrifying was this confession. He looked into her unyielding eyes and saw in them nothing but affection for himself.

“I will kill you so gently that you won't feel a thing.” Sylvie did not take her eyes off him. “You will go straight to Valhalla. This will all be over and no one will hurt you again.”

Loki breathed deeply, trying to digest it all. But Sylvie went on.

“And then I'll kill myself.”

“How so?” He choked out, increasingly terrified.

“I'll kill myself.” She repeated in a confident voice. “I will join you and together we will march to Valhalla. We'll be together.”

He realized that this was a declaration of love. Sylvie stared at him intently, waiting for his reaction.

“Promise.” He demanded and Sylvie finally smiled.

“I promise.” She said quietly, solemnly. Like an oath, meant only for them.

And that was entirely enough for Loki. This realization that in this life they would be together until the end. And then they will meet in the next one.

Chapter Text

It was one of those peaceful, ordinary afternoons when it seemed to Loki that absolutely nothing and no one could spoil his mood. The weather was delightful and Sylvie had arranged a picnic in the palace gardens. She invited her ladies of the court, as well as Thor and his boisterous group of friends. They had plenty of excellent food, and Loki devoured so much ice cream that it made him nauseous.

He was then just lying comfortably stretched out on the grass, with his head in Sylvie's lap, who was gossiping endlessly with the ladies of the court. He had brought himself a book on mineralogy, but didn't feel like reading. Instead, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sun falling on his face and Sylvie's hand stroking his hair.

Thor and his friends had quickly grown bored of sitting and were now frolicking on the grass playing some absurd game they had brought from Midgard. It contained a small ball and sticks, and Loki was absolutely convinced that none of them knew the rules. However, this did not prevent them from having a splendid time.

This time Lady Sif had apparently had enough, and after chasing Thor with a stick for a while, she sat down on the grass near Sylvie.

“You don't even know how envious I am of you.” She said breathlessly, and Loki opened his eyes to see that she was looking at him and Sylvie. “Even though it's such a hopeless situation.”

“What are you talking about?” Sylvie asked sleepily, tenderly running her finger over Loki's nose.

“About the two of you.” Sif sat down more comfortably and kept watching them closely. “It's great to have someone, even if only for a while.”

Loki stiffened momentarily, but Sylvie quickly moved a reassuring hand across his face.

“Why do you think it's for a while?” She asked calmly, but Loki could already feel the irritation awakening in her. He intertwined her fingers with his own and placed them on his chest. They had identical white skin and her delicate hand fit perfectly in his. As if they were made for each other.

“Sylvie...” Sif wheezed in a resigned voice. “You're not stupid, you know perfectly well how this will end... You'll marry some prince and send Loki back to where he came from. It's merely a matter of time.”

Fury clenched Loki's stomach. He wanted to get up but Sylvie held him down soothingly. She raised their joined hands to her lips and kissed his fingertips gently. And then she attacked Sif.

“And what do you know about it?” She growled, immediately losing any semblance of politeness. “You don't know anything about me or Loki.”

Sif did not seem offended by this assault. She reached for a grape and shoved one into her mouth.

“And that's where you're wrong, because I've known you all my life. And I envy you that you are in love, but you know, though, that it won't last. You are a princess.”

Loki finally got out from beneath Sylvie's hand and sat down next to her, casting Sif an unfavorable glance. He had never been too particularly fond of her.

“And that's why I'll do whatever I please.” Sylvie chuckled curtly, and Loki could already feel how angry she was. He was becoming increasingly irritated himself, too.

“Your father will never allow you that.” Sif popped another grape into her mouth. “Frankly, I'm surprised he's allowed it for so long.”

Loki was already about to interject, as he had been indulging his insolence more and more lately, especially since Sylvie was actively encouraging him to do so, but at that moment Thor emerged. He and his buddies had apparently grown bored of battering each other with sticks and throwing a ball, because they were now collapsing on the grass around them, reaching for snacks.

“What are we talking about?” Thor asked cheerfully, stretching out his long legs.

“Sylvie lives in denial.” Threw in a quick Sif before Sylvie or Loki had time to respond. “She thinks her father will let her marry a slave.”

“I'm not a slave.” Growled Loki lowly, feeling the anger tear at his insides. Everyone fell silent looking at him in amazement. “But you don't need to remind me of my pitiful parentage.”

“But what's the big deal anyway?” Yawned Thor spreading out more comfortably. “Who's talking about marriage here? After all, Sylvie is free to have a lover...”

Sif's eyes blushed dangerously.

“You are so naive.” She threw toward Thor with evident delight. “Men are pathetic. You be careful too.” She shifted her gaze to Loki. “Your time in the palace is running out...”

“You don't know anything about it...” Started Sylvie but Loki had already pulled himself out of her arms shaking with rage.

“Loki...” Moaned Sylvie pleadingly, but he was already off the ground, pulling away from her arms extended to him.

“Do you think I don't realize that? That I don't stand a chance?” He could already feel malice gathering under his fingers in the form of green sparks, and shook himself off quickly.

“See?” Sif chuckled, looking at Sylvie with a concerned face. “At least he's the realistic one.”

Loki had had enough. Afraid he was going to explode, he turned on his heel and took off running toward the palace.

A moment later, he burst into his chamber, furious at all of them and at himself for getting so infuriated. In the back of his mind, however, he knew that Sif was right and that was the worst of it.

What did he expect? The fact that his life was now perfect did not promise that it would always be so. He and Sylvie constantly discussed Jotunheim and what they would do there, but never who they would be for each other. Loki knew full well that he shouldn't dream of marrying Sylvie because it would never be possible, but he couldn't help himself. So many unbelievable things had happened to him since he met her that what would be one more miracle....

He knew Sylvie was going to come for him, and yet he flinched when he heard a knock on the door. He didn't answer, but Sylvie swung the door open and peeked tentatively inside.

“There you are... May I come in?”

Loki nodded and turned his back to her, staring out the window. His chambers did not include a balcony, which he deeply regretted.

He now laughed to himself when he realized this. How spoiled he had become... and not only in that, how insolent he was to imagine that the princess of Asgard would be with him, specifically with him, when she could be with anyone.

“Loki...” He heard an affectionate whisper from behind him and felt two arms wrapped around his waist from behind. Sylvie snuggled against his back and even through the material he felt the kiss she placed between his shoulder blades. ”You didn't get bothered by that nonsense, did you?“

Fury raged at him again and he jerked out of her arms, turning away.

“It's not nonsense. It's the truth itself. Without you, I was nothing. We will never be equal.”

Sylvie didn't seem taken aback by his angry voice and the fact that he pushed her away. She looked at him with such infinite patience that he began to feel foolish.

“We are equals. What was done to you does not define who you are.” Seeing that he had calmed down a bit, she carefully put her hands on his shoulders and smiled shyly at him. “You don't have to worry about it Loki."

“But I do care.” He muttered, pulling away from her again and stepping back uncertainly. “Sif is right. It doesn't make sense.”

He didn't actually intend it, he didn't want to start an argument, but he couldn't get that thought out of his head that everything was about to fall to pieces, crushing him.

“What do you mean?” Whispered Sylvie, and Loki saw that she was also already growing frightened.

“We shouldn't be together, and you know it.” Loki hated himself for those words, but at the same time he couldn't help himself. “Everyone knows it.”

“I'm not interested in others.” Sylvie said immediately. “I only care about you. What is it you want, Loki?”

He knew what he wanted and what he dreamed of. But realistically it wasn't possible, and that realization tore his heart apart.

“I want to be with you.” He muttered while looking into her beautiful face. “I want to be enough for you.”

“But you are.” She whispered and wrung her hands at the sight of his surly face. “Loki...”

Before he realized what was happening, she sank to her knees in front of him. He immediately reached out his hands to lift her up by her shoulders, but she wouldn't let him.

“Sylvie, stand up...” He mouthed, horrified by her behavior, but she only moved away on her knees.

“No.” She said firmly, cocking her head and looking at him with determination. “You were constantly falling to your knees in front of me, even though there was no need to do so. I am not better than you at anything.”

“Sylvie...” He was already trembling all over. He took a step back and looked down at her slight figure, knowing how inappropriate it was for the princess to kneel before him. And at the same time how disturbingly liberating. Sylvie always had the ability to throw him off balance.

“It doesn't matter to me where you come from Loki.” She said with a voice filled with elation. “You are everything I dreamed of.”

Naturally, he was crying. He always had to cry when something like this happened to him. He stood still like a wreck in the same place and hid his face in his hands, howling undignified.

Sylvie didn't move from her place on the floor either.

“I love you Loki.” She whispered, folding her hands as if to pray and looking at him pleadingly. “I've been waiting for you all my life.”

He couldn't calm down. Sobbing constantly, he crouched down and pulled her up. She threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, as he held her in his embrace and howled on, unable to cope with his emotions.

He thought of his parents and ancestors who had suffered so that he could stand here holding in his arms this creature who loved him. And whom he loved. He thought of all his sufferings, which were not enough to destroy him. Despite which he was still valuable and somehow worthy of that love.

Sylvie whispered sweet nothings in his ear and kissed his face, as he slowly calmed down in her arms. Finally, he loosened his grip and she slid gently to the floor, but still hugged him.

He was incapable of saying anything. The emotion choked him further in his throat, but Sylvie evidently as usual understood him. She wiped the tears from his face and smiled.

“My love... Are you okay?”

He swallowed down, collecting himself. He was shaking all over from all the emotions.

“Sylvie...” He asked calmly, arranging it all in his mind.

“Mm?” She turned her head, looking at him carefully. He knew she already knew. Her eyes lit up dangerously.

“I like you on your knees.” He whispered boldly into the small space between their faces and after a moment kissed her, feeling his own tears.

“All you have to do is ask.” She muttered while licking his lower lip and sliding her hands into his hair.

“Sylvie...” He whispered directly into her ear, feeling a shiver of excitement pass through her. “Kneel.”

He still had time to see a triumphant smile flash across her face before she moved slightly away from him and sank gracefully to her knees.

“As you wish.” She whispered with a crooked smile and reached down to the binding of his pants.

They didn't return to Thor and the rest, but Sylvie later took him out for an evening stroll. It was wonderful to just be together like that, and Loki quickly imagined that the rest of the world didn't exist. Wouldn't it be best for them to just leave this place, to escape forever just the two of them?

He wanted nothing more, just to have her always to himself, to wake up in her loving arms and follow her with his eyes all day long....

But running away was not an option. Sylvie had her responsibilities, and Loki understood this well. There was still so much to do... Such a long way to go to end slavery on Asgard. Sylvie's position was essential to achieve this and Loki was willing to wait a little longer. At least, that's what he told himself.

For the time being, he wanted to enjoy what he already had.

As dusk fell, Loki put his arm around Sylvie and looked at her with a smile. They were already returning from a walk in the gardens and stopped still near the palace to look at the stars.

He had once heard that the past and future could be read from the stars. His studies of astronomy contradicted this, but Loki already knew too much magic to believe that anything was final. Perhaps somewhere high in the sky there was a record of his future as well....

Sylvie was much more down-to-earth than he was. Her firm hands on his body quickly pulled him out of dreamland as Sylvie pushed him lightly against the wall. With a devious smile, Loki grabbed her thin gown and ripped it from top to bottom in one motion.

Sylvie only giggled and let him pull her closer. But before he could turn her so that she was the one in his arms, Sylvie smiled wickedly. Before he could even blink, she began to transform.

Her loose chemise filled out with flesh as Sylvie took her Jotun form. Her much larger, cool body pressed him into the wall and Loki sighed in delight.

She was taller than him, as he was still in his Aesir body. She grinned cheerfully at him and leaned in to kiss him.

Loki loved it. He loved how cold and taut her lips were, how her chilly fingers glided over his sensitive skin, how wonderful he felt in her arms.

He loved that nothing was obvious with Sylvie, she didn't fit into patterns. She didn't care about any of his deficiencies. She didn't mind that he was nobody important, that he only had terrible memories and scars, even that as a Jotun he was shorter than he should have been.

She didn't worry that he moaned inelegantly as she slid her hand into his hair to tilt his head to the side and sink her teeth into his neck. A moment later, two strong hands lifted him off the ground and arranged his legs around her waist.

“Sylvie...” He groaned, but she only laughed and pressed him tighter against the wall. With her, Loki was quickly losing his mind. She was so powerful and dangerous, and at the same time he never felt safer than in her chilly arms... How amazing it was that his beloved was also a Jotun, that both of them could change bodies so seamlessly, that they could enjoy each other in different forms....

“You tricked me daughter.”

A moan froze on Loki's lips, and his heart stopped for a moment. What also stopped was Sylvie's tongue on his neck and her hands squeezing his buttocks covered with luxurious black leather....

Both momentarily turned their heads toward the voice. Allfather stepped out of the shadows, followed quietly by several guards. He stared at them with such dislike that Loki's whole body went through a shudder. He tried to get out of Sylvie's arms, but she only hissed at him and hugged him tighter.

“Good evening, Father.” She said calmly, although Loki could sense perfectly how nervous she was. “Why would you say that?”

Allfather's cold gaze moved slowly over Sylvie's huge body and over Loki, who was already trembling all over, wrapped tightly around her.

“You swore to me that buying a private slave would end your promiscuity.” Odin's voice was also calm, but Loki was nauseous at the sound.

“And it did end it.” Sylvie replied immediately. “Since Loki appeared in the palace, he's the only one sleeping in my bed...”

“But you're not in bed now, are you?” Odin interrupted her carelessly. “You're groping around in the gardens like a commoner. And on top of that, in this body...”

Sylvie shuddered all over under her father's reluctant gaze. Loki knew full well how hard it had been for her to show up in Jotun's body, and now Odin was destroying even that little bit of confidence that had recently appeared in her... Loki couldn't let that happen.

He embraced her more tightly and kissed her cheek. Odin's eyes narrowed dangerously.

“What I do with my beloved...” Sylvie began, but Odin interrupted her again.

“Beloved?” He turned his head looking at them with reluctance. “I indulged you for a long time daughter, but don't think I'm not watching you. I saw how you bought him, set him free, how you are teaching him magic. I kept silent because I thought it was your next project, another whim of a bored princess.”

Sylvie was already panting heavily, but still didn't let go of Loki. Her hands tightened possessively on his body, and Odin continued speaking, gazing at them intently.

“But don't think that my patience has no limits. You and he are not equals, and you never will be.”

“You don't know anything about him.” Sylvie growled and Loki squeezed her warningly.

“Neither do you.” Odin said cheerfully and his eyes moved over Loki's body again. “You found him in a dumpster, like a stray mutt...”

“Father!” Sylvie growled, and Loki pressed his fingers into her flesh, silently begging her to keep quiet, to not endanger them unnecessarily....

“It doesn't matter at this point.” Allfather tossed carelessly and turned to leave. “Enjoy your night.”

As Odin walked away, followed by his guards, Sylvie's red, tormented eyes finally turned to Loki. Instead of kissing him again, she lowered him gently to the ground and with a quiet snap returned to her usual smaller form.

“Don't worry.” Whispered Loki immediately leaning into her. He liked her in both bodies equally. Beautiful, unbreakable, so brave and amazing... And his. “Your father will not be able to separate us.”

Sylvie bit her lip, looking at him unsurely, and a cold, unpleasant shiver ran down Loki's back.

“He's not going to separate us, is he?”

Sylvie quickly recovered and threw her arms around his neck, but her eyes remained pensive.

“Absolutely.” She answered too quickly, and Loki flinched again in concern. “In fact, promise me something, Loki.”

“Of course.” He whispered trying to overcome the wave of fear that was overwhelming him.

“Promise me that this is forever.”

Loki kissed her so she wouldn't see the look on his face.

“I promise.” He whispered into her mouth, trying to convince himself as hard as he tried to convince her.

Why did it feel like the beginning of the end?

Chapter Text

As weeks passed and the words of the Allfather weren't followed by any action, it soon dawned on Loki that nothing could actually threaten him now, because Sylvie loved him and he had become extremely insolent.

His position in the palace was secure as long as Sylvie held her own. And if something were to happen to Sylvie's status, he didn't have the slightest interest in remaining in the palace anyway. He knew that they were capable of defending themselves and escaping at any time, whatever would happen.

Sylvie allowed him to do whatever he wanted. She laughed when he was cheeky or mischievous, and it encouraged him so much that he became almost vicious. He started playing pranks on others just to amuse her. He sometimes roamed around the palace, looking for gossip, which he then exploited. He once heard from servants that Thor was exceptionally proud of his new horse. Loki had enchanted the animal so that it would get another four legs whenever Thor got on it, and which disappeared when he dismounted. Although Thor and his friends guessed that these were Loki's actions, they could not prove anything to him. Sylvie, rolling with laughter, refused to let him be punished. (The horse was inherited by a delighted Fandral, on whom Loki took revenge by turning his wine into tea so often that he stopped drinking for a long time.)

Another time, when Sylvie happened to have no time for him and he was pacing the corridors bored and hidden by magic, he overheard Lady Sif telling another lady that she never thought Sylvie could have fallen so low as to bind herself to someone like him. While he was pleased that no one doubted Sylvie's affection for him anymore, his personal, newly acquired pride got insulted. He left there soundlessly as a ghost, but the next day Lady Sif woke up with her hair cut short, and no magic could restore it. This time no one connected it to Loki.

On several occasions he tried to trick Frigga by hiding her books or enchanting her shoes so that they left golden footprints behind, but each time she caught him in the act. He knew she wasn't angry, because she would only wink at him and say that Sylvie should punish him eventually. (He would then go to Sylvie and, giggling, tell her about it, and she would do things that were the complete opposite of punishment for him.) Once the queen also caught him planting a replica of Thor's hammer, which would turn into a snake as soon as someone touched it. She chased him out of the chamber, with a laugh-filled scolding that she was glad she wasn't his mother. She didn't remove the fake hammer, and Loki concluded that she herself wanted to see what would happen if Thor picked it up.

He didn't tell her that he hoped she would one day call him her son.

He once let all the butterflies out of the greenhouse, giving them back their freedom. He thought Sylvie would get upset this time, because she loved them, but she considered it a splendid prank. Her friends, on the other hand, got upset because they treated this place as a fine hookup spot.

“How could you do that?” Growled Fandral when they all reached the dismally empty greenhouse.

“Every being deserves freedom.” Said Loki straight away, undeterred by the utterly condemning stares.

“You had no right...”

Sylvie immediately found herself at his side.

“Loki did the right thing. I won't let you criticize him.”

“Why do you always defend him?” Groaned Sif reluctantly. “Why do you stand loyally by his side even when he does such nonsense?”

Loki giggled under his breath and put his arm around Sylvie. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“He is my beloved, of course I stand by him.” She said proudly. “I trust his judgment.”

“Why don't you ever take our side?”

Loki pulled Sylvie closer to him and answered before she could open her mouth.

“You all had years to gather around you families and friends who would support you.” He said as Sylvie snuggled into him confidently. “I was robbed of that opportunity. Are you upset that the only person who cares about me chooses me over you?”

Everyone's faces turned slightly perplexed. Sif looked away. Sylvie for her part placed a gentle kiss on Loki's skin.

“I will always choose you.” She whispered tenderly.

If only that was true.

Later that day, he sat comfortably in an armchair on the balcony, naked and triumphant. Sylvie was sitting on top of him, leaning with her back against him. His cock was deep inside her, her legs open wide, his fingers on her clit. When she came moaning his name, Loki knew he couldn't ask for more.

It wasn't until he too finally came, holding her hips tightly and moaning quietly into her skin, that Sylvie brought up another topic.

“I think I want to go to the slave market.” She said once Loki had settled her comfortably in his arms and covered them with a blanket.

He momentarily stiffened as panic swept over him.

“It's not about you.” Said Sylvie immediately, glancing into his horrified face. “It's alright Loki, you don't have to be afraid.”

But he got sick at the mere mention of that place. His life was so perfect now that the very vision of his past made him shudder. He did his best not to fall into a panic attack.

“Why do you want to go there?” It was beyond his comprehension. He knew that she loved him and that there was no option to give him up or replace him, but he couldn't stop the fear that gripped him at the slightest mention.

“We must prepare to free them.” Whispered Sylvie affectionately, pulling his hair back behind his ear. “We need to see what it all looks like.”

Loki sighed. They discussed the situation of the slaves endlessly. They generally agreed that until Odin, persuaded by the council, signs a document prohibiting slavery on Asgard, not much can be done. He thought at first that a good solution would be to buy slaves one at a time, changing their lives as his had been changed. Sylvie quickly convinced him that this way would not achieve the goal. The freed slaves had to be provided with housing and a means of livelihood. Besides, this way they would only encourage the regime, allowing slave owners to make money from selling them and thus buy more slaves, dragging more innocent beings to this hell.

Instead, they fought with what they had. Loki felt tangibly that they had influence. That he had influence. They had already won so much, better conditions for palace slaves, a ban on importing new slaves from outside the Nine Realms, heavy penalties for murdering a slave. Loki rejoiced at every small progress, but Sylvie was unsatisfied and Loki understood her very well. She didn't want to improve the system, she wanted to destroy it.

Despite his humble beginnings and the lack of any support except Sylvie, Loki climbed the palace hierarchy. Thanks to Sylvie and her mother's recommendation, he gained a seat on the Allfather's council. He quickly overcame his initial shyness and became a loud contributor. He and Sylvie were always a united front, determined and dangerous. Before each council meeting, they prepared for hours, burying themselves in documents and preparing speeches.

Loki loved these meetings. He felt mightily powerful as he sat next to Sylvie, both of them in the same proud, upright position, with clothes that fit perfectly, like two versions of the same person, united in battle.

They were fighting for everything. For an end to the wars. For peaceful negotiations. For help for the farmers. For better conditions for servants.

And they fought with the greatest fervor for two things: to end slavery on Asgard. And for the restoration of Jotunheim.

As Sylvie spoke at times, with that incredible passion, with devotion, with a heart that she never had too little for anyone, but especially for him, Loki already felt almost palpably that they would finally succeed. He saw through his imagination's eyes the snowy hills, he saw the rebuilt palace, darker and more magnificent than the palace on Asgard, full of free Jotnar. He saw Sylvie, incredible, powerful, walking proudly through their legacy, the queen that she should have always been. He saw himself right beside her, deeply infatuated, immensely proud of her, worthy to stand beside the heiress of Jotunheim.

In such moments, he was so enthralled with her and his own dreams that he never saw Odin's attentive gaze, watching not his daughter, but him. Maybe if he had seen it, he would have been able to foresee the consequences of it all. Or maybe not.

Loki became a powerful weapon in Sylvie's hands, and he was very well aware of it.

Since he had successfully learned all the magic she knew, he continued to study on his own. He thought that maybe Sylvie would be jealous or resent him for it, but no. She encouraged him and obtained for him all the available spell books from the Nine Realms. Over time, it was he who began to teach her new tricks.

On the battlefield he had no equal. With Sylvie behind his back and magic under his fingertips, he felt almost invincible. Thor began to position them in strategic places in the battle, knowing full well that their magic had a much greater impact on the course of the fight than most of his other fighters.

Since he had learned the teleportation and invisibility skills properly, he and Sylvie romped around the palace and surroundings like two frisky brats. Loki quickly realized that despite her apparent frivolity, Sylvie was often weary of palace life, tight corsets and discussions over tea. So he took disrupting and amusing her to heart as a personal mission.

During the day, they were very serious, discussing important issues and working with dedication. In the evenings and at night they did whatever they felt like. Loki, enraptured by the possibilities that magic offered them, began to drag Sylvie out of the palace more and more often. They could easily slip past the guards and escape through one of the secret passages they discovered during their late-night wanderings. They knew spells that did not allow anyone to find them, and ones that enabled them to show their faces without anyone recognizing them.

They roamed the city, joining feasts in the taverns, admiring itinerant performers and fire eaters, enjoying street theater plays, chatting with people, eating, drinking and laughing. They would then sometimes land in some dark alley, or on a haystack in someone's barn, or in the woods outside the city, and make love unendingly.

Loki knew that life couldn't get any better than this.

During one such wander, however, they discovered something so unbelievable that it overshadowed even the charms of the town and the quick sex behind the curtain of a passing theater.

They were exploring the eastern part of Asgard, the least known by them. Without asking, Loki borrowed Thor's boat, which was better than the one they usually used, and they were just spending a wonderful afternoon on it. He sat at the helm, feeling like the king of the world. They sailed smoothly over Asgard, admiring the paths and vegetation from above, and then the endless expanse of water. He steered them toward unfamiliar rocks, planning to circle them to find out what was on the other side.

“Loooki...” He glanced down at Sylvie. She was lying languidly, spread out comfortably on the blankets at the bottom of the boat. She was busying herself with fruit and looking at him lustfully from under her squinted eyelids. “Let's take a break.” She added while licking her lips and leaving not even a shadow of a doubt as to what she meant.

Loki laughed, and his laughter echoed through this peaceful land. They could just as well be the only people in this place, stay in this boat forever, suspended in air and time. Loki wouldn't mind.

In the meantime, however, he saw a crevice in the rock and decided to stop there for a while, as Sylvie was already picking at his pants. He efficiently maneuvered the boat and stopped it as soon as they hid between the rocks. He had enough time to roll with Sylvie onto the blankets on the floor of the boat and had already started undoing her clothes when he suddenly felt something so strange that it stopped him in mid-motion. Sylvie apparently felt it too, because she froze abruptly in his arms.

They looked at each other with excitement.

He had never felt anything like this. It was as if a strange energy flowed toward them, hitting them in waves.

He pulled himself up from the floor of the boat, dragging Sylvie along with him. Another wave hit them softly and a thrill of excitement went through him. In the past he might not have felt it, but now since he had reconnected with his magic, he was tuned like a good instrument and could sense every little change in energy. And this one was not so small.

“Have you ever been here?” He asked in a shaky voice as Sylvie threw herself at the helm and the boat moved slowly into the depths of the cave.

“No.” She whispered excitedly. “I've never felt anything like this.”

Magic pulled them forward, and with each passing moment Loki realized more and more clearly that he already knew what they would find on the other side of the passage. There was no other way, his whole being was telling him that, his magic buzzing in his body and rejoicing, because here he was about to be reunited with his source.

With a quick flick of his hand, he changed his flesh back into Jotun. This was the body in which he wanted to appear in this world.

At home.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Sylvie had also changed, shedding her everyday skin and, in the process, changing her clothes to dark leathers to match her larger body. Both of them were now ready.

