The Monsters Within Us

The sky was dark and dismal gray rain fell from the heavens in a torrent of water and despair. Such weather conditions were rare in the Realm Eternal, and due to this, the streets of Asgard were scarce of life.

From the sanctuary of her home, a single woman watched the rain cascade and let several tears escape her soft amber eyes; staining her porcelain cheeks with miniature rivers.

The woman- whose name was Bryn- reached up a hesitant hand to swipe at her face, and then returned her steady gaze back to the winding streets and regal dwellings of Asgard. But as she looked out over the maelstrom of buildings and rain, she was blinded; sightless to any of her surroundings or past obligations. For her mind was preoccupied with something so massive that she could comprehend nothing else.

Only one thing prevailed upon her senses, and that was a face. It was the face of someone dear to her, who she had long since thought dead. The face of someone she had loved and lost.

Bryn's eyes closed as his name sounded throughout her mind, like a long forgotten song. And as it echoed throughout her head, a shaky breath hissed past her lips and entered into the otherwise silent room. It was a name she had avoided for almost two years. . . A name she had said more often than most others.

. . . . Loki . . . .

The woman clasped her hands together in a death-like grip as countless memories flooded her mind's eye. And she was overtaken by violent tremors throughout her body as unbidden emotions raced to swallow her whole. Memories of smiles, and shared dreams, and secret meetings at the Bifrost. Memories of magic lessons and kisses.

. . . Memories of the one she had given her heart to . . .

A day prior, Bryn had received word that Thor had returned from the Midgard with his brother in tow. And only several hours ago, Loki had been tried and his sentence passed. He had been found guilty by the All-Father, and was to be imprisoned for the rest of his days. Forgotten and alone, until the moment his body matched his soul and gave out. A horrific existence and a sorrowful end, a life lost to the never-ending waves of time.

And it was more than Bryn could bear.

Though Loki's crimes on the Midgardian Realm warranted swift action and punishment, Odin couldn't have chosen a more twisted fate for his adopted son. For Loki had never done well in confined spaces, due to his free nature and mischievous personality. So to place him knowingly in a secluded magical box for an infinite amount of time was nothing short of heartless.

It seemed that in his anger and will to purge the realms of his second son, Odin had become just as depraved and spiteful, as the one he tried to snuff-out. And it was sickening to behold.

Bryn didn't know how long she stood, staring out at nothing and everything, but once her tremors and tears had died down, she was immediately moved to action.

Moving away from the window, the determined woman strode towards her personal study with a quick step. She would go to see Loki. She would talk to him, and try to gain some semblance of truth in the process.

But first, she would need some supplies.

The game was finally over.

After what felt like centuries, there was nothing left to do but wait. All that remained was darkness, anger, and failure. And it consumed every waking thought Loki had. He had come too far, and altered so much, and in the end it hadn't even mattered.

His existence as a whole could be summed up in a single phrase: not good enough.

Though Loki had always tried his utmost- whether it was to beat Thor, or just to be accepted- he had never been good enough. Not once- even with the Chitauri Legion in his wake and the Tesseract placed firmly in his palm- had he succeeded. He had never known what it was like to win, and it seemed that he would never get the chance.

Loki had once more proven his blatant worthlessness, and he would forever rot for it. This was it; the disgusting magnum opus of a Jotun monster- the unremarkable finale of a prince who had always lived in the shadows. The end of his tale, concluded within a prim, isolated prison cell.

This thought would have been enough to make a weaker being cry. But Loki wasn't weak. The second son, yes. The lying, murdering trickster, yes. A failure in the eyes of all those who had ever known him, yes! But not weak. . . Never weak.

So Loki lay down on his cot and smiled. A great, toothy, maniacal grin- that showed his inner anguish better than any tears could have- and let a shaky chuckle fly forth into the silence. He might never leave his cage again, but Loki knew that he wouldn't give the All-Father the satisfaction of festering away as a timid mistake.

Oh no.

Loki vowed as his grin grew painfully wide. He would smile- as a sure sign of defiance- until his final breath. Even if he never saw another being, other than the guards who had been ordered not to speak to him: He. Would. Smile!

Or at least, that was Loki's plan until the warrior standing outside his cell collapsed into a limp heap.

Bryn instantly felt remorse as the prison guard fell to the solid stone beneath him, and offered his still form a silent apology. Though she had only put the guard to sleep temporarily, Bryn knew that the poor man would awake with a horrendous headache and sore eyes.

But there was nothing for it; it couldn't be helped, and she wouldn't linger on the details any longer than she had already. She had more important things to attend to than the guilt over the guards' health.

So slowly, Bryn moved from the safety of the shadowed columns and hesitantly approached Loki's cell. At first, the woman couldn't see him, and feared she had come to the wrong part of the dungeons. But as she came to stand before the magical barrier, Bryn spotted him, and her breath caught in her throat. For there Loki sat upon his prison cot, facing her expectantly with a glint of curiosity shining in his attentive blue-green eyes.

He was waiting. And before she could think better of it, Bryn reached up and pulled down the hood that she had used to cover her face, giving him the opportunity to see her.

As the material slid past down past her ears and neck, the woman saw recognition cloud Loki's face and felt a tingle of apprehension run down the length of her spine. It had been more than two years since they had beheld each other, and the effect of their reunion was completely indescribable.

