Disclaimer: I don't own Thor.
A/N: Happens after Thor Dark World but set in the future from there.
Thor gazed at the kingdom from his high throne looking at the sun struck the spires and sides of the gleaming buildings as it slowly set on Asgard. He glanced up as one of his soldiers came into the room and stood at attention waiting for Thor's permission to proceed. Thor nodded giving his permission and the man said.
"The prisoner has asked to see you." Thor had been king for 50 years now and so he didn't let his surprise or suspicion show in his gaze although he felt both emotions. The was no need to ask for clarification because there was only one prisoner that was so bad that everyone just called him the prisoner because they felt him undeserving of the name Loki after everything he had done.
It was obvious why Thor was suspicious because Loki had shown himself on several occasions to be untrustworthy. He still even though it had been 50 years felt fire burning in his blood about what Loki had done to his father. Loki had killed him and taken his place and it had taken five years before Loki's deeds became known.
His surprise was because in all the 50 years that Loki had been in prison after being sentenced for killing his father Loki had never asked to see him before. Thor had never gone to see him either. After all he knew that there had to be no goodness in Loki's heart if he could kill the man that had raised him even if he knew that Loki was angry with him.
Thor's first inclination after having heard Loki's- he needed to stop thinking of him as that-the prisoner's request was to deny it. After all the prisoners especially one as bad as he was did not deserve to have their requests answered. However there also a part of him that was curious. Even though he knew it was surely a ploy to escape. Loki had come up with many attempts over the years to do so but none of them had worked. A few had come close though. Loki was clever and thought of people like toys and tools to be used by him for whatever he wished. The curious part of himself wanted to know what Loki wanted to tell him after all this time. 50 years and Loki had never asked to talk to him till now.
Thor knew that he probably shouldn't go but there was still a small part of him that hoped that his brother- the prisoner had learned his lesson. That Loki was back to being his brother again even though the more rational part of him knew that his brother had been given every opportunity to change but had refused every single time.
Thor nodded his thanks to the soldier after he realized that the soldier was still in front of him waiting to be dismissed. The solider bowed shortly to him before leaving the room. Thor looked across the realm and wondered what it was that he should do? Well that wasn't entirely accurate. Thor knew he shouldn't go see the prisoner, but that didn't stop that small part of him from wondering what Loki wanted. There was alsoan even smaller part that still thought that Loki could still be redeemed.
Thor got off his throne and paced up the gold gleaming room as he tried to convince himself at the same time to go and to not go. However no matter how many times he went over why it was a bad idea and that Loki had to be planning something he decided to go. He motioned to his guards that were standing by the door and had been watching him pace impassively. They had both been there when the solider had been so they knew what he had been considering. Even though he knew the soldiers well enough to know that they probably disapproved of his actions they didn't say anything as they followed him out of the room.
Thor began the long journey down to the dungeons. Loki's old cell hadn't been so far away but that was before he had been charged with killing the king and had been moved to far less comfortable quarters than his old cell. Thor was the one that had passed the sentence himself and if it had been anyone else the punishment would have been death. He had still considered it for a long time but in the end he had decided on imprisonment because he knew that their mother wouldn't have like Thor putting Loki to death. It was only Frigga's memory that had kept Loki alive.
Thor found the temperature dropping the further they got to the dungeon where Loki lived. He glare minutely increased for a moment as he remembered that Loki wouldn't even be uncomfortably with how cold it was down there because of his heritage. Thor stopped as he got to the room. This wasn't the room that his-the prisoner was in but the room where the guards stood watching over him with a magic projection of the room that Loki was in. Though the actually room was only on the other side of the wall. Thor found himself working hard to keep himself from looking surprised or angry or mortified as he looked at Loki in his cell.
The guards had told him awhile ago that Loki had stopped eating. In fact it had probably been about a year since he had stopped eating which was why his brother was abnormally thin. A human would have died by now from the lack of nutrition but since they were made of hardier stuff Loki was still alive. His black hair was thinning and had some white strands in it making him look older than he really was.
