As you finished your duties for the day, you retired to your chamber, which was complementary when you worked at the palace. You were a personal servant for the young princes, Loki and Thor. Among many other beautiful Asgardian women, both seemed to favor you. You had kept everything up until that point completely professional, even when Thor hit on you. He was far more outspoken than Loki was, and often preferred making a show of it. You knew he didn't know much better and he never truly embarrassed you, but you always rolled your eyes and brushed it off.

Loki, however, often took long walks with you through the gardens. He was gentle and kind, and a bit more introverted in your opinion. You often enjoyed your talks with Loki, even if you did let him do most of the talking a majority of the time. He talked about the books he read and his studies. Sometimes when he was feeling down, you cheered him up by pointing out some of the flowers and numerous facts about them. You knew a lot about the flowers on Asgard and even had your own private garden on the balcony of your chamber. Granted, it was small, a mere fraction of the one you and Loki walked through, but you loved it nevertheless.

As you retired to your chamber for the night, you opened the door to find Loki sitting on your bed. You gave him a questioning look, but he only stared at you in silence. "My prince," you said gently, breaking the silence between you two. "Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing," he replied, standing and walking to the door.

"Wait!" You called after him. "Why were you here?"

His emotions seemed to go cold. "I have a right to be wherever I want," he replied icily, then exited without a word. You only stared after him as the door shut behind him.

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The next morning, you woke and readied yourself for the day, then moved out of your chamber and down the halls of the palace. You walked carefully toward Thor's chamber, as you always did. Every morning you greeted each of the princes. You knocked on his door tenderly, in which you heard him roll over on his bed. "May I enter?" you asked.

"Yes..." you heard him mumble from inside. You gently opened the door, then shut it behind you. You looked around his room, then began tidying the stuff that was thrown everywhere. You'd come to expect such from Thor, even if you'd just cleaned his chamber the previous day (which you always did). "By Odin's beard, Lady (Y/N), why must you wake me at such an unreasonable hour?"

"By wishes of the king, Odin, and the queen, Frigga, I shall wake you at the same time every day," you stated. "Whether it is unreasonable or not is not up to me. I'm simply following orders."

He groaned a bit, getting out of his bed. He had slept without a shirt that night, something you were used to. He rose to his feet, then decided to walk over to you as you were folding some of his clothes and putting them away. He took his hands in yours from behind, making you set down the shirt. This was often something he did, letting you know in little ways that he cared about you. "Lady (Y/N), you don't have to do that. I can do it myself."

You sighed a bit, turning to face him. "Prince Thor, we both know quite well you're capable of doing such work, though whether you would actually do it or not remains to be seen."

His eyebrows furrowed a bit. He looked playfully offended. "Hey! I can fold my own clothing!" Thor took the shirt from behind you, trying his best to fold it like you did the others, but his handiwork was sloppy and it ended up as a crinkled ball instead. This made you giggle a little as you grabbed the shirt from him and folded it correctly, then put it away before moving to the door of his bedroom. "Lady (Y/N)!" Thor called after you.

You stopped, turning to him. "Yes, Prince Thor?"

"I do hope I'll see you again today," he said. It was a thing he said to you every morning.

You smiled a bit. "And you as well," you replied, as you did everyday, making him smile.

You moved from his chamber and gently shut the door, moving toward Loki's instead. That's when memories of the night before flooded back into your mind. You weren't sure why Loki was in your chamber, but you knew something wasn't right. It was an unusual behavior toward you. However, you didn't intend on asking about it as you knocked on the door to his room. "Prince Loki, may I enter?"

"Yes," you heard a familiar voice say. Like every day, Loki was already up, staring out the window. You shut the door behind you as you entered, beginning to tidy things in his room. There wasn't much to do, as he was the neater of the two brothers, so you were done within minutes. You moved toward the door, when Loki's voice stopped you. "Lady (Y/N)?" he called, though he didn't turn away from the window.

"Yes, Prince Loki?"

"What is your purpose for coming here every morning?"

This took you a bit by surprise, but you gave the same answer you gave Thor. "By wishes of the king, Odin, and the queen, Frigga, I shall wake you at the same time every day," you repeated. "I'm simply following orders."

"Orders... Why must you follow orders? You're not a slave to us."

