I sighed, not knowing why I ever thought this to be a good idea. I entered the vestibule, following after Thor who held the lead. All of them - Thor, the Warriors Three, and Lady Sif laughed amongst themselves. One of them probably told some idiotic joke with a senseless punch line that had sent them into their fit of giggles. Of course no one bothered to tell me the joke - like always. I don't care. It would most likely be a waste of my time anyway. I glanced around the room, looking for the stable boys to arrive with our steeds.

As if sensing my earnestness, the three stable boys turned the corner, each guiding a horse at both sides. Thor was delivered his horse first; a mighty white stallion with golden string weaved into its mane. Then I was next. The same stable boy led a black stallion to my side, offering a hand to help me up.

I ignored his gesture and lifted my foot, making sure to place it securely in the stirrup before hauling myself onto the saddle. I don't need a servant's help to mount a steed. No one offered a hand to my brother - or any of his skeevy friends for that matter. The stable boy awkwardly reclined his hand and moved to the next person in line.

Once I was seated comfortably on my horse, I took time to adjust the saddlebags and such, verifying they would not fall off once I departed. Noticing I was the only who brought extra rations, I couldn't help but let a sigh escape my lips. I was ready to begin this trip and get it over with.

"Are you nervous, brother?" Thor laughed as he walked his horse to stand next to mine. He sat mightily on his steed, portraying the valiant look of royalty. Often I had resented this about him, but today I could not bring myself to care.

"Hardly," I said; trying to keep my voice rid of the anguish I was truly feeling. "I just hope you know what you are doing." This was the first time any of us had attempted to track a leucrocuta, let alone kill one. They weren't extremely dangerous, but they had a mouth so large it could bite you in half in one swift movement.

Thor's eyes widened, making his whole face deform into a funny shape. I chuckled as he brought a hand to his heart in a feign hurt. "Have I ever led you astray, brother?" Yes. You have gotten me into just as much trouble as I have done myself.

"Well," I turned my eyes away, drawing out the word in remembrance. "There was that time when you thought escaping over the garden wall would be a bright idea."

"And it was!" He shouted, his laugh booming through the room. "We climbed over the wall and spent the whole night outside of the palace!" Everyone was now seated on their horses and ready to leave. The stable boys opened the gate at the far entrance as both Thor and I spurred our steeds to move forward.

"And if I remember correctly," Thor continued as we breached the gate, moving to the sunny outdoors. "You were scared of climbing the wall."

I rolled my eyes. Of course that's how he remembered it. "I was not scared of climbing nor the height. I was scared of falling." At the time, I had barely been able to climb the garden's trees without great difficulty. How was I supposed to climb up a towering stonewall that stood ten times my own height?

"Yes, but I told you to trust me, brother. I told you if you fell, I would catch you!" Thor was now smiling uncontrollably, as we led our horses down a cobble path to the outer wall of the city.

"I did trust you, Thor. And then I fell and broke my arm," I replied flatly, still feeling a little resentment at Thor's failed promise. I didn't have to look at my brother to know I had wiped his cheeky smile off his face. I took a little pride in that.

"Oh stop being so irritable, Loki." Volstagg laughed from behind me. "It would do you well to get out of that stuffy library you seem so very fond of."

I didn't respond but only continued to look at the smooth rocks of the path beneath.

"Volstagg is right." Fandral agreed, voicing his opinion on the matter. "Now you get to employ your time with us, an uh-" I heard him pause and laugh to himself. "Spend a little time with me."

I scoffed in disgust at his suggestion, my eyes rolling to the sky above. Fandral had always been one for the maidens, but recently he had been taking both young ladies and men into his bed. I am not one to judge - I too think I would prefer the touch of a man over a woman. However, Fandral was far from my first choice. The others too had their own suspicions about me - who I fancied, if I had actually ever lain with someone, or if I even could. Fandral, on the other hand, had no issue if I had laid with someone before or not.

"Fandral, when will you give up?" Sif commented, annoyance evident in her voice. "Loki is not interested."

The blonde had made many advances on me before - so often now no one paid much mind to it. It had become normal for the older teen to ask me to bed with him. And it had become normal for me to reject him. Even if he was handsome in some respects - No I was not interested in anything of the sort.

"I will not stop until the lovely prince has experienced how talented I am in the sheets." Fandral shouted, making sure I heard his oath of tenacity. I rolled my eyes once more; mocking the idea Fandral would ever be good enough to get someone of such high standard like me. I am royalty after all.

