"You will not go alone. I forbid it."
Annalise stuck out her hip and glared at her husband.
"I do not need your permission."
"I am King of Midguard and you will obey me," he growled.
She nodded absently and returned to her task of hanging several dresses in a garment bag and laying it flat on the bed next to her suitcase.
"Mhm. And I'm the Queen. I'm going."
"You are small and pregnant and vulnerable."
The girl crossed her arms over her chest and raised an auburn brow.
"And you are tall and bossy but I tolerate you anyway."
She stalked over to him, tilting her chin up and standing as straight as possible. Annalise still only came up to his sternum without heels on, but it was the effort that mattered. Studying him, she considered her options. She'd never pouted at Loki before, but that was something she was saving for an emergency, which this was not. At least, not yet. The situation was minor enough that she could likely get by using her womanly wiles. Smirking internally, she closed the distance between them and rested her palms against his front.
"Loki."
"Annalise."
"You can't keep me trapped here forever. I'm pregnant, not an invalid."
When he started to argue she narrowed her eyes and he wisely chose to close his mouth.
The Queen toyed with the buttons of his shirt.
"They need you in China. I'll go to Brazil. We'll get things done twice as quickly."
Her husband hesitated, resting his hands on her shoulders. Idly he stroked a piece of her silky chestnut hair between his fingers.
"I would prefer that you not go alone."
She lay her hand atop his and gently ran her thumb back and forth soothingly.
"I won't be alone. I'll have Barton and the slew of other agents you send with me. We're meeting at the Palácio, it's the safest place in the city."
He frowned. She reached up and gently tugged on the collar of his crisp white shirt, pulling him down for a kiss.
"You chose me as your Queen because I'm competent, remember?"
He nodded.
"I'll be fine."
He grumbled.
"You will have 48 hours to complete your negotiations. If it takes a second longer, I will come fetch you myself."
She fought to keep from grinning.
"I have no doubt you will."
With a mildly passive aggressive sigh, Loki nodded. He grabbed the small Tumi bag she'd packed and forced him to take, then returned to his wife. She yelped and he scooped her up. She was expecting a kiss goodbye, not to be completely lifted off the ground. He held her so she faced him and with a well humored eye roll she gripped his shoulder with one hand the back of his neck with the other.
"Be careful. And try not to be rude," she murmured with a smile, kissing his cheek.
The King gently grasped her jaw and guided her lips to his, kissing her soundly for several moments before slowly lowering her to her feet. He then dropped into a squatting position and stared at her swelling belly. Completely against her wishes he rucked the skirt of her dress up around her hips, leaving her lower half completely exposed. She was tired and the fight she put up was half assed, but it was the thought that counted. When he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her abdomen her stomach fluttered at the show of affection. She hadn't prepared for this part of what had been their… physical-but-business-esque relationship. Everything reasonable in her continuously screamed not to fall for him, that he was an insane megalomaniac obsessed with power and that this post-world-takeover-honeymoon couldn't last forever… But the little Queen couldn't help it. She was carrying his baby and though was wont to admit it, she was beginning to believe that he carried her heart. Tentatively she stroked his hair, her cheeks flushing as he looked up at her.
"We'll be fine, Loki. I promise."
He stood and nodded curtly, bending to give her one last kiss.
"See that you are. 48 hours, little peach. You know I'll come for you."
She laughed and gently pushed him towards the door, which was wildly ineffective due to her lack of stature. In rare form, he gave her a small, but genuine grin and departed for the lobby, where a car was waiting outside to take him to their newly acquired second jet.
x
After a long flight, all Annalise wanted was a shower and a nap. She got neither. Instead, the agents, led by Barton, ushered her into the conference room at the Palácio do Planalto to meet with the president of Brazil as well as several prominent Chitauri leaders who could communicate more or less in English. After pleasantries were exchanged, they moved on to matters of business.
"Since the Chitauri reformed the police squad in Rio, crime has dropped by seventy percent," the president announced proudly.
