A/N I would just like to make a shout out to my wonderful reviewers. Seriously, no joke, you guys keep me going. I make the most inhuman noises when I get a review in my inbox, and I cherish every single one of them. They really let me know that people like my writing and it just makes me want to sit down and finish ALL THE CHAPTERS.

A nice person (guest): You're lovely. Thank you for reviewing and actually taking the time to tell me what you like! I get all giddy waiting to hear from you.

Guest: The newest reviewer, you have no name, but I love you nonetheless. I'm so happy you hear you think I keep him in character, because that is something I really strive to accomplish. No worries though, I'll fix that complaint soon! I have no plans on not finishing this story.

The last thing Loki had expected to be doing the next morning was standing in the men's bathhouse, towel in hand, staring at the half naked back of a woman. Not just any women, mind you, but Nora. The one Odin and Thor had decided to saddle him with in a brash attempt to figure out if Asgard was in some type of danger. Seeing her like this was not part of the deal -though he wasn't exactly displeased.

He'd woken up early that day, determined to get to the bathhouse before the rest of the men got up. It's not that he was ashamed of being naked around them, which was normal, he just wasn't in any hurry to have Thor start up a heart to heart conversation about the good old days. That, and he wasn't exactly convinced his brother had out grown his childhood pranks, which usually involved splashing, wrestling, and a whole array of activities Loki was just not in the mood for today. Not that he was ever in the mood for it back then either. All he wanted to do today was take a relaxing bath, have his tea, and finish up his session with that irritating girl as soon as possible.

All these thoughts were quickly pushed away when he entered in to the bathing room, his walk frozen in mid stride. He almost thought he was seeing things at first, because what lady of Asgard couldn't tell the difference between the men's bath and the women's? The answer hit him rather quickly - as her dark skin, dappled in light scars, was a dead giveaway. Loki remained completely still, as if he had stumbled onto some exceedingly dangerous animal in the woods. Did she not think to ask? It would have been much simpler for her to have inquired with a servant, rather than guessing and accidentally picking the wrong one. Or perhaps she was waiting for someone?

It wasn't long before a devilish idea slipped into Loki's head, and he wasted no time acting upon it. With a smile on his face, and a slight flick of his wrist, a scream engulfed the room. He couldn't help but laugh as he watched the girl frantically crawl her way out of the now freezing pool. Loki averted his gaze politely when she emerged from the water, waiting till he was sure Nora was wrapped tightly in a towel before turning back to her.

"What the hell!" She screamed, whipping her head around to look at him.

"It was just a bit of fun," He teased, sticking his tongue between his teeth playfully, "I could have done much worse." Nora stormed towards him now, the intensity in her face only diminished by her shivering body. Loki's gaze unconsciously trailed down away from her enraged expression to her chest, his grin slowly fading as she got closer to him. The mortal was far from being unattractive, he could admit to that, but she wasn't a goddess either - being so short. which, if he was being honest, wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He quite liked the notion of how easy it would be to overtake her. All the women he'd been with in the past were tall enough to at least reach his jaw, but her? She'd be lucky to reach the top of his chest. In terms of a womanly figure, she fell lacking. Her legs and arms were toned, probably from the work in the mines she'd mentioned before, and her body had only a slight curve to it - but there wasn't enough meat on the girl's hips to give her any noticeable shape. Despite this, he thought she actually looked better on the thinner side, any more curves and her size would do her no favors. Loki couldn't see himself realistically bedding her though, what with her imprudent attitude. But he was quite happy just to look.

"This is extremely inappropriate!" Nora yelled, her tiny body just inches away from him. His eyes flashed up at her face now and his smile returned.

"Oh, I'm being inappropriate?" He chuckled, "I'm not the one in the men's bath house -You little minx, were you waiting for someone? You must have been so disappointed when I showed up instead." The last part came out a little more bitterly then he would have liked, but the look on her face was enough to keep the smirk on his lips.

