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4. Young Prince Loki – The Palace at Asgard, 333rd Odinsleep, Heyannir
Second Piece
"But I already have the answer!" Prince Loki cried enthusiastically, breaking into the fat tutor's lecture. "Look." He held up his parchment, showing a long line of reckonings.
"Loki, you are interrupting, and it is Prince Thor's turn first. Thor, what is the answer?"
"I have no idea," Thor laughed. "I would simply smack the fellow with my sword and run off with the goods, perhaps send payment later."
"That is an excellent response," the tutor bowed.
"But…" Loki protested, and he was hushed again.
"It is time to move on." Petro shuffled his scrolls.
"Prince Loki does have the correct answer, Father," Natasha stated. She sat at a separate table, but her vision must have been clear enough to read the columns of numbers.
The tutor rounded on her. "Who asked you to speak, daughter? Learn your place and be quiet!"
She nodded and bent over her papers, but when Petro had turned back to the brothers, Natasha caught Loki's glance and winked. He had to stifle a burst of laughter since he didn't want to get the girl into further trouble; as well, he felt a bolt of something like recognition inside. He and Thor were the best of playmates, but at times he felt as though no one really understood him other than the Queen. So to receive a look of comprehension as well as a friendly look from someone his age was a welcome surprise.
The tutor droned on about the rotation of the realms and the changing connections along Yggdrasil's roots, and Loki studied Natasha covertly. She was reading a book, and it seemed to hold her interest. As he watched, a faint flush of colour filled her cheeks and made her bend closer to the words. One red curl slipped out of her severe topknot and framed her face when she picked up a quill and wrote a few words down, perhaps a few notes about what she was reading.
"And perhaps you can tell us what is scattered in the grass near Urd's Well, Loki?" Petro asked. The tutor had a gleam in his eye as though he was certain he had caught the young prince without the answer.
"Hnefatafl gamepieces," Loki answered in a bored voice. He already knew the material for the lesson – had read the books years ago – and he couldn't wait until the end of class.
Except for one thing. When he gave the correct answer and Petro responded with his usual exasperated sigh, for once Loki had a reward. Natasha gave him a sidelong glance under her lashes and spread her lips in a slight expression of amusement – a secret smile. It was the best part of the day yet, and once the class was finished Loki determined to find her and talk to her in a place where they wouldn't be interrupted by her fat father.
As soon as the lessons were over, the prince was approached by his brother. "Shall we go for a ride into the Plain of Ida?" Thor suggested.
"You go. I have something else planned." Not waiting to see Thor's reaction, Loki stalked off to the kitchens, intent on stealing something to take with him when he found the girl. There the staff, red-faced from the heat of the ovens, were baking bread and roasting large haunches of ox for the night's dinner.
"Those loaves are about to burn." Loki pointed to one of the ovens.
Mitral, the head cook, put her large fists on her hips. "Do not try to trick me again, young prince. I have had it with your sneaks and slips in my kitchens – bloody Hel! The oven is on fire!"
Loki grinned as the staff rushed over to rescue the bread. Quickly he filled a large napkin with marzipan sweets, small buns, and tiny pastries. Before anyone could shout at him, he whisked out of the warm room and was gone.
Petro lived on the outskirts of the forest near the Plain of Ida. Prince Loki decided the easiest way to arrive was by magic, and so he transported himself near the tutor's cottage.
The large man was just leaving, and he shouted to Natasha one last command. "Make certain it is finished before I return or there'll be another thrashing for you!" The door slammed shut, the man locked it, put the key in his pocket, and strode off.
Loki waited for a few minutes before he strutted up to the door, opened it with a simple spell, and headed within. There Natasha sat, grumbling over a piece of linen and a needle she was using without very much success. As Loki entered she looked up with a shocked gasp before scrambling to her feet. "Your Highness!" One white hand went to her chest. "My apologies – you startled me. I thought you were…"
"You thought I was your father." He frowned as he took in the tearstains on her face, as well as a large, red mark on one cheek. Certainly it would be bruised in a few minutes. "Did he do this to you?"
Natasha put down the cloth, scrubbed at her cheeks with the backs of her hands, and forced a smile. "It is of no consequence. I am used to it. But I must finish this sewing before he returns, or it will mean more of the same."
"Sewing? That sounds unbearably tedious. Show me." He tilted his chin, thinking a bit of arrogance would allow him to get his way.
