The Midgard Woman

Loki lay awake for a long while after Georgiana had finally dropped off. He could still hear her words echoing in his mind as if she had only just said them, repeating endlessly like the chorus of a song that refused to die.

“If I can forgive him, can’t you? I mean, can’t you at least try? For me?”

In his heart of hearts, Loki knew that she was right, and that he ought to be the bigger person, he ought to let this go and forgive the Aesir Prince his mistake. The truth was, though, his stubborn side was refusing to give in this time. Generally he was right about not being able to deny her anything; whenever she would point out that he was wrong about something, he would for a while stubbornly hold onto his argument and refuse to give in to her patient insisting, but in the end he would always, always, always agree that she was right, and the matter would be over and done with.

But why couldn’t he let go of this?

Loki knew that answer to that already, had already answered that question earlier that evening. It was because he loved Georgiana so much and the thought of anyone else even touching her without his permission made him angry beyond belief. True, she may have only have been away from him for a few minutes and no harm had come to her, but he couldn’t forget that feeling of fear that had gripped him the second he had realised what had happened, the hollow worry that had seized hold of him, the blind panic that had sent visions of all sorts of terrifying scenarios involving his wife and a great deal of pain and suffering flitting through his mind. Even though he knew that the Aesir were a peaceful people, the notion that they may have some small rebel group tucked away in their tranquil little realm who wished to provoke a revolt or even a war by severing the alliance between Asgard and Jotunheim and then attacking when both realms were at their most vulnerable was still a valid one. According to history books he had read, it had happened, a few times within other realms, although many, many years ago and even on other worlds, apparently. What if a group of rebel Asgardians had decided to kidnap Georgiana and subject her to all manner of torture in order to have an excuse to launch an attack on the Jotuns when they came to rescue her? They might not seem like a sadistic people on the surface, but you could never tell.

Nothing could compare to the relief he had felt when he had seen her arrive back on Jotunheim, accompanied by Odin, the knowing that she was alive and unharmed. Yet, in spite of that, he just couldn’t bring himself to forgive Prince Thor for having worried him, and scared her, like that in the first place. He had just been surprised to learn that she wasn’t too shaken up by the event. Still, he reminded himself, she was strong, his Georgiana, capable of standing up for herself and holding her own in the face of danger, which was one of the reasons he loved her so much.

The thought of anyone ever harming her filled him with a fear that he hoped never to experience for real. Was it selfish of him not to want any harm to come to her? He didn’t think so. She was the most wonderful person to ever exist in the whole of the Nine Realms, she needed to be protected, she deserved to live without fear or pain. So, was it wrong to hate someone who may or may not have potentially caused her harm, physically or emotionally, and who had put the fear of the Gods into both of them?

He didn’t think so.

But he knew that there was no way that Georgiana would ever see it that way. She would insist that he had to be the bigger person, and in her mind she was probably right, but Loki just couldn’t picture himself ever being able to let this go.

He sighed, absently running his fingers through her silky hair. Georgiana made a small sigh in her sleep but didn’t stir. The sound brought a smile to his lips. He had been so terribly lonely before she had come into his life. He could remember, still quite clearly, several incidents in his life when he would watch the other Frost Giant children his own age play in the fields and plains and by the lake, and would always beg his Father to let him go out and play with them. But Laufey had always refused on the grounds that he was too small.

“They tower over you, Loki,” he would say, and it was true, the other Frost Giants did, even at such a young age. “And they play a little rougher than you’re used to. You might get hurt.”

In the end, Loki had given up asking, and had spent most of his time inside the palace walls, exploring the hidden nooks and crannies, or reading in the library. He was a born reader, something which Laufey was extremely proud of him for, and by the time he was six, he had read almost half the books that the vast palace library had to offer. Laufey had been glad that his son had something to do to occupy his mind and keep him from being bored, but he had also felt guilty for denying his son a proper childhood. He knew for a fact that any person who grew up too isolated from society would develop poor social skills and spend the rest of their life in unhappy solitude. Hence his decision to find Loki someone his own height to spend his time with. Georgiana had been just perfect in his eyes; someone who was equally as cut off from her peers as his son, with a fiery imagination and the ability to look beyond appearances. He had been more than thrilled when he had learned that she returned Loki’s affections, and even more thrilled when Margaret had reassured him that she would have no problems with her daughter marrying a Frost Giant, however unorthodox it may appear, providing that said Frost Giant loved her and would take care of her for the rest of her life. After Farbauti’s death, he had sworn to always do the best by his son, and his happiness was always at the forefront of the Jotun King’s mind.

