A loud alarm going off startled you awake and you groggily stretch to turn it off by reaching for the clock next to your bed. The clock shows 6:15 a.m., your typical Monday morning wake-up time.

You sit up in bed and glance around your room, but you're at a loss; you have no recollection of getting home from the bookstore last night.

You think hard, and then suddenly felt a tightening in your stomach as images ran through your head. Depictions of you visiting the church and meeting Father Tom, a hidden room, filthy games, and....Loki.

What a crazy dream, you thought to yourself. One strange, terrifying, and yet sexually exciting dream.

Dismissing it, you quickly raise from your bed and head for the bathroom, flicking on the light before entering. Knowing how it takes a while for the water to heat up in the shower, you decide to go ahead and brush your teeth as you wait.

While you're brushing, you glance in the mirror and stare unamused at your dishevelled hair, and notice how rough you look today.

The mirror in the bathroom begins to fog up, an  indication that the shower is now hot enough and ready to use. You turn around and take off your nightdress before opening the shower door.

You step inside, hoping the heat will help soothe you, but the first thing you feel is a searing pain as the water hits your skin. You look down at the area of your body that hurts and notice red markings and what appears to be a bite mark on your breast.

"No, no.. it was a dream. It can't be" you say aloud, staring at the bite mark on your breast. You grip on the hand rail to steady yourself, taking a deep breath to calm the sudden onset of nausea.

After a momentary pause, you quickly turn off the shower and dash towards the mirror. You frantically swipe away the steam from the glass, and stare at the blurry image of yourself.

You look at your left breast in shock; there were obvious teeth marks, and above it, near your heart, are subtle red cuts.

You wipe more steam away from the mirror with your palm and let out a gasp as your wound becomes more visible. Now it was plainly obvious that the subtle red cuts were in fact the name "Loki," etched into your skin in a very precise script—extremely fine, delicate letters, leaving it bright red and a little uncomfortable.

You felt extremely nauseated and had to rush to the toilet. Kneeling over the toilet bowl, you grab the rim for support as you vomit up the contents of your stomach. With your head whirling, you ease off your knees and sit back. Once the spinning stopped, though, the events of the previous evening flooded back into consciousness.

"It wasn't a dream." you whisper.

Your stomach still felt off, but you muster the strength to stand up. While you stand there, you clutch at the sink, not yet brave enough to look in the mirror again.

You inhale deeply and hold your breath for a moment before letting it out. A breathing technique you do to calm your anxiety.

"Just look at it again with a clear mind" you tell yourself. Hoping that now the shock of it has passed, you can think more clearly.

You lift your gaze slowly and take in the hazy reflection in the mirror. You move your hand to Loki's name, feeling the skin already start to raise from his technique. You continue to trace the outlines of each letter with your fingertip, repeating it over and over.

You remain there, mulling over and analysing the events of the previous evening. After a brief moment and a continuous fixed gaze, a wave of emotion surprised and overwhelmed you. You realise that you are genuinely delighted.

You know you should be horrified, and angry that you have his name permanently on your skin, yet, you are not. Everything about it is stunning, and all you can think about is how beautiful it is.

You smile at his chosen font, the small size of the letters, and the placement. You had previously imagined that it was going to be large, ugly letters—deeply carved into your skin. That was your one real reservation about going through with it. Well, that and the agony. But you felt no pain, Loki made sure of it.

"It's no different to the tattoo you wanted, and actually this is so much better" you repeat to yourself.

God I'm really so twisted...I'm smiling over a scar... but a beautiful scar that has meaning.

Yet, although you are surprised that you actually like your new piece of skin art, you can't help but feel disappointed.

"He lied to me" you muttered under your breath, your voice sad. "He fucking lied to me!" you repeat again, yet in a more furious tone.

The disappointment you felt quickly faded and was replaced with frustrated anger. You storm back into your room and get dressed. All the while mumbling cuss words towards Loki.

"That conniving fruit loop, how dare he lie to me. He promised he wouldn't hurt me!" you angrily say to yourself as you close the door to your home and make your way to work.

Everything you wanted to say to him was bouncing around in your head. You start talking to yourself out loud while walking, completely ignoring your surroundings, and too preoccupied with your feelings.

