Chapter 4

Sharing a bed was certainly warmer than sleeping alone and I woke up in a good mood next morning. I lay with my head on Loki's chest and as I opened my eyes I saw that he was staring at me.
'Good morning.' I murmured sleepily as I yawned and rubbed my eyes, feeling that the ground upon which I was lying wasn't the bed.
'Good morning.' He returned the greeting. 'You move a lot in your sleep, you know that?' I realised I was lying on him and quickly retreated.
'I-No. Did I wake you?' He shook his head. I sat up and felt something at my feet. I threw the sheets off me and felt my face flush as I realised my pants had abandoned me sometime during the night. I quickly pulled the sheets back and glanced at Loki, there was a little blush on his cheeks as well. I retrieved my pants and put it back on, still in the bed. I lay back on my side and let out a deep breath.
'You hungry?' I diverted the attention off my pants.
'Not really.' He said as he rubbed his eyes and looked at the window, light was already shining through but it wasn't much.
'Me neither. Would you mind just lying here with me for a while?'
'Not at all.'
'What're you going to do when you're free?' He was surprised by the question but thought about it for a moment.
'I have absolutely no idea.'
'Not at all?' He shook his head.
'Not really.'
'What about... going camping?' He frowned at me and I laughed at the thought of him with a tent by a campfire.
'I think I'll stay at the palace. At least for a while.'
'To study?'
'Maybe.'
'Well that relieves me a bit.'
'How so?'
'Then I can keep an eye on you.' He grinned.
'And maybe I'll need that.'
'You up to something?' Before he could react the door slammed open and my dad walked in. He froze when he saw us so close together in one bed.
'Okay, dad, calm down. It's not what it looks like.'
'Sure it is. We slept together.' Loki said. My dad paled and his pupils shrank as he slowly took a few steps backwards and walked off
'No! No we didn't!' I yelled after him as I stood up and pulled Loki along off the bed as I ran after him.
'Dad! Stop!' I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
'It's not what you think or what he said.'
'Then what is it?'
'Odin came up with-'
'Who?' He always made me say "King" instead of Odin.
'Fine. The King came up with an idea to rehabilitate him. That involved chaining us together.'
'And I have to believe that? The King would never come up with such an absurd idea.' Both Loki and I grinned.
'Well he did. So why are you here?' I changed the subject.
'I came to check on you and the guests. It's not common to have earthians over.'
'They're not that great.' Loki said.
'I don't want to hear that from you. She might forgive you for what you did but I definitely won't.' With that he nodded and continued his walk.
'He's still as strict as ever I see.' Loki remarked.
'I know. That was his only bad quality.'
'For you.'
'What do you mean?'
'That man never liked me.'
'Well you did nearly kill him once.'
'That was an accident. I apologised to him a hundred times.' I stared at the wall and remembered how my dad was tickling me to death one day. Loki must've heard me screaming because he barged in and used his magic to throw my dad against the wall and threaten him with a ball of fire in one hand and a chunk of ice in the other. I never thought much of it back then but in the light of the recent events I realised that he'd always been a rather protective of me.
'But I don't think I ever thanked you for that. Even though he wasn't murdering me, your intentions were good. Thanks.' He smiled and nodded.
'But don't think it's still like that. I can't look after you all the time anymore.' I laughed.
'No need. I have enough tricks up my sleeve.'
'Really?'
'Of course. Always leave some room for amazing others.'
'Wise words. I think I've got plenty left.'
'I'm sure you do. You never cease to amaze me.'
'Glad to hear that. Care for some breakfast?'
'Gladly.'

As we entered the kitchen we received several stares from the cooks.
'Did you do something behind my back?' I whispered to Loki. He put on a 'really?' face and I acknowledged it, he couldn't do anything without me noticing.
'You two here for breakfast?' The only friendly lookin one asked. We nodded.
'Did we do something wrong?' I asked her.
'A Mr. Stark came by and told some stories about Mr Loki here. Most of them weren't very nice.' We'd kept the incidents on earth from most of the staff to avoid possible hatred against the King.
'Did he now?' I muttered. 'Never mind the breakfast. We'll eat later.' The cook nodded and went back to work. 'Come on.'

