Loki felt his brother's tight grip around his arm as they approached the place where he would spend his next three years in imprisonment. Thor seemed to be holding him in a protective manner, as if to make sure the two were never separated again. Loki looked ahead as they entered the prison, a comfortable one, but not nearly as luxurious as what he was used to. Thor unlatched the muzzle by pressing down on the back of it and Loki scowled, his blue eyes gleaming with an untold emotion.
"Brother, this will be your home for the next few years." Thor sighed, bringing Loki down the hall.
"It will never be a home, Thor. You misunderstand the word." He looked away, at his surroundings to avoid looking at Thor. A god, in prison? It was unheard of… All he wanted was his rightful place on the throne. He was much more cunning, clever, and calm in comparison to Thor…. So why was he the king of Asgard now? Why Thor and not him?Why was he now under house arrest for carrying out what was meant to be…
Thor looked thoughtfully upon his brother before letting go of his arm, "Go bathe now." He said pointing to the door leading to the bathroom. Loki looked in the room, and walked inside, pressing his back against the door to shut it. His handcuffs fell off and he let out a long sigh before removing his clothing and stepping into the already full bathtub. He felt like he was being watched as he moved for the soap. He shook his head, silly him, of course he was being watched. A dangerous criminal and a god at that… There were probably guards surrounding the place, watching day and night.
He closed his eyes and let the water warm him as he let out a long sigh and lay in the water still for a few moments. When he opened his eyes it was even quieter than before and the room around him had an eerie colorless tone to it. Loki heard footsteps from behind him and stood, the water splashing outside of the basin. A man shrouded in shadows in the corner approached him, his footsteps echoing in the empty bathroom. Suddenly, as quick as Sleipnir, the man grabbed him by the neck and Loki gasped for air, his blue eyes wide with shock. The man's hand was incredibly cold, and he felt himself shivering as the intruders other hand caressed Loki's bare chest, slowly making its way downward. Loki pushed away and fell back, twisting over the side of the tub, landing in awkward, less than graceful pile on the floor. He shouted a loud curse at the man and held his head.
The figure quickly disappeared and Thor burst through the door, "Brother, what is it?" he rushed to Loki's side, "Are you hurt?"
"N-no. I'm fine, I just have a bruise." Loki rubbed his head and then looked at his brother blushing, "Get out!" he said, bringing his knees to his chest, wrapping him arms around them to hide his body. Ever since he was old enough to know his name he never let Thor in the same room as him if he wasn't decent. In fact, he hid his body from everyone. It was an instinctual action, one he knew not the reason for. Thor quickly left, and Loki stood once more, examining the bruise on his forehead in the mirror.
He put on the clothes that were set on the floor for him. He stopped, his shirt halfway on, what had that been? That man… slipped in undetected by Thor, the guards, and even himself… It was bizarre, to say the least. Loki exited the room when he had fully dressed and looked at his brother, standing to the side of the door.
"What happened, Loki?" Thor inquired, looking down at him.
"Nothing, I just fell asleep in the bath…" he looked away.
"You scream while you're asleep?"
"Yes." Loki said, pushing past Thor and into the room which would be his bedroom. There was a large mirror across from his bed, and underneath it was a desk with a quill, ink, and paper. He walked over, picking the quill up gently in his hands.
"I asked father to have the guards bring you more paper and ink, in case you run out, since he won't allow any books here…"
Loki's expression softened as he turned around to look at his brother, "You have my thanks."
"Well, I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're doing." He replied, before giving a small wave and leaving. Loki looked out one of the barred windows seeing the guards on duty talking to each other, smiling and moving about freely. He longed for someone he could be friendly with, and talk with. Ever since he was a boy Thor had been so outgoing and friendly Loki felt his presence melt into everyone's blind spot while Thor stood in the foreground.¬¬¬¬¬ He frowned and sat in front of the desk, sketching out the man he had seen in the bathroom. He'd been tall, and cold… He'd felt a similar sensation once before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Loki put down the quill and lay down in his bed, feeling an immense wave of sleepiness washed over him as he closed his eyes. In his dreams he was at the Bifrost, looking down at the cracked rainbow bridge. He sat on the edge, peering down into the nothingness. From the nothingness a pair of fierce red eyes appeared, making him jump back, losing his balance. As he fell he grabbed onto something and opened his eyes. He was hanging from Thor again, looking up into his father's disappointed gaze. 'No, Loki…' his lips moved to form the words but no sound came out. Loki felt tears welling up in his eyes and he let go. After falling for what seemed like forever he landed on the hard icy surface of Jotunheim. The same footsteps he heard in the bathroom clicked across the ice as he approached Loki.
