2

As I got more lightheaded from fear and lack of air, I muttered, "Fine, fine." But I could feel my eyes filling with anger and fright all at once. Loki gave a mischievous grin to me and let me go. As my feet hit the ground, they completely collapsed under me from weakness. As Loki stared at me while I gained my breath and composure I caught the sight of my phone from the corner of my eye. I crawled towards it but my hand was stopped by a firm boot.

"This is mine now." Loki said as he leaned over and picked up the phone, observing it carefully. "It says... iPhone. Interesting." He pushed all the buttons as I just sat petrified.

"Careful," I said with a weak voice. "You might push something on accident." He narrowed his eyes as soon as I finished. Then without a beat, I stood up and took the key out of my pocket, looked at him quickly and then walked down the hall towards my room.

As we approached the door he looked at the piece of plastic in my hand.

"That is your key? It seems much more practical and simple. Midgardians are more advanced than I thought," Loki said.

I sighed.

"I'm sure it's not that complex." I said as I unlocked and opened the door.

"Well this is the room you wanted so badly." I walked into it, and presented it with my arms, still keeping an annoyed face. The room wasn't that big for a room in general. But compared to other hotel rooms, it certainly compared.

As Loki entered it, he closed the door and looked around, glancing at all the strange things in the room.

"Some of these things are things I've never seen before." He said, while looking primarily at the things in the kitchen which were directly on the right when you walked into the room.

"Yes, this is a microwave, sink, coffee brewer, toaster, and oh, look, a tiny fridge." I said, quickly naming the various utilities. "Although they are tiny, they can cause a lot of damage, trust me." I said, crossing my arms and laughing. "I assume you've have an experience with that then?" Loki asked curiously. I nodded for a good 10 seconds before saying, "More than once, sadly."

He also gave a small grin and laugh. "How hard can it be, truly?" I just shrugged, and then looked closely at his features. His skin was rather pale, but there was a different kind of luminosity that it emitted. His eyes were green, which was rare. But the black hair suited him well. It didn't occur to me at first, but he was a bit handsome. I knew for sure though that he was striking.

Loki also seemed to snap back to reality after the few seconds of staring. "Back to business though, you need to make a very important call." He held out my phone. Seeing it I slowly put my hand towards it, almost grabbing it before he lifted it away.

"You will call your family and tell them that you no longer can stay here, and you must leave." He handed me the phone genuinely this time. I frowned but then followed the orders, which determined my life.

The phone dialed my mother, and she almost instantly picked up.

"LUCIA! Why did you hang up on me?" She angrily said on the other end. I winced. If there was one thing that scared me, it wasn't Loki but rather my mother.

"Because I had to do something and they're kicking us out of the hotel, our room's been compromised." My stomach dropped as I said the words, bracing myself for her to yell at me. "What?" Was all she said after a few seconds. "Why, Lucia?"

"I guess..." I started, trying to make a convincing excuse, regretting my plan of not planning, "...a more important matter came to them. But we have about 6-7 hours to pack up." I bit my lip out of hurt and then gave a glare to Loki. I could hear my mother sigh on the other end. "OK. Well we'll come pick you up and take you to lunch." I panicked slightly.

"No! Wait! I'll pack up, you guys just eat and finish whatever you were going to do."

"But what about you? This is your first real day in the city, you don't want to waste it!" My mother said, frustrated.

"It was kind of my fault anyway." I said quickly. She went silent and seemed to just be thinking.

"Ok, we'll eat and then go sightseeing. We'll be back in about 5 hours. Is that a good time?"

"Yeah, that's fine." I said, trying to make my voice not crack. I ended the call and just turned to sit in the wooden chair which I sat in in the morning. This time I truly collapsed into it. I was focused on not trying to let tears come out of my eyes. I could feel Loki looking at me strangely.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked sternly.

"I'm just comprehending me disappointing my mother, again. On a day like this no less." I said, trying to make my voice less shaky. "Is what I'm doing considered selfish?" I said, but then quickly shook my head. Then I let out a long sigh. Loki slowly sat in the chair Jean-Luc sat in in the morning. Loki looked at me almost sympathetically.

"At least you have a whole family." He said, trying to avoid my eyes.

"I guess. My mom divorced my Dad a long time ago when I was 9. Then she got married to a French man and had two more children." I shrugged. Loki seemed curious though. "Tell me more. Since I am going to be incredibly bored these next hours." I gave him a weird look.

"Well, I was born in the United States in San Diego, California. My parents met there, both looking for new adventures but they were young, and still stupid, sadly. My mother is originally from Spain, and my dad is from Venezuela. They raised me in San Diego for most of my life until I was 9. Then they divorced and my mother got frustrated and moved back to her hometown, Barcelona. It was a bit hard at first, but since I had grown up around the Spanish language and cultures, I adjusted somewhat quickly. But that's that story." I looked at Loki and he was slightly nodding. "And you, what has your life been like?" I asked, and he narrowed his eyes. "You want the truth?" I nodded quickly, of course I did.

"The people whom raised me were only my adoptive parents. But in reality, I am also a frost giant. But I was raised in a place called Asgard alongside my brother, Thor." I nodded to show I was listening.

"But since he was their biological son, he was obviously prized more, and always upstaged me." I contemplated that fact.

"Although I do live with my mother, I always think about how I'm just a burden, kind of like that. How I'm just a huge reminder of her mistakes that can never go away." I looked down solemnly, then thought hard.

"I should have said no to you." I said quietly. Loki looked at me, puzzled.

"I mean, I should have said no so that you could have killed me." His face turned a bit sour at the statement.

"You followed my orders though. You have a family and a good quality life it seems." I shook my head.

"Maybe, but as you grow older the slope grows steeper. The first 18 years are kind of fun. But then so much is expected of you. I'm going to college for something I don't even know I want. Then my mother will expect me to get a full-time job, a husband and kids, and my own house. All while taking care of her needs too." I rested my hand on my chin. "So can you, for me? It's also an honor to die at a God's hands. I've seen enough of this world, I don't need to know anything more." I stood abruptly. Loki gave a small laugh.

"You are blessed to be alive though mortal, and trust me, judging by your descriptions, you have not seen anything at all." I looked at Loki angrily. But I clearly felt that he didn't want to kill me.

"I didn't asked to be reasoned with." I stared intently at him. "Yes, or no?"

"Yes, under a few conditions." I tilted my head at his reply and gave a slightly surprised look.

"First, you'll have to experience all the adventures life can offer and do things you'd never thought before. To sum it up, you will be my assistant. It will still truly be an honor to you."

I gave his proposal some thought and then came up with my decision.

"I accept."

Loki sent a true smile to me. I slightly grinned back.

"So how do we start?"


I just would like to make a note, Jean-Luc has nothing to do with Star Trek's Jean-Luc Picard. ^^ I do not know if that occurred to others, but it occurred to me. :P

I'm anticipating where this will go. I'm enjoying writing it, but what are you all thinking? Plot holes, maybe some improvements to be made? I would appreciate the help if you could give any!