As for Loki, well, he had been more than a little surprised when Georgiana had become his friend. Living hidden away in the library, away from the other children, had made him rather shy and unsure of himself in the presence of others so he had been startled when she hadn’t laughed at him and started teasing him for his rather clumsy attempt not to fall over after being encouraged forwards by his Father, but had actually wanted to talk with him. All his nerves had faded away when she had laughed after he had rather stoutly told her that he thought her name was just as funny as his, and that had been that, basically, he had decided that he liked her. Well, more than liked her, really, but of course he was too young then to know the true extent of his feelings for her, though he would never forget the warm feeling that seeing her eyes light up when he had given her the Eisblumen had caused. The same warm feeling had flooded through him when had shown her his true Jotun form and realised that she wasn’t frightened by it. It was the same as when he had kissed her for the first time, and right now being with her.

Even as he thought it, he felt Georgiana shift beside him and he glanced at her, thinking that she was waking up. But she only wriggled closer to him and made herself more comfortable in her sleep, and he smiled, unable to resist pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. Their very first kiss was a memory he often found himself reliving. He had been so nervous about it, even though he had done his best not to show it in front of her, about getting it right and making what would not only be his first kiss ever but also hers absolutely perfect. And somehow, Gods only knew how, he had managed to. He could still remember the shy touch of his lips to hers, silently praying that she wasn’t about to come over shy and pull away from him. She hadn’t, though, she had leaned closer to him and pressed her own lips back to his, and from there the kiss had deepened and they had become so lost in their sudden throes of passion that when they had eventually forced themselves to part for air, they had gone from standing side by side and holding hands to sitting on the floor with their arms wrapped tightly around one another. He could remember Georgiana blushing as she dropped her arms from around his neck and realizing what she must be thinking in that sudden moment.

“It’s alright, love,” he had whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “I know you’re not ready for that, neither am I.”

“It isn’t that,” Georgiana whispered. “It’s just, well, back in Midgard, men and women are usually married before they become this intimate with one another.”

Loki smiled. “But we’re not on Midgard, are we?” he asked, mischievously.

Georgiana opened her eyes and smiled up at him. “No, you’re right. But...this is as far as we go. Is that alright?”

“More than alright,” Loki replied, kissing her again.

To be perfectly honest, neither of them had actually considered the prospect of someday getting married even then. Even when Georgiana had decided to break the news to her Mother that she and Loki were together, when Laufey had volunteered to come and explain matters to her, neither of them had considered that they were actually paving a way for themselves to enter into matrimony. It was only when Laufey and Margaret had propositioned him in her private parlour that Loki had realised the depths of his feelings for Georgiana and that he was indeed ready to take that next step in their relationship, providing that she was ready too, of course.

Loki sometimes found himself wondering if their meeting hadn’t been planned out for them by the Fates, long ago before they were even born. A lot of Frost Giants believed in old superstitions like that, that sometimes the Fates favored young people and bestowed gifts upon them, such as the power of the second sight, or that sometimes they were particularly protective of other people and never allowed any harm to come to them, or even that they sometimes picked out young souls who they felt belonged together and brought them together in some way. If this was how it had happened, if it hadn’t just been an accident meeting her like he had, then Loki was grateful to them even so. He could only imagine just how empty and lonely his life would have been had she not been a part of it.

He stifled a yawn, not wanting to wake her when she was so deeply asleep beside him, and finally closed his eyes. His mind was made up. In front of Georgiana and everyone else, he would maintain the facade that all was well between him and the Asgardian Prince, that there were no hard feelings on his behalf and that he bore no ill will against him. Perhaps in time, say a further twenty years or so, his anger against him would eventually fizzle out, but for now, well, what no one else knew couldn’t hurt them.

When morning eventually came, he awoke to find Georgiana wide awake and nuzzling up to him with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Oh, do we have time for this?” Loki teased, wrapping one arm around her waist and bringing up his free hand to brush a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes.

“Well, since we had to make it a very, very quick one yesterday, I thought I could at least try to make it up to you,” Georgiana replied, with a tantalizing purr in her voice. “Unless, of course, for some reason you’re not up for it..?”

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. “Georgiana, when have you ever known me not to be up for it?”

Georgiana giggled as he quickly flipped her beneath him and kissed her. “My, someone’s a little eager,” she teased, pressing her body against him. Loki could feel warmth radiating between them already.

“I’m not the one who’s trying to seduce the love of my life in their sleep,” Loki pointed out, trailing kisses down her neck.

