"It's like a fairytale," Lia giggled. "The lovely maiden sneaking out into the middle of the night with her prince,"

You blushed deeply, pausing in braiding your hair to shush your sister, lest your brother was listening. Lia covered her mouth with her hand, but she continued to giggle. The enchanted mirror that stood on the table allowed you to speak with your dear twin, her dainty face filling the frame. Lia had sent the mirror from Vanaheim, a gift from her new husband so she would not miss her beloved sister. It seemed an advantageous marriage indeed.

"I wonder what he intends to show you," Lia said in hushed tones. "Will he confess his love?"

"Lia!" You hissed. "Do not be ridiculous. We have only just met, it is far too early for that."

"But he seems quite taken with you. And you with him~" Lia teased.

"Hush now, I will be late otherwise."

"Have fun! Tell me all about it tomorrow!"

"I will." You smiled, and waved away the magic from the mirror.

Donning a thick cloak, you covered your head with your hood, and headed out of your room. Looking this way, and that, making sure not a soul was around, you hurried on out and down the hallway, your footsteps pattering quietly along the tile.

Your brother's threat echoed in the back of your mind, but you did your best to quash your fear and keep going; looking over your shoulder all the way.

Loki was already there by the time you reached the Bifrost. You couldn't help the beaming smile that spread across your face at seeing him. He smiled at you in return, and took your hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissing your knuckles in greeting.

"You came." He smiled. "I feared you would not."

"And leave you waiting here in the dark, alone? Never."

He smiled at that. "Come, I have something to show you."

Excitedly, he led you by the hand down a secret path. You giggled, wondering where he was taking you. Down a spiralling stone staircase you went below the surface, coming to an underground cave, the entrance hidden by thick vines.

With a wave of his hand, Loki moved the vines to the side, and lead you in. what was revealed in the cave, was a secret garden. You gasped at the beauty surrounding you. The cave was filled with watery mist from the underground waterfall running down one wall, creating a beautiful stream surrounded by lush greens and flowers. Moonlight shone through the cracks in the roof, bringing life to the moonflowers below, the gentlest of breezes let through the entrance making the trees sway and sigh.

"Spirits…this place is so beautiful…" you breathed.

"This is where I go when I need to escape everything. Apart from the library, it's the place I feel the most comfortable in Asgard. I wanted to share it with you." Loki said.

You turned to him, bewilderment on your face. "Why would you share such a treasure with me?"

"Because you are also a treasure," Loki replied with a soft smile. "You may come here whenever you like, this garden is yours now."

"Oh, Loki I…" tears of happiness spilled from your eyes, and you threw your arms around him in a tight hug.

It was hardly appropriate behaviour for a princess, but as Loki's arms came to wrap around your waist, and your head found its place against his shoulder, you decided that in this moment, you couldn't care less. This was the happiest you'd ever been since your mother died – or ever, really, if you were honest with yourself – and you never wanted the moment to end.

"I take it you like it?" was Loki's amused response by the time the two of you pulled away from each other.

You laughed merrily. "I love it! It's just like home!"

You spun around to explore the garden, picking the beautiful purple and white flowers, and removing your slippers to feel the grass and moss beneath your feet. You discovered a hanging cocoon-like chair swinging from a tree and beamed at Loki, who shrugged humbly, knowing he had put it there for you. You sat by the creek, smelling the flowers in your hands, and dipping your feet into the water. Loki came to sit beside you, and began to gently thread the flowers through your hair.

"You're good at this," you said, watching your reflections in the water.

"Sif and I used to do this to Thor's hair when we were children." Loki grinned. "Usually when he was asleep, he hated it so much, but he never suspected Sif was involved. He only ever blamed me."

"That's not fair," you frowned. "My sister used to do the same thing with my brother, and I always got the blame for that too."

"Ha. Who would have thought we'd have so much in common?" Loki mused. "There. Done. Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful." You admired your hair in the reflection of the water, swishing about your hair and watching the light reflect off the flowers. "The moonlight is so lovely, it reminds me of home so much."

"Do you miss it? Pannaheim?"

"Less and less lately, I like Asgard." You replied. "And this place is a nice slice of home; the moonlight strengthens my people and enhances our magic. I used to try and fly in my chambers during the full moon, hoping the moon would heal my wings enough to lift me off the ground. It never worked, but it became a sort of tradition I suppose. I still do it even now."

"Tonight is a full moon," Loki observed. "Maybe with your magic and mine combined, your wings could fly?"

You hesitated. Your father would be furious if he knew you were trying to fly with your sickly wings. But he wasn't here, and how would he know? It was worth a shot. Loki would catch you if you fell. So you nodded.

"All right, let's try."

You stood, and removed your cloak, slowly stretching out your mauve wings so that the moonlight touched them. Loki's eyes roamed the length of your wings, eyes wide with wonder. You suddenly felt very shy.

"They're more beautiful than I imagined." Loki murmured to himself.

"You imagined them?" you queried.

He went red, realising he had spoken aloud. "I – I may have been curious, yes." He admitted.

You giggled, feeling better knowing he was shy too. "Well thank you, you flatter me far too much."

"I'm certainly trying." Loki grinned, regaining his composure. He gestured to your wings. "May I?"

You nodded. As gentle as feathers, Loki ran his fingertips over your wings, tingling magic spreading through them. You felt invigorated like you never had before, like a jolt of energy hit you straight in the heart. You experimentally flapped your wings, and seeing no negative reaction, you began to flutter them.

You yelped when you felt your feet slightly raise from the ground, and your wings paralysed with your sudden fear. With a thud your feet planted firmly on the ground, and you looked to Loki fearfully.

He took your hands to calm you. "You're doing fine Nia. I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you I swear it."

You swallowed thickly, and nodded, trusting him at his words. You tried to flap your wings again. You took a sharp breath when your feet began to lift again, and tightened your grip on Loki's hands, but you continued to flutter. You squeezed your eyes shut, concentrating on moving your wings and nothing else, your grip on Loki anchoring you to the ground.

Then, you heard him chuckle.

"Open your eyes dear Nia." He said.

You uncertainly opened your eyes, to see you were hovering above Loki, a few metres off the ground. You gasped, looking back at your wings flapping strongly. You began to smile.

"I…I'm flying! I'm really flying! I'm doing it! I'm actually doing it!" you cried.

You let go of Loki's hands, and hovered in mid-air, slowly moving direction to spin in a circle. You squealed at the weightless feeling in your body, but you soon became dizzy of fluttering in circles, and came down to the ground, leaping into Loki's arms happily.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" you squealed.

"I merely helped, you did the hard work on your own." Loki smiled. "But, I am truly glad to have made you smile so Nia, you are most beautiful when you smile."

Your heart skipped a beat as you looked up at him, and you reached up as he leaned down, and he pressed his lips to yours.