BEAUTIFUL CREATURE, BEAUTIFUL SOUL

A/N: Hey lovelies! Luv2Dream1212 here. This is my first collaboration and it's with my best friend, Daisainan Neko, and I'm very excited. I hope you all enjoy this story we're writing. Constructive Criticism and positive reviews are welcome, but flames are not. Updates will be weekly, one or two chapters a week. Enjoy the story! And don't forget to review.

-Luv

A/N: Hey, fuzzy readers! Tis I, Daisainan Neko! *applause* Thank you, thank you! Ahaha you're too kind. So anyway, I'm the partner in crime*leans forward conspiratorially, whispering* and I'm a CAT. Anyway, I felt I should say, I realize some of these names would not be used in Medeival London. I also apologize for the way I describe and portray London, as I am no expert (I have been the main describer of settings and outfits thus far). Tips are quite welcome! And this is my first collaboration, so guess who's excited! *points both thumbs to self* Anyway, please enjoy, feedback is welcomed with open paws and very much appreciated! That being said, please carry on and tell us what you think! Nyan.

Summary: Loki is a depressed Jotun who doesn't want anything more but to be loved, but how can anyone love a creature like him? Darcy is a bitter young woman who lives in the shadow of her older sister, Jane. She wears her heart on her sleeve and has been broken one too many times. Loki has been watching her through an enchanted mirror and wants to help her become as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. So, he decides to kidnap her in high hopes that she can change and maybe learn to love him as much as he loves her.

AU Rated T TaserTricks

Takes place on Midgard in Medieval London and the Jotunhiem, similar to both Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 1

It was late afternoon in London, England. Darcy sat in the courtyard on the edge of the fountain, her nose buried deep in her book. It was a slightly dreary day, the sky an overcast gray. There had been rain earlier, which then dissolved into mist, which had also now died away. There was still that feel in the air, that smell that came after a fresh rain but before the sun re-emerged. Darcy loved it.

The ground was littered with puddles, reflecting the bleak sky on their still, glassy surfaces. There were also several mud patches, which Darcy had carefully avoided on her way to the fountain. This courtyard was a more public place, but still away from the town and its busy, muddy streets, maidens being transported by carriages and the occasional unlucky young lad walking along the streets. It was less busy than usual, of course, but the muddy streets were not preferable to be near on a day like this, unless one was in need of visiting a shop. Many of the streets were cobbled, but there were still a fair few dirt streets.

Many of the luckier residents had homes set a little away from the town, more in the country, where the land was all lush green grass and fresh smells. Others had homes in the town, small, dreary, slightly depressing places. Darcy considered herself lucky to live out in more open land. But for now, she wished to sit in the lovely courtyard and read.

Darcy was glad to be here, where it was set a little aside from the main part of the town, where lush green grass surrounded the cobbled stones of the courtyard. All in the courtyard where stone benches, small trees housing song birds, flowers and small hedges, and of course the main attraction, the large fountain Darcy sat at now.

Her dress was nothing too special today, her skirts golden, while the upper part of her dress was golden embroidered with what looked like a design of pale green leaves branching about on small pale green vines. She had long, draping, golden sleeves lined at the edge with a darker green; she was no simple peasant. She had a small head piece in her hair, golden woven vines with small painted green leaves that rested delicately atop her brown tresses. Her hair was straight today, reaching just the rise of her chest.

The book she held was one she'd read several times but never could manage to get enough of, Romeo and Juliet. She loved the story, and every time she read it, she always discovered a new-found depth to it, a more meaningful meaning. Shakespeare had such beautiful writing. When she read through the book, she always found herself escaping the sad, disappointing thing that was reality. She had to say that Romeo was a truly beautiful person. She wished someone would love her like he did Juliet. She looked up for a moment and just daydreamed about her Romeo, whoever that may be, taking her up in his arms and whispering that he loved her. She smiled when she pictured herself saying, "I love you too."

Her daydreaming was interrupted suddenly by laughter and a female voice saying, "Oh Ian, that is so sweet, thank you, these roses are beautiful."

