Author's Note: Okay, so I know I have not updated in the longest time. It's mostly because I've decided to rewrite this story. I didn't like that Loki and Genevieve didn't know each other before she was kidnapped. So I'm keeping all my original characters and their history. I'm just changing things and delving back into her family growing up with being friends and allies with Asgard. SO. Please tell me in the reviews what you think of the rewrite. I'm sorry if you enjoyed the old version, but I do hope you stick around for this one. I've worked on this chapter in school using up my study halls for weeks. I barely have any time to write outside of school anymore. But anyway, please review, and thank you to all who already have. I hope you enjoy the story of Loki and Genevieve!

- Shira

Though our families come from different realms, the Asgardians and Coventina date back to a similar ancestry, not where we were related at one point, but more so that we existed together with slight differences in magic and genetics. The power line eventually split, and my people moved to Ula. But things remained peaceful with the Asgardians. Therefore, whenever each royal family celebrates an important birthday, the other is invited for the festivities and to stay a while in the royal palace to visit. Sometimes we stayed an entire summer as a kind of vacation, even though mother always needed to return home after a couple of days to continue her rule.

Today, it was Thor's thirteenth birthday, and we were invited to go to Asgard. I had never actually met the two brothers yet, since the last time we were there had celebrated the birth of Loki. Since he was born before me, I obviously had no recollection of that party.

Since my other sisters were significantly older than I, each got to choose if they would come along or stay and learn from the royal council- who kept an eye on things while my mother was away- on what they would be responsible for when ruling some day. All three chose to stay home, but each still sent a gift for Thor, and Loki too. I seemed to be the only one who was excited at the thought of going to a royal party, but it would probably mean that we would not be staying for more than a night or two.

I held onto my mother's hand through the Bifrost, which transported us in a sea of colors to Asgard. Night had fallen before we left, and upon exiting the Bifrost, I heard the faint sound of elegant music and crowd chatter.

"Heimdall," greeted my mother as we walked out onto the bridge that led to the palace doors. "It is good to see you again." She bowed her head. I had always admired my mother's manners and elegance. "And you, Queen Coventina," he returned the greeting with an eual bow of the head. He turned his golden gaze down to me, and I had to curtsy while looking up at him. "And Princess Genevieve, of course." The two of us exchanged a small smile before my mother led me away toward the castle.

When we approached the entrance, my mother stopped. "It is common courtesy to look for the hosts and greet them first," she told me. Together, we searched around the room for the Asgardian king and queen. What I noticed was that as more people started to notice my mother, the more they began to stare, and some even bowed their heads. Looking back at her, I understood how some could be in such awe. She was truly beautiful, with brilliant blonde hair and ocean-turquoise eyes and pale pink lips. Her evening gown, a slim-fitting dress that flowed all the way to the floor, matched the color of her eyes. Her hair was done half-up in a do that was tucked neatly behind her tiara, with the rest of the long locks flowing in waves down her back.

I had inherited none of her facial features, naturally. My cheeks were rounder than hers, and my hair was much lighter- as white as sea foam was how she described it. My eyes and lips, however, were both darker and bigger. All of these things came from my father, she told me, and they were rare to find all put together in that combination. My dress was much more suited much more for a little girl, with lots of blue patterns and hues all mixed into one. It only went down to my knees, and my shoes were much less complex: white flats, whereas my mother always wore heels when she was not in armor.

"Ah," she said suddenly, distracting me from my thoughts. "There they are." She looked down to me and gestured straight ahead. When I looked, I noticed that almost the entire crowd had parted, creating a path for my mother and me to walk through. I admired how she pretended not to notice, as if she were no one more important than a common villager, invited to join the celebration. Also, during the entire time we walked forward to greet Asgard's royals, she never let go of my hand. "Odin and Frigga," she greeted with another bow of her head. "So wonderful of the both of you to invite us to join you in this celebration."

"Wonderful to have you, Coventina," Frigga replied, she and Odin each greeting my mother in a similar fashion.

