The sky was awash in fire. Poignant pinks and somber blues melded together with the fading sparkles of the twilight that was. Loki was looking out at the sunset, back against a pillar- the wind playing gently with a few strands of his slick black hair. His eyes scoured the horizon, as if searching for something. His eyes narrowed at a sound.

I shrank back against the pillar, terrified of being discovered.

"This cannot go on" Loki murmured softly, almost cooing, whilst slowly getting up and raising his arms. How do I know this man's name? I wondered. "Reveal yourself. You cannot hope to win against me. I am a far superior being, despite this invasion of privacy you somehow managed." As he spoke, he circled the pavilion menacingly. Crud. Invasion of Privacy! I wanted to scream. This is my dream! The past seven nights he had just sat there, seemingly ignorant of my presence. I soon found out that I could not stray far from the pavilion without being yanked back by an invisible force. So I was forced to simply creepily watch him from behind a pillar, and attempts to wake myself up were futile. Unfortunately there was no shrubbery around big enough to hide me (despite being petite) and I was royally screwed.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out from behind the pillar. Loki's eyes widened, and he stepped back a bit hesitantly. "Who are you? Answer me!" He snarled.

"A-Astrid" I murmured, stepping back quickly. Loki was silent a moment, eyes scanning up and down my form.

"How, then, Astrid, did you manage to invade my dream?" he said, quietly, but with no less menace. Wait a minute. If this is a dream, he can't hurt me. Nothing can. Finding my voice, I adjusted my stance, trying to look fearless.

"I most certainly did not. You are the one trespassing in my dream" I said, a bit louder than I meant to. There was a slight eerie echo. "So….begone!" I clapped my hands. He disappeared. I sighed with relief.

"Okay, Astrid. Good- Mr. Scary Handsome is gone. Now all we need is a big picnic basket full of cheeseburgers or something and-"

"Do you really think that you are at all in control?" Loki's voice was right in my ear. I screamed and whirled around.

"Damn it" I screeched. "What the hell?"

"You will be expelled from this dream. Immediately" his brow furrowed, and he raised his hands. I felt nothing. His expression twisted with pain. I shifted a little in my stance and giggled.

"How dare you mock me! I will destroy you!" Loki cried.

"Uh, I don't think so. I think whatever force put us here together won't let you" I said, fighting back laughter.

Enraged, Loki attempted to stalk out of the pavilion but seconds later he appeared right back in it.

"This is madness!" he roared. "I will not be contained! I am a god!"

All laughter suddenly evaporated from my system. I flattened myself against a pillar. Nevermind -he could still hurt me. Panting, he whirled to face me.

"Cease this immediately!" he yelled.

"I am not doing it" I replied. His eyes eventually softened, the rage fleeing to neutral.

"No, you – you cannot be. You're right. You're nothing but a pathetic mortal. How could you be?" He murmured, mostly to himself but half to me.

"I can hear you, Loki" I muttered.

"What?" Loki spun sharply and grabbed me by the shoulders. "How did you know my name?" I shook in his grasp that electrified and terrified me.

"I…I…I don't know" I said stupidly.

"How can you not know?" Loki nearly shouted.

"Look if I wanted to get yelled at in my dream about why I don't know things I would've dreamt up my father and every math teacher I've ever had and not you"

At this Loki quirked a smile.

"You think you dreamt me up?" he said, smiling and turning his head slightly.

"I..I.. what other explanation is there?" I exclaimed in frustration. "You keep referring to yourself as a god…."

"Fascinating. You know my name, but not who I am" Loki smiled, his grin glinting in the light like the Cheshire cat's, as he advanced towards me.

"Of course. I don't know. You're from the depths of my subconscious. I'm an imaginative person. Maybe too imaginative" I stuttered, backing up.

"I am Loki of Asgard. God of mischief. And I am burdened with…"

"Glorious purpose" I finished. Loki's grin widened.

"Yes" he purred. "Quite. And you did not dream me up. I am quite real."

"You know, that's exactly what someone from my imagination would say" I said, narrowing my eyes. His eyes sparkled with mischief and I found my heart start up a new rhythm.

"Then I shall have to prove to you that I am real, my lady" he murmured, taking my hand in his and giving it a slow kiss. It was as if a spark had traveled from his lips up my spine. I shook slightly, half smiling, half cautious, withdrawing my hand, a beeping sound beginning to pulse in my mind. "Till tomorrow…Astrid" he murmured, turning away as the beeping intensified.

I jolted awake in bed, tears in my eyes. Waves of powerful emotion hit me like a ton of bricks. Am I on my period? What is happening to me?

Meanwhile in Asgard….

