The Books
Just a little one-shot inspired by the Thor 2 trailer.
Obviously, the characters do not belong to me, they are MARVEL's.
Books.
It was always books.
More and more books.
On every and any subject. Love stories, mysteries, non-fiction, history. Just never magic or strategy.
Every morning more appeared, just sat there inside of his cell, mocking him. Laughing at him as they described a world he could no longer see, or would ever see again. Trapped deep under the ground, they both kept him sane and pushed him deeper into the pits of insanity. They kept the boredom at bay for there were no distractions down here for him. The guards said nothing, just watched. No visitors had come, but then again he didn't expect any.
The books were both his friends and enemies, but they were better than nothing.
At first he hadn't read them. They lay there unopened. But that small rebellion hadn't lasted long. The boredom had become too much. They were a nice distraction. It was nice to hide in a book for a few hours to pass the time. With no way of knowing what time of day it was, everything dragged. He began to measure time by when the guards changed shift. The latest book had lasted two changes. It was also nice to forget his situation for a while when he immersed himself in the books. Though it all came crashing down when he returned to the real world. The cell was comfy enough but he longed to leave it. He hadn't even been in there long, and he still had the rest of his life to rot there, but it was too much. The walls pressed down from every angle, suffocating him. He just wanted to breathe fresh air. He wanted to live. He couldn't stop himself from longing for the outside world, but he knew it would be easier if he stopped thinking about it. The books both helped and made it worse.
He knew who had sent them, of course he knew. Who else would bother with him now?
Not is once-brother, who had never visited, who didn't care anymore. He had more important things to do, rather than waste his time on the monster trapped beneath the golden palace.
Not his once-father. He had never loved him. Always unwanted. Always a disappointment.
Not his so called friends. They never cared for the dark prince. They only allowed him to be with them, put up with him. He was never a friend, just the golden prince's little brother. They gave him no loyalty.
Not anyone else: they all hated him. He was the evil prince. The coward prince. The trickster prince. The monster.
But she had always loved him. She had always been there after a nightmare. She had always healed his wounds when he was hurt. She had taught him his magic. She had given him Gungnir and made him King. She was the only person who trusted him and now he had betrayed that trust. She must be so disappointed, but still she cared. Still she sent the books.
The books that meant everything and nothing. So important but at the same time so insignificant.
The books.
Please review, both positive and negative comments are welcome.
(If you are also reading Silver Chains, the next chapter will be up soon, I haven't lost interest.)