A/N: Okay, I want to give you all a quick warning. This chapter, the next one, and the one after that are probably all going to be coming out sometime this weekend/Monday. Then chapters may not come out for a while. Why? Because my entire life is hitting the fan and I need to figure some things out while also doing schoolwork. -_- I'm not happy. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! And I will see you all next chapter!

Disclaimer: I own Charlie and plot. Nothing else.

The Garden

"So, this is a helmet," I say, staring down at the odd, golden thing in my hands. "And you willingly wear this?"

"What is wrong with my helm?"

I twist it in my hands, getting a closer look at the massive horns. I can't help the small smile and giggle that is attempting to leave me. I really shouldn't have brought this up, but now that we're here… "Do you want my honest opinion?" I glance up to see him giving me a "go-ahead" look. "Are you compensating for something, dear?" I attempt to figure out how to get it on my own head, while he stares at me in outrage. I somehow manage to wiggle it onto my head. It falls over my eyes and I can't see anything above the tip of nose. "My god, you've got a big head. And it's so freaking heavy in the front." I twist my head around, trying to balance it properly. "It doesn't seem very practical."

I'm sitting Indian-style on the edge of my bed while running through this diagnosis over his helmet. It's the day before the planned attack and Loki has brought over some things from his room to look over—mainly maps. This is the only interesting thing he actually brought with him. I mean, honestly. A giant horned helmet? What kind of message is he trying to send?

While I am attempting to balance the damn thing, I hear papers rustle over by my desk where he has set up his research central. I'm not really helping him focus. I'm kind of going insane. I have now been stuck in this wing of the palace for six days and I have had enough. Ever since we woke up, I have been bugging him to go anywhere else in this place—or outside, which is what I would prefer. He has, for the most part, been ignoring me. And then he brought this helmet over-this wonderful, weird helmet.

I've been having fun trying to figure it out.

Two hands grasp each side of my head and force my head to be still. Holy crap, he can move silently. And now I really wish I could see. "I have always considered the horns to be more of a…reflection than a compensation," he says quietly into my ear.

A blush quickly tears its way across my face. Wh-what did he just say? He gently removes the helmet from my head and smirks down at my red face before walking away. I flop back onto my bed, mainly to keep my eyes from straying. Oh, god he just gave me bad thoughts, alluringly bad thoughts. I physically shake my head. Bad Charlie!

Moving on!

Once I am able to get my blush to go away, I sit back up and glance outside. I really really really want to go outside. I hear a quiet sigh come from Loki, but I'm not looking at him right now. More paper rustles. I keep my eyes forlornly on the balcony, trying to look pathetic, not that it takes much effort. "Oh alright, I'll take you outside."

My head whips back around to face him. "Really?"

He rolls up one of the maps in his hands. "Would I lie to you?"

"Yes."

I get a smirk in response, but I'm already bounding off my bed—well, getting off my bed. Sitting may be a lot easier now, but it doesn't mean that I still don't cause myself pain if I move wrong. The bruise on my face has moved to the fascinating stage: If I poke it, it hurts, but not in a painful way. It's like half pain, half something else. I hate these kind of bruises because I find myself poking them trying to classify what the other sensation is. After 24 years, I'd figure I would know what it is by now. They both still look horrible and I can't wait until they are gone.

I slip on some flats and walk over to my door, tapping my foot while I wait for him to finish arranging everything. He's taking his sweet time and I know he's doing it to annoy me. It's already midday so I know we won't spend much time outside, but anything is better than nothing. Once everything is situated on the desk, he finally walks over to me and I follow him out the door, the skirt of my blue dress billowing somewhat behind me. The best thing about these dresses is the billow—it's silly and stupid, but I just love it. It makes me feel like I'm wearing a cape or something.

I seriously wish we had these kinds of things on Earth. I would buy a lot of them.

We walk in silence. I'm trying really hard not to skip because I'm finally away from my room! I get the feeling skipping would kind of hurt though, so I just walk along beside Loki. He leads me down many hallways and past many doors and people. Some of the guards and servants watch us as we pass, some not so friendly. I've noticed a general increase in the bad attitudes of people since I recovered from my drowning and I'm starting to get sick of it. Most people tend to just ignore us as we walk past, too intent on the tasks they are doing. It's just those few that make me feel a little paranoid.

There's nothing I can do about that though. It's not like they can be punished for the way they look at me. That would be ridiculous. I just try to keep my head up, neutral mask on, and ignore the crawling sensation running down my spine.

