My Mischievous God (A Loki Story)

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

One of the guards - a thin, seedy looking man, returned from her room and handed her a pack of cards and some books, along with a suggestive grin. Being alone had definitely given him some form of greedy confidence. Alice opened the cell door and walked in, slamming it behind her in undisguised disgust. Since she'd never used this door before she didn't notice the ledge. She would have fallen on the ground, but Loki teleported over to her stopping her, his hands catching her just in time.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked, his voice soft and covered with concern. He was on one knee, holding her inches above the ground, cradling her against the warmth of his body.

Alice could feel her face and neck turn embarrassingly red, a brilliant shade of vermillion . All her anger from the encounter with the guard had evaporated now, from the sudden nature of the fall. Of course it had nothing to do with Loki staring at her, with a look in his eyes. Adoration? Infatuation? She was not in a position to work it out. "Um... Yeah.. I'm ok, thank you." She scrambled to her feet, leaving his chest cold where her head had been and took a step away from him.

"I talked to Fury and he said as long as you don't cause trouble, I can bring books and a deck of cards with me." She changed the subject tactfully, walking quickly over to the table and placing the books down with unnecessary force.

While her back was to him, Loki stood up and looked back at the door. She had left it open when she fell. Part of him wanted to run for it but that part was overshadowed by the unimaginable need to be near her. With a smile, Loki waved his hand and closed the door with the force of his powers. Alice turned around, startled at the sound of the door closing and saw Loki walking towards her.

He stopped by the table and fanned out the books to look at them. At first, it was just to be near her, but he did have a good look at the books. None of the authors sounded familiar, but a few did catch his eye.

"So, do you feel like playing a card game?" Alice asked holding up the deck, ending the awkward silence.

"I don't know any card games from this planet." He said, a tone of finality in that sentence. He busied himself, opening one of her books by Edgar Allan Poe. Inexplicably, he was avoiding her eyes. Like he was embarrassed? No, that couldn't be...

He watched, daring to look up, as she turned her lower half into smoke. She crossed her legs in the air and started to float. Loki smiled in awe - it was really a phenomenon - and sat down across from her

"I'll teach you! The name of the game is Go Fish." Alice took out the deck and shuffled it.

After explaining the rules and giving him a few examples, they were ready to play. Loki cut the deck and Alice handed out the cards.

"Did you sleep well last night?" She asked, making light conversation, whilst organizing her hand.

Loki's dream flashed through his head, along with the negative turmoil of emotions it had made him feel - he still felt nauseous thinking about it. "The bed was a bit lumpy, but other than that, just fine. How about yourself?" He smiled at her, showing off his white teeth. He thought it wise not to mention the dream. Not yet, anyway.

"I slept pretty well - I did wake up once, though." Alice had her cards ready and was now waiting for him to make the first move.

"Got any... threes?" Loki asked, after only a moments thought.

"I do," she handed him the card, "I read once that you liked to read, so I thought I'd leave some of my books here for you too", she felt the need to explain. "Got any nines?"

"Go Fish, and yes, I love to read. But I'm not sure how I'll like your mortal writers. Got any aces?" Loki wasn't sure if he liked this simple game, but it was worth it, he got to talk to her like this.