The Beauty Underneath

Have You Ever Yearned To Go
Past The World You Think You Know?
Been In Thrall
To The Call
Of The Beauty Underneath?

Have You Let It Draw You In,
Past The Place Where Dreams Begin?
Felt The Full
Breathless Pull
Of The Beauty Underneath?

When The Dark Unfolds It's Wings,
Do You Sense The Strangest Things?
Things No-one Would Ever Guess?
Things Mere Words Cannot Express?

The music was so loud the vibrations from the bass caused the old wooden floor to pulsate along in time, Darcy's heart hammered in her chest along with the drums as she spun around to take the sights in. Dark green drapes hung from the walls, singed from to many accidents with the wax candles that gave the room its eerie lighting, the shadows that were cast on the wall flickered and danced along with the flame that hungrily sucked at the wick. The wooden floors, though old, were cleaned and gleaming and even through the scuff marks Darcy knew that it was well looked after.

She had found this place two years ago as she drove around New Mexico, desperately trying to find something to get her mind away from the madness that was science and the dependency that Jane had on her. To any one on the outside, the house was old and abandoned, windows were smashed in, the porch leant to the left and the yard was horribly overgrown, but Darcy had seen the secret path through the overgrowth, the way a few blades of grass bent this way or that and the small boot print in the mud after they had a much needed storm. Every night she drove past the house, trying to catch someone in the act of going in, she did not have the guts to get out of the car and walk the path herself, fearful of what she might find at the end of it.

Finally, after two weeks, on the night of the full moon, Darcy had her chance to finally see what was behind the cracked paint and overgrown yard.

Do You Find Yourself Beguiled
By The Dangerous And Wild?
Do You Feed
On The Need
For The Beauty Underneath?

Have You Felt Your Senses Surge
And Surrendered To The Urge?
And Been Hooked
As You Looked
At The Beauty Underneath?

When You Stare Behind The Night,
Can You Glimpse It's Primal Might,
Might You Hunger To Posses?
Hunger That You Can't Repress?

Darcy had always been one to find beauty in the darkness, to be drawn towards it like a moth to a flame so it came as no surprise to herself as she slipped out of the car and walked towards the people like she knew what she was doing. The couple ahead were wearing old fashioned clothing with a modern twist, the woman wore a corset and long black skirt with bustles but over the top of that she wore a leather jacket to keep away the chill, Darcy could not see clearly what the man was wearing, but instantly knew that what she was wearing would stand out.

She turned to return along the path, but the music that seeped out from the open door made her pause and turn back towards it, staring at the flicking light that splashed across the grass, almost teasing her to turn back and look away. She lifted her foot from the path to continue her journey back to the car, but her eyes could not be pulled away from the light, that teasing flickering light. She had waited to long for this moment, to long to peek behind the curtains in to the house on the corner that people avoided like the plague. Taking a deep breath she swung her body back and continued down the path, her ears picking up the sound of violins and harps being played from inside.

With a deep breath and a nervous quiver, Darcy pushed the door back as far as it could and stepped in to the candlelight.

It Seems So Beautiful!
So Strange But Beautiful!
Everything's Just As You Say!

Instantly Darcy was bathed in warmth coming from a roaring fire to her left, she watched as the woman placed her jacket in the wardrobe under breaking stairs and shut the door, in the candlelight Darcy could see that her corset was deep green with an intricate golden thread pattern around it in swirls. Darcy pulled at the sleeve of her sweater and nibbled her bottom lip in nerves, telling herself to calm down and stop being so stupid, she pushed forward, her feet sinking in to the plush green carpet that covered the floor.

Instead of the dying and abandoned house Darcy had expected to see, the insides were warm and filled with life. The deep oak of the wooden panels that lined the walls contrasted against the deep emerald carpet, no electrical light could be found, all light came from the candles and lanterns that lined the wall. Darcy caught a glimpse of the woman from the garden and quickly continued along the hallway, glancing at the stairs to find that although from the side they looked broken, now that she stood in front of the bottom step they were like new, the wood gleaming and polished. Darcy glimpsed behind her and gasped, the warm alcove that she had stepped in to was now nothing more then a dusty entrance way, with the door hanging off its hinges and the wind blowing leaves in to the entrance. Spinning around instantly she blinked in shock as she was once again faced with the intricate entrance that she had first stepped in to, including the roaring fire and flickering candles.

Her heart raced in her chest as she tried to understand what was going on, her mind whirled with the possibilities from a very good haunted house and she was going to die to the fact that she had finally been driven mad by this godforsaken desert. Turning away from the entrance once again, Darcy started to make her way along the carpet, goosebumps raising on her arms as every now and then she saw through the beauty and back to the abandoned and dying house that she could see from the outside.