"I'm in the-" She spun away from him look around the room, her hair flipping with her spraying water on his face. Loki winced and gripped her shoulders, turning her around to look at him.

"Yes. This is indeed the men's bath house you silly girl. Did you truly not know? How could you not have simply asked?"

Nora's eyes locked with his, her mouth agape at the shock of the whole situation. She blinked now, trying to focus.

"The sun raises so late here, I woke up and it was still dark out. Instead of waking someone up I just decided to walk around, and that's when I passed by that door," She motioned her eyes to the entrance of the bath, "I could feel the heat while I walked by - I just couldn't help but come in. It's been so long since I've been able to have a hot bath. That, and I was still covered in a layer of mud and blood."

Loki let go of her shoulders now and rubbed them dry on his towel, satisfied that she, indeed, was not waiting for anyone. This, of course, is when Nora actually registered the last part of his comment. A look of perplexed shock blanketed her face and she shook her head.

"Wait, did you seriously think I was in here to meet a man?" She let out a sarcastic laugh, "Yes, because the first thing I think about after having my planet invaded is hooking up." Loki grunted at her and turned away, walking over to a bench near the pool to place his towel on.

"Well it's obvious now that it was your ignorance, not lust, which caused you to be here. But please, pardon me for thinking you'd be bright enough not to accidentally lounge around the men's bath naked. I would suggest you be on your way though, girl, as this place is going to be filled with its intended gender soon."

Nora's eyes widened before she gave him a slight nod, turning from him and exiting the bath house as quickly as she could without slipping on the wet floor. Not minutes after Nora left, several men, including Thor, walked into the bath. He decided to neglect telling Thor not only about Nora, but the temperature of the water.

He found her in the library this time, and it was not even an hour after their last encounter. This was, in his opinion, also a very surprising place to have run into her. Loki always felt the library was his place of peace, as very few people of Asgard ventured in. He had spent many of his hours here, as both a child an adult, and was hardly ever disturbed.

He had stopped by to pick out a few new books for his chambers and was shocked to see her standing in one of the isles, her head arched up staring at a book on the top shelf. Her posture gave off a feeling of frustration and urgency that he hadn't seen in her before. Loki paused for a moment, debating with his urge to walk away, and the horrible burning curiosity of what book she could be vexing over so intensely. He mulled it over briefly before advancing towards her, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. Nora didn't even seem to notice when he positioned himself next to her, looking up in the same direction she was.

"Which book has caught your attention so fiercely?" He questioned, his eyes, like hers, never leaving the shelf. It took her a second before she answered.

"That one there," She said while pointing. Loki cocked his head slightly and leaned forward, trying his best to follow her gesture.

"Which one?"

"That one," she repeated. Nora moved closer to him, her body slightly brushing up to his as she attempted to line his gaze with her arm. "The large one there, with the gold trim."

Loki flinched slightly at the contact but regained his composure quickly, now seeing the book she'd been indicating. He glanced down at her now, amused that she had to get on her tip toes to try and point.

"I suppose you need some assistance getting it down?"

She finally turned to face him, her brow arched. "Yes, I could use some help getting it down." Loki's grin widened and he turned back to the book. With just a slight movement of his hand the book removed itself from the shelf and floated down into his grasp. Nora's eyes widened and she took it from him, running her fingers over the old leather binding.

"You know, your magic is really impressive. Even if you do use it for unsavory things now and again." Her eyes motioned to meet his and the corner of her lips quirked up, her comment indicating their earlier incident. Loki straighten his posture and gave her a nod, his ego obviously enjoying the attention. He was, however, surprised to see her brush past him without another word. He turned to follow her.

"So, may I ask why you're so interested in that particular book? It's one of the few here whose language I can't read - hence why it's kept tucked away in the back of the library."

Nora placed the large book at one of the tables and pulled out a chair. She took a seat before gesturing at him to use the one next to her.

