Days faded to weeks faded to months. Nancy had no idea how long she'd been on Asgard. She'd tried to keep track, to journal every day, but sometimes it simply wasn't possible. But, with the gaps in her notebook came gaps in her internal calendar. So she gave up trying. She only journaled when she felt like it, instead turning her attention to other matters.

Weeks ago, she had successfully translated the Asgardian alphabet. Well, at least she thought she had. There were many more letters than the twenty-six she was used to. Strange symbols with a strange rhythm and order. To the best of her ability, she copied out all she remembered from different relics and languages of Earth, hoping to make a few matches here and there.

On this particular day, Nancy had started her morning early. While Loki attended his duties – he hardly paid her any sort of attention anymore – she expanded her research to include other alien languages. Perhaps they would hold the key to cracking the cipher that was the Asgardian written language. Table upon table in the library were scattered with various books and translations. Old English, Old Norse, Asgardian, as well as any language that looked particularly ancient were all classified and given their own table. The answer must be here somewhere, among the books.

Twelve hours she'd been at it. Twelve tireless hours, classifying and sorting. Although her body grew tired, her mind remained as sharp as ever. Finally, finally, she was able to achieve the rush she loved. The knowledge and discovery she adored. The sun neared the horizon, yet she continued.


/


With a loud crash and a whoosh of air, the library doors flew open. Loki stopped in his tracks to stare at the various tables and messes. Books everywhere, papers strewn throughout. A pencil in his path and an inkwell overturned on another table. It was a miracle she hadn't overturned the library shelves. His jaw tightened as he surveyed them, then his pet, smack dab in the middle of them. Had she no idea what a haven should look like? Had she no respect for his sanctuary?

Nancy froze when she heard the doors slam back against the walls. Only one man would be furious enough to do such a thing. She carefully set her pen down on a nearby stack of papers and slowly turned to face him. "I know how this looks," she whispered hesitantly, pressing herself back against the table, "But I was going to clean it."

Loki took a single step into the room, still surveying the damage. He could hardly believe his eyes. How did one create such a mess in the first place? She knew what this library meant to him, how the organization and peace calmed him. Now, this chaos! "This is how you spend the time apart from me?"

She moved to put the table between them, not that it would protect her much. "It's research. Years' worth of my research, finally put to use and realized. This is my life's work! I'm finally able to translate the un-translatable!"

He shifted his jaw muscles, trying desperately not to fist his hands at his sides. His library, his sanctuary, ruined. "Imagine my surprise when I returned to my chambers early to find my newest and least obedient pet missing." He plucked at a paper as he passed a table. "I thought to myself, there is only one place she could be." He stopped just long enough to shove a pile of papers off the edge of a table. They clattered to the floor with a loud rustle. "Had better be. And then, I find this."

Nancy knelt at his feet, carefully picking up her papers. How could he not see what this meant to her? She thought he'd be proud of the accomplishments she'd made. Why couldn't he ever let her have her little victories? "Please don't do this." she begged, her voice still barely above a whisper, "This is all I've ever worked for. All these days and hours of research."

"Why, Nancy? Why leave the suite to soil my library?" He settled a hand on top of another stack of papers, set to send them flying, as well. "And I suggest you choose your answer carefully."

She glanced to his hand, considering what he'd do next. In all likelihood, he'd burn them. Burn every one of them. She clutched the papers in her hands to her chest as if to protect them. "Do you remember when I told you knowledge was more important to me than life itself?" She refused to make eye-contact with him. She wouldn't even look up at him. "This library is the treasure-trove of knowledge. I only wanted to know. Please, master. Have mercy."

He pushed the pile to the floor and took another step toward her. "You could have asked. Could have used the books provided in the suite, but your defiance demanded you leave. Is this not so?"

"No, master. I would never deliberately disobey you." Nancy scrambled back, away from him. Once she was certain she had the chance, she stood and backed away more. "Please. Please, I wasn't trying to disobey. There's more space in here. More resources. More languages."

Step by dangerous step, he started toward her. Rage boiled inside him and overflowed. "Why did you not ASK?!"

"Because I can't work with you in here!" Nancy dodged a bookshelf and moved to put a wooden ladder between them. Anything to keep him away from her. "You distract me."

"Then you request leave to use my library while I attend my duties." His footsteps quickened ever so slightly, moving through the tables to reach her. His gaze never wavered. She would get this through her thick skull. This time, she would listen to what he had to say.

"I wanted to surprise you." Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "To speak to you in your own language one night, once I got good at it." In one swift move, she dodged him again and turned another corner… only to find a bookshelf directly in her path. She turned and stared at him, wide eyed. "Please, master." she begged again, "Please. Mercy."

The distance substantially narrowed, Loki maneuvered until he backed her toward a tall shelf full of books. "I should punish you, but first allow me a request. Tell me why I distract you, pet."

