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❛ ᴇᴛᴏɪʟᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ sʜᴇ's ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇsᴛ
ᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꒱


❝ IF SHE GIVES YOU HER HEART,
DON'T YOU BREAK IT / LET
YOUR ARMS BE A PLACE
SHE FEELS SAFE IN ❞

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A S G A R D

They were hiding again, this time with Loki's magic as there was no forest to conceal them. A yellow wagon was wheeling down the road with an older woman as the passenger and a single brown horse pulling it along. A memory from a long time ago surfaced in Eleanora's mind.

A crowded market in Alfheim.

The spicy, earthy sent of foreign herbs.

The warmth of the afternoon sun.

A dark-haired woman waving her over to a stand of glass flowers.

"Hang on, I know that wagon!" the blonde exclaimed, her eyes widening in recognition. "That's where I bought the flower I gave you!"

Loki glanced down at the at the blue Aster that sat in the lapel of his suit jacket. "Are you quite certain?"

"Yes," she insisted. (Though she purposefully didn't mention the fact that she didn't recognize the driver.) "I'm sure we could hitch a ride with her, which would get us to the city proper much faster than just walking."

The god frowned, considering the suggestion. As loath as he was to trust anyone around Eleanora, he knew they wouldn't make his father's deadline if they stayed on foot. He sighed. "Very well. But at the slightest sign of—"

"Someone wanting to kill me, we'll leave. Yes, I know," she finished for him. "I'm just as reluctant to meet my untimely demise as you are."

With a soft huff of unwilling amusement, he released the spell that kept them invisible. He traded it for an illusion of a commoner, a nondescript Asgardian, just in case this woman was familiar with the appearance of the realm's princes. Eleanora grimaced next to him, not quite liking his sandy-blond hair and brown eyes as much as his normal appearance.

He stepped into the road, holding out a hand. "Halt! I seek passage to the main gates of Asgard—"

She pointed at him with a frantic look in her eyes. Her frizzy red hair only added to her wild appearance. Loki watched her warily as she clambered off her driver's seat to take a threatening step towards him. "That's my flower. Hundreds years I've been looking for that. Give it to me now!"

Eleanora puffed up angrily, sliding between them. "How dare you? I bought that fair and square!"

The god quickly pushed her to the side much to her annoyance and drew his daggers from the air. The crazed woman, who gave no indication that she'd so much as heard the Star, took a cautious step back. "Oh. Perhaps I was mistaken."

"It's all right," the prince said, adopting a silky voice full of charm. "It's obviously very valuable to you, so you can have it in exchange for what I need. Safe passage to the main gates of Asgard, arriving in the same exact condition we're in now."

"I swear this to you," she promised— and as far as Loki could tell, there was no lie in her voice. "Food and lodging on the way?"

He nodded. "That would be appreciated."

The deal done, he regretfully took the flower from the buttonhole where it had been perched for the last few days and handed it to the woman. She snatched it from him as soon as her fingers were close enough to grab it. "Do you have any idea what manner of thing it was that you had?"

"It is some kind of magical trinket, of that I know for certain," he answered, "though as I was not the one who created it, I do not know its true purpose."

The woman scoffed. "You need to take your magical studies seriously, boy. This flower offers protection. In fact, the exact same thing that would've prevented me from doing this."

Before either of them could react, blue smoke hit Loki in the face and his world began to shrink— or, rather, he shrunk while the world around him grew larger. The red-haired woman became a giant. The ground was suddenly much closer to his face, the grass tickling his nose. Eleanora's panicked shouts reverberated in his ears, as if his hearing had suddenly become much more sensitive.

Rage filled every tiny fiber of his field-mouse body and he squeaked angrily. How humiliating. At least Eleanora would never use this story against him. The shock of the abrupt transformation kept him from changing back immediately and giving the woman a taste of her own medicine. When he finally did gather his senses, it was too late. She'd trapped him in the wagon and he could see her runes etched in the yellow wood, preventing him from reworking her spell.

