The next day, Loki felt a disturbance in the force field and teleported to the front to see what was causing it. Knocking furiously on the invisible dome was Frea.

"Oh, that's right!" he exclaimed. "I gave you an all-access pass."

Frea shouted something. Loki cupped his ear.

"What?"

She pounded angrily on the wall. The Frost Giant chuckled.

"Oh, right."

He snapped his fingers and a hole appeared in the wall, allowing Frea to slip through.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"So what brings you here, neighbor?" Loki asked cheerfully. "Come to borrow a cup of sugar?"

A cup of sugar materialized in his hand.

"Thank you, but the reason I came by was not for sugar, but for Madisyn."

He twiddled his fingers. "Oh, um..."

"I simply want to talk, perhaps take a walk?"

"Must you speak in rhyme every single time? Oh great! Now you got me doing it! Though seriously, how do you manage that? Do you like rehearse in the morning? There is no way you could be improvising all of that. It's impressive, but..."

Frea cleared her throat. "Madisyn?"

"Oh, yes! She's in the garden. I've been following your advice, you see? I made her a garden, brought all her animal friends, and she hugged me afterwards!" He sighed. "You wouldn't believe how great things have been going! We're even friends! She said so herself! It's not quite what I had expected, but it means I'm one step closer to marrying that wonderful, beautiful..."

A laugh from the nord reminded him of her presence. He blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um, I mean..."

Thinking quickly, he snapped his fingers and teleported them to the garden. The marcher was feeding the ducks.

"Madisyn!" Loki called.

She turned her head.

"You have a visitor."

She blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

Loki stepped aside to reveal the nord. Even though she and Frea were not that close, Madisyn was thrilled to see a familiar face and rushed to embrace her.

"But I don't understand," she said as she pulled away. "I thought I wasn't allowed any visitors."

"Well," Loki said slowly as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Frea is...an exception. After all, there's no harm in being neighborly. I'll leave you two alone then."

After he had vanished, Frea smiled at Madisyn.

"I am glad to see that you are well, my dear, but I am afraid it is the concern of your friends that have brought me here."

The marcher gasped. "Are they alright?"

"They worry for you, and I will admit I did too. And this is why you must tell. Does Loki treat you well?"

"You'd be surprised at how kind he's been!" She gestured to their surroundings. "Look at what he's done!"

"Hmm," Frea mused. "I told you he was not as bad, but tell me. Does he make you glad?"

"Oh, yes! You were right. So far I've been happy, except..."

She looked down, her hair falling over her eye. Frea lifted her chin up.

"What is troubling you, dear? What makes you unhappy here?"

"Well," she stammered. "I miss my friends. He won't let me visit them." She sighed. "I appreciate everything he's done to make me comfortable, but..." She gazed up at the sky. "Sometimes I feel like I'm still his prisoner. There's also the fact that he..."

She trailed off. Frea raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Madisyn glanced up at her. "You won't tell anybody?"

"My lips are sealed. Your secret won't be revealed."

She breathed. "I...I think he's in love with me."

She waited for Frea's reaction, but she did not look the least surprised. This confused her, but Madisyn had to get all of this off her chest and she hoped Loki was not listening.

"Every night, he asks me if I love him."

"Do you?"

She hesitated. "I always say no. We made a deal. I will not marry him until I say yes. I thought it was just a game at first, but...he's been so gentle, and every time I say no, he looks hurt. And...the way he touches me...it doesn't upset me, but...I just...I..."

As she trailed off, Frea grinned. "It is as I had said. A yearn for love is what has led Loki to taking a bride. This he tries to hide."

She gulped. "I...I suppose I could love him, if he wasn't so...possessive of me." She looked at the nord in desperation. "You understand, my friends can't know about this! They have enough to worry about! Just tell them I'm alright and that I'm not married yet."

"That I will do, so they may not worry for you. But now I must be off, as there is a human with a terrible cough."

"Oh goodness. Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from your customers. I just wish..."

"You had more company? I understand. Though you live comfortably, and Loki makes it so, you wish for your friends to show."

She said nothing for a while, so Frea took her cue to leave and nearly fell off the edge of the garden. Loki then appeared beside her with an awkward smile.

"Whoops," he said. "Forgot to tell you about that."

He snapped his fingers and teleported them to the ground. He knelt down and whispered to her.

"Did she say anything about me?"

She smirked. "I am not at liberty to say. Now I must be on my way."

"Come on! Can't you at least tell me if she likes me? At least...do you think she does?"

She sighed. "These things take time, dear Frost Giant. The advice I give you is this: love is a splendid thing to feel, and only time will reveal whether it is meant to be. If you truly love something, set it free."

As the nord trudged through the forest, Loki pulled at his hair. "Ugh! More riddles!"

Now he knew how he had made the humans feel in the labyrinth.

Loki watched from his usual hiding place in the tree as Madisyn continued to feed the animals. Although he could finish the job with a snap of his fingers, he simply enjoyed watching her animal magnetism at work.

She was trying to convince Max to eat a carrot.

"Come on, Max," she begged softly. "Just one little bite?"