They passed quietly around a bend and were suddenly blinded by a brightness. They shot out of the gap and Sylvie dashed forward to stop the boat.

They hovered in the air in complete silence and Loki's heart almost ripped out of his chest.

Jotunheim.

After so many years of dreaming, after long, terrible years full of suffering in which his only consolation had been his imaginings of this place, visions spun from scraps of history and information... He was finally here.

It was not how he had imagined it.

In his mind, there were always vast open landscapes, empty, unknown, ready to be discovered. He imagined fields sprinkled with snow, tranquil hills, lazy sunshine reflecting off a glass palace....

Jotunheim, meanwhile, was not a blank, it was not pristine.

Hundreds of years of Jotnar history stretched out before them in ruins. They were apparently on the outskirts of a former city, at the edge of which a palace must once have been located. Below them spread endlessly snow-covered streets and paths, along which lay the ruins of strange buildings that Loki concluded were houses.

He imagined without difficulty how this all used to be bustling with life, how these buildings looked when they were not just piles of stones covered with snow and ice. How everything was overgrown with unfamiliar, exotic vegetation, when the heart of the planet was still beating here and everything was awakening to life.

Loki looked at it and couldn't believe how such a beautiful thing could be destroyed, how it could be brought to such ruin. For the sake of what?

“It's all Asgard...” Whispered Sylvie beside him in a pained voice and Loki tore his gaze away from the town below to look at her. “Asgard destroyed it all. My father.”

Loki was afraid to answer anything to that. He sat down at the boat's helm and slowly maneuvered so that they landed on the ground in the ruins of some building.

He jumped out of the boat and held out his hands to Sylvie, but she looked at him terrified.

“Come here, my love.” He whispered encouragingly and Sylvie took his hands. “Let's have a look at our home.”

She jumped out of the boat straight into his arms.

Emotions choked him as he and Sylvie stepped slowly through the pristine snow. The land of his dreams surrounded them on all sides and Loki couldn't believe it at all. Sylvie clung close to his arm, apparently also deeply shocked. They headed in unison toward the tall, icy ruins that must have once been a royal palace.

They stopped uncertainly in front of the entrance, partially collapsed with ice blocks and debris. Loki drew in the fresh, sharp, cold air, gasping at the sight of his home. Sylvie's home.

If it weren't for Asgard, both of them would have grown up here. Sylvie in the palace in front of them, he perhaps in one of the houses they passed along the way. Maybe his family belonged to some local aristocracy? Maybe he and Sylvie would have known each other since childhood, maybe they would have grown up together among these wild lands? Maybe his family was high enough in the hierarchy that he would be allowed to seek the favor of the princess? Or maybe there were no such rules on Jotunheim?

It didn't matter anymore, however, because they were never going to find out.

While gazing constantly at the ruins before them, he found Sylvie's hand twitching at his side and intertwined her fingers with his own.

“I love you Sylvie.” He said simply and more felt than heard her sigh. “I love you as a Jotun and as an Aesir.” It was simple and obvious, but he wanted her to hear it so directly. “I would love you if this is where we grew up. And in any other reality.”

She didn't respond, so he turned his head toward her and looked straight into her ruby eyes that gazed at him. In these forms they were of similar height, although Loki knew that as a man he should be much taller. She, however, didn't mind even that; she still wanted him as he was. With no title, no family, with a horrifying past.

“I will always be in love with you.” He added. That, too, was obvious. He had no idea what awaited them, but this one thing was certain.

Sylvie finally smiled at him and squeezed his hand. She didn't have to answer, they both knew perfectly well what she was thinking.

Together they walked through the partially collapsed doorway into the huge entrance hall. The ceiling was mostly swamped and everything was covered with a thick layer of snow. The eerie, pristine silence rang in their ears as they stepped cautiously ahead. Guided by instinct, they quickly reached the center of the palace, where life once undoubtedly took place.

The throne room was at least twice as large as the one on Asgard. The tall, ornate windows must have once been filled with glass or ice, but now wind and snow streamed in through them. The parts of the walls and ceiling that were still holding in place were beautifully decorated with drawings and words that Loki didn't understand. He thought they might have been incantations.

Lately, Loki has been teaching himself and Sylvie the language of the Jotnar, their real native tongue. It was tough, since they had only one book, which Sylvie had once secretly ferreted out from an ancient library on Vaneheim. They hid it from everyone, certain that Sylvie's father would not be pleased if he found out with what obsession they were digging up every little detail of their heritage.

But Loki had to know. From the very beginning of his sojourn in the palace on Asgard, he absorbed everything Sylvie could show him about Jotunheim. But these few books did not satisfy his inquisitiveness, and from then on, at every opportunity, he scavenged through all the more or less accessible to him collections of books in the Nine Realms.

Sylvie supported him in this search, and he knew that she wanted to know her roots just as much as he did. Maybe in her case it wasn't so pressing, because where Loki had a yawning emptiness in his soul, she had her adoptive family, her home, her friends and her memories. All he had was her.

He glanced at her again as she tried to decipher the inscriptions on the ceiling with her head cocked and nose wrinkled. It was beyond his comprehension that they were standing here together, arm in arm, in the place where the battle between Sylvie's two fathers had probably taken place years ago. Were the remains of the bodies of the fallen still lying under the snow?

He shuddered at the thought and his gaze finally fell on the gigantic elevation in the middle of the room. He immediately realized that, just like on Asgard, this was a place where a king or queen sat on a throne. Sylvie's rightful place.

He pulled her gently by the hand, and she yielded to him without hesitation. They walked slowly through the hall with their eyes fixed on the remains of the throne.

This throne appealed to Loki much more than the one on Asgard. It was more modest, yet more majestic. It was mostly destroyed, but Loki's imagination was working at top speed as usual, and he could easily picture how magnificent it all looked in its glory days.

When they finally stopped at the foot of the snow-covered, crumbling staircase, Loki took a deep breath. An incredible sense of agency vibrated within him as he persisted in this extraordinary place, a place where perhaps someday - in another reality - he would also be, at the feet of his princess, his queen. Maybe she wouldn't even look at him, maybe then he wouldn't win her heart, maybe he would be just an insignificant nobody, admiring her from afar, but she would be sitting here powerful, ruling, formidable....

“This should be my throne.” Whispered Sylvie concerned, but she didn't move from the spot. “Why doesn't it feel like it is? Like it's not my place?”

This time Loki did not immediately understand her feelings, for he himself felt deeply that he was in the right place. In his realm, his town, here before this throne where his monarch should sit, the only master he should ever have over him.

“Because it's all dead.” He whispered in response and snatched her into his arms. “But imagine otherwise.”

Sylvie laughed as he turned her around in a dance-like movement and pulled her close.

“Imagine being a princess, right where you belong. Imagine that the hall is beautiful, high, full of decorations... full of people.” He turned her around again savoring her delighted gaze directed at him. Always at him. “Your father has just held a ball in your honor. You are just dancing and no one can take their eyes off you.”

“And where are you in the story?” She asked defiantly, putting her hands on his hips and pulling him closer.

“Oh, I'm probably standing against the wall.” He laughed, imagining the scene. “If I were invited at all. But let's assume I would. Let's say my parents were from some high society. I would have come with them to the princess' ball, just to keep my eyes on her all evening.”

Sylvie embraced him tightly and stared at him with a gleam in her eyes.

“I would have noticed you right away.” She said, moving closer and almost touching their noses against each other. “I would have asked you to dance. And I would have fallen in love with you right away.”

“What a scandal.” Murmured Loki into the small space between their lips. “A princess and a commoner.”

She kissed him at last, and her lips were wonderfully cold and taut.

“You know I love scandals.” She whispered when they pulled away from each other. “Besides, this is Jotunheim, no one would care. You would become my consort.”

He got suddenly hot and decided to tease her to loosen up the situation a bit.

“And what would I do? How does my princess wish me to be of service to her?” He muttered suggestively, moving his hands to her buttocks and his lips to her neck.

But Sylvie didn't fall for it. She pushed him away slightly.

“I'm being genuine Loki.” She said calmly and he instantly became serious too. “I don't care about your parentage. We will take over Jotunheim together. Your place is at my side.”

She drilled him with her eyes, and Loki listened to his heart beating joyfully. There was nothing better in the world than Sylvie and him - together on Jotunheim.

“You go, I go.” He whispered and kissed her again.

He had never imagined that one day he would make love in the palace of Jotunheim with the woman of his dreams.

They spent a few more hours at Jotunheim exploring the ruined town and the surrounding area for so long that they had difficulty finding their boat later in the dark.

Loki was sure they hadn't even explored a small percentage of the town, let alone other parts, but it didn't matter. Now that they had found the way, they could come back here over and over again.

Sylvie was in her element. When they got into the boat she was practically vibrating with excitement.

“We can do it.” She said, taking his hand and pressing it to her heart. “Now I'm sure we'll make it.” She mumbled, as if trying to convince herself as much as him.

“You've seen the state of things.” He whispered, casting one last glance toward the crevice from which they were moving rapidly away. “It won't be an easy project.”

“Of course not.” She smiled cheerfully at him. “You weren't an easy project either, Darling. You were so frightened at the beginning. And look at you now.”

She slipped her hand into his hair and Loki involuntarily leaned into her touch.

“You have exceeded all my expectations.” She whispered leaning into him. “I think it will be the same with Jotunheim. It too just needs a little faith and a slight push.”

They discussed this endlessly on the way to the palace and then in the chamber. It was very late when they finally got ready for bed, but Loki knew that both of them would not be able to fall asleep in such excitement.

“I think we should start with the palace.” Said Sylvie with a thoughtful face, letting Loki take off all her clothes. “That's definitely where the most magic is. Yes, I think it's a good idea.”

“I think...” Muttered Loki pushing her slightly towards the bed and bending her over it. “That you should shut up already. And take my cock.”

Sylvie giggled and arranged herself more comfortably, opening her legs for him.

“I think you always have the best ideas.” She whispered and Loki lunged on her.

Chapter Text

Sylvie, obviously, got her way and headed to the slave market on one warm Sunday. She persuaded him to stay at the palace, but Loki, of course, had to go with her. This was his personal quest.

The weather was lovely and they decided to take a walk. They were led by a retinue similar to the one that accompanied Sylvie on the day they first met. Two young guards walked in front of them, behind them three giggling servants, and then two more guards.

If it weren't for the place they were headed to, Loki would have been delighted. Sylvie looked magnificent in glamorous gowns, all in her signature colors. Dark green and black fabrics framed her elegantly, shimmering in the sunlight with golden inserts. He wore the same materials, draped elegantly over his shoulders and hips, framing him magnificently and accentuating his firm figure. A thick green cape flew gracefully behind him.

Sylvie, as usual, held him by the arm and Loki looked at her in awe. He knew they fit together like two halves of the very same fruit, both of them pale and slender, with similar bright green eyes and narrow lips twisted teasingly.

He was so madly in love with her that his head was spinning. She walked beside him peacefully, snuggled against his shoulder, and Loki would have been perfectly content if they weren't just entering an alley that he knew so very well.

He paused in mid-step and Sylvie politely stopped with him. She studied his face for a moment.

“We don't have to go there.” She whispered quietly, stroking his shoulder gently.

But he had already made up his mind. All he needed was a moment to gather his strength.

“Come on.” He grunted, and after a moment they were slowly entering the market through a side passage, led by the guards. Even the maids behind them fell silent.

The familiar sounds and smells momentarily overpowered him and a shudder went through him. How many long, awful days he had spent here, how many hours he had wasted kneeling and begging fate for any change, even though he had no real hope for it.

They walked slowly through the streets along the stalls filled with people and Loki held back nausea. He knew Sylvie was casting him concerned glances, but he didn't look back at her. He moved his eyes over each slave one by one, weeping internally over their fate and his heart was breaking into pieces. Next to him, Sylvie counted fiercely. He knew that at her request the maids were taking notes, writing down the number and race of slaves in each stall. He couldn't concentrate on any of it.

His legs led him on their own, and Sylvie did not protest. They passed elevated stalls where beautiful women from different worlds were sold, draped in chains and ready to bear children. They passed massive Jotnar and other men bought for manual labor. Slaves trained to be servants, to work in the kitchen, to work in the fields, to tend children. Finally they reached the worst corner, the one where most decent people didn't venture.

Loki immediately saw his former owner. It was a face he would never be able to forget. The man stood behind his slaves as usual, alert and discouraged. As they approached, his face lit up.

“Your Majesty!” He called out at the sight of Sylvie and bent in a low bow. Then he glanced at Loki standing next to her and bowed to him as well. “Your Majesty.”

He didn't recognize him. Loki didn't know why this shocked him so much. He was in his Aesir form, obviously he looked different, and yet…

This man had been turning his life into a living hell for years, and now he didn't recognize him. Now he was smiling courteously at him, seeing the expensive clothing and long hair. He probably assumed that Loki was some unknown prince, apparently enjoying the favor of the princess of Asgard.

Fury and grief ripped his insides. Sylvie's hand tightened on his arm.

“Calm down Darling.” She whispered without taking her eyes off his face.

“I remember you, Your Highness.” Said the merchant slyly and they both looked at him. “I once sold you a slave. Does he serve you well?”

Loki was slowly losing control of his body, which was now shaking terribly, but Sylvie held him tight.

“I was not satisfied with him.” She whispered in a voice drenched with rage. “I let the other slaves fuck him to death. He died from internal injuries.”

Loki could already hear mostly ringing in his ears. Nevertheless, he saw the merchant's impassive face and heard his beleaguered voice.

“I'm glad he was able to serve you at least in this way, Your Majesty.”

Loki lost touch with reality for a moment. When he snapped awake, Sylvie was peering into his face with a horrified look in her eyes.

“Are you alive my love?”

It slowly came to him that he must have passed out. Clearly they were in some side street, away from the market, and he had no idea how he got here. Sylvie's two guards held him by the shoulders, keeping him upright. He immediately broke free of them and stretched out his arms to Sylvie.

She embraced him without hesitation and sent the guards and servants away with a quick flick of her hand. Loki heard their quiet footsteps, but did not look around. He hid his face in Sylvie's hair and inhaled her familiar scent, trying to calm down.

“I'm sorry Loki.” She muttered, cuddling him close and stroking his back. “I'm sorry. I'm getting you out of here now.”

“All these slaves...” He grasped at her in desperation, terrified to the core.

“They won't be slaves much longer.” Sylvie's voice was infused with anger and Loki was already shaking all over, but she was not letting him go. “We will free them all, every last one of them. We will take them to Jotunheim.”

Loki wanted very much to believe that, and yet he knew it wasn't that simple. There was still a long way ahead of them, with many obstacles standing in their path, and in the meantime each of these slaves was suffering every day....

“When everyone is free and safe...” She whispered in his ear, sending another shiver through him. “You will show me where you used to live. We'll find the place where they tortured you and burn it to the bare ground. With the owner inside.”

His vision went dark again out of terror and emotion, but Sylvie pressed his body tightly against hers.

“Let's go back to the palace.” She added before Loki had time to protest. “Let me take care of you.”

For the rest of the day, Sylvie was so preoccupied with improving his mood that Loki didn't realize at all how much it had affected her. He wallowed in his own grief and horror, letting Sylvie fiddle around him while whispering sweet nothings.

Apparently, it was only when he finally fell asleep exhausted that Sylvie allowed herself to let out her pain. He woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, feeling strangely empty. He stretched out his arms looking for Sylvie's warm body in the linens, but found only emptiness.

Immediately longing for her, he jumped out of bed. He peeked into other rooms, but she wasn't there. Finally, pushed by a strange premonition, he checked the balcony.

She was sitting on one of the armchairs, covered with a blanket and shaken by sobs. As he approached her, she jerked her head up abruptly to look at him with fear, and Loki's heart broke into a thousand pieces.

“My love...” He whispered crouching by her legs and looking into her face. “Sylvie my beloved, what is it?”

But she only cried even more, burying her face in her hands and howling.

Loki grabbed the other chair and slid it right in front of Sylvie. He sat down and grasped her hands in his, shielding her from the wind and the world.

“Is something wrong?” He whispered, pushing her wet hair away from her face. “Or is it just that day...”

Sylvie cried even louder and Loki understood.

“You don't have to run away from me when you want to cry.” He mumbled kissing her tear-wet face. “I will take care of you. My poor thing...”

This squeezed another batch of tears from her eyes and Sylvie wailed like a wounded animal. Loki sighed deeply and drew her closer.

“Come to me baby.” He muttered in her ear and pulled her slightly to him.

Without the slightest objection, she let him pull her off the chair and onto his lap. He wrapped her tightly with a blanket and let her simply sob into his neck.

Loki knew exactly what to do. He had already learned that in difficult moments Sylvie would not seek solutions at times, only comfort. She was perfectly capable of finding a resolution from any situation on her own. What she needed was some support and solace. And it was something he was happy to give her.

“It's going to be okay, Sylvie.” He whispered, kissing the tears from her face. “ I will take care of you.”

When she finally calmed down a bit, Loki still held her tightly in his arms. It was her place anyway, here in his arms.

“Loki...” She groaned in a desperate voice. “ I'm sick of this already. I don't know how much longer I can take it.”

“You are doing all you can.” He said calmly and leaned back more comfortably, arranging her in his arms. “Slavery is not your fault. You must not take on that burden.”

“But that is exactly my burden. Mine.” She leaned back and Loki gazed into her tear-streaked face. “All I keep thinking about is that not so long ago you were the one kneeling there...”

“I've already forgotten about it.” He said, faking a cheerful tone.

“Don't you lie to me Loki.” She wheezed through her tears. “That's something you can't forget. Your life was a horror and I still keep dreaming of your misery. I can see you raising your scared, resigned eyes at me. And it's all Asgard's fault... And my father's.”

Loki breathed deeply, moved by all this and terrified.

“You're dreaming of me? At this market?”

Sylvie swallowed her tears and looked up into the hazy night sky into which they had so often gazed together.

“I can't forget it.” She whispered in pain. “You suffered so much, so many years while I was enjoying myself. Now we are happy, but what about all those people? I don't know how to improve this system.”

Loki mused for a moment, stroking Sylvie's head and back. She calmed down a bit and snuggled into him, still staring at the stars.

“Maybe it can't be improved.” He said finally thoughtfully. “Maybe it all needs to be destroyed.”

Sylvie's steadfast, fearless eyes finally turned on him. With a deep sigh, she disentangled herself from the blanket and from his arms. Rising slowly, she stretched out in the chilly night air.

“Sometimes I think you're absolutely insane, Loki.” She said looking at him with a serious expression. “And then I come to realize that perhaps you are the only one who makes sense in all this madness.”

She reached out to him and pulled him up. Loki let her do so, smiling contentedly at her.

“You only say that because you fancy me.” He whispered perversely and put his arm around her, pulling her gently into the bedroom. “But think about it. Maybe chaos is the only thing we have left.”

Sylvie closed the balcony door behind them with a sigh. She appeared tired and distressed, and Loki choked with his adoration for her. When they finally tucked themselves under the covers, he dared to say what he had been thinking about for a long time.

“You are the one who should have Asgard.” He whispered directly into her ear, causing her body to shiver. “You, not the Allfather. And definitely not Thor. I can help you.”

“What do you mean?” She looked at him almost with fear, but Loki didn't want to hold back anymore. He wanted to finally say what was on his heart.

“You can take the throne of Asgard.” He muttered right into her ear, fearing that even here, in the safety of their bed and chamber, someone might overhear what treacherous thoughts were going through his mind. “I will support you. We will cause mayhem that Asgard has never seen. You will become the Queen of Asgard.”

Sylvie was panting heavily and Loki couldn't help but slide his tongue along her exposed neck. She trembled throughout, but he was no longer sure if it was caused by his tongue or his words.

“Is that what this is all about?” She groaned, pulling away suddenly with a pained look on her face. “About the throne of Asgard? Is that what you want?”

“Me?” Loki looked at her bewildered. This was frankly not the outcome he had expected.

“Are you counting on us to destroy it all and you to sit on the throne?” She asked him seriously, and Loki just stared at her.

“Sylvie, are you out of your mind?” He whispered, looking at that beautiful face he loved and not believing she could even think that. “I never wanted the throne. I just want you to be happy.”

She kept looking at him suspiciously, and his heart ached.

“Do you not trust me?” He whispered terrified.

Sylvie's fierce expression suddenly eased and something like remorse shone in her eyes.

“I apologize Loki." She said quickly. “Of course I trust you.”

“I'm on your side.” He purred, kissing her skin devotedly and slowly moving his hands over her body. “I will only do what you want. If you want to rule Asgard, I will stand by your side. I will guard you, I will counsel you...”

“Loki...” She groaned gently pulling him away so that he looked into her face. “I don't want Asgard. Here we will never be truly free, we can never truly be together...”

“So we will leave this place.” He whispered as he hugged her tightly. “We'll leave all this mess behind and start a new life on Jotunheim. With or without your father's help.”

“It won't be simple.” Sylvie sighed. “We need funds, alliances... We won't rebuild the whole realm, only the two of us. We don't know what my father is plotting...”

“What is it that he might do?” Mumbled Loki, already closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth of Sylvie's body in his arms. “So far he hasn't done anything in all that time...”

Sylvie only sighed doubtfully, already arranging herself for sleep.

Sylvie slept peacefully through the night snuggled in his embrace. In the morning Loki decided to improve her mood with a decent, long fuck. He knew it always relaxed her.

As they stripped off their clothes Loki threw her on the bed and arranged himself between her legs. With a thrill of excitement, he summoned his larger, more dangerous body.

A moment later, he was eagerly preparing her for himself. His cold tongue glided smoothly over her clit. He slid two long fingers into her pussy, one into her ass. He planned a long, slow, languid fucking, at the end of which Sylvie would sob with pleasure beneath him.

Sylvie wriggled under his movements. She held her hands above her head as he ordered, her slender body arching. He knew he was driving her crazy in this shape, and once again he regretted that they couldn't fuck in this configuration.

He knew she was close, her moans were getting louder and louder, and he was already gathering the magic to change his body to Aesir in a moment, climb onto the bed, slip into her....

The door opened with a bang that shook the bed.

Loki bolted up momentarily and waved his hand in a second, putting clothes on himself and Sylvie with a simple spell. He turned momentarily toward the door, and Sylvie rose on her elbows with an astonished cry.

Thor stood in the doorway frozen with shock. He looked at them quizzically and Loki knew he hadn't managed to conjure up the clothes in time for Thor to see nothing. He wasn't that concerned about it, after all everyone in the palace knew about this relationship and what they had been doing every night.

Sylvie, for her part, was furious.

“How dare you barge in here like this unannounced?” She growled at her brother, accepting Loki's outstretched hand and rising from the bed. “We're occupied.”

“I can tell.” Thor swallowed down, shifting his gaze over the imposing figure of Loki, who sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Sylvie into his lap.

“Who let you in here?” growled Sylvie, putting her arms around Loki's neck and letting him hide his face in her hair. “Where are my maids?”

Wanda emerged uncertainly from behind Thor but the latter waved his hand.

“I didn't have time for such official nonsense. We have to get going!”

Thor was clearly excited now and Loki sighed with resignation. Here was the end of his plans for a pleasant few hours with Sylvie in bed. He leaned over and licked her neck with pleasure. He knew she was as frustrated as he was. She slid her hand into his hair and purred quietly, completely ignoring the fact that they were not alone.

“We're being summoned to Alfheim!“ Cried Thor and groaned in disapproval as Sylvie leaned back slightly and Loki's mouth landed on her cleavage. “I beg of you, I don't want to look at this."

“You shouldn't have come in here.” Whispered Loki, sliding his hands over Sylvie's back and relishing her scent. “We'll see how you act when you meet the love of your life.”

Thor flinched so violently that they both looked at him.

“Is that what this is?” He asked completely shocked, and Sylvie laughed.

“And what did you think?” She placed a small kiss on Loki's chin. With a sigh, she disentangled herself from his arms. “Come on sweetheart, the sooner we settle this, the sooner we can go back to bed.”

Loki didn't feel like going at all, but he knew that since Sylvie had already agreed he had no choice. Thor looked at them suspiciously, but Loki only laughed to himself. If Sylvie's brother didn't realize until now that they were destined for each other it only proved his stupidity. Or an outstanding ability to overlook reality.

He was sure that everyone in the palace must have known by now, because Sylvie and he were no longer hiding at all. They walked hand in hand or embraced, kissed in public, and were also caught making out a lot in the gardens or in empty corridors. In addition, they were spending all of their time together, and Thor had to be blind not to see it for what it was.

But that was hardly Loki's problem anyway.

Chapter Text

Thanks to Bifrost, it didn't take them long to reach Alfheim. They fell as a whole group into the middle of the mayhem. The troops of Alfheim were barely fending off an attack by creatures unknown in the Nine Kingdoms, which were pouring out of the spaceship. Asgard's forces immediately evened the battle.

Loki was annoyed while joining the battle. As usual, he and Sylvie positioned themselves with their backs to one another, shielding each other and casting spells on their opponents. It did not take long, however, before he noticed that Thor, fighting alone amid wild roars, could benefit somewhat from his incantations.

He turned for a moment on Sylvie, assessing the situation around them.

“Help my brother!” She called out instantly, fending off another attack with ease. “I can handle it here.”

Loki only nodded and, amid all the chaos, jumped quickly to Thor's side. He gave him a slightly puzzled look, but then they immediately lined up with their backs to each other, hitting their opponents with whatever they could find.

Lately he had grown quite fond of Thor, in fact they had almost become friends. But it didn't matter, because even if he was indifferent to Thor or even hated him, Sylvie loved him, so Loki was willing to die for him.

They fought side by side, and Loki, even in the turmoil, could not help but appreciate this cooperation. He was accustomed to Sylvie's ways of combat, but her style was completely different from her brother's. Sylvie fought in silence, Thor roared like a savage. Sylvie was crafty and sneaky, Thor openly aggressive. Both, however, were insanely determined and effective.

The enemies kept circling around them, and it took Loki a moment to realize that Sylvie was not where he had left her, nor behind his back as usual. Fear caught in his throat when he couldn't see her disheveled hair anywhere and any sparks pouring from her hands.

He kept on pounding blindly, and when Hogun got inside the circle to help Thor, Loki immediately got out of it. He tore through the rows of enemies, laying dead at least a dozen.

Only then did he see her. She was standing strangely upright under a giant, partially burned tree.

