"Brother, are you all right?" Thor had noticed how tired his brother looked, and was worried he might be sick. He couldn't have his brother sick. He would miss his coronation. Or worse, his father would postpone it.

Loki jerked to attention, but let out a tired sigh as he saw his brother standing beside him, and ran his hand through his raven hair. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and nodded.

"I'm fine… Just a bit tired that's all."

"You looked sick, so I just wanted to check. I can't have my little brother miss out on the greatest day of my life, now can I?!" Thor grinned as his eyes surveyed the throne room. In just a little less than a month, it would be his. He knew Loki had been upset that he had not been chosen for the throne, but assumed he would get over it.

"That would truly be a tragedy." Loki spat our sarcastically. He was displeased with his father's decision, yes, but not because he himself wanted to be king. No. He was displeased because Thor was clearly not ready to be crowned king. He was reckless, arrogant, and stupid. But no one else saw that.

"Indeed it would!" Thor nodded before turning his attention to the curly haired blonde who was now approaching the two. She had a small piece of bread in hand, and donned a happy smile as she stopped in front of the two brothers.

Loki practically beamed when he saw her, while his brother saw her as another opportunity to brag.

"Lady Stark," he began, "how nice of you to join us again." Thor flashed his most charming smile, but the blonde's attention was elsewhere. Her ocean optics were locked on the emerald ones behind Thor, but the hammer wielding god didn't seem to notice.

Loki's heart skipped a beat when he looked into her eyes; they were truly magic; something could get lost in, and he did every time he looked into them.

"Hi, Loki," she bit her lip and grinned, "and Thor," she corrected.

Thor draped his massive arm over her petite shoulders and started to lead her away as he bragged about war triumphs, leaving Loki to watch as his glimmer of light slipped out of reach.

"Glimmer of light?" He thought to himself, having just realized how much he actually cared for her. "Pull it together, Loki… she's as good as gone now." He shook his head and exited to throne room, vanishing away to his room.

Meanwhile, Taylor was barely able to breathe as Thor held her against his side. He had taken her to meet his friends (Lady Sif and the Warriors Three) and barely even given her a chance to speak, let alone protest the meeting. She wanted to be with Loki not here with Thor and his war stories.

"See, Lady Stark, these are the people I trust to go into battle with!" He grinned and shook her slightly.

"I- They— ack!" She mumbled as the air was squeezed out of her lungs once again; clearly the Asgardian didn't know his own strength.

"Thor, she can't breathe with you squeezing her like that." Sif spoke up from across the room, her dark locks hanging over her left shoulder and her sword lay across her lap. She had been polishing it when the two popped in and wasn't happy at all. Sif despised mortals and they're pathetic and boring lifestyles. So she certainly didn't want one in her training room.

"My apologies, lass!" The god immediately released her, and Taylor dropped to the floor panting. It took her a minute to catch her breath, but once she did she scrambled to her feet and flipped her mass of curls back over her shoulders.

"I- it's ok…" She managed a weak smile before adding, "I'm gonna go… find some water." Without another word, she padded out of the golden room and into the empty hallway, snapping her head left and right. "Okay… where is it…" she mumbled, turning left, then back right. Taylor was attempting to find Loki's room or Frigga's garden but she was failing. "Ugh." She stomped in frustration and turned back to the left. "If I can't find him, I'll just go back to my own room." She was talking to herself now, speed walking across the golden floor of the antechamber. The walls were so far apart that she thought an entire house could've fit in between them, or maybe two. She continued to scour the castle for her room, never once crossing the same path twice. The castle was, in a word, colossal. There were endless hallways, all of which led to at least twelve rooms, and two other antechambers. Some of the halls were filled with vast paintings, others seemed dark and scary, she even thought she had heard someone calling for help once.

"This place is… creepy." The blonde said to herself while rounding a dark corner into another dimly lit room. The room smelled of leather, fire, and blood. As she advanced into the chamber, a skeletal looking hand with long talons shoved through prison cell bars and grabbed hold of her curly locks, yanking her back towards the bars.

"Preeeeeeeeeeeeeettyyyyy," a demented voice croaked from behind the bars. Taylor screamed at the top of her lungs, struggling against the strong grip of whatever had hold of her.

"GET OFF ME!" She swatted wildly at the arm until her nails finally nicked the old and wrinkled skin. The creature hissed and released her hair to withdraw its arm back into the dank cell.

"Why…" she panted out, looking into the cell. But nothing responded. It was almost as if the cell was being absorbed by the wall. With wide, fearful eyes, she turned on her heel and ran back up the large flight of stairs she didn't remember seeing before, never once looking back as the voice attempted to call her back.

On the other side of the fortress, Loki sat on his bed reading; he just couldn't get Taylor and Thor off of his mind. The two had just met, yet he felt as if he had known her all his life; a smile tugged at his thin lips as he thought of soft, bouncy curls, and her ocean deep eyes. Then there was her smile; it was warm like the sun, and her laugh was just indescribable. With a dreamy sigh, Loki stood up from his bed. He was going to go and find her, hug her, and if he were lucky, maybe even kiss those petal soft lips again.