I knocked on Stark's door and walked in.
'It's normal to wait for approval before you enter a room.' He said as he looked up from some sort of screen in his hand.
'Excuse me. But I'd really like to ask you not to tell the staff stories anymore. We decided it'd be best not to tell them of what happened on earth.' I explained.
'Isn't that lying?'
'No, it's withholding information. That's different.'
'To protect the King I assume?'
'Exactly.'
'The lady asked me why we were here. I simply told her the truth.'
'And normally I'd ask you to tell the truth, but not here. It's a request but if you ignore it there will be consequences.'
'Okay, I get it. I'll keep quiet. You can take this as an apology for my outburst yesterday.'
'I will. My apologies as well. I kind of turn into someone else when I get angry.' I didn't choose my words conciously but saw the interest in his eyes and realised that it was the same for Doctor Banner, besides the huge greenness.
'Don't worry about it. Consider it even now.'
'Of course. Thanks for your coöperation.' I smiled as I walked out, Loki followed and closed the door behind him.
'It's not just for Odin's protection, is it?' He asked. I shook my head.
'It's also for yours. To avoid assassinations and riots and such.'
'Haylee! Haylee!' One of the servants ran up to me.
'What's wrong?' He seemed anxious for some reason.
'The wolves are back! At the front gate!' He said between loud panting. I cursed and quickly made for the gate.

Odin, Frigga and Thor were standing at the gates as well and looked up when I neared. Looking past them I saw an army of wolves.
'I have absolutely no idea what they want.' Thor said.
'I'll go talk to them. Would you mind switching with me for a moment?' I couldn't act like a diplomat while someone's breathing in my neck and I didn't want to scare the wolves. Odin took my cuff off and put it on Thor's wrist, much to Loki's dismay. I walked up to the gate and crouched down, imagining a rune in my head and feeling how the transformation took place, replacing my human form with that of a gray wolf.
'Is there something wrong, Lord Ulfr?' I asked the wolf leader, his bright blue eyes contrasted sharply with his black fur.
'No, nothing wrong. It's just that I've made a decision.'
'Nothing to provoke the King, I hope.'
'If he agrees then he shall have nothing to fear. However, if he refuses I'll order the extermination of several of your villages.'
'Your proposal?'
'In exchange for your people, I'll take you as my wife.' I frowned at him, thinking I'd misheard.
'Your what?'
'My wife.' He repeated.
'For the safety of the people?'
'Exactly.' If it'd protect the villagers then it was good but I didn't know if I was willing to live as a wolf for the rest of my life. When I made my decision I let out a deep breath and nodded.
'Let me inform the King of my decision.'
'Very well.' I turned back to my normal form and walked back to the others.
'I am to come with him.'
'For how long?' Thor asked.
'A long time.'
'As what? A hostage?' Frigga asked.
'As his wife.' I whispered. They all stared in silence for a moment but then started throwing objections at me.
'He'll spare the people if I agree. Otherwise he'll order for the extermination of entire villages. I've made my decision.'
'You're not saying you're going to agree with him, are you?' Loki asked.
'That's it. A small sacrifice for the wellbeing of the people. Odin, good luck with finding a new advisor. Thor, don't do anything stupid. And Loki, the same goes for you.'
'But we can fight them! You don't have to-'
'I do. You know how they battle. Even you'd be dead within minutes, the soldiers don't stand a chance and the people even less. It'll be a massacre.' He had to see the consequences if Ulfr ordered the attacks on the villages.
'Well then. Good luck and say hi to dad for me.' I turned and walked back to the gate, walking out and turning back into the gray wolf. I followed Ulfr and his pack into the woods.