This is set before the first Thor movie.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All Characters go to their respective owners, the chapter and fic title to Nightwish.
Story title: From Astral Romance - Nightwish
Chapter Title: From Sacrament of Wilderness - Nightwis
Chapter Three: From my cave I watch the land untamed
The whole night, Loki wandered over the island. It was beautiful. Captivating. Yes, it was cold and barren land. But somehow, and Loki really didn't know why, but he felt at home. More than in Asgard, actually. The cold did not bother him much, and he enjoyed the silence. Only the ice cracking under his footsteps could be heard. He watched the animals passing. They looked healthy enough, even with no grass or trees to eat from. It was probably magic as well. Loki walked over to an elk. The animal didn't run, and Loki reached out a hand. The elk sniffed his hand, but then let Loki caress it. "Beautiful creature… how do you survive here, tell me…" He patted the elk for a good while before turned and walked on. At least animals respected him.
Then suddenly, he fell. His head burst into pain as he landed on the ground, and he could barely evade the stabbing of a spear, rolling to the side. A small and hooded figure attacked him. Loki barely managed to grab his daggers before the next fierce attack. He managed however to kick the attacker in the stomach, making him double over. Quickly, he cast a projection of himself and vanished. As the attacker throw his spear and it went right through the illusion, the attacker stood, looking around.
It was at that moment that Loki stepped behind him and placed his dagger against the other man's throat, "Who send you?"
The man struggled, "How dare you threaten the Queen of Iceland?"
"The Queen of…" Loki let the dagger sink. "I apologize, my Queen. I did not recognize you. I am Loki."
She pulled the hood of her head and turned around to face him, "Loki. I have to apologize. I thought you were poaching." She picked up her spear. "That was some impressive magic…"
Loki shook his head, "It is nothing compared to the magic I feel in every shred of ice in this country. Tell me, how do you feed your animals?"
She smiled, "Walk with me and I show you…"
Loki accepted the invitation and followed her, "Do you not require sleep the night before a battle?"
She looked away, "I have slept for ages. Sleep does not come to me anymore. Maybe after the battle tomorrow."
Loki nodded; of course, she had slept for ages. "So you think you will beat my brother?"
She nodded, "Yes. I have to think I will beat him, or else I should not even start and just give myself away willingly."
"Will Thor die if he loses?"
Again, she nodded, "Yes. It is a binding magical contract that your brother and I conclude. There is no way out. Not even for the son of the man who cursed me like this." She pointed to a green tree. "This tree never stops growing. No matter how much the animals feast on it, one day later it is back to its old glory. None of my animals will ever starve."
Loki looked up, "This is an impressive tree, my queen." For someone who has a silver tongue, you seem to be at a lack of words tonight.
She shook her head, "Not the most impressive." She led him around the palace.
Loki's eyes widened, "What is that?" He stood before another tall tree. The tree bore no leaves, but its branches and twigs were made completely of ice. It was a light source, illuminating the whole area. "I have never seen such a thing."
She smiled, "It is beautiful, is it not? King Laufey of Jotunheim gave it to me. He said it can barely compete with my beauty. I think he is lying. But he said that when my true love lands on the island, the tree will start to shed snowflakes."
Loki frowned, "Really?" That sounded like the tales Midgardian parents told their children.
She nodded, "Yes. I think he said it so that when his son lands to claim me, the Prince can make it snow and therefore I will believe he is my one true love." She chuckled.
Loki grinned and raised his hand, "Well, maybe we can speed things up." A second later, snowflakes started to rain from the tree. "I am the brother of him who rules thunder and lightning. Snow is not a challenge."
Brynhild moved closer to the tree and held out her hand, "It's real."
Loki nodded, "Not everything I do is an illusion. Maybe my brother is your true love."
That elicited a laughter, "I sincerely doubt that…" She turned to him. "You beat me. You could claim me now. In a real battle, you would be allowed to use your magic."
Loki hesitated, then shook his head, "With all due respect, my Queen, I don't believe in beating a woman so she will become my wife. The stories about you claim you are kind-hearted, and that you opposed Odin's will because of that very virtue. It is not my place to say, but I think his punishment for you was cruel. You will be beaten by a man at some point, a man you do not know, and where you cannot know if you will ever be able to love him. Or you will stay alone for the rest of your life. If it was in my power, I would undo his command. But all I can do is apologize, and show you my respect in not trying to claim you."
Brynhild said nothing for a long while, just watched him. Only when he started to feel really uncomfortable at the silence, she said, "These are wise words, Loki Odinson. No man who ever landed on this island ever thought like this." She turned away and looked at the tree. "In a world where women are expected to be docile and demure, it is the greatest achievement of a man to conquer a woman with spirit, only to break said spirit and change the woman until she fits his image of the perfect wife." Then she looked back at Loki, "I cannot point out one man who landed here and fought me because he felt true love for me. I am just another trophy, a relic, just another possibility for a prince or a warrior to add to his reputation as the best and fiercest in the land… Is your brother here because he feels love for me?"
Loki thought about it, then shook his head, "I doubt it. My brother is a good man, but not bright enough to even consider the situation you find yourself in, or he would not come to ask your hand. Because no man who would love you would ever face you in a battle, because he would not want to force you into a marriage you do not want." He felt what he said. He had never given much thought to Brynhild. Now that he had met her, however, he understood the terrible fate Odin had put on her. "Could you ever love a man who would consider beating you?"
She shook her head, "No. I am not impressed by strength or battle skills. Sigurd impressed me because he walked through the ring of fire to wake me up. Courage impresses me. Kindness. Intelligence. Your brother would impress me most if he swore to change my fate. As the rightful heir of the throne of Asgard, surely he could convince his father…" Her eyes locked with Loki's.
Loki lowered his head, "I can try, but he will not listen to me. I am but the brother of his favourite. The second in line."
She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice, "I would appreciate you try." She looked back at the tree. "Your friends made fun of you when you lost against me."
Loki shrugged, "The weapon of those who cannot beat me with their words is to ridicule me. I am used to their jesting. I knew I could not possibly win. In fact, they would probably have cheered for you if you had wounded me. It does not bother me." Again, a blatant lie.
She smiled, "It should not." She lowered her head, "I am glad it is not you who came to ask me in marriage. I would hate to have to kill you, Loki."
Loki looked at her, "My Queen… thank you for those kind words." It was the kindest thing everybody had ever said to him. Well, except for his mother, maybe. "I would wish you good luck for tomorrow, but since that would mean my brother's death, I cannot say the words… I only wish that, should you have to come to Asgard with us, that you can love my brother. Because I would hate to know you are distressed." That was the truth, and it came just as easily to him as his lies.
She smiled as she raised her head, "I thank you, Loki." She moved closer to him and out of nowhere kissed his lips. It was a chaste kiss, and yet Loki, who had bedded many women in Asgard, had never experienced something as intimate as this kiss. He closed his eyes and returned it.
She broke it eventually and whispered, "Good night, Loki…" The she walked away.
Loki remained where he was, the ghost of the kiss still on his lips. Damn. He had just fallen in love with his brother's bride-to-be. If he had looked for anything that would make the fight tomorrow worse for him, there he had found it. Because no matter how it ended, he would lose someone dear to him.