The state of the room itself was not surprisingly. It looked the same as it had when he had personally put Loki in the cell 50 years ago. It was just concrete the slab Loki was lying on was concrete as well but he was lying on it like it was a feather mattress. Although from the looks of it he doubted that Loki could move- he shook his head reminding himself that Loki had used this ploy before. 30 years ago he had starved himself like this to make everyone think he was weak and then he had tried to escape.
"How long has it been since he has eaten?" he found himself asking the guard who looked at him respectfully but at the same time he knew that none of the guards in the room would care if his brother was to die-the prisoner he reminded himself. .
"About a year sir." one of them said to him and Thor nodded. When Loki had used this trick 30 years ago it had only been for a few months and after his trick hadn't worked he had gone back to eating the meager rations that he usually got. There was a small part of his heart that hurt seeing Loki like that. Thor had grown up thinking that they were brothers after all and he had never liked seeing his brother in pain. However he reminded himself that he was king now and he couldn't allow his brotherly concern replace his duty as king. That didn't stop his concern about Loki or his curiosity about what Loki wanted to tell him though. After another long internal conversation with himself in which he tried to tried to convince himself to let it go, in the end he went against what his head was telling him was the right thing to do.
"I wish to see him." Thor asked and the soldiers paused for a moment like they were going to going to argue before they remembered that Thor was king and that disobeying the order of the king was not a wise decision. His guards spent a good 20 minutes telling him how cunning Loki was and reminding him of several of his more effective but the end useless escape attempts. They also reminded him of his crimes even though Thor did not need to be reminded, he remembered them well. He supposed that they were trying to get him to reconsider but without directly saying so, so that it would not seem like they were questioning the king.
Eventually though they stopped when they seemed to realize that they couldn't change his mind. Instead they lead him to the spot in the wall where the door was that lead to the hallway that led to the cell. It was made the way it was so that even if Loki managed to break out of his cell which he had done before he would have to find the one spot in the hallway which would lead out. Even if he manged to do that there was guards would stop him from making it any further. The wall separating the guards room from the hallway was a red and gold at least on this side.
As Thor stepped through what had looked like solid brick he looked at the hallway he now found himself in. After lighting the lantern which one of the guards had given him he took in his surroundings. The hallway was very long and the brick was not the same color as it had been on the other side of the wall. The red and gold brick had changed into black bricks and runes marked the walls. He wasn't sure what they said but he knew what they were for. The runes were to keep Loki in even if he manged to get out of his cell (which he had managed to do a few times). Loki had been unable to leave since the portal between the hallway and the guard-room was controlled by one of the guards and using a single word he could make the wall impassable. Making this cell a very effective prison, albeit not very pleasant.
Thor followed the hallway since it was the only way he could go. Having never been on the other side of the wall before he moved slowly but purposely forward. The hallway took another ten minutes to follow before he saw the cell this time in person and also the prisoner. The cell was filled with runes and spells all made to make sure that Loki couldn't so much light a candle.
Sometimes he felt bad that Loki had to spend all his time in the dark- The prisoner he reminded himself but it was harder to be detached when he actually saw him and saw how paper-thin he was.
Thor reminded himself that Loki had to be in the dark because they could not give him light. He had used the few itmes he had been allowed and had gotten out of the cell before. Even though the cell had about 20 different locks of varying kind plus a bar welded over the entrance.
Loki at the moment looked exactly the same as he did in the projection only his skinniness seemed even more alarming in person. Thor took in a deep breath and reminded himself of Loki's crimes especially Loki's crime of killing Odin because only that shut down the protective instinct in him that wanted him to take Loki away from the dark cold cell. It was the only way he was able to make his voice emotionless as he asked Loki guardedly.
"You asked to speak to me?" Loki looked up for the first time since Thor had gotten into the room even though he had to have heard him since Thor had not exactly been as light on feet. Loki made a move like he was trying to sit up but lacked the energy to do so. After a few more tries he gave up and just tilted his eyes at Thor.
"Yes I did, I need you to kill me."
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