"I fear my youngest daughter was the only one who was delighted to come," she said, looking down at me again. All the royal adults around me made me nervous, and I squeezed my mother's hand tighter. She still held onto my own. "Genevieve," she said gently. "King Odin and Queen Frigga, of Asgard."

Meeting her eyes, I hesitated for a moment before dropping out of her grip to bow to the both of them. "Lovely to meet you," I said, smiling at them.

The queen turned away for a moment, and I heard her call, "Boys!" When she turned back, the two she had been addressing appeared from within the crowd, which had reformed since my mother and I had made our way to our hosts.

They both stood in front of me, and I suddenly felt nervous again. "Go on, darling," I heard my mother say from behind me.

I bit my bottom lip, but curtsied in front of them anyway. "My name is Genevieve," I introduced myself. "I'm pleased to meet you both."

The older brother, or so I assumed, chuckled at me, and my cheeks flushed red. His sandy blonde hair drooped into his eyes, and his grin had a smug confidence in it. "Thor," he said, bowing only slightly. His brother bowed a bit lower. "And this is my brother, Loki."

My eyes shifted to Loki, and our glances both met each other at the same time. He didn't say anything, and I could immediately notice that these brothers had to be exact opposites of each other. I wondered if my sisters and I ever appeared that way to others. I noted Loki's thinner face and smooth, dark hair.

"Thor, Loki," began Odin, kneeling down to the same level of his sons. "Why don't you both show this young lady around? We'll send someone to find you when dinner is served."

"Sure, Father," answered Thor. He led the way and nearly walked off before I could even follow. I glanced back at my mother, who nodded in Thor's direction, urging me to go with. I turned forward again to notice Loki still waiting for me. He had a small smile on his face, and it reassured me of something. I didn't know what.

Unlike his brother, Loki actually walked at my pace. Though Thor stopped when he noticed he was getting a bit ahead. "Oh," I started, remembering what I was going to say earlier. "Happy Birthday, Thor."

"Thanks," he smiled, leaning against the brick wall of the hallway. "So where are you from?"

"Ula," I replied. "It's a star in the realm of Midgard. We're very close to Earth."

"Never heard of it."

I shrugged in response to that, and the three of us just continued walking around what seemed like endless hallways. Loki was much more shy than his brother, and it took a long time before he began to make conversation with me. He chimed in a bit here and there while Thor led us around, talking about Asgard and their father and the nine realms and war and being king. It wasn't until we began heading back just before dinner was served that we really started talking. "Your dress is pretty," I heard him mutter next to me when we re-entered the crowd.

My cheeks flushed red, and I looked away for a few seconds to swallow the flattery. "Thank you."

From then on, it was like a switch had been flipped inside the both of us. Thor, Loki and I all shared a common friendship, pretending to be on different sides of a battle as we played together and practiced our different powers. Technically, we weren't supposed to without supervision because we might hurt each other. And sometimes we did, but it was always accidental. However, Loki and I had something a little closer than that. During that summer, when my sisters had actually come along to Asgard, Loki and I had spent an entire day looking at the books that he considered his favorites. We shared a common indulgence for reading, and I loved the tricks he could do with his magic. He also admired my power over water and ice. Saying goodbye was always difficult, since we never knew when we were going to see each other next. There was never doubt that it would be too long, but sometimes the days would take forever to pass by.

[[ Several Years Later ]]

I could smell the scent of summer that lingered in the warm air. I practically shuddered with the anticipation as my sisters and my mother made their way to where I stood. Finally, we had once again been invited to spend the season on Asgard.

"Ready, Darling?" I turned to see my mother standing behind me with a hand extended in my direction. She was smiling, and it made me smile as well.

"Yes," I replied, taking her hand and walking down the steps of my balcony that led straight into the palace gardens. Blue lines of Immortal Waters ran through intricate paths that surrounded the garden walkway. Brightly colored flowers of every kind grew plentifully because of them. The Waters met in the center of the garden, where a large fountain rested. In front of it stood Nahla, Aedre, and Vivien. Though they really had no choice in coming with this time since it would be for an entire summer, they were smiling too. I suspected it was because they were excited for me to see Loki again. All hopeless romantics, we were, and they could see right through my emotions for the Asgardian prince as if they were as transparent as glass.

