Chapter II
Alexandra stirred in her sleep and woke up to the sound of unfamiliar voices and the smell of breakfast.
She opened her eyes only to find herself in a room fit for a Queen, the curtains were white and embroided with gold, the bed sheets were made of the finest silk and they were white as snow, if not whiter, just as the rest of the decoration of the room.
"Astrid! Call Queen Frigga immediately, it seems our guest has awakened." Said a tall brunette clad in armor, her features were strong and her lips were a thin line of pure seriousness.
This made Alexandra a little uneasy to stay alone with her.
"Good morning, milady, my name is Sif." Said the lady while flashing her a charming smile and offering her hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, Sif. My name is Alexandra Romanoff." Just as her deceased mother had said once, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
"You should eat Lady Alexandra, for you have a big day ahead of you." Said she while clapping her hands together.
Alexandra did as she was told and ate a little bit of everything of the small banquet ahead of her. Everything was simply divine and she accidentally let out a small moan.
"Enjoying our food huh?" said the taller woman with a smirk.
The blonde hated to admit it but the food on wherever she was, was indeed exquisite.
"Where exactly am I?" it looked like she was somewhere in Europe, Norway perhaps?
"You, my dearest, are in Asgard." said an elegant woman, she wore a golden dress, made from the very stars it seemed. In her head she wore a diadem with a ruby in the middle.
"Queen Frigga." Sif bowed in respect.
She is so beautiful! Thought Alexandra in awe. Never in her life had she expected to see a queen in person, talking to her nonetheless.
"You are dismissed" she addressed Sif. With a bow of her head the warrior left.
"I know you must be confused with your current whereabouts, but rest assured that my son will explain it all to you in due time. But for now I would like to know, are the accommodations to your liking?" the queen really seemed to care for Alexandra's well being.
What have I done to deserve all this? The events from the other night soon came rushing through her head.
Maybe her kidnapping had something to do with all this… She dared not to mention it to the queen, so the latter wouldn't be upset.
As if reading her thoughts Queen Frigga frowned.
"Everything is lovely, I couldn't ask for better hosts." Alexandra said with a smile, trying to dissipate the tension that built up in the room.
"Thank you, my dear, but I'm afraid our time is short for you and I have some business to attend to, planning your wedding is one of them."
"I-I-I'm sorry but I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about. Maybe you got the wrong person?" as good as the accommodations were and all the treatment she was getting, Alexandra didn't remember dating or getting engaged, for as long as she could remember she never dated nor kissed anybody.
She was proud to say that in her twenty five years of life, only the deepest and sincerest love would take her into matrimony. And here was said queen of this place she never heard of telling her she was to get married to some stranger she never met!
There it was again, a tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
"I'm sorry but my son told me he was to marry the younger sister of Natasha Romanoff, and unless there is another Alexandra Romanoff sister of the Black Widow, then I'm sure we will revise the situation, but for now let us prepare for the festivities that are to come." Alexandra's heart sunk at the queen's words, as a Russian she was expected to marry someone while she was still young in order to secure her future (one of the reasons she ran away to America). But she couldn't deny a queen's wish, so Frigga called on Astrid to prepare the to be bride a bath.
It was a lot to take in at once queens, distant realms, warriors, marriages and servants at her disposal. The bath seemed to ease all her preoccupations, the water was warm but not too warm (just the way she liked it to be) and smelled like roses the bath tub was made of porcelain with golden paws and taps.
Astrid gave her two fluffy white towels one for her hair and another for her body. When she was done the maid came running back with several colognes of the most varied fragrances, such as vanilla, bamboo and lavender to the sophisticated strawberry and champagne.
Not knowing what would please the queen and the court, she opted for her favorite, lavender.
Wrapping herself in the only thing she saw, a sky blue bathrobe, the blonde headed to her room.
"Lady Alexandra!" exclaimed a small, shy voice coming from the girl she recognized as Astrid, she must have been around the age fourteen, considering her height and facial features. "Allow me." With that said, Astrid led the older girl towards the ivory vanity, filled with makeup, perfumes, brushes and combs.
