Asgardian prison. The last place any villain wants to find himself at. No prisoner of Asgard ever dared to tell the stories of the prison itself, as it was too scary and frightening to even remember. But this time, the Asgardian prison got a whole new level of a villain. And a new way of treating a prisoner, as well.
It was the God of Lies himself, Loki. The horror done by his hand was treated unbelievably gentle; he had everything he needed. The space in his glass cell was bigger than any other cell had. He had his books, food, drink, an incredibly comfy bed,... Do I need to say more?
Middle of the day, although it was all the same for the demigod. He spent his days locked up in a cell beyond any prisoner's expectations. Odin was too gentle, he still thought of Loki as his own. Therefore, he couldn't have let Loki be treated as any other scum that came under a lock in that realm-wide known prison. However, the time Loki spent in the cell made him think, and think only. His thoughts flew from Thor to the horror he has done to New York, then to Odin and how he's the first one in many years to commit such treason, and then back to Earth, where he remembered all the innocent lives he took away. It all gave Loki enough facts to realise what a scum he has been. His weak personality did not allow him to even try to find any facts that would give him enough reason to defend himself. He was a murderer, a thief, a liar, a traitor. Treason. Something Loki always loathed, from the day he knew for himself. He and Thor swore to stand by each other's side forever, no matter the cost. And where was he now? In the Asgardian prison, of all places, because of something he swore he would never do. Betray his kin, his family. Loki's head was about to explode. The silence around him wasn't silent at all; the voices in his head constantly reminding him of what a traitor he is, what a liar he is, and yet there was nothing Loki could do about it now.
That same silence that, to Loki, seemed to be during a thousand years was finally broken; the enormous gold door opened with a loud noise, forcing the demigod to jump out of his chair and break him out of his thoughts, awaiting to see who dared to visit, despite everything he did.
Listening closely to the heavy steps he would recognise anywhere, he felt confident enough to talk.
''After all this time... Now you come visit me, brother... Why? To mock?'' - the grim voice was heard. It was the first time the Asgardian prince spoke in a very long time. He was standing in his glass cell, not showing his face to his visitor.
''I need your help.'' – there he was, the golden prince of Asgard, God of Thunder, the future heir Thor. His dark cloak tied around his neck, the golden hair tied in the back, keeping it away from his face. His face expression was dead serious. Loki's surprise stayed hidden, as he felt anger and excitement mixing together inside him. His instincts and his inability of controlling his newly found powers he learned during his alone time made him slip his spell and burst out a wave of magic. Chairs, table, books, everything around him crashed into the glass barriers. With his fists clenched tightly, Loki realised his emotions took over. He took a deep breath and turned to face the golden heir, his brother.
''But I wish I could trust you.'' – said the older prince, keeping the same expression on his face. He was obviously not joking about this. Loki's face was filled with emotions; he didn't know whether this was for real or if this is a trap to test him again. He did not like to be played with. He was the God of Mischief, his ego didn't allow anyone trick the master of tricks himself. His mouth stretched into half of a smirk, tilting his head a little, not completely believing the words Thor just said.
''If you did, you'd be the fool I always took you for.'' – he said, his fists still clenched. Even though he was having doubts about his actions and his believings, he couldn't show his soft side to Thor. He was still feared by many Asgardians, he still had to hold that fear in them. Finally, he was no longer looked at as the younger prince, incapable of anything. He did almost destroy the whole Earth. No one ever got that close.
Thor's face went from focused to frowned. He slowly moved his cloak backwards and stepped up a few stairs closer to Loki's glass barrier.
''You should know that if you betray me, I will kill you.'' – his voice was serious. Loki knew now, there was no joking around this time. There was something seriously bothering Thor, and he wouldn't have come to the greatest villain Asgard ever saw if this wasn't a complete emergency.
''Harsh words, brother. Do you not trust me?'' – the jokester joked. His hand was on his heart, as his smirk spread into a big smile, full of sarcasm. Thor still didn't back out of the careful mode. He was watching Loki's every move, still evaluating if it was safe to let the trickster out. After all, he was the best one into tricking people that they can trust him.
''We'll see about that. Loki, don't take my words for granted. You have been warned.'' – Thor stepped back from the glass cell, hand-signaling the guards to let the demigod out. Loki's smile disappeared after Thor's words; that was the most serious face of Thor he ever saw in his life. The weak spot in him re-opened again; he got to the point where his own brother was ready to kill him if he made a mistake. That same brother that would've once given his life for him, that would've put his hand into fire for him.