"Tedious is the word, and I am truly awful at it. I already bled all over the corner – I only hope I can wash it out in the stream or under a pump…"
His only response was to gesture with his hand, demanding the cloth. Unwillingly she brought it forth, and a most bedraggled, sad-looking object it was. Loki began to snicker. "I think Thor himself could do better! You may be the most intelligent girl I have ever met, but housework is not your talent."
Her eyes blazed and she snatched it back. "Did you come here to tell me that as if I did not know it already? I have to cook and clean for my father, and one day I shall have to do it for some lazy Aesir and get his boot in my rump, like as not, on a nightly basis. Thank you for the reminder, Your Royal Doltishness."
Loki doubled over with laughter. "I like you," he gasped. "And by the way, have a look at your little project."
Natasha's mouth fell open. The linen napkin was clean and completely sewn with neat, even stitches. With a sudden bound she threw her arms around the prince and breathed, "Thank you! Thank you!" Remembering herself she let go of him and added, "I have four more to do like this, so I had better…"
He tossed a shower of sparks on the table and four identical napkins appeared, clean and neatly folded. "There. You have finished. Now we can go out and have a talk together, which is what I wanted all along."
Her lips quivered and she favoured him with her secret smile. "Do you always get what you want?"
"Yes, usually. And when I do not, I consider it a special challenge." He motioned towards the door, and Natasha followed him outside. "Why did you speak up for me during the lessons today?"
She headed for a rough path through the trees. "I am tired of your being overlooked. You always have the answer ready first – every single time – and yet it is Thor who gets the credit."
Not hesitating, he followed her. The trees grew thicker, and the air was dark within the depths of the forest. "But most maidens sigh over my brother. 'He is so handsome!' 'He is so muscular!' Ugh."
She shrugged. "Do they? Humph. I suppose if you like that sort of thing… I prefer boys who do not resemble large haystacks on legs, but that is just me."
Loki realized he was wearing a huge grin. Life was a bit lonely in the huge Palace; Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun all followed Thor. There had been that affair with Sif, as well – once the prince realized the blond beauty was in love with his brother, he had worked a long, terrible piece of mischief and paid the heavy price for it. Now Sif had black hair and blamed him; her eyes flashed with disgust whenever she saw the younger prince.
But Natasha seemed to see the world differently from everyone else. He suddenly desired to know all about her, to discover what she thought, what her dreams were. "How did you learn letters?" he asked. "Your father hardly seems the sort to teach you to read."
"No," she laughed. "Still, his job as your tutor gave me access to books I would not have otherwise. I suppose I just picked it up on my own, since I wanted to discover what the little marks meant on the parchment pages." A white flower grew on one of the branches, and she stopped to smell its fragrance, going up on tiptoe. "In the future, if I want to attend your lessons I will have to keep my mouth shut. Otherwise my father will have me sent to the kitchens."
Loki grasped her arm. "No," he insisted. "I will make certain you are there with me during each lesson. Now, let us sit and eat these treats I have brought for us to share."
Over the next few weeks, Loki and Natasha devised their own silent code. As they sat through the boring lectures, she winked at him twice. He responded by clearing his throat, which meant, "Two of the clock? Very well, I will be ready."
Once the lesson was over and her father off to the tavern, Loki came by the house and finished her chores for her with his magic. That gave them several hours to skip off into the woods and talk, read, write, or simply chase each other around the massive tree trunks in a simple game of Hide and Go Find. The winner always got the chance to demand a forfeit, which made the babyish game much more fun.
They were in the middle of the third round, and Loki was It. His brows knit together; Natasha had hidden so well he could not find her. At last she jumped down from an overhead branch, crowing with victory. "Ha!" she said. "You might try looking up once in a while."
"We never said we could hide in the trees," he protested.
"And we never said we could not."
"That is cheating!"
"No," she insisted. "Just because I have the quicker wits…"
"Oh, no, you do not!" He chased after her and captured her against one of the mighty oaks. "There, see, now I have you, and you cannot get away."
Her eyes sparkled. "Yes, I can!" She twisted to one side, but he put his arms on either side of her.
"No, you cannot. See? I am the victor." As she twisted again, he stepped forward to press her against the tree with his body.
Natasha was laughing, but Loki suddenly felt serious for perhaps the first time in his life. As she regarded him her smile died, and the woods seemed to grow very quiet. He flicked his gaze to her lips, so lush and sweet, and she did the same to him.
That was all Loki needed. He had never kissed a girl before, and he decided it was time. Moving his hands to frame her face, he gently covered her mouth with his, keeping his eyes open so he could watch her reaction.