Thankfully, Fandral said no more on the matter as we approached the outer wall. The ancient wall had been built at the very start of Asgard and has kept out many beasts and enemies that are not welcome into the golden city. No one has ever breeched its defenses and by the looks of it, no one will. It was constantly guarded night and day by guards who were specially trained for the job. Just one look at them and you would know they are very serious about the security of Asgard and her people.

We arrived at the foot of the wall, two guards walking to meet us. "Your highnesses," they both said in unison as they dropped to one knee in respect.

"We wish to travel to the eastern forest. Let us pass." Thor sternly commanded and immediately the guards obeyed. The large golden gates slowly creaked open as they swung out, revealing golden meadows filled with summer blossoms.

I silently gasped in awe at the beauty of the nature. The sun shone golden rays, highlighting red and purple flowers. I rarely leave the castle grounds - let alone the city of Asgard. Perhaps there was more to explore outside the kingdom than I had realized. In the far off horizon I could just make out the dark line of the Eastern forest.

I could have staid there forever, inhaling the delightful scent of the buds - if it were not for the dust kicked up in my face as everyone else's steeds took off. Realizing they were leaving without me, I quickly kicked my horse, making him whiney at the sudden action, but nonetheless, running off after them.

OOOOO

"Can we take a rest?" Volstagg whined. A few groaned in exasperation as the stocky redhead asked yet again within the past few minutes. "I am getting sore from riding too long."

"As I have stated before," Thor irritably answered. I could tell he was obviously getting tired of the persistant complaining. "If we reached the forest by nightfall, we will have a better chance at locating the game tomorrow."

Volstagg groaned out once more. "But I am weary. We have been riding for hours! Even the steeds are starting to tire." He motioned to his horse who was walking slowly with its head down at the back of the group.

"It is your horse alone, Volstagg, who tires." Hogun snarked as he reached across the gap between their two horses, pointing at the redhead's plump stomach. "If you could manage what you eat, maybe we would be at the forest by now."

"Are you suggesting it is my fault I was handed the laziest horse?" Volstagg hollered, his voice making me wince. Truthfully, I was tired too. We had been riding for hours, and I wished to rest. But Thor seemed determined - with his usual stubbornness - to get to his destination.

"Do not blame the poor stallion," Fandral cut in. "I would be just as tired if I had to carry you around."

Then the whole fight broke out. All three of the warriors shouted at each other, occasionally bringing Sif into the fight. Thor started yelling at them to stop their feud, but either they were too loud to hear him or none of the warriors paid him any mind.

I groaned at all the bickering, wishing this day to just end. We still had a good half hour before we reached the edge of the woods. I took a deep breath, trying to focus my thoughts on something useful, like what little I actually knew about the leucrocuta. I had tried to read as much as I could about the animal before we left, but I wasn't given much time before Thor had grabbed my book and tossed it aside, telling me I had to pack the necessities for the trip.

What would these fools do without me? I smiled softly, thinking about what would happen if I hadn't come on this trip, but instead remained at the palace. They would probably get lost in the woods and then eaten by some mysterious creature, considering I was the only one who cared to memorize Asgard's maps and learn what actually lived out in these woods.

Plus, I was always there to veil us in smoke, or to blind a mighty beast if things got too out of hand, which always allowed us to escape and evidently save our lives. But they thought little of my magic. They always said, "Magic is for cowards and you should learn to wield a sword like us, Loki." Well without my magic, we all would have been dead long ago.

We were almost at the frontline of the trees - much to my relief - when Thor, being the natural leader and oldest of the group, started giving out orders as to who would do what when camp was to be set up. Like usual, the Warriors three would set up all the sleeping supplies, Lady Sif would gather water, Thor would plan what our day would be like tomorrow, and I would start the fire. I always thought I had the easiest job, seeing that I could just use my magic to spark the fire to life.

After we arrived at the border of the forest and the meadow, we climbed off our tired horses and set up camp. Thankfully every task was accomplished relatively fast and we all crawled into our makeshift beds for the night. Although I was exhausted and wishing I was back in my bed in the palace, I had trouble falling asleep. As soon as my head had hit my pillow, my body instantly felt like it weighed a ton, but my mind kept running.

I couldn't help but think of all the possible things that could happen tomorrow. Will we have the power to kill the leucrocuta? Will we even be able to find one? I restlessly turned to my side, hoping I could find a spot comfortable enough to send my thoughts to sleep.

I let my eyes wonder to where the roaring fire once burned - only a few heated coals left in its place. I could hear Volstagg snoring heavily and Hogun grumbling in his sleep. It's as if Hogun the Grim still finds ways to be negative even in his dreams. I quietly laughed at myself, as I rolled back over onto my back. I stared up into the sky seeing thousands of sparkling stars shinning down on us. I had read about those stars. It was said, for every star in the sky is a soul lost in battle. It saddened me to see so many stars, knowing where they came from.