The music was becoming louder the closer she got to the far door, which was ajar, almost as if it was waiting for her to wrap a hand around the wood and pull it back, revealing the secrets behind it. What she was going to find, Darcy did not know, but as she wrapped a hand around the warm handle, she knew that what was behind the door would not disappoint.

And He's So Beautiful...
Perhaps Too Beautiful,
What I Suspect Cannot Be...
And Yet Somehow We Both See
The Very Same Way!

Loki had sensed her the very first time she had touched a blade of grass in the front yard, the first mortal that he had not invited to see through his charade. He had watched her from the bedroom window, watched as she paced back and forth in front of the house, took photos and drove past to try and catch someone walking the path that she had uncovered. He had watched as she trailed her fingers through the soft blades of grass at the start of the path, knew that she could feel the magic tingling in her arm from the way she had pulled it back suddenly, looking around as if she was going mad.

He had watched her take the first few tentative steps on to the path, before pulling herself back out in to the mortal world, breaking the spell and seeing the house how he wanted her to see it. He knew that one day her curiosity would over take her, but he would not push it on her, he himself was still not sure how she could possibly see through the charms. To all the mortals in this town his house was nothing more then a run-down building, haunted by the memories of a murder that happened many years ago, it was known as a hot-spot for the weird youth that took the darkness in to them in their angst filled teenage years. In all the years that he had been in the town, had this house for those who chose to come in to it, he had only ever invited three mortals in to it, two did not make it out alive.

And yet there this mortal was, seeing through the spell and teetering on the edge of uncertainty. Instead of staying away from the house like he had suspected her to, she was drawn to it even more, and so when he felt her move up the path on the night of the full moon, he knew that there was no turning back for her.

Making sure that he was in full Asgardian clothing, minus his helmet, he waited in the main ballroom for her, watching as Scáthach walked in to the room and gave him a nod, her red hair seemed even brighter under the candlelight and the mischief that she had helped him achieve. For a warrior goddess, she could be quite the trickster herself, it was what had drawn him to her many years ago on the eve of battle. They had sparred and she had managed to slash his arm with a dagger, before he had hung her upside down with some very basic magic until she yielded. Ever since that day she was there for him, always in the background for him to fall back on and train, never getting between him and his princely duty, to the mortals she was part of the mythology that they dubbed Celtic, to him she was from the Faerie realm.

He watched as the door was drawn back, he could feel the tension in the air as the other deities paused to see how he would handle this mortal intruder. In the battlefield they would stand as equals, but in this house, Loki ruled the roost. It was he who created this haven for them on Midgard, he who kept it secret and running during many years and battles both on Midgard and in the nine realms and so it would be him who dealt with the mortal.

Is There Music In Your Head?
Have You Followed Where It Lead?
And Been Graced
With The Taste
Of The Beauty Underneath?

Does It Fill Your Every Sense?
Is It Terribly Intense?
Tell Me You
Need It Too,
Need The Beauty Underneath?

Darcy stepped in to the room and stopped dead, all eyes were on her and a tall man with slicked back black hair and a bitching Halloween costume, it took her brain a few seconds to remember that they were only in August. She looked around at the gathered crowd, frowning as she saw things that her mind screamed at her could not be true, a man with the head of an elephant, a woman wearing a dress of crow feathers who watched her closely and a man with horns who seemed to look very sick and frail.

"What is this place?" She asked, taking a step back but finding that her body refused to go more then one step, her heart hammered in her chest so loud she swore that they could all hear it.

"My dear..." The tall man said, grinning at her before waving his hand at the others. "Go back to the festivities, you are overwhelming the poor child..." He commanded, smirking to himself as they glared before slowly going back to their own business. He would pay for commanding them later, they would probably end up dropping him in a volcano with elven rope again, but it was worth it to show his power off in front of the overwhelmed mortal.

"So you have seen past my charms..." He said, moving forward to her and taking her by the upper arm, she could feel the chill of his skin through the thin layer of fabric of her sweater and shivered at the contact. "Yet now you have come in to this building, it overwhelms you?" He chuckled as he begun to lead her out of the main room and in to a separate room, which was smaller but still held the same decor as the other room.

"What is this place?" Darcy asked again, pulling her arm from his grip and looking around the room, her fingers running along the warm wood to try and help her see which was fake and which was real. She blinked and gasped as the room revealed itself to be empty and covered in cobwebs, but when she blinked again she was back in the decorated room with the stranger smirking at her. "Why does it keep changing?"

