Warnings: Violence, angst, manxman, sex, some OOC-ness, and lots of blood. Plus someone losing their mind. But don't worry- it has a happy ending.


"Move!"

Loki grunted as he was pushed to the ground by Sif, spilling the bucket of water he had carried to the village. The girl smirked at him and continued to walk away, long blonde hair swishing, not at all concerned for the man. Loki slowly got up, wincing as he noticed the bloody spots on his scraped knees and slightly torn up hands. He picked up his bucket and turned around, making his way back towards the trail that led to the waterfall.

When he reached the waterfall and the large lake it fell into, he sat on the soft grass that covered the edge, sinking his feet into the lake, bringing a hand down to pull water up to his stinging knees, clearing out the dirt and small rocks that had lodged themselves into his scrapes. A few tears escaped him, but anyone who might have been in the deserted clearing wouldn't have seen them due to his long hair that covered his face. With wet hands, he pushed the black locks away, letting the sunlight grace his pale skin and damp cheeks. The water dried off his fingers as he combed them through his thick hair, making sure to remove any bits of debris that had been caught up in the walk to the water.

Standing, he shook his legs as best as he could, then used the longer end of the cloth tied around his waist to help dry off the rest of the water droplets. He wiped his tears away, mentally scolding himself as he scowled at the water.

You promised father you would not cry here. You promised to stay strong. A few wounds should not be strong enough to procure even your smallest tears.

Once he had checked to ensure his wounds were clean, his body dry, and his tears gone, he filled his bucket with the falling water and made his way towards the village once again.


Loki felt a rough hand gently caress his face. He woke up sleepily, blearily blinking his green eyes, lashes heavy with sleep and the reckless beauty that comes with sleep. He stretched out on the furs, a small, content smile coming to his lips as he looked up at his blonde betrothed.

"Where did these come from?" Thor asked him. Loki thought he meant the scrapes on his hands and knees, but froze instantly when one strong finger swiped away the dampness on his cheek.

"You miss your home, your family." Said the man, making a statement and less of a question. Loki looked away uncomfortably, not wanting to admit it because although he missed all of that terribly, he loved being with Thor. He put a hand to the man's cheek, smiling at him.

"Another wound..." Thor commented, noticing the abrasion on his hand. "Ah, wounds." He corrected himself when he saw Loki try to futilely hide his knees underneath the furs.

"I merely slipped when I was bringing back wate-" But his lame explanation was cut off.

"When I first met you, do you know what it was about you that made my eyes linger?" Loki didn't answer Thor's question. "It was how beautiful and unmarked your skin was. You had no scars, no bruises, nothing other than a small dark spot here and there that only enhanced the loveliness of your pale flesh." He ran a hand up Loki's left thigh, which was largely exposed by the cloth that hung like a skirt on him.

"You exhibited grace unmatched to that of any other person I have met. Ever since your arrival a fortnight ago, you've acquired several bruises (some look quite fresh), a cut above your hip that will surely scar, and now several scrapes." Thor's blue eyes searched Loki's. "Who is hurting you, my love?"

The other looked away, hiding behind the cascading fall of his raven hair. "No one." He replied, feeling Thor's disappointment and sadness radiating from him. After a while, Loki's head was turned and tilted upwards by one of Thor's giant hands, eyes automatically sliding shut as Thor moved in to kiss him.

Their lips met softly, briefly, using gentle, fleeting motions before Loki grew hungry and wrapped his arms around Thor's neck. With some effort, he pulled the man slowly on top of him, pausing periodically to let Thor shift and move till he was fully on him, lips locked the entire time.

Grunting as he was pulled into the intimate position, Thor slipped his tongue past those thin, sweet lips. Their tongues grappled, Loki complying mostly to whatever his betrothed wanted. Their hands ran over each others bodies lightly, grazing the surface of any exposed skin.

Thor's hands moved to unknot the cloth around the pale man's hips, but was stopped by Loki pulling away and letting out a soft "no".

"You still are not ready to give yourself to me?" Thor asked quietly, moving his hands away respectfully. Loki shook his head. "It is a custom of my people to marry first. Consummation is sacred to us. You are aware of that, yet you still push forward to bed me before we are husband and wife." He said, green eyes shining. Thor chuckled and rolled off of him, one leg propped up on the bed, the other hanging off, hands resting behind his head. With slithering movements, Loki snuggled his way to Thor's firm side.

