I looked around. I could tell I was standing in a maze of endless corridors just by the air of mystery that the walls seemed to ooze. They were smooth brick and extended as far as I could see in either direction. Instead of ceiling, there was a gray sky, complete with clouds and a blinding sun. I felt despair creep in for a moment—until my eyes caught sight of the castle. It wasn't quite as pipe-organ-y as the actual Asgardian palace, but I could tell it was a castle. Seeing it filled me with indignant anger and determination.

"That's where my cousins are," I whispered.

"Sorry, love, didn't catch that?" Fandral inquired politely.

I shook my head. "Nothing. I was just talking to myself," I replied.

"Alright, then, what are we waiting for?" Fandral started down the path. When he realized I wasn't following him, he turned around and held his hand out for me. "Aren't you coming, my lady?"

"No offense, but you're going the wrong way."

"Pardon?"

"When encountering a fork in the road, most people naturally go right—especially if they're right-handed. People who design mazes know that and most often make the correct path the left path," I told him. I took a step away from Fandral down the left side. "So we should go this way." I pointed down the left.

"Whatever you say, my lady. This is your task—your quest—and I will not get in the way." He started to follow me as I began a very brisk, quick walk down the path to the left. His hand rested on his sword's hilt. I had nothing on me that could potentially be used as a weapon, and that was okay.

We went down several twists and turns, always taking the left paths.

And then we found the doors. They each had a guardian. One was dressed in blue and the other in red. "One of these doors leads to the castle, and the other leads straight to certain death," the guard in blue said. "In order to find out which is which, you can only ask one of us. And one of us always tells the truth, and the other one always lies. That's a rule—he always lies." The one in blue nodded at his red-clad companion.

"I do not! I tell the truth!" the other protested.

"Liar!" the blue one snapped.

I rolled my eyes. I'd seen in a movie once how to solve this riddle. I stepped up to the blue guard and pointed to the red-clad guard. "Okay. Would he tell me that this door leads to the castle?" I asked, pointing to the blue door. The guards looked at each other. It was a fifty-fifty chance but I was pretty sure I just solidified my chance.

"Uh…" the blue guard muttered. "Yes?"

I smirked and went to the red door. "Then this one leads to the castle," I said decisively. Fandral stared at me, looking like a cross between impressed and confused.

"If you say so," the guard in red said sarcastically, stepping aside. I took a deep breath and nodded confidently. I held my hand out for Fandral.

"I do say so," I commented. "Coming Fandral?"

The Asgardian shrugged. "I suppose," he relented, coming after me as the door opened. Because I was always paranoid, I watched the ground in front of me—and therefore saw the gaping hole that someone else would have fallen down.

"Look out!" I called over my shoulder to Fandral as I leapt very ungracefully over the hole. Fandral jumped over it a lot more smoothly than I did when he followed me. "So this path should lead us straight to the castle because this doesn't look particularly like certain death to me." I started the slightly-uphill climb looking down at the floor.

"How did you know how to solve the doors? I've been coming to this maze every so often since I was much younger to find Loki when he wants to be alone and I always get stuck there," Fandral asked.

I shrugged and stepped over a glitter-covered branch. "I saw the solution in a really old movie. I can't even remember what it was but I remember the question to ask to get the answer." We reached a giant log. I sighed. I wasn't exactly the tallest person on the planet, and there was no way I'd be able to get over it on my own. I started to try and jump over it when Fandral hopped up, extended his arms down, and picked me up.

"Allow me to assist you, my lady," he offered, jumping to the other side, putting his hands on my hips and helping me down.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"And what will you do when Loki tricks you and this is not the way to the castle?"

I snickered. "Well, I certainly won't be surprised. I've read stories about him. I know how dangerous and mischievous he is. He's not the God of Mischief for nothing. I don't plan on underestimating him."

"Don't overestimate him either," Fandral warned.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I find that if I overestimate people, I'm always pleasantly surprised when they don't meet my expectations."

"Overestimation is just as dangerous as underestimation."

"Be that as it may, I think I can handle Loki's tricks." At that moment, we ran into someone—literally. I hadn't even noticed that we were walking under a canopy of trees until I bumped my head on someone hanging down from one. "Oi!" I yelped, lurching back. Fandral started laughing as I rubbed my forehead. I opened my mouth to tell him to shut up and stop making fun of me, but he was looking over my head at whatever I hit. I turned back to see, dangling by his ankle, another blond man. He was holding a heavy-looking hammer and wore a red cape. His hair was longer and his beard thicker than Fandral's.

"Apologies, my lady. I did not realize there was company in the Labyrinth," the man remarked. His accent wasn't as British as Fandral and Loki's, but it wasn't American, and it wasn't quite Australian. He sounded like an Australian trying to do a British accent.

I shook my head. "It's okay. I didn't realize there were trees overhead—or that there was someone in them," I replied.

"Allow me to help you down my friend!" Fandral exclaimed. He climbed up to one of the lower branches of the tree, pulled out his sword, and sliced the rope. The much bulkier blond man fell in front of me with a mighty crash—and somehow stood up completely unharmed. He turned to me and gave me a deep bow and a charming smile. He was taller than both Fandral and Loki.

"I am Thor," he introduced. I gave a super-awkward curtsey (considering I was wearing trousers) and supplied my name in return. He smiled, took my hand, and kissed the back of my knuckles. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"You too," I replied awkwardly.

"Now, what brings you to my brother's Labyrinth?"

I sighed. "Loki stole my cousins. I mean, it was definitely my fault, but it was an accident."

"He stole them?" Thor demanded indignantly.

I hung my head. "I accidentally wished them away. I thought it was all just stories. None of it was supposed to be real. I didn't know this would happen. He's given me thirteen hours to solve the Labyrinth and if I fail he's going to keep them forever."

"How many hours have passed?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. The second I got down here my watch stopped working."

"Fret not. We will both help you retrieve your family," Thor vowed, nodding towards Fandral as well.

I smiled sadly. "Thanks. I have the feeling I'll need it."

"Really?" Fandral asked. "I thought you would do well on your own. You seem to know more about mazes and Labyrinths than any mortal I've ever met. You beat the red and blue guards at their own game while I stood there like a lunatic."

Thor looked down at me. "Did you really?"

"Yeah."

"Most impressive. I am curious as to how you fare through the rest of this quest of yours. If I may, I'd like to accompany you."

I grinned genuinely. "I'd love for you to come! I'll probably need all the help I can get. Maybe not with the maze itself, but with what's in it." I had the feeling that if I didn't go through the maze all by myself Loki would think I cheated, but I knew his story form. He would have laced the corridors with dangers—and I wasn't able to fight anything on my own—especially none of the monsters from Norse Mythology I'd read.

Thor gestured up the path in the way Fandral and I had been heading. "Shall we, my lady?"

I squared my shoulders. "We shall," I decided.

End Note: So, I got a review from a Guest (Hi! Thanks Mari!) saying, "Keep writing!" So, announcement! This thing is already finished in the writing stage, just not the posting one. And it's very short in terms of some of my other stories on here.

To "RussianAssassin": Thank you! To "blue2dolphin2": Thank you! To "callieandjack": I tried to write it so you don't have to have seen Labyrinth to read this story - but sometimes I slip and add stupid details from the movie so if you're ever confused, let me know and I'll be happy to explain. We'll see if I ever write a silly side-story about the cousins being Loki's servants. Those cousins are based on my actual cousins. To "thisisnotarealaccount": ... Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. That means so much to me to hear that! I mean, honestly, I'm not even kidding. (If you ever want to talk to me about them, feel free!)

Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoy! Any questions or comments?