Loki awoke with the familiar ache. The emptiness and loneliness that struggled to consume him. But there was a new ache in addition. Loki found himself thinking about this girl as he went about his duties- her smile, her laugh. He found her entrancing, and his curiosity was piqued. His dreams were always steely protected, with his own magical barriers- held up by sheer will. There was no way she could get through- she was mortal, unless- unless she was correct that they were both subject to outside magic. It was nothing Loki had encountered before, and that made him anxious. But, it was nothing a trip to the library couldn't cure. After ordering the servants away, Loki spent the day researching, and he was in the middle of such work when he was interrupted.

"Brother!" A mug crashed to the ground.

"Thor, honey! What have I told you about announcing yourself with breaking things?" Jane scolded, hurrying to pick up the pieces. Thor waved her away good-naturedly, sitting down with a thud beside Loki.

"I have a proposal for you!" he continued. Loki sighed, and reluctantly set aside his book.

"I sincerely hope, for your sake, this is not another bet- for you owe me enough already" Loki quipped. Thor boomed a laugh and Jane frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing dearest" Thor bumbled nervously. "No, brother. It is to do with the throne." Loki grinned slyly.

"All ears, brother" he replied. Thor sighed heavily.

"Loki, as you know Jane and I have forgiven you for your behavior in the past-"

"Correction: You have forgiven him" Jane stood at her husband's side, glaring at Loki.

"Dearest-"

"Darling-he didn't try and invade your home with an army of aliens" Jane snapped.

"Jane….we discussed this" Thor growled gently.

"I'm just sayin' …. If you need me, I'll be in the garden. Unless he wants to take that over too" she muttered as she huffed out, Loki looking very pleased with himself.

"Loki!" Thor boomed. "I'm serious. I have forgiven you. But if you are to have the throne you must earn back the trust of the people."

Loki examined his nails. "And how, brother mine, am I supposed to accomplish this? No doubt you've come up with a clever plan, after all that was your specialty wasn't it?"

Thor growled. "If you must know it was Jane's idea, but I think it's a sound one. As Jane explained, it would be about fixing your image in the eyes of the people. Brother I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but sometimes you can come off very….well….a bit…..um, threatening"

Loki rolled his eyes. "I was completely unaware"

"Henceforth, Jane, well….Jane and I thought it might be a good idea….erm.…..what I'm trying…erm to say is…."

"Oh for goodness' sake!" Jane, who had been outside gardening- stuck her head through the terrace doors. "If you want the throne you must take a wife!"Loki balked violently, stiffening.

"A wife?" he hissed. "How dare you insinuate that I cannot rule alone? That I need some….woman?" Thor snorted.

"Loki you can rule alone- you did for a short time. And remember what happened!" Thor cried. "You almost killed me and destroyed Jotunheim!" Loki ground his teeth.

"And I stand by my actions at the time" he hissed. "I may have repented, but you do not control me. If I choose a queen it will be on my terms."

"Think about it. Jane and I return to Midgard in a month's time. I would not wish to see Asgard ruled by a stranger" Thor said finally, before striding out the door, followed by Jane who arched an eyebrow at him before following her husband out.

Loki stalked from the library shortly after. A wife? Were they mad? No woman could be worthy. And no woman would want to try….not at least, for the right reasons. Loki couldn't even begin to think the word love. And yet, despite his iron will- Astrid's face flashed before his eyes. In anger, he hurtled a glass against the wall. He was not weak. And they would not make him into something he was not…unless…Loki's lips curled into a sinister smile. Suppose he pretended to play along. Suppose this wife was then to conveniently disappear- leaving him heartbroken, and alone on the throne. Loki chuckled to himself.

It's a challenge fit for the God of mischief, he smirked. All I have to do is get some girl to fall in love with me, and then Asgard- is mine.

Back on Midgard…

I went through the day in a haze, not able to get dreams out of my head. More specifically, not able to get a certain God of mischief out of my head. Going through the school day was torture, and I just couldn't seem to focus.

Which was where I found myself currently- struggling to get through my English paper on Hamlet, seeing his smirk in between the lines of text. Frustrated, I screamed and threw my book against the wall, panting heavily.

What in the hell is going on? I wondered as I felt my eyelids begin to droop. Seized with anxiety at the thought of seeing him again, I slapped myself awake. I cannot fall asleep. I'll just stay up all night- yeah. Okay. Sure. Piece of cake. I assured myself.

So, after taking a cold shower, and way too much coffee, I picked out the most stimulating and scary book on my bookshelf (which, to be fair, was an old Goosebumps book from when I was ten) and pinched myself continually if I felt I was drifting off. Haha. Who's in control now? I thought to myself. Around 2 am I knew I was losing the battle, but I was so tired I forgot everything. I just needed to sleep. A niggling fear nagged at the back of my mind but my tired body shoved it away. I feel like I'm forgetting something….something important….