A rustling came from the darkness of the trees. I sat up from my bed, staring into the darkness, straining trying to see what was making the noise. I couldn't see anything past the first few trees - the only light coming from the moon above. I glanced around our campsite, seeing no one else awake.

The noise came again, and this time I slowly drew my fur blanket off my body, standing up from the ground. I kept my eyes trained on the darkness as I walked towards the dense forest. A feeling of suspense washed over me and I thought about turning back. The noise stopped as I entered the trees - it became harder and harder to see in the pitch-black night. I wasn't sure if it was from the moonlight or my tired eyes, but out of the corner of my vision I could have sworn I saw black shadows running swiftly about. I kept walking, by entire body starting to tremble. It is merely from the cold of the night, nothing else.

I listened carefully for the noise, faintly hearing it sulk farther into the dense woods. My heart skipped a beat - I walked in here defenseless. The sensible thing to do would be to turn around - head back to camp. But - something - somebody was out there? A calming feeling washed over my nerves, urging me to take another step into the woods. Walking forward, I followed the suspicious rustling. Where is this leading me? The noise continued and I felt an irresistible urge to find what it was.

I broke out the trance as something attacked me from behind. My mouth was quickly covered and my body began dragging backwards with my attacker. I tried to scream and kick but my efforts were muffled and useless. It dragged me further and further back. I didn't stop fighting - until I realized I was in the clear, out of the forest. I was let go - my body hitting the ground hard.

I scrambled to my feet, spinning around to face my attacker. But I was met with the face of Fandral. He quickly covered my mouth again as I opened it to speak.

"Quiet!" He hissed through his teeth, his grip on me tightening. "You will wake the others." His voice was hushed to the point I had to slow my erratic breathing to hear him. My heart was still pounding in my chest as I nodded acceptingly. He removed his hand and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heartbeat.

I oglanced up at the blonde as I struggled to catch my breath. Before I even had a chance to speak, Fandral smacked the side of my head. "You idiot!" He screeched in his whispered voice. "You of all people should know better than to travel alone in the dark into the forest without a weapon!"

My mouth fell open as I tried to find a suitable response, my hand instinctively rushing to cradle the spot where my head was hit. I know what I had been doing wasn't smart but when Fandral said it aloud, it only made it sound all the worse. "I- I know," I murmured, avoiding looking directly into his eyes.

"You are lucky I was awake to come a save you. You do not know what is lurking out in the forest." He said, using a finger to poke my chest roughly. He seemed angry with me, which is a foreign thing. I don't think Fandral had ever been angry with me before now. He had always been nice, joking, and even flirty, but now he seemed like I had committed some terrible crime.

I quickly glanced over his shoulder, seeing the rest of the group sleeping soundly. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I croaked out, "I apologize, Fandral. I had not meant to wake you." He stared into my eyes, making me feel very uncomfortable under his steady gaze. Something was - off. His eyes weren't looking at me, but seemed to be looking through me - like I was made of air. He looked away and sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair before he mumbled, "It is alright."

I gave a curt nod, before walking around him, moving towards my forgotten bed. An uneasy feeling settled in the bottom of my stomach - twisting and turning and burning hot in my mind. Before I even took three steps, I felt a hand latch around my arm once more. I turned back to see Fandral, pulling me back towards him.

"Loki." He said lowly - almost a guttural growl. He leaned down, placing his lips next to my ear, "You owe me."

What? I looked up to him with a questioning glance as he smiled softly, releasing my arm from his grip.

"I saved your life. Now you must repay me." He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling our bodies together. I hadn't meant to gasp - and a burning flush filled my cheeks when I realized I had.

Fandral leaned down, his other hand harshly grabbing my chin, and forced his lips against mine. I felt my eyes widened - everything seemed to stop. He closed his eyes when he started to move his lips back and forth - his tongue darting out to lick my lips.

I froze in fear - the uneasy feeling in my stomach becoming almost unbearable. I pulled both my hands to his chest, pushing hard. His body separated off mine, falling to the ground. He looked up at me with wide eyes before I turned and ran to the campsite, quickly slipping under my blanket and shutting my eyes.

My lips tingled and my heart was fluttering all over again. I was breathing too heavily. I heard movement around me as Fandral returned to his own bed. He didn't disturb me as he lay down, and I turned away from him, keeping my eyes squeezed tightly shut. I forced myself to breath slowly as I attempted to fall asleep. It was no easy task. I could feel the man's gaze burning a hole into the back of my body.

Something is not right.