Natasha's lashes fluttered with shock, and a bolt of lightning shot through Loki's body. She seemed to feel the same way he did, and a tiny whimper escaped her throat. He felt something strange, an unknown sensation come over him – all he knew was he wanted to be very close to her.
With shaking hands he gathered Natasha to his chest to continue the kiss. As she gasped, her lips parted; hesitantly he licked her bottom lip. She seemed to like it, and with a bold move he slipped his tongue inside her mouth; when her tongue met his and flickered against it, a series of fireworks went off in his head. "Valhalla!" he panted, breaking the kiss. "I never felt anything like that in my entire life!"
"Nor I," she said softly. "You taste like smoke and spice. Could we do it again?"
"Oh, yes." Loki kissed her passionately, and she wound her fingers in his hair. Time seemed to slow down as they bit and sucked each other's lips, and his heartbeat threatened to eclipse him.
At last she firmly pushed him back. "My father will be home soon," she whispered, "and I would receive a thorough whipping if he knew."
The last thing he wanted was to let go of her and stop those magical kisses, but he nodded. Winding one arm tightly around her waist, he walked with her towards her cottage. "I want you to live at the palace," Loki growled. "These hidden moments are torture."
"It would be worse there," Natasha argued. "We have no one here to watch us, but there are plenty of spies and hidden eyes within the capital."
He had to agree to the sense of it, but a flash of anger bolted through him. "Still, one day I will demand you are moved to the rooms next door. We are allowed consorts when we grow older, and I want you to be mine."
"Consort! What is…" She stopped, and pointed. "Loki – my father! He has returned early!"
"Not to worry. I will transport you inside, into your bed. He will never know." A shower of sparks came up from his fingers, and Natasha disappeared.
Loki walked home alone, taking his time so he could think about the kisses. It was incredible to him that he would hold a girl and she would want him to, that her body would respond as his did. A groan escaped him as he felt the strange sensation overtake him again; simply by thinking of her lips under his own, his leather breeches grew impossibly tight.
He knew he wouldn't make it all the way back to the Palace in that condition, and so he plunged into the woods, opened his pants, and released his hard member. There, alone in the wild, he grasped it, threw his head back to stroke himself with a blinding rhythm and spend a long torrent of seed all over a moss-covered stone. "Natasha!" he shouted during the release. "Natasha!"
By a long planned-out series of tricks, Loki was able to secure a woman for Petro. He bribed the prostitute to seek the tutor out at the tavern and pay for all the drinks; she would have a large tip, he added, if she managed to keep him in one of the bedrooms upstairs all night. The tall woman agreed, tossing her long black hair over one shoulder and snatching the filled purse from his hand.
When it was time for lessons, he felt his heart in his throat threatening to choke him as Natasha walked into the room and took her usual seat. He knew he was gazing at her and he tried to hide behind a large book. When he caught her glance she gave him a wink; as her father turned away, she licked her lips slightly.
Instantly he felt himself grow hard again. The lessons seemed to drag on forever, compounded by the glances he exchanged with Natasha whenever they could manage it.
As soon as the last lecture was delivered, Loki leapt from his seat. Thor, however, detained him with one hand. "It is many weeks since we went for a ride or a hunt, brother. How about today?"
Loki's brain seethed with lust. "Tomorrow," he said vaguely. "Let us plan a long ride then."
Thor fell back, disappointed, and Loki escaped to his room. There he changed quickly, hands shaking at the thought of what he was doing. If Old Petro was gone all night, Natasha could stay with him until dawn. That would mean he could kiss her all night, and perhaps she would let him…
The very thought was enough to bring him to the edge. Making certain no servants were around, Loki locked the door, pulled down his breeches, and brought himself to ecstasy once more in front of the mirror. Soon, he thought, it will be her hands on my body.
As soon as he strutted into her cottage, Natasha dropped the dustcloth and ran to embrace him. "I could hardly wait to see you – Mmmm!"
Loki kissed her deeply. "I felt the same way - as soon as we parted I wanted to be next to you, Natasha. Tell me, will you stay with me all night?"
"But my father…"
Quickly he interrupted to fill her in on his plan. Her eyes widened. "What if someone sees us?" Her voice was breathy with fear.
"They will not. I will create a magic tent in the forest for us, as well as food, wine – what would you like best?" He kissed her again and pulled her to the door onto their own little path.
