Muffins - Loki & Ylva alternate universe stories

Princess in the tower IV

Chapter 4 - Loki

It has not gone unnoticed by Loki that Ylva was kind of forced to come sit next to him, her brother Ulf in particular seems to be bend on having them sit close to each other. The raven-haired prince shrugs it off as some kind of inside joke, the twins never needed much to understand each other, he doubts that has changed over the years.

It's nice to be here again, in the clearing where they used to hang out often when they were younger. There were so many games they played, from simple things like hide and seek to tag, or more complicated games, some of them made up by the kids themselves. The others seem to think the same things, because Brann suggests playing a game when they have finished eating.

"What game?" Thor asks, starting to pat his pockets. "I didn't bring a pack of cards or anything. You, Loki?"

"I could check." Loki tries to remember if he has some playing cards on him. He sometimes forgets what he is carrying, especially if it's small items. A couple of days ago they were already on their way back to the castle when he remembered he still had a bow and arrow magically tucked away in his pockets.

"No, no," Brann interjects, getting up from the tree trunk he was sitting on. "I want to move!"

"What? You want to play tag?" Loki asks teasingly, thinking back to his conversation with his mother on their first day here.

Brann rubs his chin, his skin smooth and perfect like most Light Elves. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'conquer the flag', or something."

"We're not using my shirt as a flag again," Ulf whines jokingly. "I've lost too many good shirts that way."

"What about 'princess in the tower'?" Thor asks, immediately getting slapped on his shoulder by an overly enthusiastic Ulf.

He gets everyone hyped up and pretty soon they're setting down bases for the players. The 'princess' has to sit on top of the slab of rock, with her 'knight' guarding her. The other three players try to steal her away and bring her back to their own base. They're out when the knight taps them, but they also have to be careful of the competition.

"I'm not playing the princess!" Ylva says resolutely, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"That's fine," Thor grins, curtsying like he is picking up his invisible dress with his fingers. "You can be my brave knight."

The blond Asgardian perches on top of the rock, his legs folded daintily underneath him. Ylva takes a stanch at the base of the rock, the most efficient spot to cut off the other players as they start to close in on the makeshift tower to kidnap the princess.

Brann is the first to make a move, narrowly escaping being tagged by his sister. Ylva is light on her feet and she effectively holds them off for a couple of minutes, even when they're coming at her all three at the same time. Loki and Brann have an opening when Ulf is being tagged, almost taking her with him when he tumbles to the ground in a theatrical fashion.

The boys both make a run for the pretty princess, who babbles nonsense about handsome knights who come to take her away in a high pitched voice. Brann starts to laugh, not that used to Thor's ridiculousness and Loki gives him a shove to get him off course. It works for a second, though Brann takes revenge by pushing Loki nearly off the slab of rock. Loki has to teleport in a split second to avoid hitting the water. He appears again by the tree trunks where they sat earlier, one sleeve of his jacket drenched up to his shoulder; there's green duckweed all over his sleeve.

Loki takes his jacket off, watching how Brann drags Thor after him, trying to reach his base before Ylva can overtake them. The boys fail miserably, mainly because Thor insists on doing some sort of ridiculous skip-hop version of running. It makes Ulf almost wet his breeches and Ylva's clear laugh can be heard above the deeper laughs of the boys.