"Ah my dear, that is the spell trying to repel you. But you seem so stubborn on seeing through it that it can only do it for a second at a time, when you are off guard. Like when you see something from the corner of your eyes..."

"Who are you?"

"Loki of Asgard."

"... ..."

"You have heard of me?"

"I'm going insane."

"My dear you were insane to come here in the first place, even more so to actually follow Scáthach and Dionysus in to this realm. Then again, I am sure Dionysus only brought you in to make you dance, Scáthach wanted to bring you to me." Loki said, sitting down on a plus armchair and crossing his legs over the armrest, even in such a casual position he still exuded power and royalty.

"You are Odin's blood-brother..." Darcy whispered, trying to remember everything that she had learnt about the Norse gods in the two weeks they studied them at school. She frowned when Loki roared with laughter, his green eyes sparkling with mischief as he finally stopped laughing.

"I am Odin's son." Loki said, chuckling before crossing his hands in his lap. "Father was very angry at me when he found out I let that one slip in to the history books, then again, Thor did mention something about a horse, so it was only fair I try and give myself something good out of it, and what could be better then being blood-brothers with the almighty Odin?"

"And your children? The monsters..."

"Another thing Thor got in to the history books, I have no children."

"You still have not answered my question on what this place is." Darcy said, standing up straight and gasping as she realised her clothes had changed from her jeans and a sweater in to a long skirt and corset. "Turn it back!"

"Make me." Loki said, grinning as Darcy flushed and glared at him. "Besides, I prefer you in this then the jeans and sweater... But then again, so might Dionysus..." With a wave of his hand, Darcy's clothes and gone back to her sweater and jeans, though her sweater was now an emerald green. "The other colour was atrocious." Loki deadpanned, not even looking at her as he stood up and walked to the desk.

"Am I going to be used as a human sacrifice?" Darcy asked, trying her hardest not to let her voice quiver. "Like, are you going to steal my heart?! Lay me on a stone slab and make a mockery of me?"

"Would you like me to?"

"NO!" Darcy squeaked, her cheeks flushing red as she quickly looked away from the smirking god.

"Then why would I? You Midgardian's are such a weird bunch." Loki stated, moving to stand in front of her and place a finger under her chin, lifting her head up so he was looking in to her eyes. "So full of violence that you portray on to us... We do not require a human sacrifice, nor do we want one. And in answer of your question, this is a place we can come to and watch over you. I created it two hundred years ago, a safe house you might call it. Under this roof I am in charge and all egos and hatred is left at the front door, there is no violence and if anyone breaks the rules they have more then I to deal with." He turned her face to the left and then to the right gently, taking in her beauty before letting her chin go and taking a strand of her hair in his fingers, knowing that being this close to him was having an affect on her.

But just like with the house, she had blinked out of the charm and moved away before he could say another word. "Interesting." He mumbled, moving back to the desk and rummaging through the draws, chewing on his lower lip as he flicked through aging parchment. "Name?"

"Go to Hell."

"My darling, neither Satan or Hades is allowed here. Now what is your name?"

"You should know it!" Darcy snapped, her fear making her snappy and nervous.

"Fine!" Loki huffed, pulling out the family tree of mortals who had dallied with gods and rolling it out on the floor. "Lewis... Lewis... Lewis... Ah!" He grinned at her as he placed his finger on the parchment. "You have Deity blood in your veins. Someones great grandmother got to know Apollo very well."

"WHAT?!" Darcy screamed, rushing to his side to crouch next to him and read the name. "Go great grandma!"

"I wouldn't be to excited about that, I believe most humans have dallied with Apollo at one stage or another... It's just his... Charms."

"And how many humans have dallied with you?"

"You really can not hold your tongue, can you midgardian?"

"It's one of my charms." Darcy said, winking at him before looking back at the tree. "So this lists everyone who has ever dallied with a god?" She asked, glancing up at Loki and blushing when she noted how handsome he looked with a lock of his hair falling over an eye and his finger skimming along the parchment.

"The story of how I can read minds is not false." Loki said, smirking when Darcy blushed a brilliant red before answering her question. "Yes, it is to make sure the bloodlines do not cross nor the gods go after one with their blood already in them."

"I thought incest didn't bother you guys."

"Again with the false accusations, they hurt you know?" Loki couldn't help the smile as Darcy laughed and pushed her hair from her face, going back to reading the names on the list.

"Oh that is so true!" Darcy cried out, pointing to the name Brad Pitt under Eros's name. "I bloody knew it!"

