Oh boy have I been looking forward to this so much for the last month and a half. :D I can't believe the time has finally come, but here we are.
This first ficlet is a continuation to a drabble I wrote several years ago. It can be read here: /s/10008619/16/The-Science-of-Lies. The idea was that Jane accidentally sent herself to Jotunheim, where Loki has taken over and become king. This is what happens after he finds Jane and takes her back with him.
Hope you enjoy!
.01 Space
Jane woke up on a plushy mattress an indeterminable amount of time after blasting herself to an alien planet and being captured by the king. She was almost convinced it had been a dream when she heard the crackling fire (her lab did not have a fireplace) and remembered her bed was a secondhand cot in a dingy trailer. She opened her eyes and took in deep green sheets on a bed the size of a football field.
The room was even bigger and filled with ancient Norwegian artifacts, from the wall carvings to the decorative wooden shields. It was like one of those historical recreations they kept in museums. Except Jane doubted those phony beds stuffed with straw would ever be so comfortable as this.
The color scheme was decidedly green, with a little black and gold thrown in for good measure. Jane glanced down at herself and sighed with relief that she was still dressed. There had been no 'bathe her and bring her to me' nonsense. At least, not yet.
She was alone as far as she could tell. In a room this big, there was no way to be sure. The fire brightened as if aware she was awake and needed more light. It provided more than any fire should be capable of. She'd have to ask someone about that, she thought dimly, assuming this apparent hospitality wasn't a ploy to bring her guard down. Devouring your prey was easy if they didn't struggle.
Jane scooted to the edge of the bed. Her shoes were placed neatly next to an ornate armchair. Her jacket was folded and draped over the top. She left them for now, the floor carpeted and the room a pleasant temperature. Her first steps were uneven but quickly improved. Two chairs were positioned directly in front of the fireplace for maximum warmth, an oval-shaped table between them. She studied a dish sitting precariously on the latter, covered by a silver dome with dragon-shaped carvings around the rim. Jane was a scientific mind who prided herself in her critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, but it was at least a full minute before she realized the plate was meant for her.
She lifted the dome, fully expecting breakfast to be a bowl of mush or something not completely dead. The buttermilk biscuits with cream cheese and side fruit bowl, therefore, gave her pause. Jane picked nervously at what appeared to be an ordinary blueberry. It tasted like one too, once she mustered up the courage to eat it.
The door opened, apparently unlocked from the start. In walked the man from yesterday, the one the bigger monsters seemed to defer to. He did have a regal air about him, partial nudity notwithstanding. His red eyes followed her as she sank into a chair. A berry fell between her fingers and rolled under the bed.
"Good morning," he said. He had a British sounding accent though Jane was pretty sure he'd never set foot in that country.
"Good morning," Jane answered. "Um… I was just…"
"You may eat," he said, assuming that was the reason behind her discomfort. He took the chair opposite her, steepling his fingers as she hesitantly took a biscuit and brought it to her lips. A mouth-watering aroma wafted straight into her nostrils, turning Jane's fear to desire. She polished off the whole thing in two bites and immediately reached for another. "I take it you are satisfied with your accommodations?"
"What?" Jane asked with her mouth full. She swallowed and brushed some crumbs off her lip. "Oh yeah. It's great. Um… I wasn't expecting to have my own room."
"Yes, unfortunately, the dungeons are currently full. You'll have to make due until the mid-afternoon executions."
Jane's heart stopped.
He grinned. "That was a joke."
If she wasn't so sure he could kill her just by thinking about it, she'd slap him. "Oh, okay. Um… may I ask a question?"
"You just did," he said, which was annoying and pedantic, but it wasn't a no.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Jane played with a rip in her shirt that wasn't there before. She must have snagged it on something during the transport. "I'm technically an intruder, even though I didn't mean to be. You could've locked me up for real or…"
He gave a thoughtful hum, then leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. He had ridiculously long legs and kind of amazing abs. "That is the question."
What was that supposed to mean?
"It is true, in most situations, I would assume you a spy and have you killed on sight. And that is not a joke." He added that last part when Jane nearly laughed out loud. "However, given the length of time since any of the nine realms have visited Midgard, I doubt you are more than a displaced traveler. That you arrived on Jotunheim of all places is an extraordinary case of bad luck, is it not?"
"I don't know," Jane answered honestly. She was sitting in a room more gorgeous than anything she ever thought she'd see in her lifetime with an alien king. "Is it?"
