Two moons shone above Asgard, and Ylva stood on her balcony to watch them, bathing in their soft light.

Cool air brushed her face, and Ylva imagined being at home again, where the air always smelled like pines and leaves.
Did Loki feel at home in Asgard, or was his heart longing for icy cold of Jotunheim? Intuitively, Ylva knew the rumors were true: Loki was a frost giant, changed into human form by the Allfather.
Was his Jotun heritage the reason for his greed and vengefulness? Loki had tried to destroy worlds after all, causing pain and death.

The same question could be asked about her father. Ralf Akesson was a murderer, but had it even been his choice? What if the wolf blood was too strong for the man? Or did Loki and her father use their heritage as an excuse for their own terrible crimes?

„Little wolf?" suddenly, Loki appeared out of thin air next to her, but Ylva didn't shriek. After what happened, she had already expected him to turn up.

„My king" Ylva was surprised to his his features relaxed and friendly. After all, she had rejected him, and Loki was not known to take that lightly.

„I am here to apologize. I was wrong to assume you were mine by any right. Please know that your dreams are safe from now on"

Yvla was touched by his honesty, and turned around to face him.
„I accept your apology" she didn't want to further complicate their relationship, and she was happy she had more time and space to think about what she truly wanted.

Loki nodded gracefully. Ylva doubted he often apologized, so she added with a smile: „I do appreciate that coming from a King"

The trickster smiled and asked: „What were you thinking about, little wolf?"

„About monsters" Ylva answered without thinking. She could feel Loki tense next to her again.

„Apologies, I did not mean it like that" the young woman immediately explained, but Loki's features softened.
„I can not blame you for fearing me, my dear. I am, indeed, a monster" Loki said, and Ylva was surprised by all the sadness and bitterness in his words.

„I am one too" Ylva stated, watching the moon over Asgard. Loki laughed softly and turned her around, taking her into his arms.

„Little wolf, you may be a descendant, but you are far from being a monster. I destroyed cities. I killed people and I tried many times to kill Thor. What have you ever done evil in your life?"

„Nothing yet. But for how long? My father lied to me, send me away instead of telling me who I was and I am so angry at him."

Loki watched her hazel eyes filling with tears. For a second, Ylva reminded him of himself, when Odin told him why he had brought him to Asgard, why he could never love him equally as Thor.
Loki had been heartbroken, weak, but he had found a way to channel his rage.

The god brushed a strand of dark hair out of her face, tucked it behind her ear.

„You are allowed to give into your true nature, Ylva" Loki simply said.

„Like you did?" Ylva asked defiantly. Loki mercilessly stared down at her.
„See where it brought me" he gestured around him, showing Asgard's splendor beneath them, „Odin always promised me I would be King one day, and here I am, finally living up to this promise"

Ylva stayed silent. Vernwood and the few people living near it were so much less complicated. They did not care about power, nor did they have the time for it. But Loki may claimed to want power, but Ylva realized he had always longed for something much simpler: The love of his father and the adoration Thor received.

Ylva chuckled when a memory crossed her mind. Kari, the twins and her, sitting in the middle of the strawberry field, eating and chatting until their parents found them.

„What is so funny?" Loki snapped, and Ylva shook her head apologizing.

„In my village, no one has ever seen the royal family, but some girls loved collecting stories about you from traveling merchants. One time, we had one very awfully mean tax collector send from court in our village, Larsson or Liamsson I think.
He behaved like a brute, bullied the local girls, and we all wondered how a man like that had such a high position. Larsson moved away eventually to other villages, one where the Princes of Asgard buy their precious horses.

You, the Prince, apparently noticed how disgusting Larsson was and helped the village people out" Ylva told him, a little smile on her lips.
Loki vaguely recalled the man, but it had been some time ago and nothing worth mentioning.

„You temporarily turned him into a frog" Ylva bursted into laughter. Even Loki had to grin. It sounded very much like his old self.

„Anyways, you became Vernwood's hero. We knew nothing about the Allfather or about Thor, only that they were great warriors, but everyone felt like you would care about our interests as well. Or at least be more approachable.
Kari even told me she wanted to marry you. She would be so jealous if she knew how well I know you" Ylva finished with a grin.

Loki was completely taken aback. He had always believed people admired Thor more than him, and this village girl was telling him they actually preferred him over the rest over his family.

„It was nothing, really"

Ylva looked down, starting to chew her lip again. „You are gods, Loki. For you it may be nothing, but for us…"

„So you're telling me your people appreciated me more than Thor?" Loki asked skeptically, not sure if he should believe her tale.
Ylva shrugged, smiling again.

„Tell me one thing, Loki, have you taken the throne simply because you want this power or did you take it because you believe you can be a better ruler than Thor and the Allfather?"

Loki didn't even have to think about it. He knew from the beginning that Thor was irresponsible King, and later Loki had realized that even Odin wasn't a good leader and even less of a good father.
Loki remembered when he let the frost giants into the palace the day Thor was supposed to be crowned. That day, Loki had not thought about himself becoming a ruler, he had only wanted to prove how unfit Thor was for that position.

„You have done terrible things, I can not deny that. But it is quite obvious you are the better leader for Asgard" Ylva finished.

Loki smiled. It was the first time someone actually spoke that fact out loud, and Loki loved how rational and pragmatic Ylva formed her opinion about him.

Ylva noticed how Loki relaxed, like he had always longed to hear those words.
She kissed him on the cheek, a sign of affection that truly delighted him.

„Good night, my King" she muttered and left him on the balcony.

Hey guys, I know there's not much happening in that chapter, but I included some thoughts I had when I watched the movies - like Odin being a shitty father or Loki probably being a better King than Thor...

I hope you enjoyed that chapter and please leave a review!
Have a nice day,
xoxo & Liebe Grüße