"I'll keep me word. You shall not be harmed," the woman told him as she locked the cage, throwing some pellets on the hay. "There. Food and lodging just as I promised."

Eleanora trailed behind the woman, worn out from her efforts of avenging the man she loved. It seemed like there was an invisible barrier between her and the driver, one that kept the woman from sensing her presence. As she climbed into the back of the caravan, she was too distraught to notice that a small, bright blue bird was perched on a narrow wooden spool that stuck out from the side of wagon, just above the driver's seat. The bird, however, noticed the girl and tried to get her attention. All that came out were a series of urgent chirps as she disappeared behind the carriage.

The blonde was still fuming as she watched the redhead secure the field mouse in the cage. "Would I be correct in thinking that you can neither see nor hear me? Then I'd like to tell you that you smell of pee. You look like the wrong end of a dog. And I swear, if I don't get my Loki back as he was, I'll be your personal poltergeist!"

Despite being in mouse-form, the god could still understand everything that was going on. He stilled at the words my Loki. He couldn't deny how he liked the sound of that.

They were eventually left alone as the woman returned to her driving position. The wagon rumbled into motion and soon they were bumping along the road, so Eleanora settled into place next to the cage as there was nothing she could do. She stuck her fingers into through the bars and the Loki-mouse pressed against them. She smiled faintly, though it was weak and a little scared.

"Loki," she said urgently, the concern in her voice palpable. "Are you okay? Can you understand me?"

He wished that he could reassure her that everything would be alright, but when he tried, all that came out were a series of squeaks. He sighed, suddenly realizing acutely probably why half of Thor's friends disliked him so much. It was terribly inconvenient to be in an animal form. Loki tried looking up at her, at least to make eye contact, but the perception of a mouse's eyes were much different than a human's.

The girl brightened for a second in hope, but then she glanced over her shoulder, her gaze falling in defeat. There was a block of cheese hanging from a string. That was probably what he wanted. She stood and went over to get a piece, returning to push it through the bars. Frustrated, Loki let out another bout of squeaks as he tried to tell her that yes, he could hear her, and no, he didn't want cheese.

She sat down heavily and let out a sigh of her own, burying her face in her hands for a moment. He squeaked once more to get her attention, which seemed to do the trick as her fingers returned to the cage. "We'll be alright, Loki. I'll figure out a way to fix this, somehow."

(Although she didn't know it then, this would be the first of many times that she would say this as she became accustomed to her role of cleaning up her soon-to-be husband's messes.)

Now, though, all the prince could do was settle himself next to her fingers to be close to her. She stroked the mouse's back, feeling the soft brown fur against her skin.

"Loki," she murmured. Her gaze was focused on an unseeing point, a little glassy as she stared off into the distance. "There's something that I want to tell you. I think it would be best to do it now, when you can't come up with a smart remark or. . . or reject me. Hel, you probably won't even remember that I'm saying this to you. At least it will be good practice for when I say it for real."

Loki had never wanted to be a mouse less. (He'd never particularly wanted to be one in the first place, but he hadn't gotten a choice in that.) If he had been human, he would have been able to sit next to her and hold her hand. He could have reassured her that he would never reject her. He would have told her that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him— that it was him who did not deserve her. But, all he could do was squeak out the words as well as he could, even if she wasn't able to understand him.

Eleanora resumed petting him, assuming that was the reason for his squeaks. "You know when I said I knew little about love? Well, that wasn't true. I know a lot about love. I've seen it. I've seen centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain and lies. Hate. It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But to see the way that mankind loves. I mean, you could search the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful.

"I think everyone deserves to experience it at least once in their life, and I say that because I know you don't believe it's meant for you. But I'm here to tell you that you're wrong, Loki, because I love you. I always have, and I always will. I know that you're probably confused about that part, but the truth is, I've watched you grow up. Not in a creepy way, I promise. It was through dreams. I think it's because you're my glorious purpose, and I needed to know you before I met you to understand you.

