Right then. Lets see if I can do this fan-fiction properly. Please leave a review if you'd be so kind.

It was a strange thing, the aftermath of a battle. The silence that hung over the field of corpses was not an easy thing to get used to. Yet Loki found that there was something else that unnerved him. His hearing was better than that of mortals. While Thor, crown prince of Asgard, was helping pile the bodies (it was only respectful after all), Loki stepped quietly among the rest, his emerald green cloak gently flapping in the wind. That noise…it sounded an awful lot like…breathing. Then out of the corner of his eye, Loki thought he detected a slight shift of movement. The intake of air continued, faster. He snapped his head to the side. One corpse caught his attention. It was not the large strong muscular build of a man. No this was quite small. Loki, using magic, shielded himself from view.

Alina knew that her discovery was inevitable. It was part of the plan after all but it didn't mean she had to like it. Breathing heavily, she made it onto her knees. Normally she would have kept her helmet but she didn't want her view limited as she tugged it off her head. Yet she hadn't even had the chance to uncover her mouth (as the lower half of her face was covered) when she felt a blade at her throat.

"Well you're far from home aren't you?" he said quietly. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a braid, a few loose strands here and there. She looked like she hadn't had a bath in days. Still keeping the steel at her skin, Loki knelt down in front of her, eyes meeting a pair as deep and wide a green as his own. If she bothered to clean up and put on silk instead of steel, she could be quite attractive. He reached out and gently drew the mask down around her neck so Loki could see her face in its full view.

"And does the lady have a name?" Loki asked. By the way she looked at him; one would think he'd just called her a very rude insult. Slowly, Loki lowered the blade. Still his question was met with silence and a steady gaze. He sighed;

"You're going to have to talk if you want to get through this" he advised. No sooner had he finished speaking as she suddenly lashed out at his face. Though it didn't do much harm, Loki could feel the metal plates covering her fingers as she tried to inflict some sort of pain.

"You must be truly desperate" he saw her stiffen and whip her head to look behind her. With magic, Loki had easily created a doppelganger behind her. As her mind tried to work out what in the seven hells she was seeing, Loki slammed his hand over her mouth, barely wincing as she tried to sink her teeth into his hand. He pushed her until her back met the ground below them and he was practically on top of her.

Assassin or no assassin, Alina wasn't quite so accepting of being handled this way. But then Loki was an arrogant bastard who did what he wanted, when he wanted, and how he wanted with no one to tell him off. Alina was wondering who was going to benefit from this assignment but she was damn sure it was not her. Yet with the scars on her back, she hadn't exactly been able to refuse. She knew all too well what happened the last time.

"This doesn't have to be so difficult my lady" he said smoothly as she tried to hit his arm with both hands.

"I'm not-"

"So you do speak. Anatomically, you are a woman. Now why aren't you dressed like one?"

"Fuck you!" she snarled. Loki frowned.

"Such a tongue. Any other army would probably be doing such an act to you until you couldn't feel your legs. Consider yourself lucky" he replied. Her struggles abated somewhat. She was probably afraid. But her posture and facial expression were still hostile.

"Then just kill me" she said, rather calmly.

"Is that really what you want, Lady?"

"If it means you'll stop calling me that, then please"

"I have a better idea" Loki smirked. Even in her steel attire, she was still not hard to lift.

"What?! HEY. What the-? Let go of me!" Loki whispered a few foreign sounding words and within seconds, his new charge was asleep in his arms.

As the healers looked over her unconscious body for any further injury, Loki noticed that without her armor, she looked even smaller. Only something would have to be done about the black sleeveless tunic and pants she wore. Even the lowest in Asgard lived better than her. He picked up the sheathed blade that had been hanging from her belt. It was fine steelwork. Upon closer inspection, Loki could see a small engraving in the metal nearest the hilt:

Alina