She slept from 2 o'clock that day right the way through to 7 the next morning. Her sleep was restless, reoccurring dreams and thoughts and at one point she could have sworn she woke up to her hands glowing gold but that may have been another dream.
Everything happened in a blur. She felt heavy as she stumbled out of bed and got dressed, barely eating before she left the room. She didn't know particularly where she was going she just felt the need to walk. She ventured through the Palace and out the gate, past the training pits which were vacant due to it being early. She just kept walking.
She didn't concentrate on her path and ended up in a field. She lay down on her back in the long grass. She needed to think, to breathe, to control. She could do this on her own without Loki's help and after yesterday she held a slight increased distrust for his intentions.
An hour later, she heard footsteps pushing through the grass. She opened one eye to see a man staring down at her. He was at least 6ft with sandy brown hair that flopped to one side and large brown eyes. He was dressed in a leather like shirt and long loose pants.
"Hello" she said, one eye on him
"Hi! Why are you lying in a field?" He asked merrily
"The palace gets a bit much of a muchness after a while"
"Or you are avoiding the allfather and the princes" He smiled
She sat up.
"I know who you are" he continued "you're the Infinity stone girl"
"Alina"
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sven. No special powers sorry. I'm a server at the Alshaw Tavern which the royal soldiers and ladies often frequent at"
"That in itself is a superpower my friend" she replied dryly
"Mind if I sit?"
Alina liked him. He was genuine and honest and kind and had so far not bragged one single bit about himself, which was a nice change.
She nodded.
"It's beautiful right?" he said, nodding towards a bustling morning in Asgard.
Sitting on their little hill, so close to the city, yet it felt like a completely different world. It was much quieter and the wind ruffled their hair gently. Below, in Asgard you could see people going about their morning business anywhere in between a lethargic mess and a bustled hurry.
"I've never seen anything like it" she admitted
"What's Midgard like?" Sven asked eagerly
"Very different. Most people don't believe in magic or powers like you guys do, they would never ever believe you guys or anything like this exist. For the most part we are oblivious to all this."
"Do you miss it?"
"It's only been just over a week" she smiled
"But friends, family…?"
"There isn't any family to miss and for the most part, we are so busy with our Jobs it's not unusual to not see friends for weeks on end"
"What do you do?"
"I'm a scientist. I work with the dead.. It's called forensic science which basically means I get given dead bodies and I figure out who killed them or how they died. At least, that's how it started. Then I got into bigger things with bigger agencies and now I guess I am in between a agent and a scientist"
"Dangerous?" he grinned
"Very" she laughed back
"What's Prince Loki like?" Sven asked suddenly, after a moments silence
"Huh?"
"I mean… how does he act?"
"He's intense in every spectrum of emotion and action but I am curious about him. He reacts to things in a strange manner and, he is a very talented sorcerer"
"Is he cruel?"
Alina considered this. After yesterday she wasn't sure but she had asked for him to do such a thing, it was simply surprising he had reacted so eloquently and with such intenseness.
"No. He can be tricky and even mean but I do not think he is cruel"
Sven seemed to think about this with some level of curiosity.
"What?" Alina asked
"Hmm…"
"You are thinking about this. Why Loki?"
"You have not been told of his past?"
"His.. past?" She asked curiously
"He is the illegitimate Prince. Taken from another realm, Jotunheim, when he was a baby by King Odin as a bargain between our two realms. However, he never told Loki this, he lied to him telling him that he was his son by blood. When he found out, he was so angry he went and tried to destroy Thor and take the Throne. It didn't work and when the rainbow bridge- the bifrost- was destroyed, he was sucked into the void. But he turned up a year or so later on Midgard and tried to conquer your New York City and the rest of Midgard. Thor and his midgardian allies stopped him and he was brought back here where he was imprisoned… That is until Thor committed treason to save his mortal girl from the dark Ether. In the process he broke Loki out of Asgardian prison because he needed his aid. The two of them stopped a Dark Elf's plan to turn the universe to darkness and Loki almost sacrificed himself to do so. Odin pardoned him for his crimes due to this"
Alina listened to his tale carefully, particularly about New York. She had been there that day, working on the NYPD force investigating a linked murder to a high profile drug ring. So many people had died at the hands of those aliens, she was unaware that Loki had been at the pinnacle of the whole thing. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. It was what had landed her in SHIELD and she had spent days and nights with the corpses of the aftermath.
