This is was very difficult chapter for me to write and it ended up being twice as long as any I'd previously written. Even with my outline and notes… it seemed to take on a life of its own as I began to write and I wasn't willing to take out any of the content! So please forgive me for the length and the time between postings. My usual beta is working today and I wanted to get it posted as soon as possible, so please forgive all those little typo's I didn't find ;o)

I own nothing but the OC Ella. Marvel owns the rest, but hey, thanks for letting me play another round of big people barbies with them! ALL HAIL THE GODS OF MARVEL!

Enjoy!

Chapter 11 Trouble

Ella woke in a room she didn't recognize. She had slept so soundly and comfortably that she couldn't remember having gotten to this place at first, then as she looked around the room it all came swimming back to her memory. Loki and the wine...Luckily her head wasn't pounding in rhythmic time with her heart beat the way it normally did when she had too much to drink. She sat up in the bed, rubbing her eyes and pushing her mess of red hair back away from her face.

A sound had woken her she was sure of it. But what sound? Ella was startled to see Loki emerge from what she assumed to be a bathroom. He was wet from the waist up and the water that clung to his skin was the only thing he was wearing except for a pair of loosely fitting black pants that appeared to be made of the same silky material her dress was made of. Ella starred at him for a few moments, in awe of the sheer beauty of his body. He looked at her suddenly. She averted her eyes and blushed. "Morning."

"I trust you slept well?" Loki asked, using an overly large towel to dry his upper body. "You will need to make haste, return to your room. I need not answer questions regarding your presence in my chambers."

"Right," Ella stumbled over the word as she attempted to get out of the bed. She threw back the coverlet and swung her feet over the side, and let herself drop to the floor. Loki was acting strange again, and she had no idea why. It seemed like they would get past this imaginary hurdle, only to have it erected again before she knew what happened or why. "What is your issue this morning?" Ella finally asked, not really wanting to leave until he was acting like himself again.

"I do not answer to you." He replied coldly. "Now go. I have duties I must attend to." He turned away from her, sliding on a black shirt that matched the material of the pants.

"No," Ella said watching him. "I want to know what is wrong with you. Last night you are being all sweet to me and now, after making me sleep in your bed, you want to be an ass? How many people live in your head Loki? I've completely lost track."

He was across the room in less than a millisecond. It was so fast that Ella didn't even have a chance to blink before he had her by the throat. He had shoved her so that her back was pushed hard against a wall and his fingers tightened on her throat, cutting off her air supply. "Do not forget your place woman." he hissed in her face. "I do what I want. I do not answer to anyone, least of all a mortal."

Ella's eyes had grown very wide and she watched his expression carefully. He was attempting to be as imposing as possible to her, but there was something else there in his eyes that wasn't quite what he was hoping to project. She tried to draw in a breath, but there was no air flow at all now. Instead of panicking, which is no doubt the reaction he was hoping to inspire, she raised her hand to his face, touching his cheek lightly. The blackness began to swim at the edges of her vision and she knew that she would lose consciousness in less than 30 seconds if he didn't loosen his grip and allow her some air. Ella thought about using magic against Loki, but figured it would provoke him further. In the end she hoped her own expression and touch would tell him what he needed to know. This wasn't going to work.

Loki loosened the grip he had on her throat just as Ella's eyes began to close and her hand had fallen away from his face.

"Do you see me now?" He asked softly. "Do you see? I am nothing but a monster." He hoped now her fear of him would be renewed at least slightly.

Ella drew in a grateful breath."That's quite a grip you have there." She said, smiling up at him when she was able to catch her breath. He looked back at her the expression of disbelief etched on his beautiful face. "I know exactly what it is you're up to Loki, and I can tell you, it won't work."

"What are you talking about?" He turned away from her again, trying to put the disbelief behind him and replace it with feigned annoyance.

"You're trying to make me afraid of you," Ella replied sweetly, taking a few steps forward. "It's not going to work."

"Why," he asked almost shouting at her. "Why are you not afraid of me?"

