The Girl Who Would Be Queen

Chapter 7

They enter the restaurant and Loki pulls out the chair for Lyria to sit in. The restaurant has half walls all around so you can see out to the beach and the floor is just sand. Lyria slips off her shoes and buries her toes into the sand.

"Ugh, Loki, I love the beach. The sand, the smell of salty air, the views. Everything about it is just so relaxing. I know I came here to work for you but, thank you for bringing me here. I already love it."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

The waitress comes over and Loki orders two of every pancake option on the menu. She smiles and nods and walks back into the kitchen.

"Loki, that is so much food. There are like twelve different pancakes on here. That's twenty four pancakes!"

"I wanted you to be able to try all of them. If you don't finish we can just take them with us. I imagine you'll want to spend quite a bit of time on top of the mountain so it will be good to have something for you to eat."

"Always thinking ahead," she smiles and sets her hand down attop Loki's. He picks her hand up in his own.

"Your hands are so small. I sometimes forget just how tiny you Midgaurdians are."

"Maybe you're just big. Are all Asguardians as tall as you?"

"No. I was born part Frost Giant and that causes me to be a bit taller than the average Asguardian."

"What is a Frost Giant?" Lyria asks curiously.

"Man, Midgard is so behind the other realms. Frost Giants are very tall creatures with blue skin who live on an icy planet and can withstand much colder temperatures than most."

"So is Thor a Frost Giant too?"

"No. I was technically adopted. Odin isn't my real father nor Frigga my real mother. They've raised me since before I can remember but I do not share their blood. That's a large part of why I will never see the throne in Asgard."

"I'm not sure if this is offensive or not but, if Frost Giants have blue skin then why don't you?"

He shakes his head and laughs slightly. "No, that is not offensive to me darling. I have a Frost Giant form but because Frost Giants and Asguardians rarely get along and I was being raised by the King of Asgard, I hide that form for the most part."

"Could I- Could I see?"

He tilts his head with a look on his face that is a cross between confusion and shock. "You want to see my Frost Giant form?"

"It is a part of you is it not? I told you Loki, I want to get to know you."

He sits for a moment just thinking about it. Eventually he looks around the restaurant to see if anyone is watching before he sets his hand on top of Lyria's and allows the illusion to fall away from his arm, exposing the blue skin underneath.

Lyria gasps and Loki immediately starts re-applying the glamour.

"Wait, no. I'm sorry. Your hand just got really cold. I just wasn't expecting it."

He looks into her eyes with an intense look upon his face but then allows the glamour to fall once again. This time Lyria is prepared for the chill and rubs her hand over the underside of Loki's wrist.

"Loki, your skin, it's beautiful."

"Beautiful? As if you could never tire of looking at it, makes you want to stay in bed for hours, beautiful?" he asks mockingly as if the answer couldn't be anything other than no.

"Yes."

His eyes fly up to meet hers and his mouth is slightly open.

"Why do you seem so shocked Loki? Look at your skin, the color is incredible and the way a lighter shade swirls every so slightly beneath the surface... It's mesmerizing. And the cold, it's shocking at first but then it becomes relaxing."

"Mesmerizing and relaxing have never been words used to describe this form before," he says quietly allowing his Aguardian form to fully return. Lyria reaches across the table and holds his cheek with her hand.

"At some point in your life, someone taught you that you are not worthy because of who you are. Well Loki they lied to you. You are beautiful and charming and witty and you deserve so much more than what has been dealt to you."

He takes a deep breath and rests his hand against the hand holding his face.

"You are an extraordinary woman Lyria. You know, if this wasn't our first date, I totally would have kissed you right then."

"You still can. I won't tell anyone."

"No, darling. That would be giving you less than you deserve."

"I think I deserve to be kissed," she mutters.

"What was that, darling?" He asks with a devious smile on his face.

"I said, kiss my ass."

"Ah, exactly what I thought you said darling. I must say those morals of you are exemplary."

She scrunches her face up at him and sticks out her tongue. He laughs and Loki tells Lyria about the different flowers she's likely to see until the food arrives. They arrive stacked six tall on four different plates. The waitress sets a plate down in front of Loki but he waves it away.

"Oh hell no. You are eating these pancakes with me," Lyria orders. "One this is way too much food for me to eat alone and two you're not just going to sit there and watch me stuff my face."

"Okay. Okay," he surrenders and takes the plate from the waitress who then walks away. "You're incredibly hot when you're bossy."

"Shut up and eat your pancakes you- you, man."

"I'm a god not a man."

"Oh my god," Lyria groans.

"Exactly."

She grabs a forkful of the M&M pancakes and shoves it into Loki's mouth to shut him up. He moans slightly at the taste of it and the sound makes Lyria's pulse race.

"That pancake is positively delicious. What is that?"

"An M&M pancake. Have you never had one before?"

He shakes his head and moves one of the M&M pancakes onto his plate.

"Go ahead and take both if you like them that much."

He shakes his head and gets a forkful of pancake and feeds it to Lyria. He can't help but notice her tongue darting out to clean the chocolate off of the fork. She closes her eyes and lightly hums.

"I must be having breakfast with a god because that bite right there was a religious experience."

She grabs the other M&M pancake and slides it onto her plate. They each take turns tasting each pancake and somehow along the way they just start feeding each other pancakes they think tasted really good. Each time Loki can't help but watch Lyria's lips close around the fork and curses himself for promising not to kiss her until the end of the trip.

After about an hour, they realize they've eaten all twenty four pancakes and laugh before Loki pays the bill, leaves a very healthy tip on the table and they walk out together. Loki reaches for Lyria's hand as he leads her to the mountain. As they walk up the mountain Loki spouts facts about the different plants and animals they see. Surprisingly he is able to answer every question Lyria asks him about the vegetation and wildlife in the area.

"Okay Loki, you have to tell me, why is this place so important to you?"

"I will answer you in one moment but first..." He pushes back the leaves of an elephant ear bush to reveal this incredible cliff, teeming with colorful flowers and green moss that hangs off the ledge of the stone. Beyond the edge and below lies the beautiful ocean. In the distance Lyria can vaguely see another island teeming with palm trees. Lyria tries to say something but the view has left her breathless. She says something so quietly Loki can't hear.

"What was that darling?"

"My paints, I need my paints," she says just a fraction louder as she sits down. Loki conjures her bag and lays out her supplies around her. She immediately starts to sketch and Loki sits next to her, watching, amused.