"How do you know all this?" she asked
"Perks of working in a tavern where the royals, the royal army and their ladies frequent at. Once they are drunk they will speak of almost anything" Sven smiled
"I see…"
"Did that change your opinion of him?" he asked curiously
She thought on this for a moment.
"No" she replied slowly "I suspect there was something else influencing his decision on his attack of New York and Eart- Midgard. People with such intentions don't suddenly lose those intentions after being captured or reprimanded, they are wired that way. They will always want that, destruction, death, pain. Loki does not want that. He may enjoy trickery, he may even be mean at times but he is inherently good I think"
"You are an interesting Lady"
"How so?"
"To forgive so quickly and to think so clearly about such a situation is unusual" he replied simply
She laughed.
"I have trust in him, as little as I know about him"
"More than some" he flopped back into the grass
They talked for hours. Sven liked the girl. Her humour was dry but not mean and she held a very calm presence, like she could deal with anything that came at her. He asked her all about Midgard and the odd foods and contraptions they had there and how Midgardians acted. Eventually, they dozed off in the afternoon sun.
He was awoken to Alina shaking him lightly. The sun was high and he figured it was about 3 or 4 o'clock.
"Mmmm" he moaned
"What's that sound?" she asked in a lowered voice
He listened. From the woods behind them there was a thumping and a snapping of trees and branches. It sounded like a very heavy animal, it was knocking over trees too by the noise. He pushed Alina down by her shoulders and crouched low in the grass.
Out of the woods, as trees fell, appeared a dragon. It was a bright white with bright blue eyes and blue accents down it's spine and tail. Sven gasped. He'd never seen a dragon before, they were rare on Asgard and mainly kept to themselves in far off corners of the realm. This one seem enraged, it was smashing the trees out of the way with its tail and feet and had even set a few on fire.
He glanced to Alina whose eyes were wide. However, she did not seem surprised by the entire thing. She caught his glance and shrugged.
"I thought dragons and magical creatures would come sooner in all this shit" she whispered
The dragon raged past, not noticing them pressed to the ground, hidden by the long grass. Siren like noises sounded, shouting was heard from the city. The dragon breathed a bout of fire at the field in front of it, burning it to dirt and dust. Alina felt a strange energy, she could feel the confusion and anger of the animal strongly.
Lightly, she sprang to her feet and let out a loud dog whistle. The dragon whipped its head around. Sven grabbed her by the arm.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING" he whisper shouted, not wanting to enrage the dragon any more.
"It's heading towards the city, it will burn the first quarter before anyone can do anything about it. I think it's enchanted or possessed or whatever the hell you guys do here"
The dragon roared and shrugged it's neck. Suddenly, it sprang into a gallop straight at them. Turning on her heel, she took Sven's wrist and began to sprint parallel to the city, towards a set off cliffs which lead onto an open plain and a river. Quickly, the dragon began to lose interest in chasing them and turned its attention back towards the city.
"Shit"
"Let the Royal Army deal with it" Sven urged
"They'll kill it. It's not in its natural state…" she trailed off
"What?" Sven asked suspiciously
"The soul gem.. It supposedly can revert spirits back to their natural or original state"
"Would it work with a dragon?" urgency persisting in his voice
"Who knows but it's worth a shot"
"Is it?"
"Yes, Sven"
He sighed.
"How are we going to protect the city and give you the chance to try this out? It seems to get bored of us pretty quick"
She smiled a little.
"I think I can do this"
She took a moment. Her eyes closed, she searched for the energy she felt yesterday when she had hit the cold steps in the Great Hall. With great force, she felt adrenaline coursing through her. Her eyes were a bright gold-green again and her hands were encircled in little circles of gold-green shimmering mist.
"Cool" Sven said with wonder.
After a large amount of effort, she threw up a forcefield of gold and green between the dragon and the city, blocking it's progress. It pawed against the barrier, breathing fire on it and thumping it with its tail. Alina felt a miniscule amount of irritation at this and immediately turned to Sven.
"Oh no no no" he said apprehensively
"I just need you to distract, I can protect you" she said, her hands still slightly outstretched toward the barrier.
Sven rolled his eyes.
