"You know I like you, right?" said Grandmaster, glancing at Loki with his blue-rimmed eyes as they floated above the streets in a type of vehicle. The odd man wasn't driving, thank Odin, otherwise Loki may never have climbed aboard. There was a driver who directed the vehicle silently. "That's why I'm doing this. Because I'm good to my favorite people."

"I agree," said Loki smoothly. "Where are we going?"

"To a house," was the vague reply. "That's where I keep my greatest treasure. You're gonna love it."

Loki was wise enough not to push for a more detailed answer. That wasn't how the man worked as far as he could tell. He had only been on the planet Saakar for a few days, yet he had managed to climb his way up the ranks into the Grandmaster's good graces thanks to his silver tongue and a touch of sparkly magic that fascinated the other man.

They landed in front of what appeared to be a large mansion. Loki assessed it as he alighted from the vehicle behind Grandmaster. There was a single guard waiting in front of the door who saluted when Grandmaster approached.

"Let us inside, Selene," Grandmaster ordered in his silky voice as he fiddled with his robes.

Curiosity was evident in the guard's eyes, but she unlocked the door anyway via a code and fingerprint. The white-haired man entered first, followed closely by Loki. Selene shut the door behind him, and it sounded like it was relocked, which made Loki a bit apprehensive as he shadowed Grandmaster deeper into the house.

"This is a lovely home," he said after a moment. He had found that flattery was the best way to wiggle his way onto a person's good side.

It worked like a charm on Grandmaster, who smiled with a combination of bashfulness and pride. "Thank you. Only the best for my treasure. Speaking of which—Jadis, where are you? Come say hello to your daddy."

Loki's eyebrows almost skyrocketed, but he managed to wrangle them into a slightly surprised expression. He opened his mouth to ask a question, then closed it again, choosing to wait for the answer. Daughter or... something else?

It took a moment, but soon a woman appeared. She had sunflower blond hair with side bangs that looked like they got in the way of her purple-ish eyes often. Her face was painted with heavy makeup and her dress seemed to be of a fancier degree. A polite smile curved her lips as she approached them.

"Father," she said, walking up to him and putting her arms over his shoulders in a light hug. Loki sensed tension in her shoulders as Grandmaster put his hands on her waist.

"There you are, Jadis, my treasure, my jewel," the leader of Sakaar said delightedly. "I brought someone for you to meet." He turned her towards Loki. "This is Loki, my..." He looked down at his hand without releasing her waist, wiggling his fingers like he was counting. "Mmm... second or third favorite person, Loki. Say hello."

"Hello," Jadis said with a small smile directed towards him.

Loki bowed. "My lady." His apparently 'old fashioned' manners never ceased to delight Grandmaster, who wriggled his shoulders with pleasure at the display. For a moment, Jadis's eyes met Loki's, but then she looked down at his shoulder instead. She seemed uncomfortable, but he wasn't sure if he was the one making her so, or if it was her father.

"Why don't we all sit down and have a drink?" said Grandmaster, leading Loki towards another room. "Jadis, go fetch my favorite."

"Yes, Father," she said from behind them. Loki heard her footsteps tapping away until they were gone. Grandmaster seated his guest on a chair while he sat on the couch beside it.

"So, your daughter," said Loki, meeting the other man's brown-eyed gaze. "I didn't know you had one."

Grandmaster looked pleased as he sat back. "I like to keep it that way. Jadis is put into a dangerous position being my daughter. There are a lot of people out there who would try to use her as leverage against me. A lot of other people who might kill her on sight just because they wanted to. That being said, no one can, you know, know about Jadis. If you tell anyone, I might have to use my melt stick on you." He laughed dryly.

Loki raised his hands with a smirk. "The thought never even crossed my mind." He had seen the melt stick in action and knew the childish name belittled its power. "How does your champion fare? I have yet to see him in action."

"Ah, yes. My champion is raring to go, but the games aren't for a few weeks yet. I have other events to tend to first. Did I tell you about the masquerade I'm hosting?"

"I don't believe so."

"Must have slipped my mind. It's next week at my personal home. Everyone will be wearing costumes and playing party games. You have to come, people will be talking about it for days."