He knelt behind Loki, so that the prince could feel the cold breath tickling his neck. He tried to stand, but his body was frozen where he sat, he couldn't even turn around to see who the being that frightened him so. Hard skin brushed against his face as the creature looked at him, and jerked his face toward him so they were eye to eye. It was a frost giant.
"Who- who are you? And how dare you lay a finger on the prince of Asgard!" he spat, trying to make himself sound a little less scared.
"Heh, a prince, how true, a prince and nothing more… But I could make you a king." The words split through his body like a thousand needles. "My name is Akki."
"Don't say such foolish things. My brother is the king of Asgard-"
"Of Asgard…"
"I don't want to rule any other land! Especially not this barren trash heap!" Loki tried to pull free but Akki's grip tightened.
"We'd worship you, as you are meant to be worshiped, Laufeyson…"
"I am not the son of Laufey!"
"Don't deny your roots, Loki." He grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look at his reflection in the ice. His skin had turned blue and his eyes were red, just like Akki's.
"Leave…me…alone..." Loki choked, closing his eyes.
"I will convince you to be my king." He growled in Loki's ear.
"What do you mean by that?" Loki felt more uncomfortable by the second.
"Since you nearly destroyed our world, and killed Laufey, I have become a king, and I wish to have a husband by my side."
"H-husband? Have you no shame-"
"Your Asgardian ways are different from ours; I do not expect you to understand."
"Then why expect me to comply? I will not wed another man!" he shouted angrily, struggling to break free from his bonds.
"Oh you will in time…" Akki smiled and faded away.
…
Loki woke in a cold sweat. It'd been a few weeks since that dream but ever since that night similar nightmares plagued his mind. He's scream and wake feeling violated; often in his dreams Akki would touch him in ways Loki wished he could forget. These were probably just dreams caused by all the stress of his homecoming. Thor visited the young god daily, sneaking in small treats and gifts, and occasionally a pamphlet or poem. It made Loki smile, to see that someone still cared about him, and wouldn't just let him rot in this prison.
Loki still hadn't told Thor about the dreams but the rumor was circulating around the night guards about Loki's terrible screaming every night. He sat in the main room one morning drinking a cup of tea. The lack of sleep showed in his eyes, and his usually well groomed hair had been left the way it was when he woke up in the middle of the night. He looked to his side, seeing a figure in the shadows. Immediately his subconscious decided it was Akki and Loki threw his cup at the figure.
"Get away from me!" he wailed, his face showing looks of distress and desperation.
"Brother, it is me, Thor." Thor approached him, taking a small bit of broken china from his hair. "You shouldn't start picking up my bad habits now." He picked up the rest of the broken bits of tea cup of the floor and smiled. Loki tried to catch his breath, and calm himself staring at Thor, wide-eyed. "Brother?" he stood up, setting down the glass, "Are you okay?" Thor walked over.
Loki put his face in his hands before taking a deep breath, trying to compose himself, "Sorry, I'm fine, I just thought you were someone else."
"Who else has been visiting?" Thor raised an eyebrow, "And who would you greet like that?"
"No one's been visiting…" he sat down and sighed.
"Brother, you don't look well." He sat beside the prince, "Shall I send over a doctor or perhaps someone to help you with the night terrors you've been having-"
"Who told you?!" Loki shouted, shooting up from his place on the couch.
Thor stood up as well staring at him in confusion. "Loki, I demand to know what frightens you so! You're a wreck, look at yourself!" His voice boomed, and rang in Loki's ears.
