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up into the next realm. Loki glanced over at her, grinning at her expression. He was elated to share his kingdom with her.

Once they landed safely in the Bifrost, Alex looked behind her shoulder at the portal they just came through.

"I don't think I'll ever fully get used to that,"

"Hopefully, you won't have to use it much."

"Yeah, hopefully,"

They walked side by side down the long, rainbow-hued road. As they neared the city, Alex grew nervous. What would her role be in the castle? Would she be accepted by Asgardians despite her human origins? Loki didn't seem worried, so she tried to convince herself everything would be alright.

"Once we reach the castle, I want you to change."

"Change into what?"

"Something more appropriate for Asgard." He said. Once he saw her concerned expression, he added, "Only because we're going into town."

"Oh, are we?"

"We are."

Alex now couldn't wait to reach the castle. She had always wondered what it was like in town, but she wasn't allowed to go when she was a prisoner. Even though, now that she thought about it, she never felt like a true prisoner. However, that could be because she grew feelings for her captor.

Once they arrived, Alex walked the familiar halls of the castle toward where she once stayed. The room looked the same, but the absence of the vines still stuck out to her. She laughed at the memory of Loki's face when he discovered his vines were dead.

"There should be some clothes in the wardrobe," Loki said upon entering the room. "Normally, Asgardian women wear day dresses out in the town,"

She looked over his shoulder at him.

"But, if you insist, there should be leather pants and a tunic from your training days,"

"Perfect." She grinned.

He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness, exiting the room to allow her to change. She did so quickly, and when she opened the door, Loki had changed as well.

"Well, why make me change manually if you changed yourself magically?"

"Only so I could picture you undressing,"

Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she gave him a playful yet shy shove. "Let's go,"

He took her hand, leading her through the corridors. He brought her to an area she hadn't been before that was back behind the gardens. She quickly realized he brought her to stables.

"Loki, are we riding horses?"

"How else would you like to travel?"

"I mean, we could walk." She shrugged, playing it off.

"It's about five and a half miles to town. Do you have a flying ability I'm unaware of?"

"No, I just have never ridden a horse before, and I'm not sure I want to start today."

"You'll be alright, Gala won't steer you wrong." He petted the horse they had approached. "The stableboy can help you while I fetch my own horse."

She looked at the horse in front of her, and held out her hand to let it smell her. The horse nudged its head into her hand, earning a smile from Alex.

"Maybe this won't be so bad, huh?"

Alex allowed the stableboy to saddle the horse and bring her around. With a deep breath, Alex mounted the horse carefully, trying her best to remain confident. As she finally gathered the reins, she was taken aback by a blur in front of her.

Out rode Loki, mounted on a beautiful black horse and grinning slyly at Alex.

"Riding suits you." He smirked.

"Funny. Are we going or what?"

"If you can keep up," He slapped his horse, taking the lead down the dirt road.

"Oh, God, please don't let me die." She did the same with her horse, a squeal leaving her lips as the horse shot forward.

Loki's laughter rang through the air as they rode side by side down the road. The trees around the road weren't anything like Alex had ever seen, and she had to remind herself to focus on the road.

She could see the outskirts of town coming into view, and she smiled excitedly. She wanted to experience the town in which Loki grew up. She wondered what his favorite part of town was, or where he loved to run off to when he was just a boy.

"We can leave our horses at the gate, someone will look after them," Loki spoke, dismounting with ease. He reached for the reins of Gala, Alex's horse, and gently pulled her forward.

"Here,"

He took Alex's hands, ready to help her down. She slipped off the horse, gripping onto Loki for support. She landed right in front of him, looking up at his face. His hand reached up to her chin, squeezing softly. A soft smile painted her face in response to the gesture.

"Shall we?" He offered his arm.

She took it immediately, feeling his terse muscles through his shirt. Her touch soothed him, but what he really loved was the warming energy that transferred from her skin to his.

"Right there is the Fountain of Kings. By ritual, every first born son of every king is dipped in that as a babe."

"Pretty,"

"The town center is where the people gather for festivals and celebrations. They light candles all around, and from the castle, the view is extraordinary. I remember when I was a boy, Thor and I used to sneak out of the castle to come see it." Loki chuckled. "We didn't care if the view was better from the castle, we wanted to be in the action."

"I'm assuming Thor's idea?"

"Of course."

