The Girl Who Would Be Queen

Chapter 9

Loki felt more relaxed than he had in years and laid down on the rock behind him. He shut his eyes and when they reopened the sun had set and a thick darkness had fallen upon the cliff side. For a moment he panicked and sat up searching desperately for Lyria. He found her nestled in a patch of moss just a few feet away from him, paintbrush still in hand. It had slipped while she slept, leaving streaks of paint on her cheeks and chin. He smiled at the image of her sleeping body in the waning moonlight.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep. In fact, he could not recall closing his eyes at all. One moment he was relaxed, listening to the waves crash behind him, and the next moment he was deep into the best sleep of his life. Despite sleeping on a rock for several hours, Loki could not recall a time in which he awoke so rested and happy.

He eyed her painting set upon a small easel in front of Lyria's now sleeping frame. For more than a moment he contemplated sneaking a peek of her work but ultimately decided to let her decide when she wanted to show it to him.

Instead he conjured a blanket and pillow and adjusted Lyria to make her more comfortable. She mumbled in her sleep and grabbed tight onto the blanket she was now wrapped in. She tucked it under the jaw and held it close. Loki smiled and retook his place upon the rock and closed his eyes once more.

He woke up to find Lyria covered in paint and steady working on her finished project. She noticed he had woken up and set her stuff down. Slowly she walked over to him and sat next to his lengthy frame before lightly kissing him.

"Good Morning Loki."

"Good Morning Darling."

"I thought you said Asguradians don't need sleep like humans do. I turned around to say something to you and you were out cold."

"We don't need sleep. Because of the difference in time between Asgard and Earth, I could probably go several days with rest."

"Then why did you fall asleep? I mean if you're just waking up, you've been sleeping for at least fifteen hours."

He shrugs. "I was just lying there and I felt so peaceful and relaxed that I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew, I was asleep. I woke up before the sun rose to check up on you but then ended up falling asleep again."

"Thank you for the blanket and pillow by the way. They were super comfortable. I imagine you got them out of your space pocket thing."

He nods. "How is your painting coming along?"

"Beautifully. I think I'll need another hour or two to finish but then it should be all set."

"A whale jumped over the moon last week," Loki says with a very serious look on his face.

Lyria looks confused and laughs. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing, it was nonsense. I just wanted to see you smile." Lyria looks away smiling and blushing. Loki lets out a contented sigh. "You really are beautiful."

"Stop it," she commands a bit breathlessly.

He presses a light kiss to her lips then holds her face in his hands as they look at each other.

"You know Loki, you're the kind of person someone can get drunk on."

"Drunk how, darling?"

"You know, like when your body gets all light, so light you think you're floating and your head gets fuzzy and you can't quite concentrate. You know it might be a bad idea but it always just leaves you wanting more."

"Is that how you feel now darling?"

She nods causing him to smirk. He holds the back of her neck, his fingers tangling into her hair and kisses her again. Just as Loki is about to pull away, Lyria pushes into the kiss, sliding closer to him and resting her hand on his chest. Loki smiles and sets his other hand on top of hers. Lyria lightly hums before finally pulling away.

"You darling are certainly intoxicating," Loki compliments quietly.

She smiles. "Very." She takes a deep breath. "I need to finish painting before we end up spending the day making out and I'll never finish."

"The outcome of either plan sounds extremely beneficial to me."

"I already put so much work into this painting," she says reluctantly, sliding away from him. "Plus I'm not even supposed to be kissing you until the end of the date."

"Damn Midgardian manners."

She laughs and sits back down in front of her easl. It falls silent again and Loki watches in awe as Lyria works. A few hours later she sets her paintbrush down and proudly proclaims she has finished.

"Are you ready to see the finished product?"

He sits up straighter and nods. Lyria takes a deep breath and flips around the canvas to reveal her work of art.

Loki is left speechless. He doesn't want Lyria to mistake his lack of words for disappointment so he kneels beside her and kisses her until he can find his words.

"Lyria, that painting is... well Midguadrian words cannot describe how incredible that painting is or how talented I think you are."

Lyria blushes profusely. "I am not so used to such blatant compliments on my work. Thank you very much Loki. I loved working on this painting. I loved being here."

"Good first date?"

"The best."

"I can't tell you how grateful I am that you came with me. You had a fair point in the lab; you didn't know me all that well and realistically you shouldn't have decided to come. It means a great deal to me that you placed that kind of trust in me."

"It was a really stupid incredible decision," she admits smiling. "But I am so glad that I made it."

"Unfortunately it is getting late and I did say that I would get you back so you can attend work tomorrow."

She takes a deep breath and nods. "Um, I probably should have asked this earlier but where are we?"

"On the island of Rarotonga in the South Pacific Ocean."

"Loki, it's going to take us forever to get home! Did I sleep that long on the flight? Isn't that like a twelve hour flight?"

He nods. "Which is exactly why we need to start heading back but, I promise we will return here soon."

"You promise?" She holds out her pinkie.

Loki looks confused and holds her pinky in his hand and shakes it. She laughs.

"What the hell was that?"

"You were offering me your pinkie, what else did you expect me to do with it?"

"You're kidding. You've never heard of a pinkie promise?"

He shakes his head.

"Can tell you all about the phylum, genus and species of any given plant on an isolated island but doesn't know what a pinkie promise is," she mutters.

He uses his finger to lift her chin so she is looking up at him. "Can you teach me?"

The sincerity and wholesomeness of his question makes Lyria smile and immediately nod her head.

"Okay hold out your pinkie like I did. Then hook your pinkie with mine and speak your promise out loud."

"Sounds simple enough," he admits. He extends his pinkie and slowly wraps it around hers. "I promise to bring you back here in the near future... Did I do it right?"

"Yes you did! That was an excellent pinkie promise Loki."

He smiles widely. "You Midgaurdians do have some very strange traditions."