Sitting down Alexandra allowed Astrid to brush her hair, she closed her eyes and let the sensations take over her. When she opened her eyes she noticed that the girl had done the most beautiful updo she had ever seen.
Braids crowned her head in two distinct rows, behind, Astrid had made a bun with Alexandra's curly locks, making her look somewhat classy and medieval at the same time.
"I… don't know what to say, Astrid, I'm out of words!" Alexandra got up from the bench and in one unexpected act of kindness hugged the younger girl, startling the latter.
After a while the girl returned the hug, "Milady, it is now time to pick out today's outfit, and if I dare say, blue suits you well." Said the girl while pointing to a few dresses of the most varied shades of blue sprawled on her king sized bed.
She looked and looked at the pile of dresses not finding anything that suited her tastes, that is, until Astrid came back with a white paper box with a red ribbon on top.
"A gift from Prince Loki, your to be husband." Said the maid while leaving the box on the bed.
The name of Loki made her grimace on the inside, but she dared not to show it in front of the maid.
She was surprised when she opened the box, only to find the most beautiful dress she had ever seen.
Picking it up to see it full length delighted Alexandra even more, for it was a Grecian styled dress with sleeves that came up to her elbows with slits on the upper part, it had a silver belt just below the breast line and matching silver rings where the straps should have been. The fabric, oh the fabric, it was like a dream come true, the lining dress was made of black silk, while the rest was made of voile embroided with diamonds from top to bottom making the exact copy of a starry night sky. It was simply beautiful, Astrid helped her with the straps at the back, added a little color to her cheeks and Alexandra was ready to go face the queen once more.
Remembering the classes she used to take for balance and etiquette back when she was a young ballerina, Alexandra walked through the hall with as much grace and elegance as she could muster guided by her loyal maid towards the throne room, where she was to encounter Queen Frigga and Prince Loki.
"Milady, I'm afraid I can't go further than this, but I wish you all the luck in the world." Alexandra bent down and gave the girl a kiss on the forehead, and with that done she opened the doors, ready to face her upcoming fate.
"Lady Alexandra!" Sif was there! At least the environment wouldn't be so hostile after all.
There, mighty like a king should be, seating on the golden throne of the Asgardian realm, was Loki Laufeyson, the man that destroyed New York, took her away from her sister and loved ones (not that she had any), and made her sleep for over three days, as Astrid had told her.
But he was a prince and she had manners so she did as proper etiquette told and curtsied.
Loki got up and clapped like she was some trained monkey.
"Well, well, well… looks like the Midgardian knows some manners, unlike the rest of those apes that dare to mock me, the superior being, they should tremble upon the very site of me! However we are not here to discuss the lack of mannerism of your race, we are reunited here today to discuss our wedding, my dear Alexandra." Where had he come from? Alexandra had only the time to blink and the man was already there kissing her hand.
It took her all the self-control in the world not to pull away from that repulsive creature.
Loki had to clap mentally at his choice of dress for the lady, it suited her perfectly hugging every curve of her small body without looking vulgar, the color accentuated her icy blue eyes even more, the diamonds giving her ivory skin an almost magical glow making her look very much like an aesir.
He couldn't wait to see her under him moaning HIS name in pure bliss, hair sprawled on the pillows of his room, skin glowing with sweat, eyes closed and her long fingers everywhere touching, scratching and caressing him.
But he was soon taken away from such…intense thoughts, for his mother arrived in the throne room.
"Lady Alexandra! You look like a sapphire that was just faceted." Alexandra blushed at the comment remembering the state that the queen saw her in, earlier that morning.
"Come my child, we must prepare for the festivities that are to come. Please join me in the drawing room so we can discuss things such as decoration, brides maids and of course… your wedding dress." This would have excited the young woman greatly if she was to be wedded to the one she loved.
She followed the queen into the drawing room, one of the guards opened the door for the both of them with a bow.
The chattering coming from the room soon ceased when they took a look at Alexandra and Queen Frigga. Judging by the way they were dressed, they were all women from the court.
