Well… I guess there is a new Princess in town. LOL

Also, sorry that the chapter is later than normal. Busy week.

Differences mentioned in this chapter: All of it.

Ariana stood next to Odin on a balcony, overlooking the marketplace and village at the base of the palace. She couldn't deny the beauty of Asgard. Despite the conversation about to take place, she couldn't help the calm stealing into her.

Odin said, "About making you the crowned princess…"

"I don't want to lead," she interrupted. "I don't even want to take over my father's business. Why make me the future queen when you know it isn't something that I would want?"

"It is because you don't want it that you were the perfect choice. Loki and Thor both have argued over who would take the throne. While Loki loves you greatly, I fear that he still desires the throne. Rather than make him the one in power, I have made that you. He will be King in name only."

"I still don't understand why you chose me. There are many people of the realm who feel the same as I do, but you didn't choose them."

"It was our conversation. You were correct. Thor would be driven to battle or do nothing, but Loki would debate with foreign royalty or do nothing."

"Loki would fight if he had to!" She gripped the railing until her knuckles turned white. "You know that, while he doesn't like it, he'd do what he has to for Asgard! For those he cares for!"

"True, but it wouldn't be without hesitation. I have been informed of your quick thinking on your missions on Midgard, and have witnessed how kind-hearted you are to the people of Asgard. You know that you can't hesitate when a battle takes place, but you try to find a peaceful solution where you can. It is what has made you so skilled at your recovery missions."

She shoved off the railing, pacing around as Odin watched. "That still leaves so many people to choose from! You didn't need to choose me! Making me a princess, sure, but the next to inherit the throne! Just tell me the plan, already, because this little game of Twenty Questions is getting old!"

"Because I already see you as my daughter." Odin sat on a stone bench. "With your betrothal to Loki, you would have gained the title of Princess upon marrying him. I only desired to place someone on the throne that would think of the people's best interests, not the interest of their image or for the sake of battle. I believe that someone is you, Ariana."

"As much of an honor as that is, Allfather, I do not want the throne."

"I understand the hesitation. But there is no other better for the role. You have every quality one needs to be a queen and leader."

Ariana stayed long after Odin left. She didn't see the qualities Odin saw. She looked over Asgard as if the scene before her held all the answers. She didn't notice Loki joining her until he wrapped his arms around her.

"My queen, my goddess, you seem troubled," he said, kissing her neck as he enticed her.

"Not anymore, my king," she flirted back.

"Uh-huh." He chuckled. "Every time I find you talking to Odin, it always leads to one of us feeling upset."

She bit her bottom lip, keeping a moan from escaping. "I'd rather not talk about it. I'd much rather…"

Loki turned her to face him, trapping her between him and the railing, kissing the other side of her neck, and pressing against her so that she felt his hardening bulge growing against her stomach. "I know, but if I am to care for you as you deserve, I need to know what's wrong." He lifted her onto the banister so that he rubbed against her dampening core. "Tell me, Ariana, or we stop here."

She moaned as he nipped just below her ear. "I tried to… mmhm… find out why Odin made me… the heir."

Loki pulled back, but pressed into her harder, earning him a gasp. "What did he say, my love?"

"Because I didn't want it, he gave it to me. That I was already a leader." She moved over him, making him growl. "That I'd try to find peace, but also be ready for battle if it's needed."

He smiled at her. "That was some advice he gave Thor and I when we were younger. If that's all you are worried about, there is nothing to fear. You will be a fantastic queen. You are also kind, generous, and smart. You empathize with others because you understand them on a level no other can, and when you can't, you try to listen to them so you can understand. You already lead a SHIELD team. You are already a queen, and I question every day why you chose me."

Ariana pulled him down to her, her love flowing into him as they kissed. "There was no choice, my king. All those qualities you say I have, you also have."

He looked over Asgard. "Not enough to be made king."

She made him look at her. "You try not to fight. It's a wonderful quality to have, Loki."