"And I want you to know that I don't care about you just because you're my glorious purpose. I've seen the man you are and I've fallen for you from that alone. I don't care what you say about what you think your fate is; I'll prove it to you every day if I have to, for a thousand years— for five thousand, for as long as it takes for you to believe me. Because I've come to a decision, whether you like it or not: it's you and me, until the end. I've never been so sure of anything else in my life.

"My heart no longer belongs to me— it belongs to you, and if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange. No gifts, no goods, no demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you love me, too. Just your heart in exchange for mine. That's what I wanted to tell you earlier, when you fell on top of me by the side of the road."

The Loki-mouse nuzzled against the girl's fingertip— the closest thing to a kiss that he could manage at the time, though he resolved to do exactly that once he was a human again. His tiny mouse-heart soared at her words, having never been on the receiving end of such a demonstration of emotion (that sort of thing usually only happened to Thor from the ladies at court, and never to the magnitude of how Eleanora spoke.)

After having said her piece, she settled against the wall of the wagon, her back pressed against the wood as the wagon continued on.

✧ ✧ ✧

The wagon stopped on one of the many bustling streets of Asgard's main city. The old woman climbed out of her driver's seat and unlatched the back of the caravan. Oblivious to Eleanora's presence, she freed the Loki-mouse from his cage. Setting him on the ground outside, there was another wave of blue smoke as she returned Loki to his proper form, dark-haired prince and all (the illusion having been broken due to her magic.)

Thankfully, she didn't seem to recognize him. "The palace is one mile that way. I can't risk getting any closer— you're not worth a prison sentence. The walk might take you a little longer than normal. Transformation tends to leave the brain a bit scrambled for a while."

"You—" Loki started, though his sneer didn't quite have the same heat in it as it usually did. He drew his dagger from the air and made to lunge at the woman, but his balance wasn't what it normally was, either.

Eleanora gasped as he careened sideways, catching him just in time before he fell. The god's weight sagged against her as se struggled to keep them upright. She looped his arm around her neck and held his dagger in her free hand.

The witch chuckled at his state. "I warned you. Save your strength."

"I've been so worried about you," the blonde breathed out, relieved to have him back even if he was unsteady on his feet.

Loki had an uncharacteristically dopey smile on his face, almost as if he were drunk, as he looked up at her with soft eyes. He tried to poke her cheek but missed by a mile and his finger jabbed at the air instead. "Pretty"

She blushed and straightened him out better. "Come on. There's an inn over there. Your father's deadline is tomorrow. I think you need a bath and a good night's sleep before you present me to him. Come on, Loki. It's not that far."

✧ ✧ ✧

Eleanora hoped that it wouldn't take long for Loki to recover from the witch's spell. They had less than twenty-four hours to turn her in to Odin to meet his deadline, and she would certainly rather have Loki win than his brother or any of her other pursuers. Since she had some downtime, she decided that a bath for herself was in order as well; they'd been travelling all day and it wouldn't do to meet the Allfather in less than perfect shape.

Unfortunately, once she was soaking in the hot water, all that was left to do was let her mind wander. She would be meeting Odin tomorrow— the King of the Nine Realms, the one who, according to her mother, had been after her since she'd fallen from the heavens. The blonde sank deeper into the water to try and rid herself of the cold fear that threatened to consume her.

When children were told stories, they were always afraid of the villain, of the monster that lived under the bed, the creak of the floorboards in the dark. The monster took on different shapes depending on their worst fears— a beast with salivating jaws, a creature with hundreds of eyes, something grotesque that struck fear into the heart just to look upon it.

For Eleanora, that monster was as normal as a human: he had two legs, two— well, really one— eyes, two arms. There was nothing particularly terrifying about him except for the gilded throne he sat on. That seat of power allowed him the ability to track her down and steal her away— just as he was doing now, though admittedly through his son. He would force her into battle, parade her in front of the court and lock her up, only letting her out when he needed her. He could control her entire life down to the food she ate, the clothes she wore and the amount of time she was allowed outside. And she was going to meet her monster tomorrow.