He knew immediately that something wrong was happening, as she wore a frightened expression. Sylvie was never scared.

With a few long strides, he reached her. He grabbed her shoulders, but she didn't move, only raised her eyes at him. Loki instantly felt the enslaving magic on her skin and realized that she was immobilized by a spell.

“Loki...” She whispered in a numb voice, but he had already set to work. He mumbled incantations trying to free her, trying to find some loophole in the magic around her, but to no avail.

“Loki, run.” Her lips trembled and Loki freaked out beyond belief. Choosing to come here, they were unaware that such strong sorcerers were around. “Leave me and run away!”

Loki didn't even dignify this with a reply, flickering further around her. He couldn't loosen her invisible bonds, couldn't transmute them, couldn't teleport her. Whoever cast the spell apparently knew what they were doing. He tugged at her, trying to lift her up and take her away, but nothing could move her.

And then suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood up as he felt a change of energy in the air behind his back, and knew instinctively that the creator of those bonds had appeared on the scene. A swish of magic pierced the air.

Loki fell into a state of complete panic.

He reacted on instinct. He positioned himself momentarily in front of Sylvie, shielding her with his body. He threw an invisible shield in front of him, deflecting the spell aimed at them.

The sorcerer in front of them had dark skin and a simple robe. He looked Aesir, but Loki was entirely unconcerned about who he was. He assaulted Sylvie, so he had to die.

Without much thought, he started hitting the stranger with everything he had. He sent a set of daggers and a couple of complicated spells in his direction, but the man there evaded and repelled the attacks. Loki looked around in panic, but no one seemed to see the situation they were in. Thor and the rest of the fighters kept dashing across the battlefield overwhelmed by the amount of hostile forces.

As the sorcerer began to slowly walk toward them, Sylvie also panicked, seeing that Loki's attempts were not working. She herself could do nothing.

“Run Loki!” She howled behind his back. “I order you to leave me, I beg you!”

But he didn't budge. He grabbed the sword he rarely used and positioned himself more comfortably on his spread legs. If he came to die defending Sylvie, so be it.

Loki was not afraid of death. He had begged for it for so many years, dreaming that it would end his suffering, that now he was almost reconciled to it. Almost. He would be content if he knew that his death had saved Sylvie. Clearly, however, that was not going to happen. He was going to die knowing that she would follow right behind him.

But at least they will be together.

“Please Loki!” She continued sobbing behind his back, but this once he could not listen to her.

The sorcerer stopped a few steps in front of them.

“Asgard has taken everything from me. Are you ready to die for your princess Asgardian?” He tossed disdainfully, staring at Loki, who proudly raised his sword.

“I am not an Asgardian.” He hissed in fury. “But yes.”

He could hear how Sylvie behind him kept struggling against her bonds. She didn't stop pleading with him either.

“Step aside Loki! This is no place for you!”

But he only took a deep breath.

“There's no place I'd rather be, Darling.” He said calmly and summoned all his magic. He knew that they were only seconds away from the final clash. Sylvie must have realized it, too.

“Thank you Loki.” She whispered in such a way that only he heard it in the noise and chaos of the battle. “Wait for me at the threshold of Vallhala...”

Before he shot the last spell that would collide in the air with the hostile wizard's one, several things happened at once.

They heard the swish of Mjolnir in the distance and Thor's scream. The sorcerer either lost his concentration for a moment, or Sylvie finally freed herself from her bonds, as her arms suddenly wrapped around Loki from behind. His body, in a panic of accepting his impending death, discarded the spells that were entangling him and with a loud clatter of cracking clothes returned to its true form.

His feet squeezed painfully in now all too small boots. His entire body grew rapidly, his leather clothes burst at the seams. The dark blue of his skin came out and his eyes flashed with red.

Sylvie's arms tightened painfully on his stomach, and her seidr crept under his skin. Loki mindlessly gathered it all up, grabbed their joined magic…

Wrath and dread exploded under his fingertips. A wave of energy escaped his body sweeping away everything in its path, knocking down enemies and allies, breaking trees and throwing swords and helmets far away. The ejection of magic swept away everything in its path, everyone but him and Sylvie glued to his back.

Before the sorcerer in front of them could rise to his feet again, Loki looked around senseless. Enemies and friends were already rising from the dust, shocked by the impact of the magic that had brought them down a moment earlier. He met the gaze of Thor, who was rising equally bewildered. For a second they simply stared at each other.

And then Thor rose up slightly and, in a swift motion, threw his hammer to Loki.

Loki caught it, as if it was obvious, and lifted it up. He began to laugh, madly, deeply as he felt the ancient magic flowing through him and mixing with his own power. Not planning it, not knowing completely what he was doing, he acted instinctively. He summoned everything he still had, combined his seidr with the energy that flowed from the hammer and swung.

The lightning that struck the ground swept away the sorcerer in front of them and several other surrounding opponents. Thor and his warriors threw themselves back into the battle with the rest. Loki had had enough.

He spun around to Sylvie.

She stood shaking from head to toe. Tears were gouging trickles on her dust- and dirt-covered face.

“I was certain we were going to die.” She whispered, her lips trembling dangerously. Loki choked on his love and adoration for her. His Sylvie was never afraid. Now she must have been truly shaken and Loki immediately decided to take care of her.

He bent down and, slipping one hand under her knees and the other under her back, lifted her effortlessly. She squealed in surprise, but Loki only pressed her to his chest.

“I was sure this was our goodbye.” She mumbled while snuggling into him with relief.

“It wasn't that moment yet, dear.” He whispered looking at her fondly. “We have yet to fulfill our glorious purpose.”

Sylvie raised a trusting gaze at him, and Loki knew that the world could truly end at that moment, and he would die without a word of complaint. Screw Asgard and even Jotunheim, he was happy here and now, with Sylvie trembling slightly in his arms and apparently oblivious to the world besides him.

“Will you take me away from here?” Her sweet whisper rang out from around his heart as she laid her head on his chest.

“Of course, my love.”

He left the battlefield without looking back at anyone.

With Asgard's help, the battle was soon won and Prince Var, the current ruler of Alfheim, invited them to a banquet as a form of gratitude. Loki was still a little thrown off balance and not particularly looking forward to it, but everyone else seemed to have a good time.

Loki was just watching Sylvie teasing Thor when the Prince of Alfheim approached him. He was a tall, handsome man with fair hair and mauve eyes not seen on Asgard.

“I've known Thor and Sylvie for years.” Var said calmly, following Loki's gaze to the laughing Sylvie. “I know all the warriors and all the courtiers. I do not know you.”

He handed Loki the wine glass and looked at him carefully. Loki, a little bored with it all, sipped the wine before finally answering.

“I'm a newcomer. Not two years have passed since I arrived at the palace.” Sylvie beamed at him and he instantly felt a little better.

The prince stared at him in astonishment.

“Two years? You seem to be very close to them. Especially with the princess.” He spoke calmly, but Loki could perfectly sense the intention in it. And he didn't like it. “I saw what you did today. And how you carried her off the battlefield.”

“I would do anything for her.” Loki hoped that there was a clear intention in that, too.

The prince was looking at him intently now, and Loki faced him with his gaze for a moment.

“You look royal.” Var said, measuring him with a head-to-toe gaze. “Are you from some lineage whose name I don't remember?”

Loki sipped his wine, trying to hide his irritation.

“I don't have a family name. And I'm not of royalty. I'm simply here because the princess likes my company.”

Loki felt nothing but the urge to end this conversation and hole up with Sylvie in some chamber to cool off together after the stresses of the day. He knew that now they would have to stay on Alfheim until tomorrow, but he only dreamed that Sylvie would see his bad mood and take him away.

“Has the Allfather chosen a suitable betrothed for her yet?”

Loki's brain stuck for a moment and he looked at the prince again, who, to his horror, was staring thoughtfully at Sylvie.

“No?” Var asked, apparently misreading Loki's expression. “I know she won't have the throne of Asgard, but still... She's a beautiful girl. No one would kick her out of bed, don't you think?”

He winked at him playfully, and the blood boiled in Loki's veins.

“I believe...” Loki said, using all his willpower to restrain his rage and grief. “I believe that her heart is not free.”

Var laughed with evident joy.

“Heart?” He giggled so brazenly that Loki felt like wiping him off the face of the world with one spell, just to avoid seeing that insolent smirk again. “Her heart and bed may be full of random people, but her hand is still up for the taking, my friend. She is a princess, her heart has no importance.”

Loki choked on his fury.

“Her heart is the only thing that matters.” He growled, finally blinded by his rage.

The prince didn't seem to care.

“Believe what you want, my friend without a name. I, meanwhile, will ask her to dance. And at the earliest opportunity I will try to remind the Allfather of our alliance.”

Loki was already trembling all over, hating the whole world and himself. Var, apparently very pleased with himself, moved confidently toward Sylvie.

“Ah.” The prince stopped in mid-step seemingly not caring about Loki's face. “That sorcerer who attacked you... I found out that he didn't actually want to kill Sylvie.”

“How so?” Whispered Loki in a faint voice.

Var laughed carelessly.

“He wanted to capture her so that he could exchange her for his sister, who has apparently been a slave on Asgard for years.”

He walked away with a satisfied look on his face, leaving Loki in an even worse state. Before he had time to recover, Thor took the prince's place. Loki didn't speak, trying to digest it all, but of course Thor couldn't stay silent for long.

“Great day!” He called out cheerfully, topping himself off with wine, which he definitely shouldn't be drinking anymore. “Why do you have such a sour face Loki? You were excellent today!”

Loki didn't feel like talking. Jealousy burned in his stomach as he watched Sylvie laughing in the arms of the Prince of Alfheim. As if she didn't realize that it would hurt him....

“Ah.” Mumbled Thor following Loki's gaze. “They look gorgeous together don't they?”

“No.” Growled Loki slowly losing his temper. “How dare he...”

“How dare he ask an unwed princess to dance?” Thor asked cheerfully, then shoved half the pie into his mouth. “She doesn't belong to you Loki...”

“She does.” Whispered Loki barely suppressing his rage. “We are made for each other.”

“You have to think about the good of Asgard.”

“I don't give a fuck about Asgard.“ Tossed Loki without a second thought.

Thor looked at him with indignation, but that was the truth. Loki was tired of pretending. Asgard, its golden palaces and made-up laws were of no value to him. He was ready to leave it all in a second, to walk away without regret, if only Sylvie demanded it. If she dreamed of ruling Asgard, he would do anything to help her gain the throne. If she wanted to burn it all down and start over, he wouldn't even hesitate to light the fire.

“You can't say that Loki...” Thor began, but Loki no longer held back.

“I can say what I want.” He chuckled brazenly. “Sylvie loves me. She would never leave me behind.”

“Loki...”

“She loves me.” Repeated Loki sharply, still not taking his eyes off Sylvie spinning in the dance. “And I've never been loved before.”

He glanced at Thor, who was watching him with a perplexed expression.

“And I'm not ready to give it up.” Loki added dryly. “For nothing. Including for the sake of Asgard.”

“I know you are very important to her Loki.” Said Thor in a surprisingly gentle voice. Perhaps he was already genuinely drunk. “But you can't give her what she needs.”

“I'll give her everything.” Loki growled immediately. “Whatever she dreams of.”

“You won't give her a royal name or a realm or power or...”

“She doesn't want that.” Loki was now truly losing control of himself. “She wants to be free and doesn't need all that...”

“No?” Thor interjected, still completely unfazed by Loki's humor. “Doesn't she need power and money and allies to rebuild Jotunheim? To free the Jotuns?”

Loki's heart froze for a moment. Did everyone, even Sylvie's basic brother, understand more than he did?

“My sister is not a cruel person.” Thor added more calmly. “I'm sure that even when she gets married, she won't let you get hurt. Maybe you could even go with her? It's not so unusual anymore for a princess to have a lover on the side...”

Loki was sincerely sick of it. He brushed Thor aside and fled into the depths of the room. He made sure that no one happened to be looking at him and disappeared silently under a cloak of magic. Earlier he was shown the chamber where he was expected to sleep, but he ignored it completely and headed straight for the gardens, where his weary heart was dragging him.

A strange grief spread across his chest. He didn't want to tear Sylvie away from a good time, but he hoped she would notice his absence quickly and come looking for him here. After everything that had happened today, he didn't know how to loosen up at all. As usual, for that he needed Sylvie in his arms.

He got outside, undisturbed by anyone. He dashed across the terrace as quietly as the wind and jumped down into the garden. After a moment, he was strolling through dark paths full of unfamiliar vegetation. The gardens of Alfheim were lush and wild but not as vast as the palatial grounds on Asgard, and Loki soon found himself under the bounding wall. He circled restlessly for a while until he finally sat down against the wall and looked up at the sky.

He knew perfectly well that Sylvie would find him here. She always had excellent intuition, besides, she knew him better than anyone else.

He didn't have to wait long. He didn't hear her quiet footsteps, but from afar he saw her proud silhouette breaking through the path he himself had come. He didn't need to summon her, she had found him herself and was now heading toward him as if drawn.

“I knew that if you were hiding somewhere, it was definitely here.” She whispered when she finally approached him. As if nothing was wrong.

“I've had enough of the crowd.” He said quietly and rose from the ground.

Sylvie looked up into his face and her hands involuntarily landed on his hips.

“What's wrong Loki?” She sensed him immediately, of course. He had never been able to hide from her, even if for some reason he ever wanted to.

“Prince Var seems pleasant.” He said, trying to nip the rage in the bud.

“Yes, he's great.” Sylvie, of course, was not fooled. Her hands on his body tightened slightly as she pulled him closer to her. “But I think you're about to tell me what your problem with him is?”

That was Loki's last straw.

“He's interested in you.” He growled without looking at her, instead looking around the dark gardens. “He asked me if you were meant for someone.”

Sylvie grabbed his chin deftly and forced him to look at her. Loki was already panting heavily trying to stop the anger flowing through his veins.

“He might ask all he wants. Everyone knows I'm with you.”

“Do they?” He growled looking at her finally and getting even more annoyed by the calmness on her face. “What they know is that you were stupid enough to fall in love with your lover. And that I'm so naive as to think I'll be able to keep you with me.”

He could detect right away that she was getting mad, too, although she didn't even flinch. They were perfectly in tune with each other and Loki could easly feel every change in her mood.

“Are you insane Loki?” He didn't even know when she pushed him toward the wall and her hands pinned him down preventing him from escaping. “You should know, after all of that, that my heart belongs to you.”

But he was gradually losing his temper and control of his anger. He had to find an outlet for it one way or another. He grabbed Sylvie by the shoulders and turned her around pressing her into the wall. She didn't protest when he pressed her with his whole body. She didn't even flinch when his hand found its way to her neck, forcing her to look at him.

“Your heart is not enough for me.” He growled leaning toward her. “Your body and your fearless soul are not enough for me anymore.”

“Then what do you want?” Whispered Sylvie yielding to him completely.

Loki leaned into her and into the small space between their faces finally whispered his desire.

“I want your hand.”

Her breath hitched, and her eyes wandered from one of his to the other. Loki hung on above her, not kissing her still, waiting for the verdict. He knew it was extreme abstraction, but he had already become so audacious that even that didn't seemed impossible.

“Loki...” She muttered, breathing rapidly under his hand and his unwavering gaze.

But he didn't want to hear it.

“I want you to marry me Sylvie.” He groaned leaning in more and sliding his tongue along her neck. “I want to have you all to myself. Forever.”

“Loki...” She wriggled under his touch, letting him pull up her gowns and pin her against the wall entirely.

Loki's hands wandered over her body and his mouth over her neck. His rage was quickly turning into lust and Sylvie could certainly sense it. He was already tugging at his pants when she finally responded to him.

“Loki, look at me.”

He pulled away from her body for a moment and looked into her eyes, slightly worried about what he would see there. Before she had time to turn him down, to tell him it was impossible, he spoke again.

“I know we can't get married now, right away.” He whispered, leaning in to place a light kiss on her lips. “But I'm sick of hearing about you marrying some prince soon.”

“You know damn well... That I don't want any prince...” She howled into his skin, as Loki had now stopped holding back. He lifted her efficiently and arranged her legs around his waist. Her gowns rolled down around her waist, and Loki moved his hips smoothly, giving her just a foretaste of what he was going to do to her in a moment.

“Then promise you will marry me.” He whispered when he finally managed to open his pants with one hand. “Promise that when the time comes we will stand in front of each other and swear to each other that nothing will separate us.”

“It could be years...” He could see that she was also already losing control. Her tongue slid over his skin, and Loki moaned inelegantly.

“I will wait.“ He mouthed, finally positioning himself at her entrance. “Cast the spells, Darling.”

As soon as they began being intimate, Sylvie quickly explained to him what her fertility-blocking spells were all about, and they relied on them completely. Now, however, Sylvie pulled away from him for a moment and looked at him with eyes clouded with arousal.

“Do I have to?“

“What?” Loki stopped in mid-motion. He was close to coming to the mere sight of Sylvie in his arms like this, and after those words his brain shut down.

“What if we did not do it?” Whispered Sylvie, staring at him cautiously. “Wouldn't you want to have a child with me Loki?”

Loki gasped for air. What a marvel his life was.

For years he had begged the universe to make him infertile, fearing that his owner might one day force him to impregnate some slave girl to multiply his wealth. Loki knew he wouldn't survive that, that his heart would break into a thousand pieces if he had to live with the knowledge that somewhere out there was his child, suffering just like him. Another slave.

Fortunately, in this one aspect his appearance came to his aid. Because he was shorter and weaker than other Jotuns, fortunately no one ever wanted his children.

No one except Sylvie, apparently.

“Why would you want that?” He whispered exultant but also terrified.

“Then they won't separate us.” Whispered Sylvie feverishly. “If there was a child...”

“No.” Loki freaked out as it all came to him. “We will not condemn a baby to such an uncertain fate. My child will not be a bargaining chip.”

Rage filled him again. He waved his hand carelessly, performing the necessary spells. That was just what was missing in this mess... An innocent child, illegitimate, not accepted by anyone but the two of them....

“No Sylvie.“ He growled entering her in one move. “I'm not siring a bastard child to win a fight with the Allfather...”

“Loki...” She groaned pressing herself closer to him. “Don't call...”

“But that's what it would be, wouldn't it?” Groaned Loki utterly uninhibited by now. His movements were getting more and more frantic. “The child of the princess and her lover. A bastard...”

“But we would love it...” Wept Sylvie weakly.

Loki laughed and then pressed Sylvie even further into the wall. Sometimes she was so naive... Sometimes she wanted to believe in something so badly that she chose not to see the facts.

But Loki was not a fool.

“We will have children only after you marry me.” He said firmly and saw that Sylvie ran out of breath for a moment. “I'll wait as long as it takes.”

Sylvie was already moaning his name, embracing him tightly and sobbing quietly into his neck.

“It will be as you want.” She whispered finally and Loki smiled to himself.

Everything will be as he wanted it to be. Everything.

Chapter Text

Alfheim bid them farewell with wonderful weather. Loki was sure that under normal circumstances it must be a lovely place, but after the experiences of the previous day he had simply had enough.

He stood jadedly at Sylvie's side listening to the endless thanks and goodbyes. Just when he thought Thor would finally summon up Bifrost and take them away, another unpleasant surprise fell upon them.

“And finally, a final gift to Prince Thor and Princess Sylvie and their brave warriors as a thank you for helping us in battle!” Exclaimed Prince Var, visibly delighted with himself, and waved his hand.

The guards ushered in six people and Loki immediately felt nauseous.

There was no doubt that they were slaves. Three women and three men, dressed in skimpy, revealing robes, with their hands bound and collars around their necks. Three had an Aesir appearance, two of the men had green skin, and the tallest woman was undoubtedly from Jotunheim.

Loki immediately felt Sylvie's hand in his own, squeezing him reassuringly. To his surprise, in his overwhelming panic, he also felt Thor's hand on his elbow, as if to hold him upright.

“There's no need to...” Thor began, but Sylvie immediately interrupted him.

“We'll take them with us. We'll take them all.” Her voice was firm, but Loki could perfectly sense the growing anger in it.

“Wonderful!” Var exclaimed, clapping his hands. “I personally selected them from our harem. Something good for everyone.” He winked to Sylvie, and Loki's blood boiled.

He couldn't take his eyes off the Jotun woman. She was slightly taller than him and not as skinny as he had been when he was a slave, but in her eyes lurked the same terror that had once enveloped his entire figure and filled every cell of his body.

A little confusion arose at the slave takeover, but Loki couldn't focus on anything. Sylvie wouldn't let go of his hand and he could see from the corner of his eye the concerned glances she was throwing him.

When they finally reached Asgard, Loki was thoroughly fed up. The rage from the previous day had returned to him with redoubled force, and not even Sylvie's reassuring whispers could make him feel better.

Before anyone had time to think about what to do next with the new slaves, the Jotun woman threw herself into a run. Thor's warriors immediately rushed in pursuit, but Loki was faster. He cast an effective spell and the woman fell into his arms with a cry of astonishment.

“Don't be afraid.” He whispered quickly in her ear, and she stopped lashing out. “I will take care of you.”

Her terrified eyes found his, and Loki immediately sensed that she didn't trust him. Why should she?

“Do I belong to you now, Your Majesty?”

The nausea that swept over him almost knocked him to the ground. The woman pulled away from him slightly and sank to her knees in front of him.

“No.” Loki growled, leaning toward her. “I was a slave as well. I'm a Jotun too.”

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up carefully. She looked at him in shock, but allowed him to lift her to her feet again.

“What's your name?” He asked and immediately regretted it, because the answer was exceptionally sad.

“I don't have a name, my Lord.”

“Then you can choose one for yourself.” Said Sylvie calmly, approaching them. Her eyes were also fixed on the woman's face.

“I was also a slave.” Loki repeated. “And you too will soon be free.”

He knew everyone was looking at him. A reluctant voice rang out from the side and Loki looked over at Hogun surveying him in astonishment.

“By whose authority are you issuing such promises, Loki?”

Before he had time to answer anything, Sylvie responded.

“Mine.” She said clearly, straightening up proudly and looking defiantly at the warriors. “All these people will soon be free, because I have decided so.”

Loki was so exhausted by recent events that he wasn't even able to argue. He let Sylvie handle the formalities. He took the Jotun woman by the hand and pulled her gently toward the palace. With a gesture, he urged the rest of the slaves to move behind him.

He felt Sylvie's watchful gaze on his back and the bewildered eyes of the other warriors, but he didn't care. His thoughts were entirely immersed in gloomy pondering of the fate of hundreds, thousands of slaves in the Nine Kingdoms. Since yesterday evening, he also could not forget what he had heard about the sorcerer who had attacked them. To what desperation they were all reduced to... He resolved to find this sorcerer's sister and set her free, no matter how much it was going to cost him. It was the very least he could do.

It wasn't until they reached the palace that Loki realized his power was ending here. He looked over at Sylvie and sent her a pleading look. She immediately sprang into action.

Under Sylvie's guidance, the slaves were efficiently placed in the servants' quarters. Without hesitation, the Asgard princess gave orders and commands until each new resident was assigned a place and light work.

Loki didn't think this was a good solution at all, but he didn't see a better one for now. Working in the kitchen was certainly better than what they had experienced so far.

Sylvie was in her element, but Loki was too exhausted to act. It wasn't until they escorted the Jotun woman to her new quarters that Loki stirred a bit.

“You can always find me.” He whispered to the nameless slave. “My name is Loki. I'm usually in the princess' chambers. Whatever you need...”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Whispered the woman, apparently still in shock.

Loki only sighed with resignation. He didn't even have the strength to tell her not to call him that. She didn't ask if they would take off her magic-blocking collar, similar to the one Loki had worn all his life. He didn't suggest it either. When she left hesitantly, he closed his eyes, not wanting to think about all this. He stood on without moving, overwhelmed by it all. Was this a step in the right direction? Were they somehow getting closer to their goal? Everything seemed so far away...

“Come on Sweetheart.” A sweet whisper rang in his ear. “Don't think about it anymore.”

He couldn't not think about it. He looked at Sylvie gazing devotedly at him and knew she could see his despair. Before he considered what to say to her, Thor, whose presence Loki had practically forgotten already, interjected.

“This is madness.” Said Thor in an astonished voice. He did not take his eyes off his sister. “One minute you're giving orders and commanding people, and as soon as you turn to Loki...”

He waved his hand in their direction. Loki didn't give a damn what Thor thought about any of this, but Sylvie got interested.

“Well?” She asked, embracing Loki cautiously.

“With him you're so...” Thor hesitated. “So different. Delicate. Gentle.”

“Some people are made for love, like Loki.” She said with a mischievous smile. “Others are made to piss me off, like you, brother.”

Thor giggled, but proceeded to watch them closely. Loki was not sure why he decided to make this last confession.

“I sincerely hope you will feel it someday.” He whispered quietly to Thor, putting his arm around Sylvie. “I wish you could one day know the taste of that tenderness that comes from being so well loved.”

Thor answered nothing to this.

Later that evening, Loki slipped out of the chambers alone, needing a walk to clear his head. He hid under the cover of his magic and, unseen, skipped quickly to the gardens. He decided to bring Sylvie some fresh flowers, the plain, oridinary ones, much better than the elegant compositions from the greenhouses that always adorned her chambers.

He was just looking around for poppies when he heard two voices from behind the bushes. He moved silently over, as usual curious about new gossip, and without any qualms began eavesdropping.

“You'd have to see it... I've never seen anything like it.” Thor's voice was trivial to recognize and perfectly audible. “You know Sylvie, you know how she always fought...”

“How?” He recognized the queen's voice easily, too. Gentle, calm, now slightly concerned.

“She always fought with spells, with daggers, she didn't look at anyone or anything. She smashed everything around her. Now there is only Loki.”

Loki took a deep breath, exultant to the core at this conversation he had so unexpectedly stumbled upon.

“What do you mean?” Frigga's voice was quiet, but Loki found it easy to hear.

“You'd have to see it, it's indescribable... She doesn't look at her opponents at all, only at whether he's safe... It's like he's the center of her universe.”

Frigga sighed.

“That's exactly what I was afraid of. Now we won't be able to stop it.”

“Stop it?” Thor laughed suddenly. “The only reason I don't worry about her on the battlefield is because I know he's there. He'd sooner die than let anything happen to her, and to be honest I can't imagine anyone being able to kill him.”

A sense of triumph and pride spread throughout Loki's body. In fact, Thor wasn't as stupid as he looked.

“Does he fight that well?”