Loki finally walks up to a pair of huge doors with carvings of trees and flowers adorning them. He takes a look back at me before pushing them open. A blast of sunlight hits my eyes and I have to close them from the sheer brightness. Once I am able to open them though, my jaw hits the ground. "No way," I mutter, walking through the door and into what can only be described as the Garden of Eden. Trees climb into the sky all over the place, pools of shade spilling over the hundreds of flowers that litter the grass. I quietly walk around in silent awe, Loki a silent shadow behind me. "What is this place?" I finally ask him, crouching down to get a better look at the red flowers in front of me.

"It was my grandmother's," he says. I look up to see he's looking around at the trees.

I turn my attention back to the rose that is in my hand. Wait a second… A rose? "These are Earth flowers," I mutter, glancing around again. I spy daisies and lilies and even some petunias. I'm not that familiar with different kinds of trees, but I spy a weeping willow that is some ways away, and I'm pretty sure the one in front of me is an Oak tree.

"My grandmother brought all of these here," Loki explains while I wander around trying to name everything off. "She once went down to earth and fell in love with the flora. She brought everything she could handle here so she could have a piece of Earth on Asgard. At least, that's what Mother has always told me."

I wrap an arm around a low hanging branch and pull myself up until I can cross my arms on it, feet swinging. "So why did you bring me here instead of that field you took me to before?" I glance up at the palace that is only feet away.

"It is unwise to stray too far the eve of battle."

I sigh. Yeah, I guess he's right. Too bad. The palace is starting to feel more like a prison than a home away from home. I mean, I get it—I'm an honored guest and they are trying to keep me safe especially with a mad Goblin King after me. I just can't wait for this to be over so I can get back to what it was like before. Well, at least being able to get my freedom back a little bit. I'm sure Loki won't mind that either. He'll at least be able to go back to his room and not have to guard me 24/7. He hasn't seemed to mind this arrangement, but I'm sure it's at least irking him. I'm not exactly an easy roommate to have, especially the past couple days when I haven't been able to do anything. I've kind of taken to try and find things that annoy him. So far, I have been wholly unsuccessful.

I swing my legs some more and continue looking around the garden. I grin. This place is gorgeous. It reminds me so much of home. A sudden pang of homesickness hits me and I attempt to swallow the lump that lodges itself in my throat. I've been doing so good not thinking about how long it's been since I left. And I miss my family so much that it hurts. I'm starting to doubt that I'll ever get home and see them. I know that's pretty pessimistic and probably not the truth, but it's been a month. I'm starting to get a bit restless.

"Are you just going to hang there all day?"

I look down to see Loki looking up at me (not that I'm that high off the ground. I'm only a head taller than him right now). I give him a playful smirk. "Would you prefer I come down, my liege?"

"My liege?" he asks, an eyebrow raised.

I smirk. I got a random thought last night before I feel asleep, and I want to see how he would react. I pull myself up until I am sitting on the branch, my legs dangling. I'm probably ruining this dress, but oh well. I'm having fun. "Yes. Or would prefer, 'my king?'" I shake my head at him. I know all about his desire to be a king—well, his previous obsession, I should say. I don't know if that's still a thing, but I fully intend on playing with it.

He stares at me for a second before a grin spreads across him mouth. He slowly walks over until he is right in front of me, a particularly sinister gleam in his eyes. "Are you sure you want to start this game, princess? Because you will lose."

Princess? God, nobody's called me princess since I was seven when I fully proved I was not a princess. More like a crazy, evil banshee once I learned I could run whenever I wanted to.

His grin grows into a smile. "Did you not realize you were a princess?" he questions. I continue to give him a blank stare. What is he going on about? He shakes his head at me. "King Tnumer is the ruler of the Goblin race," he explains, using a tone someone would use on a five-year-old. "As his daughter, you are thus a princess of that race, whether you are recognized as that or not."

I slowly blink at him. What? I open my mouth to try and retort but nothing comes out. How in the hell did I not realize that? "I don't know what to do with this information now that I have it," I finally mutter, glancing to the side to try and think this through. Well, duh, it makes logical sense. "How did I not figure that out already?" I ask, mainly to myself. Am I really that dense?

His smile softens a bit. "You do not think Tnumer as your father so you do not think of yourself as a princess."

I nod. "Wait. So, say something happens tomorrow and he gets killed. Will that make me their queen?" Oh weird.

"No. Like I already said, they do not recognize you as the legitimate heir to Tnumer. So you will not become their queen."