The guards walked up to the glass door, removing every trace of the protection magic surrounding the cell, in case the magic master found a way to get out. The cell's gate opened; he was free. Free once again. He was still under the impression of Thor's heavy words, but as the gates opened, his face lit up in both excitement and fear. He was afraid of himself for the first time. The time in his solitude brought up a lot of reason in him and he realised he is really not to be trusted. He didn't even trust himself; the fear he felt was the fear of him going berserk again, defying his family and going against his brother again. Again. No, he couldn't do that, not again.
He stepped out with one foot, then slowly pulled out the other one. He was looking at the floor, not knowing if he should continue or just crawl back inside. The insecurity inside him was something he never felt. To see Thor hurt, to disappoint Father again, to betray Mother and everyone loyal to Asgard... He couldn't do that again. There he was, lost in his thoughts, standing outside his glass prison for the first time in a long time, free, and yet he couldn't make even one step ahead.
''Loki?'' – Thor's voice woke him up from his trance. Loki's body shook for a moment as he got back to reality, looking up to Thor, pulling the proud look on his face. He didn't know where he found the will to look so proud again when he just wanted to crawl back into some hole from which he came.
''When do we start?'' – mischief's lord asked. His voice was proud, his chin was high, his body straight, sending out the arrogant vibe it always did.
''We have to see Father, come.'' – Thor was cold, as he turned and started walking towards the exit of the prison. Loki felt chills coming down his spine; to see Father. Now, after all this time, for the first time? He couldn't, no. How can he face him, after what he did? Loki stood there, as a rock, not moving at all. The guards around him looked at each other, never seeing the prince in this state. As Thor noticed there were no footsteps behind him, he returned to the glass cell's room, only to find Loki standing there, looking blankly at the floor, slightly shaking.
''Loki, come.'' – Thor said again, but it didn't work. Loki was still in deep trance. He didn't dare to stand in front of Father. Not because he was afraid of what Odin might do to him, it was the shame. Shame ate him up and stopped every part of his body.
''Loki!'' – Thor shouted. Loki's reaction to his shout was unbelievable; his body shook and Loki looked like he was going to collapse any moment now. He stepped one step back, slamming his forehead with one of his hands, now shaking harder than before. He was breathing very quickly. What was happening, why couldn't he just find the arrogance he had before, why was he such a wreck all of a sudden?
Thor noticed something was clearly wrong; he gave a look to the guards and they both shook their heads, showing they have no idea what's going on. The prince stepped up to Loki, looking at his face; it looked as if he was in some sort of a shock. His pupils were incredibly small, the color of his face completely gone, his mouth opened in shock, his shaky hand still covering his forehead. Thor's concern level was raising, why was he like this all of a sudden?
''Loki?'' – he said gently, taking his hand and lowering it, as he used the other hand to raise his chin up. No matter the horror Loki did, he was still his younger brother and Thor will never lose that feeling of concern for him. He was always there, taking care of him, since Loki was only relying on his magic and nothing else. Each of their youths was very different. Thor would spend his days alongside his friends, having fun, practicing fighting and working out, trying to be the perfect warrior. Loki wasn't like that; everyone always thought of him as the freak. He had no friends. His days were based on books, studying and researching alone in his room. He was the despised one in Thor's circle of friends. The only reason they would bear being around Loki was because of Thor. One word against his little brother would be their last. He was very protective of Loki, exactly for this reason; because he was different.
''Hey, brother...'' – Thor's voice got somewhat soft, as his hand still held Loki's chin. His stare was focused on Loki's sapphire blue eyes. The guards gave a stare at each other again. As Thor noticed their exchange of looks by the edge of his eye, he quickly pulled his hand back, lowering it to Loki's shoulder, slowly starting to shake him.
''Loki, pull it together, Father is waiting!'' – Thor started again, this time with a more serious voice. Loki finally blinked, closing his mouth and raising his look to Thor's eyes; Thor could see the fear in his eyes so clearly now. As if he could read his mind, Thor knew what the problem was. His face grew softer, not really caring about showing his soft spot in front of the guards now. Loki took a deep breath and removed his look from Thor, frowning again, but sadness was still very visible on his face.
''Let's get this over with...'' – he barely said it properly, since his voice was shaking immensely. Thor stepped back and turned on his heel to continue walking towards the Great Hall. As he watched Thor leave, Loki took a really deep breath, covered his mouth with his palm and followed Thor, slowly putting his hand down, not wanting anyone else see his current weakness. He already hated himself for showing it to Thor, no one else should know.
Hi people! Thank you for reading this, I really appreciate it! I wanted to write something about Loki and the way I see him as a person now, after he gets out of the prison. This is only the first chapter, I will write more. I hope you will follow, and not judge, this is just my way of seeing Loki's redemption. Thank you!
Note: I do not own the cover image, found it on Tumblr and the owner's name wasn't there.