My Prince

As the crowd turns and applauds the both of you, Odin hikes his hand over his head and waves graciously, smiling as you walk alongside him, your breath coming in shallow puffs as you look around the room.

You realize that the exits to the outside were covered in a thick, white curtain.

Sighing as you shake your head, guilt starts to waft into your system as you realize the painstaking lengths this kingdom had gone to in order to make your birthday not only special, but on your own time.

Feeling someone take your arm and yank you to the floor, you look up with wide eyes as you see Sif, smiling from ear to ear, dragging you to the dance floor as the music cues up.

“It is time you smiled,” she says, twisting your arms as you start to laugh at her effort.

“You are insane,” you say, shaking your head as you start to bob your hips.

“Only when around you,” she says as she winks, throwing her hands up in the air as she dances around with you, the music drowning out, if only for a second, the reality of what this celebration really meant.

“May I cut in?”

Stopping in your tracks as you hear his voice, your eyes widen as you slowly turn towards him, his body standing tall as your neck careens all the way back to take him in.

“Of course,” you hear Sif say behind you, her hand patting your shoulder before walking away…probably to go and find Thor.

As he offers his hand for you to dance as the music slowly switches over to a ballad, you slide your hand tentatively in to his as he holds it up in the air, slipping his free arm around your waist as he pulls you close.

“Loki, I-”

“Shh shh shh,” he says, his lips puckering out as he looks over your shoulder, “Just dance.”

Swaying back and forth, your heart beat racing as he carries you across the floor, the song slowly comes to an end and, as he lets you go, you instinctively curtsy to him as he bows back.

Watching him as his gaze comes back up, you contain yourself no longer.

“I am so sorry,” you blurt out, reaching for his hand, “...for everything. For the lies, and the cover ups, and the inability to cave to your needs, a-a-and the withholding of the truth, and the lack of trust and respect and-”

Feeling his fingers press lightly against your lips, you look up at him as he furrows his brow, his lips pressed in to a tight line as he starts to talk.

“I cannot say that I am not still upset. More so because of fooling myself in to thinking that you trusted me,” he says.

“But I do-”

“Shh shh shh,” he says again, his eyes getting stern as tears well behind yours.

“Please stay,” he whispers.

Furrowing your brow as you cock your head, a tear escapes down your cheek as he uses his thumb to slowly wipe it away.

“If you stay here, and make Asgard your home, we could attempt again to rekindle what I thought we had before,” he says, barely above a whisper.

Shaking your head incredulously, you swat his hand from your lips as your eyes grow wild.

“You mistake what you think is my inability to trust you with my actual inability to open up to those I feel most vulnerable to.”

As Loki stares down at you, his brow slowly unfurrowing as his face goes blank, you take his hand in yours as you continue.

“You set aflame in me something that I have never felt. A want…no, a need…an absolute need…to be around you. Whenever you are not around, my heart aches for you. Whenever you are near, my soul swells with joy. And when you are angry with me…”

As you drift off, blinking back tears, you feel Loki squeeze your hand as he continues to stare at you, his eyes wildly searching your face.

“But I did not think that you wanted me to open up. I was never able to separate myself from Earth’s definition of concubine so that I could adopt this new idea of the same word. It is my fault that we are in this situation, but it is not because I don’t trust you. It is because I was unable to adapt to my surroundings.”

As you look back up at Loki’s face, his eyes darting from your gaze to your lips, you feel him wrap his arms around you as he pulls you close.

“I am sorry that we have ended up here,” he murmurs lowly.

“And I am sorry that I have made you feel a way that I wished to have never made you feel. All I ever wanted to do, besides be the best version of myself possible for you, was to make you feel my love.”

Feeling his lips press deeply into the top of your head, his hand slowly rubbing up and down your back, he dips his lips low in to your ear.

“This dress is stunning on you.”

And as you part from his grasp, raising your gaze to hold his beautiful eyes, you flash a light smile as you say, “I kind of miss the green.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mingling with the guests as you nurse a glass of cider, you feel a cold sensation slowly drift up your spine.

Taking in a slow, deep breath, you nonchalantly glance around the room as your pupils begin to dilate.

Something isn't right.

Squinting your eyes as you take a deep breath, you walk off into the dark corner, a mirrored version of yourself continuing to stand and sip on a glass of cider, as you slowly slip out of the Grand Hall and dash down the hallway.

But not before Sif catches you and darts across the room.

Running down the stairs as you exit the castle, you rush out on to the bifrost as your dress bellows behind you, your body beginning to churn with anticipation as you see the all-too-familiar yellow glints getting brighter in the distance.

Straining as your legs carry you as fast as you can go, your heart sinks as you happen upon Heimdall's scepter laying on the ground...with him nowhere to be seen.

Panting for air as you hastily look around, you take in a long draw through your nose, choking on the strong scent of mint and smoke as your eyes widen.

Oh, no.

"Heimdall!" you yell, your voice ricocheting through the cosmos as you strain to listen for his voice.

Panicking, you turn and run back out on to the lavish rainbow road, your heart pounding as you look up to the balcony of the Grand Hall.

Watching as people start to scatter, you see Thor dash out on to the balcony and wrap his hands around his mouth.

"FATHER!!"

Feeling your lips tremble, the full plan of diversion filling your mind, you now know that in order to save the King...and Heimdall...you would have to embrace what would be the defining moment of the rest of your elongated existence.

"Angel!"

Looking up through misty eyes, you see Sif running towards you, her sword at her side as her eyes grow wild.

"The King is gone. H-he...he just...vanished," she exclaims breathlessly.

Nodding slowly as you turn out towards the universes, you watch as the glints slowly turn in to separate strands of light, each floating in the aethers, waiting for you to outstretch your arms.

And as you slowly take Sif's hand in yours, her fingers resting solidly on the back of your hand, you take a step forward as your walk turns into a trot, giving way to a run as you dash towards the edge of the bifrost...and, wrapping your arms around Sif as you jump, you throw yourselves at the mercy of the universe as the yellow strands of energy dash after your plummeting bodies, with Thor and Loki running to the edge, screaming your names in the background as Asgard quickly falls from your vision.