Chapter 1: Tricks

Of course it made perfect sense. It made perfect sense that whenever he had needed a word with the All-Father before, he would have to wait for an audience with him like everyone else.

He would have to wait as if he were a lowly peasant who needed to petition for assistance when he had had a bad crop year and would have to wait for days or even weeks for a moment of the All-Father's precious time.

Never mind that he was a prince.

But now, when he wouldn't have minded a few weeks to himself to formulate a plan, (or an escape) Loki was to see the All-Father immediately on his return to Asgard for sentencing. This was just how his life seemed to be going lately.

Of course his requests to see the queen had been denied as well.

As much as he really wasn't in the mood to see her, he was willing to try any means necessary to save him-self from whatever punishment Odin had in store for him.

For the first time in his life, he was truly frightened.

Thor had been banished to Earth for what really was just a typical skirmish on Jotunheim, and Odin had loved Thor much more than he loved Loki, who was not even really related to Odin, just a pawn in his schemes.

So Loki felt he certainly had a reason to be frightened of what his punishment might be, having just attempted to conquer Midgard and killed thousands of people in the process.

Oh, Gods. What could possibly be in store for him? Banishment, like Thor? He could live with banishment, but not if Odin stripped him of his powers. Could it be even worse? Torture? Death? Torture then Death? Surely even-

A voice brought him back to the present, and he realized that the voice, which belonged to one of the stupid guards whom his brother had handed him over to after his return to Asgard, had been talking to him for some time.

"-and you will be allowed to change into something more presentable, and wash yourself for your summons to the All-Father. We will return in ten minutes and your highness should be ready by then."

"How kind." he muttered half to himself.

As if he could not just use his magic to make himself appear to look clean and well-rested, and conjure clothes that were not torn from the result of a giant green monster's temper tantrum.

But after the day (or month) that he had had, a shower and a change of clothes actually seemed like a nice idea.

They brought him to one of the last cells in the deepest part of the dungeons. Apparently where they kept the criminals who were considered the most dangerous.

Well that at least was flattering.

When he was brought into the cell the guards took off his chains and left him by himself. He looked around for a moment while rubbing his sore wrists.

Shower? Shower where?

"Ah." He said to himself after looking around.

Upon closer inspection he could see a separation in the wall that created a thin line. He pushed gently on this part of the wall and the wall slid open to show a small bathroom area. How quaint, he thought. And needlessly decorative. Not that Loki was complaining. He'd always had an appreciation for the beautiful things in life: a pleasing song, an interesting novel, a pretty face, a particularly delightful spell or a very clever trick.

So many of the things that his "family" could not appreciate. Except for his mother, really. But he had to remind himself that any shared interests were purely coincidental; he was not related to Frigga any more than he was related to Odin or Thor.

He thought all of this in the shower, enjoying the icy cold water running down his head. Even now he still refused to think about why he had always preferred the cold, would not think about the fact that he was the offspring of a race of monsters.

As he stepped out of the bathroom attachment and slid the wall closed, he noticed that some clothes had been left on his bed- a loose, plain green shirt with loose black pants to match.

Prisoner's clothes. No matter, he would put them on out of sheer want for comfort, but he would not let Odin or anyone else see him wearing them.

And with that thought immediately changed his appearance to clothes that looked more like his usual clothes-although slightly different in appearance. He liked to change things up a bit every now and then.

He was staring across the hall observing his surroundings, and noticing that none of the other cells near him were occupied when he heard the quiet sound of his cell door being opened.

When he turned to look, he figured he must still be seeing stars from his fight with the Hulk, because the person standing at his cell door with one hand on the wall and one foot through the door was not the homely guard that had left him here.

The young woman that stepped through the door was one of the most beautiful women he had seen in all of the nine realms. She was exactly his type, too-from her pitch-black hair to her lily-white skin. (How often had he tried to tell Sif that she would look better with dark hair? No, he had had to show her, and then she had not appreciated his gift like she thought he would.)It was almost like looking in a mirror. How long had it been since he'd seen an Asgardian woman? Of course she was a little short, but he couldn't stop looking at her all the same.

"Hello." She said so softly he almost didn't hear her. She was staring at the ground as she slowly made her way over to him. Her down cast eyes and jittery movements made it obvious that she was nervous.

"Hello." He said unnecessarily loud, looking her dead in the eyes, trying his very best to make her uncomfortable.

His greeting made her jump and look back up at him.

Gods, the girl was jittery. Just the type of person who was too tempting not to trick.

As she continued to make her way over to him, he gave the illusion of broken glass lying on the ground in front of him. Stepping out of the way, she stepped right into a puddle of water from his shower a few minutes ago and fell flat on her back.

Bewildered, she looked up at him red-faced from the cold ground of his cell.

He didn't hear what she said next over the sound of his own cruel laughter, so he politely had to ask her to repeat herself.

"I'm sorry madam. My selfish amusement at your moment of clumsiness has prohibited me from hearing what you were saying. Would you mind repeating yourself?"

Her face seemed redder from anger now than from surprise or embarrassment.

"I said I am here to put on your chains for your summons to his majesty, the All-Father." As she finished getting up off the ground, she reached down and picked up something she had dropped, and he saw that she indeed had his handcuffs.

"So you are." He smiled and tilted his head towards her. "And to what honor do I owe receiving such a lovely jailor? Is this a late birthday present from Odin during the year I was gone? It would certainly be a first, but I must say it would indeed make up for all of the neglected years past…" as he winked and stepped closer to her.

Now she definitely looked angry. "Listen, I-."

"Have you put the chains on the prisoner's hands?" asked the guard who had led him to his cell originally, stepping into the cell.

"I was just doing, that actually." She said with her quiet voice and stepped closer to him.

While she reached out and grabbed one of his wrists with a small, warm hand, he noticed two more guards coming in with what he assumed were the rest of his chains.

Thoroughly amused, he stood very still as he looked down and watched her gently but efficiently cuff his hands.

After this was finished, a tall guard with red hair and small eyes handed her more chains.

First, she took the metal belt and reached around his back to buckle it around his waist. Then, she took the cuffs for his feet and fastened those on as well. First his left foot, then his right foot, and then they clasped together. The guard handed her another smaller circular cuff, which he was dismayed to find out was for his neck. But for the first time since she had started putting his bonds on, she hesitated for a moment, and he realized it was because she couldn't reach his neck from her small height.

Before he could offer to bend down for her like the polite prince that he was, she just stepped onto his feet and reached up to buckle the cuff around his neck. Her closeness came as a sudden but pleasant shock to him. While she had her soft fingers on his neck he casually blew a strand of her hair out of her face. Instead of smiling back at him, however, she just stared stoically back at him with a most dutiful look on her face.

She turned her head to avoid his gaze and walked away. "He is safe to see the All-Father now," as she slipped the key into her pocket.

The redheaded guard nodded and called out into the hall.

Two guards came in and took a chain each that was connected to his belt. The red haired guard, whom he heard one of the others call Stieg, opened the door to his cell and beckoned him out. He stepped out, followed by the two guards holding his chains.

The girl gently closed the door after they left, and followed quietly behind them.