Nancy felt the wall of books behind her. There was nowhere for her to run or hide. She cowered back against the shelf and braced herself for him to strike. "Because you always want to know what I'm doing." She closed her eyes tightly and turned her face away from him. "What I'm writing. You're always judging me and I don't like it."

"Not judging. Overseeing. I told you once this is my opportunity to study you." Aware of every nuance and motion, Loki placed one hand against the book by her head. He slowly brought the other up to trace her face. Her beautiful, perfect face. "You said, once, that I would not be your first." He allowed his gaze to meet hers, expecting acknowledgment or denial of the fact he had just stated.

At his soft touch, Nancy relaxed a bit and opened her eyes. She gazed at him like a frightened deer. "Yes. Just a couple agents from work. I… I was drunk both times. I never would've done it otherwise. Please, master, don't hurt me. I wanted our first time to be nice."

"Oh, that will not be your punishment. No, no, no. That was merely for my own curiosity." He removed his finger from her chin to rest it by her shoulder, successfully pinning her against the shelf. There was no means of escape now.

Her whole body trembled against him. "Then what are you going to do?"

"I have half a mind to lock you in the dungeons again, but it would only keep you from my displeasure. You will begin by cleaning this mess." He leaned closer to push himself back, and stepped aside so she could obey him. In his anger, she would know he meant immediately.

"Yes, sir." Nancy quickly moved to clear off the tables. She piled all the papers on the front table, where she could keep an eye on them. The books she returned to a small, wooden cart. She'd have to go through them later. It would take too long to return them all right now. Finally, she retrieved a rag and cleaned the spilled ink as best she could. Covered in ink and dust, she returned to Loki's side. "There. What else?"

"Only apples for the next week." He turned for the door, keeping his back to her, expecting her to follow. She should always follow when he was in such a dour mood. It would serve to her best interests. "I will have company tonight. You will not be allowed your usual resting place... unless you want a show." He smirked, knowing this punishment would be the worst he had doled. Ever. Something told him not to do it, but another part of him sought revenge for the ruination of his inner sanctum.

Nancy froze. He would have company? A woman. He was going to sleep with another woman tonight. He no longer wanted her. It had all been a lie. A great, beautiful lie meant to pull her in. But she'd lost her chance. So he'd moved on. He was completely, heartlessly rejecting her. Casting her down into the dust and the recesses of his mind. It all happened too soon.

"But…" Her mouth was suddenly dry, her legs as heavy as lead. She followed only out of obedience. "Then… where will I sleep?"

"The washroom. I will provide a pillow, but no blankets tonight."

"Why don't you just send me back to the dungeon?!" she spat, tears springing to her eyes once again.

He turned a hall and folded his hands behind himself so he didn't lash out at something. His boots clicked furiously against the stone floors. "Punishment, pet. Not a negotiation. Next time you will think twice before you disobey."

How dare he? He was such a pompous, arrogant, self-seeking bastard! How could he do this to her? Pull her in and make her love him, then toss her away as if the past months never happened? "I'm not an animal!" she screamed, the tears finally flowing.

"No. But you put yourself in this position. You will do well to remember this is avoidable in the future."

"Oh, so then you're punishing me for reading?" She crossed her arms and swiped angrily at her tears. Her stupid, weak tears. She used to be stronger than this. Brought to her knees by a crumbling lie.

"No, not for reading. For leaving without permission. For refusing to ask. For cluttering my sanctuary." His pace increased as his agitation increased. Surely she saw what she had done. Surely she knew she had disobeyed in the most unforgivable way. He had been lenient, really. If she could not understand his anger, she was not the woman he thought her.

Nancy quickly caught up to him and slammed a hand against his chest, stopping him. "I did ask. One month ago, I asked if I could go to the library while you were away. You said I could."

"I did not, however, give you permission to strew your things about or not inform anyone of your whereabouts. Not even a note, pet?"

"What is this collar for, then?!" she roared at him, gripping the damned thing, "You said it would show you where I am. That's my note. You knew where I was."

So much for self-control. She should know better than to push the boundaries of his forgiveness. Rage boiling, Loki slammed a fist into a nearby pillar. The stone dented and a piece crumbled to the floor. "Defiance! All I hear is one excuse after another. Disobedience and obstinacy."

"Definition of humanity!" she screamed in his face, "We're all like this! You don't want voiced opinions, don't kidnap an American!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Loki spun on her and gripped her throat in one hand. The soft, supple flesh rippled under his touch, as though his anger had seeped through to touch her. "Speak again, breathe another disobedient word, and I assure you I will do far worse than this punishment."

Go to hell. Nancy didn't say a word.

He removed his hand from her throat, one slender finger at a time. With a deep breath, he tried to control his rage and turned to move on toward his chambers. Would he never be able to hold down his emotional outbursts?