“I don't know.” Thor sighed with resignation. “Sometimes I think maybe he doesn't, but then I wonder that maybe he's hiding something from us... because as soon as Sylvie is in danger, he goes into a tantrum. When she got hit with some kind of incantation yesterday, he wrecked everything in a half-mile radius... He exploded in such a way that it wiped us all out. I've never seen anything like it.”

Frigga sighed, too, and Loki heard a creak, as if someone had leaned more comfortably against a bench. He thought this might be the end of the conversation, but nevertheless waited further, in case they still said something interesting. And he was not disappointed.

“I knew right away that this wasn't going to go away.” Said the queen quietly, and Loki perked up his ears again.

“Really?” Thor seemed slightly puzzled. “I was sure it would. Sylvie always got bored so quickly. The day we bought him... I would never in my life have thought that he would still be here now, let alone in such a position.”

Here Loki had to agree with Thor. He didn't expect it at all, either.

“It is precisely this position that worries me.” Said Frigga even more quietly, and Loki inched closer silently so as not to miss a word. “Sylvie can't possibly expect to be able to avoid marriage indefinitely. And yet she knows perfectly well that Loki will never even be considered as a suitor for the princess.”

Loki suddenly felt a strange lump in his throat as it came to him with these words how much Sylvie's mother understood. And what a horrible right she had.

Thor was not concerned.

“A suitor? Who cares anymore? Loki is clever and powerful and loves her. What more could you want for her?”

Loki vowed to himself mentally to reduce the number of pranks played on Thor. Maybe even give up on them altogether. Maybe.

Frigga heaved a sigh again.

“It's not a matter of what I want, for you know that I like Loki. They match well and I wouldn't mind him becoming part of our family...”

Loki felt a strange emotion grabbing his throat and pledged himself to be humbler and nicer from now on. At least a little bit.

“But this is Asgard.” The queen continued. “I'm trying to appease your father a little, but my power is running out, and Sylvie doesn't seem to care.”

Thor sighed, too, and the bench creaked again as he stretched and settled down more comfortably.

“Sylvie is blinded.” He said thoughtfully. “Everyone has been telling her for a long time that she shouldn't flaunt her obsession with Loki like this, but she doesn't listen.”

“We'll see how you behave when you fall in love.” The queen whispered, and Loki could practically hear the soft smile in her voice. He moved even closer so as not to miss a word. “Sylvie never liked to hide with her feelings. Besides, Loki doesn't hold back either, you can see that they are crazy about each other.”

“I envy them a little.” Said Thor sincerely, and Loki's heart squeezed strangely. “I've never seen anything like this. It's like they're somehow linked to each other. For goodness sake, she bought him at the slave market after all, I was there... He was so dirty and bland, scared shitless. How did she know? How did she find the love of her life in a slave that had been raped for years by any commoner?”

“Stranger events have already occurred in the world.” The queen replied serenely as Loki tried to calm his quickened breathing. “This is a good lesson for Sylvie. With him, she must have finally found her softer side. I've never seen her be as gentle to someone before as she is to him. And it's a good thing, for that poor thing has probably never experienced tenderness before...”

“But how did she know?” Thor was apparently further immersed in his thoughts, not quite listening to his mother. “She was obsessed with him from the very beginning.  She wouldn't let anyone touch him. I thought she was greedy, that he had some amazing skills in bed and that's why she didn't want to share him. And now...”

“What do you think now?” Frigga asked with keen interest.

“I think she has made idiots of us all.” Thor laughed in a slightly stifled voice. “She must have been in love with him from the very beginning, so she certainly didn't use him. I don't think she ever did anything to him that he didn't want. He only has his eyes for her, she certainly didn't hurt him.”

“I'm sure of that too.” Frigga's voice was infused with affection. “This is also a good lesson for you. Maybe you too will fall in love with a slave girl...”

“Certainly not.” Growled Thor in an offended tone, and his mother laughed.

“Better not, your father might not survive it.” She sighed and her voice became serious again. “Anyway, changes are coming, and I don't know if we'll all survive them.”

Loki shuddered in his concealment. He was already beginning to regret a little that he had decided to eavesdrop on this conversation. He had learned a lot of interesting things, but he wasn't sure his life wouldn't have been easier if he hadn't known them.

“What do you mean?” Thor asked with a strangely uncertain note in his voice, as if he too was already a bit overwhelmed by it all, just like Loki, who was still hidden in the bushes.

“Everything is already tense as a string.” Frigga said calmly. “I was raised by the witches, I always feel the changes coming. We are one step away from chaos like Asgard hasn't seen in a long time. We will all have to choose a side.”

The ominous silence that followed these words drilled into Loki's skull. Thor was apparently as horrified by this as he was, because his voice shook strangely when he asked the next questions.

“What do you mean? What sides?”

Loki knew immediately that the queen did not want to answer this question. There was silence for a moment, but then Thor grunted urgently and Frigga finally spoke up.

“This is why you were chosen as the future king of Asgard, not Sylvie.” Whispered the queen as quietly as if she was afraid someone would overhear them. Despite all her magic, however, she could not know that someone was really eavesdropping on them, and that it was someone with a keen interest in this unusual conversation. “I don't want to sound impolite, but you yourself probably know very well that in many ways she would be better suited for this than you.”

“I know.” Thor murmured reluctantly. “She's born to be a queen.” He hesitated for a moment. “Did you choose me because she is Jotun?”

Loki's heart stopped again for a moment.

“It doesn't matter.” Whispered Frigga affectionately. “She is our child just like you. But you have one quality that she doesn't have. And that has prevailed.”

“What is that?” Thor asked with the utmost interest and Loki couldn't blame him. He held his breath himself, waiting for the answer to this riddle.

“When it comes down to it, I know that you would choose the good of Asgard above your own. You would sacrifice yourself or even your beloved one if that's what the kingdom required of you.” Frigga muttered, and her words resounded in Loki's head like fanfare. “I spent a lot of time getting to know you thoroughly. You and Sylvie. I know she would never hurt anyone, but when you put Jotunheim at stake...”

“Do you think she would choose Jotunheim over Asgard?” Whispered Thor suddenly terrified and upset. “Here is her home, her family...”

“You know perfectly well that her true home is there. Her parents were killed by us... Do you think this is easy for her?”

Loki's heart was pounding madly. Has there ever been a more important conversation? He felt as if the fate of the world was weighing in this moment in these quiet gardens, in this hushed discussion between mother and son.

“I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.” The queen sighed again and seemed to begin to gather herself to leave. “I'm only fearful of one thing.”

“Of what?” Thor asked worriedly, and Loki strained his hearing.

“I'm afraid of what will happen when Loki appears on the scene.”

The wind, which broke unexpectedly, tore at Loki's robes and lifted his unasked question far beyond this palace and these gardens. He rose silently, deciding to finally leave this place and the conversation not meant for his ears. He had already learned far too much. All he wanted was to return to Sylvie's safe embrace and at least for a moment longer forget all this, get rid of the terror now filling every cell of his invisible body.

“This will be the end.” Thor whispered. “They will both burn this place to the ground.”

Loki sincerely hoped that Thor was right.

Asgard could burn, all he wanted was Sylvie.

He moved away from there silently like a shadow, like the wind sweeping through empty alleys.

Chapter Text

On the evening before Sylvie's birthday, Loki was the happiest being in the Nine Realms. They didn't know when his birthday was, because his papers from the previous owner only listed the year, the same as Sylvie's. So they decided to celebrate their birthdays on the same day.

Loki now stood in front of the mirror and admired his reflection. He had already gotten used to his Aesir body and wore it more often now out of convenience. He felt cooler and didn't stand out so much from the rest of the Asgardians. Besides, Sylvie outside her chamber only moved around in the Aesir version, and he loved how perfectly they fit together.

That made him smile at himself in the mirror. His black hair already fell far down his back and contrasted magnificently with his white skin. His body was strong and healthy and he knew he looked good. He felt excellent. He was aware that everyone in the palace either desired him or feared him. Sometimes both at the same time.

He adjusted the collar of the magnificent dark green attire, matched in every detail to Sylvie's new gown. He was sure they would attract attention. No one in the world would doubt that they belonged together.

A glimpse in the mirror showed Sylvie sitting at the dressing table. Two servants were pinning up her hair, and she was chattering happily about plans for the evening.

Plans featured a ball and Loki was looking forward to it. He had been to balls with Sylvie before, but this one was going to be special, because tomorrow was her birthday. Their birthday.

It wasn't long before they were descending the stairs together, then walking down the corridor to the throne room and Loki was bursting with pride. Two years ago he was a nobody, even worse than a nobody, and now he stood practically on top of the world. He walked through Asgard dressed like a real prince. He was in love with the princess, beloved by her, and he was going to dance the night away with her. After midnight, he planned to take her to the garden, kiss her in the moonlight and promise that they would always be together. She already knew this, but he decided to repeat it as often as possible.

The throne room looked magnificent. Dusk was already falling and not much light was pouring in through the large ornate windows, instead the room was awash with the glow of thousands of candles. Giant, tasteful bouquets of flowers stood everywhere, and Loki immediately sensed the queen's trademark style. Everything was drowning in gold, a true celebration worthy of Asgard's only princess. A good number of guests were circulating around the room admiring the decorations, the new gowns and sharing gossip. When Sylvie crossed the threshold of the hall, lingering gracefully on Loki's arm, all eyes turned to them. There were wishes, congratulations and greetings. People from the Nine Realms had come together to celebrate with Sylvie, and Loki's heart was bursting with joy at the sight.

Allfather did not participate in the festivities. He sat on a throne high above them the whole time, surrounded by guards, observant and silent. If Loki had paid more attention to him, he would have seen that Odin's eyes almost never left his daughter. And her lover.

Naturally, everyone wanted to dance with the birthday girl, the beautiful princess of Asgard, but Loki did not let her out of his arms for a single moment. He knew that all eyes were on them all evening, servants were whispering gossip, and nobles from other kingdoms were wondering who was this man from nowhere, with whom Odin's daughter was so entranced.

Loki was not bothered. Nothing could come between them, and that was all that mattered.

The evening was wonderful, one of the best in Loki's life. Sylvie was happy, laughing joyfully in his arms, they drank wine, ate wonderful things, talked to nice people and all the time, without fail, they were right next to each other, drawn into each other's orbits.

They also finally managed to sneak away to the royal gardens. Loki quickly dragged Sylvie to a secluded corner and didn't even know how it happened that a moment later he was already sitting on a bench with Sylvie at his feet. Wasting no time, she undressed from the waist down and knelt between his legs.

“Happy Birthday, Darling.” She whispered with a crooked smile and took him in her mouth.

She was always capable of undoing him and moments later Loki moaned loudly, not caring at all that anyone might hear or see them.

He felt like the king of the world. No one and nothing could do him any harm, no one could take it all away from him, because Sylvie loved him. She loved him, she desired him, she was about to lift up her gowns and straddle him, and....

“Oh by the Norns!”

Loki, who was already on the verge of orgasm, came back from it with a groan of disappointment. Sylvie raised her head and they both looked resentfully at the source of the voice.

Thor was standing on the path in front of them, with the standard group of his friends behind him. They all glared at them, but Loki didn't even cover himself. At this point it was all the same to him.

“Can't I go anywhere without running into you guys fucking like there's no tomorrow?” Thor was clearly traumatized and Loki giggled in spite of himself.

Sylvie rolled her eyes at her brother and turned toward Loki, completely ignoring the others. She sent him a mischievous smile and leaned in to slide her tongue over his lower abdomen. Loki tilted his head back, moaning low.

“I beg you...” Groaned Thor, closing his eyes momentarily. Sif, who stood next to him, for her part, did not take her eyes off the spectacle in front of her.

“You ruined my orgasm.” Groaned Loki glancing again at Thor, who opened his eyes and stared at them. “Are you going to ruin my night as well?”

Loki slid his hand into Sylvie's hair and brought her to his cock again, which she embraced with her mouth, not caring about the presence of other people. Loki did not take his eyes off Thor's shocked face, laughing inside.

“The Allfather is calling you. He wishes to make a speech.” Said Sif finally, when it became clear that Thor would not utter anything anymore.

“We will come right away.” Said Loki indifferently and groaned spectacularly as Sylvie's tongue curled skillfully along his length.

A moment later, Sylvie pulled away from him, licking her lips.

“You should get out of here, brother.” She said pulling Loki a little further down the bench. “Unless you want to watch how Loki fucks my ass.”

She dived between Loki's legs again, moving lower and lower with her tongue. Loki put his hands behind his head, moaning somewhat for show and laughing in his head at the faces of Hogun and Volstagg.

“You're both assholes.” Groaned Thor finally and took Sif by the arm. “Father wants to see you. Immediately. He said it's important for the whole family to be there.”

Loki giggled inside and groaned out loud when Sylvie's lips moved away from his body.

“We should go.” She said as calmly as if they were having this conversation over tea. “My father is not one for patience. We'll finish later Sweetheart.”

Thor rolled his eyes. The whole group had already moved toward the palace, but Loki easily heard Fandral's astonished voice.

“Who the fuck is this guy?”

Loki laughed, pulling Sylvie up to settle her on his lap and kiss her one more time before they set off to meet the Allfather. If Thor and his friends haven't understood who he was by now, that only reflected badly on them.

He was the love of Sylvie's life. And nothing could change that.

When they returned to the palace, despite the interrupted pleasure, Loki was in excellent spirits until Odin straightened proudly on his throne to greet the guests and speak to them. When he gave the sign, everyone gathered at the foot of the rising ground on which he sat. Loki stood quietly in the crowd, with Sylvie pressed tightly to his side and nudging her head against his shoulder.

“I and my family are grateful for such a large number of guests.” Odin said calmly, surveying the crowd below him. “The true unification of the Nine Realms brings me nothing but joy. Only one blemish remains on this beautiful picture, one last dark story. Jotunheim.”

Sylvie, standing next to Loki, shuddered. Her hand slid over his arm and her fingers intertwined with his. He glanced sideways at her, but her eyes were fixed on her father with ferocious intensity.

“Some of you no longer remember those dark times when we fought against Jotunheim.” The Allfather continued with a serious face, glancing at the crowd. “Asgard had to nip the rebellion in the bud, discipline the people of Jotunheim and defeat evil intentions. King Laufey fell in battle, dying with dignity, but his bloodline survived. His lineage in the form of my daughter, the only heiress of Jotunheim, can now be reborn.”

Sylvie was already trembling from head to toe. Loki was now looking at her, not Odin, looking at her face twisted with amazement and delight, for here apparently were her dreams coming true. Their dreams.

“Step forward child.” Odin said and the entire crowd murmured and parted. Sylvie, with her eyes fixed on her father, moved forward. Loki went with her all the way to the front of the crowd, almost to the very front of the stairs, and stopped there. Beyond that she had to walk alone.

Sylvie slowly climbed a few steps to the rise and knelt down with an anointed expression. She was still lower than her father stretched above her on the throne, but much higher than the crowd. And than Loki.

“You have never hidden with your desires. You have fought for years for freedom for Jotunheim and its people. The time has come for you to get what you so desire, what you have been begging me for for years.”

Sylvie was dithering with joy. Loki at this sight felt the first stab of anxiety, saw some almost invisible crack in this perfect picture. He couldn't name it yet, but Odin went on.

“The Jotnar have paid their debt to Asgard. They will no longer be our slaves. Asgard is capable of forgiveness. We will liberate them all and they will be able to return to their homeland. You will get laborers and resources to restore the realm. You will be able to rebuild Jotunheim to its former glory.”

Excited whispers ran through the crowd, but Loki looked only at Sylvie. Tears of bliss were pouring down her face as she stared at her father with her hands folded as if in prayer.

But Loki already felt under his skin that something terrible was about to happen. And he wasn't mistaken.

“There is, however, one condition."

Everyone held their breath, and Loki suddenly remembered the queen's words from many months ago. Here was coming the time of payment, here was the price for all this appearing before them.

“You will get all this, but you will never go to Jotunheim yourself. You will never see the fruits of your labor and you will never be reunited with your Jotun heritage. Tomorrow you will accept the marriage proposal of Prince Var of Alfheim and you will soon live in his kingdom as his wife. You will unite the kingdoms and bring us peace.”

Sylvie's head snapped back as she looked into her father's face in horror. Loki stood motionless, frozen in shock. So the moment had come. The end of everything.

Odin rose from his throne, majestic and menacing. He looked at his daughter with solemnity.

“When you do this, you will send Loki to Jotunheim as your ambassador. And you will never meet again. That's my condition.”

Loki couldn't hear the whispers around him, it was ringing in his ears so hard that it darkened before his eyes. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and was surprised to see Thor beside him, who stared at his father with a grim look.

Then he turned his eyes to Sylvie again.

She was shaking all over reaching out to her father, like a condemned man pleading for mercy.

“Father I beg... Don't do this.”

But the way Odin was looking at her had no mercy in it.

“I turned a blind eye for a long time, but things went too far. You have forgotten yourself. You forgot how important blood was and what your role is. You didn't think I would let you marry a slave with no name, no lineage, no past and no future, did you? You can dress him up in the most expensive robes, but it won't change who he is. And who you are. You are the daughter of two kings. He is a nobody.”

The terrifying silence that reigned in the hall after these words pressed in the ears. Loki's brain stopped working, he had the impression that his whole body had stopped solidly in a state of permanent shock. He did not take his eyes off Sylvie, further down on her knees in front of her father, sobbing desperately now.

“Father... I love him.”

Loki felt as if someone had torn his heart from his chest and before his eyes trampled it, set it on fire, destroyed it.

“And therefore you will agree.” Odin said coldly, taking a step forward. “Because I give you my word that he will be provided with the best life on Jotunheim. If, however, you do not agree, I also promise you that you will never see him again. But then I will not be gracious.”

Loki snapped out of Thor's grasp and took a step forward.

“Sylvie...” He called out pleadingly, and she flinched. She did not look at him. “Sylvie, don't do it.”

The Allfather's cold gaze now turned to Loki.

“Who do you consider yourself to be, that you dare to get involved in this?”

Fear tugged at Loki's insides, but he decided to fight, to fight with everything he had because this was the one last battle he had left before they took everything from him.

“I am nothing.” He admitted openly and his terrified voice echoed around the room. “I have no birthright, no worthy ancestors, not even allies. I have no name, no status...” His voice faltered but he continued speaking, and no one disturbed him. Odin stared at him intently, almost with curiosity. “Allfather... I beg you not to send your daughter away to Alfheim. I have no claim to her, but I love her.” Sylvie, kneeling still above him, shuddered, but did not turn around. “Allow her to go to Jotunheim, she is much needed there. Let me go with her. We are stronger together. Please let me marry her, because I can't live without her.”

Stifled whispers rose behind his back like a flock of wasps as they all stretched their heads to see this man from nowhere who dared to usurp the princess' heart and was now so brazenly asking for her hand.

Odin looked down at him, watching the whole scene in silence, almost as if it didn't concern him. And then he sat back on the throne.

Time stood still as Loki waited on held breath for the verdict.

“No.”

Loki looked up at that cruel, cold face and felt nothing but bottomless despair. And the Allfather continued speaking.

“I have seen a lot during my travels.” He said in a quiet, measured voice. “But I never thought I would live to see the moment when the hand of my only daughter would be demanded by some nobody dragged here from a brothel.” A cruel smile twisted his lips and he shifted his gaze to Sylvie, who was trembling on her knees. “You have bred a snake on your own chest. He has become too dangerous for Asgard. For his insolence, I should have him killed now.”

“Father, please...” Sylvie cried again, extending her hands toward Odin in a pleading gesture.

“I won't do it.” He whispered, leaning forward and looking down at her. “If you accept my conditions. Make a decision, child.”

No one in the room even dared to whisper, everyone was staring into the back of the princess' lowered head, as her sobbing finally stopped.

And then Sylvie slowly raised her head and looked at her father one more time.

“I accept.”

His legs gave in under him, but he didn't fall. Thor caught him in half and pressed him against himself.

“Stand up straight Loki.” He hissed quietly through clenched teeth. “That's all you have left now.”

Loki watched, paralyzed by shock, as Sylvie rose slowly from her knees and straightened her shoulders proudly. She turned and walked slowly down the stairs without looking at him. Her face was wet with tears, but her expression looked determined as she walked past him without a word.

She stopped in front of her mother.

“Don't let anyone disturb me. I want to be left alone.”

And although she didn't look at him, Loki knew that the words were meant for him. She walked proudly through the crowd parting before her. Princess of Asgard. Heiress of Jotunheim. The bride of the prince of Alfheim.

The only being he had ever loved.

Chapter Text

So, the end. The end of everything, the end of life, the end of Sylvie, the end of their love.

It was obvious that he could not live out his life in that perfect blissful state he enjoyed thanks to Sylvie. He had known this for a long time, had sensed it all along, that eventually the ground would sink beneath his feet, that darkness would consume him again.

But why was he going to lose precisely this one most important thing? He was ready to say goodbye to this palace, to his status and all his privileges, he would gladly give up his new attires, his servants, his horse, his seat on the council... He would accept that he was never going to leave for Jotunheim, he would even give up all his magic, if only he could keep Sylvie with him....

He was not aware that someone was dragging him until the uproar quieted down a bit and he realized that he had emerged from the throne room embraced in half by the Queen of Asgard. He looked at her in amazement. Her guards were following them, but she wouldn't let them assist. She herself held Loki with surprising strength, even though he was tottering on his feet.

“Your Grace...”

“I'm really sorry Loki. I'm genuinely sorry.” She said sorrowfully, dragging him further down the hall. He realized she was leading him toward his chambers.

“I have to go to Sylvie.” He mouthed in despair, but Frigga only shook her head.

“You can't. I know it hurts, but you have to accept her decision.”

This was something Loki simply could not do. He absolutely could not, under any circumstances, accept that this was to be the end.

“I know you love her Dearest.” Said the queen sympathetically and gave him a sidelong glance. “It will get better with time. You will live with the knowledge that you have achieved your goal. You will return home. And Sylvie may also one day be happy.”

Loki found himself unable to answer anything to that. Could Sylvie be happy without him? He couldn't without her, he knew that perfectly well.

He had to know.

“Your Majesty... do you think she will forget me? And that she will be... content?”

Frigga sighed heavily. They had already reached the door of his chambers and stopped. She finally let him go and Loki leaned against the wall feeling sick. Hollow.

“And can anyone forget their one true love?” She asked, looking at him with sympathy. “And yet she will live. You will live.”

They looked at each other sadly, and Loki couldn't believe that he was supposed to accept it just like that. That he was supposed to throw away all his dreams and hopes....

“I hoped that one day I would be allowed to call you my mother.” He whispered, choosing to make this final confession.

“I know Love.” She whispered in an anguished voice and stroked his cheek. “Me too.”

With a sad smile, she walked away quickly, leaving him alone. As always, alone.

Run.

Loki slammed into his chambers and looked around unconsciously. Run away, run immediately, before the Allfather sends the guards after them, before it becomes obvious that they will disobey, before everything collapses on their heads.

Run, run away from Asgard, from the Nine Kingdoms, run as far away as possible, only where to? Bifrost would surely remain closed to them, but they had their hidden paths, there were options, run, run, run.

Panic coursed through his veins. What to do? What other options were there? Blackmail? Fighting back? Open defiance?

Was Sylvie already on her way to get him? Was it all just a sham? She couldn't possibly want to live without him, after all. Could she?

Was it possible that Sylvie was somehow happy with this development? Could she have wanted to get rid of him, to exchange him for the impeccable Prince of Alfheim?

He pondered this option for a while, but shied away from considering it as viable. Sylvie loved him, he knew that for sure, he could feel it in every cell of his body. Loki had heard so many stories in his life and read enough fairy tales to know that such love was not something that happened often. He wasn't imagining it, it had to be real, and so her misery in this situation had to be as deep as his. And that was something Loki could not allow. No one had the right to make Sylvie unhappy.

They couldn't part ways. Loki knew he wouldn't survive that. He tried to imagine it for a brief moment and it made him nauseous. How would he possibly live knowing that he would never see her again? Now that he had become familiar with what it was like to have her by his side, when they had grown so attached to each other's presence, when they relied on each other in every situation. He didn't live at all before he met her, he was just surviving. There was no “before Sylvie” at all. How would there be any “after”?

A slave from Jotunheim, a whore from a brothel. A lover of the princess. Lover, but not fiancé. A partner, a friend, but never a husband.

Injustice and a sense of harm burned in his stomach. Why couldn't he have what he wanted? Why was everyone else supposed to be happy but him? He had lived his whole life in despair and now that he had finally experienced happiness for a brief moment, it was being taken away from him. He couldn't even enjoy the liberty for Jotunheim when all his hopes were so brutally crushed by one decision of the Allfather. He could not enjoy what he had. Crushed by the weight of a broken heart, he could not even appreciate his own freedom.

Of course, for many long, cruel years Jotunheim was the closest thing to a dream he had. Once heading there was completely unrealistic, now it was within reach. The problem was that this vision without Sylvie no longer made any sense. Ever since they discovered the secret path to Jotunheim, Loki constantly dreamed of the day they would finally relocate there. He imagined that they would at last be freed from the power of Asgard, that Sylvie would reject the corsets, the tea with diplomats and her father's rules. And that at the first opportunity she would marry him, him, just him, because he was the one who loved her so deeply.

Why the hell did he have to do all this? Why had he survived all these years? Ever since he met Sylvie, everything had suddenly taken a turn for the better and his life had been so unrealistically perfect for that brief period, and now he was about to lose everything again.

Life with her was such a sweet thing. She was ever so good to him, respected him, liked him, treated him as an equal. How could he ever forget that? How would he carry on with his life with the thought that she was waking up in the arms of another? Could she live with this knowing that she had taken Loki's heart with her?

It was unacceptable. No way was that to happen. A spark of rage flared up in Loki, blowing out more and more, spreading through his body, destroying everything in its path. With anger, he began to tug at his heavy, eminently expensive cape. For what good was all this? He had fooled no one, no one believed he was anything more than a wretched slave.

Enraged at himself and at the fate, he ripped off his clothes. His tunic and pants fell to the ground in shreds, he growled deafeningly and jerked off his shoes. He didn't even manage to pull them off completely when his body shot upwards in this internal rage. Returning to his original form, he strutted naked around his chamber, tugging at his hair, devising a plan. What to do now? Kidnap her? Kill the Prince of Alfheim tomorrow? Let her marry and follow her to Alfheim, spend his life as her lover, hiding from Odin?