"Oh, thank god," I sigh out, sagging in relief. He looks at me in confusion and I answer his unspoken question. "I don't want to be a queen. I can barely remember to eat regularly if I'm distracted with something. Do you honestly think I would be able to run an entire race?" I shake my head. "No way. Let that be someone else's job."

He shakes his head at me while I continue pondering this new information. I crinkle my nose. You know how most little girls wanted to be princesses and have a handsome prince come sweep them off their feet and carry them away to a happily ever after? I was never one of those girls. I tended towards the more masculine when I was a child: I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and comic books when I was in the hospital and Hulk was my favorite Avenger. Dad always thought it was so funny that I never took to dolls, especially when my Pops tried so hard to get me to like them. And now I find out I'm actually a princess?

I swear, the universe works in strange ways. I'm sure it is laughing at us the majority of the time.

"Honestly, are you going to stay up there all day?" Loki asks, pulling me out of my internal ponderings.

"What if I said yes?" I retort, swinging my legs some more.

He opens his mouth to say something but all I end up hearing is a loud crack and feel the branch jerk slightly. I whip my head to look at the trunk of the tree and see the limb is starting to tear away from the main body of the tree. I'm not high up, but it's still not a fun thing to see. I wiggle my butt forward a little. "Coming down!" I yell out, before jumping off.

Loki grabs my waist and brings my quick fall to a slow descent. "Thanks," I say, surprised at the action. There is a loud crash behind me and I take a surprised step closer to him. I turn my head to look over my shoulder to see the entire limb is lying on the ground. "Oops," I mumble, staring at the poor tree. "I didn't mean it."

Loki shakes his head before taking a step back. "I cannot take you anywhere."

"I know. I'm a walking nightmare."

He chuckles and I smile. Well, it is kind of true. He walks away, heading towards the shade of the weeping willow. "Umm, should we just leave that here?" I question, kind of walking after him.

"The gardeners will take of it."

Right. Gardeners. Must be nice to have people just take care of all of your messes. Well, actually it is kind of nice.

Loki walks under the hanging boughs and I follow, immediately lying on my back to stare up into the branches while he sits against the tree. Weeping willows have always been one of my favorite trees. They're just so gorgeous! Especially when the wind makes the branches move and they look like they are dancing in the wind. One thing New York City seriously lacks is an abundance of trees. This place is seriously making me miss home and Norway, which is reminding me of all the people I haven't seen in forever. How much longer is it going to be before I can see everyone again?

I sigh. "I miss home," I mumble out. I look over to see Loki is watching me. Well, at least he isn't ignoring me. I look back up to the branches and sky. "Not that I don't love it here, but… I miss my friends. I miss my family. I just… I can't wait to go home again."

"Why are you here exactly?"

I turn my head to give him a confused look. "My ex. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"I knew there was someone who was threatening your safety." He shakes his head. "I do not know why."

"Ah." I roll over so I'm on my stomach and so I can prop my head up. I keep the majority of my weight on my right side so I don't aggravate my bruise. I start picking at the flowers and grass. "My ex, Adam, is bent on world domination. And he wants me so I can help with that." I shake my head. "He has threatened me, the lives of my family, and has threatened to destroy my research and actually has. "

"He sounds wonderful," Loki says.

I grin sadly. "He wasn't always like that."

I start pulling out some of the grass beneath my hand and pull some sticks towards me in a distracted haze. I hate thinking about him. "What changed?"

I glance over at Loki. "Are you sure you want to hear the story? It's kind of a long one."

He simply nods his head. I sigh and turn my attention back to the twig house I am mindlessly building. "I met Adam about three months into my research and digging. I started it two years ago. He was a boy who was attending a college in Norway and was assigned to my dig for some college credit. I thought it was odd that he volunteered for my dig considering most academics consider it psychotic and basically tantamount to searching for El Dorado." I notice Loki looking confused out of the corner of my eye. "Sorry, it's a fabled city of gold. Anyway, I didn't fight him joining us only because I was a recent college grad starting something big and I wasn't going to turn away help.

"Adam and I maintained a pretty professional relationship for about a month. We became good friends after a trip to a local archive and basically getting bored out of our minds. Another month and we were dating." My twig house is starting to take shape and I start arranging the pulled grass into a little lawn in front of it. "After a year of dating, he proposed."

"You were engaged?" He sounds surprised.

