II

Hope bounced around the Tardis console, excitement coursing through her veins. It had been almost a year to the day since she had seen Loki. She had been missing her God of Mischief for quite some time, having harassed the Doctor for almost a month to visit Asgard for a month. "Alright, alright, we'll go!" The Doctor finally answered, exasperated. "If you ask me, he's not that impressive." The girl laughed, hanging onto the console as the Tardis landed.

"Well, I think he's very witty and handsome," she sassed as she straightened her top. She had chosen a simple hunter green tank top for the occasion, making her hourglass necklace and armband stand out. The outfit was topped, or rather bottomed, with good old blue jeans and Converses. Would she stick out? Like a sore thumb certainly! Did she care? Not really. She was far more concerned with seeing Loki than what others thought of her clothes.

"Well, so am I but I don't see you getting so excited over me." The Timelord went to the doors to make sure they were in the right place. "Here we are! Asgard one year later!"

"Yay!" Hope, overcome with excitement, dashed out of the Tardis, already knowing where to go. If she knew Loki, he would be hiding in the Palace Library. She couldn't wait to share with him all she had learned in space-time. "Lo-Oof!" Unfortunately, paying attention to where she was going was not one of those things. The girl landed ungracefully onto her behind, rubbing her forehead.

"Hope?" Once she stopped seeing dancing sonic screwdrivers, Hope looked up at the voice, spotting a familiar blonde god.

"Thor!" Not the brother she was looking for but that didn't mean she wouldn't hug him. "Wow, your hair got long!" The thunder god squeezed the air out of the small girl, chuckling.

"What brings you to Asgard?" Did he really just ask that?

"Not what, who. I came to see Loki duh!" Thor's joyful smile faded in confusion. "Where is he?"

"You do not know?" Hope's excitement faded at the concerned tone in Thor's voice.

"Know what?" A concerned tone was never a good sign. Of course, neither was the question he asked. "Where is he, Thor?" He waited a long, uncomfortable moment before answering.

"He is in his cell. In the dungeons." Thor might as well have dropped his hammer on her head.

"The dungeons?!" What in the world could Loki have done in the past year to be imprisoned? Sure, he could be a bit of a troublemaker but he never did anything worthy of jail! Loki was a liar when needed but certainly never a thief or murderer. "What for?!" Thor and the Doctor, who had caught up while Hope was dumbstruck, exchanged confused looks.

"You truly do not know?"

"Obviously not." The girl was starting to get very frustrated. She could feel energy gathering at her fingertips, a sign her abilities were trying to activate. It was clear Thor didn't have the heart to tell her what Loki's crime was and it was only making her all the more angry. "I want to see him." Maybe Loki would explain to her what had happened.

"You cannot, Hope. Father will never allow it."

"No offense, but I don't really give a damn whether or not he'll allow it. I need to see Loki."

"Then I suppose you can ask Father yourself. Here he comes." Hope and the Doctor turned to, sure enough, see Odin coming towards them. The girl did freeze a little; she was still slightly intimidated by the Allfather. The Doctor, however, seemed to already have a plan.

"Hope, initiate Plan Fake Out." It took the girl a moment to process, but once it did she smirked. While the Doctor obnoxiously engaged Odin and Thor, the Tardis Daughter snuck back into the Tardis.

Hope was very careful to shut the doors behind her, not wanting anyone to catch onto what she was going to do. She gingerly touched the hourglass dangling from her neck, a little nervous. Since receiving the enchanted necklace from Loki, she had learned to control her time and space traveling abilities. They were still very disorienting though. She felt thankful this would only be a short distance in space. She closed her eyes, taking a few calming breathes before quietly uttering, "Loki…"

The effect was instantaneous. Hope's eyes snapped open, gold light taking over. Her stomach lurched as her body seemed to combust, light engulfing her body and forcing it through. Hope saw the thousands of technicolored timelines and fought to resist the emerald and gold strand in front of her. Without any clues other than color, Hope just knew it was Loki's timestream. That'll be useful for later.

Just as swiftly as it began, Hope landed unsteadily, the excess temporal energy receding back into her body. She steadied herself on the nearest wall, fighting with her stomach to keep its contents. Tardising was great fun certainly, but the side effects were hell on her body. Once her brain had stopped doing backflips and her stomach decided not to evict its tenants, the girl looked up, examining her surroundings.

It definitely felt like a dungeon. The walls were pitch black unyielding stone, illuminated by torches and whatever produced the light in the cells. She was surprised to see Asgard's most wanted seemed to have nothing keeping them in their cells, but closer inspection revealed that a strange gold energy contained them. As impressive as it was, both dungeons and inmates sent chills down the girl's spine. "Oh, Loki…" What could he have possibly done?

"Hope? Is that you?" She turned and was equally shocked and excited to see the God of Mischief in the cell beside her. Loki seemed to be just as shocked to see her. "How did you get here?"

"I could ask you the same thing! Why are you in a prison cell?!" The Trickster had certainly changed in the past year. He didn't wear any of his typical armor, dressed in a simple hunter green tunic and leather vest bottomed with dark pants. His raven hair had grown to his shoulders, curling at the ends. Loki looked at her with confusion and Hope couldn't help but notice there was something in his emerald eyes that was different. She just couldn't quite figure out what.

"Most criminals are placed in prison when caught."

"Yes, but what the hell did you do to get thrown in here? You can be a troublemaker but you're certainly no criminal." She wanted so bad to just tear the energy barrier down and take Loki away in the Tardis with her. The god sighed almost in resignation, eyes drifting closed.

"You don't remember."

"Remember what? Loki, I've only been gone a year and you go from prince to criminal?"