Sneaker soles silently flew across the tiled floors as Taylor ran at full speed away from whatever demonic creature had grabbed her hair. She was nearly out of breath, so she would have to stop soon. And as soon as the next door came into sight, she shoved it open and collapsed inside whatever room she had managed to find. She lay on the floor panting for a good five minutes, before she finally turned her attention to her surroundings. There were books, books, and more books. At first she thought she had found the library, but then she caught sight of a golden bed adorned with green covers. Her head dropped again as she continued to pant. Another five or ten minutes passed before she looked up again. She saw the same scene, except this time, she was staring at leather boots.

Loki stared down at the blonde who had collapsed at his feet. She had looked up once, but he already knew it was Taylor; she was the only one who would dare wear such strange clothes. The girl had looked up once and hadn't seen him, so he stepped closer. That must've done the trick, because this time when she looked up, she saw him. It looked as if she'd been running for hours, and her face was fearful. What in all the Nine Realms could have happened to her, he mused, still just staring at her.

"T- Taylor?" He said softly, kneeling down in front of her.

Loki's voice echoed in her ears, but it was barely heard over the sound of her heart pounding against her chest. She flopped onto her back as her eyes fully focused on his.

"Taylor what happened to you? Are you hurt?"

"N- No…Creepy…hand…" she panted again, reaching up for him. She was barely able to move from all the running, but she didn't want to be lying on the floor; it was cold.

Loki gently took her in his arms and laid her on his bed, sitting beside her and resting her head in his lap. He softly caressed her hair, a look of concern plastered on his face. He'd never seen someone look so traumatized before.

"Creepy hand...? Where in Odin's name have you been, daring?"

After fully catching her breath, the mortal explained what had happened to her to the god, and then managed to sit up and fix her messy curls. Loki blinked as she finished her tale, then stood from the bed with clenched fists. He knew who had attacked her, and why.

"Stay here," he told her, marching towards the door.

"What? Why? Don't leave me in here!" She practically dove across the bed and grabbed Loki's hand, holding it in a death grip.

"I'm going to," he paused in his speaking and his steps as she grabbed him, "take care of that vile creature. I'll be right back, Taylor. I promise."

She shook her head and tried to pull him back to her, "no! Please… I don't wanna be left alone here again." Her voice and eyes were pleading, and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

The young god let out a sigh as she looked at her, allowing himself to be pulled back towards the bed. Not many people could change his mind like that, but for some reason, she could.

"Fine," he sat down and pulled the mortal into his arms, "I'm not going to leave you…"

Hours passed, and Taylor had fallen asleep in Loki's arms. He had kept his promise to not leave her side, though it had been hard. An old book that he'd read as a child managed to keep him occupied until she finally awoke again.

Taylor's dark lashes fluttered slowly as she sat up and yawned. Her curls were in disarray, and her clothes were wrinkled enough to have been in the dryer a week. But she managed a tired smile over at Loki, who was sitting beside her reading.

He smiled back and set the book down, "feeling better, my dear?" He spoke softly, soothingly.

The blonde nodded and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "How long have I been sleepin'?"

"Quite a while," he kept his voice low, "I believe they are about to ring the dinner bell. …Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, no," she shook her head quickly, "I don't think food is really s good idea right now… I'm still kinda freaked out." Taylor shuddered and ran her hand through her curls again.

"I'm sorry, my dear," Loki moved closer to her and brushed his thumb over her cheekbone. He sensed she liked his actions, for when he did so the blonde's eyes fluttered closed. With nowhere else to look, the god's eyes landed on her lips; he had a sudden urge to claim them. Loki slowly moved his hand back into her hair as he pulled her towards him.

Taylor slowly opened her eyes, though they remained half-lidded, to see what Loki was doing. All too late she realized what was happening, as his lips were on hers. She made no movement to push him off, but instead pulled him closer. After the ordeal in earlier, she needed comforting, and this was probably the best form of comforting she could find at the moment.

After carefully untangling his hand from her hair, Loki pulled away, but he said nothing. He was waiting to see what the curious mortal would do.

She blinked a few times, then giggle-grinned, "heh…" Taylor's head tipped down as to avoid the Norse's eyes. Her face was burning and that was a sure sign that she was probably as red as a Tomato.

Thor had been in search of the blonde beauty for nearly an hour now. He planned to invite her to dinner and perhaps a visit to the courtyard where he could demonstrate his power. Sauntering down the hall, the prince decided he would ask his brother if he knew Taylor's whereabouts. He turned back towards Loki's room, and quickened the sped of his steps.

Meanwhile, Taylor and Loki were currently lying in bed engaging in another round of kisses. Loki was lying partly on top of Taylor, as per her own actions, and his hand was ever so slowly inching up into her blouse.

Thor had reached his brother's room, but a palace maiden had stopped him to alert the future king that dinner was about to start. He'd nodded his thanks, but flirting came natural to the god. So he and the maid were laughing and talking right outside Loki's door. The woman's laugh was quiet, but Thor's bellowed through the halls, and into neighboring rooms.

Taylor jerked up, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy. She and Loki had both heard the laugh and immediately ceased what they were doing.

"Crap!" Taylor jumped from the bed and onto the floor, stumbling a little. "We're DEAD!"

"SHH!" Loki scolded as he too jumped up, "he doesn't need to hear you!"

"Uh, hello?! He's gonna SEE me! We're screwed!"

"Lower your voice! Please!" Loki glanced towards the door, which was slowly being pushed open as Thor leaned against it.

"Hide me!" She hissed in a whisper, fearful eyes locked on the golden entrance.