Ella giggled as she got closer to him, not allowing his raised voice to deter her. She reached him, raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek. "We can talk more later. Let me know when you have time for me." She smiled up at him placing her hand on his chest for a moment before finally turning to go.

_/_

Loki watched her leave, his mind going in five different directions and not one of those directions was a place he needed his mind to travel to now. She would never be afraid of him again, that much was clear. It seemed there was nothing he could do about that now. He would have to take her for what she was. Not exactly his equal, but she was close in a way he was not able to understand.

He remembered being told once by a mortal that love was for children. So what exactly was it that he felt for her? He didn't want anything to happen to Ella, he enjoyed having her near him even when she was being an imp. Thinking about the way she had attacked him upon her arrival in Asgard brought a smile to his face. The way she kissed him made his body react in a much different, more pleasant way. But then again, he was Loki, Mortal proclaimed God of Mischief. He was incapable of love… wasn't he?

He was not ashamed of the way he'd behaved with her, today or any other time he had been with her. She was always more than frustrating and he had wanted to instill fear in her so that she would remember who and what he was. Grabbing her by the throat may have been harsh, even overkill, but it had not worked in the least. She instantly forgave him, even joked with him about it in less than a minute after he had grabbed her.

Loki shook his head at the thought. She was something of a conundrum, or perhaps the way he felt about her was the true conundrum. One minute he would love nothing more than to split her skull like a ripe melon, other times his thoughts turned to more… pleasant ways to pass the time.

He attempted to turn his attention back to getting himself prepared for the day. Because Ella had remained in his chambers he had sent the servants away this morning, not needing to answer questions about why the mortal had been allowed to sleep in the king's bed. He was left to get himself ready for the day ahead. Loki knew he had better things to do at that moment that think about that girl, but for whatever reason, she remained firmly in his mind.

_/_

Ella left Loki's chambers, making her way back to the rooms that she shared with Jane Foster. Jane had just emerged from her room in the back of the suite, yawning and stretching her arms languidly above her head.

"I didn't hear you come in last night. Where have you been?" She asked, sitting on an overstuffed sofa and running a brush through her hair.

"I was exploring some more. This place is huge!" Ella replied, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"I wish I could look that good with no sleep," Jane said, watching Ella for a moment. "I'm starving, how about breakfast?" She stood up again and made her way back toward her room in order to get dressed.

Ella nodded, realizing just how hungry she herself was. "Just let me clean up first and we'll head down to the dining hall."

The servants came from nowhere it seemed, tending to Jane and Ella's hair, makeup and clothing. In less than an hour, they had been washed, groomed and dressed and they were ready to go to the dining hall, looking for all the world like they had stepped from the pages of a magazine. Well a magazine featuring Greek goddess fashions. Ella thought as she looked at herself once again in the mirror, wondering just how they did it in such a short amount of time.

They walked slowly together talking about the palace, and home. They both missed being home, but neither one would give up this experience for anything. When Jane's conversation turned to Thor and his return, Ella clammed up, not wanting to talk about it. Again, she hated the thought of lying to Jane. They had just become friends and this was no way to start off a friendship. They made it to the dining hall where there were only a few Asgardian's were seated, lost in their own conversations or meals. No one even looked up as they entered.

Jane and Ella sat a large table and began filling their plates with the food that had been set out. As usual there was way too much food, and while their plates were full, they mostly picked at the different delicacies, but ate very little.

"Can you believe they serve wine with every meal?" Jane asked, picking up the cut crystal glass filled with a soft pink liquid and took a sip.

"Well it's actually a little later than normal breakfast time. I think it's more of a brunch. It's hard to tell what time it really is here or how time works. I know my watch is still keeping Earth time." Ella said, glancing at the silver and black watch on her wrist. "It's roughly 11 am back home. I wonder what everyone is doing."

"I know," Jane replied enthusiastically. "I bet they're probably wondering what we're doing! The whole time thing is really very interesting though, I wish I had the time to just study this realm." She put down the glass and looked across the table at Ella." You know what's really strange?" She didn't wait for Ella to respond. "Why is Odin so nice to you? When I was here last time he wanted no part of my being here. In fact he tried to send me home before I…. well, it's complicated. Then he made me his prisoner."