"He lied.. he hurt me...and where the hell was my fucking pleasure when I was finally obedient—where was my rug sex... that selfish motherfuc—..."

You're mid-rant when you're abruptly interrupted by the ringing of distant church bells. You pause and glance ahead; the church is in sight, but you still don't understand the ringing of the bells. It's early on a Monday morning and at this hour, nobody attends service.

You hear the bells start to ring faster and louder, and now you get the distinct impression that they're calling out to you specifically. You continue walking until you reach your bookstore, yet you hesitate to go inside, hovering in the doorway with your keys in hand.

The bells were still beckoning, and now your mind battled against your instincts to immediately hurry to the source of the sound. The noise intensified to almost deafening as you remained motionless. It was almost as though they were angry that you didn't immediately run towards the church. And you had to wonder, how were they this blaring? It was impossible for bells to ever be this thunderous.

Your eyes suddenly widened in knowing, "Loki's Magic" you mutter under your breath.

You cover your ears unable to tolerate the noise any longer, and yell out, "Ok already, I'm coming! Just stop the damn ringing!"

The bells suddenly stopped ringing and there was a heavenly hush that followed. You put your keys back in your pocket and walk in the direction of the church.

You come to a halt at the church's entrance but can't make up your mind if you should walk inside. After a quiet word with yourself and a few breathing exercises you decide on proceeded with entering. With one more deep breath, and a charged attitude, you storm the entrance, pushing open the wide double doors.

It comes as a surprise to see the church packed with residents of the town, all of whom are staring intently at Tom, who is standing centre stage. Tom's eyes stay fixed on you the whole time, taking in every detail of your beauty. The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers, and everyone turned around to stare at you.

Are they applauding me?

As Agnes calls your name, you turn away from staring at everyone else and see her approaching down the centre aisle. She grabs your hand and yanks you forward.

You anticipate being guided to a seat next to her, but instead she leads you to the stage, where she whispers "congratulations" before passing you over to Tom.

Congratulations?

You're stunned, and are at a loss for words, the whole scene was too strange, almost dreamlike. But then, Tom takes your hand in front of everyone, raising it up for all to see, and more cheers and applause erupt again.

What ...the ...fuck ...is ...going ...on?!

"She came! Mina joins us willingly, joins ME, willingly" he looks in your direction with a gentle gleam in his eye while giving you a smile.

It's hard to hold any ill will towards Tom, because Loki truly does transform into a new person whenever he dons a disguise. And it was Loki who made you angry with his deceit.

Tom makes a sign of silence by placing his finger to his lips, but as soon as his finger came close to his mouth, everyone instantly fell silent. It was unnerving how calm their bodies were, you even contemplated whether they were still breathing.

Tom held both your hands and faced you. He gives you an adoring glance, but you feel embarrassed about being in the spotlight. You look around at the crowd, who are watching you attentively, but your eyes settle on Agnes, and see that she's beaming broadly.

Your tummy starts to feel fluttery as you stare fixedly at Agnes. Your eyes almost imploring for her to explain.

"Mina" Tom says your name softly.

You snap your attention sharply back to him and look at him with wide eyes.

"My darling girl, I'm so pleased you came to me. You don't know how happy I am that you come" Tom was so pleased that his face appeared to be radiating.

"Tom what's going on, why is everyone here?"

"They come to witness, darling"

"Witness what?" you ask, beginning to feel anxious.

Tom gives you a wide grin before dropping to one knee, without warning.

Your mind becomes a jumble of thoughts as your heart begins to pound in your chest.

What the heck is he doing... he can't be...

Tom suddenly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a green velvet box, which, when opened, reveals a stunning gold ring set with an emerald. He takes it out of the box and hovers it over the tip of your engagement finger, and while maintaining his cheerful demeanour, his eyes never took their focus off of you.

In a tender voice and with genuine emotion in his eyes, he asks, "Would you marry me, darling?"

You look at him in complete disbelief, unsure if what you are witnessing is indeed taking place.

Why did he have to ask me this? Why did he have to put me on the spot in front of everyone?

Your head and heart were a mess because they were both filled with emotions and thoughts.

It wasn't your intention to come across as cruel when you snatched your hand away. But, you were unable to react properly due to the shock.

"I can't Tom. I .... I....." you stammer nervously, experiencing his rejection pain along with your own.

