Avengers FF - Chained Chapter 1
When Thor and his brother returned to Asgard with the tesseract, he hid it away in a safe place. At least that's what he said. I don't know what became of it and usually he tells me everything. I was an advisor at the court but more importantly a childhood friend of both Thor and Loki. It shocked me deeply when I heard of all the battles between them on earth, I couldn't understand why.
'Haylee!' Thor's voice was like thunder, roaring through the corridor.
'Keep it down!' I yelled back, leaning back in my chair.
'Did you not hear me? When I call your name it means I'm summoning you!' He sounded really angry this time and I got up, slowly making my way into his room.
'What?' I said as I stood in the door opening.
'Don't speak to me on such a tone, I'm-' I smacked him on the head.
'Stop acting like a little boy, now what is it?' He nodded annoyed and let out a deep breath, I could see how his muscles relaxed.
'Loki's in the prison.' The prison is what we always called the most secured cell in the dungeon, it was one from where not even Loki could escape.
'So I've heard.' I nodded.
'It's just that I need someone to bring him his food every day.'
'And you're asking me?' I raised an eyebrow at him.
'He did.'
'Loki asked for me?' This was getting weirder by the second.
'I thought I misheard when they first told me. But it seems he really did ask for you to bring him his food. He said he wouldn't eat if it came from anyone else.'
'Fine, as long as I don't have to make it.'
'He'd die if you were to make it.' He laughed.
'Oh, you're so very funny.' I said sarcastically. 'I'll swing by the kitchen to pick it up and then I'll bring it to him.'
'Thanks. He might be a murderer but he's still my brother.'
'Yeah, I've heard that before. "He might be mean but he's still my brother". You said that incredibly often when we were kids.' He nodded.
'I guess it's always been like that.'
'I'll see you later.' I turned, waved my hand and made my way to the kitchen.
'Haylee, you here for Loki's food?' One of the cooks asked. Knowing Thor and Loki was normal as they were the royals but they knew me as well. The three of us were a team when we were kids, we caused trouble around the palace in our children's play.
'Yeah.' I nodded at the cook and she handed me a tray with a plate and a glass of water on it.
'Good luck.' She said as I walked out. Luck? What did I need luck for? Loki was still Loki, no matter what he'd done. As I arrived at the stairs to the dungeon I stared down into the darkness for a moment before finally taking a deep breath and carefully descending the stairs.
'Food girl's here.' One guard said mockingly. As I stepped into the light he paled. 'Excuse my rudeness, advisor.'
'Yeah yeah, whatever. Go take a break, I'll keep an eye on him.' The two guards nodded and quickly walked up the stairs. Despite the darkness of the staircase the dungeon itself was actually very light, artificial light sources made it look like a normal above ground room. The cell at the back was the master cell for anyone with strong powers, other cells were made for thieves of the court or people who'd attempted to assassinate the King. Those cells had been cleared out just after the two brothers had returned from earth.
'I brought it, as you requested.' I said as I opened a small part of the transparant liquid and shoved the tray in. It was quite ingenious, a prison of see-through walls that could only be penetrated from the outside. He got up and took it from me, setting it down on the table and staring at me through his cell's wall. He looked pale, skinny and ill to say the least. He still maintained his stunning looks somehow though.
'You should eat something.' I said as I gestured at the plate. 'It'll only get cold this way.'
'I wonder why you agreed.' He said as he walked closer, his voice shaking slightly.
'Did Thor ask you to talk to me? Get information out of me? For you are still Haylee TruthTeller, are you not?'
'I'm still being called that, yes. But it's not why I'm here.'
'Trying to get in Thor's favor then?'
'Dammit, Loki, stop guessing. I agreed because I wanted to find out for myself what drove you to do such things.' He seemed slightly surprised but smiled.
'Surely you must know how it feels to constantly stand in someone's shadow.' He'd hit a nerve. 'Your brother, also studying for advisor always came in first, he always beat you at everything.'
'And you're saying that you were always in Thor's shadow?'
'Still quick to catch on, I see. But yes, I was always the lesser one.' I laughed, much to his surprise.
'You were never in anyone's shadow, you were just too blind to see it.'
'Too blind? I've always seen everything clearly, I saw things clearly back in that cave, did I not? When she outsmarted even you, I saw things clearly.' One day, a new maid had joined the staff, her daughter was only two years older than us so we invited her along on one of our trips. We'd discovered a cave the day before and went to explore it, equipped with ropes, knives we'd stolen from the kitchen and heads filled with imagination we went in. After a rather disappointing journey we reached the end of the cave, it was a simple dead end, nothing interesting about it.
'How boring!' Loki had said.
'Indeed.' Thor had agreed.
'Perhaps I can make things more exciting.' The girl had said as she jumped my way, a knife in her hand. Loki had jumped between us and stabbed her, saving my life.
'Or have you forgotten?'
'I haven't. The fact that I'm standing here now is because of you.'
'Exactly and-'
'But that's what I don't get. You saved me back then, meaning that you do have kindness in you, then how could you kill all those people?'
'It's because I know you. They're nothing more than petty mortals, except for the green fellow.'
'Green? The people of earth are green?' I asked surprised.
'No, just one of them. Normally he's normal like the others but when he gets angry he transforms into this big green monster.'
'Amazing, how-'
'Haylee!' It was Thor's voice and I quickly turned around. He stormed towards me through the corridor, Mjöllnir in his hand.
'Why haven't you returned yet?' I wanted to smack him on his head again but he grabbed my wrist and pulled it up, nearly lifting me off the ground.
'Come!' Without me having a choice he pulled me through the corridor and up the stairs, once back on the first floor he released me.
'What the heck is wrong with you?' I yelled angrily as I rubbed my sore wrist.
'I could ask you the same. Why were you chatting with him so casually?'
'Mabye because I know him? He's practically my brother too.'
'You have a brother.'
'Not anymore.' I said dryly.
'He would've never said something like that if you were dead.'
'You know, now I understand exactly how Loki felt.'
'What do you mean?'
'Everyone always compared me to my brother. Always saying to me "Haylee, why aren't you more like your brother?" "You're only bringing your brother down with your games". It was always like that. Even now it's still so.'
'Loki said something similar on earth. I didn't really get it and I didn't get a chance to ask him for an explanation.'
'Well that's what he meant. Now if you'll excuse me, I must tend to my work.' I turned and took off.
'Haylee!' He came after me, his steps resounded loudly through the empty corridor. He laid a hand on my shoulder and turned me around.
'What is it now?' I asked annoyed.
'I do not fully understand what you mean. Why did he do it?' I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.
'Loki did it for recognition, he wanted to be the one to cast the shadow for once. He's not bad, I know that but do you?'