That was out of the question. Sylvie belonged to him and only to him.

And she loved only him.

He needed help. But who could help him? No one cared about his fate. He knew that Frigga had some sympathy for him, even Thor too, but they were passive. The queen was right. They had chosen a side, they could not oppose the Allfather. Loki's new acquaintances, all the servants, the slaves, no one had a say... Loki mattered to no one. Only to Sylvie...

Or maybe it was all a smokescreen? Maybe Sylvie only officially agreed, and planned to run away with him? Maybe she'll show up here shrouded in magic soon and take him away from this awful place forever....

He looked at the door, as if he expected Sylvie to stand in it at once with a grin. For her to reach out to him as usual and snatch him into her arms.

Not possible that this was to be the end. Loki refused with all his might to acknowledge this eventuality. Sylvie never gave up, she always did whatever she wished. And she had never abandoned him before. She was not afraid of him, not disgusted by him, not ashamed of him. She didn't care that he was short, skinny, that his body was all worn out, scarred, marked forever by the suffering that was part of him. Sylvie always threw herself headlong into a new challenge.

Odin bet on one card and won. He knew that her love for Jotunheim and desire to protect Loki would prove stronger than her own desires.

It was necessary to run away. There was no other option. Flee immediately, as far away as possible, leave the Nine Realms for good. Sneak out into the night together and dissolve forever into the darkness, become just another tale told by all generations to come. A princess who fell in love with a slave... A love that was stronger than Asgard, than the Allfather, than all those nonsense rules, traditions, duties....

Run away, run away immediately. What kept him here besides Sylvie? Leave all this mess behind, all these memories, all this pain, leave everything and take only Sylvie. They will create new memories, reinvent themselves, without titles, without obligations... Run.

Will Sylvie want to run away with him? Leave Asgard and her family forever, everything she knew, reject it forever for him? Who was he to demand that of her?

He stopped in mid-step when he met his gaze in the mirror. Did it matter who he was? He was a nobody but Sylvie had never minded that before. She loved him and that was all that mattered. That was the only thing he had.

The other Jotnar didn't even have that.

He tore his gaze away from his eyes in the mirror as shame and horror shook his body. He knew full well that their escape meant there would be no release of the Jotun slaves by the Allfather. By escaping, Loki would leave them to suffer for years to come, perhaps forever....

But who could blame him? No one had ever chosen him, no one had ever put him first, no one had even considered him, no one except Sylvie... Only for her one he had any significance, how could he give it up?

He felt sick at the thought, but he knew he had already made up his mind. He won't make a choice for the good of Asgard, not even for Jotunheim, he will choose himself and Sylvie. And he'll make her choose him too. They will leave it all behind, abandon the battle they have been fighting....

Someone else will have to take their place. Someone else will have to defy Asgard, fight for freedom, for equality, for a new order. Loki had had enough. It didn't work and that's too bad, he won't devote his life to this cause, no one can demand that of him....

Except that Sylvie demanded exactly that from him. This is what she wanted, he knew it. She wanted him to sacrifice himself and her for the sake of Jotunheim. For them to devote themselves to the cause she had fought for all her life. For her glorious purpose.

Too bad, for he was not going to sacrifice himself. He could give up everything, but not this, not the one, only person who loved him. Too bad, others had to suffer, but it wasn't his fault, it wasn't his responsibility, he didn't do it all....

He just wanted to finally be happy. Didn't he deserve it? Didn't he suffer enough in life to earn what he dreamed of?

Sylvie didn't like all that either, he knew that. She didn't want to be sold to another kingdom as part of a political game, she didn't want to marry a man she was indifferent to. She didn't want any throne, any but the throne of Jotunheim, which should always have belonged to her....

But that too had to be sacrificed. Loki cut it all off in his mind like strings, one by one, all that he was willing to sacrifice in the name of their love. Asgard, Jotunheim, Sylvie's family, friends, everything they owned.... Sylvie's titles, her legacy, her birthright, her claim to the throne. And worst of all, the purpose of her life. All the other slaves.

He was getting angrier by the second. It was all the Allfather's fault, it was he who had planned it all so that he put them up against the wall, it was his actions that had led to this desperation they were in.

Except Loki wasn't ready to pay that price, and he wasn't going to let Sylvie pay it. Sylvie, his fearless Sylvie, backed into a corner, terrified to the point of agreeing to a life of sorrow to protect him, to protect Jotunheim....

Loki will not allow it. May others worry, may others fight this battle, he will remove himself from the equation. And he will remove Sylvie from it. Whether she wants it or not.

Odin had everything. Titles and rights, absolute power in Nine Realms, an army and the support of the people. He could decide life and death, he could, in a word, wipe Loki off the face of the world.

Loki had nothing, no ally, no help, no rights. All he had was a bit of magic coursing through his veins and the certainty that Sylvie loved him. That had to be enough to fight this battle.

Allfather didn't even put a single guard in front of Loki's door. He must have known that no guard and no door could stop him. Only Sylvie could tame him.

With a careless flick of his wrist, Loki threw on some plain pants. He didn't care about his lack of shoes and shirt. He didn't even try to subdue his body and turn himself into his smaller, less ferocious version again. All that didn't matter anymore since he was about to leave this place for good.

Panting heavily, he set off through the dark corridors. He was ready to destroy anyone who would try to stop him, but he met no one. The corridors were empty and quiet, perhaps everyone was still in the throne room, or maybe they had already dispersed to their chambers? Loki didn't know and didn't care. All the better that he didn't meet anyone, since he couldn't vouch for himself.

The number of guards at Sylvie's door was not increased either. As usual, two guards stood quietly with bayonets and Loki approached them slowly. He knew them well, they were part of Sylvie's private security.

They had always so far let him in and out of Sylvie's chambers without question, knowing that he alone had her permission to do as he pleased. Sylvie commanded them to follow his every order, which Loki reluctantly gave, but they obeyed without a word of objection.

Now, however, as he stood expectantly before them, none of them moved to open the door for him. It took only a split second for Loki to judge that they were terrified of him. Their hands tightened on their weapons, and the younger guard was shaking barely perceptibly all over his body.

He suspected that they had always been afraid of him, and he did not blame them. He came out of nowhere and claimed the princess for himself. They were scared of his huge body, his Jotun magic and his strange relationship with Sylvie, from which all his privileges derived.

Now, however, he was utterly unaffected by what they thought of him.

“Open the door Casey.” He said, forcing himself to remain composed.

“I can't.” Whispered the guard in a shaky voice. “The princess has forbidden us to let anyone in.”

“Ah so?” Loki cocked his head slightly and both guards trembled deeply under his cold gaze. “But I'm not just anyone. The rules don't apply to me, you know that well.”

He took another step forward, and Casey shuddered with fear.

“She said that you, above all, we are not to let in.” He muttered, looking at Loki fearfully. “I'm sorry Loki.”

Loki laughed humorlessly. So there was no more calling him Your Highness, his special status was gone. Sylvie stripped him of his privileges at the first possible opportunity. She pushed him away from her, she didn't want him, she didn't choose him....

“I'll go inside anyway.” Loki hissed, shaking off the last semblance of politeness. What was left underneath was terrifying.

The magic obeyed him compliantly, without wavering, he did not have to ask it, it flowed from his fingers on its own.

“Move back.” He whispered in a last grace, but Sylvie's guards did not leave their place despite their terror. Loki didn't give a damn anymore.

To his surprise, his first spell bounced off like a shield. He cast another and another, in a wild fury he attacked the guards and the door and everything that stood in his way, but could not reach them in any way.

He realized immediately that Sylvie had surrounded her chambers with protective enchantments and that she had also cast them on her guards. As if that would stop him... As if it was him she needed to protect herself from....

Be that as it may. It was already all the same to Loki what anyone thought of him, if he was going to be the villain of the story, so be it. He will kidnap the princess, they will run away together, no one will ever find them....

“Loki!”

A loud voice echoed from the depths of the corridor. Loki, panting with rage and practically brimming with magic, turned towards Thor walking quickly towards him.

Only he was missing here, this primitive moron, this pawn of the Allhather who could never speak up....

“Calm down Loki.” Said Thor walking up to him and reaching out as if to put his arm around him.

Loki sprang back.

“Stay the hell out of this.” He growled reluctantly. “I need to speak to Sylvie."

“She doesn't want to talk to you.” Said Thor softly, and that tone of his voice so infuriated Loki that a wave of energy involuntarily escaped from his hands and gouged holes in the floor.

Thor's hand twitched restlessly, as if he unintentionally wanted to reach his weapon, and Loki smiled under his breath. Oh how much he would enjoy this fight, how good it would be to take out his frustration on Thor... But there was no time for that, Loki had more important things on his mind.

“You're not capable of separating us, Odinson.” He whispered, almost palpably feeling the venom oozing from every word.

“Maybe not.” Said Thor calmly, but he did not move away. “But it was Sylvie who made that decision.”

Loki didn't give a fuck.

“Move away.” He hissed furiously, but Thor didn't even flinch.

“You're not going to attack me Loki, although I can see you're close to it.” He said quietly, almost sadly, and Loki got even more furious. “Because you know Sylvie wouldn't forgive you for that. And for the same reason you wouldn't attack my father.”

“You know nothing.” Loki growled but hesitated. Thor was unfortunately right. Loki wasn't going to do anything that would cause Sylvie any more suffering. “I'm going inside anyway.”

“You must let her go, Loki.” Thor's voice was drenched with emotion. “I know this is terrible, but think of it as something that will pass... Maybe in a few years on Jotunheim you'll fall in love with someone else and forget about it...”

Loki burst out laughing. He bent in half and roared in despair and desperation. Thor observed him with a terrified look on his face.

“You are an idiot, son of Odin.” Loki laughed viciously. “To forget... I might as well forget how to breathe.”

“She is to marry someone else, Loki.” Whispered Thor, visibly increasingly horrified by his madness. But Loki couldn't care less.

“She is destined for me.” He spat out these words and turned on his heel.

Boiling with rage, he headed down the hallway. He could have attacked Thor and the guards, knocked down half the castle and made his way inside, but he didn't need this mayhem now. He had to talk to Sylvie first. Chaos could wait.

“I am sorry, Loki.”

Loki stopped in mid-step completely bewildered. He turned again to see Thor looking behind him sadly.

“What did you say?”

“I'm sorry.” Repeated Thor in a strangely emotional voice. “For everything I have said and done to you. I didn't see in you what I see now. I didn't see what Sylvie saw.”

Loki was bursting with pent up energy. No one had seen it, no one had ever perceived in him what Sylvie had, and now they would pay the price. They disregarded him, humiliated him, refused to let him grow to his potential, only Sylvie....

“It doesn't matter anymore.” Loki replied dryly, examining Sylvie's brother with interest. When did this transformation take place? Just a year ago, Thor wanted to take Loki to bed, today he apparently recognized him almost as an equal.

“It matters.” Thor said emphatically. “And I want you to know that when Sylvie leaves, I'll make sure you get to Jotunheim safely and get everything you need there.”

Loki did not tell him that he was not going to Jotunheim at all. The less everyone knew, the better.

“And when I become king sometime in the future...” Thor added, and Loki perked up his ears. “I will see to it that no Jotun becomes a slave again.”

Loki watched him for a moment with curiosity. In any other circumstance, this would be a very welcome development. Now that his own future and happiness were so uncertain, depending entirely on the decision of one person, he couldn't bring himself to rejoice.

Then he turned away again, and only over his shoulder threw one last goodbye to Thor.

“Unfortunately, I am not going to stay around long enough to see it, son of Odin.”

He disappeared silently down the hallway, leaving Thor alone with his thoughts.

Chapter Text

The sense of injustice and betrayal burned through him like acid. Sylvie knew he would be coming for her, and she had secured herself as much as she could to prevent him from doing so. Was she going to calmly accept the engagement tomorrow and leave without saying goodbye?

This was unthinkable. Apparently, she didn't wish to see him, but Loki didn't give a damn. This once, he couldn't respect her wishes and her choice. More important things lay at stake.

In the empty hallway, he set to work. He effortlessly cast an invisibility spell on himself and headed toward the palace exit. Sylvie had fortified herself in her chambers, but Loki knew that every spell had a loophole. He was now well acquainted with her style and knew where her mistake would be.

If she was stupid enough not to know what he might turn to in desperation, that was only her problem. Loki had already stepped outside and silently circled the palace to the royal gardens. There were quite a few people circulating here, excited by the events of the evening and discussing the princess' situation to no end. Loki walked silently, invisible and hidden completely under his magic. No one even suspected that he could be here, no one knew his capabilities and Loki despised them all. Everyone was blind and deaf, only Sylvie....

He eventually reached the gardens below the balcony of Sylvie's chambers and poked his head up. It was very high up, but that wasn't a problem. He was more puzzled by what Sylvie had secured this entrance to her chambers with.

He climbed effortlessly, nimbly and silently like a cougar. That was no challenge for him. Sylvie's spells, moreover, were also surmountable, but he didn't want to make uproar and disorder until she was safely in his arms. The noise and disorder that would come after that was a different matter.

He finally got to the balcony and was glad to be able to stand here despite the magic buzzing around him. The balcony door was open wide, but he knew full well that it was magic blocking his passage. He immediately set to work.

Perhaps it was true that they shared one soul, because Sylvie's incantations were entirely familiar to him, he felt as if they were his own. He breathed in the magic like air and transformed it with ease. Sylvie was clever, but he was more powerful.

He stepped a couple of steps forward and the magic wrapped around him like a blanket. He slowly tore through the veil of spells and changed them to his own. No one else would have been able to pass, but he was the only one who knew Sylvie so completely, and that served him well.

When he finally made it to the other side, the barrier of spells bent like rubber, closing behind him for good. No one else was able to pass through, no one could get inside until Loki allowed it.

Nor could anyone get out until that was his wish.

Crossing the threshold of the chambers, he immediately saw Sylvie. She stood shrouded in her ornate robe, her back turned and staring ahead.

Loki's heart was rushing out to her, but he crept along silently. When he was just a few steps away from her, Sylvie turned suddenly and Loki shuddered at the sight of her desperate face. She was staring at the exact spot where he was and he knew she had sensed him. She was the one who had taught him this spell.

“I know you're there Loki.” She growled, and her face quickly turned from frightened to furious. “Get out.”

It was the first time she had ever snarled at him like that. Loki didn't care though, he was too focused on his own rage.

He threw off his invisibility spell like a cloak. Sylvie flinched when he suddenly appeared in the middle of her room. Her gaze traveled down his large body, his naked torso, to his bare feet and returned back to his fierce face.

“You shouldn't be here.” She hissed acrimoniously. “How the fuck did you get in here?"

Loki laughed coldly. Not even she believed in him anymore....

“You thought you could run away from me?” He growled and took another step toward her. “Your spells are no longer a challenge to me, princess.”

Sylvie flinched and bared her teeth too.

“You're fucking insolent.” She chuckled panting heavily under his penetrating gaze. “Get the fuck out of here Loki.”

Loki took a deep breath drawing in the air filled with this rage.

Both of them had already stopped holding back, the last masks dropped. They finally rejected the politeness that had coated them, pushed away expectations.

“Your father was right.” Loki chuckled singsongily, watching with satisfaction as Sylvie flinched in fear. “You raised a monster on your own breast. And now you will pay the price.”

“I'm not afraid of you Loki.” She said boldly, eliciting another volley of laughter from him.

“And you should be.” He said cheekily and stretched out getting ready for the fight.

But Sylvie stood proudly upright, gazing at him intensely.

“Do you want to destroy everything?”

“I want to destroy everything?” He growled, taking a step toward her. It didn't escape his notice that Sylvie backed away a bit toward the wall. “You're the one who wants to push me away like I'm nothing.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” She folded her arms and, as if involuntarily, stepped back a bit more. “I'm trying to save your life. You heard my father...”

Against his will, Loki laughed again. Sylvie shuddered as her chambers resounded with his cold humorless laughter.

“I don't give a damn.” He hissed when he finally calmed down a bit. “I came here to take you away. We're leaving Asgard.”

He took two more steps and Sylvie retreated all the way to the wall. Her pale face contrasted strangely with the twilight around her and Loki couldn't take his eyes off her.

“You are insane.” She said also without taking her eyes off him for a moment. “I have made my decision, Loki. I will marry Prince Var. And you will leave for Jotunheim.”

He didn't know how it happened, but he was already standing right in front of her, panting heavily.

“I will not go to Jotunheim.” He growled lowly. “I'd rather be a slave at your feet than anyone else without you.” It was his truth, and Sylvie needed to know it. “I will follow you. I will kill your fiancé. You don't think I would let you marry him, bear him children... When I know you love me. Me, for fuck's sake.”

“I do love you Loki.” She whispered, and her face suddenly softened. “And that's why I'd rather miss you all my life, but know you're safe...”

“I really do not give a fuck.” Loki interrupted her. “I don't care about anything anymore. I'm taking you away from here.”

Tears poured down her face as she looked at him pleadingly.

“Loki, I'm begging you, please...”

“No, Sylvie.” He said coldly. “I always did everything you wanted. I surrendered to you completely, soul, body, everything.” He was panting heavily as it all came to him. “But you won't force me to do that. I might as well die now.”

“Loki...” She whispered amid tears. “You will go home...”

“I don't have a home.” He said indifferently. “I never did. Your father made sure of that. He took everything from me, and you want to do what he tells you to do.”

“You know I don't want that.” She said quietly, looking at him almost fearfully. “But I must do it...”

“So you would leave me?” Whispered Loki increasingly furious about all this. He leaned into her, and it didn't escape his notice that Sylvie shook at the sight.

When did the rage arise in him? Loki couldn't remember. He knew that in the past he had never been angry, only sorrowful, frightened, depressed by his terrible life. He used not to rebel against fate, because he didn't believe that something better could be waiting for him. But now, now that he had tasted this wonderful life, he did not have the slightest desire to let himself be subjugated.

The days of the docile slave were over. Sylvie should have known that. It was her doing. She was the one who spoiled him, allowing him to do whatever he wanted, telling him over and over again that he deserved to be happy, to be free, to have this extraordinary love that was between them... She was the one who encouraged him to be brave, to be brazen, to fight for himself, to not let people decide his fate....

“I'm so sorry Loki.” Her voice faltered. “You will have to learn to live without me....

“I am not going to. You went to so much trouble to get to know me.” He growled, moving even closer. “You promised I would get everything I wanted. This is what I want. To take you away from here and be with you forever. You promised me that...”

“Stop it Loki.” She yanked, gazing at him intensely. “You know very well that the situation has changed...”

“Ah yes? It did?” He laughed again, so tragic was it all. “For me, nothing has changed.”

“I am the princess, Loki.” He was frightened by her voice, despairing yet firm. As if she had already made up her mind. “I have my duties...”

“Princess?” His laughter rippled through the chamber, through this place that had once been a refuge of safety for him, but now meant nothing, as it was about to be abandoned forever. “So we are no longer equals yes? I'm no longer enough for you?”

Sylvie didn't answer, panting heavily, but Loki had long since passed the point of no return.

“I understand, Mistress.” He whispered ominously, and Sylvie shuddered throughout. “Whatever you wish, Your Grace. Would you be willing to offer me some of your mercy? A little attention? Will you find yourself a new project since caring for me no longer makes sense?”

“You must stop.” She whispered, and her lips shook with terror.

“Of course, Your Highness.” He sucked through teeth clenched with rage. “Please forgive your slave. Has fucking me already lost its charm? Have you already found yourself someone better than a dirty, worn-out...”

“Loki!” Shouted Sylvie indignantly, but he couldn't hold back. “How dare you...”

“I'm sorry, Mistress.” He hissed with loathing. “Shall I fall to my knees before you, Your Majesty? Or lie down on the floor so you can walk over me and my heart?”

“Loki!” She groaned in desperation and leaned against the wall. “What is it you don't understand...”

“I don't understand how you can choose anything other than what we have.” He growled lowly. “You said that nothing would separate us. That no one would be able to come between us. I thought you loved me a little more.”

Her fury dropped for a moment like a mask, and that split second was enough for Loki to see her true emotions. Terror, doubt, despair. And her affection for him.

“Well, then.” He wheezed out with excitement tugging at his gut. “So you just decided to sacrifice me and yourself in the name of a greater good.”

“And what would you do Loki?” She cried in a distraught voice. “If you were the prince... If you had to choose...”

“I would choose you.” He said immediately. “I would always choose you.”

“But I am choosing you Loki.” She whispered gazing into his furious face. “I'm doing all this for you. You will be free. You will be safe. You will rule Jotunheim on my behalf. But we must part. This is the last time we shall meet.”

They looked at each other panting as if after a training session, staring into each other's eyes as if they were seeing one another for the first time. Or for the last time.

“No, Sylvie.” Loki growled with fury oozing from every word. “It doesn't end like this.”

And he lunged at her.

Chapter Text

Loki grasped Sylvie tightly into his arms. She didn't have time to say or do anything when he pressed her into the wall with his whole body, knocking the breath out of her. Before she could take a second one, he yanked the belt of her bathrobe, untying it.

Sylvie reacted immediately. She managed to squeeze her hand between their bodies and when their eyes met, Sylvie's fingers rested on his bare chest.

A burst of green magic mixed with her fury blew him backwards. Loki fell hard to the floor, bruising his body painfully, which only added fire to the rage ignited in him.

He tried to get up, but Sylvie raised her hand again and the energy bubbling with malice pressed him to the floor.

“What the hell are you doing?” She growled, shaking with anger.

“Isn't it clear?” He snarled fighting effortlessly against her energy, which tried to calm him, subdue him, subjugate him... Never again. “I came here to take what belongs to me.”

“And what do you think belongs to you?” Moaned Sylvie.

Her outstretched hand shook as Loki began to rise slowly from the floor. He saw with satisfaction the fear in her eyes as she realized how much stronger his seidr was than hers.

At last, Loki flipped his hair back and straightened up, carelessly dismissing the last ties of magic trying to bind him, and Sylvie sighed, watching him in amazement.

“You belong to me Princess.” He growled and dashed toward her.

Sylvie shot another spell in his direction, which he dismissed effortlessly. She lashed at him with whatever she could, and Loki responded with the same, attacking her and defending himself, all the while moving closer to her, to her silhouette pressed against the wall in panic....

He clearly saw that she was terrified of him, and it enraged him even more. How could she be scared of him, of him in particular, when in this whole fucked-up world he was the one willing to die for her, to do anything for her, to slay anyone who threatened her.

“Fuck off Loki, fuck off!” She shouted, pounding at him with whatever she could find.

She grabbed a book lying on the dresser next to her and threw that at him as well, then a vase, some other things irrelevant to him... Loki laughed, knocking it all away effortlessly, dismissing the daggers she had conjured up, getting closer to her constantly as she thrashed around in panic.

“Get out Loki, run away from here!” She roared, conjuring a protective shield between them, but this too Loki fought back easily, she could no longer catch him by surprise.

Their spells collided in the air. Sylvie attacked him again and again, but Loki knew her style perfectly. On top of that, he too was ferocious and hellishly dangerous.

To anyone else, her fighting style would be unpredictable, chaotic, but Loki knew her every move by heart. They were by now accustomed to fighting side by side, and Sylvie couldn't take him by surprise. She couldn't beat him, she had trained him too well, she had shown him too many incantations. She had shared everything she had with him and left nothing for herself. And now Loki was about to take advantage of that.

“Get out!” She yawned, fending off another of his attacks. “Fuck off Loki! Can't you see I'm trying to protect you?”

“I no longer have a need for your protection.” He threw out another spell that tore through Sylvie's defense and pushed her back against the wall again. She fell on it with a quiet scream and Loki momentarily lunged at her. “The time has finally come that I am the one who will make the decision for us."

“Back the fuck off Loki!” She howled as he ripped off her clothes, as his big hands gripped her body. He furiously tore her nightgown and threw the shreds of cloth to the ground, leaving her naked. “I'll call the guards!”

“Do it.” He hissed with fury oozing from every word. “They won't get here. No one will come to your rescue.”

Sylvie fell into a sheer panic as he caught her in half and lifted her effortlessly. Loki didn't give a damn. He was twice as big and strong as her, especially in this shape. Her magic couldn't knock him down anymore either, because sometime in the last few months Loki had become much more powerful than her.

“Let me go Loki, let me go!” She howled, struggling ferociously in his embrace. “You're insane!”

“Is that so?” He growled crossing the threshold of the dim, dormant bedroom. “Am I insane for thinking that you loved me? That you wanted me?"

“It matters not what I want!” She cried out desperately, trying to push him away, to slip out of his iron grip, but Loki did not yield one bit.

The bedroom was completely dark, not even moonlight came through the window to illuminate the grand bed. Loki walked steadily, despite Sylvie lashing out frantically at him.

“Your desires are the only thing that matters.” He growled and brutally threw her down on the bed. “And mine.”

Sylvie momentarily threw herself into flight. She flipped onto her stomach, trying to get up on her knees, crawling on the bed as far away from him as possible.

Loki laughed again, grabbing her ankle and pulling her back to him. A split moment later, he was perched on her legs, and she was howling trying to get out from under his body.

His poor, frightened Sylvie. Did she think she could escape from him? He was her destiny. No one was able to escape their destiny.

He leaned in and his long, blue tongue slid down her spine. A moan erupted from her throat and a shudder ran through her entire body.

“Do you think that's what I want?” She whined as Loki's long fingers slid over her buttock and slid between her legs. “To be taken like this?”

Loki laughed to himself.

“Don't you?”

Without hesitation, he slid two fingers into her, and Sylvie moaned low. She was thoroughly wet, and Loki knew that her body was betraying her. She had already stopped lashing out, surrendering to his violent movements.

“I know you better than anyone Sylvie.” He growled lowly. "I know what you want. What you really want. And that's what you're going to get."

“You don't know...” She groaned, but then immediately cried out as Loki expertly curled his fingers. He knew her body by heart, having spent the past months learning it better than his own.

“I'm the only one who knows what you want.” He growled leaning over again to sink his teeth into her shoulder to mark her as his property... “You should have thought of that earlier.” He groaned, sliding his hand over her goosebump-covered flesh. “If you wanted a docile slave, you shouldn't have set me free. You shouldn't have allowed me to do whatever I pleased...”

“I wanted you to be yourself...” She wept crushed by his giant body, completely defenseless despite all her strength, despite the magic buzzing under her skin in panic.