When Grandmaster said "you have to come", he didn't mean it like "I'm going to miss you so much if you don't", no. Rather, he meant "come or be melted". And Loki knew that, so he smiled charmingly. "Of course I'll be there. I wouldn't dream of turning down an invitation from the lord of the realm."

"Lord of the realm," Grandmaster mused. "I like that. I might put that in my title." Jadis appeared, walking in with a tray that had three wine glasses and a bottle of what Loki assumed was an alcoholic drink. "Oh, good, good. Let's have a drink. Serve it up, would you, treasure?"

"Of course, Father," she said, beginning to pour a white liquid from the already open bottle into one of the glasses. When she was finished, two of the glasses were halfway full while one was barely a quarter way. She handed the two matching glasses to Grandmaster and Loki, taking the less full one for herself.

"Is that all you're going to drink, Jadis?" asked her father, taking a sip of his and smiling with pleasure.

"You know I don't like alcohol, Father," she replied light, giving him a small, sweet smile.

He shrugged, looking away from her. As they made light conversation, Loki did his best not to seem too interested in Jadis, but he was. She looked only slightly like her father and seemed to have none of his characteristics. She was demure, not very talkative, and if she did look at her father, which she didn't do often, it was with fear or anger. Loki wanted to ask her questions, study her, but he wasn't sure what the Grandmaster would do if he showed too much interest. He didn't want to make things worse for himself or the woman.

The visit wasn't very long, perhaps half an hour. Soon, Grandmaster was ready to go, which meant Loki had to leave as well. His sharp mind quickly began to conspire how he could find a way to spend time alone with Jadis.

"I had a lovely visit," he said with a bow towards Jadis. "Will I see you again at the Grandmaster's upcoming masquerade?"

Grandmaster answered for her. She didn't even try to reply for herself. "Jadis only comes out once a year for the most important event in Sakaar—the new year, which just so happens to be my birthday."

"I see," said Loki lightly. "That is a pity. I rather enjoyed her company. I don't suppose I'll ever see her again?"

"No," admitted the Grandmaster.

"Shame. I suppose her company should only be reserved for those the great lord deems worthy; for his favorites." Loki had no little experience with manipulation. He knew that Grandmaster was eager to prove his favoritism for the whole kingdom to see.

Grandmaster rubbed his ring-studded knuckles under his chin for a moment. "I don't have time to bring anyone back here anytime soon..."

"Of course," Loki said. "I should have realized that your mediocre guard was too incompetent to be trusted. You shouldn't let anyone see the girl without you at their side." Jadis was looking at him strangely. She didn't know what he was doing. She looked like she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

As predicted, the white-haired man looked a tad offended. "Selene is the best guard I have. I only reserve the best for my treasure." He smiled fondly at Jadis for a moment.

Loki seized that moment. "I see. She must come in handy when your guests attempt to harm your daughter."

Now he looked uncertain. "Well, no one has dared try since no one knows about her..." He chuckled a little.

"Oh." Loki nodded. "You believe that I will harm her. Well, I'm sure I've given you many reasons to mistrust me."

"No..."

"Ah." The black-haired prince turned to Jadis. "Though there is no reason I cannot see you again, I fear I never will, so farewell, lovely Jadis. I can only hope to have pleasant dreams about you." He bowed deeply.

"Well..." Grandmaster said. "I don't see why you couldn't come back tomorrow."

Raising his eyebrows, Loki glanced at him, pretending the man had bestowed a great honor upon him. And in the Grandmaster's eyes, he had. "Really?"

"Yeah... yeah! Anything for my favorite." The other man flashed a smile.

Loki bowed yet again. "You are most generous, lord of the realm. I look forward to my visit tomorrow." If he was lucky, the Grandmaster would allow him to come alone. Then I'll get some answers.

This isn't my best work, but it did really well on my Quotev account so I thought I would give it a try on here too. Please vote and comment to show your support! (Loki lovers, I'm waiting for the fan-girl-ing. 😉) I plan on updating every other day! See you guys on Friday! 

Stay happy!

~AJ.