"I feel bad though," Ian replied, "They were the prettiest I could find, but they are nothing compared to your beauty, they aren't even close to beautiful enough."

"Ian! Don't be ridiculous, I love them," a small giggle.

Ian! Darcy looked up in shock; her best friend was kissing a beautiful young woman with long, delicate red curls. The woman wore a deep purple dress with sleeves not quite as long and draping as Darcy's. Ian wore a black tunic and a dark green velvet vest over it that knitted loosely together at the front. He also wore light brown trousers with his black hunting boots nearly coming up to his knees. His hair was short, brown, and stylish as usual.

The girl was Rose! She was someone who'd Darcy always thought of as her "sister" although they weren't related, and here she was kissing Ian! Why? Darcy loved him! She'd always thought he'd felt the same way! She felt so betrayed as she realized her two best friends had something with each other. In that moment, Rose became a foreign being to Darcy. Who was she, even? Did Darcy even really know her?

For a moment, Darcy just sat there, watching them, until suddenly, she lost it. She jumped up in a rage and threw the book down into the mud without a thought in a decidedly un-lady-like way. She burst.

"Ian! Rose! Why?! What-" she faltered, and in her miserable anger, she took off running, hiding her face, with tears streaming down her fair cheeks. She lifted her skirts, fisting her hands in them as she fled in hysterics.

"Darcy!" Rose called. "Darcy, wait!"

"Darcy, come back!" Ian added.

She ignored them and continued running. Why should she even listen?

o0o

When Darcy got home after running down a long country road, she stormed inside, slamming the heavy oak door powerfully behind her, somehow still having the energy to do so. She rudely ignored the greetings of her father and sister, running up the stairs to her room, slamming her door shut (yet another poor door was abused) and collapsing onto her bed, sobbing into her pillow. Finally the exhaustion of all that had happened and running, blinded by tears, all the way from town to her country home caught up with her.

This was the seventh time her heart had been broken, the seventh time she had been betrayed.

o0o

Meanwhile from Jotunhiem, a cold, snowy, dark place, Prince Loki of the Jotuns sat on his throne in the palace and watched Darcy sadly through an enchanted mirror. It pained him to see such a beautiful girl in such an awful state. He had been watching her for a long time, and he had seen her broken like this several times. For an inexplicable reason, a mortal had captured his attention. She was an interesting mortal indeed, confusing and extraordinary.

His heart went out to her with an ache. He wanted to help her, but she would never accept help from a creature like him. He was a Jotun, a Frost Giant, cursed and bound in this form, this blue, freezing, red eyed form with ridges and markings covering the whole of his body. His slicked back black hair nearly reached his shoulders.

Oh, this ugly, horrible thing. People, the mortals of Midgard and many other races of the Nine Realms, were scared of him and disgusted by him. Even Loki himself was. He hated himself on many different levels. She would too. There was no question about it. Loki pondered and pondered and dwelled on this fact, a small tear sliding down his frozen face. The tear froze on its way to the ground, the tiny piece of ice clinking as it landed on the equally icy blue palace floor.

The Prince stared in bewilderment. He was crying? For a mere mortal? Impossible.

And yet it was so.

Loki made up his clouded mind then that he was going to help this maiden and save her from anymore hurt. For when she hurt, it pained him as well. Him, the supposedly heartless ice Prince of Jotunheim.

The problem was he didn't know how.

And that was another strange thing this mortal did to him. Loki always knew how. But with her, he often found himself incapable.

o0o

Darcy cried until all her tears had been used up, and she continued to shake and make noises. Her sister, Jane, had long since joined her and was rubbing her back in a loving, motherly way. She sat beside her on her soft red stain sheets.

"Darcy... sweetheart, please tell me what's wrong," Jane said softly, gently. Darcy slowly sat up, at last somewhat calmed down, but the moment she looked at Jane, she was in tears again.

"Oh goodness, Jane, I can't take this!" Darcy buried her face into the shoulder of her sister's simple dark green dress and threw her arms around her. Jane hugged her tight and rocked her, rubbing her back.

