Hello readers! Thank you for clicking on this story, I hope you will enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Marvel related except for my OC.

"Happiness hit her, like a train on a track.

Coming towards her, stuck still, no turning back.

She hid around corners, and she hid under beds.

She killed it with kisses and from it she fled."

-Dog Days are Over, Florence + The Machine

In the palace of Asgard sat the All-Father, Odin, on his great throne. To his right was his first born son, Thor- the God of Thunder. He was a mighty warrior in training still, who thought with his hammer and found great pleasure in defeating his enemies. He often sparred with his four great friends- Lady Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun. For many years they had been together, fighting ferocious beasts and winning great battles. Of course, this was all accomplished by disobeying strict orders given by Odin, but the five of them could not resist the rush given through the swing of an axe or sword and finding themselves bathed in glory for their victory.

To Odin's left sat his younger son, Loki-the God of Mischief and Lies. He was described as sneaky and so honey-tongued that when caught red handed he swayed his victims with words so sweet they could not bear to punish him. He joined his brother and friends on their missions for glory from time to time, but he mostly preferred to stay in the palace of Asgard and practice his sorcery. He had become even better than those who had taught him. He could move all elements of matter and teleport to any place he wished. He used this to his advantage often and played tricks on his brother and guests when they came to join the royal family for a feast. There were few who could avoid Loki's magic, one of them being his mother Frigga. Yes, when he was little he made a mess of his magic, but always Frigga would be gentle and kind to him.

And there was only one person he had never been able to trick, sneak upon, or even lie to. Her name was Ursa, the daughter of Alethea- the Goddess of Truth and Purity. The Goddess and Odin were good friends, despite the fact that her brother despised Odin. For centuries, Alethea would visit the Aesir with Ursa. The first time Loki had ever met Ursa, the two were merely children. He was sitting in the library, reading a book of magic, one of his first, when suddenly the words on the page began to change. They mushed together and formed a picture of two dolphins swimming through the sea. Loki looked up to see a small Ursa grinning from behind a bookshelf. Quickly, she ran away.

It was Thor that Ursa ran into after her trick on Loki. Thor, when he first met Ursa, was impressed, not with her magic, but with her beauty even at a young age. She had long, brown hair that shined almost as wonderfully as Sif's in the sunlight. Her skin was like a porcelain doll's and was as soft as a baby's. Her eyes looked to have been made of emeralds from how green they were.

She laughed at the small boy as he stared at her. He kneeled down and took her hand and in as deep of a voice that a boy at his age could manage he said, "Young maiden, as prince of Asgard I ask you-may I have this hand in marriage?"

Loki came into the hallway they were in at that moment and heard Thor's words. He was shocked at his brother and even more shocked when Ursa laughed. "I am no simple maiden that you can impress by being a prince, Thor." She cackled. "I do not accept and you should try learning my name before asking me to marry you." She snatched her hand away and continued her run from the two Princes. Loki came to stand next to Thor and they both stared after the child.

"First to catch her may have her as queen." Thor said quickly before chasing after Ursa. Loki debated going back to his book or not before following his brother in his pursuit.

From then on, the three were good friends. She would attend feasts with her mother and often freeze Loki's drink or merely smile at him from her seat down the table. Alethea often sat with Frigga, talking about each other's worlds and how different or alike they were.

Thor settled for eating as much as he could.

As the years went by, Loki asked her to teach him the tricks she played on him often. "I learned on my own. I suggest you do the same, Prince Loki." She then poked his shoulder and his cape fell to the floor of the dining hall. Loki laughed, but wondered why it was that she could do so many things but remained unaffected by his magic. It did not make sense.

One day, when the two Princes and their father were sitting at their three thrones, Alethea came in alone. She was a beautiful woman who had long auburn hair that nearly reached her ankles. Her lips were always painted a dark red that complimented her brown eyes. It was easy to see where Ursa received her beautiful skin from. "Alethea, my good friend, it is good to have you here once more." Odin greeted her.

Alethea smiled and kneeled down to the All-Father. "It is wonderful to be here." She stood strait and addressed the Princes. "Thor, you are as dashing as ever. Same to you, Loki." Thor chuckled and Loki looked around. "Where is Ursa?" He asked.

The moment the words came from his mouth, two hands came from behind and covered his eyes. "Goodness Loki, where did you get such a helmet?" Ursa's voice held laughter in it and Loki could feel her struggle to bend over and avoid his golden horns.

He laughed. "The gnomes, of course." He took her hands away from his eyes and turned to look at her. Her eyes sparkled as she bent over to hug her friend. He relished in the warmth she brought and how she had always come to see him before Thor. She was the only person who seemed to prefer his company over his brother's.