The dog shook his head violently.

"How about a teeny nibble?"

He shook his head again and kicked the carrot away. Madisyn glared at him and then opened her eyes as wide as she could, giving him that Stare of hers. Max was intimidated by it and swallowed his carrot whole.

"Amazing," Loki murmured.

To think that such a human with no magic at her disposal could possess such a power, especially one so seemingly innocent! While the Stare scared most creatures, it attracted this one. This small mischief quality of hers fascinated him, as did everything else about her. He was so close to winning his queen. He just had to step up his game.

"Come on, what can I do for her? Flowers? Chocolates?"

"How about you stop spying on me?"

Loki shrieked in surprise, causing him to fall out of the tree. He looked up to see a cross Madisyn.

"Exactly how much privacy do I actually get?"

The Frost Giant laughed nervously. "Well, um..."

"Have you got nothing better to do with your time?"

"Um...no? Well, I'd rather be spending my time with you..."

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"I...you see...um..." He groaned. "I got nothing."

He waited for her scolding, or whining, or even that Stare, but she laughed instead. He looked up at her in confusion.

"You're not mad about me invading your privacy?"

"Mad?" she said. "Loki, this isn't the first time I've caught you. It's a little disconcerting, but I'm not mad. Besides, now that you're in the clear, you can help me feed the animals."

"No problem!"

He stood up and readied his fingers, but Madisyn walked up and pressed her hands against his hand, shaking her head.

"I want you to feed them from your hands."

He blinked. "You mean...walk right up to them and...expect them not to run away? To accept food from me?" He threw up his hands. "No offense, my dear, but count me out!"

"Won't you at least give it a try?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not 'one with nature' like you. Those things will run away at the sight of me. They're smart enough to do so."

He glanced at her as she placed some acorns in his hand. "Well, I think it's time we changed that, don't you?"

She pointed towards a group of squirrels. Loki stared at her, then at the acorns, then at the squirrels, and then at her again. She gestured toward the animals again, sternly narrowing her eyes. He sighed.

"Oh, alright!"

The things he did for this girl!

Sighing again, he advanced towards the squirrels. "Alright, you little rascals! Lunchtime!"

The critters squeaked as he knelt down to them and they raced into a hole in a tree. Loki glanced back at Madisyn.

"What did I tell you?"

She giggled as she glided to his side. "You need to be gentler." She took some of the acorns from his hand. "Here, watch me."

You know I will, he thought as she walked to the tree.

"Shhh," she whispered. "It's okay."

At the sound of her voice, the squirrels poked their heads out.

"There's nothing to be scared of. Loki's not going to hurt you."

She then set the acorns down at the tree's base and stepped back. In a few seconds, the squirrels climbed down and stuffed the acorns into their mouths. Some smaller squirrels then appeared and tried to get acorns themselves, but could not get to the pile. Madisyn then nodded towards Loki and gestured for him to kneel down. He shook his head. She narrowed her eyes and pointed her hand commandingly at the squirrels. He shook his head again insistently. Madisyn gritted her teeth and stuck her hand in the back of his shoulders, urging him to kneel. He shook his head once more, this time violently.

Madisyn could not control her Stare and angrily used it on him. He simply smirked and waved it off. She then turned away from him and sniffed. This caught Loki's attention. He peered over at her face and saw tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh please don't," he muttered.

She then faced him, shooting those big, glassy brown eyes at him. Unlike her Stare, this look affected him tremendously. He grunted and knelt down to the squirrels, causing Madisyn to smile.

The squirrels stiffened at the sight of him, but did not run away immediately. He stuck out his hand, showing them the acorns inside. They stared at the treats and then at him. Loki rolled his eyes.

"They're not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking!"

Madisyn put her hand in his hand and gently pushed downward, signaling for him to set the acorns on the ground. He did so and the squirrels took them and fled.

"There," Loki stated bluntly. "I fed them. May I go now?"

"Oh no you don't, mister," Madisyn insisted. "There are plenty more animals that need feeding."

He stamped his feet. "Oh, come on! Can't I just snap my fingers? It will make the job easier!"

"No! No magic! You have to learn to be kind to the animals!"

"I'm the God of Mischief! I don't have to be kind to anything!"

"Please, Loki?"

"Why should I...?"

He trailed off as she tenderly took his hand and stared at him with those pleading eyes. "For me?"

Oh, those eyes... He grunted. "Ugh! Fine! But you owe me for this!"

She grinned and gave him a handful of birdseed and pointed towards a flock of birds pecking at the ground. Loki gulped and made his attempt. They flew further away with every step he took toward them.

He was about to give up when Madisyn walked over to him and took a small amount of the seed out of his hand and onto the ground in front of him. One bird pecked at the seed curiously and then flew into Loki's hands to get the rest. The Frost Giant widened his eyes and looked at the marcher.

"See?" she said. "All you have to do is show them they can trust you."

He glanced down as more birds hopped into his hands. "Well, they shouldn't. I could squash them with one clap of my hands, you know?"

"But you wouldn't do that."