"Leave me be, if you would." Loki glared at Thor, walking past him into his bedroom. He slammed the door behind him and Thor huffed, letting out a long sigh.
"This is why you're not the king of Asgard! You're acting like a foolish child, Loki!" Thor regretted the words but they slipped out anyway. He heard a crash as if Loki had thrown something followed by Loki cursing loudly. "Loki- I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that-"
"GO!" he screamed through the door. Thor knew he'd over-stepped his boundaries that time, and decided to leave.
Loki sat on the bed his anger brewing inside him like a cauldron. Damn Thor… he's the one who's immature. I should be king! "I want to be king!" Loki shouted closing his eyes. When he opened them Akki stood in the doorway.
"You want to be king?" he grinned. Loki looked at him, his eyes burning with anger.
"Yes," he looked his nightmare in the eyes and nodded. He felt a cold breeze sweep through the room as Akki walked forward and grabbed Loki around the waist. He pulled the prince into a long and deep kiss that lasted for what seemed like an eternity.
"I'm glad you understand my feelings for… such a rare creature such as yourself…"
"I don't share your feelings but I…" his voice trailed off.
"You want to make Thor jealous…"
"Yes." Loki looked away, feeling childish now.
"I can make that happen…" the giant's words were indeed sincere, and that's what scared Loki the most. What would happen when he was finally Thor's equal? It was all he had ever wanted all these years. Suddenly he felt Akki tug at his pants pulling them down around his knees.
"What are you doing?!" Loki said in a panicked voice, trying to cover himself by yanking his tunic down a bit lower.
"Still a virgin?" Akki chuckled, pushing Loki down onto the bed. Loki grasped the covers trying to push himself back up before Akki threw his cloak off onto the ground and straddled him from behind.
"N-no!" he snapped, defending his honor.
"You are." He laughed, "I should have guessed." Loki squirmed in his grasp, feeling the coldness of the air on his exposed skin. He remained silent, his breathing pace increasing. "Are you nervous little god?" Loki merely squeezed his eyes shut, burring his face in the mattress. "I don't blame you, this will hurt…" he pushed into Loki at first only a small amount of his length making Loki gasp, but within seconds he thrust in deeply making him scream. He continued at a rapid pace. Tears welled up in Loki's eyes as Akki continued; what had he gotten himself into? He bit the down on his fist to stop himself from crying out anymore.
"Stop!" he yelled at last, "Please stop…" his voice was weak and defeated, "I don't want this-"
"But I do," the king growled.
Meanwhile Thor was on his way back to Loki to apologize when he realized the complete lack of guards around the premises. It was as if he'd wandered into a different reality. He walked up to the door turning the knob and pulling a little. It was no use, it was locked. He tried the back door and some of the windows as well, all were locked. He peered in, seeing no sign of his brother till he walked around the back where the largest window was, looking into Loki's bedroom over his desk, on the inside it appeared to be a mirror, but from the outside it was a window. He gazed in, seeing a man, atop his younger brother, hurting him, making him bleed and beg for an end to the abuse. Thor banged on the window trying to get Loki's attention.
"Oh my, oh my, what if I told you your brother was on the other side of that window there?" Akki pointed straight out and Thor blinked, how was he able to see him?
"W-what?" Loki cried looking at the mirror, realizing it was only a mirror from his side of the wall. When Thor saw the tears in Loki's eyes, streaming down his face he summoned Mjölnir to his hand and swung it at the window, it made a slight dent but otherwise no damage. The bang made Loki jump and he quickly looked away from the window, not wanting Thor to see him.
"I told you. He can hear us too, hear you cry and scream-" he paused thrusting in hard to make Loki shriek, "And now he knows you're weak. Losing you virginity to a man like me." He laughed.
Loki held his head down, crying into the bed, trying to hide himself from his older brother's view. He'd never be Thor's equal… who was he fooling? Only himself… that's who. Thor banged harder on the glass trying to break through it and with each thud, Loki shuddered. He was getting dizzy and he knew Akki had no intentions of letting up. At last the glass cracked and Mjölnir broke through, shattering the mirror and Thor leapt inside. At the same moment Loki felt Akki's warm liquid as it was released inside of him.