"Ursa, will you ever cease to be the wild girl you are?" Odin smiled at the girl as she stood up strait. "It may not suit you well when the time comes for you to marry." Ursa laughed, the sound of it ringing all through out the throne room.

"My king," She started. "I have no plans to marry. I am well living with my mother and her family. Zeus is fond of my independence as he is for his own daughter Artemis. I see no reason to ever change anything as long as I have my family and friends such as you." Ursa placed a hand on Loki's shoulder. He felt his cape come off. "And if I marry, I won't be able to have as much as I do now." Ursa laughed as Loki sighed and went to put his cape back into its proper place.

"Ursa, welcome back." Thor stood and walked to the green-eyed girl with open arms. She ran to him and hugged him.. "It is good to see you." He said as he released her. She laughed once more before kneeling to Odin.

"My king, I am full of joy to be here once more." She placed her fist over her heart for only a second before running to hug Odin. Alethea came and pulled her daughter away with ease.

"How is Frigga?" Alethea asked.

Ursa turned from the king and her mother as they began to talk and looked a her friends. "So, have either of you found a girl that has the patience to put up with you?" She placed her hands onto her hips.

Thor laughed. "No, there is no maiden that I have seen that is fit to be my queen." He turned to the vast room of gold. "But I am sure I will be fine on my own." He sighed through his nose.

At this Loki stood. "Brother, you will not be alone. You have not only me, but Lady Sif and the others at your side." He took Thor's shoulder. "You will not have to hold the burden of the throne on your own."

Thor turned to his younger brother, pleased with his words. "Thank you, my brother." He patted Loki's cheek lightly. Behind them, Ursa coughed. They turned to face her.

"You two speak as if the future king of Asgard has already been chosen." She crossed her arms. "How do you know Loki will not be king?" The two Princes looked down in an awkward silence and Ursa laughed. "Since neither of you have found a wife, and the king has yet to be chosen, the first to catch me may be crowned and have me as their queen." With that, she disappeared.

Thor grinned and bolted out of the throne room. Loki, like he had centuries before, stood for a moment before following his brother. Odin sighed. "I have yet to see any of those three grow into adulthood and stop these childish games." He laughed lightly before turning to Alethea. "How is Zeus?" The Goddess frowned.

"He is the same as always. He continues his affairs with young girls and leaves Hera alone. I've never enjoyed her company, but I do not believe it is right for him to hurt her in such ways." Alethea shook her head.

"Does she still not know?" Odin looked at her with his one eye carefully.

Alethea shook her head. "No, she is still in the belief that we are both born of Cronus. I don't think she will ever know. If she does, I can only imagine what she would do to Ursa." The Goddess placed a hand over her falling face. Odin took her hand.

"Come, Frigga has been awaiting your return."

Thor ran through the halls of the palace, searching for Ursa. He had been to the dining hall and garden where he found no one but the servants. Loki took the much less tiring route and simply teleported from room to room. He had been to the same places as Thor, not trusting his brother to look properly for a girl who knew her way around magic even better than himself. He had removed his helmet and armor that he usually wore when sitting at his throne and walked through the rooms quietly.

He was in the gardens when he saw something gold sparkle in one of the many trees. He ran to the tree, expecting to find Ursa who loved to adorn herself with jewels of gold, but instead his horned helmet came toppling down to his feet. He picked up the helmet and looked at it for a moment before sighing. He knew where she was.

Thor stormed through the library, searching each aisle of books. He loved playing this simple game of hide and seek with his friend. He thought of Ursa as nothing more than a close friend and had no intentions of ever having a sorceress as his queen, but he found joy in chasing her around, and he had yet to find her before Loki each time they played.

Loki opened the doors to his chambers and found Ursa wearing his gold and green armor along with his cape. She was posing in front of his wardrobe mirror when she saw him walk through the door through the reflection. "Ah, Loki, you've found me. I must say I don't understand how you can wear this armor. I can't stay in this for very long. It's much too bulky for me." She removed the cape and hung it up.

"That's because it is made for a man and not a woman." Loki picked up Ursa's dress from where she had dropped it, his hand shook slightly, and walked to her slowly and held up her dress to her. She took it and began to remove the armor. Loki turned away before the clothing came of completely. She never seemed to understand that a woman should not show too much of herself before marriage to any man. Always, when they would become dirty after playing, she would remove her clothing without a second glance to the two boys and run off to her bath.

It used to be funny when they were little, but now all it did was show that she had no manners or the decency to change in another room. Not to mention it made Loki nervous.

"Did you know that compared to a mortal, we would be only fourteen?" Ursa spoke as she placed his armor back into the wardrobe. When he did not answer, she kept talking. "It's hard to believe, really. We've been alive for centuries and have barely aged." She looked at the back of Loki's head and noticed his ears were pink. She smirked.

