TD 1
Chapter One
Green eyes swept over her sleeping form, tucked neatly under a thin blanket on the thing that Midgardians call a couch. She faced away from him, hair wild and splayed over her face. He hardly noticed stepping closer, surprised to find himself watching the rise and fall of her chest as she slept soundly, completely oblivious of his presence. It would be so easy to just take her now, right from under the Avengers' noses. Take her far away and show her that not everyone thought she was strange. But for now, the God of Mischief was content to watch her sleep.
Loki absently pulled her hair off her face with gentle fingers, not wanting to wake her but wanting to see the innocence normally shrouded by wakefulness. He smiled slightly, watching her eyes dart around behind closed lids. Loki wished he could see what she was dreaming of. He had to admit she was quite beautiful, but that was to be expected. Her mother had been beautiful, too.
A disembodied voice broke the silence, speaking to Loki softly. "Mr. Laufeyson, you may want to leave. Someone is coming to check on her."
Loki nodded. "Thank you for warning me."
"Of course."
Before Jarvis had finished speaking, Loki had already vanished.
The door opened a moment later, Clint poking his head in and looking around. He walked up to the couch and stood there for a moment, watching. With a nod, he gave the sleeping girl a rare smile and whispered, "Sweet dreams, Katrina." He swept back out of the room silently, closing the door behind him. He never heard the quiet scoff of disbelief and the mutter of, 'Katrina? What a ghastly name.'
Seventeen years ago...
It was a soiree of the most spectacular sort, a much-anticipated meeting between the gods of Asgard and Midgard. They were all dressed in their finest clothing, and Loki was sulking behind his ever-present mask of indifference. It had been nearly an hour of fake smiles and introductions. Thor had already been eyeing some of the goddesses with some interest, letting out booming laughter every so often at something another deity said. Afterward, they dined on a magnificent feast prepared by the finest cooks in the realm. Loki sat on Thor's right side at the massive table, various deities chatting amongst themselves. The god of mischief hardly cared for these niceties, but he put up with them because the Allfather might have stern words for him if he did not at least pretend to enjoy himself. He picked at his food until he felt someone watching him. He raised emerald eyes and glanced down either side of the table until they met with the deepest shade of blue he'd ever seen. He stared at the goddess until she smiled at him, flipping long, untamed locks out of her eyes. He blinked and found himself retuning the smile, admiring her pleasant face and fiery red air that curled in every direction. Loki struggled to remember her name. Brigeeta? No, that's not it. Brighid. That's what it was. Goddess of fire and warfare. And healing, if I'm not mistaken. Quite the paradox. Brighid smiled at him once more then returned to her food and conversation with Lady Sif, but Loki had the impression that she still glanced his way every so often. And that pleased him to no end. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to know more about the fire goddess...