Thanduil/Loki spin off of EN
Mer!Thranduil
Lady Loki
*Marvel and Tolkien as well as Jackson
As far as potential punishments, Loki never expected Odin to sacrifice her to a sea kingdom but when a legendary creature arrives to accept she finds herself less apposed to the idea. Siren live up to their reputation for allure; liquid silver eyes and molten voice alone could turn her to liquid. If she has to be sacrificed, at least the monster is pleasing to the eye.
Mer!Thranduil and also the rest of the elves.
This is a fluffy AU of my other AU to ease the tension.
Alternately, seemingly Aesir Loki is actually MER!Loki and was never Jotun at all. She assumes she is being sacrificed to sea gods but in truth she is being returned to her own people. Thranduil is still the king but there is no taint or even a Sauron to muck things up. Legolas is his younger brother in this because why not get rid of a little more angst? There is very little angst to be had here so have some stress relief from my other angsty story!
Over time, Loki had begun to see patterns in her life. The main key to all of them was that regardless of what person or persons were at fault, it was always her fault.
She was, quite literally, the black sheep among a family of blond and beautiful. Her with her svelte figure and long black hair, and the rest of them with muscle in every possible section it would fit on their bodies. Her mother was a sort of glowing light, powerful like a golden flame and easily won the heart. Loki was the shadow dancing behind the flame, mysterious, still capable of beauty but less loved. Frigga was graceful but she was powerful, a former shield-maiden.
Loki was a fighter as well, and just as skilled in battle as Thor, but in very different ways. Thor charged in like an angry bilgesnipe while she generally approached situations the way a fox or poisonous snake might; deadly but faster and more cunning than a full frontal assault. Granted, she usually used Thor as a decoy for her own plans, but that was beside the point.
No, the point was, anything that went wrong was always attributed to her while victory was always associated with the grand strength of the golden child. Not that she was bitter...much, but it was the reason she was currently on the ocean in a small boat commonly used in sea burials.
It would have been less insulting if they had at least given her a ship rather than simply a pretty little boat. Of course she had no choice in the matter so it was of little value either way.
Odin told her that she was different, not meant for their world, but for one beneath the waves. Loki knew the truth, obviously. Only a few days before, she had foolishly allowed Thor to drag her off to a different world for reveling where none of their own would be the wiser, a world he promptly put himself at odds with. Insulting the ruler was generally frowned upon, as was becoming involved in a fight after more insults were slung back and forth. Being the smart one of the two she had tried to smooth the situation over but it had honestly been well beyond her control. At which time, she took her brother and fled to the city ocean where she intended to steal a ship with him in tow.
While she did not remember all the details for she was very sure someone hit her in the head, she did know that they ended up in the water and Thor somehow managed to sink one of the royal war ships. There were now threats of war, and thus she was suddenly to be found in a green silk dress, gold coins woven in her hair, and bracelets of the same on her wrists.
The realm in question must have demanded a wergild as payment and they would never offer up their first born in line to be king, so it was the princess' duty. It was, as always, described as having been all her fault. When they returned to Asgard, Thor had been speedy to admit that it had been Loki's idea to go to NĂºmenor.
Well, they might just be starting a new war after she killed whatever sea monster was waiting to devour her. That one would actually be her doing. She had no intention of allowing anything to simply kill her without offering up some sort of resistance. They might not have left her a sword but she had never needed one, she had any weapon she could want at the tips of her fingers if she only called to it.
Even so, after waiting for many hours, she had grown rather bored. She was nearly falling asleep, stretched out in the boat, ankles crossed, hands folded, and eyes fluttering as she stared up at the clouds. The water was a steady, calming thing that she found very comforting.
The water lapped steadily at the boat in a lazy whup, whup that made her oddly relaxed despite her situation. The fact that the boat tipped to one side did not catch her attention but when it failed to shift back her attention was well captured. Her emerald eyes snapped to the shifted side and she found herself struck utterly speechless when molten metal eyes were what she found staring back. Long platinum hair flowed over broad, toned shoulders, dipping down in wet ribbons to cling to a sculpted chest.