"Yep. I fell hard for him. He was my first love, first boyfriend… first everything, really." I trail off thinking about it. Yeah, he was my first everything. Shaking my head, I continue my tale. "Two weeks after we got engaged, he found out his father passed away suddenly. Some car accident or something. He had to return home immediately to settle his affairs. However, what he neglected to inform me up to that point was that his father also was the owner of the largest shipping and weapons company in the world." I place a flower on top of the little house I was constructing, making it a small yellow roof. "He said he didn't tell me because he didn't want to be the heir to it. He just wanted to spend his life being an archaeologist and his father never approved. But, with no one else labelled as the heir to the company, it fell into Adam's hands. He left, promising that once everything was settled and the company was in good hands, he would come back for me.

"He was gone for six months. Longest six months of my life. I had my research to keep me busy, but the lack of contact and communication slowly drove me insane. When he finally showed up, he was…different. He wasn't Adam. He was mean, callous. He demanded that I give up my silly little search and return to England with him and become his wife immediately. I didn't exactly take to those commands kindly." I glance over to Loki to make sure he's keeping up and he's smirking. I grin back. He has plenty of experience dealing with me and how well I follow commands. My grin falls though and I turn back to my finished construction. "I finally kicked him and his men off my site when he hit me."

"He did what?"

I swipe my hand through the hair, mimicking a back-handed hit. "We were arguing about everything and he was commanding me and I told him to go to hell and he back-handed me. I'm pretty used to getting hit by this point," I mumble, gently rubbing the side of my face. Now that I think about it, Adam hit the same cheek. My poor cheek has faced so much abuse. "I told him to get lost and he threatened to shut down my entire project. He had the money and power to do just that. I told him to go screw himself, threw the necklace he gave me for our engagement at him, and he left." I shrug. "I thought it was done."

"I take it something happened," Loki prods when I slip into a silence.

I sigh and sit up to face him. "Two months passed. I happened to find a cave that seemed to be pretty promising. It had runes all over the walls and even some coins and weapons left behind. One night, when I happened to be leaving it to go call some of my partners and get people in there, it blew up."

"Blew up?"

"He bombed my cave. I was lucky I wasn't in there when it blew. He took full responsibility for it over the phone when he called me two minutes after. However, I could never pin it on him because there was no actual evidence of him being there or doing anything. I was more pissed that he destroyed my lead than him almost taking my life." I shake my head. "Dad pulled me out after that. Demanded I come home and got a helicopter to my site the next day. I didn't exactly fight it.

"About a month and a half went by before the letter came. There was one addressed to me that came to the Tower. He demanded that I come to him or he would destroy everything I loved: my parents, my brother and his family, all of my Uncle's, my Aunt. He laid out his entire plan of slowly but surely dominating the earth and he wanted me at his side. What I didn't tell my parents was that he sent me a separate letter, blackmailing me." I shake my head and stare at the ground in front of me. "He was the only one I ever told about my fire. He knew I didn't want anyone to know and he threatened that he would tell everyone. I was more terrified about that than anything else. I would have rather died than have them find out about that."

"Why?" he asks, interrupting my narrative.

"I was terrified of what they would think." I shake my head. "I was scared out of mind of what I could do. I had lived my entire life believing I was the only normal one in my family only to find out it wasn't true. I didn't want my family to know and have their opinion change." I shrug. "When I was a teenager, I was afraid Dad and Pops would give me back up. It was stupid and illogical, but I truly believed it."

He nods. "So, he sends these letters and your parents send you here."

I nod. "I've already been kidnapped twice. My parents didn't want to take any chances." I sigh and pick up the flower roof and play with the yellow petals, keeping my focus on them. "Adam completely destroyed me. It's weird to think it's only been five months since he came back. I didn't think I would be able to smile again after he broke my heart."

"You said Adam was your first?" I glance up and nod. "Why?"

I cock my head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"So, you were at the oldest 22 when you fell for him. Why not sooner for someone else?" He scans my body. "You are not an unattractive woman."

I give him a half-smile. "Careful, Loki. Someone might actually hear you compliment me." He rolls his eyes. I shake my head and tear my eyes to look over the garden. "There was no way I could have been in any form of a relationship when I was younger. I was fourteen when I was kidnapped and tortured. When all of the other girls were dealing with crushes and exploring sex, I was dealing with panic and anxiety attacks. By the time they had subsided, I was starting college and basically didn't have the confidence or willingness to date. After all, who would want a broken package?" I sigh. "Besides, men kind of scared me. I didn't really have any tools to talk to them, let alone try and date them. Adam was the first male that I was able to talk to comfortably on my own." I shrug.

There's silence for a few minutes. I'm attempting to shove all of my emotions about this back into the little box that I don't let free in my heart. Every time I think about what I used to have with Adam, I feel the sting. I meant it when I said he destroyed me. My heart was completely broken and I still don't know if it will completely mend. I'd rather hold onto the anger that usually comes forth whenever he is mentioned.

