Next morning, I wake up feeling refreshed. I slept deeply, no dreams, much to my relief. I get up and quickly slip on a black t-shirt and a pair of boot-cut jeans, and put on the tennis shoes I found under my bed yesterday. After making my bed and putting my hair in a high ponytail, I exit the room and head for the kitchen. My nose leads the way, detecting delectable smells of sausage, eggs, and waffles. I frown in disappointment as I enter the main area, though. The line has already formed, and is just as long as yesterday's. My stomach growls, and I wince, placing a hand on my abdomen. Note to self: Wake up early for breakfast.

Sighing, I go to get in line. But as I cross the main area towards the back of the line, I hear someone yelling, and I stop, looking towards the voice.

"Girl! You! Yes, you! Get in here and help me!" Agnes shouts from the kitchen. Half of the people in the room turn to look at me, and I feel like yelling in frustration. Why me?! But I instead make my way calmly to the kitchen door. Stepping inside, I am pleased to find the temperature more bearable than last night. I tie on an apron, step up to the counter/half-wall, and begin helping Agnes serve the delicious-looking breakfast to Greenhorn's henchmen. Greenhorn...oh yes. That's a good one.

For some reason, breakfast doesn't take nearly as long to serve as supper last night. Or maybe time sped up in my favor. Who knows in a crazy world like this one? Anyway, once the line ends, I quickly make myself a plate and sit down to eat before I can be summoned to do dishes or—

"Girl, what's your name?"

I sigh. How does she keep interrupting my thoughts? Is she some kind of telepath? "Vikki," I respond.

"Vikki, take this tray to the king."

I barely bite back a groan. "Why can't you? I'm trying to-"

"Because I have to clean up the breakfast mess. Here, get going. He doesn't like to be kept waiting." Agnes hands me a tray filled with sausages, eggs, waffles, and a tiny jar of syrup. I do a mental facepalm. How do I always get dragged into these kinds of things?!

Sighing, I stand and take the tray from her, then exit the kitchen and make my way towards Loki's room. The guards at the entrance to the hallway don't stop me this time, seeing my apron and tray of food, and probably remembering me from last night. "It's three doors down," one of them says unneccessarily. I nod my thanks anyway, walk down the hallway, and stop outside the third door, taking a steadying breath. Here we go again...

I raise my hand to knock, but before I can, the door opens. Loki and I look at each other in surprise.

"Hi again, Lo- your highness," I say. I gesture to the tray of food with a rueful half-smile. "I'm sure you can guess what happened to me this morning. Again." Loki smirks.

"Set it on the table. I'll come back for it later." He steps back and holds the door open for me. I walk in and set the tray down gently, then follow Loki out, closing the door behind me. I smile at him, trying to ignore my inexplicably hammering heart, and turn, about to walk off down the hallway. But he stops me with a question.

"Have you decided on a plan of escape?"

My eyes widen in shock, and I spin back around. Did he just...?! "Wha...what!?"

Loki smirks at me, and I can feel annoyance rising in me again. "I think you heard me, Victoria."

He knows. I grit my teeth in frustration. Blast him and his observation skills. I should have been more careful!

"What do you want?" I ask, knowing I'm defeated. For now.

Loki meets my eyes, a dangerous glint in his blue ones. "You said you would help me. I have a job for you."

I immediately stiffen, holding up a hand. "Before you go any further, I'm telling you right now that I will not kill anyone. End of story." I glare at him, knowing he probably won't like that, but I don't care. I refuse to take life unless absolutely necessary.

Loki's steps toward me, icy blue eyes flashing angrily. His voice is dangerously quiet. "You will do exactly as I say, mortal, or you will pay the price."

I frown, trying not to let his threat affect me. Especially since I know he means every word of it. "What do you want me to do?" I ask tightly after glaring for a moment. Loki's expression eases slightly in triumph. I'll let him think that for now...

"You are going to accompany me to Germany."

"What?!"

Loki smirks at my outburst. "Did I interrupt your escape plans, Victoria?"

I have never wanted to punch that arrogant look off his face so badly.

"Why, exactly, do you want me to come to Germany?" Thankfully I manage to keep a civil tongue in my head, even if I do sound rather angry.

"I need to get into a gala, and I need to look the part. You will be my partner in the operation."

I furrow my brows. "In other words, you need a date so no one thinks you're trying to take over the world when you walk into a gala all by yourself."

"More or less."

"And why me?"

"Can't have you escaping while I'm gone, now can I?" Loki gives me an infuriating smile.

I huff in annoyance, crossing my arms. "I can't even control my powers. Why do you care if I escape? What use am I?"

"You know about my plans." Oh...right. "And you seemed to be controlling your power quite well in your room yesterday."

I glare at him. "I knew you were watching me. Don't you know what privacy is?"

Loki ignores the question. "You could use some practice, however. Meet me here once you've eaten, and I will help you learn to control your powers."

I stare at him. "First, how did you know I haven't eaten? And second, why do you care if I can control my powers?"

"I didn't know you hadn't eaten, I guessed," he replies. "And your power can be very useful to me, once perfected."

I think about it for a moment. Well, I do need to learn to control it. I don't want to freak people out by accidentally disappearing at random times...and he's right, my power can be very useful. I can use this to my advantage.

I nod with a sigh. "Fine." I spin on my heel and walk down the hallway back towards the kitchen. "I'll be back in an hour, your royal highness," I throw over my shoulder, hoping that wasn't too disrespectful. Hearing nothing in return, I make my way back to the kitchen. Agnes is still cleaning up, so I grab my now-cold plate of food and go into the main area to find somewhere private to eat. I need to think.

I find a secluded area where I can easily watch the goings-on without being noticed, and sit down to eat. Ok. I shovel a bite of syrup-drenched waffle in my mouth. So I'm busted. Loki knows I was planning on escaping, which means I need to work on my acting skills. Eggs begin to disappear rapidly off my plate as I consider what I need to do next. I'm going to the gala as his date, which means I won't be able to escape until the Avengers have captured him, because he'll be watching the entire time. I stick an entire sausage in my mouth thoughtfully. I've basically got three options. If Barton brings me back here after Loki gets captured, I can go ahead with my original plan, and escape when he leaves to get Loki back. Another sausage vanishes. I could also try to disappear into the crowd when Loki grabs that guy and gets the hologram of his eyeball, but that's a little more risky. Loki will probably be expecting that, actually. The rest of my waffle disappears. I'm starting to feel much better now. My last option is to escape while the Avengers keep Loki busy.

I sit in silence, devouring the rest of my food thoughtfully. I don't really know how the night of the gala will go, so I'll just have to improvise as it happens, roll with the punches. If Loki has it arranged to bring me back here immediately, it's probably best to not resist and just go with my original plan. But if I'm still with him during the distraction, I'll have to escape while he's letting himself get captured. I just hope my escape attempt succeeds. Because if not, I don't know what they'll do to me...

I sigh and rub my forehead. If I ever get home, I'll never go near an unfinished experiment again.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for responding to my questions! Your comments make me smile every time :)

AuthorsDream, signing off.