Nahla, the second youngest to me, took my hand with excitement, and practically dragged me with her as we exited the garden and made our way to Ula's own Bifrost bridge. Unlike Asgard's rainbow bridge, ours lit up Ula with rays of blue and silver that flowed underneath our feet like a wild river. My mother was the only one who could control the Bifrost on Ula. Even from other realms, she could will its power to her, though it took an extraordinary amount of magic. This is why we really only traveled to Earth and Asgard.

Standing in front of the entrance into the bridge, which had now been pointed toward Asgard, my sisters and I all held onto each other as my mother drew her royal blade from its sheath. Piercing it into the center of the Bifrost, she started the bridge's rotation.

After we left, the sword was to be kept by two of my mother's most trusted advisors. We would return home through Heimdall, and so Mother felt it best to leave the blade on Ula.

I closed my eyes as the pathway to Asgard lit up before us. We stepped forward together until we were suddenly cast into the pathway. I felt the hold on my sisters' hands become stressed as we flew. Only opening my eyes once, I did so just in time to see the entrance to Asgard ahead. When the whirling stopped and the light dimmed, I felt my feet touch the ground. Stumbling slightly, I caught myself mid-step and looked up to see Heimdall standing before me. He hardly held a fond smile like that for anyone, but he always greeted us with one.

Looking past him, out at the bridge, I could see four figures standing at the end of it, near the castle. Turning to face my mother again, I noticed she had stopped to chat with Heimdall. When I figured she must have sensed me staring at her, she caught my eye. Looking past me to see the figures, she nodded in their direction, giving me permission to carry on without her.

I turned back ahead, stepping onto the bridge over the Asgardian Sea. When the four figures became clearer, I saw one of them step out onto the bridge as well. I could just see the outline of his dark hair falling onto pale skin. I picked up speed, and so did he. And just like that, both of us broke into a full run. Barely, I could hear my sisters laughing behind me. But the sound disappeared when my run began to slow. After so long, Loki stood directly in front of me.

He smiled, seemingly relieved, and I understood how he felt. It was as if I had been holding my breath for the past three years. And now I had finally got the chance to let it out.

"Genevieve," my name rolled off his tongue. His voice had changed; he sounded more like a man than a boy. His smile was thinner and wider, but his eyes were the same deep green.

"Loki."

As soon as his name left my lips, he and I mutually leaned forward, and his arms wrapped around my back in a tight embrace. I rested my cheek against his shoulder with my arms around his neck, and we stood like that for a moment before pulling apart again. Only then did I notice the others approaching.

"It's good to see you, Genevieve," greeted Thor, embracing me as well. He had grown up a fair amount too. I could practically see his muscles through his sleeves, and I could definitely feel them in the hug.

"And you, Thor," I muttered, laughing when he picked me up in the air merely to show off his strength.

Hugs and kisses of the cheek and hand were made all around to my mother and my sisters. Loki, Thor and I led the way back up the bridge to Asgard's palace. I held both of their hands in mine, and we shared stories of beginning to grow up. Thor told of their learning to fight, and Loki spoke of knowledge they had learned about the Universe and the other realms in general. Each of us discovered common ground in the topics, and it was only too easy to keep walking and talking all night. Had we not been found by Vivien before dinner, we may have done just that.

As he almost always did, Thor led the way several feet in front of us as Loki and I walked patiently behind.

"So you do enjoy reading then, yes?" Loki asked me suddenly. "That hasn't changed?"

"Of course not," I laughed. "We've always had that in common."

He nodded slowly. "Good."

I smiled inquisitively, asking, "Why?"

"Only wondering," he shrugged. "Maybe we could go to the library tomorrow. I'll show you some of my favorites."

I almost envied him for Asgard's library. Ula's was marvelous, but it didn't seem nearly as endless as Asgard's. I tried to hide a blush that I could feel sneaking into my cheeks. "I would like that."

x x x

Except we didn't get an ounce of free time for the next several days, or at least, none we could spend alone together. My sisters would always want to be taken somewhere in town, and they would drag me along. It was fun, but the times where Loki and Thor didn't come along, I would have much preferred to stay at the castle with them.

