A month before Maryn and Loki were to marry, the Allfather and Allmother threw a feast to celebrate the birth of their youngest son. Everyone was dressed in their finest emerald attire and gathered in the Great Hall to enjoy the sumptuous banquet spread out on long tables that ran the length of the huge room.
Loki, as the guest of honour, requested that Maryn stay at his side the whole of the night so that everyone would see her wearing his colours and doting on him making sure he had the best of everything. It was a matter of pride to him that those who thought of him as alien or strange would see that his betrothed was so openly affectionate to him.
Maryn had chosen to wear a one-shouldered gown of emerald green silk. It was draped and tucked to flatter her body being tight to her lower torso before flowing into a draped skirt. Her dark hair was twisted into a loose bun at the nape of her neck with small curls framing her face. She wore diamond and emerald drop earrings and a diamond cuff with tear-drop shaped emeralds hanging from the bottom over her upper hand. She also wore Loki's pendant tucked into the neckline of her gown and her engagement ring.
Loki was dressed in a relaxed version of his ceremonial armour, as were Thor and Odin, while Frigga was dressed in a beautiful silk gown of gold with green accents at the hem and cuffs. The decorations in the Great Hall were made in Loki's colours and all his favourite foods were served as well as the best wine and mead the palace had to offer.
Thor, Odin, and Frigga presented the dark prince with their gifts after the feasting was over and before the dancing had begun but Maryn leaned over and whispered softly that her gift would be given when they were alone if he would agree to walking to the gardens with the Yggdrasil fountain. At his nod she smiled, pressed a soft kiss to his inviting lips, and left his side to dance with Volstagg.
Loki could barely wait to walk with Maryn to the gardens. The thought of what her gift might be intrigued him and despite knowing her thoughts on the matter, he couldn't help entertaining the secret hope that her gift to him would be her body.
Maryn, on the other hand, had chosen as a gift for her betrothed something that was as important and intimate, if not more so, than keeping her virginity until their wedding night. The small folded slip of parchment she had tucked into a secret pocket under a pleat of her skirt felt heavy despite its size and she worried it wouldn't measure up to the weapons, spell book, leather bound tome and other gifts he had already received.
Time seemed to drag for her. She was whisked away by Fandral for another turn around the dance floor and then was drawn into a political debate by Loki, Odin and two councillors. Because Loki was the guest of honour he couldn't leave suddenly as they had been able to do before, so the couple had to wait until the celebration was winding down before they were able to get away.
When they were finally able to leave without causing offense to anyone, the couple were greatly relieved. Although they both enjoyed a feast as much as any other at the palace, they preferred to leave early before the revelry that occurred and would undoubtedly escalate after the Allfather, Allmother, and older Aesir left the Great Hall.
Once out of the hall, Loki couldn't help but pull Maryn into his arms in a shadowed corner of the terrace, his mouth slanting over hers hungrily as they stood hidden by shadows.
Maryn sighed and melted into his embrace, marvelling that he could make her feel so much with only a kiss. As Loki's hands began to wander, Maryn pulled back slightly, his cool, wine sweetened breath mixing with her own as they stood in each other's arms calming their racing hearts, "We should go before Thor finds us and draws you into a drinking game."
Loki's grin was breath-taking, he had already drunk at least four flagons of mead and three glasses of wine which took away the calm, unruffled façade he always wore and made him act like an excited child, something Maryn hadn't seen form him before.
"I can best him in drinking games, you know."
Biting her lip, her eyes flitting between his mouth and his sharp mirthful gaze, Maryn smiled, "I think you could best him in many things, Loki, but you do not because you love him so."
He blinked, taken aback a little by her insight before he nodded; "Well, where is the fun in proving myself better than others at every instance?"
Her face had a look of mischief as she pushed up so that their lips were moments from touching, "Come now, my lord, surely there is some enjoyment in having a soon-to-be wife who is loyal to you when your brother does not."
Loki pulled on a mask of bland indifference, "The only problem with your astute observation, my lady, is that he enjoys your presence almost as much as I do."
"Ah," Maryn nodded, her hands sliding up over his chest to rest one on his shoulder and the other threaded through the soft locks of his hair which just touched his collar, "But Thor has no claim over me, love."
Loki's hand came up and he brushed his knuckles over her cheek, "And I do?"
Heart beating a loud tattoo in her chest, Maryn bit her lip once more, drawing his gaze to her mouth again, "Ask me for anything and I will give it to you."
Loki searched her gaze, his arms wrapping tighter around her soft contours, appreciating just how well she fit against his body, "Anything, sweet one?" he murmured before kissing her with everything he had.
With a soft whine, the princess tightened her hands in his hair and broke the kiss until only their foreheads where touching, her eyes closed as she breathed, "I love you."
She felt him still and kept her eyes closed, dread working its way through her veins the longer he stood silent. Unable to bear the thought of him ignoring her words, or even worse making light of her feelings, she tried to pull out of his grasp but he only tightened his arms around her.
"I too love you."
His words made her eyes fly open and she stared up into his face, "You-you do?"
Countenance serious and all jesting gone, Loki nodded, "I have wanted to protect you from the moment I saw the bruises on your face when we met and I have loved you from the day you let me hold you back from the edge of the Bifrost."