"What's the matter, Prince Loki?" She asked teasingly a she slipped her dress on. "Don't tell me that my changing in your room makes you nervous. We've known each other for ages, you should not let such things bother you." She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to pull him to face her, but he did not budge. "I am dressed, so there's no need to be turned away anymore."

"A woman should not show any man such things until she is married." Loki said through gritted teeth. His face felt like it was on fire and he was not about to let Ursa see that.

"Hmmm... I've upset you." She leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Then, she was in front of Loki, taking his helmet from his hands and placing it on her head. It looked quite silly- her eyes were completely covered and the bottom, which usually reached Loki's chin, came down to the base of her throat. "What do you think?" She held the golden helmet with both hands on each side of her head. "Am I fit to sit at the throne?"

Loki looked at the girl before him, ridiculous with golden horns and sticking her tongue out playfully, and began to laugh. He wrapped his hands around his own waist as he bent over from how hard he laughed. Ursa lifted the helmet slightly to look at him. She hardly ever had the opportunity to see Loki in such a state. Yes, they often played together, but he was almost always so quiet and gentle. He hardly ever really played roughly with she and Thor or enjoyed the jokes that they shared. So to see him enjoying her small stunt so much made her heart beat pick up and her lips curl up into a triumphant smile.

Ursa removed the helmet from her head and placed it on the small stand from which she took it. "Now it seems you've won the race to catch me. What will be your first act as king, my lord?" Loki placed his hands on his knees to steady himself before answering. He took a few deep breaths and looked up at her, smiling.

"My first act," He straitened himself and stepped forward so that he was inches away from her face. "Will be to find a crown that fits my queen." He picked her up, bridal style, and carried her from his chambers to find Thor.

Frigga wrapped her arms around Alethea. "Darling, it is good to see you. How have you been?" The two women leaned back and held each other's arms.

"I have been well. Things are as they always are in Olympus." Alethea's smile was tight as she tried to have an expression of happiness on her face, but Frigga saw through it.

"My dear, what is wrong?" She eyed her friend carefully. The Goddess tried to come up with something, but as she ruled Truth she could not lie, especially to Frigga.

"Zeus is demanding more from me. He is no longer satisfied with only watching over Ursa from a distance. He wants to treat her as her father should." Alethea looked away. Frigga released her.

"But he should know what Hera will do if he is to do that." Alethea sat on the edge of the Queen's bed and held her head in her hands. "If he treats Ursa as his own, Hera will not only become ridiculously jealous as always, but she will hurt you and Ursa both." Frigga's lips tightened. "And we can't have that." She sat next to Alethea and put an arm over her shoulders. "We will find a way to appease him, do not worry."

Alethea shook as she began to sob. "That is simply it, Frigga. I have found a way." Her words sounded crushed as she struggled to speak. "This will be my last visit to Asgard." Frigga stiffened. "When the cold season comes, I am to go to Olympus and never return here. That way Zeus will have more time with Ursa and Hera will never hurt us." Alethea stood and wiped her tears away. She could not look at Frigga. She could not bear the hurt that would be on her dearest friend's face. "Please, don't tell the boys or Ursa." And then the Goddess walked silently out of the room.

At the feast that night, all seemed well. Thor had eaten an entire roasted ox along with his best mate, Volstagg. Fandral and Lady Sif ate just as much, only not as quickly or messily. Odin had a leg of goat and demanded wine be served to all who ate in his palace. Frigga and Alethea smiled and spoke as they always did, but there was a certain sadness in both of their eyes that only Odin seemed to notice. Ursa sat next to Loki and answered his questions about Olympus.

"Is it true- the rumors of Zeus having many mortal wives?"

Ursa sipped her drink. "It is. But none of them compare to Hera."

"Aren't they brother and sister?" Loki's brow furrowed in confusion.

Ursa nearly choked on her drink. She took a napkin and wiped her mouth. "We don't talk about that." She whispered before taking a large bite of lamb. "What matters is that they are together and love one another." Mostly. She wanted to add.

To tell the truth, it did disturb her that two siblings would marry and have children. She could never imagine doing such a thing. But, they were- at the time- the only living beings in existence and thought it no different than any other man and woman marrying each other. From time to time, Ursa wondered what would happen if they had not married and had instead waited. Would Zeus still have so many wives? Would Hera be a kinder, more gentle Goddess like Frigga?

"Thor, Volstagg, please control your appetites." Frigga scolded the two young warriors as they scarfed down their food. Thor leaned back and let out a belch, making Frigga and Alethea both shake their heads. Volstagg laughed. "Good one, mate."