Akki quickly disappeared, leaving the brothers alone. Thor ignored him and ran to Loki, quickly wrapping him up in a blanket and hugging Loki to his body.
"We shall get you back to the palace right away,"
"Father doesn't want me there…" Loki choked, "I'm not even his son."
"Do you never listen, brother, he loves you as his son regardless of blood bonds, and you are ours, Loki." Loki closed his eyes, listening to Thor's promises of good health, and being able to join Mother and Father in the palace once more. He didn't believe a word of it, but found the thought comforting. He found himself falling asleep in Thor's arms, he was so warm…
…
"Father!" Thor bellowed, running into the throne room, his brother in his arms, "Father you must let Loki come home!"
Odin looked up, seeing his sons, "Thor, what have you done bringing Loki here? This is probably another one of his foul tricks-" he stopped when he saw the blood seeping through the blanket, and onto Thor's hands, "Bring him to the infirmary wing immediately then report back to me what the doctor says, and you can explain to me what's going on."
Thor did as instructed and ran to the infirmary, laying his brother in one of the beds. He carefully unwrapped the blanket and looked at his brother's frail body. Thor took a rag from the nightstand and dipped it in the dish of water beside the bed, gently wiping off some of the semen and blood that covered him. The doctor walked in and his eyes widened when he saw the young man that lie in the bed before him.
"Your highness is that Prince Loki?" he said quickly dropping all of his supplies and grabbing antiseptic and other materials.
"Yes, and I expect you to take good care of him, doctor, can I trust you?" The doctor nodded in response and began tending to Loki, while explaining what he was doing to Thor.
Thor listened intently, wanting to know how he could be of assistance to Loki. After the doctor had finished he got up and went to report to his father, thinking about that man he'd seen. The frost giant… Who on earth was he? Why had he been doing such things to Loki?Thor couldn't figure it out and let out a long sigh, looking back at the infirmary before continuing forward.
…
Loki was having a nightmare again… Ever since Akki had raped him they'd only gotten worse and worse. They made him scream and thrash in his sleep till Thor would run in, and hold him, till he calmed down. Eventually they put restraints on his bed, in case one night he became too violent to handle. Loki couldn't stand it, all the drugs made him tired so he could rest and heal up, but they also made him dream, and he didn't want that. He woke up one night, feeling an intense pain in his gut. He screamed a few times, trying to get the attention of the doctor, or somebody, but instead it was Thor that rushed to his aid.
Thor ran in and looked at Loki, "What's wrong, brother, where does it hurt?"
"Never mind, false alarm," Loki held his stomach trying to pretend it wasn't hurting. Every ache and pain Akki inflicted upon him somehow was always there when he awoke.
"I can tell it hurts, let me get you some medicine…"
"N-no!" Loki said quickly.
"Why not, are you to afraid to admit you need help?" Thor took some pills from a jar on the shelf, "You must learn to swallow your pride sometimes."
"No, that's not it…" Loki didn't expect Thor to understand. "It hurts, but I don't want to fall asleep."
"Don't be ridiculous, Loki. The doctor says you're nearly all better; all that rest has done your body good. Now take these." He handed Loki the pills.
Not wanting to explain the nightmares to his brother he swallowed them, quickly feeling the pain fade away and his eyelids getting heavy. Thor sat beside him as he drifted into a deep sleep. Thor watched his younger brother looking at the sadness that was painted on his face. Loki could already feel darkness settling in his mind…
He opened his eyes and there stood the king of Jotunheim, with an intent red stare, "Loki, do you think you can really ever escape me? We have a bond even stronger than Jotun blood running through our veins now… My seed is inside of you, we've made love…"
"Get out of my head!" Loki yelled, "I don't want to be your king-"
"But you can't go back now. You should've told Thor when you had the chance, when I was still a small passing thought in your mind, when I could've easily been destroyed, but as our bond grows the stronger my magic grows… I can even plague your thoughts while you're awake little god. Soon the part of me that lingers inside you will start to influence your decisions and make you love only me… And then we can conquer Asgard together-"
"I will not betray Asgard again!" Loki shouted.
