Chapter I

"Odin, stay with me…please." begged Queen Frigga, her voice a mere whisper.

The dark elves of Svartalfheim had invaded the palace earlier that night, startling Odin, who quickly went to his secret compartment under the floor to get hold of Gungnir [1], his most trusted ally in battle.

Queen Frigga woke up moments later only to encounter her husband's body sprawled on the floor, with blood coming out of his mouth and nose, with an arrow stuck in his chest, where his heart should have been.

"Forgive me…Frigga…" he coughed those words, for it pained him greatly to speak.

Their marriage had not been one out of love, but after the first centuries together they learn to respect and even love each other.

To see her beloved's life slipping though her fingers like a slippery fish, felt as if her heart was being pulled from her chest.

"Guards!" she screamed and screamed to the top of her lungs but to no avail, for no one came, not even the maids nor the guards.

There was nothing she could do now other than roam around helplessly lost in thought and mourning for her deceased husband.

She walked aimlessly around the Asgardian grounds until she found a tree where she could lean on. There she cried and cried until she was finally taken by sleep.

She most have been heard by some of the villagers, considering she was woken up by the sun rays that came through a little window close to the ceiling of the small cottage she was in.

Frigga decided to get up and thank her mysterious benefactor.

"Hum... Hello? Anybody there?" asked Queen Frigga as she looked around.

"Only me… Dear mother." said a too familiar voice coming from the door frame.

"L-L-Loki?" Frigga couldn't believe on the site before her. It was Loki Laufeyson, Odin's banned child, forced into exile after his monstrous attempt to conquer Midgard. After that he was sent to prison and had his moth sewn shut for months, when his sentence was over the Queen and the King never heard of him again.

His hair was shorter than when she last visited him, however his piercing emerald gaze never left him.

"Loki I...I...Thank you." that was all Queen Frigga could manage to say, she was speechless after all it had been over two years since she last saw her son.

"No need to thank me, after all, you are my mother." said he nonchalantly.

"The palace was attacked last night..." said Frigga as if trying to start a conversation, "Your father... Has passed away..." she said with a sniff.

"So I've heard." responded Loki with a smirk, "At last the old man gave up the throne, when is Thor being crowned?" he asked with sincere interest in his voice.

"He is not, after you were imprisoned he propose to that mortal, Jane, and gave up his immortality for her, therefore you are to be the new king of Asgard. I wish I could have told you on a more appropriate occasion, but it seems the Norns wished it to be that way." Loki had to blink twice in order to believe on what his adoptive mother had just said.

He, heir to the Jotun throne, son of Laufey, the one and only God of Mischief and Lies, Loki Laufeyson, was be king of Asgard, ruler of the realm of the Gods. It was indeed unbelievable.

"But...In order to re-establish the peace and order between the nine realms of Yggdrasil, you must choose a Midgardian wife." now that was some shocking news, thought Loki, the woman must be going mad ever since Odin's death, however this would be a great opportunity to get back at the Black Widow for making a fool out of him back in the aircraft.

Plus the spider's sister was quite a sight to behold, if he was to compare her to the other Midgardians he dared not to bed.

"Mother, I think I already had someone in mind. I honestly hope you'll like your new daughter in law." with a chuckle he flashed towards Midgard.

Midgard Natasha's House:

Alexandra was so tired as if she had ran a whole marathon, she had been walking throughout New York looking for a job as a dance teacher, but the gods of luck certainly weren't on her side, for she didn't find any.

Nat had said it would be alright if she just stayed there and relaxed like the guest she was. But considering she was to stay a year at sestra's place, she was willing to pay for her expenses including the ballet course she was taking in order to improve her dancing skills.

It was over ten thirty in New York, way past her curfew back in Russia.

She walked towards the guest room to get her hair brush and a few other toiletries.

The shower was quite refreshing she had to admit, considering summer in the US was much hotter than the Russian summer.

Alexandra got out of the bathroom and sat in front of the vanity to brush her long strawberry blonde hair.

She closed her eyes and hummed a song as the brush glided over her hair. The petite Russian woman decided to braid her hair so it would not be filled with knots on the morning.

When she opened her icy blue eyes and looked at her reflexion in the mirror she saw a man about six foot two, with his hair slicked back and green eyes that smiled in a cocky manner.

"Calm down Alex, this is all a dream, if you close your eyes it will all go away." she repeated several times in a mantra like manner.

"I'm afraid I won't be leaving so soon, my dear Alexandra." said the man clad in green black and gold leather attire. He was very handsome she had to admit, but he was also the guy that attempted to take over the Earth two years ago.

Alexandra tried to press the button under the vanity to call on SHIELD but Loki was faster, quickly casting a sleeping spell over her.

She looked like an angel Loki had to admit, with her full lips slightly parted and her long coppery hair almost touching the ground. The Asgardian people would definitely approve of his choice. She would make a fine queen, with her delicate manners and soft voice.

Loki quickly shook those thoughts out of his head and headed to Asgard.

[1] Gungnir = Odin's spear