"Come."
"Huh?"
"Come."
"No, I got that. Where are we going?" She wasn't going to bring up how he was speaking to her as if she were an animal. One issue at a time.
"A neutral location. The Avengers have requested a meeting."
"Wha—. Are you insane? You're meeting with them? They tried to kill you twice!"
Annalise was standing before their closet, a stylish red dress in one hand and a classic skirt and blouse in the other. Both garments dropped to the floor as Loki stalked toward her and wrapped his hand around her slender throat.
"You know better than to question my decisions."
Angrily she grabbed at his arm and dug her nails into his skin.
"You know better than to make stupid choices," she retorted.
When the King raised his hand Annalise fought the instinct to flinch. He curled his shaking fingers into a tight fist and held it for several beats, then dropped his arm to his side. He laughed sharply.
"You would be wise not to anger your King so, my little Queen."
He crowded her, pressing her body against the wall with his. The pressure with which he caressed the vein in her neck could be described as tender, but the act itself was a threat. As he run his thumb along the faint blue line, his grip constricted.
"You purposefully test my patience; I will not tolerate your insubordinance."
Annalise stared unblinkingly at him, her eyes threatening to water.
"A Queen is her King's equal, your Highness," she rasped.
His eyes blazed as he considered the girl. He pinned her against a wall with hand at her throat and still she goaded him.
"Though your size makes you appear insignificant, as my Queen you will complement me nicely."
She huffed and batted his hand away, which he permitted, then she stalked back to her crumpled dress. Gingerly she picked it up from the ground and flicked imaginary lint from the bodice.
"Is this satisfactory?" Not even Loki could misinterpret her tone as anything but sarcastic.
The King narrowed his eyes appraisingly at her and shooed her away from the wardrobe. With feigned disinterest he flicked through her outfits until he landed on an H-line moss colored dress. When he waved a hand, his armor enveloped him and he held the piece against the darker shades of green paneling. Satisfied that the colors corresponded, he snatched the red dress from her and handed her the green.
"Wear this."
She eyed the synched neckline warily.
"Loki, I can't wear a bra with this. I don't have anything strapless."
She caught sight of his lips widening into a grin as he turned away from her.
He ignored her complaint, of course, prompting her to mutter as she removed her clothes to shower.
Once dressed, she diffused her curls and pieced them apart with her fingers. Somehow her cosmetics, tools and products had found their way form Stuttgart to her bathroom in New York, and she applied a small amount of makeup. Loki tried to convince her to wear the red lipstick, but she adamantly refused and instead swiped a finger through a neutral colored cream blush and massaged it into her lips.
Though satisfied with her appearance, her stomach rolled when Loki offered his arm. As they walked to the car, several of Anna's charges gathered around the porte-cochère to see them off. She donned a confident smile and waved, though she felt nothing of the sort.
Loki received a call as they slid into the backseat of the sedan. Annalise stacked her forearms on the armrest and peered out the window. There was so much destruction. Buildings had been toppled, trees uprooted. There wasn't a human in sight. A lone Chitauri on an aircraft zipped past the car Annalise barely registered what it was. It was going in the direction of The City, opposite of where they were headed. Were there people still trapped? Would Loki let her help them? She'd have to ask him once his call was finished.
The drive was no longer than thirty minutes, though when the car emptied in a hotel parking lot, Loki was still on the phone. He was arguing in some Slavic language that she couldn't identify. She glanced around. They had traveled far enough outside Loki's destruction zone that the area was functional.
Aside from a totaled SUV in the middle of the intersection, there was little to no chaos in the town. She caught a whiff of gasoline and turned in its direction. There was a line of cars two blocks long waiting to enter the station lot. Five armed Chitauri monitored the customers, making sure they only filled their vehicles. There was a pile of confiscated gas canisters piled in the corner near the car wash, likely taken to prevent extended travel.
Forcing herself to turn her back on the gas station, Loki's entourage shuffled her into the middle of the group. When she realized it was for the sake of protection, her stomach dropped. When Loki felt her press her warm body against his cool form he smirked down at her. To her surprise, he placed his hand on her back and guided her along with him. If she were taller, she was certain his hand would be inappropriately low on her backside, but lucky for her, his long arms didn't reach quite that far down.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw his armor magically slide over his body, helmet and all. She shivered despite herself. Her body was beginning to react to the sound of his heavy boots on the floor and the smell of leather in less that admirable ways, but she couldn't help it. He was the most powerful being on the planet. And—well, he wasn't hers. But she was fairly positive she was his.
The inside of the hotel was quiet. There were still several guests retreating to their rooms, but it looked as if the Avengers had ordered everyone out of the lobby. Thor, Fury and Romanov stood near the bar. Romanov and Fury drew their weapons as the group of blue-eyed SHIELD agents surrounding Loki and Annalise drew closer. Fury glared and audibly switched the safety off his gun. Thor looked as if he were about to roll his eyes at the human's petty attempt at dominance.