"I'm a servant. In exchange for my needs, I cater to your whim, as well as Prince Thor's."

Loki turned and looked to me. "But why?"

"Why what?" you asked, confused.

"Why must you cater to our every need? Why can't you be free?"

"I'm not royalty, simply a peasant born into this life. I was born to serve you."

He walked over to you menacingly, which made you back up. You weren't usually afraid of him, but he quickly pinned you against the wall, blocking any escape you may have had prior. "Lady (Y/N), you don't have to serve me. I don't want you to be stuck in this life forever."

You shook your head. "Prince Loki, I was born for this life. I apologize for making you upset, I will try to be better," you said, you head bowing. He was making you nervous with how close he was.

"No!" he yelled, lashing out.

You flinched as he did, dropping to one knee out of instinct. "I'm sorry, I've made you upset," you said, shaking. "I'll do whatever you wish, Prince Loki."

He growled, throwing something across the room. You flinched again as the sound of shattering glass pierced your eardrums, squeezing your eyes closed in fear. You hadn't seen Loki lash out like this in all the time you'd served him. It was a terrifying new feeling. You could hear him sigh a moment later, and he placed a hand on your head. You opened your eyes and he was standing quite close to you. You were almost afraid to look up as he tilted your head back to see your face. "Lady (Y/N), I wish for you to be free. Is that so hard to understand?"

You were almost afraid to speak, but you somehow found the courage to squeak out one word. "Why?"

"Because my father would never let me marry our servant."

Your mouth immediately dropped. You were speechless, several thoughts racing through your mind. You'd liked Loki for a while, but never imagined he would reciprocate. "Prince Loki-"

"No," he replied. "Don't call me 'Prince' when we're alone. My name is Loki."

"As you wish... Loki."

"(Y/N), I want you to leave this place. Leave and never come back."

"W... What? I..." Tears welled in your eyes. "I can't..."

Loki held out a hand, which you shakily took. He pulled you to your feet, then moved forward, your faces getting so close that you could feel one another's breath. "(Y/N), run away with me," he whispered.

"Loki..." you whispered back, blushing. As much as you wanted to, you knew you couldn't. "Why do we have to run? Why can't we stay?"

"It wouldn't be fair to Thor. He's tried so hard to have you," he replied.

"Then we don't openly have a relationship," you said. "And perhaps at a later date we can run away, if things get worse," you said. You were always the voice of reason in his life, which he loved about you. "I enjoy the long walks in the garden with you, and being around you throughout the day."

"Yes, but if we run away, we can start our own garden from the ground up. A symbol of our love."

Your blush deepened. "Loki, that sounds wonderful... However, I just can't bring myself to leave my duties right now. Perhaps another time?"

"Do you love me?" Loki questioned. It took you by surprise.

"I... I do love you..." you whispered, looking down. You were almost ashamed of yourself for loving him. You put your head on his chest. "But you're a prince... royal... heir to the throne... I... I am nothing... a peasant, just a slave to-"

"No!" Loki exclaimed, making you jump. "You're not a slave." He pulled your chin up, looking you in the eyes. "You, my darling, are a queen, and you deserve so much more than the life you have." This time, he was the one bowing to you, putting his head down on your collarbone, just as you'd done to him a moment ago. "You are a queen... I hope one day to call you my queen..."

You shakily put a hand to his head, your fingers lingering in his hair as you gently stroked his head. "Loki..." you whispered, though you couldn't bring yourself to say anything more. He pulled his head up, then gently pressed his lips to yours, pushing you against the wall once more. You wrapped your arms around his neck as you kissed the young prince before you. You couldn't believe you were doing such a thing, as it was something you'd only imagined from time to time. Your fingers immediately tangled once more in his raven locks and his hands were placed on your waist, which sent butterflies through you. He had never really come into physical contact with you before, so his touch was exhilarating as his soft lips moved in sync with yours.

As you both pulled apart, he pulled you closer, putting your foreheads together. Then, he whispered softly to you. "Care to take a walk in the garden today?"

You smiled a bit, and he did too. You nodded against him, then initiated one more small kiss before moving to exit his room to finish your duties. He smiled as you left, and you did as well. You couldn't knock the grin off your face as you thought of Loki's soft lips and gentle touch. It sent you into another realm...