Within the forest a small, white tent was set up. Inside a lantern glowed with a yellow light, and there was a table set with luscious fruit, a jug of cold, spiced wine, and more of his favourite pastries. Loki strode in, handed her a goblet and poured them both a drink. "Here is to these stolen hours," he murmured, "all the sweeter for being forbidden. Now, will you sit and talk with me for a while?" He threw himself into a chair, spreading his legs wide.
Natasha followed and sat next to him. "I am a bit frightened," she said slowly. "I do not know why, but I have a feeling something is amiss."
"Nonsense. If I know that whore – I beg your pardon. If I know that lady of the evening, she will do whatever she can to keep Petro away from us for the entire night. Natasha, I promise it will be safe and we can stay here for as long as we want."
She took a long sip of the wine, choked, and giggled. "As long as we want? Maybe we can make this tent our home, how about that? I will scold you when you put your boots up on the bed, and you can demand a hot dinner."
He sat forward eagerly. "But I like this! I will go hunting for dinner and…"
"Oh, no. If you are on a hunt, I will come with you." Her eyes twinkled and she held out her palm. "Let us go and see what we can find, shall we?"
Hand in hand, Loki and Natasha crept out. With his magic he created a few surprises for her - a basket filled with nuts hanging from a branch, a blue ribbon for her hair tied around a tree stump. She jumped on them delightedly and her laughter echoed through the forest; he thought he had never been so happy.
Once she found the final gift, a small wooden box, he put his arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "Let us go back home and you can open it there."
Inside the tent he felt almost nervous, and his hands shook as he pushed back the hair off his forehead. "Can you discover the secret?" It was delightful to watch her probe the little box, seeing the rise and fall of her eyelashes until she found the trick.
The box opened, and Natasha removed the silver ring with a long sigh of disbelief. "Loki, it is beautiful! May I – may I put it on?"
"I suppose you cannot wear it in public just yet, but yes. Yes, of course." Loki couldn't help stepping behind her to wrap his arms around her waist from behind. She felt so warm and – alive – next to him, and he leaned in to kiss her neck.
Natasha turned, looked up into his eyes, and wrapped her arms around him. "I thought about our kisses all day today," she confessed.
"So did I. Lessons seemed endless."
"Did they not? I thought my father would never stop prosing on about Asgardian policy."
She smiled at him, and Loki lunged forward to capture her lips with his. Instantly his body responded, and hers seemed to as well – she pressed herself to him and deepened the kiss, allowing him access to her teeth and tongue. After a few minutes he felt bold enough to try touching her breasts with his hands, to run his fingers along the sides and, when she did not complain, to touch the tips and the hardening nipples, fully evident under the thin cloth.
Natasha broke away and stared at him, eyes wide. "What – what is happening? Is this more than one of our games, Loki?"
He wanted nothing more than to seize her again, but he knew he had to step carefully. "I suppose it is more serious now. Do you mind? I want nothing more in this realm than to lie with you, Natasha. It is the dearest wish of my heart."
"But I could get with child! Or we could both be punished – and me far worse than you…"
"Not if you are mine. I will announce it to the All-Father tomorrow. Yes, I have just decided – I want you as my royal consort this instant, with no more waiting. You will move to the Palace and live in my rooms, and we can kiss and play together all day, every day. Enough of meeting in the woods for a few hours." With a rush his body trembled with desire, and he gasped, "I want you – I have never wanted anything more."
Her blue gaze was very direct. "And my father?"
"If he stops being a fool for three seconds, he will realize the honour I am giving him by taking his daughter for my own within the royal palace. Listen, love, think of it – but while you do, please let me kiss you once more." Hungrily he recaptured her lips, and once more she yielded to him. Loki kissed her again and again, slid his hands down her back to capture her firm backside, rubbed his erection against her, and as they tumbled to the floor he created a feather mattress with a silk coverlet and thick pillows for them to lie on.
There he was able to slide over her thighs, to spread them and lie between her legs. The feeling was incredible. Having a yielding maiden in his arms was more than a dream come true – Loki felt powerful, mighty, as strong as Thor himself. He imagined he could do anything with Natasha at his side. "By the Gods!" he exclaimed. "I have never experienced anything like this. You are so beautiful and wise, all at once. I am falling in love with you, Natasha."
She moaned and arched up to kiss him again. "I love you too," she whispered. "I felt it as soon as I met you for the first time. You are so different from the others – perfect for me. And no one else seemed to notice how original and wonderful you are."
"Just you," he chuckled. "That is why you are wise."
She grinned and bit his lip slightly. "I do want you," she confessed. "I do not want anyone but you."