Finally, there came a day where I was able to avoid all three of my sisters. I was walking alone down the hall from our guest rooms when I could hear voices. I stood around the corner to listen.

"- go ahead," I heard Loki say, followed by Thor's laugh.

"Are you going to stay behind because Genevieve isn't coming, Brother?"

There were a few seconds of silence before Loki responded. "Do you see Genevieve around here?" He sounded offended.

Thor laughed again, and I heard the sound of what could only be him patting Loki's shoulder. "Fair enough," he said. "Though I wouldn't blame you. A beautiful princess who loves books and is heir to the throne. She's a good match for you, Loki."

Thor's words seemed genuine, but Loki scoffed back, "Shut up." However, I could hear the faintest bit of a smile in his voice.

"Well, come along later in the day if you ever feel like putting the books down," Thor called while his voice faded in the opposite direction.

I still stood silently around the corner for a moment, waiting for it to be long enough to seem like I hadn't been there listening the entire time. When I finally peeked around the corner, Loki was still there, sitting by a large window with a book propped up on one knee. I smiled a bit and walked toward him. "Loki?" I called, softly. No response. He didn't even turn his head. Strange. I approached him further. "Loki?" I called again; still no response. I began to panic at the thought of him ignoring me, wondering what it was I could have done to receive such treatment. Ready to call his name for the third time, I reached out to tap his shoulder. I expected to grasp it and gasped in surprise when I felt nothing at all. My hand slipped right through Loki's entire body. Suddenly, he completely disappeared in a green light, and I jumped back with a cry of shock, accidentally bumping into the real Loki, who was chuckling at my expense.

"I loathe you," I muttered, turning to face him and crossing my arms.

"Thank you," he replied, smiling mischievously. "Mother taught me. Soon I'll be able to make it do anything. You won't even be able to tell it isn't me-"

"Unless I touch you," I interrupted him, smacking his shoulder with the back of my hand.

"Yes," he muttered, watching my hand fall back down to my side. There was a moment of silence before he looked back up at me. "Anyway, were you searching for me?"

Snapping out of my thoughts as well, I answered, "Hm? Oh, yes. I just figured that since everyone else is in town today that we could go to the library. You could show me those favorite books you were talking about."

He nodded. "Of course."

We started walking together, slowly, and it was silent for a long time. Not uncomfortably silent, but more like one where nothing needed to be said. When we came to the entrance to the library, Loki opened the door for me, and we walked toward his favorite section: the history of Asgard. "Among these books is our realm's history all the way back to the time when someone first decided to write it down. It goes beyond my father's rule and beyond his father before him."

I searched among the leather-bound texts, gliding my fingers along some of the bindings. "Have you read them all yet?'

Loki shook his head. "No, but I would like to."

The books, naturally, were organized in a timeline. I walked down the row until I got to the most recent one. Picking it out and opening it to a random page, I read the heading out loud, "The Battle with Jotunheim."

Loki came over to where I stood. "Home of the Frost Giants and their king, Laufey. My father fought and triumphed over them when Thor was young and I was born." I could feel him watching me turn the pages. "I'm in there, you know."

Looking back up at him, I smiled and pushed the book toward him. "Show me."

He returned the smile and flipped toward the end of the book. The section after fighting Jotunheim was where he stopped, and I read the heading he showed me out loud. "The Birth of Prince Loki."

"It ends after that," he said, and I closed the book but still ran my fingers over the front of it.

"The next one will probably be when the new king takes the throne," I said, facing him again.

"Unless any important wars occur between now and then," he replied. "You're probably right."

There were times like this where I could notice certain things about Loki that no one else seemed to point out. At that moment, I could tell he was thinking about who would be chosen by Odin to take the throne. Also, I knew he was envious of his brother and that he knew Thor was the first choice. "You would make a great king," I offered, softly.

After that, he suddenly seemed to snap out of deep thought. Shaking his head again, he replied, "I don't want the burden of the throne. I want to travel, explore other realms and see the Universe."