"You can't read this?" She asked, opening the book gingerly as he sat down with her. "I guess that's not too surprising. I wouldn't expect you to know our language if you didn't even know my species existed before yesterday." Nora couldn't stifle a small smile at the look of interest on Loki's face, it was one of the few occasions when his features weren't contorted into a smirk or frown. She liked it.

"This is your language?" He asked in slight amazement while inching his chair closer to her and the book. "I'd looked over these pages in my youth, but sadly gave up as I had no way to translate it. That, and many of the pages are faded or blacked out. "

"I'd be happy to tell you what it says. Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are that a book from my people ended up in your library."

"How is it that you're able to speak with me, if this is your native tongue?" He questioned.

"The people who enslaved us spoke like you do," She said, her attention still mostly on the page in front of her, "We had to learn." Nora didn't wait for him to ask any more questions, and started to read - her lips silently mouthing the words as her finger ran down the page. Loki watched as her expression changed from mild curiosity to complete confusion.

"What," Loki questioned, leaning over the table to get a better look at the book, "What does it say?"

"It says - that my home planet, Kolmarden, was once part of the 9 realms. It was called the 10 realms then. From what I am able read, due to the faded words, the Myrkviðr and Asgardians did not get along. We apparently refused to fight in several wars that Búri had started - so as punishment, he banished our realm. He removed almost all record of our existence within the realms to make sure that we, like him, could not ask for aid if we went into battle." Nora paused to flip to the next page, only to find it mostly scribbled out. As she leafed through the rest of the book her frustration grew - most of the pages were either defaced or vanished with time. "The only other thing I can make out is that the Myrkviðr are forbidden from entering the 9 realms, and that to do so is punishable by death."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Loki spoke up.

"Buri, father of Borr and grandfather of Odin," he said factually, lifting himself from his chair. "He was not a kind man - from what I've been told. But to banish a whole realm?" He scoffed. He really shouldn't be all that surprised, what with this man being related to Odin. The All-Father wasn't exactly known for his pleasant nature - but then again, neither was he.

"I wonder if Odin knows," Nora said idly, her hand placed on the cover of the now closed book. "If he doesn't, do you think he'll kill me once he finds out?" She left out a painful laugh and clenched the book to her chest. "I was going to ask him to help me get home. Once all of this was over, and once I helped protect Asgard from the same fate as my people, I thought he would be more than happy to send me back."

"Odin does not have to know," Loki said evenly, "It's fortunate that this section of the library is shielded from Heimdall - I made sure of that years before my incarceration. It may be a problem, though, if you ask him to send you to Kolmarden - as if he does know of your ancestry, there is no telling what he might do."

"It doesn't really matter," She said softly, "I've tried not to think about it too much - but I don't know how many of my people are left. Those things just came and destroyed everyone while I was escaping, I have no idea if my parents survived or not - if any of the Myrkviðr survived."

Loki lingered behind her chair now, his gaze fixated on the back of her head. He understood her fear and loneliness all too well. To be in a place where your species is not wanted and to have the concept of home be a foreign and fleeting dream. He didn't necessarily feel upset about this whole thing, but he could empathize with her. Pity her.

"Keep the book," He said breaking the silence.

"Are you sure? I can just take it?" She turned in her chair to look at him, the restraining of tears obvious in her face.

"Well, you're not allowed too - but you can. I won't tell if you won't." Loki said with a slight smile. "Now come along, we have a session to get done."

Hello wonderful people! Exams are over, which means I have time to actually write things! Yay! I had a lot of fun with this chapter, now that Loki is finally accepting that he's stuck with this girl for awhile and that he may as well not be a complete asshole all of the time. I'd also like to mention that this is major AU (alternate universe)? Obviously? Look at me, just pulling a whole new realm out of my butt. I'll make it work out though, I promise! So stay with me. (shit goes down in the next chapter people, so stay ready. I will probably have it done by next week sometime.)

I doodled some things for this chapter. Enjoy. They are on my profile :)