"And why wouldn't I?"

"Because if you do, I'll never speak to you again."

This caused him to shout. "What?!"

His outburst frightened the birds off of him and he dropped what was left of the birdseed.

"Now see here, marcher! You can't boss Loki around like this! I make the rules around here! Are you trying to make a fool out of me?!"

He paused as one of the birds returned and landed on his head.

"Get off of me!" he bellowed, scaring it away.

Madisyn laughed, which made Loki soften a bit. He then reflected on what had just happened and started laughing himself.

"I looked ridiculous, didn't I?"

She shook her head. "No. It was cute."

He blinked at her. "Cute?"

"Does that offend you?"

"No! It's just that..." He glanced down at his feet. "Nobody's called me 'cute' before."

He would never admit this aloud, but he kind of liked it.

As she forced him to feed the rest of the animals, Loki was beginning to question his pride. Here he was, offering food to fluffy creatures all to please one measly girl? Had he really gone from being the God of Mischief to a sappy pushover? These thoughts running through his head and the fluffy critters pawing at him made him want to explode, but one glance at the marcher's sweet, beautiful face calmed him down every time.

When they were finished, Madisyn gave Loki a hug, which literally tied his stomach into knots. He had to subtly snap his fingers to untie them.

"Thank you, Loki," she said. "You were a big help."

She started to pull away, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her a while longer. Madisyn blinked up at him.

"Um...you can let go of me now, Loki. Loki?"

"Hmm? Oh, right!" He reluctantly released her. "But first, my dear, you have to pay up."

She tilted her head. "Pay up?"

He crossed his arms. "You forced me into feeding those creatures, now you have to do something for me!"

She stared at him and then shrugged. "I suppose that's fair. What do you want me to do?"

Loki thought for a moment and then smiled smugly at her. "Would you sing for me, dear?"

Madisyn stiffened, her feet going numb as she fell to the ground. "S-Sing?!"

He cuddled himself around her. "I simply love the sound of your voice!"

"Oh but...I can't sing..."

"Don't be ridiculous!" He ran his hand under her chin. "You were magnificent at the gala!"

"But...not while you're...watching..."

"Come now, my dear. It's only me." He tilted her head towards him. "Just this once. I'll never ask you again."

She looked away, her hair falling over her eye. "I...I'm not prepared..."

"Don't talk," he said, putting a finger to her lips. "Sing."

"But what song should I...?"

"Sing!"

"I really don't..."

"You owe me!"

Madisyn gulped as he leaned toward her.

"There's no need for you to be nervous, Madisyn. I won't laugh at you."

She inhaled deeply and began to sing:

"Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed..."

Loki interrupted her. "Don't sing a lullaby, it makes me sleepy."

"Sorry, but I'm not sure what to..."

"Sing that song you sang at the gala. That was rather good."

Gulping once more, she sang again. She was startled when backup vocals came from nowhere. She turned to see the birds singing actual words. She became even more confused when music started playing. She looked at Loki, who gave her a wink.

As she continued to sing, Madisyn became more confident. Loki watched in awe, his ears taking in that melodious voice of hers. He could not understand why a sound like that could be so alluring to him. In fact, he could not understand why everything about this girl allured him. Before him stood what he thought to be the embodiment of perfection, not to mention one of the Elements of Pride. Aside from that Stare, she had nothing to do with mischief. Maybe that is why he found her so interesting, because there were mischief features such as that waiting to be uncovered. That and the fact that she was nothing like him in character.

During the instrumental, Loki made a bold move and tapped Madisyn on the shoulder. He held out his hand. After staring at it for a while, she slowly took it. He lifted her hand over her head and twirled her around. He then pulled her in and led the dance. Madisyn thought back to when he had done this at the Grand Marching Gala. That dance had been forceful, and while this one moved at a similar pace, it was gentler. She felt like they were dancing on air, which was actually true, since they were hovering above the ground.

As the birds sang the bridge, Loki twirled her faster and Madisyn was getting so dizzy that even though there was nothing to trip over, she stumbled. Loki caught her in a dip, just as the birds had sung: "Can anybody find me...?" Then everything was silent.

She opened her eyes, meeting his, and absentmindedly finished the line: "Somebody to...looooove."

The music started up again and the birds continued: "Find me...somebody...toooo love!"

The two were locked in each other's gaze for a long while, until Loki slowly brought her up to his eye level. He gently brushed her hair back, so he could get a better look at her face. Before either of them knew it, the distance between them was decreasing as he pulled her nearer to him and they closed their eyes.

Their lips were only inches away when Madisyn opened her eyes again and realized what was happening. She gently pushed his face away and laughed awkwardly.

"Uh..."

Loki opened his eyes and gave an equally embarrassed laugh.

"Well, um..."

Madisyn removed his hands from her body and held them out in front of her. "Are we, um...even?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! That was..." He met her eyes again. "Lovely."

They stared at each other awkwardly for a while, until Madisyn looked down and rubbed her arm.

"I...um...I have to go to the bathroom!"

Loki watched her walk away and sighed sadly. That night, he did not bother asking the question.