Bond and an Emerald Dagger

Prologue

Asgard

Dark... it was darker than he'd remembered. Or was it always like that? Maybe it was...or has always been...since he had a mind of his own. Loki entertained himself staring at the so familiar walls directing towards the throne room. The guards behind him kept uncomfortably close,but he didn't mind. He knew why, and he couldn't blame either of them for doing their job. He had tried sneaking conversation,but no one...not even them directed a single word.

"Bring in the criminal!"

Echoed the voice he had once looked up to...that he so much wanted to make proud. Right now, in these times, he felt nothing more than spite. Looking forward as the grand, golden doors slowly opened, down the long, pillar-lined corridor, dimly lit by the sun outside. There he was, so mighty and proud of himself...made his stomach flip just by the mere sight. Or maybe he was hungry, he didn't quite know. Being pushed forward by the guards,Loki sighed and walked, half loosing his concentration to the echoing of the tingling coming from the unneeded shackles. Every now and then,he raised his eyes to look at the windows...adorned with colored glass, telling the stories he knew by heart. But curious...nowhere was the single untold story that had changed so much for him...maybe that's why...because it didn't matter.

A slight movement caught his attention, behind the last third pillar. There she was...and he felt a very contradicting surge of emotions. On one end, his chest contracted and seemed to want to turn smaller, hurting... he knew his feeling, but had felt it much worst. On the other hand, there was something taken off his shoulders. He felt lighter, as if the very sight of her took the whole Nine Realms off his shoulders. "Loki..." she called,and this time he found a reason to look towards her. "Hello Mother." he replied,smiling as if he had forgotten everything around the both. Frigga's face softened and fell, a slight touch of sadness overtaking her wise,yet ageless face. "Oh my son...what have you done...?" she seemed to almost plead. He slightly leaned towards his step-mother, "Nothing that I could have done worst." whispered, his green, tired eyes flickered from her to Odin,who was still sitting quietly at his throne, patiently waiting and allowing the exchange. Frigga groaned, almost inaudible, and sighed "Please...do not speak ill..." she tried again,and much to Loki's surprise, it was working. Her pleadings were not ill-bounded,but they were sure burning a hole into his chest. "Is it not what I always do?" he answered, coming out softer than what he intended.

"Enough!" echoed Odin's powerful, demanding voice, making everyone but Loki jump slightly, "Bring him forward." ordered. Loki looked from Odin to Frigga,only managing to feel the need to feel her...to feel that warmth of the person he used...and still does...truly love. He felt a poke on his ribs, and took the final steps towards the All-mighty's throne. He has always found it curious how the scheme of it all always implied that the one in his place was always being looked down upon. Finally, reaching the rotunda, Loki raised his head to look up. "What will you say to defend your actions?" Odin demanded, almost in a robotic tone.

He was good at hiding his emotions, have always been, and in Loki's eyes, he still is. "What difference is in what have I done, and what you do?" Loki replied, as if what they were doing is merely having a normal conversation. He smiled defiantly, leaning his head to the side. He knew it wasn't a smart thing to test Odin's patience, but he just couldn't help it, it was something that he had done for too long, and old habits die hard. Odin slightly shifted in his throne, keeping himself from falling into his, once son's mockery. "I don't kill to support power-drunk, delirious obsessions...they is the difference."

Loki let out a chuckle "Midgard is a lost place. And I intended to save it. To give the same kind of mercy which you show all other realms." he took a slight step, but stopped himself after seeing Frigga had not left the room, merely stayed silent. He looked back to Odin, more serious now. "Or is that how it is? To steal a child, keep it under lies and secrecy...that is how you are different?" he seemed to whisper the last part of the question. Knowing that he had hit a nerve, Loki smirked, not caring that the guards behind him tugged on the chains keeping him from moving any further. Odin stared in silence for a while, seemed to extend forever. Finally all he said was "For committing crimes to both Asgard and Midgard, I cannot allow you to go unpunished...Loki." and as he said that, Odin stood, holding Gungirr tightly, yet his face had changed...something in it... "If I am the cause of so much trouble, in your name, just finish with this once and for all. Because let me tell you, for someone who claims to be merciful and benevolent, you sure know how to mentally torture and individual." Loki spat out, acid dripping from his words. Talking about things that they both knew they had a point, and hurts just as much to both. But knowing how much Odin had kept from him in the first place, he believed firmly he had no right to be hurt. He never did.

"NO! No..." Odin slammed Gungirr's rear end on the ground, it's powerful echo bouncing along the walls. Frigga turned to look at her King...and husband, whit worried eyes, but he simply ignored her, "I will not kill you. You will be condemned to spend the rest of your life in exile. Isolated away, where none can fall in your lies, and where you can no longer hurt those they love you." he sentenced, his voice loud and emotionless. Unconsciously, hearing his judgment, Loki's eyes flickered towards Frigga, who watched him with desperate eyes. "Don't worry...I won't anymore." he whispered, not taking his eyes away from her, yet his words were clearly directed to Odin.

