You never felt more beautiful than you did now. You wore a gown you could never afford normally and were surrounded by men and women dancing the night away. This ball was everything you'd ever dreamed of. You were grateful it was a masquerade ball. Your stepmother would never know you were there. You could relax and enjoy yourself. You never counted on Prince Thor noticing you.

You were skirting along the walls of the grand room when someone approached you. "My lady, may I have this dance?" You licked your lips and nodded. "O-Of course." Taking his offered hand, you let him lead you to the dance floor. The music instantly began again. The two of you effortlessly danced a waltz. He was so strong and sure in his movements and yet, surprisingly graceful. It was easy for you to melt in his arms.

"Are you enjoying your time in the palace, my lady?" he asked. You couldn't help but smile. "I am. It's everything I ever thought it would be. More even." Your dance partner laughed heartily. "I'm glad. I love when people enjoy their time in my home. Many people find the palace intimidating."

"Y-You're the prince?" He smiled and even through the mask, you could tell it reached his eyes. "I am. Prince Thor. My brother Loki is around here somewhere, brooding." You fell silent. You wished he hadn't admitted that he was a prince. Now you didn't know what to say to him. It was easy to talk to him when he was just a normal, albeit high born, person like you. But you had nothing in common with a prince.

"Have I offended you, my lady?" You shook your head. "Of course not, my prince." The dance ended then. You dropped your arms and darted from the ballroom as quickly as your legs would allow. You had to get away. Too bad Prince Thor was lightning on his feet. It didn't take long before you felt his hand wrap around your arm gently.

"Wait...please." You stopped and turned to him. He didn't say anything at first. "Forgive me. I'm not used to ladies fleeing from me." You giggled slightly. You could understand that. You'd heard stories of how handsome and charming the blond prince was. "Why did you run?"

"You're a prince. I'm no one. I'm not worthy of your time or attention." Thor let go of your arm. "What makes you say that?" You gave a humorless chuckle and shook your head. "I'm not a princess, Your Highness. I'm hardly even nobility." Thor argued, assuring you that it didn't matter to him. He was enjoying your company. "Please return to the ball with me, my lady?" You hesitantly agreed. What was the harm, after all?

*three days later*

You were in love. That was the harm. You didn't think it was possible to fall in love so quickly, but something about Prince Thor made it so easy. For three nights, you joined him at the ball on Asgard and for three nights, he seemed to enjoy your company more than others. From the moment Thor saw you, he danced only with you and the two of you talked the night away.

Thor was everything people said of him. He was handsome, from what you could see through his mask, and he was charming. He was passionate and somewhat arrogant. But what you loved most was his loyalty and compassion for his people. He even went so far as to tell you that he was beginning to doubt his ability to lead them. As you left the palace each evening, you felt closer to Thor and felt your heart opening up to him.

You were sitting outside the palace, your hand in Thor's when he revealed his secret to you. "For what it's worth, I believe you'll be a great king." He gave your hand a squeeze and he smiled at you. "Thank you, my lady." The music from the ballroom drifted outside. You sighed happily. The moment was pure bliss. Nothing could break your little bubble of happiness. Or so you thought.

"My lady?" You hadn't realized you'd been staring off into space. You blinked and giggled a little. "Sorry. I was just...enjoying the moment." Thor smiled. He pulled you a little closer. "As was I." You both sighed in content. "I don't think anything could make this better," you whispered. Thor gently took your face in his hands and moved closer to you.

"I'll take that as a challenge." His lips drew nearer to yours. You held your breath in anticipation. Just as your lips were about to meet, somewhere, a clock strike the hour. Your eyes widened and you pulled away from Thor. "I'm sorry. I have to go!" Without waiting to hear his protests, you bolted.

Thor cried after you, chasing you through the ballroom. He didn't pay any attention to the stares he was getting from the guests. He only cared about catching you. What had happened? One moment, you were about to share a kiss and the next, you had disappeared. Did you not feel the connection he did? Or was there something else? Someone else? Thor didn't know but he was determined to find out.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. Thor turned his eyes on Loki for a brief second. "Brother..." Loki trailed off. "I have to catch her, Loki. I have to." Loki let go. "Then I shall assist you." The two brothers ran after you. Thor spotted you entering a carriage. You whipped your mask off your face and looked back. You saw Thor and Loki closing in and dropped your mask. You hurried into the carriage. Thor watched as you rode off. His first instinct was to go after you, he even started running, but his impulsive nature was overridden by Loki's voice of reason.

"You can't go after her now, Thor. Not with everyone still here in your honor. Father would be incredibly angry and Mother would scold you for being rude. We need to return to the ball." Thor shook his head angrily. "I can't, Loki. I need to go after her. I-I care for her. Deeply."

"And we will go after her. Tomorrow, when everything has died down. For now, we must return inside, but I swear to you, I will help you find her, no matter how long it takes." Thor smiled at his brother. "Thank you, Brother." The two returned to the ballroom, after picking up your dropped mask, to find everyone staring at them.

Loki cleared his throat and moved so Thor could cry out in his booming voice, "People of Asgard, I have found the woman I wish to take as my wife. She wore this mask!" He held it up for all to see and continued, "She has run off for some reason. I have to know why, even if she tells me that she cares not for me. If anyone has any information, I entreat you to speak with me." Odin stood from his throne and encouraged everyone to enjoy the rest of the evening and to seek Thor if they remembered anything. For the rest of the night, not one soul approached Thor with information regarding you.

The next day, the hunt was on. Thor approached every single woman he could find on Asgard. Sure, your face had been covered by a mask, but your eyes? Those beautiful (e/c) eyes would haunt him for the rest of his days. That was how he would find you. He would know your eyes anywhere. After all, he'd spent the better part of three nights staring into them.

Home after home he searched, lady after lady he spoke to. For days, Thor looked for you and he had just about given up hope. What if he never found you? Finally, his search lead him to the last home on Asgard. Thor climbed off his horse and saw a flash of (h/c) hair as someone scurrying away. At first, he thought nothing of it and knocked on the door of the home.

"Your Highness, such an honor." The lady of the house curtsied to him and he bowed. "Good evening, my lady. I suppose you know why I've come?" She nodded and moved to let him in. "Of course, Prince Thor. Stories of your search have spread throughout Asgard. Shall I fetch my daughters?" Thor nodded, unable to speak anymore in that moment. He was just ready to find you, even if you turned him away. You had to be here.

The lady's daughters appeared a moment later and Thor frowned. As the two young ladies stared up at him with coy smiles, Thor saw that neither of them had the eyes he was looking for. One young lady had the right color eyes, but they were missing something. Some sparkle that yours had. Neither of these girls were who he was looking for. Then, something struck him. Neither of them had (h/c) either.

He turned to the lady of the house and asked, "Do you have another daughter? One with (h/c) hair?" The lady's lips turned down into a frown. "O-Of course not, Your Highness. Only a maid, but she can't present herself at the moment." Thor's eyes narrowed. "I must insist."

She looked ready to argue when you appeared around the corner. You stopped short as all eyes turned to you. You let your gaze travel to your stepmother and sisters before it finally landed on Thor. You dropped your basket and dipped into a deep curtsy. "Y-Your Highness."

Thor crossed the room over to you. He gently grasped your chin and tilted your face up. His eyes met your beautiful (e/c) ones and he grinned. "I've found you!" Without caring who all was around, Thor crashed his lips to yours. He couldn't believe that you were standing in front of him. He parted from you and smiled sheepishly. "My apologies. I've been searching for you so long." You beamed and pulled him in for another kiss.