Chapter 2
Loki ghosted his long fingers over the sleeping figure next to him, tracing the shape of her shoulder, waist and hip. As much as he wanted to touch her, he didn't want to disturb the serene peace of this moment – so the King merely gazed at his other half.
Apart from being mortal, she was perfect in every way. A perfect specimen of a woman – and now she belonged to him.
Not only was she beautiful, but she also had a feist within her that he liked. Loki could taste the fire she spewed as they kissed, both fighting for control in their love making.
In the end she had submitted to his dominance, and he consumed her.
The King was now admiring the necklace that hung around her pretty neck; a constant reminder of whom she belonged to. Loki could tell that she didn't take the news of being his intended very well yesterday - the poor little lamb had probably never heard of such a thing as souls being entwined together. However, it was no matter. She will learn to like it here, learn that he is the lion; then will her stubbornness cease.
Loki studied his Queen a while longer before pressing a kiss to her temple and crawling out of the bed. With a flick of his wrist he was donned in his leather armour with his sceptre in hand.
In a flash of green he disappeared to do his days business as King.
Darcy awoke in a tired haze. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly sat up and stretched. God, she ached all over.
Loki was gone - Figures –and Darcy was left alone, naked in a king sized bed, and feeling utterly disgusted with herself. She had completely melted into that jackass' arms and let him have his way with her like a whore. Any protest she had melted from her tongue and her head turned into a dizzy haze of joy.
When he touched her she felt so whole and now he was gone it was as if a part of her had been torn. She had never felt so...empty.
She fidgeted with the jewellery that was wrapped around her neck. It was incredibly ugly necklace in Darcy's opinion. Large tear-drop shaped emeralds dripped off the thick gold chain, suspended by smaller chains that hung just below her collarbones. If she had any sense yesterday she would have thrown the trashy thing out the window – but no. She had to get all weak at the knees and fall into bed with him.
Never again. This was a murderer, an alien. She would knock the horned helmet off his head before she ever let him touch her again.
First things first, she needed to sort herself out.
Darcy was in the process of wrapping a sheet around her naked form when there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Darcy called.
"It's Jane, your Highness." A muffled voice answered back.
"Um... come in?"
The door creaked open and Jane shuffled in with a silver tray of food. The woman kicked the door closed before turning to Darcy.
"Good morning, your Highness. Did you sleep well?"
"Um – 'sleeping' is one way of putting it." Darcy uneasily answered, not quite sure what was happening.
Jane came over a put the tray onto Darcy's lap. "Wait, I get to have breakfast in bed?"
"Of course your Highness. His Majesty has ordered that your new life is now one of leisure."
Darcy would have smiled at that thought, but this was the guy that had taken over her planet and enslaved her friends. The ugly truth hit her like lightning – she was a prisoner.
"Jane, you don't have to call me 'your Highness'." Darcy urged.
Jane's whimsical expression fell. "The King ordered that we call you "highness". You are going to be our Queen, it's only respectful."
"I'm your friend Jane. I use to be your intern; you don't need to be respectful to me."
"Yes I do." Jane said calmly. "You are the soul mate of our King and he gave me so much. I honour him by honouring you as Queen."
"All he gave you were blue eyes, he doesn't deserve honour!" Darcy exclaimed.
The other woman's expression remained still.
"Well...dishonour on you, dishonour on your cow."
Jane's expression didn't change.
Darcy let out a frustrated sigh and collapsed back onto the pillows. Even a Mulan reference didn't get through to Jane.
"Eat up your Highness. Then I can get you ready for the day." Jane said.
Darcy didn't realize how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten for at least a day or two so her rumbling stomach was beckoning for food. Darcy ungracefully stuffed her face with bacon, eggs and French toast. All washed down with orange juice.
Jane removed the empty tray and placed it on a side table. The woman then walked over to the other side of the room where two doors were – one white and the other gold. Jane opened the gold door, reaching in and bringing out a white silk robe.