"I will not betray Asgard again!" Thor jumped and looked at Loki, who had shouted out in his sleep.
"Thor is my brother- and he is king! He may not have worked the way I did to earn the title, and everything may have come easy to him, but that is not his fault! He was born flawless as I was born flawed! We cannot help how we were born!"
"What about your father, Loki, you know he doesn't love you. How can you even be sure Thor does not secretly resent you because of the ice that runs through your veins?"
"My father will never love me, and I have come to terms with that, I was merely a useless tool in the end, but that does not change the fact that I will remain loyal to Asgard if my life depends on it! Even if you've poisoned me with evil I'll fight it until it kills me!" he hollered.
"How noble." Akki smirked, watching the prince shake with anger.
"Loki! Loki, wake up! Loki!" Thor's voice echoed through the icy setting. Loki felt everything melting away as he woke up in reality, with Thor shaking him by the shoulders. "You were having a nightmare." He hugged his brother tightly, "I heard everything you said… That man, he wants you to betray Asgard, doesn't he? Who was he, Loki?"
"The king of Jotunheim." Loki allowed himself to be hugged, enjoying the warmth that radiated from his big brother. "Thor, could you please take me to see Sleipnir?"
"Of course, but why?" Thor helped him out of bed, allowing Loki to lean on him for support.
"I just want to see him." Loki limped to Sleipnir's stable, hugging the young horse as soon as he saw him. The horse whinnied in joy and nuzzled Loki. "I've missed you boy," he smiled. Thor watched the two connect. It made him happy to see his brother smiling, but he frowned when he saw Loki begin to mount the horse.
"Brother, what are you doing? You're much too weak to ride yet!" but Loki whispered something in Sleipnir's ear and they took off, galloping away. "Loki!" Thor called after him but they kept on running, further and further away. Thor grabbed another horse from the stable, knowing that it wouldn't be able to keep up, but he could at least follow. He followed well into the night, even when they'd disappear from sight for a while, he'd keep on riding faster till he could see them again. He could tell his own steed was beginning to get winded, but he didn't let that stop him. "We must catch up with Loki, then you can rest all you want." He told the horse. Soon he saw Sleipnir slow down, but he realized that was Sleipnir alone, with no Loki.
Thunder crashed from above and Thor looked up, he had no time to summon Mjnor. Rain began to pour down in sheets as he saw Sleipnir turn around and begin galloping back in Thor's direction. The horse ran right past him, but Thor took the opportunity to grab a hold on his bridle, stopping him completely. It was times like this when Thor was incredibly grateful for his outrageous strength. Thor switched horses and let the other one go back to the castle alone.
"Sleipnir, take me to Loki, how long ago did he fall off?" The horse neighed and went back, in the direction if the palace. The horse made no rush to get to him, even after Thor tried to make him quicken pace, but it seemed as if Loki had instructed him not to hurry and to take his time. Through the sheets of rain Thor saw something on the ground that looked like a dead animal, propped against a tree. He squinted as he saw it move, realizing it was more of a human shape. That must be Loki… what is he doing over there? Does he have a knife? Thor kicked Sleipnir's side making the horse run toward the tree. Thor quickly jumped off when he realized what Loki was doing. The prince shakily held a knife in front of him, ready, at any moment to pierce his own heart.
"I will never betray my family or people again," he told himself, "even if it means taking my own life so Akki's evil doesn't drive me to do so."
Thor's eyes widened as he rushed to Loki, smacking the knife from his grasp, "Don't you dare Loki!" He scooped Loki up into his arms, pressing his body to him. "I'm not really sure what's going on, and I don't really know how to help, but Loki, I'm not letting you fight it alone… and I'm not letting you take your life for it either."
"But-" Thor put his finger on Loki's lips.
"No buts." Thor said, giving an encouraging smile. Loki looked at Thor, tears welling up in his eyes. Don't cry… you'll look weak, don't do it… but Loki gave in, sobbing into Thor. His body shook with the cries, but Thor held him tight never wanting to let go. He looked up at the moon, and kissed the top of Loki's head. "Now let's go home and see what we can do."