Georgiana gave a soft moan and rocked her hips beneath his. “I’m sorry, Loki, but you are just so adorable in your sleep, I couldn’t resist.”

“Adorable?” Loki scowled. “I don’t want to be adorable. That makes me sound like a pet or something.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but you just are,” Georgiana smiled, running her hands through his hair. Loki made a small huff of distaste against her skin and she giggled. “Fine, then, would you prefer it if I called you sweet? Or delightful? Or cute?”

“Excuse me?” Loki’s head shot up as he gave her a mock glare.

“Oh, dear, am I in trouble?” Georgiana teased. “Should I have stuck with “adorable?”

“Georgiana,” Loki began, warningly.

“Or perhaps you would prefer regal?” Georgiana smiled, running one hand down his back. “Or how about majestic? Or, ooh, is “princely” a word? It sounds like a word.”

Loki grinned at her, approvingly. “Better,” he said, finding that sweet spot between her neck and shoulder again and kissing it.

“Oh, Loki...” Georgiana sighed, wriggling against him. “I should compliment you more often.” Then she giggled as Loki broke away from her a second to glance between them at what was digging into her. “Mm, I see you like that idea too, Loki. Would you like me to help you take care of it?”

“I don’t know,” Loki teased, pushing himself up so that they were no longer touching. Georgiana made a small sigh of frustration at the loss of contact. “Perhaps I should take care of it myself, as you so kindly suggested yesterday.”

“Oh, I knew that would come back to bite me sooner or later,” Georgiana sighed, thrusting her hips upwards to meet his. Loki shifted further away from her, however, and she sighed again. “Loki, please!”

“Please what, my love?” Loki asked, slyly.

She fixed him with a look. “Oh, no. You are not going to make me beg for it.”

“Aren’t I?” Loki teased.

“No, sir, you are not,” Georgiana insisted, and then, to his surprise, she threw up her arms and seized hold of him, firmly wrapping him in a tight embrace and thrusting his body down to meet hers. Loki felt his arms buckle and it took every ounce of his self control to steady his descent so that he wouldn’t hurt her by falling on top of her.

“Now who’s the eager one?” he teased.

With a look to match his own, Georgiana rolled them both over and straddled him. “If you don’t take me right now, Loki-”

Loki smiled. “So demanding!”

Georgiana shook her head, wearing her “What-am-I-going-to-do-with-you?” look as she leaned down to kiss him. Pressed up against his arousal, she could feel her own beginning to cry for it. “Loki...please...”

Loki laughed, softly, his fingers already nimbly unfastening the ties at the front of her nightgown. “As I said last night, I can never deny you anything, my love.”

No more word were exchanged as he kissed her again and they both began to hurry out of their nightclothes, or at least until Loki became a little too eager on his end and accidently tore the shoulder of her nightgown. They both stared it the damage, unsure of whether to laugh or not and then Loki ventured a rather apologetic “Oops.”

Georgiana turned her eyes slowly upon him. “Well,” she said, fighting not to start laughing as she said it, “it would seem you owe me a new nightgown, my Prince.”

“Sorry,” Loki replied, genuinely so.

“Five years of marriage and you’re only just beginning to tear my clothes off me,” Georgiana teased. “Are you losing your touch, Loki?”

Loki grinned. “Never, as you’re about to find out, my Lady.”

Georgiana giggled and Loki managed to control himself enough not to do further damage to her already ruined nightgown as he finally managed to pull it off her and cast it to the floor. “You’re so lucky that one wasn’t one of my favourites, Loki,” she murmured as he began to trail kisses from her clavicle down towards her breasts.

“I swear I’ll make it up to you,” Loki murmured, nuzzling her flesh and Georgiana let out a soft gasp as he suckled on her nipple.

“Oh, Loki, I think you’re doing that already,” she whispered, running her hands through his hair.

Loki groaned against her flesh. “Georgiana, you know I love you doing that.”

“Mm,” Georgiana murmured, arching her back. “That’s why I did it.”

She repeated the action and then her breath came in small, stuttering whimpers of arousal. “Mm...Loki...! I need you...right now...”

“I know, my love,” Loki whispered, shifting so that he could line up with her entrance. The first time they had done this, it had taken a little while for Georgiana to relax enough for him to be able to slip inside without hurting her, but they had since had plenty of practice and now it was second nature to both of them.

Georgiana felt her eyes flutter shut as Loki slid into her with one quick thrust. “Oh, Loki...”

“Gods, I love you, Georgiana,” Loki groaned, pulling her down on top of him.