"I hope one day your burn in the deepest, darkest pit the universe has to offer, you selfish bastard."

That was it. The last straw. How could one small woman even possess such insolence within her? How had she not spent every last ounce of it by now? No, he would not stand for this outright disdain for all he stood for and all he did. He spun back around and latched a hand around her arm. "Wish all you want, but you belong to me. You agreed to my terms and you will abide by them."

"Well, I take back my agreement." Nancy yanked at her arm, but his grip was too strong. "I will never belong to you."

A sinister, breathy laugh forced its way from his throat. Her question was too ridiculous to take seriously. She knew darkness simmered within him. Well, tonight she would find out how dark he could be. "It is too late for that. But, if you persist in this line of obstinacy, I would burn your precious papers first. I would move on from there."

"You don't scare me."

"Don't I?" It took little effort to drag her into his chambers behind him. As if pushed by some unseen force, the doors closed and locked with a click. He never laid a hand on them. He continued dragging his pet, through his room toward the door he wished. "I will have to remedy this." He thrust her into the washroom, sure to push her hard enough to keep her off balance until he could close the door. And he locked it, a green shimmer highlighting the edges of the door.

Nancy fell into the washbasin, smacking her forehead on it. She gripped its sides and righted herself, noticing for a brief moment the gash on her forehead. It looked so similar to the one she'd received on the helicarrier.

"Is that all you've got?" she screamed, running to the locked door. When it wouldn't budge, she slammed her fists into it. "What if I decide to drown myself? You don't own me! You'll never own me!"

Oh, please. How petty could she possibly be? Loki rolled his eyes at her pathetic antics. Even so, she made a good point. He ensured the water would never run for her with a simple flick of his wrist. The pipes would hold it in or channel it elsewhere.

With a sigh, Loki sank onto his bed to wait. To wait for his pet to calm herself as she so desperately needed to do. And to wait for his newest guest to arrive. He smiled. Tonight would not be a waste, after all. He would have something he wanted, even if it was not his pet's obedience. He would find his own pleasure, and his pet could rot for all he cared. He was sick and tired of her screaming at him, berating him for rules that had stood as long as the foundations of her planet.

When he got tired enough of her frantic, pathetic, angry screams, Loki took his time soundproofing the door. Each stitch of magic drowned out her incessant tantrum. One way only. He wanted this to be punishment, not solitary. No matter how hard she pounded or screamed, he would finally be unable to hear her. She, however, would be perfectly able to hear through the wooden door. He let the maniacal smirk play on his face. Too long he had been lenient. Far too long.


/


"You monster!" Nancy sobbed, exhausted, as she sank to her knees. She pounded once more on the door, her arm weak from fighting. "I loved you. You hear me? I loved you! But you could never love a pet, could you? You bastard!" Her sobs rocked her body, her wail deafening. But it was all in vain. Loki couldn't hear her.


/


After much waiting, Loki finally heard the satisfactorily timid knock on his chamber door. He smiled. As usual, she had perfect timing. The games began.

Loki answered the door himself and looked out at the petite blonde woman he had begun to woo at dinner. Well, that's what he told himself. In honesty, he found her just a little naïve when it came to a man's desires and that was something he found completely endearing about her. He had begun his advances days earlier, vetting her for his own personal pleasure and ensuring she would not balk at his advances. She had tried to, of course, at the beginning. But no woman could rightfully say no to their king, could they?

He smiled at her, a sincerity in it he felt with only one other. He bit back the scowl and swept an arm behind himself. "Oh, Maija, do come in."

Maija – beautiful, golden-haired Maija – did as he requested, though he read the timidity, bashfulness, and slight fear in her eyes. "I... I do not think tea in the king's quarters unchaperoned is highly advisable," she managed to squeak out. The tension in her posture spoke more than the nervousness in her voice. She was afraid.

He would most certainly have to remedy that. He laughed lightly and shut the door. "For my purposes, it is." His touch was gentle and soothing as he steered her to a chair and settled her in. A service had already been sent with tea and finger foods. He served Maija himself. Servants need not see such intimate moments as this. Loki settled in next to her on a chair of his own and didn't bother to pour himself any tea or take any food from the tray. That was not why he was here.


/


Nancy sat upright when she heard soft murmuring from the bedroom. How could he? Had she meant nothing to him? All along, were all his actions lies? She pressed her ear to the door and listened intently. The guest had arrived.


/


"I could not take my eyes from you this evening." With earnest tenderness, Loki tucked her hair behind her shoulders. She usually wore it over them, cowering shyly from the world around her. But he saw her, even when no one else had. He saw the beauty beneath, the shy creature no one took a second look at.

His pet had never been like this, quiet and demure. She had never truly taken him as he was, or listened past his rules to see the meaning. He had thought she might, once, but her outburst today had only proved she could never love him. Not in the way he wanted so desperately to love her. Loki shoved all thoughts of her to the back of his mind. Not now. He wouldn't think of her now.