Jane always knew what to do, no matter what.

"What's the matter, baby?" Jane urged. Darcy finally let go of her and sniffed.

"Ian...Rose…they're...I saw Ian, he…"

"What about Ian?" Jane remained concerned. And even more so, now.

"He and Rose are together! I feel so betrayed... I love Ian and Rose is supposed to be my best friend!" Darcy buried herself into Jane's shoulder and cried again.

"Oh Darcy, I'm so sorry," Jane said, suddenly at a loss of what more to do.

Darcy let go of Jane and sniffed.

"It's not your fault Jane, it's okay. I'll be fine. I'm always fine," she hugged her dear older sister again before turning and lying down in her bed, "I'm just going to go to bed now, I'm tired."

"Okay sweetie, are you sure you'll be alright?"

Darcy simply nodded, avoiding Jane's eyes.

"You know you can tell me anything, I'm always going to be here for you, Darce," she smiled softy as she used the pet name.

"I know, Jane," Darcy replied.

"You sleep well, then. See you in the morning," Jane said quietly.

"Goodnight," Darcy answered. Jane blew out the candles and Darcy listened as the door clicked closed. She just lay there, on her side, staring out the window into the dark as the rain pattered against the window. She didn't bother to change out of her day clothes. With a heavy heart, she finally fell asleep.

o0o

Loki walked slowly through the rainy night, in the same courtyard that Darcy had been in earlier. It was cold, and the cool droplets felt beautiful against Loki's already cold blue skin. He walked, downhearted, with his head hung, his red eyes kept fixed on the ground. His feet splashed through every puddle, freezing them, and thunder rumbled up above, causing him even more grief. He wore the deep brown furry skin of an animal tied around his waist and it nearly reached his knees. Loki's chest was bare, but he was not cold. The low temperatures on Midgard were feeble compared to those on Jotunheim.

Every time he heard the growl of thunder, he thought of his adoptive brother, Thor, and missed him greatly. Thor was one of the only beings that had actually cared about him. Loki had fled after he had discovered his true self and true parenting, and true reason why he had been "rescued" from the stone slab in the middle of Jotunheim as a baby. He had killed Laufey, his real father, and most of the other Frost Giants, while the few who had lived had dispersed where he knew not. So it was just him, alone, living in Jotunheim, too scared to ever go back to Asgard. Loki looked up at the dark sky, watching the rain from the clouds, sudden freezing tears mixing with raindrops.

Suddenly, he kicked something in one of the puddles. Loki stopped and bent down to pick up whatever it was, and he discovered it to be a soggy book. He ran his finger across the soggy leather cover and distinguished the title of the book to be "Romeo and Juliet." He realized with a jolt that it was the book Darcy always read. The book was soaked, and the pages and ink were probably all smudged and ruined, but that didn't matter to him. He was going to return it to her.

Loki tucked the book tightly into his chest and started to make his way toward the direction he thought was the way to Darcy's home. It was easier to find than he thought and at last the rather large home came into view. The front door was bolted, so of course, he could not go through there. So instead, he walked to the side of the house and looked for a way in, discovering a window on the second story where the window was swung wide open. Silly mortals.

Loki backed up a few paces and started to run toward it, and with a powerful leap, he managed to latch on to the windowsill and pull himself in. He was right beside a bed, and in it, a figure lay among the pillows. It was a woman, Loki knew, for his eyes had long adjusted to the dark and he could see clearly. He could even make out her facial features, it was Darcy. She lay asleep, looking so peaceful...but sad...though with beauty beyond compare. He nearly gasped at the stunning sight.

In person, she was the most beautiful creature Loki had ever seen. He longed to touch her, just once, but he knew if he did, he would give her a frost-burn. So, he just set the book on the bed table and pulled the covers farther over her.

"Someday Darcy, we'll meet," Loki said softly. He gazed at her a moment longer before he backed up and jumped out of the window, his heart aching from being so close, yet so terribly far.