"You owe me"
"Actually you owe me. I may be saving your tavern and your life right now"
He scoffed and sprinted across the field before letting out a loud whistle. The dragon wheeled around, eager to attack something it charged at him using it's wings for leverage to take it slightly off the ground. As it swooped down on Sven, Alina threw up another forcefield, sending the dragon tumbling back to the grass with a loud crash.
Slowly she approached from behind while he dragon righted itself, still focussed on Sven.
Sven watched Alina move skillfully and silently across the field behind the dragon. Behind her he saw the audience they had gathered; many members of the royal army, prepared to take the animal down, now had their faces pressed as close as they could against Alina's energy field. The princes and the warriors three also stood watching. Some watched with fear, others with awe, others with confusion.
The dragon took a swipe at him and he ducked. As it breathed fire, Alina blocked this from reaching him. With the presence and skill of a Wolf, she crouched low behind the dragon and leaped onto it's back, landing almost right in the middle.
The dragon shook and breathed fire across the field in anger. With every reprieve, she climbed higher up it's back until she was almost sitting on it's back. Her eyes still glowing and her energy shield still holding, she placed her hands as far up onto it's head as she could reach and focussed on the strange energy she felt earlier when it had exited the woods. In her mind, it felt like a series of locks unlocking as she forced energy onto the creature. It thrashed in protest but she held steady. Slowly, it began to calm down. The thrashing became less and less and it instead began to shake a little. Eventually, it stopped and the dragon settled.
Cautiously, she slid to the ground. Uneasy on her feet, Sven put an arm around her shoulders.
They watched as the dragon, which was now laid in the grass, opened one eye and then the other. It regarded them calmly before rising to its feet. Sven went to back away, Alina stopped him gently, detangling herself from his arm.
The dragon approached slowly, lowering it's head to their head height. It stared Alina right in the eye and she looked back, expressionless.
Cautiously, she reached her hand up to touch its face not breaking eye contact. It leant into her hand and she brushed her thumb against it's silver-white scales. With her other hand she dissipated the energy field between the field and Asgard city. The soldiers and other gathered people didn't move.
"Tonight…" she murmured quietly to the dragon
It considered her for a moment before leaping into the air and flying away over the receding forest. Both she and Sven watched it disappear.
Cheering erupted from the soldiers. Steadily, Alina and Sven made their way back towards the city. As they came into range of the soldiers, they began clapping Sven on the back and kissing her hand in earnest. She pushed her way through them, leaving Sven to be adored and worshipped by all the men and women surrounding the area.
Finally reaching a clear space, she strode away from the large group but got not more than 20 metres when Thor and Loki stopped her, followed swiftly by Sif and The Warriors Three.
"Make a friend?" Fandral joked
"Are you talking about the dragon or the bartender?" she replied dryly
"Lady Alina! That was exquisite! You helped in protecting and securing our city." Thor exclaimed pleasantly
Alina forced a smile. She did not particularly love the Asgardian tradition of over exaggerating everything. She met eyes with Loki.
"It seems you have found your feet rather quickly with the Soul Gem" he remarked snarkily
Secretly, he was impressed with the girls control. She had held herself with poise and grace and the sheer power of her actions were unprecedented.
"Something like that…" she replied quietly
Before anyone else could get a word in edgeways, Sven finally broke free of the crowd and approached the group.
"Princes" he half bowed to them
They nodded in return.
"Ok so when can we do that again?" he grinned at Alina
"Not 25 minutes ago you were complaining of my thoughts on the dragon" she remarked with a smile.
'True but I feel pretty safe. That things fire couldn't even mark your shields!" he laughed
Alina smiled back at him. His genuine love for things was contagious.
"The man is right!" Fandral exclaimed "This means for celebrations!"
"I'm not-" Alina began
"Oh yes you are." Sven interrupted, taking her by the wrist
"Tonight at Alshaw" Volstagg chuckled, he was always up for food and a good drink
"Do I have a choice?" Alina sighed, with a small smile
"None whatsoever" Sven grinned back
"I shall see you tonight then"
"Definitely. My Princes" he remarked, bowing again before taking his leave.
Alina watched him walk away.
"He seems nice" Sif remarked
"He hasn't told me how 'absolutely incredible' he is yet, so he can live" Alina remarked, wickedly
Sif laughed. She, like Volstagg, was looking forward to a celebration and a feast and she was curious as to see Alina in a situation which was not training.
"Tonight…" Alina murmured, before nodding her head and walking back towards the palace.
