It was another long day of princessing and Maisy wanted one of two things - or both if she could manage: time alone with her husband or a cold beer. Truth be told, she hated the taste of beer, but seeing as she now knew she could get something that tasted of Midgard from the Valkyrie's Wings she wanted one. But she felt she'd probably get yelled at by someone if she tried to go herself, so the husband was a necessary find.

She checked their rooms, she checked the library, she even checked Thor's room, though the older prince wasn't home. There wasn't any sign of Loki and Maisy was getting grouchy with her lack of results. She wished she had a gal pal that she could go grab a drink with, but there was no way she was taking Linn to a bar, and Sif seemed like the sort to report illegal activities and Maisy didn't want to get Caxton in trouble for smuggling. Lady Skadi seemed like she'd be a fun one to go to the tavern with, but Maisy had no idea how to contact her and she was afraid it might be weird for her to ask someone she'd only met once to go out for a drink.

"Ugh, I miss Lauren," Maisy muttered as she checked more places across the palace in search of Loki. Lauren had been her go to drinking buddy on earth. They weren't the greatest of friends, but they always managed to have a fun time together and look out for each other. She'd been the one to throw up on a guy the last time Maisy had been to a Midgardian bar. But moving to an alien planet meant that anyone who wasn't on BFF level kind of got lost. Maisy had her number if she was ever on earth again, but she doubted she'd contact Lauren any time soon. Or Stephanie. Or Audrey. Or Jen. No one was a close enough friend for Maisy to just be able to casually call them up and hang out.

Not that they would have helped in her current situation anyway. She needed some Asgardian friends (who were of legal drinking age) if she wanted to have a girls' night out in Asgard. And if she was being honest with herself, she needed some companions soon.

Loki was wonderful and Maisy loved almost every moment she spent with him, but sometimes she just wanted someone to talk to and complain about Loki with. She couldn't complain about Loki to Loki. He'd get all prickly and then they'd argue. Still, right now he'd be better than no one.

"Helloooo?" She called into Queen Frigga's old laboratory, "Loki?"

There was no response.

"Why does this palace have to be so freaking big?" Maisy muttered to herself as she moved on. She asked a nearby guard for help finding the stables, but Loki wasn't there either. Or in the gardens. Or in the Great Hall. Or even with Odin (she'd found that out the hard way when she'd gone into the king's study and found him arguing with some lord and they'd both stopped and stared at her until she quickly ran away). The second prince of Asgard was nowhere to be found and Maisy would have been worried if it wasn't such a huge palace. There were a million places he could be and a million things he could be doing.

"Well, fine then," she sighed and went to the training area instead, knowing Lady Sif would be there. Even if Sif wasn't the best person to invite to a shady bar, Maisy could at least ask her if she knew if Skadi was available for the evening.

"Maisy," Sif greeted, breathing heavily as she destroyed a practice dummy, "Here to spar?"

"I was wondering if-"

"I don't know where your husband is if that's what you want to know."

"Uh, no, but how did you know I was looking for him?"

"Because you are not with him and you two are seldom apart these days," Sif chuckled and then sheathed her sword, "Hopefully he is not off getting into trouble… or rather, hopefully he is. I'd like a good excuse to sock him in the nose."

"It's so weird," Maisy said, forgetting Skadi for the moment, "I can't find him anywhere. And he left before I woke up this morning so I don't even know where he was supposed to be today."

"Have you tried the stables?"

"Yes."

"Library?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps there truly is cause for concern," Sif said, "It is rare that he spends much of his free time elsewhere."

"You think I should be worried?"

"It is a big palace. Perhaps he simply wanted some time to himself. If he does not come home tonight tell the guards and then we will worry about him."

"Okay," Maisy sighed and then remembered her reason for stopping by, "You wouldn't happen to know if Lady Skadi is still around, would you?"

"Sadly, the only sane noblewoman in all of Asgard left for the mountains this morning. Why?"

"No reason. Just curious."

"If you are looking for someone to have a bit of fun with," Sif brushed her hair out of her eyes, "I myself am too busy training - there are said to be riots in Vanaheim again - but I know someone who might want to accompany you for a bit."

"Oh?"

"Fandral always needs a wingman, or wingwoman as it were. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you took him out and helped him woo some poor unfortunate girl."