Some sort of closet? Darcy thought as she crawled out of the bed. Jane came over and slipped the robe onto Darcy's shoulders. The woman then led her over to the white door, opening it to reveal an incredibly fancy bathroom.
Why did the bathroom have to be fucking gold?
"I'll be right out here your Highness." Jane said. "Don't hesitate to shout if you need anything."
"Thanks Jane." Darcy said, entering into the bathroom and shutting the door.
She quickly showered and washed her hair, noticing the different types of shampoos, conditioners and body washes that on the side. It was clear that they had been expecting her - but for how long?
Darcy soon exited the bathroom, finally awake though not really up for the day.
Jane dried her hair and zipped her into a blue dress – simple and elegant, though not really suiting the golden-emerald necklace she wore.
"Jane, can you help me get this thing off?" Darcy beckoned to the necklace.
"You want to take it off?"
"Yes. It's ugly and it doesn't go with this dress."
"I would, your Highness. But I can't."
"What do you mean you can't? Is Loki threatening you? God! Well I'm not scared of him. I hate him. Just watch me take it off."
"No, your Highness. I would gladly take it off, but I can't because only the King can remove it." Jane explained
"What do you mean?"
"He put a spell on it so no one – except him – could remove it."
"Oh yeah he can do magic, can't he?" Darcy realized. "How do you know all this?"
"The King told us after you retired yesterday. He also announced our roles in which we serve you." Jane elaborated.
"Okay? So you're my maid. Is Thor my cook? I can imagine him mashing potatoes with the myuh-myuh." Darcy smiled at the thought.
"No, your Highness. Thor's job is to protect you. Everyone else's role is also to protect you. The King ordered it."
'Protect' - what a nice way to say trapped.
"Can you just try to take this necklace off anyway?"
Jane fiddled with the back as Darcy tried to tug it off her neck. After several minutes of tugging and pulling, it was clear that the necklace would never come off. Darcy was now stuck wearing this noose.
"I'm sorry, your Highness."
"It's not your fault Jane. None of this is your fault."
"The necklace doesn't clash with the dress too badly." Jane reasoned.
"It's not a necklace, it's a collar." Darcy muttered.
Jane slipped a pair of ballet flats onto her feet. "Your arrival has been quite short notice, so it's been a scramble to try and find clothes and shoes." Jane mentioned.
"Yeah, I did wonder about that."
"I managed to find these back in New Mexico." Jane held out a familiar pair of glasses.
"Oh Jane, thank you." Darcy said as she slipped the glasses on. She at least had her eye sight back.
"It's almost 12 o'clock now, you're getting measured at two-"
"Measured for what?" Darcy interrupted as Jane escorted her out of the bedroom and down the hall.
"You're being measured for your wedding dress." Jane said softly.
"Wedding!" Darcy blurted, coming to a halt. "Who's getting married?"
Jane turned to her with a soft smile on her face. "You're getting married."
"To Loki?"
"Of course!"
Dread pooled in her stomach and her heart stopped. Darcy was getting married. Oh lord! She hadn't even finished college yet, marriage wasn't even on the agenda.
"Your Highness? I didn't mean to shock you like that." Jane brows furrowed with worry as she gently took Darcy's hands in her own.
"I'm fine Jane." Darcy lied. "When is it?"
"Exactly next week."
"Okay." Darcy whispered to herself - trying not to panic but failing miserably
"Your coronation is also on the same day." Jane mentioned.
"Coronation? Oh yeah, the whole queen thing – right." Her breathing grew laboured and her heart thundered with fear. She was going to be a queen, now that definitely was not on the agenda either. Darcy couldn't think.
"Jane Foster." The two women turned to see the stern red-haired woman.
"Your Highness." She bowed her head towards Darcy. "I am Natasha Romanov."
"Um, hello." Darcy replied awkwardly.