“And now I finally am.” He groaned moving his hips slightly, and Sylvie shook beneath him. “This is what you wanted.”

“Loki...”

“Tell me you do not desire it, and I will stop.” He whispered in a slightly calmer voice, though fury vibrated through his body. “Say you don't love me.”

Sylvie sobbed, panting heavily, and Loki knew perfectly well that they both knew the truth. Nothing else made sense. Nothing else mattered.

“If I thought you didn't love me, I would have let you go.” He whispered into her skin, sending shivers throughout her body. “Tell me you don't love me, that you don't want me, that I mean nothing to you.”

Only their excited breathing was breaking the silence that surrounded them. They might as well have been alone in this palace, in this world. Loki wouldn't mind.

“You know perfectly well that I can't.” Sylvie's whisper was so quiet that Loki could barely hear it, despite the only minimal space separating them. And yet the words drilled into his skull with monstrous power. “You know you are everything to me."

“Fine then.” He groaned, inhaling her overpowering scent and giving in completely to his emotions. “Because I'm going to burn everything that gets in my way.”

“Loki, what about Jotunheim?” Wept Sylvie writhing under his movements. "What about the slaves? All will be lost..."

“Jotunheim belongs to you.” He growled, licking her fragrant skin, possessed by her presence and her fear. "You don't have to choose between me and Jotunheim. We will take it together. We will take all the slaves with us. Aren't you the only heir to Jotunheim? It is your right."

Sylvie was panting heavily, but answered nothing. Finally, Loki slid off her a little and turned her carefully onto her back. Her face was tear-drenched and a sob tore from her throat as their eyes met.

“Loki, I don't want to go to Alfheim.” She whispered in an anguished voice and Loki's heart swelled with worship for her.

“I know, love.” He whispered, leaning over to her and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “And you will not go. I'm not allowing this. The Allfather will not tame us."

“He is my father.”

Loki got enraged all over again. He opened her legs violently and positioned himself between them. He'd been spending so much time in his Aesir body lately that he'd already forgotten how huge and menacing his real body was, and how little Sylvie in this form was beside him... His Sylvie, his Jotun princess....

“He is not your father.” He growled leaning toward her. “Laufey was your father, wasn't he?”

Sylvie didn't answer for a long time, but her lips trembled with fear as she stared at him with devotion.

“And what if things were different?” She asked barely audibly. “What if I were a nobody, a commoner, would you still love me the same way?”

Nothing so far has infuriated him as much as this.

“Do you really need to ask?” He growled low and almost unconsciously clasped his hand around her neck. Her eyes widened a little, but she didn't protest. "Don't you know what we are? We are beyond that."

Sylvie was breathing heavy, gazing fiercely at him, and Loki was losing control again.

“You stupid thing... You chose me the other day.” He growled squeezing her mercilessly. “I was nothing, but you wanted me anyway... You poisoned me with your ideas, you spoiled me with your tenderness for me...” Sylvie had even stopped sobbing by now, gazing at him with dread bordering on reverence. “This story will not end with our parting.”

“What story Loki?” Sylvie wept in his embrace. “This is not a fairy tale, no one will retell it, these are our lives... And no one cares about the ending.”

“I do.” He whispered into her skin. “And we will write it ourselves.”

“Loki, I beg you... Think of Jotunheim, think of Asgard...” Her terrified voice pierced his soul, but Loki was adamant. “I know you, you're good...”

Loki laughed again, even though it wasn't funny, but despair and rage were already choking him in his throat.

“I'm no good.” He groaned staring at the one and only face in the world. "I'm selfish Sylvie, much more so than you. If I were a better person, some kind of unblemished hero, maybe I'd go for it." He knew these were his last lucid thoughts before the rage overwhelmed him completely. "But I'm just a nameless slave, a whore, a sorcerer. I'm spiteful, vicious and deceitful, and it's all your fault."

“Not true.” Sylvie groaned, and Loki knew she was fighting with all her might not to give in to the emotions overwhelming her. “You are the kindest...”

“No.” He growled and sank his teeth into her neck eliciting a low cry from her. “But I don't give a damn. I never pretended I was good. You encouraged me to be impertinent, to do whatever I pleased... You know me like no one else Sylvie. You have always given me the liberty of choice. I choose you.”

He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. In them he saw all the same emotions he had in him, fear, anger, determination. Devotion.

The fire in his body had not dimmed at all, and Loki knew there was only one way to put it out. He kissed her at last, and she gave in to him with a moan. He knew full well that she wanted the same thing, they shared all their desires and dreams.

“Jotunheim will be lost...” She howled with the last of her strength. Loki finally let go of her neck and her arms immediately wrapped around his huge body, pulling him closer. She was so tiny, squashed into the mattress by him, and for the first time she seemed completely defenseless to him as her lips trembled with anxiety.

“Jotunheim belongs to you. You will just take it." He sank his teeth into her smooth neck and a low moan escaped her lips. “And I belong to you.”

“You are free Loki.” She whispered, raising her head to kiss his shoulder and neck. “You don't belong to anyone.”

“Not true.” He growled tugging at his pants. "I belong to you. I've always belonged to you."

She looked at him bewildered, which infuriated him even more. He finally pulled off his pants and spread her thighs further apart.

“Don't transform.” He whispered when he felt Sylvie's seidr buzzing around him.

“You prefer to switch?” She muttered, stopping the spells.

“No. I will fuck you in this form.”

Sylvie's breathing stopped abruptly, but Loki was completely unfazed. He slid his fingers into her again with delight, enjoying the wetness he found there and Sylvie's drawn-out moan.

“Are you mad?” She whispered horrified. “You know we can't... You're too big...”

“We can do whatever.” Loki growled and moved his hand slowly. Sylvie wriggled under his movements, moaning quietly, but still tried to stop him.

“Loki, I beg you... I know you don't want to hurt me.”

“And I know you've been dreaming of this for a long time.” He moaned, thrusting his fingers faster and faster and relishing her moans. “Ever since we met. You wanted my giant, cold cock...” 

“Loki...” She hissed warningly, but her body betrayed her completely and Loki laughed out loud. He knew his Sylvie through and through. He was familiar with all her dark secrets.

“I also know that you dream of fucking my ass.” He whispered in her ear, causing a shiver to run through her body. “And tonight you will finally get to do it.”

“Loki...” She managed to stop his thrusting hand on her for a moment. "What are you talking about? I would never want to hurt you..."

“Don't lie Sylvie.” He sank his teeth into her skin, drawing a short shout from her. “I know you better than anyone else. You want to mess me up, destroy me…”

Sylvie's surprisingly strong hand caught his chin and turned it so that he had to look into her eyes.

“I love you more than I desire you.” She said simply, despite her accelerated breathing and the tears on her cheeks.

“It doesn't matter.” Loki efficiently moved Sylvie's hand from his chin to his throat. Her eyes opened wider in amazement. "I want this. Tonight I will make all our dreams come true."

He had already positioned himself, his cock taut to the limit nudging her entrance slightly. Sylvie was panting as if after a training session, clasping her hand testily around his neck.

“You're going to have all of me.” He whispered once more, peering into her face. "And I want you whole. So I'll only ask once." They looked at each other in excitement and Loki knew the answer perfectly well. “Do you want it?”

“Yes.” Sylvie answered immediately and Loki moaned with delight.

“Call your seidr for help.” He muttered while moving his hips slightly, nudging her further, slowly preparing her for what he was about to do to her....

He also summoned his magic, letting it wrap around them both, hiding them from the world and making it easier for them to do what they wanted. He knew she was ready when he felt their joined seidr and her desire, the same as his.

He entered her with a groan, nearly tearing her in half, and her body arched. She was trembling all over, but Loki didn't let her rest, he bent her legs and arranged them around his waist, squashed her into the mattress, and fucked her with deep movements.

Of course, he had fucked her many times before with his Jotun body, but she was always in a Jotun version then, too. Now, however, now it was a completely different story.

She was so small in his arms, so vulnerable, and Loki was losing his mind. He growled wildly, practically ripping her in half, unable to control himself anymore. She was so tight... so submissive. And his. Only his.

He lost all inhibitions.

“I own you Sylvie.” He growled, bending her legs even more, opening her even more to him. "I won't let anyone touch you. We will be together forever."

She sobbed violently, though Loki knew it wasn't from pain. He made sure that his seidr wrapped around her whole, that the magic filling them helped her take him whole, that Sylvie felt no pain, only all that he felt, that she was here with him, united, that they were one…

“We will take over Jotunheim together.” He groaned in her ear, and her nails dug into his flesh. "I will destroy anyone who stands in our way. I will protect you."

Sylvie had never been quiet in bed, but now she howled so loudly that he was sure the guards outside the chamber door would hear them. And so be it.

“Loki...”

“You're mine, Sylvie. Mine.” He lost control of himself. He quickened his pace and Sylvie clung to him desperately. 

“I'm yours…” She finally uttered between thrusts and sank her teeth into his skin to muffle her screams. 

But he tore her away quickly.

“Then may everyone know.” He growled as he burrowed himself into her up to his hips. "May all of Asgard hear clearly who you belong to. Scream my name."

And so she did.

Chapter Text

Much later, they carried the quilts and blankets out to the balcony and lay here this one last time, in each other's arms, watching the stars and the moon moving slowly across the night sky. Loki wondered if out there on those distant, foreign planets, was there someone who had suffered as much as he had.

Sylvie sighed deeply.

"Loki. There's something I haven't told you. There is something I have suspected for some time. But I'm still not certain.”

Loki turned his head and looked at her face lit softly by moonlight. He had never seen anything so breathtakingly beautiful in his life. And so sorrowful.

“Tell me now.”

“I can't... I have to find it out myself.” She turned her face toward him. “But I'm terrified of what I may discover.”

“Why?” Whispered Loki pulling her closer. It was her uncertain face that worried him.

“Because everything can change.” She whispered in a shaky voice. “Us.”

“Nothing can change how I feel about you.” He said immediately, sure of this one thing like nothing else. "What do you want to find out? What could be so frightening?"

Sylvie sighed profoundly as she slowly disentangled herself from his embrace.

“I should have done it a long time ago, make sure...” She swallowed down, looking at him in doubt. “I am sorry Loki."

“We don't need to look for answers.” He said increasingly dismayed by her strange fear. What else could be taken away from them? “Whatever you wish to discover, it doesn't matter.”

Sylvie gazed up at the stars as if searching for answers there, and Loki stared at her, knowing that there was nothing that could change his feelings. What was she so scared of?

Eventually Sylvie lowered her gaze and looked at him sadly.

“You need to enchant me.”

He looked at her in wonder.

“Enchant? Now?” 

“Yes Loki.” She rose to a sitting position and urged him to sit up, too. “You have to find my earliest memories. I need to know for sure."

Loki had never wanted to deny any of her requests before, and he wasn't going to now either. He confided in her that if she thought it was important, it certainly was.

They sat facing each other with their legs crossed and Loki placed his hands on Sylvie's neck.

“I want you to find the day my father took me from Jotunheim.”

Loki hesitated. At times he and Sylvie had entertained themselves by delving into their memories, but they had never ventured this far.

"You can do it. You can do anything." She whispered, closing her eyes and easing up.

Loki also closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And then allowed his magic to work.

He sensed that Sylvie was letting him in, that she was lowering the walls surrounding her mind and he slipped in with ease. Her thoughts and memories were bubbling up in an inert mass. He found himself everywhere, sensed her love for him, and wavered for a moment. If only he could stay in this place forever....

But then he moved on, pushed away the latest memories and pressed on. All those years before she met him. He felt her joys and sorrows, her solitude and determination, but he kept pushing further, pressing her mind like a sponge.

He eventually accessed the oldest memories, the ones hidden so deeply in her mind that she didn't even know them herself. And yet they were there, tumbling restlessly and beckoning him to discover the truth. Instinct told him where to go and he plunged into the right memory.

Loki knew immediately that he had succeeded. Everything was slightly blurry, out of focus, as if her mind resisted showing it.

He looked at the world from the perspective of an infant and knew it was Sylvie. He felt her with all of himself, he was in her body, he could feel her complicated, childlike emotions. She was terrified.

The world around them moved quickly and Loki realized that Sylvie was being carried in someone's arms. Around them was nothing but snow and ice and the distant sounds of a battle. When the arms holding them changed position, he saw a Jotun man carrying them and a Jotun woman running beside him.

It occurred to him that it must have been her parents, Laufey and his wife. This was not how he imagined them. They didn't look like royalty, they were wearing simple robes, but Loki wasn't well versed in Jotun fashion. They had frightened faces and were clearly on the run.

Right away, everything became a blur. They were enveloped by screams and incantations, the clang of swords and the gush of purple blood. Loki realized that they had been attacked by Asgardian soldiers and that Sylvie's parents were defending themselves with all they had. He saw her mother fall to the ground and heard her scream. After a moment, her father was falling too, pressing Sylvie to his chest, and she screamed and screamed, and Loki screamed with her.

Sylvie's father, with the last of his strength, sent a strike of magic that knocked the Assgardian soldiers to the ground, but he himself also fell, and Loki knew that he didn't have much life left. He was panting heavily, and the arm holding Sylvie trembled, but he didn't let her go.

It was then that the Allfather appeared in sight. Loki recognized him at once, although he was much younger and clearly battle-weary. He gazed down at the dying man and looked as if he was pondering.

And then he leaned over and efficiently snatched the child from the arms of the man, who no longer had the strength to fight back or even speak up.

“Your child will be fine.” Whispered Odin in that final grace and walked away with Sylvie crying desperately in his arms.

Loki knew that was enough. He cautiously emerged from the memory, retreated to the very beginning and exited Sylvie's mind.

When he opened his eyes, Sylvie's were still closed. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Without a word, he pulled her close and they sat like that for a long time, sobbing together.

The memory didn't match the story Loki had been hearing, but he thought no more about it. It was obvious that it was just another lie of Asgard. All he cared about was Sylvie's misery.

“I'm so sorry...” He mumbled while stroking her hair. He didn't know what more to say in that moment. “I'm so sorry my love.”

She howled further in his arms, and his heart was breaking into pieces. He had experienced many terrible moments in his life, but this one was definitely one of the worst.

It was hard for him to even believe it all.

But then Sylvie finally raised herself from his shoulder and looked him in the face. She looked devastated.

“Loki... We need to see your memory.”

He stopped in mid-motion.

“No...” He didn't want to see it, not after what he had just witnessed. He didn't want to see that battlefield again, hear the screams and cries. He didn't want to see his family's last moments.

“I'm sorry, darling.” She sobbed again, wringing her hands. “I'm truly sorry... But I need to see it. I need to know."

And Loki knew he couldn't refuse her. She never made him do things he didn't want to do, but clearly this was of importance to her. He nodded with a clenched throat.

Sylvie put her hands on his neck and closed her eyes. Loki focused on letting her in, to allow her to find what she was seeking.

Before long, he felt her in his mind. She moved cautiously, looking through what she found there. He knew she had seen his recent memories, all invariably filled with her. And then she moved on, skimming quickly over his years of suffering and pain, and Loki felt her compassion and her affection for him. Finally, just as he had earlier in her mind, she reached the oldest memories and just as easily intuitively selected the most important one.

They both plunged into it.

Everything was slightly out of focus again, and Loki knew he was looking at the world through the eyes of his infant self. He was lying on something cold and smooth, on some kind of elevation, perhaps a table. Overlooking him was the face of a Jotun man, sharp, serious. Sorrowful.

“I must leave you here.” Whispered the man in the Jotun native language and Loki understood it perfectly. “I hope they don't dare to plunder this place.”

He wore massive silver horns that curled back on his head. The lines on his cheeks were exactly like Loki's.

And Loki realized that for the first time he was looking into his father's face.

The man leaned over and placed a light kiss on the child's face.

"May you be safe Loki. May you always be strong." He looked at him with such clear pain that Loki felt it almost tangibly. “Good luck my son.”

The man's face disappeared and Loki was left alone. He cried and cried, screamed and called his father back, terrified, freezing and lonely. He looked endlessly at the beautiful ornate ceiling, at the ice candelabras under the very roof, turned his head looking for his father and saw the crystal walls, the crystalline adornments....

And then when he finally grew hoarse from crying, another face appeared in his field of vision. A gentler, feminine one. Equally terrified.

“There you are my dearest.” She whispered in an infinitely gentle voice and Loki already knew. In his entire life, only Sylvie had addressed him in such a tone. With such tenderness.

It was his mother.

Soft arms grabbed him and she rushed out of that room, straight into a snowdrift, but she ran undeterred, quickly, efficiently, fleeing as if her life depended on it. And the life of her child.

“We have to run.” She whispered, pressing him to her chest. “Your father...”

But she didn't finish her sentence, for her scream cut through it. And suddenly Loki was flying, slipping out of her arms, falling to the ground, shielded only by some cloth. The snow cushioned his fall, but he screamed anyway, darting around calling for his mother.

She was screaming too, calling his name, but Loki couldn't see her. He looked into the infinite sky and heard her screams, the clanking of armor, some other voices.

After a moment, the unfamiliar face of an Asgardian soldier appeared above him, so young that this must have been his first mission. He picked up Loki and looked at him with a strange look on his face.

“Take it to the rest.” Said another voice and the young soldier shuddered.

And then from the ground they heard a woman's moan.

"Please... His name is Loki. I beg you..."

The soldier turned around and Loki saw his mother lying inert. Her body was perforated with bayonets, she was bleeding heavily... Purple blood seeped into the crisp white snow, marking this gruesome scene of violence.

“Please...” She whispered with the last of her strength. “Loki...”

The young soldier bent down to her body and dipped his fingers in the fast-flowing blood. Then he tilted back the cloth in which Loki was wrapped and with the blood of his mother wrote his name on the child's belly.

Loki.

And then he rose and walked away with Loki in his arms, without looking back at the dying woman.

“At least you'll have your name, little one.” He whispered in a pained voice, and after a moment he was putting Loki down on the ground, among the many other Jotnar crowded here in panic. “That's all you have left.”

He walked away, and Loki lay weeping endlessly over his fate, frightened and desperate. Surrounded by the cries and screams of a violated realm. Lonely.

When Loki awakened, he was still sitting across from Sylvie. Her tear-drenched, pain-twisted face was right next to him. When an undignified whine ripped from his throat, she grabbed him into her arms.

He screamed and cried, as if he were that infant again, whose terrible origins they had just seen. His own origins.

Sylvie cried with him, together they lamented their lives and their terrible fate. When his tears ran out, he sobbed only silently in her arms.

But when she finally pulled away from him, her face was almost calm.

“I already know what we have to do.” She whispered while wiping the tears from his cheeks. “I finally understood.”

Loki didn't know what she understood, because he understood absolutely nothing. He just stared into her infinitely kind face and couldn't believe that all this had really happened. That all those years ago they were so close to each other, that they lost their families at the same moment. So violently... And now they were here together comforting each other.

“Do you trust me Loki?” She whispered nearly soundlessly and Loki flinched.

He trusted no one and nothing but her. He didn't trust Asgard and Odin, he didn't trust laws or documents, because everything could be taken away from him. He didn't even trust his legs and tongue, for they had failed him more than once. Sylvie had never failed him.

“Yes.” He said without hesitation, without a shadow of a doubt.

“Then trust me tomorrow.”

Loki leaned back, looked up at the sky and called to his ancestors for help. They had nothing else but each other, and Loki called out in his soul to the cosmic forces to support them in this fight.

And then he lowered his gaze to Sylvie.

“What should I do?” He asked, gathering his strength and summoning his seidr.

“When the time comes, you'll know what to do.” She said quietly and also tilted her head back staring at the stars.

Loki didn't see the faint smile of triumph that flashed across her face.

There was not much time left until dawn.

Chapter Text

The throne room looked as imposing as ever. Clear morning light poured in through the long windows, falling on the faces and silhouettes of the gathered people. The entire Asgard and all the guests gathered before the Allfather. Everyone wanted to see the official betrothal of the princess, who was about to leave for Alfheim forever.

The Allfather was sitting at his usual seat on the throne. At his feet stood his daughter, all enveloped in fine silks and florals, beautiful and serene. Her delicate hands were placed politely in the palms of the handsome Prince of Alfheim, blessed with fair hair and unbelievable mauve eyes. They looked marvelous together, the perfect royal couple.

Loki, who was denied by the guards to take a place in the front row, stood in the crowd. He was not even concerned about losing his position. What he was waiting for was a sign. His moment.

He was in his Aeiser form, dressed elegantly and completely calm. He had no idea how the day's events would unfold, but of one thing he was sure: Sylvie and he would leave this hall together. Dead or alive.

Sylvie, his Sylvie. The beautiful, brave Sylvie. How dared the Prince of Alfheim think he deserved her? That she could ever belong to him? No one deserved her, this goddess, this queen, no one was as bold as her, as determined....

She will have what she dreamed of, Loki will make sure of that. Odin will not take away what should have always belonged to her. No one will stop them anymore, no one will separate them, no one will threaten them.

They will dedicate their lives to this fight, if necessary. If Sylvie was not ready to give up the slaves and Jotunheim, Loki was not going to hesitate for a second. The very knowledge that Sylvie loved him burned inside him with an unquenchable fire. Loki was ready to devote his life to her and the purpose she had set for herself. As long as he knew she wouldn't leave him behind, that his lower status and horrific past wouldn't scare her away....

He was ready for anything. Sylvie asked him to trust her, so he did, but he was on alert the whole time. In a fraction of a second he could transform his elegant long outfit into practical armor, his body into a larger one, he could summon magic and unleash chaos that Asgard had never seen.

Trust me.

So Loki kept waiting. He observed with distaste the perfect prince of Alfheim, listened to his speech in which he promised Sylvie fortune and peace. Finally, it was time for the most important part.

"Princess Sylvie of Asgard, daughter of Odin." Said the prince in a confident, melodious voice. "Do you accept me as your betrothed and promise to unite our lineages?"

An excited silence fell in the hall as Sylvie stared at the prince and remained silent.

Loki couldn't take it anymore. He began to gently squeeze through the crowd to get to the front. No one stopped him.

And finally when he was right at the front, Sylvie spoke.

"No Prince Var, I do not accept you. Even disregarding my father's schemes, it would not be fair to you. My heart belongs to another."

A small commotion ensued and Loki boldly stepped forward from the crowd, ready to defend Sylvie, but there was no need.

"This is not an Alfheim affair." Said Sylvie confidently, gazing in her father's direction. "They have no fault in what is about to happen here. Please, Father, let them go before you turn your wrath on me."

Odin only nodded and summoned his guards. Prince Var was more bewildered than angry and allowed Odin's guards to escort himself and his delegation to the door.

Once they were gone, Allfather turned his gaze to his daughter.

"You made a decision, child, and you will face its consequences. You could have had a comfortable life on Alfheim and freedom for Jotunheim. What is more important than that?"

Sylvie straightened up proudly standing in front of her father, looking up at him from below.

"There is one such thing." She said quietly, but in the silence of the room everyone could hear her serious voice.

Sylvie was right. Loki knew perfectly well what he was to do.

He calmly walked a few strides and climbed the first steps, ascending the rise where Sylvie stood alone. Feeling the gazes of the crowd on him and hearing astonished sighs, he finally found himself where he was destined to be.

Before the face of the Allfather. Shoulder to shoulder with Sylvie.

"My one true love." Sylvie's hand found his and intertwined their fingers together. Loki was no longer afraid at all. He was not afraid of Odin, not afraid of Asgard. They were incapable of taking away what he loved most.

Odin leaned back on his throne, looking at them with resentment.

"So, daughter, you have issued a death sentence on him." He said in a loud voice, and his words lifted their threat far beyond the palace walls.

Sylvie raised her head proudly.

"You ruined his life." She said calmly. "You stripped him of everything he had, and now you want to kill him because he dares to stand beside me as an equal. You deny him even that."

"His life means nothing." Odin answered her as carelessly as if he were shaking off pollen that had settled on his shoulder.

"It means everything to me." Sylvie spoke calmly, but Loki could already feel the rage pulsing under her skin, mixing with her magic and his magic, creating a combination that was going to explode sooner or later. "And that's why you let me tell his tale."

"No one cares about the story of a slave." Laughed Odin cheekily. "No one wants to hear it..."

"I do." A calm voice sounded from the front row and everyone looked at Frigga. "Let them speak husband."

Odin's lips twisted into a contemptuous smile, but he nodded. Sylvie now turned toward the crowd below them, gently pulling Loki along with her. He didn't like turning his back on the Allfather, but trusted Sylvie to know what she was doing.

She glanced at him asking permission and Loki nodded as well. And then Sylvie began the story.

"Most of you know Loki." She spoke loud and clear, sending the words into the crowd in front of them. "You know him as my friend, my lover, my companion. You also know him in his Jotun body, and you probably remember his previous position as my private slave."

Loki stood quietly, observing the listening crowd, sipping every word that flowed from her lips. Such scenes rarely took place on Asgard.

"But not many of you saw Loki when I first brought him to the palace." Sylvie continued speaking, and anger slowly crawled to the surface and showed in her voice. "He was naked. Dirty. Starved almost to death. Terrified to the point that he would fall to his knees time after time begging for forgiveness."

Sylvie was quiet for a moment, apparently savoring the silence that followed her words. There wasn't a person in the room who wasn't now staring at the princess and her slave, whose story they were now hearing.

"Some of you probably don't know what life is like for a sex slave in the worst parts of Asgard." Her hand clenched tighter on Loki's. "What you don't know is that dozens, hundreds of beings suffer every day right next to us." She took a breath and moved on to the most important part of the story. "Loki spent his entire life in a brothel. Day after day he was shackled to the wall and raped by anyone who had the desire to do so. Day in and day out, since he was a child. Beaten, tortured, degraded. He had no access to a healer, to education, to fresh air, to regular nutrition." She looked down at the crowd, proud, undeterred. Enraged. "When I bought him, he had no hope. He thought I was buying him to carry on abusing him."

No one spoke, but Loki saw some people avert their eyes. With fear, with disgust. With shame.

"He quickly learned that this would not be his role, and that I would never touch him unless he wanted it himself. And that I wouldn't let anyone put their hands on him. But we didn't correct anybody else." Her voice was already quivering with malice. "And you all believed it. You believed that I brought into my chambers an innocent, broken being whose whole life was suffering, to continue torturing him. You believed that I was raping him every night, that I was exploiting and abusing someone who had terrible trauma and anxiety. And that is exactly what is wrong with Asgard. That this seems normal."