Typical Jane to change subjects mid sentence. How do her fiends keep up with her? Ella thought to herself. "We're here for a different purpose this time," Ella stammered more than a little uncomfortable with the topic. She took a sip of her own wine, hoping Jane would change the subject again. When Jane continued to look at her, Ella decided to change the subject herself. "We have to be careful of this wine. I'm told it's a lot different from what we are used to back home."

Jane nodded but took another sip of the wine anyway, the previous subject seemly forgotten… for now anyway. "What do you want to do today?"

"I've been exploring a lot of the rooms of the palace and Lo..." Ella began to cough in an attempt to cover her near slip of the tongue. "Sorry," she said once her fake coughing fit was over. "Wine went down the wrong way." She took another generous sip and then tried to talk again. "Odin did say we have the freedom to do as we wish while we are here as his guests, so I say we take him up on the offer and explore a little more of this place. We may never have the chance to explore an Asgardian palace again!" Ella silently hoped her cover was convincing.

Jane popped a strawberry in her mouth and chewed slowly, thinking about what Ella had said. Then she took another sip of the wine and stood. "Let's do it! I had a great night's sleep and I'm going to be bored as hell waiting around here all day for any word from Thor, so, let's go!"

Ella stood up, taking another sip of the wine. She felt that warm buzzy feeling in her limbs and she was willing to bet with the way Jane was acting, she was feeling it too. That wine was going to get her into some serious trouble if she wasn't careful.

"Where should we start?" Jane asked as they left the dining hall.

"We'll just wander around until we find something interesting," Ella replied, wishing she had brought the little bottle of wine with them.

They came to a corridor with halls leading to the left and to the right. Let's take that one, Ella said, pointing to the left. That looks promising.

They began to walk together, Jane giggling as if Ella had just said something funny. "Why are you laughing?" Ella asked looking over at her friend. "Did I miss something?"

"I have no idea," Jane replied still giggling. "I'm just… very happy I guess."

Jane's laughing made Ella laugh. "I think it's a good thing we got away from the wine. I'm feeling very happy too."

"You didn't bring the bottle?" Jane asked, trying to keep herself together long enough to finish the sentence. "That reminds me of a pirate movie I saw once… Why's the rum gone? Or in this case, wine… you get my point though right?" Jane finally dissolved into another fit of laughter.

Ella joined in, unable to help herself.

"I wonder what's in here?" Jane stopped in front of the first door they came to and pulled it open. There were muffled noises from inside the room and then someone shouted. "So, sorry!" Jane said shutting the door before launching into another fit of giggles. "Well that was seriously awkward." She panted when she was able to speak again. "I'm guessing these rooms are not good for exploring."

"Let's go back the other way," Ella said turning and running away from the door Jane had just opened. The two ran together down the right wing of the corridor, and down two flights of stairs before coming to a halt again in yet another long corridor. Ella held out her hand in a silencing gesture to Jane and pointed down the corridor to the right of where they stood. "I don't think we are supposed to be here," Ella whispered. "There's a guard down there."

"Can't you do something to distract him?" Jane asked, her voice a little too loud for Ella's liking. "Show him your legs or something."

Ella stifled a laugh, not wanting to get caught just yet. "Wait!" she whispered back excitedly, remembering her new found talent of projection. "Let me try something."

Ella tried to concentrate through her wine buzz and to split her subconscious mind into sections the way Loki had taught her. Soon she had projected a replica of herself at the other end of the hall, nearest to the guard. Then she made the replica, walk to the guard and talk to him. While the guard was busy with the other Ella, Jane and the real Ella made their way to the nearest door and slipped inside, completely undetected. Ella concentrated on her illusion just long enough to get directions to the nearest ladies room and make the projection walk out of sight before she dissolved it completely.

"That was AMAZING!" Jane said once they were in the room with the door shut. "I have heard about Loki's ability to do those kinds of tricks, I had no idea you had mastered them now too!"