"But it's not enough to lead, is it?"

"Stop it, Lo. I know you'd be a wonderful king, but avoiding a fight isn't everything."

"Thor was his original choice over me. When I'd have kept peace, Thor would have wanted endless battle! Why am I…?"

"War only brings more heartache! That's why Thor wasn't chosen either!" She jumped down to the balcony floor and paced away from him. "For fuck's sake, Loki! This isn't about you or your insecurities! Hell, it isn't even about me! It's about the goddamn kingdom! What's best for it! I'm scared of failing, of being the worse thing to happen to Asgard, but you made it about how you feel like you're not enough! You are enough! More than enough! Especially for me!"

He stared at her. Her words shocked him. Even as she told him off, she made him feel more loved than he thought possible. She was right, he was making it about him when he wanted to make her feel better.

Ariana continued, taking a breath to calm down. "Loki, I don't want to be Queen of Asgard. I'm happiest just being your queen. I don't need any other title. Since Odin doesn't seem to want to change his mind, I need you with me. But if you can't support me or help calm me down when I panic…"

"Ariana…"

"If you can't see past yourself…" She straightened her back, looking implacable so that Loki knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind, nor could he deny that she was the perfect Queen for Asgard, "then perhaps we need to put the wedding on hold. I will sleep in my own room tonight."

"Love, please," he pleaded, needing to at least try.

"No, Loki! This just showed me that, right now, I can't always rely on you to be there when I need you. It's one thing if you disagreed with a decision. Your parents argue over that all the time, and I know mine do. But once again, you have chosen yourself over everything else." She looked at her bare finger. "If I had a ring, I'd return it to you, Loki."

He tried to go to her, but she backed away, closer to the door. He couldn't believe he had sabotaged the one good thing in life in the heat of the moment. Loki thought he had moved past the insecurities, but when she needed to be reassured and shown she was the best choice to lead Asgard, he was right back to being the childish prince who felt he wasn't good enough for anyone.

Still, he had to try one last time to talk to her by saying, "Darling, I never…"

Ariana turned around so he wouldn't see her tears as she said, "I clearly need to work out everything on my own. If this is right for me and for Asgard, or not. So, please, just go so I can decide my fate all on my own."

"Ariana, please, don't send me away." He had tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe he had pushed her so far away that she felt she couldn't rely on him. "I messed up but I didn't…"

"GO!" She gripped the railing until her knuckles turned white and her tears fell onto the stone under them.

He left, taking one last look at the woman he loved before heading into the palace. Ariana forced her legs to hold her, the pain in her making them shaky. She felt arms on her shoulders and heard a soft voice shushing her as they sat on the ground as Ariana sobbed on a woman's shoulder.

"Talk to me, dear," Frigga said. "Tell me what troubles you."

When she could breathe again, Ariana told her everything. It hurt just as much retelling it as it was hearing Loki say it. Yet, Frigga didn't rage at her for being too harsh, nor did she say that Loki was in the wrong.

"I see," Frigga said. "Loki feels he is no longer worthy of you, but you already informed him of how wrong he was there. Now, it's your turn to listen to him. Did you let him explain why he was overwhelmed by his insecurities?"

Ariana gasped, pulling back from Frigga and answering, "No… no, I didn't. I didn't give him a chance. He tried." Ariana stood up. "I screwed up. I hurt him this time. I need to…"

Frigga nodded. Ariana ran throughout the palace, looking for Loki. When she got to the garden, she didn't look in the conventional places, where anyone could walk upon Loki. She looked at every hidden cranny until she found a crack in a stone wall. Squeezing through, she found an area she had yet to see. It was the most beautiful place Ariana had seen in Asgard to date.

She walked around slowly, taking in the sights, until she heard, "Ariana?"