“I love you too, Loki,” Georgiana breathed, her mouth finding his as they began to move together. It wasn’t long before she felt herself trembling as each stroke brought her closer to the brink of orgasm. “Mm...Loki...I’m close...”

“Let go then, darling,” Loki breathed, already close to following her. They both climaxed in the same instant, however, and he caught hold of her, pulling her close as she collapsed on top of him with a prolonged sigh. Loki ran a hand down her spine, his other stroking her shoulder blades gently. “You make such adorable noises when you do that, you know,” he breathed, nuzzling her hair.

“Adorable?” Georgiana glanced up at him. “So you may call me “adorable” but I may not call you that?”

“But you are adorable, Georgiana,” Loki smiled, nuzzling her nose with his. “Whereas I am not.”

“You are when you’re asleep,” Georgiana teased. “But perhaps we should agree to disagree on that note.”

“I agree,” Loki smiled, kissing her forehead.

Georgiana snuggled against him and glanced in the direction of the window. “Mm,” she sighed, happily. “I suppose we should get up soon.”

“Mm,” Loki agreed, absently.

Georgiana glanced at him and sensed that his mind was somewhere else. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

Loki met her eyes and smiled. “I was thinking that, much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. About Prince Thor, I mean.” Georgiana raised herself slightly, her interest peaked. “It probably isn’t healthy to hold a grudge this long.”

Georgiana gave a mock gasp and butted her forehead gently against his. “My Prince is growing up! I’m so proud!”

Loki laughed. “Come on then, my love, let us leave our love-nest and get cleaned up.”

Georgiana smiled as he slid out of her and rolled to one side, sliding the covers off them both. Thankfully the stones in their room radiated enough heat so that she could at least make it to the bathroom naked without catching a chill. Loki followed her, eager to join her in the bath. Before she had come to live with him in the palace, he had just done as the other Frost Giants did, a quickly all-over-body wash in cold water and soap, simply because the idea of soaking in a tub full of water for ages hadn’t really appealed to him before, but once Georgiana had pointed out the considerable benefits of sharing a bath with her, well, it had rapidly become something to look forward to, and thankfully his Aesir form managed perfectly well in hot water whereas his Jotun form could only cope in cold and found vast amounts of heat unbearable.

She turned to smile at him as he slipped in behind her and then leaned back against him, the water soothing her limbs which still felt slightly unsteady after their love-making. Loki pressed a kiss to the back of her head, wrapping both arms around her waist, hands splaying over her belly. “One day...” he mused, thoughtfully. “I can’t wait to see what you look like full with child.”

“Oh!” Georgiana let out an indignant laugh as she turned to look at him. “And here I thought you actually enjoyed making love to me, Loki!”

Loki burst out laughing. “You know I didn’t mean it like that, love.”

“Hm, well, you should learn to be careful what you say in future,” Georgiana muttered, grumpily, as Loki pulled her close and pressed a few kisses to the top of her head.

“Am I forgiven?” he asked.

Georgiana sat up a little straighter and smiled up at him, showing that she hadn’t been serious and that she knew that he hadn’t meant what it sounded like he meant at all. “I think I can let you off this time,” she replied, turning about completely to snuggle into his arms and return his kiss. They remained like that until the water began to cool and Loki gently but firmly pointed out that her staying any longer in a tub of cold water in an already cold realm wasn’t a good idea given that she wasn’t a Frost Giant, and so Georgiana somewhat reluctantly allowed him to help her out and they both dried themselves off before going to dress.

“Have I ever told you that you look absolutely ravishing in my colours?” Loki asked, watching her pull on a long tunic-style, square-neck-cut green dress trimmed with gold and tied with a gold sash at the waist over black hose. Georgiana found she always wore hose beneath even her longest dresses for the extra warmth.

“Yes, I think you might have mentioned it once or twice,” Georgiana teased, “or all the time.”

“Well, you do,” Loki replied, stepping up to cup her face and kiss her. “They really suit you.”

Georgiana smiled. “I should hope so, since I’ve barely worn anything else since we married.”

“That reminds me,” Loki added, reaching to retrieve her torn nightgown from the floor. “Any colour or style preference? A Princess of Asgard shouldn’t have to just settle for the same again time after time.”

Georgiana laughed. “Well, since I do already have several green nightgowns already, perhaps this one ought to be blue?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped closer to him. “To match the colour of my husband’s skin when he’s in his Jotun form?”

“Your wish is my command, my Princess,” Loki teased, before using his magic to transform her old plain white, and now additionally torn, nightgown into a new, flawless, long-sleeved one with a flowing skirt, made of shimmery material in a beautiful shade of cornflower blue.