She squeezed her eyes shut and submerged herself completely under the water. I will not be afraid, she told herself. I will be strong. I am a Star— he is nothing but a human. But even as she repeated it, the mantra wasn't quite convincing enough to stick. Eleanora rose out of the water to take a breath, sending the droplets running down her face. The tendrils of blonde hair stuck to her shoulders, now sodden and wet.

But, facing her greatest fear wasn't the only thing that occupied her mind— there was also her confession to Loki to consider. Would he remember what she said? A part of her hoped not, too mortified that she had admitted her love for him to a mouse. And worse still— what if he didn't feel the same? He'd already denied her, hadn't he? It might be better if her words went unacknowledged, especially since she'd be under his father's thumb once they arrived at the palace. Who knew when she would see him again— if ever? The thought saddened her heart greatly.

She was so lost in her spinning mind that she didn't hear Loki throw back the covers on the bed or his feet hit the floor to pad over quietly to the divider. He opened the small door and poked his face through with a mischievous smile that made his eyes glint in amusement. "Excuse me."

"Oh!" she startled and turned quickly away from him to cover herself.

"Enjoying ourselves, were we?" he asked her teasingly.

"Not anymore! Close your eyes!" the blonde scolded him.

He did as she requested, making a big show of it as he did so. "I wasn't looking, darling, though I can't say I'm not curious. . ."

"And you'll stay curious," Eleanora insisted, her cheeks flushing at the comment. She waited until she was certain he wasn't peeking and got out, grabbing a nearby towel to wrap it around herself. Once she had stepped back into the main part of the room, she said, "all right, you can open them now."

There was a pause as he took her in, his eyes shifting to a bright, spring green— the color they were when he was happy, Eleanora was beginning to learn. Loki came towards her, close enough that there were only inches of space left between them. She was suddenly acutely aware that she was only in a towel. He didn't seem to mind— or even notice— as he gently pushed some of her damp hair off her shoulders so that it fell behind her once more. She wanted to ask why he was looking at her so intently, in a way that made her entire body warm, but she was afraid to break the silence that had fallen between them.

When he did speak, his voice was low and warm. "Did you really mean what you said in the caravan?"

Eleanora's eyes widened as heat rushed to her face out of sheer embarrassment. "What I. . . but. . . but you were a mouse! You were a mouse! You wanted cheese! You didn't. . . I asked you to give me a sign. . ." she trailed off miserably and buried her face in her hands.

Loki gently pulled her hands away and rested his head against hers. "And risk you being too embarrassed to keep saying such lovely things?" He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You want to know what the Captain really whispered to me that day?" When she nodded, he continued, "he told me that my true love was right in front of my eyes. And he was right."

She glowed then, brighter than he had seen her even on the deck of the pirate ship. The silvery light that encased her was almost too bright to look at, so he closed his eyes and leaned in closer, feeling the warmth of her presence enveloping him. As their lips met, it was as if time itself slowed down, the world fading away into a distant hum. The kiss was tender yet filled with an undeniable passion, a silent promise of everything they had yet to explore together.

When they finally parted, their breaths mingling in the air between them, Eleanora's eyes fluttered open, her gaze locking with Loki's. In that moment, there was no need for words. They understood each other completely, their connection transcending any doubts or uncertainties.

With a soft smile, Loki brushed a strand of hair away from Eleanora's face, his fingers trailing gently along her cheek. "I meant every word, Eleanora," he whispered, his voice barely above a murmur. "It's me and you, until the end. I've never been so sure of anything else in my life."

Eleanora's heart swelled with warmth at his words, an echo of the ones she had said to him in the wagon. He really had been listening. A sense of contentment washed over her like a gentle tide. She leaned in to press another fleeting kiss against his lips, her heart overflowing with love for the mischievous god who had stolen it.