"Please forgive me your Highness, but the King has summoned us. I just came to fetch Miss Foster." Natasha explained, her unnatural blue eyes staring intently at Darcy, unnerving her.
"Will you be okay?" Jane inquired.
"I'll be fine. I'm safe here, aren't I?" Darcy replied, feigning calmness.
Jane and Natasha both bowed their heads to Darcy before scampering off. It felt uncomfortable to be treated this respectfully, like she was...a queen. Oh god, this wasn't happening, was it? She wasn't going to get married to an alien psycho and be the queen of her own planet.
She had to get out of here.
Darcy made her way down the corridor in the opposite direction, looking through every door but found that they didn't lead anywhere. At last she found a door that led to a stairwell, but it turned out that it only descended to another golden hall way. Darcy grunted in frustration before starting again at finding another stairwell.
Darcy only found more endless corridors - that led to more endless corridors.
As she hurriedly wandered through a particularly long corridor with no doors, Darcy realized that there had curiously been no windows. She hadn't seen a single one. Darcy turned more uneasy at the thought of being trapped like a rat.
She at last found a large double door – probably mahogany- and was about to peer into it until she heard footsteps coming towards her.
Darcy shot away from the door in fear of looking suspicious. A group of blue eyed women, probably no older than her, stiffly marched down the corridor. They each carried roses in their hands, in which Darcy questioned why, until she remembered – the wedding.
The women came a halt in front of her, all bowing in unison before straightening up. They all kept their eyes downcast. Darcy frowned in pity. They weren't the same as Jane and Thor, as they were just delusional. No, these were proper slaves. Their identities were completely wiped out and were now just shells of what they used to be. They were no longer humans that thought and felt: they were zombies.
Darcy was meant to be queen of mankind, but what was mankind now?
The group of women passed Darcy without a second glance, except one. The tallest of that group remained standing in front of Darcy, easily towering over her even a couple of feet away.
"Are you lost? Your Highness." She spoke in a cool British accent.
"No." Darcy fibbed, studying the tall woman. There was something different about her that Darcy couldn't pin point. The lady had blond hair; lots of freckles that dotted her face and of course glowing blue eyes. But the eyes didn't look dead and empty as the women previous, nor was her expression creepily whimsical. She looked like she had a brain.
It was then Darcy noticed that the lady was assessing her. "That is the library if you were wondering." The tall woman nodded to the mahogany doors, keeping cool composure better that Darcy ever could.
"Thanks." She replied. The woman moved past her without bowing and Darcy watched her go, completely confused about what just happened.
She didn't ponder over it though as she continued travelling down the corridor.
Several minutes passed before Darcy finally found a turning. Unfortunately, it led directly to a dead end.
"What is this, a maze?" Darcy yelled in frustration.
She hated that she had nowhere to run. She hated how conflicted she was when it came to Loki. She hated that she didn't have a say in any of this. Why could none of this be simple?
With a scream, Darcy kicked the stone wall in front of her, startling backwards when the stone she kicked unexpectedly moved.
A series of clicks and bolts sounded behind the wall before turning silent. Darcy jumped out of her skin when the wall slid open into a door way. Curiosity pushed Darcy's fear aside. She peered in to see grey steps slowly descend into blackness. She cautiously stepped into the doorway, finding a handle on the inside which she used to pull the wall back with a click. It probably wasn't a good idea to close it but Darcy decided she would regret it later.
Darcy slowly creeped down the steps. Lights suddenly flickered on. Though still a little dim, Darcy was glad she wasn't going into complete darkness. The further she travelled down, the brighter it got. Darcy was flooded with hope - she was nearly outside, she was nearly free!
Darcy ran down the last few steps, only to have her joy dashed to pieces. She wasn't outside; instead she found herself in a grey chamber. In front of her was what could only be described as a glass cell held together by metal. The interior of it was brightly illuminated. Inside sat a man who was studying Darcy.
"Your eyes aren't glowing blue." The man observed. His voice soft yet raspy.