She took in the people, who bustled about their daily routines. Merchants hollered at citizens, attempting to allure them to their tent. Children ran around, playing in the cobblestone streets without a care in the world. An older woman fed some birds under a large tree. Citizens immediately noticed Loki, and bowed if they were directly in front of him.

She felt many eyes on her, most likely wondering who the unique-looking woman that accompanied Loki was.

"Now, Alexandra, I want to take you somewhere special,"

"Alright,"

They approached a small building, and the sign read 'Asgard Baked Goods'.

"A bakery?"

"Not just any bakery, my love," He pulled her toward the door. "This bakery creates the best pastries in all of the Nine Realms,"

"Clearly, you've never been to Sprinkles."

"Luta," Loki called when they stepped through the door.

"By Valhalla, Loki, you've grown!" A small, plump woman came into view. She looked around sixty, but Alex was unsure how old anyone here really was. "Who is this?"

"Someone very dear to me. Alexandra, meet Luta, the owner."

Alex smiled widely. "It's lovely to meet you,"

"The pleasure's mine, my dear. I have to say, when I imagined Loki bringing a woman into this shop, I had no idea he'd bring such a beauty,"

"You're too kind,"

"Well, I'm sure you know why I've come."

Luta laughed. "Of course, of course. Come around the back,"

"When I was young, Luta used to give me this certain fruit. It's not sold to commoners, so she'd give it to me secretly. Not even Thor knows about this,"

Alex listened, intrigued.

"They're called the Golden Apples of Idunn," Luta spoke. "They grant youth and vigor to those who consume them, which make them highly valued. It's why Loki doesn't look his true age,"

Loki rolled his eyes playfully. "You make me out to be ancient,"

"Dear, you are."

"Have you seen yourself recently?"

"Quiet down and eat the fruit." Luta handed them both a piece of the apple.

Alex hesitated, looking at the oddly colored apple. Loki had already bitten into his, so she went for it. The second she bit down, rich flavor exploded against her tongue. The juice was sweet, with the right amount of tartness to it.

"Oh, wow," She hummed.

"Good, isn't it?"

"Luta, this is amazing,"

"Well, I've got some pastries with flecks of it baked in. The legal amount allowed, of course," Luta winked at Loki.

"I'd love to try them,"

For the rest of the afternoon, Loki stuffed Alex with different Asgardian delicacies. He led her around the rest of the town, telling her stories of the times Thor and he had spent here. She loved listening to him talk about his childhood, letting her catch a glimpse of his humanistic side.

The day was absolutely perfect.

Until, they got back to the stables.

Alex and Loki had arrived back to the castle, eager to relax after the long day out. They dismounted their horses, awaiting the stableboy.

"Put these away." Loki instructed. "And do it correctly this time. The horses were sloppily cleaned when we received them today,"

Alex saw the look on the timid boy's face, grimacing when his eyes fell to the floor. Loki held out his hand for Alex to walk with him, but she defiantly ignored his gesture. She despised when Loki got arrogant.

Loki, eyebrows furrowed, followed after her. "What was that about?"

"You didn't need to talk to him like that," She muttered.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The stable boy," She stopped walking, facing him. "You were rude,"

"I was rude?" Loki scoffed.

She rolled her eyes, continuing to walk down the hall toward her room. "The way you spoke to him was demeaning."

"He is a mere servant,"

"He's still a person, Loki."

The door came into view, and she was still walking ahead of Loki.

"He's a person beneath me."

"You need to stop treating people like garbage because they're 'beneath you'. No one is beneath anyone,"

She reached for the handle to pull the door open, but a hand slammed on the door. She slowly turned around and was met by Loki's face inches from hers, his arm trapping her against the door.

"You should be beneath me," He whispered lowly.

Her breath hitched in her throat, and her eyes dared to meet his. Her lips quivered in hunger for his, and she slowly reached for the handle again. She opened the door successfully this time, pulling on his collar for him to follow her.

He slammed the door shut, his head turning toward her. She was several steps from him, but he closed the distance in seconds. Her hands went to his hair, tugging aggressively. He hummed against her lips, his fingers dancing on her waist.

Alex backed up toward the bed, the gap between their bodies remaining closed. Loki peppered her neck with kisses, the soft sighs escaping her lips fueling him.

Before they could advance any farther, a loud knock sounded at the door.

"Busy," Loki growled at the interruptor.

Yet, the knock came again, louder this time.

Loki grunted, straightening his hair and starting for the door. He opened it angrily, but his demeanor changed the second he saw the culprit.

"Father?"

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𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚙𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚢'𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔

𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐! 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