"She is so beautiful…"she heard them whisper, and also heard, "Not bad for a mere mortal…"
She was getting sick and tired of this mortal and Asgard talk!
"Excuse me, Queen Frigga… What do you mean by mortal? What is Midgard? And where exactly is Asgard?" the queen smiled gently, as if Alexandra was her own daughter.
Frigga gestured towards the empty seats on the creamy colored couch. There she explained all about Yggdrasil and the nine realms, Asgard and the Aesir (gods) and how Loki was the infamous God of Mischief and Lies and his older brother, Thor, was the God of Thunder.
Alexandra was amazed at the least, she was surrounded by deities after all! No wonder she never heard of a place called Asgard or how they called her species inferior.
There was one question that she dared not to ask out loud roaming through her head. Why her? Loki had so many beautiful women at his feat, goddesses nonetheless, and he had to go and choose old boring her. Why?
The day went by and they finally managed to decide on the fabrics, the flowers, the bridesmaids, the makeup and her dress.
She was dead tired by the end of the day, so the former queen opened the door to call on Astrid, when she spotted Loki walking through the corridors.
"Loki, my son. Would you be so kind as to show your fiancée to her chambers, for the poor thing is very tired from today's activities." Like the gentleman he was Loki offered an arm to Alexandra, which she took hesitantly.
They walked in an uncomfortable silence until Loki decided to speak,
"Is Asgard to your liking, my love?" said Loki with a devilish smirk on his lips, clearly knowing Alexandra 's opinion of said place and her current situation as his hostage.
At the age of five Alexandra forgot the meaning of family, her mother died when she was very small, Natasha ran away and Alexandra was left to fend for herself with that drunken father of hers.
Every night he came home smelling of vodka and something else she could not recognize, stinking of cheap perfume, with red lipstick all over his neck and cheeks. Of course she was expected to prepare dinner, every time she burned the food she would get a good beating and would end up locked in the small basement and if he was feeling generous that night he would bring a sack full of rats he caught in the streets or in the sewers. What scared her most was that eventually they would bite its way through the fabric of the sack and would come to her. [1]
When she reached the age of ten, she didn't wait for her father to come home nor prepared dinner, quickly grabbing the porcelain doll her mother gave her and some shoes, the little Alexandra left Volgograd to try her luck in the streets. There she was found and taken into foster care, she stayed in there for two years until she was finally adopted by a woman from St. Petersburg, it was said she was the former Prima of the Kirov Ballet, but that did not matter, as long as she was safe from that terrible man.
Her train of thought was soon interrupted by a cough, evidently coming from Loki.
"Oh! S-s-sorry…" she stuttered, "I find it lovely here, but I miss my sister, could you please return me to her and end this foolishness!" Alexandra could feel the anger building up inside of her as soon as she finished the phrase. Tears threatening to fall and face flushed from shouting, she must have looked terrible, considering Loki's sadistic smirk.
"You, my dear, are to be my queen and you're never going to see that treacherous sister of yours again!" with that said, Loki slammed the door shut, locking her inside the room.
Alexandra started to sob violently and called Loki every name she could remember, in Russian, English and French. She punched and kicked the doors but didn't manage to scratch it, break it nonetheless.
"Stupid…stupid Loki!" she sobbed.
"I know you're there! You…you bumbling babbling baboon!" great, she thought with a sight, now she was reciting one of Minerva McGonagall's speeches.
She could feel his eyes on her, watching her make a fool out of herself talking to the walls.
Too weak to get up from her spot she slept right there on the white marble floor.
Alexandra had been right, Loki was there all along, observing her every step from a safe distance, concealing himself in the shadows.
Once again he had to admit that she was a true beauty. She had curled into a fetal position due to the cold, her bun completely dissipated from the little show she had given minutes ago, spread all around her in every angle possible, according to how the light glistened on her hair it made it look like liquid fire contrasting with her ivory skin. Stealing from the sun its entire glow. Making said star jealous.
He gently picked her up bridal style and placed her in bed, called for Astrid to change her clothes and left in a twirl of his cape.
[1] Reference to the movie Mary Reilly