I smiled, hoping he really felt better. "Can't leave your best friend, though, right?"

He laughed softly. "Of course not. That is, if you're not made queen."

I started to shake my head, thinking about the possibility. "I don't want that burden either."

"Don't turn it down just because of me," he laughed again. I looked at his smile fondly. I loved his smile.

We stayed in the library for a long time, until the sun began to set. Loki told me more about Jotunheim and the Frost Giants, as well as things he had learned about other realms that I had yet to come to know. The only thing I noticed was that we never exactly touched on one thing. "Does my realm not interest you?" I asked him after we had again bounced back to discussing Jotunheim. "Midgard?'

He didn't answer for a moment, and looked as if he had not expected me to notice, or maybe that he had not noticed himself. "You don't know all about Midgard already?"

"I didn't say that," my voice was questioning but not offended. "It just seems like the topic doesn't interest you. Do humans bore you, Loki?"

He seemed to think for a moment before answering me. "They anger me, actually." He glanced up at me, and I knew he was looking for a response. I gave none. "All divided and practically barbaric in the way they treat each other. There's no unity with so many different rulers, and therefore no peace."

"Yes," I agreed. "You're probably right." It was true. I had seen more humans destroy each other than any other realm in the Universe. Sure, they went to war with each other and with different planets. But never has a single planet tried so hard to destroy its own. "But they are a relatively new race, compared to the rest of us. They have so much potential, Loki. You should see the things I see. War exists, yes, but not everywhere."

"And yet how many of them live in poverty when one ruler could ensure a healthy life for everyone?" he argued.

"As I said," I began again. "They are new. Their race is young, and they die young. You can't give too much credit to a race whose people die in less than a century. There's simply not enough time for anyone to reach that kind of enlightenment in that short of a time. Plus, there's just too many of them who want that kind of power, and it's too easy to get. Our rulers have real power, real magic that would wield any challenger dead. The humans have nothing but the protection of other humans, and by that I mean they have guns and bullet shields.

"And they also don't see being ruled as having freedom, even though some perfectly free people still have a king or queen, and even though our people are free under the rule of our families. Our people are happy, and they are peaceful. But Earth has not seen our people. Most of them think no other race exists in the Universe. But some of them, Loki. Some of them are so wonderful, so young but enlightened about the world. I have hope for the coming generations."

Only when I stopped did I realize I had been speaking for a long time. Loki was gazing at me, and I glanced away with flushed cheeks. "You speak so wonderfully about them."

I smiled, ignoring my embarrassment at the compliment. "Thank you."

He shifted his position on the floor to lean against one of the shelves. I could see that he was thinking, but I moved closer to him anyway. He seemed surprised. While my left hand still held the last book of the Asgardian History section, my right hand took hold of Loki's. There were no words, but his left palm opened and he intertwined his fingers with my own.

"My father's talked of uniting our two kingdoms," he suddenly muttered after a few moments. I had rested my head on his shoulder but picked it up again.

"Really?" I whispered back. For some reason, it now felt like we had to speak low, though I don't think either of us realized we were doing so. "What does that mean?"

He looked down at our hands. "It means," he paused. "A daughter of Coventina would marry an Odinson."

I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest. I wondered if this was true or if Loki just wanted my reaction to the possibility. "My mother would never arrange a marriage for one of us," I replied, resting my head back on his shoulder. "She would rather us not marry unless it was for real love, and even then, she would fear a man would leave us, just as our fathers all left her."

There was a very long period of silence after that until Loki spoke again. He turned his head so that his lips were pressed against my hair and whispered back, "I would never leave you."

I could feel my heartbeat in my head now. It was a wonder that Loki could not hear it. But maybe his was reacting the same, so he was deaf to mine. "Even if it means taking the throne?"

"Even then," he replied without missing a beat. His free hand reached forward, and his fingers moved through my hair as he tipped my head up to place a kiss on my lips. His hand was warm on my neck, and the kiss was soft and very cautious. Loki pulled away after a short moment and pressed his forehead against mine. Breathing out heavily, he continued to run his fingers through my hair, and it was a few seconds of pure bliss before we heard footsteps coming toward us.