Flawless skin glistened with beads of salty water as they left trails for her eyes to follow. The man's face was a work of art even to her standards, and she was used to seeing royalty hailed as gods. His features were sharp and perfect, like an artist had taken days or weeks to perfect them. Thick, dark brows only served to accentuate his spellbinding eyes, and she was hard pressed to focus on anything else without a good deal of willpower being involved despite how noteworthy what she could see of his upper body happened to be. He very well might have been the most handsome, beautiful man she had ever seen in all her days.
When a flash of silver scales, and sinews of a large fin flapped momentarily into view before slapping the water, it suddenly fell into place. A siren. Little wonder he was so stunning when that happened to be exactly how he earned his meals, she supposed. Lure was all part of these creatures, it was in their blood, part of their magic. She could see why mortals would risk a horrible end simply to have a better look at him; she might be willing to risk it, for that matter, being curious by nature.
In her minds eye she could see this mysterious creature, ethereal in beauty, dragging mortals to a bloody end beneath the surface of the waves. Even so she found herself feeling no fear of this deadly sea monster, further captivated if anything. She wondered absently if his rings or the thin silver chain round his neck were indication of anything, a clan he belonged to, or simply a trophy from his kills.
"Are you here to meet me?" She asked as she pulled herself into a more dignified position fitting her status. If he did anything at all to indicate she was in danger he would have quite the surprise waiting for-
"Yes, I came to meet you, my lady." His voice... it was a smooth, sweet depth of baritone that sent a shiver up her spine, like velvet and silk with an impossible cohesion of chill and warmth.
"Well, you are late." She snapped automatically, responding defensively the only way she could to counter what the voice of a Siren was already doing to her.
His lips, a rather charming cupid's bow, twitched up into the slightest hint of a cunning smile, "I must apologize then, for making you wait."
Loki surprised herself when she leaned forward, but that hint of a smile did something to her, making her want to do or say something to make him do it again because she had a feeling he did not smile often, "You really should, I have never been one to be kept long, even if it is for an execution." Rather than smiling, those dark brows pulled together in a frown, but she liked that too.
He studied her anew with such serious eyes, taking her in as if she were pages to be read and deciphered, "You believe I am here to harm you?"
Loki offered one of her sharp edged, dangerous, though still playful grins, "Oh, that is generally how it works when a girl is offered as a sacrifice to one mythological creature or other. Do not insult my intelligence by seeming naive of such matters for I know your people are cunning." Her smile turned intentionally sly and sultry, "But I too am cunning when I so desire to be."
His expression did not change but his tone flattened somewhat, "They told you nothing then, it would seem."
With such grace and agility, he pushed himself up on the edge of the boat and slithered in with ease, like he had been made of the water itself and could move just as seamlessly. Loki surprised herself by making no move whatsoever to hinder his invasion of her space, not even moving away when his chin nearly rested on her knee. His metallic tail was on display now, leaving her free to observe the way the light made it gleam like diamonds on every scale and over every accentuated dip and rise of the impressive muscle lines that proved just how powerful the appendage was.
It was an honest effort to drag her unwilling eyes away from their exploration and look him in the face once more. "What should I have been told, my watery friend?"
"That I am here to personally bring you to your new home..." he hesitated, "should you wish it. Should you not wish to stay, after a period of time, you will be allowed to return to the place of your choice."
Loki sat very still, blinking dumbly at him a moment before asking the first question that came to mind, "Who might you be, exactly? I do not believe my self proclaimed escort ever offered it."
"I am Thranduil." He told her simply, but his eyes were locked with hers studiously, perhaps trying to see if she knew of him.
"I am Loki, if you were not aware."
"I was, yes." Now he offered her a shy tilt of his lips that was very near a smile.