Frigga turned, and walked away from view, and Loki knew she had left for sure. The universe seemed to have weighted down on him once again, and as he is pulled back, away from the man he once knew as his Father, all he could think of...was to be thankful that something had not allowed them both to be fully apart.

Midgard

"Would you mind keeping the damn cat quiet?!" screamed Paola, a 21 year old girl with a thing for wearing black-on-black. Summer was just above their shoulders, which meant she would spend most of her time at Kyle's, her best friend. His family was very well known for being out 90% of the time, and leaving him behind to take care of the house and the pets. Honestly, she simply believed that he will tear the house apart if he has no female influence to keep him on a leash. "That damn fat fur ball will not shut up! She's not getting any more food though." Kyle replied from his room, probably sitting in front of his computer watching some weird animal video. He tended to spend most of his time procrastinating. She didn't mind, but something behind her brain always say it is not a very healthy thing.

Paola walked to his room, and slammed a sock on the door frame, making both the man and the feline jump and look at her, yet she simply looked at the cat...which was stupidly named Kat, by that matter. "What you do that for?" Kyle protested, and Paola noticed he had that weird game running in his computer, where everything was pixelated and cube-shaped. She never understood the point of such game, merely living in a world of weird,exploding creatures, created by people who kinda were in LSD on production..., she just choose to not mention anything. "At least it shuts her up,no?" she replied, picking up the sock before the cat darted out of the room. Kyle usually has a smart ass remark, it was one of those things that sometimes made people want to hit him, but couldn't get enough of, and she was no exception...but this time, he kept quiet. She half expected him to respond to her, but when she turned to finally slide on her combat boots, all he did was follow her to 'her' room, which was merely the guest's room. Kyle stood by the door frame, silent. It bothered her that he hasn't said anything until now... "What?" she pushed him to talk, slowly turning uncomfortable by the feeling of a set of eyes on her.

"Has anyone ever told you that Halloween is four months back?" he smiled, and Paola gathered all her will to not pick up the closest thing to her and play bull's eye with his head. She knew it...she freaking knew it, and still fell for it. "Yes,but right now, i am not the one with the horrible mask, walking around with it. Oh wait! That's your face... oops~" she replied sarcastically, and felt her chest lighten up at his chuckle. Kyle was one of those guys who could win their way into someone's heart by just doing bad jokes and puns, and him being the only one who had bothered to help her when she most needed it. They had been roommates for almost two years now, it had almost felt as if she had lived there all her life. Kyle walked into the room and sat beside her on the bed, slightly pushing her aside. "Ya' know, you can take the day off, since technically all summer will be for work." he advised, and Paola smiled to him, half expecting him to whine like a puppy. It wouldn't have been the first time. "That is a good idea but I still need to get money, or we'll starve." she replied, making a face, to which Kyle merely grinned. They both had jobs, which meant that they barely ever saw each other or had time to waste of watching movies or playing video games, this little talks before heading out were just an extra. And they both enjoyed it as much as they could. "I guess that's a no, then. Anything you want for dinner?" he finally asked, standing from her bed. He was very tall, compared to her, and it bothered her how he treated her like a little girl, like patting her head, for example...as he was doing right now.

"I'll think about it when I get home." Paola replied, with very little enthusiasm as Kyle kissed the top of her head. "Alrighty. Drive safe." he smiled and left the room without another word. She knew this was going to be a very long day...one they would get nowhere but the same boring ending.

Nidavellir

Tap Tap tap

Was all that could be heard in the hollow, cube shaped box, where Loki had been placed to suffer in 'isolation'. The place was fairly big, about two grand halls pulled together without walls to separate anything in between. He had to give it to the dwarfs, they hadn't lost their touch. It picked at his curiosity how much the old man had given them in exchange for such fancy cell.

Tap Tap tap

The walls were pure white, so he couldn't really tell how long has it been since he got thrown in here to rot in silence, no windows and no contact with the outside world at all. He has had visitors, though...those who know they shouldn't be there, yet find a way to get what they want. And they still scorn him for doing the same...? Most of the stuff he has in the cell were actually sneaked in...by either Frigga or Thor. Basics, mostly, like somewhere to sleep or books. He had avoided directing a word to them no matter how much they pushed him to speak.