She was panting heavily with rage and Loki reassuringly stroked the back of her hand. He himself had tears in his eyes. As he looked around the front row he was met with the queen's face. She was flooded with tears.

"Instead, I let Loki grow." Said Sylvie bitterly and squeezed his hand again. "In a few days he learned to read and write. Then he devoured all of the knowledge that was available on Asgard. History, astronomy, botany, philosophy, geography. He studied poetry and art, learned to fight, ride horses and dance. When we released his magic, he quickly grasped all that I knew and surpassed my skills. He joined my father's council and became my best confidant and advisor. All this in less than two years."

Sylvie looked around at the crowd.

"Are we so arrogant here on Asgard to reject such individuals? Can we really afford to destroy them instead of allowing them to thrive so they can help us prosper?"

Loki listened to the soft hum of the crowd carrying more questions than answers.

"Loki survived even though he had nothing. Asgard killed his family and destroyed his home, took him from his realm and turned him into a slave, condemning him to a life of misery. And yet he never desired revenge."

Sylvie towered over the silent crowd, furious and determined. When Loki discovered that she was also a Jotun, he thought he understood her motives. He thought that was why she had chosen him, for she wanted to show her father and others that a Jotun slave from the lowest classes could perform well among the nobility.

It has now reached him that the issue was even deeper. He was to be the catalyst for change. His situation was supposed to serve as an example to Sylvie, it was supposed to inspire compassion and a desire to change the current state of affairs.

He wasn't sure if this had been successful. He looked around at the silent, shocked crowd and wondered if anything would change. Where were all those people who regularly came to the brothel to rape and abuse him? Were they standing in that crowd now, remembering his moans and cries?

Probably not. He was visited mostly by commoners, the aristocracy gathered here was unlikely to venture into those areas of the town often. Which didn't change the fact that they must have known what was going on there. Sylvie knew, after all. Maybe not everything, but even before hearing his story she was aware of how tragic his life had been. His and that of many slaves like him.

Loki shifted his cold gaze from one face to another. Most of them looked away.

There was an indifference within him. Sylvie may have naively believed in a mass change of heart, he had no such hopes. The others were all passive.

But he would no longer be passive. He will not allow all this to happen, enough was enough. If necessary, he will attack the Allfather, assault all of Asgard and anyone who stands in Sylvie's way to achieve what she dreamed of.

Maybe she failed to convince all of Asgard, maybe more time, more examples were needed, maybe it was his fault, as he should have been more amiable, charming, relatable. Well, whatever, all was lost, but Loki wasn't going to let himself be swept away by this wave.

Allfather couldn't force them to comply, Sylvie didn't leave for Alfheim, she didn't belong to someone else, she wasn't going to be parted from Loki and Jotunheim forever.

They could have escaped in the night. By now they would be far beyond the Nine Kingdoms, hiding under their sheath of magic, outcasts, traitors, never to return. They would be together, but Jotunheim would be gone. Loki sincerely doubted that there would be anyone in the years to come who would have the strength, motivation and resources to fight for this realm.

Sylvie wanted him to trust her, and Loki did. If she thought there was a point in fighting, then Loki was ready to die in that battle. He was ready to do anything but part with her. When they met she believed in him, even though she had no reason to. Now she apparently believed in Asgard enough to risk their lives.

Loki didn't believe in Asgard. He stayed because that was Sylvie's wish. If her plan succeeded, fine. If not, Loki knew they would come up with another one. As long as they were together, nothing could stop them. He knew that sooner or later they would free the slaves, even if they had to spend their lives snatching them from the clutches of the Allfather one by one.

As long as they stayed together.

At last Sylvie turned to him with a determined face.

"I demanded so much from you, Loki." She whispered softly. "And you never once let me down. You were terrified, and yet..." She sighed heavily. "I would like to ask you for one last thing."

Loki only nodded. It didn't matter what she was going to ask him. He was ready for anything. All except parting with her.

"Whatever happens today... Whoever we become." Said Sylvie, quieter now, and Loki perfectly heard the doubt in her voice that worried him. "I only ask you not to forget that I have always been on your side."

Loki did not smile. It was a peculiar request. Who could they become to make him forget that she was the only one who loved him?

"Never." He answered simply and Sylvie heaved a breath.

"Enough of this farce." Allfather's firm voice rang out. Odin looked down at them with reluctance, almost with disgust.

But Sylvie was fearless.

"You refuse me to marry the man I love and who loves me, Father. You prefer to give me away to a stranger because of his good parentage and titles. Status and power matter more to you than my heart."

"Royal blood obliges you, daughter." Odin said calmly. "You should have understood long ago that your personal desires do not matter."

Loki tightened her fingers on Sylvie's hand bolstering her courage. But she had plenty of it even without that.

"You should have understood something by now, too." She growled without taking her eyes off her father. "I've been begging you for years to give me Jotunheim, and you refuse to let me go there, even though you know it's my true home. You should have known long ago that the heir to Jotunheim would be the only one I would ever agree to marry."

It was quiet for a moment, but then Odin grinned maliciously.

"That's very convenient." He said slowly, and his low voice sounded like a fanfare in the silence of this room filled with anticipation. "For as we well know, the only heir to Jotunheim is yourself."

"It so happens that this is not true." Said Sylvie quietly, and Loki heard hundreds of quiet breaths of excitement behind his back. He himself could no longer see anything but Sylvie and her glowing, menacing eyes.

"I am not the heiress of Jotunheim, and you are the only one who has always known that." Her voice was quiet, almost like a whisper, but Loki was sure that everyone in the room could hear her as clearly as if she were standing right next to them. "You did not find me in the temple. I am no child of Laufey. You snatched me from the arms of my dying parents and told everyone that I was the heir."

Odin took a deep breath while staring at his adopted daughter. He did not ask how she knew. Clearly it didn't matter anymore, since she knew the truth. And since everyone else was just learning it.

"There was no child in the temple." Odin said quietly. "It was killed earlier or Laufey simply lied to me. So I did what I thought was right. No one was ever to know."

Sylvie was panting heavily, staring at her father.

"I'll never understand why you took me. You were knee-deep in Jotun blood, why did you take a random child?" Sylvie growled, and Loki clearly heard the despair in her voice. What else was going to be taken from them? To him, Sylvie's birthright didn't matter, but to her....

"That's because you know nothing about politics, child." Odin said, apparently still satisfied with himself. "Do you think I could pass up such an opportunity? Such an exquisite chance to not only show grace, but also to secure future access to the throne of Jotunheim?"

"So you locked me in here until one day you might have a use of me?" Sylvie was increasingly furious and Loki reassuringly squeezed her hand.

"These plans no longer matter." Odin shrugged his shoulders. "If you had obeyed, you would have ruled Jotunheim under my command. You threw it all away for this whore."

He cocked his head in Loki's direction, making his blood boil. Even now the Allfather was trying to put them at odds, trying to make Sylvie realize that she had made a mistake by choosing Loki....

"This whore has had enough of your rule." Loki growled to Odin's indignation. "It doesn't matter who Sylvie is. She fought all her life for Jotunheim and will be its queen. I will make sure of that."

"You dirty..." Allfather began resentfully, but his daughter got into his words.

"You promised Laufey." Sylvie's voice did not tremble this time, although fury was already pouring out of her from every direction. "You promised to protect his child. He trusted you. You once showed me this scene in your memories, he trusted you that at least his child would survive, I should have known..."

"There was no child in the temple." Repeated Odin without taking his eyes off his daughter. "No one knew what happened to it, the wife of Laufey was found dead. We burned the bodies of a lot of dead children, I'm sure Laufey's heir was among them."

Allfather laughed, with a rude, cold sound, that sent shivers down one's body.

"Don't you understand, child? The true heir doesn't exist, no one could threaten you. You could have had everything. Your parents were nobodies, not even nobility, but you were given such an opportunity by me... And you squandered it all."

Allfather was infuriated, but Loki no longer felt fear of him. He just looked at Sylvie, at her dangerous, power-filled silhouette, and felt his magic coursing through his veins, ready to attack in her defense. Nothing mattered but their bond. Her birthright didn't matter to him, just as she never cared that he was just a nameless slave belonging to nowhere.

And then all of a sudden Sylvie dropped that one final secret on all of them, and time stopped for a moment.

"Laufey's heir is not dead." She whispered ominously, and that whisper vibrated through the empty room and settled on the walls, on the floor, on their shoulders, crept into the lungs holding the breaths. "He survived years of pain and abuse to now be reborn. It just so happens that he is now in this very room."

Loki figured it out just a mere second faster than everyone else. His legs gave way under him and he fell to his knees before her one last time, before this woman who possessed his heart and shared his soul. And she smiled with a deep triumph, looking down at him.

"Please arise Loki Laufeyson, the rightful heir of Jotunheim."

Chapter Text

So the truth at last.

He believed it all instantly, for it was the only thing that made sense. It explained everything. Everything. His seidr, his strange connection to the casket, how he felt on Jotunheim... Those memories they saw at night suddenly made sense to him. How could he not understand it before? It had to be true, he could feel it in every cell of his body.

Besides, he never doubted Sylvie even for a moment.

She was now looking down on him, and Loki felt strangely aware of his body and everything that was happening around him. It was as if he had been anticipating this very moment all his life.

Sylvie did not take her gaze off his face, and in addition to triumph, he saw hidden fear in these eyes. He understood it immediately.

The moment he gained his title, she lost hers. She presented him to everyone as the heir of Jotunheim, aware that this forever doomed her claim to the throne.

But he didn't care.

Did she think it would make a difference? Did it seem to her that he might love her less now that they knew who he was? And who she was not? Was that what she was talking about at night? That this information could change everything between them?

Loki laughed to himself, gazing adoringly into those unwavering, incredible eyes. It wasn't for him that the show was on, nor for Sylvie. It wasn't for them that this information changed everything. It was Odin and Asgard who needed this knowledge, it wasn't for Loki and Sylvie that titles were important.

Sylvie had always told him that they would rule Jotunheim together. He used to be a nobody, and she still wanted him by her side. She surely didn't think that after all they had been through together, he wouldn't want her right next to him? Ever since they met, they were practically inseparable.

Loki never for a moment forgot all that she had done for him. In a million years he couldn't forget her strong arms pulling him up every time he fell to his knees at the beginning of their acquaintance. He would never be able to forget her watchful gaze as he learned to fight, to ride a horse, as he began to slowly walk out to people. He could never forget how she positioned herself in front of him without hesitation to shield him, how she took his arm when he was afraid, how her hands caressed his body to reassure him. How she whispered to him not to be afraid and what comfort her presence gave him.

Silly Sylvie. She knew him so well, she should have known that they were above those titles, above Asgard and its made up laws. Odin didn't separate them, Loki's terrible life didn't stand in their way, nothing stopped them from falling for each other. The opinions of her family and the entire court never made Sylvie doubt him.

It was becoming clearer to him with each passing second that this one thing would not change. His whole life might turn completely around, but this one thing would remain as it was before. Sylvie and him on Jotunheim. Shoulder to shoulder against Odin, Asgard, against injustice and cruelty, just him and Sylvie, his love, his princess. His queen.

He ignored the overexcited crowd at the bottom of the stairs and ignored Odin looking down on them with fury.

This was their moment, just his and the woman he belonged to.

"Princess Sylvie" He said loudly and the whole room immediately fell silent listening to his resounding voice. The words flowed onto his tongue on their own, as if they had been waiting there for a long time, as if this situation was always going to happen exactly in this way. "Daughter of Jotunheim and daughter of Asgard. I, Loki Laufeyson of Jotunheim, ask for your hand. I promise to remain by your side regardless of everything. I vow to always choose you and follow you into darkness, into chaos or into fire, if that is our destiny. Will you accept me as your betrothed?"

A quiet sob echoed from somewhere off to the side, and Loki was sure it was Frigga, but he didn't look over. He just stared at the pair of sparkling green eyes gazing at him with joy.

"Yes." Sylvie whispered simply, and several cheers sounded in the hall. This time Loki was sure he heard Thor.

Sylvie reached out to him and pulled him up from his knees. Relieved, he fell into her arms, which immediately embraced him. Sylvie hugged him close as always and Loki smiled under his breath.

"Thank you, my love." She whispered directly into his ear, and Loki trembled from the emotion in her voice. "Thank you for not leaving me behind."

"Never." Whispered Loki, exulting to the depths of his being at the events unfolding.

But of course, even this moment had to be ruined by the Allfather.

"It's all utter nonsense." He said with fury, addressing his daughter. "You made it up so that your lover would get the title."

Loki laughed, the first time he had ever laughed in the face of the Allfather, so absurd and unreal it all was.

But Sylvie, as usual, was fearless.

"If you think so." She turned to her father with a fierce face. "If you think that I would just give up my throne to him like that, you must have already understood what he means to me. And yet you tried to separate us."

Allfather was furious, but Loki was no longer afraid of him. He was no longer afraid of anything. He had what he came for: Sylvie at his side. And no one could take that away from him.

Sylvie continued talking.

"It's all true. Loki allowed me to enchant him, and I saw it in his memories, the ones he didn't remember himself. And even when he saw them, he didn't understand, because it never occurred to him that he could be someone important." She spoke calmly but her voice had already begun to shake with emotion. "But I understood immediately. He didn't recognize the temple he was lying in, but I did." She stared determinedly at her father. "I recognized his father's face. You showed him to me once in your memories... And everything immediately made sense."

Loki breathed deeply, staring into the Allfather's cold face. His magic bubbled just beneath his skin and merged with Sylvie's magic, fearless, infinite, and he knew they were both ready to attack and defense at any moment.

"You arrived to the temple too late." Said Loki slowly and with satisfaction saw the anger in Allfather's face. They were now finally speaking with each other as equals. "My father in his last moments trusted you to protect his child, but my mother didn't know that. Or she knew and didn't trust you. She stole me out of the temple and tried to run away with me. She was caught by your soldiers." Sylvie's hand tightened on his like a vise, and it gave him strength. "They killed her and took me away. With her last strength, she told them my name, and that was all that was left when they carried me to the rest of the captured children. All destined to be slaves all their lives."

He turned his back to the Allfather again, and swept his gaze around the Asgardian crowd in front of him. His gaze met the face of Sylvie's mother. She was flooded with tears. He thought with a strange feeling in his gut that in another reality she could have been his mother. In another world, he could have been the one raised by them in the palace, as the son of Laufey, but also the son of Odin. Son of Frigga and brother of Thor.

"You allowed it." He said bitterly, shifting his gaze around the silent crowd. "For years you turned a blind eye to the suffering in your realm." He felt Sylvie standing confidently behind his back, shielding him as usual, and this added to his strength. "Your princess was the only person who ever showed any interest in me."

"You did not even search for him." Said Sylvie to her father. Her voice dripped with satisfaction, but also with rage. "You could have found him and killed him. Or pulled him over to your side."

"It's never too late." Allfather's voice was careless, but Loki could already sense the fear in it and it excited him beyond reason.

Sylvie laughed cruelly, her back resting lightly against Loki's, grounding them both.

"It is very much too late. I'm the one who found him. I wasn't looking for the Prince of Jotunheim at all, and I found him by chance. And now I have him on my side and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Look at me, son of Laufey." Odin said and Loki turned slowly toward him. Allfather looked at him closely and Loki knew he was searching for a resemblance to his father, whom he had killed all those years ago.

"We were both fools Father, you and I." Sylvie growled. "Just look at him. He's more regal than you. And certainly more than me. The fate you inflicted on him bent him in half, brought him to his knees, but didn't break him."

Loki knew that everyone in the crowd behind them was pulling their heads out to look at him and the contempt choked him. Once he was a slave, no one offered him even a glance. No one took pity. Now that they found out who he was, suddenly everyone was interested in him.

Only Sylvie stood firmly by his side, not only now when new opportunities opened up for him, but also when he had nothing. She was the only one who had offered him something more than pain and fear, the only one who wanted to know his heart and mind, not just his body.

"This can't be a coincidence." Odin hissed ominously. "Thor told me about that day. When you went with him to the market, looking for a slave. As soon as you saw this one here..." He nodded his chin toward Loki. "You immediately stopped looking. And back then he wasn't at all prettier or more talented than the others. There was nothing unusual about him. You had to know. You knew from the very beginning who he was."

Allfather achieved his goal. The seed of uncertainty sown by him sprouted in Loki at an alarming rate.

Was it true? Did Sylvie choose him just because he was the heir to the throne? Was that the only reason she was so kind to him, so tender, was that why she fell in love with him, because she knew that royal blood flowed in him?

It was a dreadful idea and Loki forgot for a moment how to breathe. He turned his gaze to Sylvie, to this one being who loved him, and searched her face for the truth. Before either of them had time to say anything, Odin continued.

"You knew who he was and you didn't tell him." He said with satisfaction. "Why should you have created a threat for yourself? It was better for him to follow you around like a pet, to thank you on his knees for your generosity, even though he should be the one standing over you..."

Loki's heart was breaking into pieces. Was everything in his life a lie? Was not even this one, single thing in his life true?

He looked at Allfather and couldn't believe how one man could take everything from him. Family, home, throne, freedom, dignity. And now this.

But did it change anything besides how he felt? He wasn't going to give up on Sylvie. He wasn't going to let them be separated. Even if her motives weren't pure, even if she deceived him from the beginning....

"Loki."

He turned his head toward that quiet, pleading voice and looked Sylvie in the eyes.

"Loki, that's not true." She said quietly, staring at him as if the world around her didn't exist. "My father is trying to divide us. I have suspected for some time that there is something unusual about you, but I had no idea about your origins. That's not why I chose you." Her voice was shaking, but her gaze was firm. "I only found out last night. And you know it doesn't even matter to me."

Loki was panting heavily, feeling the power slowly returning to his fear-stiffened limbs.

"Please, Loki..." Sylvie whispered. "I swear I didn't know. I fell in love with you, with Loki, not with the Prince of Jotunheim. Please believe me."

And Loki did believe her. He opened his arms and Sylvie fell into them with a gasp of relief.

"So you will just trust her at her word?" Allfather asked coldly, staring at Loki.

"Yes." Said Loki calmly, gaining new hope with each breath. "She is the only one I trust." That was his truth, the only one that mattered. "Besides, it doesn't matter who knew what. I want to discuss the future, not the past."

"So you're as much of a fool as my daughter." Choked out Odin with rage.

"You are incapable of tearing us apart." Said Loki calmly, confident in his words like nothing in the world. "You can make up the most beautiful lies or throw the nastiest truths at our feet, but we will not turn on each other."

"That's a childish fantasy." Growled Odin, furious but also apparently growing desperate. "I could tell you such stories about your chosen one that you would run away from here fast as the wind."

Loki laughed. Cold, boorish laughter reverberated off the walls as he leaned back and laughed brazenly, seething with Odin's rage.

Sylvie squatted next to him, completely undeterred by his madness. She put her arms around his waist, gazing intensely at her father. Loki embraced her swiftly, drawing her even closer to him. Nothing else mattered, only this slight body trembling restlessly in his arms and this soul, for which he was ready to give up his own.

"Then you know nothing about true love, Allfather." He said when he finally calmed down. "Sylvie loved me when I was nothing. Worse than nothing. She saw all my wounds and fears and never once looked away." Sylvie shuddered in his arms, her fingers digging lightly into his flesh as she pressed him even closer. "I love her now, when she has lost her title, when her father is threatening us, when perhaps we are both about to die."

There was a rumble in the room behind them, but Loki didn't know what the whispers and quiet shouts were about, and he didn't care.

"You refused me your daughter's hand when you didn't know who I was." Said Loki coldly, firmly. A sense of agency vibrated throughout his body and he felt as powerful as ever, more so even than on that memorable day when he was first reunited with his seidr. "Now that I know who I am, I won't ask again. You stripped me of my family, my home and a dignified existence. You took away my kingdom and the freedom of my people."

Sylvie beside him was trembling from head to toe, but he knew it was not fear but rage pulsing through her veins.

"But this is what I will not let you take away from me." He spoke calmly, feeling the power flowing through him, knowing that nothing would be able to break him anymore. "Sylvie is mine. I will marry her without your permission."

"You will never get Jotunheim." Allfather leaned out of his throne looking at them in anger. "I will never give it back to you."

Loki smiled cheerfully before replying. How wonderful the conversation was shaping up to be.

"Jotunheim is mine and I don't need to ask permission." He said calmly. "The times of your rule are over. Jotunheim belongs to me. Sylvie belongs to me. I will not ask anymore. I will simply take what is mine."

Suddenly Sylvie turned toward him and took his hands. She closed her eyes and Loki did so too, feeling her seidr enveloping him and he already knew what to do. They transformed together, returned to their true forms, shedding the skins fashioned for the needs of Asgard. They grew rapidly, their skins took on a shiny dark blue hue, ancient heritage lines covered them from head to toe. Sylvie's dress melted into the air along with his attire, and the robes that covered them were created from the magic that filled them. They had almost identical outfits, matching, long and soft. Identical capes sprouted from their backs, the same colors shrouded them from head to toe. Loki felt a weight on his head and realized that he was wearing a crown with horns, identical to the one his father once wore. Sylvie was wearing a smaller copy of it.

The chamber was in an uproar, with the excitement of the crowd pouring out from every direction, but Loki paid no attention to it. He was above it all. He was the prince of Jotunheim and nothing could take that away from him. Sylvie loved him and that was all that mattered to him.

Odin was panting heavily, apparently crushed by the day's events, staring at his daughter, who had returned to her true form with deep pride.

"Have you planned this to claim the throne of Asgard?"

Loki laughed again. He looked at Allfather again, at this infinite fool who still had not understood what this was all about.

"I have never been interested in the throne of Asgard." Cried Sylvie loudly. "You could have had peace. I posed no threat to you. You could have sent me with Loki to Jotunheim and you wouldn't have had any problem with us."

"Your legacy is a mockery, Odin." Loki laughed. The incredulity of the situation coursed through his veins and he himself trembled with excitement. "You are obsessed with the importance of royal blood, meanwhile you knew perfectly well from the beginning that your daughter was not of royal lineage. I, meanwhile..." He shrugged his shoulders laughing along. "I apparently do come from one, and yet all my life I have been treated worse than the lowest of your servants."

"You're just a deceitful, filthy son of a rebel..." Odin began, but Loki interrupted him unceremoniously.

"I refuse to pay for my father's mistakes." He exclaimed proudly. "But I am also merciful enough not to ask your son to pay for yours."

The whole room was boiling with excitement, but Loki did not take his eyes off Odin's furious face.

"I demand that Prince Thor take the throne of Asgard."

Sylvie was right. She was always right. He knew perfectly well what to do, the cards were revealing themselves right before his eyes.

He used to flinch at the thought of Thor on the throne of Asgard, a foolish, impulsive Thor, far less suited to the role than Sylvie. But if he, Loki, could undergo such a transformation in such a short time, if he could turn from a slave into a prince, couldn't Thor become a worthy king with the passage of time? The changes had already begun, and Loki decided to follow that hunch.

This was the only way for him and Sylvie to be together. And on Jotunheim.

He finally looked at Thor frozen in the front row. He, too, stared at Loki.

For a moment they measured each other's gazes, the sons of two hostile kings. And yet they were not standing on opposite sides of this battlefield at the moment. Perhaps for the first time they were equals, perhaps it was even Loki who stood taller in the end, for he was no longer afraid. Thor did not yet know his destiny, but Loki had already learned his.

"Brother." Said Sylvie, also gazing at Thor intensely. " The time has come to make a decision. And to choose a side."

Silence fell around them as Thor took a breath.

"This is not the way, sister." He said softly, stepping forward.

"This is your fight, son of Odin." Sylvie chuckled insolently. "You have been given a spark by us, and what you do with it is your affair."

"I will not seize the throne by force."

"Then you have chosen a side, Odinson." Loki said calmly. The storm inside him was gaining strength, but he was able to put on a neutral face for the time being. "So you will go down with the rest."

He stretched out his hand and summoned ancient magic, forced it to listen to him, for he was the only one worthy, he, Loki, suffering, miserable....

Mjolnir ripped from Thor's hand and with a swish flew towards Loki. The entire room shook in its feet as the hammer connected with his seidr.

"Loki!" Shouted Thor, more outraged than horrified, and Loki laughed. They had underestimated him, they had never valued him, and now they would pay the ultimate price. Asgard will burn beneath his feet, and he will walk away from here triumphant, he, Sylvie and all those who for years lived under the oppression of the Allfather, who were forced to bow and to fall to their knees....

No longer.

Chapter Text

Loki laughed as he raised the ancient hammer, Thor's beloved weapon. He didn't even have to try, the magic listened to him without hesitation and Asgard shook in its foundations as Loki summoned the first thunder that rolled over their heads.

"How dare you." Snarled Odin straightening up proudly. Loki was not bothered.

"Yes, I dare." He laughed ironically. "It will all be mine. Jotunheim, Asgard... And your daughter, Odin."

"So you will marry the whore I used to call my daughter?"

Thor shouted something indignant, but Sylvie burst out laughing. Loki ignored all this, staring at Allfather. Rage boiled in his body, preparing to explode.

"I am the whore." He said calmly, though he had never been so furious in his life. "Sylvie is a fucking saint. A goddess."

Fire danced on his fingers already. Odin's guards did not retreat, although Loki could now see the fear in their faces. The crowd buzzed with terror, but he didn't care about that either. With his free hand, he caught Sylvie in the middle and pressed her to his side. She clung to him trustingly, and Loki knew he would do anything to make sure that at least she was the one to survive.

Thor moved toward him, but Loki shoved him away in one careless movement, knocking away everyone standing nearby, everyone but Sylvie standing securely at his side.

The crowd roared with terror and moved toward the door, but Loki sealed it closed with one quick spell. There will be no escapes. There will be no mercy. He needed this crowd, this scene, he needed an audience for what was about to happen.

"Loki, let these people go!" Shouted Thor, but Loki only laughed. Why should he allow it? They had turned their heads all their lives. This time they will be forced to watch.

"There will be no more whores on Asgard!" Loki called out. "There will be no more slaves."

"And how will you accomplish that?" Growled Odin stopping his guards again, who, despite their fear, did not abandon their positions. "How do you want to defeat all of Asgard? With what forces, with what army?"

"I don't need an army!" Exclaimed Loki, shouting through the terrified whispers now gathering in the crowd. They all already knew that in a moment all hell would break loose in this hall.

"But you have an army!"

