The next morning, Ava sat down to breakfast with her parents and her brother. Vinius and his family were out in the garden. Odin had wanted to speak with his family alone. Upon entering the dining hall, Ava noticed that her parents weren't looking at each other. Ava walked over and took her usual seat beside her mother. The room was filled with a heavy silence.

Odin let out a sigh. "I see that your mood has not improved." He observed, speaking of Ava.

"No." Ava replied in a clipped tone. "Nor do I see it improving any time soon…unless of course you repeal your decision."

"I cannot do that." Odin replied. "We need to keep our alliance with Alfheim strong and your marriage will do just that. I know that you do not like this choice…any of you. You have managed to turn your mother against me…"

Ava's eyes widened in surprise and she turned to her mother. "What?"

"Your father is just being bullheaded." Frigga replied. "I thought that perhaps a few nights alone might help change his mind."

Ava felt the tears stinging her eyes as she looked at her mother. She's taking my side. She thought. Then her gaze went to her father, who looked determined and agitated at the same time. She then looked back at her mother and she could see how much this physical separation from Odin pained her. Ava instantly felt guilty for causing a rift between her parents.

Frigga reached a hand over and rested it on Ava's shoulder. She smiled at her daughter reassuringly.

Ava smiled back at her mother and blinked away the tears. She looked back and forth between her parents for a moment and then let out a sigh. "I do not want you two to fight because of me." She said.

"Sweetheart…" Frigga began.

Ava looked at her mother. "I am sorry for the hurtful and disrespectful things I said to you the other night…and thank you for trying to convince Father to change his mind…but please don't let this cause problems between the two of you?"

"Does this mean you are going to give the young elfin lord a chance?" Odin asked hopefully.

Ava was ready to say no. She was ready to tell her father that she would still fight this with every last breath she held, but she didn't. She truly had no intentions of marrying Vinius. She had to word her response carefully. "I will get to know him." Ava said. "I am making no promises."

Odin smiled in approval. "Well, I'm glad you feel that way, because after breakfast we are all spending the day together."

"What do you mean?" Ava asked.

"Lord Kiren, Lady Eiren, and Vinius will be joining the four of us for a ride through the country-side today." Odin explained.

He's doing this so I won't be able to get away. Ava thought. Oh my sweet Loki…it looks like I won't be sneaking away with you today.

After finishing breakfast, the family headed out to the stables, where Vinius and his family were already waiting, all horses ready. They each mounted their horses and began riding out, a group of guards following them. Ava was boxed in, riding next to Vinius so that she could not get away. She had a feeling her father had done this on purpose.

After riding for a while, they came to a stop by a river. They let the horses rest and drink, while they sat down to a picnic. "What are things you like to do for fun, Princess?" Vinius asked Ava as he sat down beside her.

"Read." Ava answered. "And ride."

"She also enjoys playing pranks on her older brother." Thor added, a teasing smile on his face as he looked at his little sister. "She uses the magic Mother taught her."

Ava smiled at her brother. "You do make it so easy."

"You're a student of magic?" Vinius asked.

Ava smiled in spite of herself. "A master now really."

"I would love to see a demonstration?" Vinius said.

This gave Ava an idea. Vinius was about to bring his glass of wine to his lips. "You're going to regret asking that." She then made a few flourishes with her hand and just as she had with Fandrall when they were younger, turned Vinius's wine into snakes.

Vinius tossed the glass aside and began to try and shake the snakes off. "Ava." Odin said in a scolding tone.

Ava wiped the grin from her face and then made the snakes disappear. "I told you, you would regret it."

Vinius gave her a smile. "I'm going to have my hands full with you."

Ava stiffened at that. Dammit! That didn't faze him one bit. She thought to herself. Well…maybe I'll just have to be a bit more mischievous.

The rest of the day, Ava spent pulling out her best pranks on her would-be husband. She wanted to do anything she could to make him want to back out of the marriage, but each and every trick she brought out, didn't seem to faze him. He just brushed it all off with a smile and a laugh. They rode back to the palace and arrived just after the sun had set. Ava felt stressed and on edge after having her tricks fail.

"After that long ride, I think I shall retire to my chambers." Ava announced as they entered the palace.

"Allow me to escort you to your chambers." Vinius said, offering Ava his arm.

Ava bit back a sigh as she slipped her arm through his. They walked through the halls in an awkward silence. They arrived at the doors to Ava's chambers and she turned to him. "Thank you for escorting me to my chambers, Lord Vinius."

"It was my pleasure, Princess." He replied. He then began to lean in, wanting a kiss goodnight.

Ava turned her head so that he missed her lips and landed his kiss on her cheek instead. "Goodnight." Ava said and headed into her room, locking the doors behind her. Ava let out a sigh as she walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out her pale blue silken robe and a couple of towels. She then opened the door that led into her private bath chambers.

She slipped out of her dress while the tub filled with water. Once the tub was full, Ava slid into the warm water. She allowed it to wash over her and relax her muscles. Slowly, she slid under until she was completely submerged beneath the warmth. She came back up after a few moments and sighed. She laid back and relaxed for a few moments before scrubbing her hair and body. She stayed in the tub until her fingers and toes wrinkled.

Ava pulled the plug, allowing the water to drain from her bathtub. She climbed out and dried her hair and body before slipping into her robe.

Loki…

Loki had known that Ava would be unable to come to him for the day. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. When he was sure night would have fallen on Asgard, Loki began his plans. He called one of the servants to his chambers and placed a sleeping spell on the giant. He then cast an illusion to make the servant appear as himself. "Now, Father will not know where I have gone." Loki whispered aloud.