"That is far enough, brother," Thor boomed.
Loki chuckled and held his hands up in mock surrender.
"Brother. It is good to see you."
"Come home, Loki. Let the people of Midgard exist freely."
"Oh, Thor. Thor, Thor, Thor. You cannot possibly understand the responsibility with which I am burdened now that Earth is mine. The realm would fall into chaos were I to leave. The species would perish. Do you care so little for your Jane Foster?"
"Leave the humans alone, Loki. Undo the magic with which you have enchanted these agents and hand the human girl over to SHIELD."
Loki turned considered Annalise for a moment, running his thumb fondly over her lower lip.
"This human girl? Oh, brother, if only you knew what this little one could do. You will not take my queen from me. Humans are weak, but this one is strong. When I take her, when my little queen submits to me, I pump her full of Asgardian power. Pure energy, brother. She takes it so well."
Annalise felt her face flame, but kept her expression neutral. What the hell was he talking about? He'd never done that before, had he?
Racking her brain, she her stomach fluttered as she realized her eyesight had adjusted. She had attributed that to merely growing accustomed to life without contacts after Stuttgart. Was it possible she no longer needed them? Her eyes flickered around the room and to her surprise, she realized she could read things far away. Had other things changed about her? She supposed she bruised less when Loki fucked her, but she had just assumed he'd become gentler.
Thor stared at her in disbelief.
"Loki, what have you done?"
Eyes narrowing in suspicion, the King suddenly pushed Annalise behind him, shielding her with his body.
"She is mine. You will not take my bride. She is the only human strong enough to carry my child."
Thor stepped forward but Loki held his ground.
"This is nonsense! Let the human leave."
Loki's lip curled in a snarl as he studied his brother. His green eyes blazed as he thought of an idea.
He turned to Annalise and cupped her jaw, watching her intently. His free hand roamed her body crudely in front of both audiences, openly groping her.
"Do you want to leave me, little peach?"
Her breath hitched and her chest tightened. Did she?
Her eyes snapped to Thor, then back at her king. Loki was right. If he left, Earth would collapse into chaos. The Chitauri now had an international presence. She thought back to the day Loki conquered Earth. Loki alone could control his alien army. The Chitauri would destroy humanity given the chance.
"No, my King. I don't want to leave you," she said clearly.
As she spoke out, she felt a mixture of guilt… and pride. Guilty that she had betrayed her race and allied with a monster. Pride that the monster deemed her worthy of ruling by his side.
She didn't break Thor's gaze. Instead, she stood tall, aided by her three inch heels.
The God of Thunder shook his head sadly.
"I will direct no more violence at your team of miscreants if my brother returns to Asgard immediately. I have forgiven your transgressions and will allow you to leave peacefully. However, should our paths ever cross again, know that I will not be so kind."
All three SHIELD agents looked at one another as if communicating silently. While Fury and Thor seemed confident, Annalise caught Romanov's eyes staring at a blue-eyed Barton. Her heart sank for the woman, but she steeled herself. Loki would be furious if she asked him to be set free, especially in front of their enemies.
Their enemies? Her chest tightened. Since when were these people, these heroes her foes?
It was then that a flash grenade went off, temporarily blinding them. Despite being surrounded by Loki's men, Annalise felt a hand grip her wrist tug her away from her King. She could hear him yelling furiously but the ringing in her ears was too intense to make out what he was saying. She was abruptly hauled fireman style over someone's shoulder and jostled as they ran with her. Frightened and angry, she beat her fists against her captor's back until she felt a sharp sting in her rear, then the chaos faded away.
x
Annalise awoke with a dry mouth and a fuzzy brain to the sound of an engine so loud it had to belong to an aircraft.
"Fear not, Lady Annalise."
Thor.
"He cannot hurt you anymore."
No. She didn't care about getting hurt. Well, she did, but not at this exact point in time.
"Where are we? Turn around," her words were slow and slurred. Her brain felt like it was disconnected from her mouth. "You don't understand. He'll kill them. He'll think I went willingly with you! Please, just let me go," she pleaded groggily.
"Calm yourself, my Lady," he put a reassuring hand on her arm.
She clumsily brushed it off in irritation.
"How long have we been in the air?"
She could hear Thor's deep voice in the background as she inspected her surroundings, but she couldn't listen and examine the plane at the same time. The plane was tiny; there was nowhere to hide. She clenched her eyes shut in frustration which proved to be a bad idea. Opening them again took way too much effort, and her eyes felt dry and sandy. Sleepily she rubbed them.