She turned around and saw Loki. A fresh wave of tears came as she ran to him and hugged him, saying, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Lo."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, love. I should have…"

"I didn't give you a chance to explain why you felt the way you did. You listened to me, but I didn't do the same for you." She looked up at him. "I should have before instead of shutting down. I only heard your words, but now, I'm listening to what's behind them. So please, talk to me, Lo."

He led her to a bench and sat her down. "You are so amazing and now, have everything I once strived to have. You got it without trying." She cupped his cheek, looking up at him patiently as he looked at her, worry in his eyes. "It made me wonder, was I good enough to stand beside you as you led Asgard? Because, little love, there is no one more deserving than you to be Queen of Asgard or any of the nine realms. But everything I have done, what I am… I'm nothing compared to you."

She kissed him. "Loki, you are everything. Without you, I wouldn't even be here right now. Never doubt what you mean to everyone, especially me. If no one else sees how amazing you are, my king, I always will."

He held her to him, not wanting her to see the tears threatening to fall. "Even when you are upset with me?"

She chuckled, "It doesn't matter how pissed I get, I will always see how wonderful you are." She pulled back to look into his beautiful eyes. "Because, Loki, ever since meeting you, my world has been more magical, more spectacular, more… everything. And it's all thanks to you, my God of Mischief."

"And you have done that for me and more, my Goddess of the Eternal Spark."

They kissed each other softly. But it soon grew from the hunger in both of them. She climbed into his lap, straddling him and rubbing her dampening core over him as he hardened. It was as if there had been no argument. Heat and passion rose. He pulled the skirt of her dress up, bunching it at her waist before pulling the top down to expose her breasts to his hungry eyes and watering mouth. She pulled his shirt off and released him from the confines of his pants. He ripped her panties off, not wanting them in the way as he impaled her on him.

She threw back her head, uncaring that they were outside. His mouth closed around her hard nipple as he pinched and tugged on the other. He lavished each breast equally, pounding into her roughly. She held him to her, her juices free-flowing around him. She felt pressure building as her vision began to blurring. She chanted his name as she came closer and closer to the edge, reaching for it even.

"Wait for me, my queen," Loki ordered against the creamy swell of her breast.

"I-I can't!" she gasped out.

"You can, Ariana. You can and will."

She tried to hold it back. The look of concentration on her face made him proud. "Good girl." She clenched around him. He chuckled. "Do you like being called my good girl?"

"Yes, my king!"

He felt his own release coming. "Then be a good girl and cum for me, my queen."

She screamed out his name as she felt the tension in her pop and ecstasy filled her. Jet after jet painted her quivering walls. She laid her head on his shoulder, both of them trying to catch their breaths. He slowly pulled out of her, conjuring up a cloth to clean her. She shuddered, fresh waves rocking her. With a wave of his hand, their clothes were righted and they sat on the bench, listening to the sounds of the garden around them in peace. She laid a blanket on the soft grass with her own magic and they moved to lay on it as sleep overtook them.

It was nearly lunchtime before they awoke, Thor's voice calling them from over the wall separating their secret haven from the rest of the royal gardens.

"Before we join the others," Loki said as they neared the crack, "you mentioned not having a ring."

She turned back and saw him on one knee. She gasped, tears forming as she saw the green gold ring set with electric blue diamonds. Tears formed in her large eyes as she smiled while biting her bottom lip.

"I should have carried this with me at all times since meeting you," he said. "Because, since the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. It took very little time for me to know that I loved you with everything in me. That has only grown as time went on. You, Ariana, saw the man behind the God, and no one else took the time. You risked yourself for me over and over, and there will never be a time that I will be able to pay that debt. So, properly this time, I ask you to continue this journey with me, but as my queen and wife. Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Loki! I million times, yes!"

He got up and kissed her after placing the ring on her finger. He twirled her around as if it were the first time she agreed to share her life with his. When they broke apart, they had their foreheads together, wanting this moment, this proposal to never end.

However, Thor's voice broke them out of their happy bubble, sound closer. They exited their private garden, smiles plastered on their faces.