"Then you knew far more than I." She had no idea what possessed her to do it, but she reached out and ran her fingers delicately along the curve of his strong jaw, but she did not let it show how drastically she shocked herself. She equally did not show reaction when he closed his eyes and leaned slightly into her hand. He felt like warm currents of lightning without the painful bite. Touching him might become addictive so she pulled her hand back to her lap casually. "Tell me about... this place you are supposed to take me to then, will you?"
So it began. He complied easily and began to tell her of a city far under the waves of the vast ocean they drifted upon. His voice was deep, like the water he spoke of, and calming enough to be lost within. Thranduil told her of a beautiful place, full of glowing lights and sea creatures of all variations, with rock and coral woven into a living palace. He told her of his people and of the culture, of their strengths, but she was listening closely enough to notice he told her none of their weaknesses.
Unwittingly, she learned of one weakness she could easily have guessed at; he frequently slung the fin of his tail over the side to splash up water onto them both, cooling them and equally drenching them, which she oddly did not mind, but it told her he could not stay out of the water forever without need to do something to compensate.
To her great surprise, at some point during his telling, she laid herself down beside him without even realizing she had done so. She was on her side, spread languidly over the pillows, pressed fully to his long body. He too was on his side, their faces close, eyes locked together like magnets while he absently stroked her hair through his webbed fingers; she did not protest, to her own silent horror and reluctant elation.
She had never felt pulled to the men of Asgard. There were too few with half a mind and fewer with a personality she could stand. Even then, there were still less that could stand her. Loki was not the usual Aesir lady, she was sharp angles and nothing nearing demure or tactful unless she wished to be; she also did not giggle at their poor jokes and appalling manners.
When his hair slipped on the strong line of his shoulder, it revealed something she had not noticed before. Her hand moved of its own accord to run a finger over the pointed tip of his ear.
He gave her a full body shiver and made a noise; a purr, perhaps - deep, rumbling in his chest, like a earthquake she felt through her own body.
When she repeated the motion, the purring persisted. There was nothing human about the sound; it was fully animal, rumbling like marbles rolling overt a washboard surface. She let herself pretend she shivered from the chill of the wind coming off the ocean water because she was rarely very honest with herself.
Loki let her hand fall to his shoulder and his eyes snapped open once again. "Now what?" She asked sweetly, taking control where she found the opening.
To his confused little noise, she elaborated, "We have been talking for hours. It seems time you offer information on what you intend to do with me next." She was being intentionally coy and vixen-like.
Thranduil blinked a few times and then nodded, "Of course." He rested his forehead against hers in a wholly too familiar manner for a virtual stranger, but Loki surprised herself once again by not pulling away. She would not even have minded if he-
"Come with me." He whispered oh so softly, urgently, but he gave her no chance to ask questions.
Rather without warning, she was alone in the boat and he was swaying on his back atop the water.
"You are able to alter your form at will, is this not correct?" He spoke to the sky but she nodded even though he would not see. "Look at me." He began to twirl slowly, displaying his entire body for her. "Think of what your own form might be if you were the same... and just let it course over you."
Loki did indeed study him as he continued to display his form so perfectly. She noticed everything, made note of each point of interest, ever motion and part of his sinuous grace. In a few more moments she found herself swaying in the water, a hand on each strong shoulder, her body pressed to his as she stared deep into his metallic eyes and she felt sure she had gotten there by her own free will.
Her fingers took to exploring with care the fluttering slits in the juncture of his neck and shoulder. He tipped his head to one side, offering her full access to what she suspected was a delicate zone. The long slits fluttered nervously under her fingers but she took great care in examining. When they flared open she knew he did so intentionally and it allowed her to see the red feathers of flesh that were just like what she had seen on normal fish; that set of gills that allowed them to breathe the oxygen in the water.
When Loki coiled her long legs around his waist, his eyes snapped open with a sharp gasp and those gills jumped wide before shivering closed. His webbed hands found a place on her hips before they slid around more appropriately to her back.
He wanted her to use her abilities. She could do that.