Tap Tap Tap

What is that annoying noise? Rising his eyes from the book he had almost finished, noticing that he had actually been tapping his foot on the nearest wall. Being alone can cause you to develop a lot of nervous tics, he knew as much, and what amused him was the thought of actually having a whole lifetime to see how far that statement could go. He snapped shut the book, not really caring to mark where he left off, and pulled his feet off the wall. He needed to find something else to entertain himself, but what? It didn't took much for him to actually find stuff to do in a pattern, over and over, but that too can be tedious.

BAM!

Oh? What's this? Someone outside has started to call for his attention. It had been a while, which almost caught Loki off guard. He had to hand it to the guards, they offered a very good distraction, even if this was actually their own way of killing time.

BAM BAM!

Well this time they surely were persistent, that's for sure. Loki slowly walked over to where the banging came from, the farthest wall, he knew what it was: the entrance. Or so it was, whenever someone intended to enter the 'cell', he knew what kind of spell it was needed to get this done, too bad it can only be worked from the outside to the inside. He stopped, about three steps away from the wall and waited. Whether he answered to what they wanted or not would not change the outcome of what was to come. Slowly, the wall faded away, revealing at least three guards outside in full armor. Again, something not really needed. Loki stared with emotionless green eyes at the closest guard, whom his name slipped his memory. "Good morning 'Prince'. How did you sleep?" he taunted, his voice smug and very...like his. So he was trying to mock him, nice idea. Yet, he found no reason to laugh...or show any emotions whatsoever, so Loki didn't. His eyes kept glued to the guard, who held his sword close as he slowly moved closer to the wall/entrance, his face radiating too much confidence...if only he moved a bit closer.

"Curious, the Trickster has gone silent again. Has your silver tongue failed to aid in your favor...traitor?" the guard tried again. Loki slowly rose his chin, defiantly staring. He found it amusing how that very simple gesture clearly unease them. They tried as much as they could to hide it, but Loki could clearly see the unease crawl up their faces. Two of the guards caught the message, thankfully, and retreated, but kept their eyes on the one left, who apparently doesn't learn with a stern look. "Think that with threatening looks you will get your way...Laufeyson?" he spat out the name. That one single last name he was still starting to let sink into his brain...his real name. The guard took two more steps toward the wall, Loki's eyes flickered to the ground and back up to him.

Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Loki finally spoke, keeping his voice eerily calm, "You know the body is a fascinating thing indeed. Apart from the heart and the lungs, do you know which organ keeps on working, without really needing it too?" he asked, speaking in a sort of enthusiastic voice, which had turned the guard utterly mute. Just like he wanted him to... "Oh...guess someone else has gone silent,no?" Loki slowly leaned forward, a grin spreading across his face. The guard had no idea how to react, much less what to say, his eyes were huge and stuck to what Loki was doing. He slowly rose his hand, two fingers pointed to the guard's direction, and he watched with sadistic enthusiasm as the guard's tongue started to glow...dim and gleaming under the bright sunlight. The guard panicked, started to tremble and groan in protest, for his tongue had turned hard and cold...like pure silver. The clearest and purest Loki has ever seen. In utter panic, the guard dropped his sword with a loud "thud", far off into the distance, Loki watched as he stumbled back and tried to scream, while his companions came to his aid.

"Now we see who's got the silver tongue." he whispered, his face slowly splitting into a creepy, sadistic grin.

Midgard

Finally! She was out! Paola took no more than 10 minutes after the end of her shift at a local restaurant, said goodbye and turned to the car. Working as a waitress could be pretty exhausting, contrary to what many people believed. She didn't mind, it was better to deal with cranky customers than stay at home staring at the ceiling with nothing to do, besides, better have money than have nothing. Wow, did she really say that to herself? She must be really tired.

Paola drove down the darkened street, doing her best to not let her eyes droop down and betray her. She'll most probably pass out on her work cloths once she gets home, but she knew she shouldn't. Or that would give Kyle a reason to pick at her patience, and when she was tired and hungry, usually ended in a very...vivid 'conversation'. Letting out a sigh, Paola let her mind wander off into her early days when she came up to Charlotte, North Carolina, from Puerto Rico. She really did miss those warm nights and the scorching sun in summer days. And being so close to the ocean, everywhere. She would have to consider going back whenever she held enough money to give away...which would be in several years.

Finally reaching the neighborhood, Paola sighed and turned off the car. She had forgotten to bring the jacket with her, which she gave herself a mental kick in the butt for, which meant she'll have to do a single trip to take everything she had in the car with her, or she'll have to suffer the cold night's wrath. Okay, she was overreacting, but even in all this time, she hasn't managed to get used to the cold weather. Switching from a 80° normal day, to a 69° was a real deal. Paola even picked stuff with her mouth, and jumped off the car, sprinting her way to the door. She opened it and quickly was received by Abby, the cute, fat little mutt that was supposed to belong to Kyle's mother, but she always left her home because she's too big and...kinda misbehaved when she wants to. The dog tends to keep whining and slamming her tail everywhere until you actually pay attention to her, so Paola leaned down and gave Abby a quick pat on the head, halfway dropping her bag and stuffs, but straightened herself quickly, walking through the kitchen to the stairs. She looked over, a little broken paper laying at the counter caught her attention. Probably Kyle telling her to not do something or he'll get in trouble with someone.