Annalise let out a sigh of relief as the leaders continued listing off improvements. She came armed with other plans of action, but she was delirious after the long flight and her back hurt. And she kind of wanted her husband. Not that she would ever admit that to another living soul. But she wanted him and wanted to go home.
Annalise's train of thought was disturbed by several loud bangs and instinctually her hands protectively flew to her belly. Yelling and several shrill screams caused the President to pause, mouth open in mid-sentence. When her face went white and she dropped down to her knees seeking shelter, immediately Barton and his men stood, manhandling Annalise underneath the conference table. Using their bodies as a barricade between the unseen threat and their Queen, they drew their own weapons.
Annalise, disgruntled at having been stowed like cargo, was relieved to see Chitauri file the room, though it was odd their weapons were drawn. She got up off her knees and made to rise until she watched with confusion as the new group of aliens began arguing with those already seated around the table. The Chitauri chattering grew loud and frenzied as the alien leaders she had been meeting with motioned between her and then the other group of beasts. A shrill screech sounded and suddenly the second group cocked their weapons and fired openly. She cringed and covered her ears. She'd been in Stuttguart, she'd been taken by and then rescued from the Avengers… But she'd never been in such close proximity to so many shots. Her ears rang from the gunfire and her thoughts were delayed. Everything seemed as if it were happening in slow motion. She watched Barton and his team respond, raising their guns and systematically killing the first wave of four rogue aliens. An agent went down and Annalise watched in horror as the Brazilian President rose in an attempt to escape from the room, but took a shot to the chest and lifelessly fell to the ground. Everything was so surreal. The stench of gunpowder invaded her nose and sinuses as she clenched her fists in fear and anger as a second wave of Chitauri entered the conference room, weapons cocked.
Barton stepped forward.
"Leave now or we'll be forced to tell the King of your infractions," he ordered grimly, his gun already trained on what appeared to be the lead creature. They clicked amongst themselves, pointing at Annalise and Barton. One nodded and before the argent could squeeze a shot off, a Chitauri fired at Barton and hit him in the gut, then once more with a headshot. His men shouted and returned fire, taking down several of the rogue Chitauri, but a spray of blue bullets from their superior weapons slew the remaining agents.
"No!"
Annalise couldn't help herself. She knew she was being wildly foolish as she crawled out from beneath the table to Barton's side, but she was fairly certain bullets could no longer kill her. According to Loki, they were painful, but not deadly.
A tear trickled down her cheek as she held his warm hand in hers. The girl was in complete shock. It wasn't that they were particularly close, but this man had been with them since the beginning… He was Loki's right hand. He was there to keep her safe. Barton was her protector, her baby's protector. And now he was gone. Never had she felt more vulnerable in her entire life.
Shakily she curled an arm around her middle.
"Leave now and I'll ask the king to spare your lives," she commanded gravely from the floor.
For a moment, she thought her request had been successful. A chunk of the aliens peeled off from the rest, exiting the conference room, but then she caught sight of a large shadow looming in the doorway. The cloaked man it belonged to strode forward and the remaining aliens shuffled to provide him a path. The Other approached Annalise, his lipless mouth forming something that resembled a sneer.
"So you are the insignificant creature that imbecile King holds so dear."
This was who Loki feared, the creature he had tricked. The Other. Her heart fluttered. He hadn't killed her yet, was she meant to be used as bait?
"The King holds nothing dear. You know that," she retorted, praying that he believed her.
"Do not waste my time lying to me, little girl. I can sense the life inside of you. The imbecile's bred you, has he?"
Annalise grit her teeth. She could only take so many insults before her temper got the best of her.
"No, he has not."
The beast advanced upon her, grabbing Annalise by the hair and yanking the poor girl to her feet, causing her to yelp.
"Do not lie to me," he growled.
The Queen stared at him defiantly.
With a cold laugh he released her hair, dropping her back to the ground.
"Collect the girl and bring her with us."