"To be honest I don't find him that attractive."

The silence that followed went on for nearly three minutes before Darcy roared with laughter and fell over sideways when she over balanced.

When It Lifts It's Voice And Sings,
Don't You Feel Amazing Things?
Things You Know You Can't Confess?
Things You Thirst For Nonetheless?

"Darcy!" The voice that called out was soft and to be honest, if Darcy ever explained what honey sounded like, it would be the young goddesses voice. It belonged to one of the most beautiful people Darcy had ever seen, and she was in a room filled with gods and goddesses.

"Iðunn!" Darcy spun around to face the woman, smiling when she saw that like always, she held the ash box that contained her precious apples, apples which she handed out at the gatherings to the gods who were growing old. Darcy would never get used to watching someone bite in to an apple and suddenly turn back to their youthful selves. "I have not seen you for months!" Darcy added, gasping as the scent of fresh apples filled her nose when Iðunn wrapped her arms around her for a surprise hug.

"Loki has finally allowed me back in after our fight." Iðunn said, pulling away and giving Darcy a knowing glance. "Apparently someone called him an idiot in the middle of another gathering for sending me away."

"Well he was, and I am not ashamed for calling him it." Darcy said, crossing her arms and grinning at her friend. "He said you were sleeping with your brothers killer!" She added, glaring over at where Loki was standing watching them, she watched as he rolled his eyes and moved away to talk to Thor, who had come down to join his brothers festivities.

"Loki and I have a..." Iðunn paused as she chose her words carefully, a blush forming on the goddesses cheeks as Darcy slowly raised her eyebrow at her. "Oh bother!" She shoved Darcy gently in the shoulder and blushed harder as the Midgardian laughed.

"Close friendship? Intimate dealings? Bed buddies?"

"DARCY LEWIS!"

Darcy went to laugh again and found that nothing but bubbles escaped her mouth, making her choke and grab at her throat, before turning around to glare at a smirking Loki. She flipped him off and instantly the bubbles vanished, leaving her with the after taste of soap in her mouth. "I'm going to go gargle with something to get rid of the taste." She mumbled, glaring at the chuckling Iðunn before making her way to where Dionysus sat handing out goblets of the sweetest wine she had ever tasted.

Two sips later and she was pressed against Loki, her arms wrapped around his neck, his hands clasping her waist as they swayed together with the music. Seeing as Dionysus was there, their normal rock music that Loki favoured was replaced with harps and violins, an agreement the two gods had that all parties concerned enjoyed. If Dionysus brought the wine, Loki would let him have his music, if he did not, Loki would put on the loudest rock music he could get his hands on.

"You drank the wine from Dionysus, did you not Midgardian?" Loki asked, his voice nothing but a purr in Darcy's ear, making her shiver and press against him more, the metal of his armour pressing in to her body. "How many times have I told you, Darcy, only drink what I give you..."

"I was washing the soap taste from my mouth..." Darcy whispered, gasping as she found herself pressed against the wall in Loki's study, his leg between her own as he stared down at her, his green eyes ablaze with want. "So it is your fault..."

"I will have Scáthach take you home..." Loki whispered, his hands gripping her upper arms to the point where she knew she would have bruises tomorrow. "You can not stay here like this, it is unsafe and unwise..."

"I could stay here with you..." Darcy said, her voice husky as she dragged a nail down the back of his neck, feeling him shiver against her. "I am sure no one will miss us..." She added, moving her head to the side to nip at his neck, shivering at the coolness of his skin. "Or if they do, they will not be stupid enough to come find us..." She nipped at his pulse point, before gently sucking on the skin, deep down she knew it was wrong to try and seduce the god of lies, but that part of her was squished below mountains of hormones and two sips of wine.

"D-darcy." Loki groaned, closing his eyes and moving to place his hands on the wall before he gripped her arms any tighter. "This isn't you... This is the wine!"

"Best." Darcy placed a kiss on the love bite she had given him. "Wine." She nipped at his chin, smirking as she watched him hang his head down and closed his eyes tightly. "On." She moved to press him against the wall, making sure to press herself up against him once more, she knew that he could push her away at any time, yet somewhere inside her she knew he wouldn't. "Earth."

Their lips connected and Darcy forgot all her thoughts and the small voice screaming at her not to do this. Clothes were soon thrown around the room, armour vanishing to the in between as Loki placed her on top of the oaken desk, after pushing all the books and parchment to the floor. The music seemed to get louder as he placed kisses down her body, the violins joined by the undertone of guitar, mashing together in a beautiful melody that Darcy would always remember.