"My love," Loki whispered. Carefully he slipped her sleeves down to suckle the rosy tips of her breasts, and she cradled his head there. After a few moments she whispered, "Loki! Something is happening to me! What is it? It feels like a fever."
"It is the love fever," he grinned. "It gets better – just wait." With hasty movements he stripped off her dress and pulled off his breeches and shirt. "Now, darling, are you ready? For I am desperate for it."
"What do I do?" Natasha's eyes were filled with fear and desire, both at the same time.
"Lie down, thus, and let me on top…" Loki carefully positioned himself at her entrance. In truth he had no idea how it would work. Would her body simply suck him inside? Or would he have to push? Would it hurt her? "Tell me if it pains you…"
Her folds were wet and slick, and his tip slipped right in. Loki nearly shouted from the sensation; it was overwhelmingly warm and delirious, unlike anything he had ever experienced. "Oh!" he cried. "My love, I did not mean to…"
"It is so strange! But sweet as well – like a bath, so hot it is nearly painful and yet I want more." Natasha shifted under him, and his eyes nearly left his sockets when he felt her legs wrap around his waist.
At once he sank his entire length into her. With that she cried out, bit her lip, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Please look at me, my love," he begged. "I want you to watch me make love to you."
"Yes, very well, it just hurt for a moment, but now it feels – oh, so strange. And so lovely at the same time." Natasha recaptured his lips and kissed him, stroking his tongue with hers in the rhythm of their coupling.
Loki felt himself grow harder with her soft hands on his thighs, her walls clenching around him. "It is so close," he panted. "I am going to come."
"What does that mean – oh! Loki! What is – oh!" Natasha's body reared up, and at the same moment he shot his release into her, hot uncontrollable spurts of his seed right inside her.
Arms tightly around each other, they rolled and bucked together, gasping words of love and each other's names. Loki collapsed on her chest, trembling with the force of his release and the fact of what he had just done. He had seduced a girl – and not just any female, but the one he loved, the girl he had fallen in love with almost from the first moment he met her.
They fell asleep together, and Loki dreamed he walked next to Natasha in a small suite of rooms in the Palace, ones he had never seen before. The chambers lay behind an enchanted shield, and it was impossible for him to escape. "So you were my first," he told her. "You were my first all along. But why did I not remember it?"
Natasha shivered. "I don't know, but to tell you the truth, I'm worried. There's something dark coming. Quick, give me the piece of the picture before it arrives…"
Regretfully he found the little coloured square and handed it over before bending to kiss her again and again.
A heavy hand fell on his shoulder. Jolting awake, Loki's heart sank when he looked up into his tutor's furious eyes. "What the Nines are you playing at, boy? And with my own daughter?"
Behind him stood the hired prostitute, her long dark hair hanging over one shoulder and a look of triumph in her eyes. "I told you all night!" Loki shouted at her, trying to pull on his breeches as quickly as he could.
"I want the bigger prize – and I will have it." The whore smiled back with some sort of veiled knowledge in her eyes.
Petro hauled Natasha to her feet and slammed his fist into his daughter's jaw. "Slut!" he shouted. "Strumpet!"
"Enough!" Loki caught the man's arm. "She will become mine with the approval of the All-Father. If you apologize to my promised woman, I will allow you the undeserved glory of being the father to the consort of the prince, with all that it entails."
"She has already been compromised," the whore declared, pointing to Natasha's blood-streaked thighs.
The girl brushed a tear away with a trembling hand and turned to Loki. It broke his heart to see the trust and love in her eyes. "You said you would bring me to the palace," she whispered.
"It is too late for that – she has already brought shame on your surname. The only cure is an Unwinding." The whore pointed a long, thin finger at Natasha, and Loki started forward.
"No! What are you – she is my consort! She is mine!"
A long, thin tongue of flame shot out from the whore's finger to consume Natasha's body, and the girl screamed in pain. "Soon she will no longer exist," Petro said coldly, "and you will not remember her at all. This will never have happened. I have no daughter, and you have no consort. You will return to my classroom – alone."
Loki tried to reach her, but already Natasha was like smoke disappearing before his eyes. His fingers slid through the air, and she was gone.
The whore – or had she ever been so? Was she not a witch instead? – and the tutor watched as the young prince fell to the floor of the forest. "Nata…" He stopped. Already he had no memory of whom he wanted, or what had just happened to him.
All he knew was he had experienced something beautiful for a few precious moments, and now it was gone. Shaking with rage and despair, Loki knew he was completely on his own.