"My queen, you know why I'm here. You were there. In fact, I believe you tried to stop me." Hope stared at him, confused. He had never called her his queen before. Not that she minded the nickname, what girl didn't want to be queen. It still set off red flags.

"Loki, what in the world are you talking about?"

"New York. Surely you would remember that." She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. And it must have shown on her face because Loki shook his head tiredly. "Of course not." He sounded… Disappointed?

"Loki, last time I saw you, you were trying to get me to marry you when we first met." Hell, she had never even been to New York. "How long have you been in here?"

"About a year. Since Thor brought me back."

"A year! That's impossible! They would have had to arrest you right after I left the garden!" None of this was making any sense. Loki's crime would have had to have been before she met him. Unless… "Loki… they didn't arrest you because of me, did they?"

"What? No of course not!" Loki shook his head. "That was years ago, Hope." Hope froze.

"'Years?' Loki, I've only been gone a year haven't I?" He just watched her with sad eyes. "Haven't I?!" His silence was very telling, but she wanted to hear it from him.

"How did you get down here, Hope? Accident?" The girl glared at the change of subject.

"No. I came down here by choice. The Doctor distracted Thor and Odin while I tardis'd down here. Don't change the subject." Of course he was already distracted.

"You used your powers? And controlled them?!" He asked in awe. Hope nodded, increasingly getting frustrated. What were they all hiding from her?

"Yes. I learned how to control it. Your necklace and the Tardis helped." His signature, heart-stopping, God-of-Mischief-patented smirk crept onto his face, green eyes bright with pride. She couldn't say she didn't enjoy that look. That smirk alone made her head fuzzy.

"That's wonderful, my love. Then perhaps you should join me in here."

"Wouldn't we get in trouble for that?"

"You're not meant to be down here anyway, are you?" Hope shook her head. "Then why worry now? You know I would not allow any harm to come to you. And… I miss holding you my queen." She blushed bright red. She could hear the Tardis setting off alarm bells in the back of her mind, but how could she say no to such sad eyes? It was obvious her God of Mischief needed her.

"Alright. Stand back." Loki obeyed as Hope focused again, praying she had enough energy for it. Traveling through time and space, even for a short distance, was exhausting. Before she could process the movement, she was inside Loki's cell, slumped against the god as he held her up and to him, giving her the chance to recuperate. "Hey, handsome," she greeted after a breathless moment, smiling. He chuckled.

"Hello, beautiful." He hugged her tightly to him, helping her stand. "I've missed this… Missed you…" Hope couldn't help but grin, her frustration temporarily abated.

The god simply held the mortal girl to him, as if treasuring the contact. As Hope allowed her mind to wander, she couldn't help but wonder if anyone had even visited him. He was still part of the Asgardian Royal family wasn't he? Her arms snaked around his waist at the thought. Even death row criminals on Earth had visitors… He must be so lonely… He hadn't even tried to kiss her, rather just content to hold her.

Hope couldn't say she didn't enjoy it. She felt safe in his arms, despite how cold they were. She knew it probably wasn't the wisest thing to trust someone with the moniker God of Lies, but she did. Figures she'd be the one to fall in love with an alien deity. Her peppermint scented abominable snowman. Which only made her all the more curious about how he ended up in prison.

"Loki, I need to know why you're in here… What did you do before we met to be imprisoned?" Loki sighed, releasing her.

"It's not what I did before meeting you, Love, it's what I did afterwards."

"Loki, that doesn't make any sense!" The god sat in a nearby chair, watching her with concerned eyes. "It's only been a year since we met, Love." That's when Loki took a turn dropping a hammer on her.

"Hope, it's been five years since we first met." Hope's jaw dropped straight to Earth.

"W-what?" Perhaps she had misheard him. All the white walls must be messing with her head.

"My love, it's been five years, almost to the day, since you left me in the gardens."

"T-that's impossible! It's only been a year!"

"Love, you said the Tardip-"

"Tardis."

"Tardis, wasn't the most reliable. It's possible you have been leg to believe it's only been a year." The girl couldn't speak, too dumbstruck by shock and a little anger. "It was never that fond of me as it is, love." Loki's accusation helped Hope find her words again.

"Loki, the Tardis may not like you but it's not spiteful like that. So stop avoiding the question and tell me why you're in here. That certainly wasn't the Tardis's fault." She might have spat a little venom into that last sentence.

"No, it certainly isn't," he admitted with a velvety chuckle. "Though it could have been useful."

"Loki, you're circling." She had no intentions of letting the Silvertongue distract her. "Just tell me what you did." Silence hung between them for several moments. Loki clearly didn't want to tell her what he had done but she needed to know.

"You do not realize it… but you already know." The girl frowned. "Love, you're a time traveler. Time is your plaything. You could easily solve this riddle, yourself, my clever pixie." This was the first time he had used the familiar nickname since she found his cell. His hand found hers, pulling her into his arms. "Besides, I do not wish to ruin this moment. I haven't seen you in quite some time." Hope sighed, unsure whether to keep bugging him or give up.

"Love, why won't you tell me the truth? Besides your rep as God of Lies." Despite her frustration at him, her fingers found their way into his long soft hair. "I need to know…"

"Yes, you do. And you will. But not now." He nuzzled her stomach, holding her tight to him. "You still wear the armband I gave you…" She smiled.

"You sound so surprised. Of course, I still wear it. And the hourglass." She felt him smile.

"There's hope yet…" Hope shook her head, sensing a very bad pun. It was clear she wasn't going to get the truth out of him. When Loki didn't want to do something, it just didn't happen. Like he said, she was clever. If he wouldn't tell her, then she would go search his timestream. But after a good long Asgardian cuddle. It would be hours before Odin and Thor were distracted from the Doctor anyway.