This time it was evening, the sun had already set. The stars shone brightly, and the pavilion was illuminated by the soft light from small floating orbs that bobbed casually in between each pillar. Loki was sitting in his usual position, but seemed lighter than before, with a new energy about him. He stiffened, sensing my presence, and standing abruptly.

"Uh…Hi" I murmured a bit shyly. Come on Astrid. Really? I mentally slapped myself. He swept a bow. I could tell he was in much better spirits.

"My lady" he murmured with a smirk.

"I'm not a lady" I corrected. "I'm just Astrid. And I'd like some answers this time" Loki quirked an eyebrow.

"And what makes you think I have any more idea about why this (he gestured at the pavilion) occurs any more than you?"

"Well…." I blustered. "You're a god. Don't you like…know things like this?" I gestured around. "Because I certainly don't…like you said. I'm mortal. The things I usually dream about are you know…being chased by a giant pancake or something" Loki appeared bemused.

"I do not know of this pan-cake, you refer to, but I assure you- this…conjoinment of our dream-scapes means something. Dreams such as these always occur for a reason" he said slowly, with a hint of confusion. I sighed.

"It's a breakfast food" His brow furrowed even further. "Nevermind. So you're telling me you don't have any idea why we're here?"

"On the contrary, I have a few theories. But nothing definite, no. And you'd best watch your tongue when you address me, mortal. I have powers beyond your wildest imaginings…."

"And yet…hmm. You still don't know why we're here" I sassed, walking closer to him.

"And I am a Prince of Asgard! You will show me the respect I am owed!" His eyes flashed as he shouted.

"Oh, simmer down" I huffed. "Look, I believe you. Outside this dream-scape I'm sure I'd be toast if I pissed you off. But in here, I don't think you can hurt me." Loki looked furious, before seeming to remember something, and calmed himself.

"I will, as you so aptly put it, "simmer down" but because I chose to do so, not because I took orders from a mortal." My frustration about him being stuck in my head all day bubbled up and boiled over.

"This mortal has a name" I fired back. "And if we are going to be stuck here every night for god knows how long, you best figure out how to use it!" Loki's nostrils flared.

"Insufferable!" he muttered. "If you were in Asgard, you'd be rotting in prison for raising your voice to me."

"Well it's lucky for me I'm not there then" I murmured. There was a beat of silence, and I started giggling. Despite himself, Loki's lips quirked up.

"What is the cause of that pathetic sound?" he droned, trying to sound annoyed, but failing.

"I'm just…oh you…irritate me. So much. I'm honestly not normally this aggressive…." I said gasping. Loki allowed himself a smile.

"Well, the feeling is mutual, little mortal" he replied. I bit my lip, still kind of laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, feeling my stomach flip over when he looked at me.

"What now then? You can't destroy me. And you can't leave. I guess you're stuck with me" I said, sighing and laying down onto my back, feeling the cool mosaic against my fingers. Loki sighed.

"It appears so" he said quietly, before as far away from me as he could.

"Where are you going?" I sat up quickly.

"If I cannot leave, and I cannot destroy you, than my only option is to remove myself as much as I can" Loki replied somberly. "I am not someone many people wish to spend time with" he said, gazing out at the stars. My heart twinged, despite myself. No! I scolded myself. We've not ruled out the weird imagination trip idea. I can't allow myself to get attached to something that's an illusion. But there was this itch, I couldn't scratch. I wanted to be closer to him.

"I know a bit about that. I mean, I'm not a god or anything but back home I don't really have a lot of friends. I'm considered, well…strange"

"Understandable" Loki smirked. "To me you are quiet strange" he seemed then to catch himself. "I see what you are trying to do mortal" he snarled. "It will not work"

"What am I trying?" I asked, confused.

"You think you can understand the nature of what I've been through in one night!" he said forcefully.

"No! Yes! I don't know! I'm just trying to make the most of this situation. And since I can't poof up a T.V or food, or something else to do- I thought we could talk. Clearly I was wrong" I hissed, irritated. After a pause, Loki sighed.

"I apologize, mortal. This situation…frustrates me. I dislike- being caged" he said reluctantly. "May I," he hesitated. "May I try something?" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

"That depends on what it…." He took my hand gently. "is" I finished weakly, staring at his smooth pale hand enveloping mine. He led me over to the barrier, and without saying a word, led me through to the meadows beyond.

"Oh" I breathed, looking around at the beautiful array of wildflowers. "Wow"

"A theory proved correct" he murmured, looking pensive. A warm breeze blew suddenly through the grass, rustling around their feet. I hummed in pleasure as the wind hit my face, and I awoke.