"I suppose I am curious about one thing." I look back at him and he is looking up into the branches. "Why did you tell him about your fire when you would not tell your family?"

I shrug. "I'm a freaking idiot? I thought it would be smart to let him know so he could still decide to get away from me if he wanted to."

"So, you did not tell him because of your time with your kidnappers?"

I shake my head. "Adam knew about my kidnapping, but he didn't know any details. He was the only one outside of my family to know about it in the first place. If I would have had my way, I wouldn't have told him about it at all. But, it's kind of hard to come up with another reason for why my back is completely torn apart."

He nods. I lie back down to stare up at the sky through the swaying branches. Ugh, I hate bringing all of this up. I'm not a little girl or a romantic sap, but I honestly did believe I was going to be with Adam for the rest of my life. He was just so perfect. I should have known that it wouldn't end up that way. And to this day I don't know what happened to make him change so drastically. That's what hurts the most. And I hate feeling so numb about it all once I am able to shove everything down. But, numb can't hurt me.

"I take it you can't return until this man is destroyed?"

I turn my head to look at him. "Exactly. Although, I'm starting to get to the point of saying 'screw it' and just go home anyway, if only for a day."

He grins. "Well, that will have to wait."

"Battle first, then deal with the evil ex." I nod. "I like plans."

OoO

It's early morning and the palace is eerily quiet. The only sound is that of Loki's and my own footfalls echoing along the halls. Apparently some of the regiments have already left for battle. As the royal family, we go in last. I don't understand why, but I'm not the one in charge. Getting around was a quiet affair, Loki and I lost in our own thoughts. I'm just glad he isn't fighting me and wanting me to stay here with Frigga and Aunt Jane. This is more my battle than theirs anyway, and I'm glad he seems to know that. Getting my uncle to understand that is going to be a royal pain though.

I adjust one of the knives on my arm so it is easier to grab. I made sure that I had as many weapons as I could carry: I have a knife strapped to each arm, sai's strapped to my thighs, one small dagger in each boot, my short sword strapped to my waist as well as an extra knife. I found a small bag that can carry my Dad's new weapons in. However, I could only fit ten in it, so Loki has the rest with him. I also managed to somehow fit a small vat of water onto me in case I have to use my fire today. I'm kind of hoping that I don't only because it will inconvenience Loki more than it will me. I don't intend on becoming a nuisance again.

We walk out to the stables and are each handed a horse to ride. The stable-boy both wishes us luck and we are off towards the bifrost. I feel a pang of disappointment that I can't ride Sleipnir, but he is Odin's horse, so it only makes sense that he is riding him. The ride is not a comfortable one, due to my bruise which is still giving me issues. I'm hoping that the armor will help prevent any further damage, but I'm not counting on it. If anything, it prevents me from bending so at least I won't cause myself any further pain.

When we arrive, Uncle Thor and Odin are already there as well as a group of about twenty men. Sif and the Warriors Three were already sent in to try and get a hold on the situation. We all come in last, kind of like the big finale. I'm hoping that this will be a short battle so I can get back here and just go back to bed. I also know though, that when we arrive, it is going to be hell.

I just pray nobody I care about gets hurt.

We dismount the horses and I walk up to my uncle. He is giving me a disapproving stare. "Come on, Uncle," I say, somewhat exasperated. "You said it yourself that if there is a fight, I would be in the middle of it all causing chaos."

He shakes his head. "It does not mean that I want you there." He glances over his head to pin Loki with the same stare. "You should have made her stay back, brother."

"She would not have listened even if I tried."

I nod. He's so right. I would have just ignored him and charged my way out here by myself if I had to.

"It is time," Odin says, capturing all of our attention. We all walk forward until we are in front of the portal.

"Remember, if something goes wrong, I will not bring you back if it threatens the safety of Asgard," Heimdall intones with that deep voice of his.

He pushes his sword deeper into the podium in front of him and the bifrost comes spinning to life. Loki grabs my arm and turns me so I am facing him. "Remember to stay by my side and don't get separated from me. We do not want a repeat of last time."

I grin. "The same goes for you. I would prefer it if I didn't lose my bodyguard today."

He nods. We both turn to face the glowing portal. I see Uncle Thor adjusting his hold on the hammer and the other men shifting, preparing for whatever we might see when we get there. Odin is the first to be sent through and we all get sucked in a few seconds later.

When we land, it is absolute chaos.