The feast went on and soon they all retired for the night. Thor's four friends thanked their king for the wonderful food before returning to their proper homes, escorted by the Thunder God of course. Frigga showed Alethea and Ursa to their rooms, having her servants bring them the proper blankets and such for sleeping. As soon as Frigga left them alone, Ursa tackled her mother to the bed.

"Oh mother, why can we not simply live here instead of visiting?" She spoke into the soft sheets of the bed. Alethea sighed and stroked her daughter's hair.

"You know Zeus cares for you deeply. If we left him, he would be heart broken. And we both know that it is not wise to upset him."

"But we could visit him often, like we do with Odin. It would not be so different. We would simply spend more time here than we do there..." Ursa sat up next to her mother. "You could be with Frigga more often and I could be with Loki." Ursa looked down at her hands as she played with her hair. At that, Alethea knew that she should tell her daughter right then and there what was going on, but she did not want her daughter's last few months with her friends to be full of sadness and pain of what was to come next.

"My darling, it is better this way." Alethea sat up as well and patted Ursa's cheek. "Just enjoy the time that you have with those two boys." She stood and made her way to the bathroom. "Now go to your room and sleep." She shut the door.

Ursa sighed and did as her mother asked. Only, she did not go to her room.

Loki inspected his face in his bathroom mirror carefully. Still no facial hair. Thor had come to him a few weeks before when he was with Odin and announced that he had begun to grow a beard. His brother held his chin high up for days after that, showing off his small, but existing beard. Being the younger brother, Loki was jealous- not that he would admit to that. Odin told him his would come in soon enough, but it did not help Loki that much.

He had always lived in the shadow of Thor, always trying to impress those around him in order to be noticed, but always coming up short compared to his older brother. He did love Thor dearly, but he could see things no one else seemed to see. His brother did not think things through, only acted instinctively. He had always been lucky, but he knew that one of these days, his brother would need more than simple luck and muscle to keep himself safe.

Loki sighed and made his way from his bathroom to his bed. He was dressed in his softest silk robes that were, of course, dark green. He slipped into bed and, with a slow wave of his hand, turned out the lights of his chandelier. The moon and stars shined through his window and provided a small glow throughout the room. Loki settled into the soft sheets and found himself on the brink of falling asleep when he felt something move next to him.

The prince sat up quickly, lifting his hand to turn on the lights when someone tackled him and pinned his shoulders to the mattress. For just a moment he panicked before he heard an all too familiar giggle come from his attacker.

"Ursa," Loki let his head fall to his pillow. "What are you doing?"

The girl released him and laid next to him on top of his blankets. "I wanted to come in here so I did." She shrugged. Loki sighed.

"A lady should not be in bed with a man before marriage- have you not learned anything in your thousand years?" The last part came out angrily as he scowled at her in the dark.

"But you forget Loki, I am no lady." She turned to him and placed a hand on his cheek. She could see his eyes in the white glow that the moon provided. She could see he was not angry with her, but shocked and confused as to what to do with a girl in bed half dressed. "I'll only be here for a little while- there's something I want to do." She smiled. "And I also have something to tell you."

"What is it?" He asked, a bit eager.

"Remember this morning, when I told Odin that I had no plans to marry?" Ursa looked away from him, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

The prince held his breath. "Yes."

"Well, what I told him was a lie."

Loki felt time freeze for a moment. He looked at the young woman before him and saw something in her he had not seen before. She was absolutely beautiful. The moonlight made her skin glow like the stars that surrounded it. Her hand was warm and soft on his face as opposed to his rough and cold skin. The hair he had seen shine in the sun so many times had never looked softer than it did now- he wanted to run his fingers strait through it and explore the wonders that resided in this girl in front of him now. She stared at him with those emerald green eyes framed by long lashes and seemed to see what he saw in her in himself.

And then he looked at her lips. Her full, red lips that told him so much without even speaking a word. Loki breathed in and time moved once more. He saw Ursa's eyes flutter closed and her head lean forward. And then her lips were on his and his mind went completely blank. He did not think about the fact that she was an unmarried girl in his bed, what his mother would say, his jealousy for his brother or even the aftermath of this kiss. He concentrated on here and now.

He slipped his fingers into her hair and she did the same. The two divine beings held each other in that same position for a while. Enjoying the feel of their first kiss. It was a simple kiss, but the thoughts in their heads went wild for each other. Loki pulled her to his body, holding her above him with an arm around her waist. After a few moments of bliss, Ursa pulled back a few inches for air. She rested her forehead on Loki's, who was in the same state as her.

"Good night, Loki." She whispered between breaths. She kissed him once more on the cheek before disappearing.

Loki turned to lay on his back and spread his arms across the bed. There was no sleeping for him tonight, but there was a vow. He decided, when the time came, he would marry Ursa.

Thank you for reading!

Please review, I will be posting the next chapter as soon as I can.

~SDG