"Yeah," Ella replied, her excitement at the control of her illusion was almost overwhelming. "Uh… the All-Father has been helping me with my abilities and trying to help me figure out where they come from." Ella explained trying not to giggle like an idiot, although they had been doing a lot of that since the dining hall.

"Nice if him. You get help, I get shut in a room with no one to talk to…" Jane's voice was trying to sound bitter, but she was still too buzzed for the tone to do anything but make Ella giggle harder. "Knock it off you ass!" Jane said slapping Ella's arm. "Where are we?"

Ella looked around for the first time since entering the room. "Oh. MY. GOD." Ella replied, with a large grin spreading across her face. "I know why it was guarded!" She finally said. "We're in the weapons vault!"

Ella made a slow circle of the room taking it all in. There were spears and daggers lining one wall, and other more elaborate things that she could not identify. "This is amazing!" Ella reached out and took one of the spears off the wall. "I've never seen anything like this!"

"Give me one," Jane insisted holding out her hand to Ella. Ella picked up a small dagger with jewels inlaid on the handle and handed it to Jane. She took the spear she had taken down to the middle of the room.

Ella pointed the long spear in front of her, then she attempted to spin with it the way she had seen Agent Romanoff do so many times in the training room back at the HUB. The end of the spear stuck out too far behind Ella due to her height and it knocked over a quiver of arrows sitting nearby. The arrows knocked in to something else that had been sitting next to it and like a domino effect there was a mess in the center of the weapons vault.

Jane laughed uncontrollably, sinking to her knees and holding her stomach as she laughed.

"Did you see me?" Ella asked, holding the spear in front of her again. "I swear I look just like agent Romanoff! I'm next in line to take over the world. Loki better watch out!"

"I saw…" Jane tried to talk, but couldn't get her laughter under control. "I saw you… and… I think you're right. The world better just watch out, or get the hell out of the way!" She went back to laughing and Ella looked around the room.

"Awesome…" she managed before she too had another bout of the giggles. The pounding at the door made them laugh even harder. The guard demanding to know who was inside sent them into yet another fit.

"No worries," Jane finally said between her laughs and snorts. "I locked the door behind us, they can't get in."

For some reason, to Ella, that was the funniest sentence that had ever been uttered and she fell to the floor, laughing even harder than before. Thbe spear falling away into the rest of the mess and clutter that now surrounded them.

"What are you doing in there!" They heard the voice filter through the door.

"Planning world domination!" Ella replied before once again rolling onto her side with laughter.

"Oh lord," Jane said, still laughing, wiping tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand. "We are going to be in so much trouble."

"The wine did it, we are totally not responsible for our actions!" Ella pleaded their case. "We have to stick together on this Jane…"

The room suddenly went silent. Jane's laughter seemed to have been cut off mid-giggle. The silence made Ella look up quickly to see what had happened to her friend. Loki stood before her. Ella's eyes grew wide with surprise and she instantly looked over to where Jane had been. She found her frozen in her laughing fit, but no sound emerged from her.

"What do you think you are doing?" Loki asked, his tone was not completely angry, but there was an edge to it.

"Exploring?" Ella squeaked as she tried to complete the word. It was meants as an explaination, but came out as a question. "We… uh… well, we decided to play with the weapons." She stopped speaking seeing the smile on Loki's lips.

"What?" She asked standing up and crossing the room to stand in front of him.

"You realize you have now sealed your fate here. As the All-Father, I will have no choice but to suspend your movements and confine you to my chambers as the dungeon is not a fit place for a woman. You will now become my prisoner." He paused, gauging her reaction to his words. "And you will be forbidden to have any more wine."

Ella looked up at him. "Really? No more wine?" She laughed at her own joke. "You may keep me as your prisoner, my king. She held out her hands as if he was going to put her in shackles.

Loki rolled his eyes, still smiling despite himself. "I am certain that you will be my undoing." He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, kissing her roughly.