"Tell me to stop." Loki whispered, his hands gripping her hips as he pressed kisses to her neck, before nuzzling just below her ear. His breath ghosted over her skin in gasps as she raked her nails down his back, before wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Never." She hissed, gasping as he bit her collarbone.

"Damn you, Midgardian!"

How Can This Be What It Seems?
All Of My Most Secret Dreams,
Somehow Set Free!
You Can Feel It..
Yes!
Come Closer.
Yes!
You've No Fear Of The Beauty Underneath.

A year later Darcy was standing in the middle of New Mexico with a human Thor, staring up at the Destroyer as it did Loki's bidding, her eyes filled with tears at the torment that surrounded the God that she had once given everything too. "Darcy go!" Thor said, looking at her before looking up at the Destroyer, his friends and fellow warriors were already getting ready to fight once more after already being bested the first time. "He will not stop, even for you!"

"You lied to him!" Darcy yelled, tears falling down her eyes as she stared at the person she thought she knew. "You lied to me!"

"Darcy please!" Jane said, tugging on her friends hand to try and get her to move away. "Please, I can't see you get hurt..."

"IT WAS ALL A LIE!" Darcy screamed, looking at Jane before letting her and Eric drag her away, her body to overcome by emotions to fight any more, she just wanted to curl up and sleep, to wake up and find herself in Loki's arm and this all a bad dream. "EVERYTHING!"

You Can Face It.
Yes!
You Can Take It.
Yes!
You See Through To The Beauty Underneath!
To The Splendour!
And The Splendour!
To The Glory!
Glory!
To The Truth Of The Beauty Underneath!

"Please Darcy, leave and keep yourself safe!" Thor boomed, glancing up at where the Destroyer was destroying a building, spraying glass and wood chips everywhere. "You need to go!"

"Loki please!" Darcy begged, staring up at the machine that was slowly destroying everything in the town, the first thing to go was the house where she had first met the god that had slowly trickled his way in to her heart. "Think of Elizabeth, she needs her father!"

"HER FATHER IS A MONSTER!" Loki's voice came from the Destroyer, making Darcy sob and clutch at her shirt, wanting nothing more then to rush over to the machine and cling to it, to try and show Loki that she loved him, that she didn't care what his heritage was. "Children are brought up to fear what I really am! The monster under the bed is really me! Do you want that for our daughter?!"

"It doesn't matter! What you are is her father!" Darcy yelled, breaking free of Jane's grasp and moving to stand in front of the machine, which had calmed down and was standing passively in the main street, staring down at the young midgardian, who had her hands on her hips and a glare on her face.

"You still accept me...?" Loki's voice was weak and fearful, which sounded weird coming out of a ten foot tall robot with fire breath.

"Yes." Darcy whispered, placing a hand on the Destroyers leg.

"You'll still have me?"

"Yes."

"You are insane, Midgardian!"

"Says the guy talking through a giant robot..."

"Step away and shield your eyes."

Darcy did as she was told and looked away when a light surrounded the Destroyer and it was transported back to the vault, before the light shone again and Loki fell to his knees in the sand, his sceptre landing next to him. "Forgive me." He whispered, looking up at Darcy, his hair falling in his face and tears in his green eyes.

"Always." Darcy said, walking up and falling in front of him. "I always will." She wrapped her arms around him and held him, ignoring the sounds of Asgardian's coming down to clean up the mess that the younger prince had created, ignored the words that were being spoken with Thor over the destruction that Loki had created in Jotunheim before he stopped himself.

What she could not ignore was the small cry that came from her daughter, who had been placed with one of the waitresses in order to stay safe. Getting up she grabbed her daughter and pressed a kiss on her forehead, grinning as the three month old smiled and wrapped her tiny hand around a lock of her hair. "Come see daddy, he was being stupid." Darcy whispered, walking over and kneeling in front of Loki.

She reached out and placed Elizabeth in his arms, watching as the tears spilled from his eyes as he held his daughter as if she was the most precious thing in the world, his sceptre lay forgotten in the dirt. "My beautiful girl..." He whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "My little piece of Valhalla."

"Thank god you didn't say Ragnarök!" Darcy mumbled, a smile appearing as he looked up at her with a smirk.

"My dear, that is for when she is a teenager."

"Odin help who ever tries to date her!"

To The Truth Of The Beauty Underneath!
The Beauty Underneath!
You'll Accept It.
Yes!
You'll Embrace It!
Yes!
Let Me Show You The Beauty Under...

Song used: The Beauty Underneath - Love Never Dies