'Hey there~ I'm sorry I offered you some food, but I have no money to buy any. I lowered a frozen pizza for you though...don't be mad. I'm sorry.
See you tomorrow.'

Great. He's such an idiot. Paola sighed and dropped all the stuff she was carrying on the counter and crumbled the paper in her hand, dropping it in the trash can. It was things like this that she had tried to talk to him about, for him to not say or offer things he knows he cannot manage to give. Good thing her patience was very well known, by all who have passed enough time with them to notice she had almost an infinite amount of patience. Walking up the stairs, not caring that Abby was craving for her attention, she slowly opened the door to Kyle's room, making Kat sprint out like a mad feline. She wouldn't go far, Abby and Kat have a very strained relationship. To put it simple, the upper part of the house was of the cat's, while the dog dominated downstairs. That doesn't stop the stupid feline to attempt going downstairs to urge into the trash can for anything she could find, until the dog had found her and chased her around. Paola noticed the computer was still on... she scoffed. And he complains about the huge amount of cash put into the bills. Slamming the door closed, managing to not growl to herself, Paola walked into her room, feeling the familiar smell of scented wax from the lit candle by the bed, she sighed and grinned. Finally, she could relax, taking off her boots and dropping back on the bed. Hmmm, this was good. Silence everywhere...she enjoyed this so much. It was usual for her to rather prefer to be all alone...she was born alone, no brothers or sisters, and parents never really asked her if she wanted one. Maybe that was the best they could do, she may have a huge amount of patience, but it didn't mean it was literally 'infinite'.

Closing her eyes, Paola frowned. Even if this place held a very deep, calm connection to her, she felt odd...right now, she felt like she wasn't really alone...specifically on the room. Why was that? This couldn't be. She was sure she locked the door behind her, for sure. It felt..colder than usual. How odd.

Nidavellir

Loki turned his back to the now resurfacing wall. It was a pity... he had enough power to cast spells out and in the cell, but he couldn't do anything TO the cell. It's not like he already had the whole measures? Maybe because it was obvious he would try to sneak his way out. Letting out a loud sigh, Loki dropped himself unto the bed. How long has it been since he last slept, he honestly couldn't remember, and that didn't bother him one bit. Staring up at the white ceiling, Loki let his mind wander...to places where he had already seen. Some were very familiar to him, others were simply a quick image. Groaning, slowly letting one hand drop on his forehead, Loki couldn't hold back that his mind always ended up there...with 'her'. Why...? He didn't know it haunted him so much, he thought he'd gotten over it. Apparently he was wrong...and he hated it.

He needed to distract himself, and quick. But how? Isolation usually didn't mean so much to him, it wasn't something he already wasn't used to, but right now, he was desperate to find something to focus his mind on. Loki had an ability...one he wasn't really sure if it worked in here, or if he even had the strength to do it. Maybe if he did use it...maybe if it really worked, that single thought that kept haunting his memories could simply be put away, if only for a little while.

Okay...he set his mind to do it. Whatever the consequences couldn't be much worst than death, and where would that end for him? Maybe it was better that way. Loki sat on the bed, and looked around, the blinding white of the walls only contrasted by the scattered books and utensils that he only uses for entertainment. So all he needed was patience, silence and some magic. All of them he had by extremes...so what is stopping him? Was this...fear? It had been a while since he had felt fear...way too long...or maybe not, and it all just seemed like it had passed so much time. Loki groaned and stood, forcing himself to do this.

The Astral Eyes was something that could take a lot of energy out of him, but with the amount of desperation he had on himself, he didn't care right now. Closing his eyes, standing in the clearest part of the cell, extending his palms upwards and concentrated. The white disappeared behind his eyelids, and something else took it's place. Sparkles...many stars and constellations. It was all as he remembered, clear and pure. Apparently, there was something radiating from Midgard, from that realm he had once offered to the Cheutari race and that had been the one that he had most memories from. There was something from it that seemed to pull his attention towards it. That seemed to call. Why was he seeing this...? He didn't wanted to have to give in to such call, but why can't he just pull away either?

Giving in to such call, simply out of curiosity, he managed to place his whole attention on Midgard...in a place that seemed like a peasant's place. A home. Why? What is this, why is this so hard to ignore...?

Was it...because of her?