Ella had not been expecting the kiss, but after her initial shock, she melted in to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

As soon as she touched him he broke the kiss, looking down at her a little breathless. "I must fix this now. There will be many questions about what the two of you have done. Jane will be restricted to her quarters and you, as I have no doubt this was your idea, will be confined to my quarters under my careful watch until the time comes you wish to return home." He spoke softly and rapidly, allowing her to keep her arms around him. "Try to control your laughter until you are safely away from the prying eyes of the palace inhabitants. They will want both of you sent back to Midgard immediately, but the All-Father will attempt to make your actions look as benign as possible. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Ella replied, looking up at him. She enjoyed the kiss and the way he was holding her to him now. Nothing else seemed to matter at this moment.

"I will leave you and return to the other side of the door where I will force it open and you will both come willingly, with no more of your trickery." Loki was smiling at her and Ella couldn't help but smile back.

"I understand," She replied softly.

Loki tried to disentangle himself from her so he could set into motion the events that must take place next.

"Wait," Ella held fast to him, not wanting to break contact just yet. "Why… why did you kiss me?"

Loki laughed at her. "What was it you said to me? It seemed like a good idea at the time? Well, it seemed like a perfect idea at the time. You are just full of surprises, Ella. I used my magic to come into this room with the intention of expelling you from Asgard at my first opportunity. Instead I find myself… reacting to you again. The only thing I could have done at that very moment was kiss you.

"I'm very glad you did." Ella stood once again on her tiptoes, intending to place another kiss on his cheek as she had done earlier in the day, but he turned into her instead, kissing her more deeply than he had done before.

Loki finally broke their contact, moving Ella back to where she had been when he had entered the room. "Just stay there," He turned away from her and before she could even take a breath, he was gone and the banging had ensued once again along with Jane's laughter.

"Jane!" Ella said quickly, still smiling. "I'm sorry, I got us into trouble."

Jane waved her hand in the air in front of her, still laughing. "I haven't had this much fun since college! Don't you dare say you're sorry! I forgot what it was like to laugh like this."

"Well, you may be sorry that we became friends after today. I think the guards went and got the All-Father. I think his days of being nice to me are over." There was a loud 'boom' and Ella watched as the door opened of its own accord and Odin entered the weapons vault, guards flanking him on either side.

"The whole 'planning world domination' remark must have been too much," Jane whispered close to Ella's ear. She was still stifling the giggling fit that would not leave her. "They must think you're really Loki in disguise."

Ella laughed at the irony of the situation, but then, remembering what Loki had told her, she went back to trying to appear contrite.

"Escort Jane Foster to her room, where she is to remain until such time as my son returns for her." The All-Father turned his attention to Ella. "I have little doubt that this mischief is your doing, Ella. As punishment, you will confined to my personal quarters where I can keep you from further trouble making until it is time for you to return to Midgard. Is that understood?"

Ella could see Loki clearly under the guise of the King and he winked at her. "Yes my King," She lowered her gaze away from Loki. She could feel another giggling fit building up inside her.

Jane's face was frozen in shock. "Your right, I'm not real thrilled that we are friends at this moment." Jane grabbed Ella's arm." Now I'm stuck in those rooms without even you to talk to! And you… you have to stay with him! At least he knows it was your idea."

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Foster," Ella replied watching as two guards came to Jane and waited for her to follow them.

"I definitely got the better end of this proverbial stick," Jane gave her a quick hug, "But I'm not sorry that we decided to have fun together," she whispered. "I'll see you soon, Thor should be back any time now and we can go home!" She let the guards lead her through the door, leaving Ella standing before the King.

"Take her to my chambers." Loki ordered the remaining guards. "We will speak at length when I return." He told Ella, smiling slightly as the guards led her from the room.

_/_

A/N:

Again I apologize for the length of this chapter… but nothing could be cut after I was done listening to my Muses! Loki was very verbal when I was writing this chapter… 'say this that or another thing…' or 'no I wouldn't do this or that!' In fact the whole kiss in the weapons vault wasn't even in the outline. He was supposed to be very angry with Ella. But my little Loki muse had a different idea for how that whole thing ended up going down.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this one and as always… reviews are my version of crack :o)

J~