Tears built up with every word he spoke and Maryn pressed her face to his chest, "I have loved you for so long, Loki," she said her voice wavering, "I think I realised it when you said your vows at our hand-fasting."
Lifting her face with a crooked finger under her chin, Loki brushed a tear away with the pad of his thumb as it slid down her cheek, "I should have told you sooner, Maryn. I can only thank the gods that you have waited to hear the words for so long."
More tears filled her eyes at the soft look on his face, "I was scared you would ignore what I said, or could not say the words to me. I hated the idea of living in a loveless marriage but the thought of showing my heart to you in such a way scared me more."
Loki kissed her again, their shared words making the press of their lips and caress of their tongues all the more intimate. He held her close when they broke apart to breathe deeply of the sweet night air. The sound of revellers becoming louder prompted them to move from their shadowed corner and the couple made their way down the portico steps and into the public gardens, Loki leading Maryn by the hand toward the maze. She saw the glint in his eyes as he glanced back at her with a suggestive smirk and couldn't bring herself to refuse him when they arrived at the centre of the maze.
He led her to one of the marble benches and sat down; pulling her into his lap and tilting her chin up to once more slant his mouth eagerly over hers. Kissing him made her head feel fuzzy and caused heat to rush through her body and settle low in her belly, so, to distract herself while his lips slipped down over her jaw to the dip between her collarbones, Maryn took deep calming breaths allowing his hand to slide to her upper ribs, his thumb barely a breath away from the side of her bodice covered breast.
"Do you not want your birthday gift?" she blurted out when his teeth nipped at her pulse-point and his fingers started to pull slowly at her laces.
Leaning away slightly, the Dark Prince spoke against the sensitive skin just under her ear, his voice deepening at the feel of her fingers running through his hair and mussing the locks from their usual pristine, sleek style. "I thought your words were my gift, sweet one."
The gravelled, velvet tone of his voice sent a shiver down Maryn's spine and the faint but unmistakable evidence of his arousal pressing against her thigh through the layers of their clothing made her tremble, "It was not my intention to tell you my feelings so abruptly, my love. I had another gift planned."
Intrigued by the timid tone of her voice, Loki sat back to look at her face properly, loving the flush that had coloured her cheeks at his ministrations which was visible even in the silver light of the moon. He settled back seeming calm and unruffled, the rumpled look to his hair making Maryn smile as she reached into her hidden pocket to pull out the parchment there. "This has been a part of the traditions of my people since the beginning of our records. If you can decipher the runes and the meaning behind them by our wedding day I will give you your gift."
Loki took the small piece of parchment from her hand, conjuring a lantern to light the area where they sat so that he could read it. Once he had opened it and let his eyes skim the runes written in Maryn's elegant hand, he raised his emerald orbs to her face, "Your gift is a mystery I must solve?" he asked dryly.
Maryn smirked at him, their position nearly making their heights even so she barely had to look up to meet his eyes, "No, my lord," she murmured slyly, her fingers loosening the ties that closed the neck of the green linen shirt he was wearing under his armour, she, in their ardour, having pushed the metal and leather askew revealing the shirt, "My gift is what is written on that paper, the mystery of it only adds to the excitement."
His jaw worked when she leaned forward, her lips brushing over his neck before she smiled against his pale skin. "Stay in my bed this night." The words were out before he could sensor them and he looked at her when she pulled back, expecting her to refuse.
"Are you asking as my lord-husband or commanding your right as an Asgardian prince?" she asked quietly, her fingers playing at the open neck of his shirt drawing patterns into his skin.
Loki rubbed a loose strand of her hair between his fingers, "I am asking as the man who loves you; spend the night in my bed, I wish to wake with you in my arms."
Biting her lip, Maryn nodded wordlessly and he pressed a pleased kiss to her soft lips, magically transporting them to his chambers so that they were seated on his bed and not in the maze when she pulled away and opened her eyes.
He had showed her a trick a few weeks before and so Maryn smiled at him, spoke a spell under her breath and her clothing shimmered and morphed from the emerald gown into a white nightgown of the softest cotton. It was high-waisted with a v-neck and long sleeves with ruffles over her hands.
Loki's gaze slid over her appreciatively, his look making delicious heat slide through her blood. And then he used the same spell so that he was dressed in soft black pants and a shirt of the same colour and material.
Tilting her head to study him, Maryn smiled softly and reached out, wrapping a hand around the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer to her, her mouth a mere moment from his. "Kiss me," she whispered needing to feel his lips on hers.
With a grin that showed in part why he was called the god of mischief, Loki leaned down to her, the heat of his kiss consuming her as they sunk back onto his bed.
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Maryn awoke wrapped in Loki's arms, his breath winding through her hair with every exhale. He was still asleep, the soft colours of dawn just barely peeking out over the horizon she could see from the balcony opposite his bed. Pressing back into him, Maryn smiled at the feel of his arms tightening around her body when she moved.
"Stay a little longer," he mumbled still half asleep.
Turning to look up at his face, the angles of it relaxed by sleep, Maryn ran her fingers lightly over his strong jaw marvelling at the softness of his skin. He smiled, his eyes still closed and Maryn spoke the words she would ever only say for him, "Always, my love."