"Neither are yours." Darcy retorted.
The man slowly stood up and walked closer to the glass. He wasn't tall, only a little taller than Darcy was. He had scruffy brown hair, peppered with grey, which looked like it hadn't been combed for weeks. The man's clothes certainly needed replacing. His thread bare shirt only gave coverage to his shoulders and very little anywhere else. His trousers were in tatters to say the least.
"You shouldn't be here." The man softly warned.
"I figured." Darcy replied miserably.
"Why are you here?" The man folded his arms, shuffling slightly.
"I don't know." Darcy truthfully said. "I was trying to escape 'cause I'm getting married and becoming queen next week, and I only found this out today from my friend who's been turn into a mind-slave, so she isn't herself any more. And she's not really a friend since she, and some other mind-controlled people, knocked me out yesterday and kidnapped me."
Darcy was turning to tears as she continued her rant.
"And it turns out I'm the soul mate of a homicidal maniac who's really good in bed – and yes, that's a bad thing. Everything's turned to shit and I'm trapped here and I hate it."
Darcy broke down into wrecking sobs. She felt like such a fool but she really needed to get all of it of her chest.
"Why are you here?" She asked the man, once her crying subsided a little.
"Because I'm a monster." The man spoke with guilt and sadness in his voice.
"Are you? You don't look like one. And no offence, but you don't look like you could take over a whole planet and enslave everyone."
A slight smile tugged at the man's lips. "You don't have to be Loki to be a monster."
"This is probably a stupid question but do you know a way to escape this palace?" Darcy sniffed.
"I'm as clueless as you are. Sorry." The man regrettably replied. "Pardon me for saying, but you don't exactly look prepared to run away or survive on your own."
"Well, it was more on an impulse. But I'm stuck here anyway so it doesn't matter anymore. I might as well be in that cage with you."
"It wouldn't be a good idea, trust me." He quietly mentioned. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"24."
"My, you're young. What were you doing before...Loki came onto the scene?"
"I was studying political science at college. Needed credits, so became an intern for Jane – she's an astrophysicist."
"Jane Foster?" The man interjected.
"Yeah. Anyway, she went with Erik to New York-"
"Erik Selvig?"
"Oh you heard of him too! As I was saying, they went to New York for science and I had to stay in New Mexico to look after the labs. Aliens attacked, I was alone for a while, and then Jane, Thor, Tony Stark and some other people I don't know kidnapped me – so here I am."
"What has happened to them? Tony, Thor, the rest of the group?" The man inquired with worry.
"Their all mind-slaves." Darcy answered sorrowfully.
"Blue eyes?"
"Yeah."
The man sighed, him mouth pressed into a thin line. "I'm so sorry that this has happened to you." He said. His brown eyes filled with pity.
"Don't be sorry. That bastard should be sorry." She fumed.
"I wish I knew how to help you, but I can't really do much in this cage." He spoke.
"Is there any way to get you out?"
"Trust me I've tried. Loki's probably put a spell on the cage. He's the only one who can release me."
"You too? Loki's fucking trapped me in this ugly necklace using magic. God, I have no idea what to do." Darcy sighed. "At least I have someone to talk to who isn't being controlled."
The man gave a kind smile. "I'm glad of it too. What's your name?"
"Darcy."
"Darcy." He repeated. "Well Darcy, since we're both prisoners here, that means we need to stick together – as best we can."
"Okay?"
"I can't help you, but I can at least be someone you can talk to."
"Are you that desperate for a conversation that you would put up with my babbling?" Darcy joked.
"I am. But I think you could do with a friend in this situation. Hey, it will probably keep me sane." He smiled.
"I'd better go. Jane's most likely pulling her hair out trying to find me." Darcy sadly mentioned.
The man nodded in understanding. "Stay strong Darcy."
Darcy was about to ascend the stairs. "Wait!" She turned around. "I didn't get your name."
"It's Bruce. Bruce Banner."