"I shall wait, my love."

"Thank you."


Despite Loki still feeling uneasy in his new home, Thor still insisted they were present at the nightly gathering for eating and talking. Granted Thor was the village's king and could indeed eat in his hut with Loki, he kept telling his betrothed to get used to being in more village gatherings, especially if he was to be the queen.

They sat on a large tree trunk that gave them a platform in front of Thor's (and Loki's future) subjects.

It was a large trunk, big enough that Loki could have laid across it with a few centimeters to spare, but the pale man had taken to sitting as snuggled up to Thor's side as possible. The king had an arm wrapped possessively around his waist, laughing exuberantly as he talked with Volstagg, the main cook.

"My friend, that is definitely the best method of killing a pig!" Thor roared with laughter as he could picture the huge man running about, trying to wrestle the wriggling animal to the ground, but getting kicked in the face several times.

Loki had finished eating a while ago, he just sat in Thor's embrace, taking sections of his hair and braiding them in both simple and extravagant designs. Once in awhile, Thor looked at him and smiled, gently kissing his forehead to remind him that he knew he was still there. Loki would smile back silently and accept the kiss, sinking into the warm hold even more, laying his head on a strong shoulder.

However, the paler of the two could not fully relax with Sif glaring at him from across the large fire. She savagely tore into her meat whilst holding his gaze, as if to say she would tear him up just as savagely. He would shudder in fear and bury his face into Thor's chest. After a few times of Loki doing this, the king reckoned his beautiful betrothed was becoming sleepy and that they should retire.

"I'm fine, Thor. It just feels nice to do that." Loki denied his sleepiness instantly and, hesitating and throwing a glance at Sif before he sat up to kiss Thor gently, lips timidly parting as the king demanded more of a kiss. The blonde girl stood and smashed her clay bowl to the ground, causing everyone to look at who had caused the disturbance.

Thor was about to question her when she spoke.

"I claim my right to initiate a Queen's Challenge!" She shouted angrily. Everyone looked at her in shock while Loki froze up, Thor becoming as stiff as he was as well.

"Sister, do you understand the meaning of your words?" Thor asked darkly. Their mother stood, a worried look on the beautiful Frigga's face.

"I do." Sif replied.

Several others stood and claimed their right as well. All of those who stood glared daggers at Loki, who cowered in Thor's arms.

Solemnly, Thor stood, letting go of his cowering betrothed as he did so.

"The Queen's Challenge has been initiated. There are 32 challengers. By default, my betrothed, Loki Laufeyson of the northern tribe of Jotunheim, is included in the Queen's Challenge. In 33 days (as is the total number of participants), the Queen's Challenge shall commence. At midnight on the 33rd day, the participants shall," He paused and looked at Loki, tears shimmering in his eyes.

"Fight till there is one victor left standing."

Loki's hands flew up to his mouth.

"Whoever is the last to be alive of these 33 challengers, has proved themselves worthy of the queen's throne and shall be seated upon their earned prize."


A/N: Heyheyheyyyyyy! Didja guys miss me? Cause I missed you~

So this is the story that will be taking up most of September! It's ENTIRELY dedicated to my beloved Kaat (whitewolfmoon on tumblr- she's an amazing artist so go through her blog and spam her with lots of love okay?). She's currently my muse. Like, it's weird because I've never had a muse before, but she totally is my muse. I haven't told her that, so it's somewhat my creeper secret, okay?

Because of how short this story is and how I'm trying to write it, the chapters will be shorter, but you can expect one chapter per every 5 days at the MOST.

Now, I'm going to clear some crap up and tell you where I'm getting my main inspirations from for this story:

- Whidbey Island (an island of Washington, which is where I live and Kaat was born XD)

- The Hunger Games

- Battle Royale

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

- Avatar

- this one yaoi manga oneshot that I can't find anywhere, but it had amazing buttsex in it

Annnnnnnnd yeah.

Oh, I should mention that I also have a 2-shot in-progress, another 2-shot in-progress, and of course, the sequel to Pale Blossoms is in-progress as well. I'm so busy for you guys! So, so, so busy! And I'm juggling school work, social life, and sleeping time on top of that! I AM THE NEW WONDER WOMAN! Or not. But, yeah.

Welp, I'm gonna go now and keep on writing and also get freaked out by Supernatural cause that's just how I do.

Ciao, my loves~

yakisoba