"You have been sleeping for a little over an hour, my Lady. We are almost to Washington D. C."
"No, no, no," she muttered, shaking her head.
When she tried push herself into a sitting position, her hand flew to her mouth to keep from throwing up.
"What did you give me?"
"I apologize, I am not well versed in Midgardian pharmaceuticals," Thor's voice was thick with genuine regret.
Gross. No wonder Loki can't stand him.
Faintly she heard Romanov make an announcement about landing.
Thor delicately helped Annalise upright and strapped her into her seatbelt like a child. She clenched her fists when they touched down, a wave of nausea almost making her hurl.
Thor unbuckled her and scooped her into his arms. As they exited the plan, Romanov froze.
"Something isn't right."
Fury cocked his weapon and Thor gingerly set Annalise on the ground, before fixing his grip on Mjölnir.
Out of the corner of her eye, Annalise saw a line of Chitauri soldiers file onto the tarmac. Her chest simultaneously fluttered with hope and dread.
Annalise hung back against the plane as the three Avengers stalked forward, ready to attack. She gasped and stumbled to her knees when four Lokis appeared before the group, each aiming the blue-tipped spear at the troupe of "superheroes." Already wobbly on her feet from the drugs, she slipped off her heels as she stood, ready to run as the first shot was fired. The Chitauri chattered at one other in their own language before squeezing a few shots off at Thor, sending him flying in her direction.
Her shriek was muffled by a hand over her mouth. Barton whirled her around and held his finger to his lips. Brows furrowed in fear, she nodded to demonstrate that she understood. Thor grunted as Barton led her further from the SHIELD plane. When he made eye contact with Annalise, she desperately shook her head, begging him not to give her away. Thor's eyes fell onto the appearing jet mere feet from where he lay as an agent lowered the ramp. Barton and Annalise sprinted to the safety of the plane. Through a small window, she caught sight of Thor, watching her quietly with his head tilted to the side. There was nothing the god could do. Though hypnotized, the agents were human and wouldn't survive a plane crash, let alone Annalise. With a sigh he turned and began summoning lightning bolts and hurling them at the aliens.
Barton sat her down and took her vitals (which apparently he knew how to do). She heard a commotion from the cockpit as a gargantuan shadow fell over the blood pressure cuff the agent had around her bicep.
"Her blood pressure is a little low from the sedative, your Highness, but otherwise she is healthy."
"Good. Leave us."
Annalise's face began to crumple as Barton walked away.
Loki looked at her in horror, his brows raised and mouth opened in shock. What the hell was she doing?
The poor girl bowed her head.
"I was good," she murmured, big, fat tears dribbling down her cheeks. "I was, I promise. I didn't tell them anything."
Loki began to relax. His queen simply needed coddling.
"Shhh, little peach," he crooned as he knelt next to her, checking her body for wounds. He frowned at her scraped knees, but was glad to see that was the extent of the damage done to his queen. Soothingly he brushed her hair from her face, as he remembered Frigga doing for him when he was a child. Why would he feel compelled to treat Annalise as such? With affection? He shook off the thought.
Sure that she was safe, his expression of relief fell to one of pure rage.
"I will kill them all. I will tear them limb from literal limb. They tried to take what is mine," he growled.
Goosebumps rose on Annalise's arms and the back of her neck. Never had she heard Loki speak in that tone. It was absolutely murderous.
When she grasped his forearm, Loki startled.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Sorry for making him jump, sorry for being taken. Sorry for not being stronger.
"Shhh, you're safe again."
Loki picked her up and carried her to the all-too-familiar room they had shared on the flight from Germany to New York. Her stomach fluttered at the neatly made bed, even more so when Loki peeled down the comforter and sat her on the mattress.
The King stood awkwardly, looking at her skinned knees as she sat.
Annalise tried yelling for Barton, but her throat and mouth were still dry from the drugs.
With a huff Loki stalked out of the room and returned thirty seconds later with a confused blue-eyed agent.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Is there a first aid kit on the plane?"
Without a word he nodded and stepped out of the room. A minute later reentered, bearing a white plastic box with a big red cross on it.
"Thank you," she murmured sleepily. She was delirious. She had been kidnapped from being kidnapped, then returned to her rightful(?) place, and drugged along the way. Loki intercepted the box from Barton and he knelt to dress Annalise's knees.
"That will be all," Loki said tersely.
Annalise rolled her eyes and reached to take the box from Loki.
"Tell me what to do."
Gently she walked him through cleaning and bandaging her knees. She tried not to make a show out of being too gracious; she didn't want to draw more attention to his act of kindness in fear that she'd prevent him from ever doing something for anyone else ever again.
When he rose to leave, Annalise hesitated before bravely speaking out.
"Stay? Please?"