✧ ✧ ✧

After, they lay together on the soft mattress as their breathing calmed from their exertion. Eleanora curled up in Loki's arms, feeling even safer and warmer than she had on the pirate ship. She was facing him and could see the softness in his eyes. She rested a hand against his bare chest, feeling the light spray of dark hair under her fingertips and the rapid beat of his heart against her palm. His arm was a comfortably heavy weight across her waist to keep her close. That was something she noticed about him: he was very touchy once he let her in— and she didn't mind it one bit.

The only thing that overshadowed this otherwise perfect moment was tomorrow. Her impending meeting with Odin plagued her mind, unable to relax as her thoughts whirled with what-ifs. But it was her and Loki against the world now, wasn't it? She could tell him her fears and they could work through it together. She didn't want him to lose his father's favor because he didn't turn her in, but she also didn't see a solution— which, if she talked to him, they might be able to think of one together. So, after gearing herself up to admit this, Eleanora spoke up quietly. "Loki. . . I'm. . . scared."

His brows furrowed and the arm around her waste became a hand resting on her face, cupping her cheek gently. "Of what, love?"

While the endearment made her blush— still not used to his open expression of affection— she soldiered on. "Tomorrow. Meeting your father. What comes after that."

The god's expression hardened slightly, his spring-green eyes becoming emerald at her confession. At first she thought he might be angry at her fears, but when he replied, she realized that wasn't the case. "I have. . . been thinking about my father's ordinance."

"Yeah?" Eleanora encouraged him hopefully.

"There is. . . one way that I might be able to keep you from his control."

Her heart sank at the reluctance in his voice, her stomach twisting as the thought occurred to her. "You're not. . . sending me away, are you?"

"What? No, of course not," Loki answered, the weight in his voice giving way to surprise. "If I did you wouldn't be able to fulfill your glorious purpose, and it would only delay the inevitable. The only reason why I am reluctant to suggest it is. . . that it is a commitment."

"What kind of commitment?" the blonde wondered, feeling relief swamp through her. He wasn't sending her away!

He paused again, and her eyes glanced down to where his tongue came out to run across his lips. "A life-long one. The only way my father wouldn't have any jurisdiction over you is if you were already spoken for. A. . . husband."

Her eyes widened at the suggestion as the shock stole her breath away. "But. . . Asgardian marriages are. . . forever. You'd be giving up your freedom for me, and I couldn't ask you—"

"You're not asking me," he interrupted her gently. "I'm offering. I'd rather give up my freedom for you than have yours taken away for good. It's the only way I've thought of that could work."

Eleanora worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she considered the solution. "But. . . wouldn't we need someone to sanctify the marriage? I can't see the Allfather being too keen on losing such a powerful piece," she finished bitterly.

The god winced a little, knowing that she was right. "That is the one flaw in an otherwise perfect plan. We would need someone of authority to officiate the rites. My father would be preferable, but you already know why he wouldn't. My mother could— and she would, if my father wasn't so against it— but she would never contradict him. We would need a god or goddess of equal standing— one who presided over love or marriage. While a Vanir royalty would work as well, Freyja has been missing for many centuries."

"Freyja?" Eleanora repeated curiously, having not heard the name before.

He nodded. "The Vanir goddess love and fertility. But, alas, she no one knows where she is. . . if we did find her, though. . ."

"She'd owe us a pretty big favor," the blonde finished with a defeated sigh. "Too bad we don't have time for that."

The thumb on her cheek stroked her skin softly as Loki's eyes took on that intense look that warmed her stomach. His voice was full of promise when he spoke next. "No matter what happens tomorrow, remember this: no one harms what is mine."

"Am I?" she asked, even as her heart fluttered from the threat in his words. "Am I really yours?"

He paused, and his eyes flickered from hers. "You shouldn't be," he said so softly that she almost couldn't hear him, "but you are something. Someone. To me."

A/N: Ahh! Another milestone— they kissed and I got to the conversation snippet that's in the act divider chapter! I just wanted to clarify that while Eleanora did look down on Asgard/the Nine Realms as a star (a real one), my interpretation of it is that she didn't see any specific events, just widescale things that occurred over the centuries. Plus she doesn't remember much of that, either.