You can't simply say yes, you went there on a mission to discus everything from last night. You were not going to be distracted with this, this.......what is this? You have no idea...

You couldn't just say yes—you went there with the intention of talking about the events of last night. You weren't going to let something like this rushed proposal distract you. Besides, you weren't entirely convinced that he was being serious. This could be another elaborate joke for all you know.

The ring and the box magically disappear as Tom rises from his knees. The hurt on his face transformed into rage.

"Leave us! ...Now!" Tom's angry yell reverberated violently in the church hall.

You were overcome by a whirlwind of feelings, yet you were at a loss for words. As soon as he gave the command, the crowd began to rush out and head for the exit.

Tom didn't glance in your direction but instead kept his gaze on the rapidly dispersing crowd. After everyone had departed, you made your way over to him cautiously.

You softly call out his name and wait, but even after a short amount of time, he doesn't answer.

You say "Tom" again, more insistently this time, but he still does not respond.

Now feeling irritated, you yell "LOKI!"

He suddenly turns around and looks at you, "Be careful who you call out, you will not want Loki right now" Tom says in a clear warning tone.

You swallow nervously, knowing you need to tread lightly.

"I found your note" you state.

Tom looks at you inquiringly, and you can still make out the complicated range of feelings behind his eyes. Emotions of pain and sorrow.

"What note?"

"This one" you pull your top down just enough to expose Loki's name on your skin.

"Is that the reason you turned me down?" he inquired with a furrowed brow, the sorrow in his eyes clearly visible in his face.

"No, it's because you lied to me, you said you wouldn't hurt me"

Tom looked at you in shock, "I didn't lie to you, I put you to sleep and made sure that you did not feel any pain."

Tom would have normally tried to come closer to you by this point, but he kept his distance. You knew this was because he was still hurt from the rejection.

"Maybe your right Tom, maybe you didn't lie. I physically didn't feel pain but I was emotionally hurt. You convinced me to trust you, yet you betrayed my trust"

"But you always wanted a tattoo didn't you? Agnes said you were going to get one" he looked at you fraught with emotion, "you would allow someone to cut your skin, causing you a great deal of pain, just to get a print which had no real meaning?"

He poses thoughtful concerns, and valid points, and you listen carefully, soaking in every word.

"Which is better darling, pointless ink permanently marked on your beautiful body, or a symbol of our love that I carefully and lovingly created—without pain"

Having heard his arguments, you realise he is right again, and instantly your frustrations subside. You're learning that Loki has a motive for every action he takes. And his rationale is generally, if not always, good.

You make an effort to brighten the mood and dispel the glum atmosphere.

"I did want a tattoo—Agnes was adamant that I shouldn't. She had recited a full speech of why it was sinful and made sure to repeat it twice" you roll your eyes and shoot him a smile.

Tom finally breaks out a smile, "and how did you react to her godly verses?" he asked, genuinely curious to know.

You chuckle a small laugh when you think back, "Well I—um—behaved like a spoiled child and simply poked out my tongue—sort of like this" you immediately make the same face that you gave Agnes.

Loki laughed at your goofy grin, and you felt an instant surge of joy upon observing how much it made him smile.

"My name has meaning to you, doesn't it darling?" he asks, slowly inching towards you, "but if it does not, or if you do not like it, I will of course use my magic and remove it—you will have neither a scar nor my name present on your body"

Tom advances forward with his arms outstretched, ready to use his magic to erase his name and his love bite.

"No!" you boom, much louder than anticipated and holding out your arms to stop him getting too close.

"I...I...love it" you admit, much to his surprise, "It's not what I expected, I truly thought you planned on just cutting my flesh in no manner—big, scruffy letters right across my chest. I never thought you had this in mind, it's beautiful and much more unique than a tattoo"

Tom furrowed his brow in alarm, "You thought I would disfigure you?" he exclaimed, his face distraught. "Im sorry you ever felt that I could hurt you in that way" he added sadly.

You saw the genuine distress in his demeanour and lowered your arms, hoping he would take it as an invitation to come closer.

"I somehow knew you would like what I gave you sweetheart, you just needed to trust me. I wouldn't ever hurt you, or do something you never truly wanted" he declared, "but should you ever not want my name, you simply order me to remove it and I will darling"

You offer him a smile, and because you're too excited to wait for him to come to you, you move closer until your body is almost touching his.