"Ha. I'll ask him," Maisy said goodbye to Sif and went to Find one third of the Warriors Three to see if he'd be interested in going to the Valkyrie's Wings with her.

"Princess," Caxton greeted quietly, looking more nervous than he had when Loki had been with Maisy, "What brings you to my humble tavern? And with a different man than our old prince?"

"I was just hoping for a drink," Maisy smiled, "And Loki couldn't come tonight so I brought a friend with me."

"And do not go spreading any rumors," Fandral said, "I am not interested in the princess romantically in the least! No offense Maisy, but I'm smart enough to stay away from you in that regard."

"None taken."

"I know you," Caxton narrowed his eyes, "You're one of them Warriors Three, ain't you?"

"Perhaps I am, what of it?"

"Hey, as long as you pay and you keep your mouth shut about some of the less legal activities here you could be Odin himself and I wouldn't care," the barkeep put his hands up peaceably, but something about his voice and the way he was acting made Maisy nervous. Maybe coming here without Loki had been a dumb idea.

She'd just wanted to prove to herself that she could be independant in her new homeland. Even if she was a princess on an alien planet, she still wanted to show that she could do things for herself.

"What can I get you two? Something Midgardian for the lady, I suppose?"

"I'll have whatever passes for decent mead around this place," Fandral said and then elbowed Maisy.

"Huh? Oh, um," she wasn't so sure she wanted to addle her senses now that she was feeling uneasy, "You said you were out of soda last time. Did you get anymore in by chance?"

"Really?" Caxton looked at her disbelievingly, "You want soda pop at a bar?"

"If you don't have any I can just go."

"No, no," he shook his head, "I have some called Dur Pepper-"

"Uh, it's pronounced Doctor Pepper."

"That's an English 'D' and an English 'R'. There's no sign of the 'octo' part that's supposed to go in between."

"Abbreviations are weird."

"Right. So we've got your medical peppers - don't taste a thing like pepper by the way. And we got something called Mmmm tuh nnn Dew."

"Mountain Dew."

"Hold on, hold on," Caxton slammed a palm on the bar, "How'd you get that?!"

"It's just an abbreviation," Maisy laughed, "Are those the only two you have?"

"No, we also have Sprite and you can't tell me I'm pronouncing that one wrong."

"You aren't."

"Good. But why it is called Sprite I have no idea. You humans making soft drinks out of fairy blood or something?"

"I don't think so."

"So what will you have?"

"Sprite sounds good. Is it cold?"

"Course. At the Valkyrie's T- uh, Wings what's hot is hot and what's not is not and what's room temp is also not."

"Catchy motto."

"It's a work in progress," Caxton nodded to them both, got Fandral his mead and then went to the back to get Maisy's Sprite. He returned and handed a glass of cold bubbling liquid to her. She was about to take a drink from it, but recalled some safety information she'd had drilled into her at school. If you are at a suspicious place always pour your own drink and don't accept any beverages that could have been meddled with.

Even though Loki seemed to trust Caxton somewhat and Maisy thought he was funny, there was something off tonight that was making her wary. Plus, now that she'd hesitated to drink her soda he was watching her carefully, as if he was expecting something. She set her drink down on the bar and turned to Fandral, intent on striking up a conversation with him.

"So, how have you been lately? I haven't talked to you much since- oh my gosh!"

Fandral fell out of his chair and landed on the floor. Maisy jumped down and felt for a pulse. She found one but, to her horror, it was fading quickly. She had no idea how to do CPR. Well, a vague idea, but that babysitting safety seminar had been all the way back in the seventh grade. She wasn't even sure if this was a situation in which CPR was required. What did CPR stand for again?

"He's fine," Caxton said, "Probably just a lightweight."

"He only got halfway through the cup!" Maisy exclaimed, "And his heartbeat is slowing down! Can anybody help him? Please!"

"He's fine," Caxton repeated and then looked to the other customers and said it louder and more firmly, "He's fine."

"He's not fine!" Maisy exclaimed and Caxton came around the bar and grabbed Fandral by the arms, dragging him to the back room. Maisy followed nervously, hand straying to the dagger she'd brought with her. She really did not want to have to use it, but she wanted to be ready if she needed to.

"Let's just bring him back here where he won't cause a stir," Caxton said soothingly, "I'll take care of him, princess, he'll be okay."