Everyone looked back at the source of the unfamiliar voice. Loki followed the bewildered crowd with his eyes all the way to the end, all the way past the rows of humble servants to the tall upright figure. A blue face glowed amidst the white and brown, and Loki knew immediately that it was her.

The nameless Jotun woman they had recently brought from Alfheim looked straight at him, no longer the way a slave looks at his master. Her whole body shook with fear, but she stood straight and proud and did not take her eyes off him.

Loki smiled evilly. Perhaps Sylvie's speech did not affect the aristocracy, perhaps they were too hardened, too accustomed to their indifference, to be touched. But apparently his story reached where it was needed most: the hearts of the slaves.

"Prince Loki!" Cried the woman boldly, and Loki took a deep breath, drawing in new hope along with that title. "Do what you promised me."

Loki laughed, taking a step forward, gazing constantly at this brave woman, this symbol of his rebellion, his transformation. How wonderfully everything was coming together.

"The last time we saw each other, you didn't have a name!" He called out, opening his arms wide, preparing for what was about to happen. "You were denied even that. What name did you take for yourself?"

The woman smiled as well. Crookedly, sinisterly, almost cruelly.

"I took the name of the one who will set me free." She said and lifted her chin proudly. "The name of the King of Jotunheim."

Loki took another deep breath and finally extended his hand in front of him. The storm inside him was gaining strength, the impending storm that had a lifetime of building up within him was finally about to find an outlet.

"So be it." He said and finally closed his eyes, but he carried on in his mind the face of this woman who had trusted him. The faces of all the other slaves he had met over the years and the faces of those he was never to meet. "I give you back your freedom."

It was the most elaborate, complex spell he had ever performed, but he was able to do it. He was able to do everything.

He concentrated with his whole self, found layers of energy hidden deep within him, stored up for this moment, his seidr buzzed under his skin....

Two strong arms embraced him from behind and Sylvie clung entirely to his back, gave him access to her magic and their seidr merged into one.

Loki gathered it all up and let it out into the world.

He didn't have to open his eyes to know it had worked. Bewildered sighs flashed through the crowd, rippled with rare shouts of fear. The clang of metal pierced the air.

The magic-blocking collar of the Jotun woman fell to the ground. Along with it, hundreds of such collars across Asgard fell from the bodies, shackles and bonds fell, doors and cages opened, and slaves raised their eyes in amazement.

Loki stood in the middle, proud and indestructible. Behold, the moment had arrived. Here was the beginning of a new era.

He did not know how far his spells reached, how large an area outside the palace they covered, how many slaves they liberated. It didn't matter. This was just the beginning. The first step. First the palace, then all of Asgard, then the Nine Kingdoms.

Loki burst into laughter as the room resounded with shouts of astonishment, as everything buzzed with magic, as the scale suddenly tilted in another direction. When Sylvie's shoulders slumped in amazement, Loki jumped forward, shaking with excitement.

"Take back what is yours!" He called out to several bewildered former slaves crowded at the door. "This is the end of Asgard!"

A sweet voice rang out next to him, the one he loved, and he knew Sylvie was trying to hold him back a little.

"Loki..."

But he had already crossed the point of no return.

"Stand behind me." He threw to Sylvie and she obeyed him without a second's hesitation.

She will become his wife. If they survive this day, he will have a wife. He will have a family. He will have the throne of Jotunheim snatched from the greedy claws of the Allfather. He will have Asgard under him, everything will be his, all that was rightfully his....

It was with such ease that he spread his arms and summoned the chaos. The universe listened to him obediently for he was the only one worthy to rule it all, he was the only one who could wield magic more powerful than Asgard.

He was no longer at all surprised by what Sylvie had discovered. It made sense, after all. It was obvious to him now that he was someone important, that royal blood flowed through his veins, that he was destined to tear down the current order of things.

How exquisitely it all came together. He was a prince, a king, exactly him, the ruler of Jotunheim. Everyone was wrong about him, everyone failed to appreciate him, and now they will pay for it. Only one Sylvie saw something more in him, only she alone would not be reached by his wrath, only she alone was worthy to stand by his side, to be his queen....

Loki took in a lungful of scream-filled air and smiled madly. All he felt was the relief of finally giving in to destruction.

"You will not leave this hall alive!" Allfather shouted in his direction and Loki laughed.

"Neither will you!" He exclaimed and summoned mayhem.

May it be so, then.

He knew that nothing could defeat him anymore, no one could stop him from unleashing war and chaos. And ultimately Asgard will pay for what was done to him, for all the years of suffering, for every tear he shed... He will finally avenge his father and his mother, he will avenge all the Jotnar and other slaves, he will free them all... Here he comes, Loki, the God of Chaos and Change, the God of Freedom....

He laughed wildly, madly, and the people around him screamed. He had no equal, no one had powers like him, the prince of Jotunheim, only he stood with dignity as they fanned out in all directions, he, the only rightful king of it all....

Asgard burned under his command.

Loki was in his element. He sent spells and flames all around him, knocking down guards trying to surround him. He could see from afar that the slaves he freed were also fighting, and joy lashed him like a whip, for here was the time of change. He knew that they didn't know their magic, some had none at all, and yet they threw themselves into the fight for their freedom without a moment's hesitation. Asgard did not subdue them, did not destroy them, there was hope....

And he too was not defeated by Asgard.

At last he was to have all that was rightfully his, all that he desired. Sylvie belonged to him, and Jotunheim belonged to him... Asgard was at his feet, with Odin at the forefront, all to fall to their knees before him, before him....

Loki knocked down more guards, dismissed them carelessly from him, stepped over the inert bodies and finally, finally, he was facing the Allfather.

He was panting heavily savoring the moment, no longer seeing anything but that face he hated, nothing beyond that liar, that murderer, the cause of all his suffering....

Allfather was not fearful. He stood proudly upright, although there were no longer many guards left around him, although his kingdom was on fire. Was he deluding himself that he would be able to defeat Loki? Perhaps he thought his son would save him?

Loki knew he would not hesitate. If Thor were to stand in his way, he would destroy him too. He deserved it, he was entitled to this revenge and no one could stop him.

No one.

He already gathered all the seidr inside him, sucked the magic out of the air, took everything that was bubbling in this chaos-ridden room for here was coming this moment, this most important moment....

Before he could raise his hands, a swish of energy pierced the air and someone materialized right in front of him.

It wasn't Thor who decided to protect his father, it wasn't he who shielded Odin with his own body.

It was Sylvie who stood between her father and her beloved.

Loki's heart stopped and he paused throughout, magic buzzing inside him, finding no outlet.

"No Loki." Said Sylvie quietly and his heart broke into pieces.

"So you would choose him over me?" He exuded, and rage almost blinded him. Sure, it was obvious that no one would ever choose him. He meant nothing to anyone. Even Sylvie preferred to protect this murderer instead of standing on his side... "How dare you..."

"Please Loki." She whispered, folding her hands as if to a prayer. "Control yourself..."

"I won't fight you Sylvie." He growled, scattering sparks and his anger around him. "Step aside."

"Calm down Loki." She whispered, taking a step forward, but Loki jumped back with a hiss. "That is not you..."

"And what do you know?" He growled, shaking with exertion. Magic flowed through him, preparing to explode, to sow destruction. "You have no idea of my rage..."

"I do." Said Sylvie firmly. She did not take her eyes off his face. "Because I have the same rage inside me. But you can fight it."

"That's all I have." Loki groaned, and some pent-up energy escaped from under his fingers, gouging holes in the richly decorated marble floor.

"You have me." Whispered Sylvie moving closer to him. Loki no longer heard the battle cries, saw nothing but that pair of red eyes staring at him. "And that's all you need. That one person who loves you more than anything."

Deep down he knew it was true, but the fury running through his veins did not let go, he could not calm down, not when revenge was at hand....

"You won't kill him, Loki." Whispered Sylvie coming up to him and putting her hands on his shoulders, although he was already shaking all over. "He deserves it, but it's not you who will do it. It's not your burden. We'll leave here, just as you wanted."

"Sylvie..." He groaned, trembling with exertion... His whole body and the energy filling it begged him to find an outlet for it.

"You promised me, Loki. You promised never to take revenge." Sylvie whispered, and Loki knew he would do anything for her. He would even deny himself this revenge. Even if it would cost him his life.

His rage and grief built up dangerously inside him, and Loki knew that in a moment it would tear him apart.

"Sylvie, I'm losing it..." He whined out with the last of his strength, and Sylvie leaped forward without hesitation.

"I've got you." She whispered and grasped him in her arms. Her seidr wrapped around him like a snake, grounding them both.

Loki closed his eyes and the magic exploded.

Whatever Sylvie did to him helped enough, as the impact spread across the ground in all directions, knocking the combatants from both sides, sending everyone to the ground, blowing away the flames.

Loki clutched at Sylvie in desperation, then over her shoulder looked around the destroyed hall. Terror thudded in his chest like a trapped bird. What now? What was the next step after what he had just done?

Not knowing completely what he was doing, he gently pushed Sylvie's hands away from him and moved on shaky legs toward the bodies slowly rising from the floor. Had they all survived his tantrum? How many slaves had died in the fight for their freedom?

It was Thor who first rose from the ground and it was he who reached him. A strange despair gouged his face.

"Get out of here Loki!" He shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Take her and run!"

But Loki couldn't run away. From over Thor's shoulders, he watched the shocked Asgardians, guards and former slaves rise slowly from their knees.

"I didn't want this." He whispered, finally returning his gaze to Thor. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted war..."

"It doesn't matter." Groaned Thor pushing him towards Sylvie. "You two need to get out of here! I won't be able to keep you safe if you stay!"

Loki stumbled over a splinter of the wall and a strange despair caught him by the throat. Sylvie, standing in front of him, was also looking around the room and her expression made Loki nauseous. Was she also as disappointed with him as he was with himself? What were they supposed to do next now?

Had he really already crossed the line from behind which there was no return? He didn't care what all of Asgard thought of him, but Sylvie, only Sylvie....

Her distraught face eventually turned toward him and tears finally streamed down Loki's face. Even that didn't deter her, not even the frantic rage he presented wasn't going to make Sylvie give up on him.

Relief poured over him like water when Sylvie grabbed him in her arms again.

"Please don't leave me." He whispered softly in her ear as her sweet scent enveloped him.

"Never." She whispered back, but immediately raised her eyes to Thor. "Brother..."

"Get the fuck out of here." Thor growled and his gaze came to rest on the Mjolnir lying next to him, which Loki had earlier discarded from his side like unnecessary scrap.

A shudder of remorse went through Loki again. He had not even needed that hammer; he alone possessed magic more powerful than this ancient artifact. He just wanted to show Thor what he was capable of, he wanted to take everything from him, just as it had been taken from him....

But Thor didn't even look enraged, just crushed by the whole situation as he pushed Loki and Sylvie toward the exit again, looking back worriedly at his father.

Loki also looked over at Odin, who had already risen with the help of his guards, who did not take his eyes off them, who was finally preparing to attack....

Sylvie launched a shield that separated them from the Allfather, but Loki knew it was no use, such spells could not stop Odin for more than a few precious seconds and panic overpowered him again. He looked around the crowd, searching for the blue face, praying that none of the slaves would pay the highest price for his ideas....

"Slaves..." Howled Loki looking around in panic. "We have to take them all with us..."

"We are not able to do it." Exhaled Sylvie, staring at her father. She sent more defensive spells in front of her and Loki knew that only seconds separated them from another fight. "Brother..."

"I'll make sure no one gets hurt." Groaned Thor, finally reaching for his hammer. "You can trust me."

Loki didn't want to trust him, he couldn't, but did he have any other choice? He finally picked out the blue face of his namesake from the crowd and it was to her that he called out, it was to her that he made his promise.

"I will come back for you!" He called out through tears. "If we survive, I swear we'll come back for you all and take you home!"

"Get the fuck out of here!" Thor yelled once again.

When Sylvie's defensive spells fell off, Loki grabbed her in his arms and pressed her close. He closed his eyes and the chaos surrounding them exploded with magic again.

Green flames and smoke enveloped everything, separating them from the crowd and from the guards, shielding and protecting them. He knew what to do when Sylvie's arms squizeed him even tighter.

They disappeared together in a flash of green light. They teleported out of the room and after a moment they were already running, running through the corridors of the palace, their capes billowing out behind them. Loki was suddenly reminded of Sylvie's parents and his mother, who ran just like that, wanting to save their lives and those they loved. In the same way he was now running and Sylvie was running beside him, stretching their long legs and racing against time.

He knew that any moment they would be surrounded by guards and that they would have to face a battle for the casket of winters. He also knew that they would win or die, because there was nothing else left for them. Tears poured down his face, but he ran on with Sylvie at his side until they reached the entrance to the crypts full of Odin's treasures.

"Sylvie wait!" He called out in desperation, stopping her just before the entrance. "You can still back out."

"What?" Sylvie looked at him bewildered. "Loki I beg you, we don't have time..."

"Your father will forgive you." Whispered Loki shaken by chills of despair. "Thor and Frigga will protect you... You can stay here at home, you don't have to run away with me..."

"This is not my home. And not my father." Growled Sylvie, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. "You are my family now Loki. We will share the same fate."

"I'm so sorry for everything Sylvie...."

He wept even more and Sylvie's fierce face immediately softened.

"You have nothing to apologize to me for. We'll cry together later, darling. Right now we have to run."

Loki only nodded, allowing her to pull him further along.

They burst into Odin's crypt and ran all the way to the end, where the heart of their planet awaited them. To Loki's surprise, there was no one here, and he thought immediately that it was a trap.

"Take this and let's go." Threw Sylvie panting heavily from exertion. "I have your back."

Without hesitation, Loki reached out his hands to the ancient artifact, which was drawing him in as much as before. He tightened his hands on the handles and threw his head back, smacked by a powerful burst of energy.

"Alright?" Sylvie asked anxiously, reaching out to him.

Loki laughed joyfully. Everything was in its place, his energy matched the energy of the casket just as it had always matched Sylvie's. Everything matched perfectly.

He waved his hand and the casket disappeared hidden safely in his private, invisible space.

"Come on." He grabbed Sylvie's hand and together they ran out of the crypt, passing ethereal treasures, eternal fire and heirlooms from the conquests of other lands. They had what they came for.

Still no one chased them, no one stopped them, and Loki found this extremely suspicious. They teleported again and again, finally approaching a crevice in the rocks, far beyond the palace, beyond the city, beyond everything they were now about to leave behind forever.

He saw Sylvie turn around with a look of pain, casting one last glance at her home, but after a moment her face was determined again. They kept running.

They climbed the rock to the crevice and Sylvie shouted in amazement.

The Queen of Asgard, shrouded in voluminous robes stood blocking their passage. She was clearly waiting for them.

"Mom..." Moaned Sylvie pleadingly and the queen reached out to her and embraced her.

"Run away." She said quietly and wiped away the tears that were now beginning to stream down Sylvie's face. "Around the corner you have a small ship. I filled it with whatever I could."

Loki looked at her in amazement, unable to put it all together in his head.

"How did you know?" Moaned Sylvie clinging to her mother's dresses like a child.

The queen smiled a sneaky smile at them, and not for the first time, Loki thought she must have known a lot of things they didn't.

"One cannot escape one's destiny." She whispered, reaching out over Sylvie's shoulder and stroking Loki's cheek. "I felt that you would not let the two of you be separated. I know my daughter well. And my new son."

Emotion gripped his throat. He took her hand and pressed it to his heart.

"Run away." She pushed them in front of her. Loki cast one last appreciative glance at her and grabbed Sylvie's hand.

"You don't take the easy way." The queen cast behind them, retreating to the exit with a sad smile.

Loki, haggard with emotion, pulled a sobbing Sylvie around a bend, where they fell right into a flying boat, the same kind they sometimes crashed around Asgard.

They jumped in and after a moment they were floating fast through the air, leaving everything they knew behind.

Loki took a breath, but couldn't ease up. His brain presented him with more and more new possibilities. For some reason, no one pursued them. Maybe no one knew about this passage? Maybe Asgard forces were already waiting for them at Jotunheim, sent there expressly by the Bifrost?

But why would they let them take the casket of winters? The lack of protection in this place was particularly odd.

And then suddenly he felt the familiar pull of magic and for a moment he ran out of breath.

He looked at Sylvie and knew that she felt it too. They smiled at each other with undisguised joy.

Jotunheim was beckoning them home.

Chapter Text

The boat glided smoothly through the dark tunnel and Loki's heart was pulling him forward. Home.

He reached into his invisible pocket and pulled out the casket. Sylvie squatted beside him and they both gazed at the eerie blue light, now seeming to pulse slightly in the enveloping waves of magic.

"We're going home." Sylvie whispered and touched her finger to the casket. "Finally."

They rose in unison when they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. With one more glance at each other, Loki knew that they were both prepared to die in battle if the forces of Asgard were already waiting for them.

They shot out of the crevice blinded for a moment by the sun's rays reflecting off the snow. Loki blinked rapidly and took a careful look around.

No one attacked them, the army was not there. Jotunheim was as quiet and dormant as ever.

"Why aren't they here yet?" Sylvie muttered, also looking around anxiously.

Loki wanted to stop the boat in mid-air to consider their next steps, but the casket in his hands kept pulsing beckoning him on. Loki closed his eyes and put his trust in his own magic. He knew it would guide them to where they needed to be. He handed the artefact to Sylvie and grabbed the helm, steering the boat to where his seidr was pushing him.

Sylvie watched him closely but did not question his movements and Loki was touched again thinking about how wonderfully they understood each other. As usual, she was letting him decide and trusting him in his decisions.

Driven by instinct, he steered them into a part of the city that was still unknown to them. They landed in front of the only undestroyed building and Loki knew immediately that they were in the right place. He jumped out of the boat. Sylvie handed him the casket and jumped out after him herself with her eyes fixed on the snow-covered building.

"That's the temple you were lying in." She whispered, lifting her gaze to the huge glass doors and the runes surrounding them.

But Loki didn't feel like looking at the building. He grabbed her hand, pulling her inside. He knew that this was where they should be, because the casket in his other hand was quivering, as if it too was enjoying the encounter.

They stepped inside and Loki felt as if he knew this place perfectly well. This was where his story began. This was where his parents had tried to save him, this was where he had seen them for the last time.

The interior was nothing like anything he had seen on Asgard. Glass walls transitioned smoothly into a pointed ceiling, and delicate ornaments adorned everything including the flooring. The whole thing radiated a sort of silence and serenity and Loki immediately understood why it was a sacred place.

Immediately he noticed the pedestal in the middle of the room and realised that it was the place on which he must have been lying as a baby on that terrible day when he lost everything. The casket in his hand pulsed as if lurching forward and Loki obediently walked those last remaining steps.

Sylvie stepped silently at his side and after a moment they were standing in the middle of the temple with Loki knowing perfectly well what to do. He picked up the casket and solemnly placed it in the middle of the stone pedestal.

A powerful blast of energy threw them to the ground.

They rose panting, whipped again and again by the waves of energy emanating from the casket. Strings of blue light were escaping from the artefact, flowing smoothly over the rise and seeping into the floor, fanning out in all directions like roots.

The heart of Jotunheim returned to its rightful place.

Loki felt that everything was at last in order. They let the magic work, and they slumped to the floor themselves, their backs against each other. Both of them were exhausted, but ready to fight at any moment.

They sat in silence for a moment, savouring the moment. Loki could feel their combined magic merging with the casket and with the ground beneath them. It was as if it was drawing from them and giving them new energy at the same time.

Sylvie reached back and found his hand resting on the ground. Finally, it was time to talk. And to provide explanations.

"I'm sorry Sylvie." Whispered Loki squeezing her hand and drawing in a lungful of wonderfully cold, fresh air. "I messed everything up... I put everyone at risk..."

"Not true. You didn't." Sylvie's voice had not a hint of reproach in it, only infinite tenderness. "You freed the slaves. And you freed me."

Loki just sighed, trying to put it all together in his mind somehow.

"What do we do now?" He whispered looking at the ornate walls of the temple but not seeing them at all.

"We wait." Said Sylvie calmly from behind him. "We regenerate. And then we will return to Asgard and reclaim the slaves. Every last one."

Loki wanted very much to believe that. He tried not to think about the chaos they had left behind, the confused slaves they had abandoned to their fate, who were perhaps now fighting for their lives....

He could only hope that the Allfather would focus on them, that he would deal with them instead of trying to set Asgard according to his old laws again. That he would throw all his forces at Jotunheim, and in the meantime Asgard would manage to be reborn as something new.

What else could they do? They needed a new plan, they needed to rebuild Jotunheim, but how to do it?

This was not how it was going to happen. He knew full well that until now Sylvie had reconciled herself to her father's rule because she hoped it would allow her to finally convince him and the council that Jotunheim was worth investing in. Her plan was to slowly rebuild Jotunheim, transforming it over years, decades, slowly changing it, bringing slaves one by one, banning slavery first in one realm, then the next....

His presence destroyed it all. His stupidity, her feelings for him and how adamantly he refused to part with her took away any chance of them executing these plans. They had to figure things out on their own now.

Loki was so focused on making it out of Asgard, on escaping with Sylvie, that he didn't even think about taking anything with them. Besides, what would help them with what they wanted to achieve? Money was useless on Jotunheim, most things they knew made no sense here.

Their magic and their affection had to be enough for them to survive, because they had nothing else. But was that enough to prepare Jotunheim enough to start snatching slaves from Asgard and taking them here? Would they be able to resist Asgard until they managed to build a society and army here that could match Odin's forces?

What he had contemplated came true. The two of them had run away, leaving everything behind in the name of their love. How were they supposed to survive now? The adrenaline and stress was slowly draining out of him, making him gradually realise what he had done. He had condemned Sylvie to a life of exile because he didn't want to be alone. He had forced her to leave behind everything she knew, all her dreams and desires for him....

To his amazement, a merry giggle rang out behind him.

"I can't believe all that has happened." Sylvie laughed, squeezing his hand. "I wouldn't have thought it better myself."

"What do you mean?" Whispered Loki astonished by her good humour.

"When I first brought you to the palace, I hoped that you would become an example for all of Asgard, that everyone would see how amazing a mere slave could be if given the right conditions to thrive... And meanwhile, all this time, I had the Prince of Jotunheim in my bed."

She laughed again and Loki finally laughed with her.

"Your father will never forget that. He was probably more shocked than I was."

"No one will ever doubt my intuition again." Sylvie added with a deep sigh and Loki smiled to himself.

"How long have you known?" He whispered at last, squeezing her fingers lightly.

Sylvie pulled her nose and leaned against him more comfortably.

"I really only found out last night when I enchanted you. But I've suspected it for a long time."

"Why?" Loki kept staring at the temple door, but he couldn't see it. Now, as his emotions slowly subsided, he was overwhelmed with deep amazement. They had survived. They were together. He was the heir to Jotunheim.

"Skills and sorcery are inherited among the Jotnar." Sylvie whispered as quietly as if there was someone else here, as if the walls of the temple could hear them and give away their secrets. "You learned everything with such ease... It puzzled me from the beginning, and when you were able to unleash your seidr..."

She sighed deeply. Loki remained silent giving her time to find the words.

"You were so run-down at first, that it wasn't noticeable, but when you started smiling, straightening up..." Sylvie shuddered and pressed her back into him tighter. "I started to think there was something regal about you, something in the way you walked, the way you fought... I don't know Loki, one day that thought crossed my mind and I haven't been able to get rid of it since."

Loki leaned his head against her thinking about it all. There was an almost perfect silence around them, broken only by the buzzing of the casket magic.

"But why did you doubt your story?" He whispered with a strange shrug blocking his throat. "You had no reason not to believe it."

"When I felt your magic, I already knew something was wrong. You are much more powerful than me... You know the history, on Jotunheim it is always the strongest family that is in power. I could tell myself that my magic was weaker because I had spent so many years on Asgard, but you couldn't access yours at all, and when you broke free..."

She sighed again and remained silent for a moment.

"Thank you Loki."

Loki shuddered at those simple words.

"It is I who should be thanking you. I got back all I have because of you."

"But it is me who is to thank you." She muttered in a stifled voice and Loki thought she was suppressing tears. "I would never have done all this without you. You're the one who should be growing up in the palace, not me. And in fact we should both be here... And yet despite everything that has happened..." She pulled her nose and Loki squeezed her hand again giving her encouragement. "You never went looking for revenge until now... And I don't suppose you hold a grudge against me?"

Loki finally turned around and snatched her into his arms before she had time to truly burst into tears.

"I should have a grudge against you?"

"I took your place, and you suffered so much..." Her teeth flew with fear as she clung to his clothes in desperation. "I grew up in the palace, even though it was a complete coincidence that put me there... And I didn't tell you about my suspicions... I'm sorry Loki..."

He pulled her closer to him, reassuringly stroking her back.

"Everything happened exactly as it was supposed to." He whispered in her ear, feeling a shiver run through her. "Who knows how things would have turned out if I had been the one to grow up as Odin's child... Maybe we would never have met."

He pushed her slightly away from him to look into her frightened face.

"I'm grateful for what I have. It was meant to be." He said calmly, feeling with all his being that it all made sense. "Don't be sad, darling. There's a good chance we won't live to see the morning. I want to enjoy the fact that we are together."

She smiled at last at him.

"We didn't live through all this to die today. You'll see."

Loki conjured up a small bonfire and a blanket. Even though the night temperatures were low, they were not particularly cold in Jotun bodies, but they needed some sense of comfort. They arranged themselves conveniently between the fire and the casket and spent the rest of the day and night taking turns keeping vigil.

The first rays of the morning sun found Loki leaning against the pedestal and fully awake. Sylvie was slumbering restlessly in his arms. Loki watched with emotion as she snuggled into him. The princess sleeping on the floor.

They hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the previous day and Loki knew that something would have to be done about it soon. He himself was used to starving for days on end, but he assumed it might come as a shock to Sylvie raised in the palace. Nonetheless, when she woke up, she did not seem displeased.

"See, I said we'd make it through the night."

Loki bit his lip looking at her thoughtfully.

"It's very strange that they haven't attacked us yet." He looked at Sylvie and could see that it bothered her too. "Your father must know perfectly well where we are, after all."

"I don't know Loki." She disentangled herself carefully from his arms and stood up stretching. "Come on, let's have a drink of snow. And while we're at it, we'll see if we're surrounded."

She offered her arms to him and pulled him up. Loki knew perfectly well that she was trying to mask her fear with this light humour. They were both tense all the time, ready to fight at any moment.