Loki cloaked himself in the ever-present darkness of the Jotunheim and sneaked out of the palace. He quickly made his way to the abandoned temple and went through the wall of the fireplace, stepping out into Asgard. He stayed hidden from everyone, but went ahead and changed to his Aesir form and clothes. He arrived in the palace and began walking through the halls, looking for Ava's room.

He finally found it and sneaked inside, having to use magic to unlock the door. Just as he walked in her room, he saw Ava getting into her wardrobe and pulling out a silken garment and towels. He then watched as she walked into a different room. He heard the sound of funning water and Ava's sighes. He assumed she was taking a bath. It crossed his mind to sneak inside her bath chambers and gaze upon her bare form, but he decided against it. He decided to be a gentleman.

Loki allowed himself to become visible and he began to wander around Ava's chambers. Along one wall, she had a large book shelf, overflowing with books. He walked over and began to skim over the titles of the books. Most of them were about magic, others were etiquette, laws, and a few were fairy tales. There was even a book titled, Great Works of Midgard. Loki plucked one of the books from the shelf and walked over to Ava's bed.

He sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him. He opened the book and began to read. He would look up from the book every so often, and let his gaze wander around the room. One such time, he noticed the flower he had given her on her birthday, sitting on her bedside table. Loki smiled, pleased that she kept it close to her.

He heard the water draining from the tub and Ava moving about in the other room. Loki closed the book and set it aside. He then looked towards the door, waiting for Ava to come out. After a while, the door opened and she stepped out, wearing a pale blue silken robe and her red locks still wet from her bath. Loki grinned at how beautiful she looked. "Hello, my love."

Ava jumped slightly in surprise. She looked at him and a smile came across her lips. "Loki."

Loki smiled back as she ran over and jumped in the bed next to him. Loki opened his arms and pulled her in for a kiss. He felt Ava wrap her arms around him and pull herself closer. He grinned into the kiss, loving how excited she was to see him. He broke the kiss after a few moments and looked into her beautiful green eyes. "I promised you I would come to you."

Ava grinned. "I'm glad that you did…but what about your father? Will anyone suspect that you're gone?"

Loki shook his head. "Thanks to the magic you taught me, that is not an issue." He answered, kissing the top of her head.

Ava snuggled closer to Loki. "I missed you today."

Loki rested his head against hers. "I missed you, as well."

"How long will you be able to stay here with me?" Ava asked.

"All night." Loki answered.

Ava grinned at him. "I like the sound of that."

Loki grinned back at her. "How was your day?"

"Horrible." Ava answered. She then proceeded to fill him in on the events of her day, starting at breakfast and going through the picnic. "And then he escorted me back to my chambers and had the nerve to try and kiss me…after all of that. I mean, I'm pretty sure I made it clear with my tricks that I do not care for him."

Loki had to bite back a growl. He didn't like that this other man had tried to kiss Ava. He honestly didn't like the idea of Vinius even looking at Ava, let alone touching her in any way. Of course, he didn't want to show this…and more than anything he wanted to make Ava feel better. He began to rub soothing circles in her back with his cool fingertips. "Allow me to help you forget all about this horrible day."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Ava asked.

Loki gave her a wicked grin. "I plan to start by holding you in my arms all night and then kissing you until you're breathless."

Ava grinned. "I think that is definitely a good start."

Loki then bent his head and placed a gentle kiss on Ava's lips. Slowly, he began to deepen the kiss. Both of them were getting swept away in the kiss. They held onto each other, tighter and tighter, trying to get as close as possible.

"Ava!"

Loki and Ava instantly broke their kiss and looked towards the door to see Thor standing there. Ava's cheeks were reddening.

"What is going on?" Thor demanded as he closed the door.

Ava looked at her big brother. "What's going on is you barging into my room without knocking."

Thor looked pointedly at her embrace with Loki. "You know what I mean."

"Loki just came here to see me." Ava answered. "And you already know I've been seeing him."

"I know, but I didn't expect to see him with his hands all over you and you two eating each other's faces off." Thor replied. "And…do you still have just your robe on? Don't tell me you two…"

"No, Thor." Ava replied. "Nothing like that has happened…you're not going to say anything to Mother and Father are you?"

Thor sighed. "No…but I don't like this…keeping secrets from them…or him being in your chambers and putting his hands all over you."

"It's nothing I haven't asked for." Ava told her brother.

Thor glared at the young couple. He then focused his attention on Loki. "You had better treat my sister with respect…if not my father will be the last of your worries."

"I would never dream of disrespecting Ava." Loki said.

Thor nodded. "Good…I'll be leaving now…don't do anything…unsavory." He then turned and left, locking the door on his way out.

"Well…that went well." Loki said, his tone joking.

Ava sighed. "It did go better than I thought it would." She agreed.

Loki placed his fingers under Ava's chin and coaxed her face up to look at him. "I'll just remember to lock the door next time."

Ava grinned. "You better."

Loki then pulled her in for another kiss. After enjoying the heaven that was each other's lips, Ava pulled herself away and rolled out of bed. She went over to her wardrobe and pulled out a night dress. She walked behind her changing screen and slid off her robe. Loki couldn't help but to watch her silhouette, enjoying the view of her delicate curves and imagining going back behind that screen to see her.

Ava slid her night dress on and then stepped out from behind the screen. She saw Loki still sitting on her bed, smiling at her. She wasn't sure why, but she felt a blush creeping into her cheeks. "What are you looking at me like that for?" She asked.

"You are so beautiful." Loki answered.

Ava walked back over to the bed and climbed in next to him. They shared another tender kiss before Loki laid back on the pillows, pulling Ava down with him. Ava rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, feeling exhausted from the day. She felt Loki's lips graze the top of her head. "Sweet dreams, my love…I will be here all night." He whispered to her.

Ava smiled as she slowly drifted off to sleep, secure in Loki's arms and in his promise to hold her all night.