Both were silent for a long moment before Loki said calmly, "The cowl doesn't suit you, my dear."

"Doesn't it?"

Loki shook his head, "Not in the slightest. A great beauty like yours should be flaunted at every opportunity, lest it perish by lack of attention."

"I see your charm and Silver Tongue still thrive," Bryn shook her head with a short laugh. "For you know I have never been considered beautiful, nor have I been conceited enough to ponder how long my tender age will last. So why would I start to worry about such a thing now, when it has never bothered me before?"

At her simple teasing, Loki's manner grew serious, as did his next words; a quiet caution compared to his lighter banter of moments before.

"You must find yourself a life-mate soon, yes? Thus you must take care of your beauty for the Asgardian you will be bonded to."

Bryn's smile faded, as she too grew serious, her heart aching silently as she met his familiar gaze.

"I had a life-mate. . . There is no other one, Loki," she said firmly. Neither before nor after, and there never will be."

As soon as the words had left her lips, Loki's face showed a brief flicker of emotion before his guarded facade snapped back into place. She had gotten to him. She had gotten too close for comfort, and he was shutting himself away. . . And it broke her heart.

With a swift movement, Loki stood from his cot and came to stop before his visitor. Bryn knew that he was using their considerable height differences to intimidate her, and decidedly stood her ground because of it, making a strange grin form on his handsome face.

"So I take it you've heard of my monstrous deeds on the Midgard?"

"Yes," Bryn answered truthfully, though no judgment clouded her tone. "I have heard."

Loki chuckled bitterly as he rested his hand on the golden barrier just above her head. "So you had to come see for yourself, did you? You had to witness the transformation with your own eyes, because it was beyond your belief? You couldn't comprehend me doing such dastardly things?"

Bryn met his powerful gaze with a calm set of amber brown eyes, and shook her head.

"I could comprehend, and I know that you did do what others have claimed."

"Then why have you come," Loki asked lowly, his tone deep and predatory as his fingers clenched and re-clenched against the magical glass. "To mourn the passing of my innocence? To call me to atone? To pass hate upon the Jotun monster who you sold your soul to?-"

"I came to tell you, that I still stand by you," Bryn interrupted with a slight hitch in her voice.

Loki paused for a moment before he began to laugh. But it wasn't a laugh of happiness or joy. It was a sick, twisted, desolate sound that spoke of years of pain and disappointment. And as his laughter subsided his eyes grew angry.

"You cannot stand by me," he spat viciously. "You will not stand by me!"

"Why do you think that," Bryn asked, pressing her on hand to the place where Loki's was. "Why do you not believe me?"

"Because I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night!" Loki barked. "And people do not love MONSTERS!"

Bryn couldn't stop the tears that slipped from her eyes, as his words echoed throughout the stillness. Did he honestly believe that? How could he think such a thing?

Loki saw the crystalline tears fall, and a knowing look gained purchase over his features. And when she was silent, Loki assumed she agreed with him.

"Go find your life-mate, Bryn," he said with a small semblance of tenderness. "Never return to this foul place again. . . One such as you is not meant for this temple of scorn and isolation."

As his words sunk in, it was Bryn's turn to laugh, but unlike Loki's it held actual humor.

"Not a place for me?"

Loki's face betrayed nothing as he answered.

"No."

Bryn slowly slid her hand down from the barrier and took a step back, her eyes never leaving Loki's as she made a life-altering decision.

"You're wrong, beloved," she offered softly as more tears left her eyes. "For the den of monsters is exactly where I should be."

Bryn focused on all her inner-magic and felt the glamour that had protected her for so long, disappear. No more lies. No more half-truths. No more disguises.

Only monsters.

Loki uttered no sound as Bryn began to transform before his very eyes, but his face and posture spoke volumes. Where there had only been anger and conviction, now there was surprise and awe. For the woman who now stood before him, looked nothing like the woman he had known.

Where her eyes had been soft amber brown, they now shone an otherworldly blue, and where her hair had been burnished red and brown, silver-white strands fell. And where toned skin had once peeked out beneath Asgardian robes, now pale moon-kissed flesh was exposed.

Bryn gave him a small smile as she leaned forward to place a kiss to the magical barrier. A kiss meant for his lips alone, and willed him to know how she felt.

Bryn had always been afraid to show Loki her true form- that of a Dark Elf- but now nothing held her back. If he insisted on being a Jotun monster, then she would join him as an accursed Dark Elf. And she would be his equal, no matter what form she took.

"You are not alone, Loki," Bryn whispered lovingly as she once more raised her hand to the glass. "Whether you're a monster or not, I will stand beside you. And I will see what lies beneath. That much, I promise you."

Loki didn't say a word as he studied her, but he didn't need to. Not when his intense blue-green eyes said it all for him. For there was no loathing or fear, or disgust. Only open admiration. And despite the past, and all that had happened, in that moment of silence and companionship, both Jotun Prince and Dark Elf felt beautiful.

Author's Note: This story was written for a dear friend of mine who wanted a drabble of her OC Bryn and Loki. This is the result. I hope you all enjoyed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Loki, Tom Hiddleston (damn), or Asgard. Bryn belongs to Aurosai on deviantart.

~Lyn Harkeran