He pursed his lips, then got to his feet. With a wave of his hand, the flames died down. New artificial light took its place. It came from every direction, shining a golden hue on the walls. Jane stared at the multiple orbs in awe. None of them resembled light bulbs or flames. There was no point of origin. They'd just sprung into existence like magic.
"Your people call it electricity, I believe," he said. "The method of lighting a room without fire… quite primitive if you don't mind me saying."
Jane would've been affronted and happy to defend her races innovations over the course of a few thousand years, but then again, there was a scientific impossibility happening before her eyes. The wheels in her head turned hard enough to break. "It's amazing."
His mouth twitched. "I have a proposition for you, little one."
Jane blinked. "What kind of proposition?"
"That depends," he paced before the fire, his long hair swaying behind him. "Do you wish to return to your homeworld at once or would you like to stay a while?"
"Wait, are you saying you could send me home?" Jane shot to her feet. "Like right now?"
"If you wish," he said almost bitterly. "There are few corners of the galaxy I cannot find. Though before you make a decision, consider this: there is a vast universe out there your people have barely touched, is there not?"
"We've been to the moon," Jane said lamely. "And there are probes as far as Pluto."
He smiled the way a person usually reserved for a child's macaroni art. "But my dear, you've been given a unique opportunity to see more. All you have to do is say the word."
The curtains took on a life of their own, sliding aside in perfect synchronicity. They'd blended so well into the rest of the wall, Jane had assumed there were no windows. She was wrong. Without covers, there was almost nothing but windows. Jane beheld the skyline of an ice blue city, teeming with skyscrapers reaching for the stars. Speaking of stars, there were hundreds, if not thousands, twinkling like tiny jewels in the sky. Within seconds, Jane had mapped out five different constellations she had never seen before, and every which way she looked there were more. So many it made her head hurt and her heart soar.
"This… this is…"
She pressed her hands on the glass. When had she moved? She was by the fire a second ago. Now the heat of the flames barely touched her, but she had never felt warmer.
"This is merely a taste of what I can show you, little one," he said, his lips a hair's breath from her ear. "Say the word and I will give you the universe."
Jane swallowed and nodded, her trance broken by the weight of one pressing matter. "But why me? You don't even know me."
He took her hand in his. He was wearing gloves for some reason. "I know you've accomplished something no one on your planet should be capable of. Not even Jotunheim has managed to create a bridge between worlds. You have achieved on your own what took the Aesir centuries."
"I wasn't completely alone," Jane said hoarsely. The intensity of his gaze silenced any further attempts at modesty.
"The fact remains, little one, you are the most fascinating creature I have come across in all my years."
How many years was that she wondered. He appeared close to her age, but his eyes were ancient. He could be well over a thousand years old for all she knew and if that were the case… either he was an excellent liar or Jane had just been given one hell of a compliment.
"Okay," she said, breathing deeply. "First of all, if I'm going to stay a while, you have to stop calling me 'little one'. My name is Jane Foster."
Never did she think she'd see such honest to God joy in his eyes, though he covered it up nicely with a smirk. "As you wish, Jane Foster."
The way he said her name was almost sinful. It shook Jane at her core and she was forced to acknowledge that in spite of (or perhaps because of) his alien features, he was incredibly handsome. "A-and, I need to let my friends know I'm okay. I can't let them think I'm dead."
"Very well," he said. "We can send word to them whenever you wish. Now then, shall I escort you to the observatory?"
"You have an observatory?"
He chuckled. "Jotunheim has come a long way since I took over. Soon our cities and innovations will rival Asgard itself."
They left the room, the door shutting and locking on its own behind them. Jane would have to ask her new friend about that later. They passed dozens of Jotunn servants and soldiers on their way to the top floor. All of them bowed before their king. None of them frightened Jane anymore as long as she kept close to him.
"Oh, where are my manners," he said as they reached a glass elevator (they had elevators here). He took her hand and kissed the air over it. "You may call me Loki, son of Frigga, King of Jotunheim."
"I think I'll go with just Loki if that's okay," Jane said. The elevator arrived and he stepped back to allow her first entry. They were halfway to the top and looking out at the snowy fields beyond the city when it hit her. "I'm sorry, Loki? Like Loki Loki? Like… that… are you-"
"Save your questions, Jane Foster," he smiled serenely, his red eyes no longer like blood to her. More like rubies. "We have all the time in the world."