Maija giggled nervously and took a sip of her tea. She avoided eye contact altogether.

So Loki tried a more obvious tactic, hoping to perhaps draw a word or two from the girl's lips. "Your dress is..." He eyed it up and then back down. Yards of silver and blue that hugged her curves in all the right ways. He sighed in adoration. "...positively ravishing." In an attempt to make his intentions quite clear, Loki dropped to his knees beside the arm of her chair. "As is its mistress."


/


Nancy sobbed again and stood to kick at the door. How many times had he spoke the same words to her? She fell right into his trap, over and over again. It was all a game. Only a game. She'd been so naïve to think he loved her.

She pounded furiously on the door, demanding to be heard. Slammed her body against it. Anything to get his attention. "Is this how you repay me?" she sobbed, "I stayed with you! I visited you! I loved you when no one else would even want to! Listen to me! Loki! Loki!" But her words went unheard.


/


"Thank you, your majesty." Maija looked the other way and shifted nervously again.

Such modesty and naïveté. Loki chuckled and brushed her hair farther from her pristine porcelain neck. "You've not played privy to a king's desires, have you?"

"N-no, majesty."

Good, Loki thought to himself. He leaned closer, breathing in her sweet scent. "I swear I shall not harm you." His own heartbeat speeding up, Loki leaned in and kissed her neck, near her collarbone. One of the most sensitive areas, he had found. For a moment, he wished it was Nancy under his touch, responding to his ministrations. Would she react as this girl did now? Or would she merely bat him away, demanding to be left alone. As she always did.

Maija gasped in surprise and Loki felt her move a bit. A clatter signified she had set her tea back on the service before she dropped it. He smiled to himself and kissed at the joint between her neck and shoulder.


/


Nancy leaned against the door to steady herself. The room was spinning and she felt as if she would faint. "I love you." she whispered, over and over again, "I still love you."


/


Like a good girl, Maija didn't resist Loki. He kissed up her neck, down her jaw, and finally claimed her mouth, and she did nothing but lean into his embrace. She shook, but she leaned into him. She was soft under his touch, and entirely feminine. Even though she feared, Loki felt certain he could dissuade it. He smiled again. He rested his hands on her waist and waited until she relaxed into the touch. His ministrations to her lips and neck never ceased.

"You are most beautiful," he whispered to her, as he wrapped his arms farther around her.

Maija's breath hitched in her throat, then started again.

Loki stood and pulled her to him, slowly backing toward the bed. He didn't want his skitterish little lamb running away, so he never ceased his kisses. "I do swear I will be gentle," he promised. For once, he meant every word. He planned to be very gentle with her, so as not to break her. Someone so porcelain should not be shattered so carelessly.

Nancy had never broken, not once after all the times he had tried. She only pushed him away and never let him in. Not like this. Not ever. He wouldn't allow himself to regret this, not after all the abuse he had suffered at Nancy's hands in hopes she would one day be this pliable under his touch. She wasn't porcelain, and she wasn't all finery and softness. She had hard edges, edges that cut the closer he tried to come. He should never have let her see inside of him.

When Maija stilled as they approached the bed, he leaned to hold her tighter and whisper one more thing. "I shall pay close attention only to your pleasure, my lady. Allow me to tend to you as you should be tended."


/


And then there was silence. Silence broken by the occasional moan. Nancy knew what they were doing.

She stumbled over to the basin, clutching it for support. Her head swam. How could he do this to her? Her eyes rose to meet her reflection. To land on the golden collar. Her collar. "I'm not a pet." She whispered.

In an instant, the image changed. She wore the collar no longer, but instead her blue suit. Her hair was swept up into a bun at the back of her skull. Her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge hung from her front pocket, her notebook tucked neatly under one arm.

Nancy stared at the image. Gaped at it. An image she'd grown so used to seeing. Her own self. Her own reflection. The reflection of who she was, who she knew herself to be.

But then it changed again. The image faded back to reveal her as she really was. Golden collar, green dress. Pet.

An inhuman scream pierced the air. Nancy's fist made contact with the mirror, shattering the image into hundreds of broken, fragmented pieces. As she pulled her hand away, blood already dripping to the smooth, golden floor, one single shard clattered into the basin. It was long and sharp, like a dagger.

Nancy picked it up and turned it over in her hand, the sharp ridges slicing her palm. She brought it up to her neck and slipped it under her collar. She would be free of his rule. Or die trying.


/


A/N: For the record, just because Loki's being an idiot and punishing everyone involved in this chapter including himself, do not think that the authors of this fic agree with his actions. He acted on his own on this one and we are both very disappointed in him. It's okay, guys. This is not the end. Keep waiting for more updates.