In the year 2004, Asgard was at its most peaceful. The Nine Realms faced no harm, the people were at ease, and the royal family had no tensions – a true rarity. Unknown to any Asgardian was the cycle of events that would follow this fateful year.
Loki and Thor did what they normally did for the past thousand years: fighting. Not the brutal and bitter fighting associated with the brothers, but instead were sparring. They were Asgardians after all, a normal love for fighting was in their blood.
"Brother," said Thor breathing heavily and pinning Loki to the ground. "Your physical strength is no match for mine.
Loki laid pinned on the ground, annoyed by Thor's enjoyment of the situation.
"Yes, but your intelligence on the other hand."
Before answering, Loki held out his hands, using to music to boost himself up while knocking Thor to a wall.
"Is severely lacking," Loki finished.
Thor slowly stood up, holding his back as he did so.
"Brother, you have shot me outside the sparring area. You have technically lo . . ."
"Thor, do you really think the enemy will only fight you in a small space while following sparring rules? I knew you weren't the brightest but I didn't think you were this naïve," mocked Loki.
Thor, now fully standing up, looked at Loki with an intense expression.
"Listen well, brother. I . . ."
Before Thor could finish, a young servant entered the room. Based on the shocked look on her face, she did not realize the two gods would be sweaty and shirtless.
"Umm . . ." said the servant warily. "The All-Father requested your presence in the throne room. He sent me to escort you."
"All right then," answered Loki. "We'll get cleaned ourselves and then follow you."
The servant nodded nervously and looked at the hall as the brothers cleaned themselves and put on their clothes.
When finished, the brothers walked to the servant. Loki looked at her and said "I'm sorry if we surprised you. I do not fault you for coming in. It was a request by the All-Father after all."
The servant then smiled at Loki and then guided him and Thor to the throne room.
Several hours had passed and Loki laid in his bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about the servant he met earlier.
He had never seen her before so she was definitely a new servant, but she seemed several hundred years old. Most new servants were in their twenties and spent the rest of their lives, which was usually a little under five thousand, working in the castle.
What had made this woman change her work much later than most?
Loki was also shocked by her appearance. The servant had long and curly dark blonde hair, which was not unusual for Asgardians. Her eyes however, they were green, an eye color Loki had never seen on an Asgardian except for him. Though Loki's eyes were a deeper and darker shade then hers, the fact that she had an extremely rare eye color surprised him.
Loki fell asleep that night thinking of the servant who he truly considered beautiful.
Loki had seen the servant a few times in the past year through glances, but he never interacted with her.
It wasn't until one day where Loki felt furious that he finally interacted with her one on one.
It was a day where Odin had been giving more attention to Thor than Loki. This was not strange, since Loki always knew Odin was fonder of Thor than himself. What did anger him was Odin mocking Loki about his lack of physical strength. Though it seemed merely joke-ish, Loki was upset over the ordeal. All he wanted was the respect of his father, and whatever Loki did never seemed to please him.
The castle garden was the only place where Loki felt truly relaxed, and so it was no surprise when he went there so soon after the situation with Odin. What was surprising was that someone else was at the garden when Loki entered.
It was the young servant.
Loki gasped when he saw her and the servant heard this and turned around, the same shocked look on her face that he saw when he first saw her.
"Hello, miss," said Loki. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
The servant nodded and turned to face the garden's pond as Loki walked over to her and sat on the stone bench. Loki looked at the plants, in awe over their constant beauty, and asked the servant a simple question.
"I have seen you around the castle recently. I hope you don't mine me asking, but what is your name?"
The servant took a deep breathe before answering.
"Runa, Runa Brandtsdottir."
"Runa," said Loki after a minute of silence. "I've never heard that name before, but it's very lovely."
Runa laughed and blushed. For the first time since Loki met her, she looked truly comfortable.
"Thank you. I know who you are. Everyone knows Prince Loki."
Loki lightly laughed at her comment and asked her a question. "What are you doing in the garden?"
Runa looked into Loki's eyes before answering. "I could ask you the same question."
"Very clever. Well, even though I asked first, I will answer," said Loki. "I was angry at my father, so I came into the garden to calm down. It's such a peaceful place."
"I can understand that," Runa said.
Loki looked at her with confusion. "You understand?"
Runa sighed. "I have a rough relationship with my father."
Loki nodded and stared into the pond, watching the lily pads glide across the water.
The two stood in silence for a while before it was broken by Thor.
"Loki? Where are you?" Thor loudly asked in the hall.
Loki sighed and stood up from the bench. He walked towards the entrance and then looked back at Runa. "I enjoyed our talk. I hope to see you again."
Loki then left the room, not seeing the deep blush on Runa's face.
It was only a few weeks later when Loki and Runa meant again.
Loki was in his room, reading a book about magic. He was practicing what he read when Runa walked into the room.
"Loki, sir."
Loki looked up to see Runa, carrying a book in her hand.
"The All-Mother wanted me to give this to you," Runa said. "She said it would further your studies."
Runa walked up to Loki, handing him the book before walking away to leave.
"Wait!" said Loki. "I wanted to talk to you."
Runa turned to him in shock. What did a prince want to talk to a servant about? Runa nodded and went to Loki. She sat next to him on his bed.
"I've been curious about what you said to me a few weeks ago," Loki spoke. "I wondered about your troubles with your father. I have never meant anyone with family troubles like me. I wondered if it involves similar reasons."
Runa took a deep breath before briefly answering. "I never had the respect of my father."
"Me neither," said Loki. "He always liked my brother more than me. I think part of it is my lack of physical strength, but I think there is a stronger reason. A reason he is hiding from me."
"I understand," Runa said. "My father, he was disappointed with me since my birth. He wanted a son, but instead he got me."
Loki looked at Runa in shock. Her father did not love her? His lack of love for her was based on her gender? What a foolish reason for someone to not love their child.
"My father is Brandt, a soldier," said Runa. "He is a respected commander among his troops. He wanted his child to be a soldier like him. When I was born, he became more hateful. Angry that he did not sire a son. He and my mother tried, but they could never create another child. After nine hundred years of living with hate and disrespect, I left and promised to never come back."
Runa had a single tear drop from her eye and slowly fall down her cheek. Loki reached his hand for the tear, using his thumb to remove it from her beautiful face.
"I'm sorry," Loki said. "I would not have asked you if I knew it would be troubling for you to say."
"No, no it is alright," said Runa while looking up at Loki. "I have never told anyone about that before. I felt comfortable telling it to you. You seem respectful and understanding. I like that."
Runa smiled at Loki while both their face were getting increasingly close to one another. When at an extremely close distance, they kissed one another.
They kissed for five seconds before Runa opened her eyes widely and pulled back.
"I, I'm sorry Loki. I did not mean. . ."
"Runa," said Loki. "Wait, let's think this out."
Runa didn't listen. She ran out the room, leaving Loki to reflect.