"Im sorry, Mina, I—"

"Sssh—it's ok" you reassure, putting your finger to his lips.

Tom appears to be smiling, but it is not a genuine smile. It is clear that he is still troubled.

You close the gap between you completely and as you raise your hands up his chest, you can feel the toned muscles that are hidden behind his shirt. Tom longingly gazes in your direction, his body relaxing with every touch.

"There is a method to my madness darling" he declares.

"What do you mean?" you ask curiously.

"There is always a method to my mad ways, why I or rather Loki, behave the way I do. I admit I punish the petty crimes of the community harshly. It is so they will think twice before committing any crimes more severe, or any crimes at all"

You think back to the rumours about the new priest, and of the punishments he allowed to take place.

"I do all of this for you. To make your life better" he says, "your bookshop was getting bad remarks to the point of nearly being shunned because a certain someone didn't like that you stocked explicit material"

You instantly envisioned Bethany, the patron saint of the town. She complained to you both orally and in writing, because of the self-help book that discussed various sex aids. And yet still, despite everything she did, she ended up in a threesome.

"Wait, you forced her to have a threesome with the principal and pharmacist?" you exclaimed.

Tom let out a small laugh, "I can't force anyone, they do what they already want to do. She had already thought of them often. I just whispered a few words during church service. It's up to her how she interprets it, she really wasn't as pious as you think sweetheart"

You'll recall that after the revelation of her love triangle, she returned to your bookstore and purchased a particularly risqué title. It surprised you, but she seemed happier, and far less stuck up.

"I also made sure Ken got the punishment he deserved for touching you. I liked your idea of breaking every single finger that he touched you with. Bravo, truly perverse darling" Tom praises, beaming with pride for your dark suggestions.

"He was such a creep, he harassed countless women! He deserved it" you sneer, angrily.

"And he will never commit that crime again, just like all the others who have taken punishments" he stated. "But let me make this clear, do not confuse our game last night as punishment for you kitten. That was simply maddening lust, heated arousal, painful pleasure. You never need to be changed, you're perfect princess"

The butterflies in your stomach start fluttering again as a result of hearing his remarks. Yet, there was still a nagging question on your mind, and you felt compelled to ask him.

"Have you taken any other women into the secret room, and have you done what we did with anyone else?"

Tom grins, "I have never taken anyone inside that room with the same lustful intentions. That's our game darling, and I will never find a worthier opponent" 

You're glowing from the overwhelming sense of relief. You have a gleam in your eye as you gaze at Tom.

"You know, I think your game was rather one sided"

"How do you mean sweetheart?" he asks, intrigued.

"Well, didn't I reward you with pleasure after I gave you some pain. Where is my pleasure my love?"

After hearing his favourite expression of affection, Tom's smile spread across his face.

"I promised to give my queen all of me. If you demand pleasure right now, and every minute of the day thereafter, I will do as you command, because you have my heart"

"And you have my heart—two twisted hearts beating as one" you reply, drawing him closer and gazing lustfully into his eyes. You tiptoe upwards and lightly ghost your lips on his as you ask him, "Can Loki come out to play?"

His hunger for you was ignited after hearing your plea for Loki to come forth. And as he moves away from you, he gives you a cheeky grin. Taking up position in the middle of the church hall so that you can get a good look at his entire body.

"Do you want to see me in all my glory darling?" he asks with an eager and excited tone in his voice.

"Yes!" you yell in sheer elation.

Tom's eyes brightened at the sound of your enthusiasm and while remaining stationary, he hastily spread his arms wide. The priestly Tom is instantly transformed into the divine Loki as a luminous green glow erupts from every inch of his body.

As the light faded, you took in his new, more regal, and appropriately godly attire. He no longer wears the traditional black of priests but rather a garment of beautiful green and gold leather. You gasp as you see a large gold horned helmet materialise atop his head, completing his transformation into Loki. His appearance exuded majesty, authority, and power.

You now stare in disbelief at the supreme god before you, and as much as you love him as Tom, your core aches with a great yearning for Loki in his true form.

He stared directly at you as his amplified voice boomed and bounced off the church walls, "I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."