On principle Annalise struggled against the creatures that yanked her up by either arm, but got nowhere. She'd only been in Brazil for 36 hours. She prayed the next 12 passed quickly and that Loki would soon come to find her.
x
The a second after 48 hours passed, Loki was on his way to Brazil. His little Queen was going to suffer immensely for making him worry so. The girl was charming, but political negotiations took time and during a regime change discussion could take weeks.
He waited on the jet while his agents filed out to retrieve his wife. She was going to receive an earful, that was for sure. He stiffened when he heard yelling followed by gunfire. Quickly he disembarked, heading for the Palácio. His heart pounded when he saw that both human and Chitauri bodies littered the lobby. The King grimaced in disgust he stepped over them, making his way to the conference room. His little Queen was strong, he reminded himself. She had Asgardian blood pumping through her, thanks to the baby as well as his contributions. Even if she was shot, she would suvive. She had to.
Still-wet blood smeared the floor and the King almost lost his balance as he walked through it, but elegantly righted himself and continued trekking to where he expected to find his wife.
When he came upon the meeting room, the first thing he saw was Barton's body. His stomach sank. No. This wasn't possible. He began moving from body to body, looking for Annalise's tiny form amongst the beasts and human men.
"Find her," he barked.
He heard a moan and quickly his agents rushed to the side of a blue-eyed human dressed in SHIELD gear.
"They took her," he gasped, holding his bloody side.
"Where?"
Loki's voice was emotionless. Had she been there, Annalise would've pinched him for being so insensitive to the dying man's condition.
"The Other, he was here. You're expected to come for her," the injured man wheezed.
x
Upon returning home, Loki destroyed nearly a quarter of the newly renovated Waldorf Palace. Priceless paintings lay in shreds, furniture reduced to kindling and massive chunks of what used to be marble columns littered the ground.
The King sat amidst the rubble, seated what still slightly resembled a chair as he stared into the fire before him. The Tesseract was his. It was the key to his throne. However, he already had the throne. It was irrevocably his, there was no one that could take it from him. He had a loyal army of powerful aliens and the allegiance of many Midgardian sub-realms. He was secure now, with or without the artifact.
Annalise was also his. Their baby was his. And he couldn't return the Tesseract to the Other and expect to be spared, let alone his wife and unborn child. He needed the infuriating, tiny woman and he wasn't sure why. She soothed him, kept his anger and wrath mostly in check. The woman was an asset, but more importantly, she was his asset. He would get her back.
x
Thor dismounted as he came to the end of the Rainbow Bridge.
"Heimdall," he boomed in greeting, striding forward.
The other man didn't s mile.
"Your brother's wife has been taken from him."
Thor tilted his head, confused.
"The Avengers rescued the human from Loki, then? Is that not a good thing?"
Heimdall shook his head.
"No. She was taken by The Other."
"Ah, wonderful. So the Avengers must rescue her and simply return her to her country of origin?"
Again, the golden man frowned and shook his head.
"You don't understand her role, My Prince. She and their child are King Loki's tether to reality. The girl is no longer a butterfly to be set free. She belongs with him."
Thor's brows raised.
"She's pregnant? With his abomination—."
Heimdall interrupted.
"My Prince, under her influence, Loki has acted less rash and with more care than I have ever seen from him. Even as a child, he was never one for compassion. Something changed in him, and it is because of the girl and the child within her."
Thor hesitated. The hero in him wanted to keep Annalise far away from Loki and somewhere safe where he'd never find her, but his Jane lived on Midgard and if this was an opportunity for something that even remotely resembled peace…
Heimdall gazed down at Midgard from his station on the Bifrost. Though Thor couldn't see what the other man was looking at, he followed his gaze. His fist tightened around Mjölnir.
"Can you see him?"
Heimdall nodded.
"How is he?"
The golden man shook his head. "If she is not returned to him, he will destroy Earth. Should she perish… He will rain chaos upon any realm that gets in his way until he has finished The Other."
The Prince nodded solemnly. "Then I will retrieve her."
Heimdall glanced up at Thor, his golden eyes deadly serious. "She must live."