Tick. Tock.

"Shut up."

Tick. Tock.

"Shut up!"

Tick.

Insane.

Tock.

I was going absolutely, dreadfully, but horrifyingly truthfully insane.

Tick.

That was it, dammit. I got to my feet and used my dark magics to send the round clock that had kept me company for the past six months and fourteen days into ashes. It lay in a dust heap at my feet.

Finally. Silence.

After a minute, I regretted combusting the clock. It was the only thing that kept the room from being painfully silent. It was the only thing that kept me from sitting alone with my thoughts.

Sitting alone by yourself in the dark is a risky, risky thing. Because with nothing to look at, no one to talk to, you are forced to confront every dark thought that filtered through your mind, every terrible moment that you have ever lived, every nightmare, every farewell, every good cry, every time you'd messed up so badly you couldn't even look at yourself. Hell, I was tired of doing that. I was tired of looking in the mirror and seeing the bloody New York face from last Summer. I was tired of feeling every old tear from discovering my heritage. I was tired, a tired that sleep could never fix.

The cell was nothing like my bedroom, my haven. Though I had conjured this and that to pretty it up. The walls for instance was papered in yellow stripes. Anything was better than that dank cement that cloaked me in constant darkness. My bed was a cement block with a pillow. There was a mirror, but I spent too many afternoons looking at the monster that had consumed me that I had to destroy it. There are still shards that I occasionally pull from under my cement bed to glare into menacingly.

Footsteps grew increasingly louder and I darted to my cell window to smile at Rain, the beautiful Asgardian servant who delivered my meals every noon. She was the only person I ever looked forward to seeing. Not that anyone else came to visit. Odin appeared a few weeks ago inquiring whether my heart was still beating, and once he was ensured his precious 'son' was still breathing, he left. Rain had told me Thor was forbidden to seeing me, but I knew that would never stop him. It broke my heart (not that I'd ever admit it aloud) that Thor, the only person who ever had hope for me, had lost it all. Even through my hatred and envy for him, I still found myself crying at night, hoping he'd appear with Rain the next day.

I grasped the bars on my tiny window and called out to the breathtaking blonde coming into view. Tresses curled to her knees as shiny as Frigga's woven silk, and she wore a floor length cotton dress, accentuating her hips and the color bringing out the fabulous blue gray of her eyes. "What's for lunch today?"

"Potatoes and beans," her voice was as smooth as the rivers surrounding the city.

I gagged. "I know, I know. I tried to explain to them your hatred of beans but I don't think they were overly concerned about pleasing their prisoner," she smirked.

With tender fingers, Rain dropped to her knees and slid the tray through the thin slit by my cell door.

"Rain, can you bring me more books?" I gestured toward the stacks of the leather bound books she'd brought me. "I finished the last one you dropped off."

"I don't know…" she bit her lip. "I don't want to get caught. They'll imprison me."

"Please? You know how boring it gets in here."

"Alright, alright. Kick a few through the slot so they won't happen upon you drowning in books."

I obeyed and returned a stack of classics, among the titles being Allfathers of the Ages, Forgotten Asgardian Tales, and even a Midgardian book Rain adored, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

"Won't you come in and join me, Rain? You can eat my beans for me."

"Not today, Loki."

She always said that.

"By the way, someone will be visiting you today."

I tried to wrestle my expression into a look of boredom and expectance, but the news was much too shocking. Instead, I began laughing uncontrollably. "That's a cruel joke, you know."

"It would be crueler if I was lying, Loki. She'll be by in about an hour. She wants to remain anonymous at the moment."

"She, huh? A woman? You're the only woman who will tolerate me, Rain."

Rain giggled, flashing her blinding smile. "I'll be back in a bit to lead her down, and I'll bring some books. I have a couple Midgardian ones from my last visit."

"Bye," I murmured between bites of potato. With a whirl of fabric, she was dancing off again. Just seeing her walk sent me flying half in love with her. Not like I'd pursue her. Not like I'd pursue anyone. More so, no one would want me pursuing them.

For the next hour or so I lounged across the floor, conjuring a nice carpet so I wouldn't be lying on cold slab. I paged through books, all the stories now sour and old. I'd read each so many times I could mouth every astounding word before I came across it. Reading was easy; not the act of reading the words but the act of escaping. Leaving this cell, leaving this life, joining another world and reliving someone else's life. No thinking about your own life involved. It was freedom until the second you closed that book.

My curiosity was increasing to an outrageous degree, so it was quite good that Rain's footsteps were heard padding back to my cell. Who could this mystery person be?

A familiar person appeared without Rain, and disgust enveloped my entire being. Anyone but her. Why was she here? Why was she in Asgard? Dear God, what if she was staying in my bedroom?!

Red blinded my vision. With shaking fingers, I used magic to hold the thick wool blanket Frigga had given me tightly over the window so she couldn't see me.

"Loki? Are you in there?" Shuffling papers. Uncertain voice. "Damn, I thought she said cell 56."

A long moment passed. I released a huff of breathe I had held in with panic and fury. She had gone.

"I guess I'll just double-check."

Damn, still outside. Fortunately she had no way of removing the blanket or getting in.

My eyes were averted to the handle on my cell door, which was rapidly turning after two clicks. She had a key?! And she wanted to be in a cell? WITH ME?! Was she stupid?

"Loki. So you are in here."

"Ah, Jane. How it's been so long."