Georgiana gasped, softly, as she took it from him. “Oh, Loki, it’s beautiful!”

“Well, you deserve the best after I ruined your last one,” Loki replied.

Georgiana gave him a fond look and then hugged him with one arm, the other still holding onto the nightgown. “You spoil me, Loki, you really do.”

“Of course I do,” Loki replied, hugging her back. “You’re my wife.”

Georgiana smiled and kissed him. “Well, thank you.”

Loki returned her smile, watching her lay the gown on their bed, before taking her hand and leading her downstairs.

Meanwhile, back on Asgard, the same morning hadn’t quite taken such a loving turn for Thor. He hadn’t been able to get much sleep at all for the past two nights, worrying about what his Father had said to him. Would there really be no forgiveness for this mistake? What was he suppose to do to make it all right again?

He had spoken briefly with his Mother the night before, only to find less sympathy on her behalf than he had been expecting from her.

“Thor, I know you made a mistake,” she explained, patiently, “but you must try to see it from their point of view. The poor girl had no idea what was happening when you had her dragged out of her home in the middle of the night. Her husband’s going to view this as a hostile act. You could have seriously damaged their respect for us, not to mention you insulted the Princess with your words.”

Thor gave a stubborn sigh. “Well, what was I meant to think? I mean, how was I supposed to know that the Jotun Prince had a Midgardian girl for a wife? We were never informed of such a thing.”

“And why should we have been?” Frigga countered. “It was nothing to do with us. I mean, it would have been if he had married an Asgardian, then we would have needed to know. But since we are not human, it is none of our business whether one of them marries a Jotun or not. It doesn’t affect us in any way. Anyway, that isn’t the point. The point is that you just assumed that she was a slave simply based on her status as a Misgardian.”

“I thought that Prince Loki was bullying her,” Thor stated, bluntly. “Or rather that she was afraid of him and that he was hurting her. It certainly looked that way. You ask Sif or one of the others, they’ll say the same.”

Frigga sighed and got to her feet. “You know, Thor, some days you would do well to listen to Hogun’s instincts.”

“Am I really the villain here, Sif?” Thor asked as they sat together in the training ring later that afternoon. None of them actually felt like doing any actual training, however; ever since Thor had told them of his Father’s reaction to his mistake, a cloud of gloom had hung over the five of them and all they could manage to do was sit and talk together, not practice any action at all.

“No, of course not,” Sif replied, loyally, although she sounded doubtful as she said it.

Thor glanced at her. “What?”

“What?” Sif countered, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

“You’re being evasive,” Thor said.

“No, I’m not,” Sif protested.

“You sort of are,” said Fandral, who had just come up.

“Shut up, you,” Sif hissed.

“Go on, what?” Thor pressed.

Sif sighed. “Fine! I was going to say that, well, you did sort of rush into things.”

Thor threw up his hands. “You agreed that it was a good plan!”

“Yes, but-!”

“And you two both thought that she was being abused just as much as I did!” Thor finished.

Fandral sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. I guess I’d do the same again if I thought that someone was in trouble.”

“We should have asked,” said Hogun, who had come up and plopped himself down by Fandral. “We should have just asked Laufey something like “Who’s that young woman talking to Prince Loki?” and then he would have said “She’s the Princess, his wife,” and all would have been well.”

“Now you tell me,” Thor sighed.

“Is your Father still cross?” Sif asked, tentatively.

“If by “cross” you mean “not speaking to me unless it’s necessary to do so,” then yes,” Thor replied, folding his arms.

“Well, he can’t stay angry forever,” Fandral pointed out.

“Can’t he?” Thor sighed.

Before Fandral could reply, however, a shout reached their ears and they all turned to see Volstagg running as fast as he could towards the training ground. He skidded to a halt in front of them, almost falling over as he did so, sending up a pile of grit in a skittering motion and grabbed the nearest pole to steady himself.

“What’s wrong?” Fandral asked. “Have the kitchens run out of chicken?” He chuckled at his own joke and the others, even Hogun, managed a smile.

“You won’t laugh when I tell you what I know,” Volstagg gasped, grasping the stitch in his side.

Thor saw that he was serious and got to his feet. “What is it?”

“Heimdall just informed me,” Volstagg panted. “He saw it coming too late.”

“Saw what?” Thor asked.

“Volstagg, just tell us,” Sif added, getting to her feet.

“The Dark Elves!” Volstagg said. “They’ve launched a surprise attack on the Bifrost! They’re invading Asgard!”