"Do you think it was an allergic reaction?"

"Probably. Maybe he's allergic to something I use in my secret brew," the barkeep grabbed a glowing green potion bottle off a shelf in the cramped back room and dumped the contents down Fandral's throat. When Maisy felt his pulse again it was steady and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was that stuff?"

"You've had a shock, haven't you princess," Caxton said and pulled over a wobbly stool for her, "Have a seat while I quiet the lot out there, alright?"

"Right, thanks," Maisy sat down and stared at the unconscious warrior on the floor. He looked like he was fine, just sleeping.

"Okay, right," Caxton absently handed Maisy a small glass of water as he came back into the back room and stooped to look at Fandral, "He might have a bump on his head when he wakes up, but he's not dying anymore so that's a good sign."

Without thinking, Maisy took a sip of the water. After she'd swallowed some and realized it tasted salty she spit the rest out and set the glass down, jumping off the stool. Caxton watched her calmly from his crouched position on the floor. Maisy took a fumbling step toward the door of the backroom and realized whatever had been in the drink was much stronger than the roofies she'd been warned about as a teenager and much faster working probably.

"You poisoned him!" She exclaimed, getting the door open and stumbling into the bar, "And you poisoned me!"

"I did no such thing," Caxton replied, "I drugged you, sure, but I'm not aiming to kill you. Someone else wanted that right."

"Tyr!"

"Maybe."

"I gotta, I gotta…" Maisy ran as swiftly as she was able and managed to get outside the bar. The world was spinning around her and she could barely make out the palace's spires. It felt like when she was twelve and her stepbrother, Todd had tied her to an office chair and spun her until she puked. And afterward she could see the things she wanted to walk toward, but they moved and she just couldn't see or walk straight no matter how hard she tried. And her ears felt like they were going to pop and her stomach shuddered threateningly.

"Somebody, please!" She hollered, rushing at the nearest person and missing them completely, "Find… find Loki!"

"The prince?" A man said grabbing her arm to steady her, "What does a drunk wench like you want with the prince?"

"I'm not drunk!" She said as clearly as she could, but her voice was coming out quiet and mumbly now, "Drugged. He's… my… husba- oop."

She keeled over when the man let go of her arm. Landing on the cobblestone, she stared up at the darkening sky and wished her limbs wouldn't be so heavy. This was bad. This was very, very bad. She needed to get away from the tavern so Caxton couldn't take her to Tyr, but her body wouldn't cooperate and her mind was starting to get fuzzy. She couldn't remember why Tyr was bad, she only knew that he was. And she, honestly, could remember where she was and why she was lying in the street and was now being pulled along the street.

"Maisy, you shouldn't have run," Caxton's voice said as he dragged her by her arms, "It'll be so much easier for everyone if you come back to the Valkyrie's Wings and take a nice nap, eh?"

"Loki…"

"If you behave yourself, I'll even let him know where you are, okay?"

"No."

"Hush now. You just need a nap."

Maisy couldn't stop her eyes from closing. Caxton was being so gentle and it was cold outside, but when they got back to his bar it was warm. So warm and safe feeling. Maybe he was right about the nap. She could find Loki in the morning.

A note from the author: Show of hands, who still likes Caxton? Anyone? Yeah... okay.

Thank you so much for reading/following/favoriting/reviewing! I really appreciate the attention that this story gets and I am thankful for everyone who has been enjoying it (and even the people who don't enjoy it)! :)

Special thanks to my lovely reviewers:

CheetahLover: I'm glad your wolves liked it! *pets wolves and hopes they don't get too upset with what is to come* ;)

ferbette: No spoilers, but people who are mean to Linn in this story usually end up with horribly ever afters... I haven't actually decided what to do with Fulla yet though. We shall see...

nina del carmen: I'm glad you like Linn and Bjorn! They are so fun to write! :)

Guest: Being an adult is tiring lol. I kinda get why Peter Pan avoids it. :P Thank you for reviewing, it makes adulting a tad easier. :D

Lwolf: Thanks for the review!

Ninja Squirrel: *reads your review happily* I'm glad you liked Ralph's cameo and the fluff! :D *reads last few lines of your review* *eyes widen* Uhhh... Don't worry! The next chapter's coming soon! *sweats nervously and works on editing next chapter frantically* ;)

You guys are da bomb! Love you all!