It's woven in my soul

I need to let you go

Your eyes—they shine so bright

I want to save that light

I can't escape this now

Unless you show me how

~Imagine Dragons, Demons


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This was not the punishment she had expected.

He had taken her powers, as she had known he would, but the realm Zeus had ostracized her to was entirely unfamiliar. It appeared as if he had trapped her in an unrelenting darkness, never to see the sun or bask in its light again. This was her punishment: she would live here and die here, forever in darkness, a mere mortal without a torch to light her own way. Her knees weakened and she fell to the ground, harsh sobs coming over like the tides of the sea.

Absorbed in her grief, she did not notice the man approaching her until he spoke. "I find nothing more insufferable than the obnoxious wailing of a woman." He stopped, looking down at her with distaste. "Calm yourself and answer me: where are we?"

There was something oddly familiar about that voice, some distinct quality she could not name. "How should I" She looked up, her voice failing her. Loki. Her eyes widened in awe. Just how is it that you are here?

"A pity. It appears you are useless to me, woman."

He began walking away and as he did, the scenery changed. Bold, brown mountains and a dark forest preceding them emerged, surrounded by endless fields of dead grass. He looked as surprised as she was. She ran after him.

"I do not understand! This is my punishment. Why are you here?"

Loki was not listening. He appeared transfixed, staring intently at something in the forest she could not see, something hidden to her eyes, perhaps all eyes other than his. His attention lingered like some siren was calling out to him from deep within the forest, beseeching him, coercing him to come forth, to lose himself in the endlessness of the wood. She stepped forward and asked again. "Why are you here?"

This time he turned and noticed her, really noticed her, for the first time. "I do not know. But I am certain my father has played a role in it."

"No."

"What would you know, mortal?"

The remark caught her off-guard. "How . . . did you know?"

"I can smell it on you, Midgard bitch."

"Why are you always so rude to me? No matter where or when we meet, or how I try to help you, you always treat me like some vermin you wish to squish under the heel of your shoe."

"Are you delirious? We have not met before."

"But we have, many times. Since your earliest days, we have met while you lay dreaming. I could never forget you, for you are the person who has needed the most guidance, but you never remember me. Most people do not. . . ." Truly, just you, she thought to herself.

Loki furrowed his brows, piecing it all together. "You are the hooded woman from my last dream."

"I am the hooded woman from many of your dreams."

He looked skeptical. "What do you want with me, specter? Am I not tortured enough by reality?"

"I am no apparition, and I happen to have a name: Hecate. I am the goddess of the crossroads."

"There is no such thing. I do not have time for this." He turned and walked toward the forest. "Farewell, witch."

She watched him walk away, and, suddenly, she realized where she was. She threw her head in her hands, mentally scolding herself. How could she be so daft? Why had the environment changed so drastically? Why was Loki drawn to the dark forest? She had over complicated things by assuming they were under a spell, but the truth was so simple: Zeus would never be so kind in his punishment; he would never trap her with Loki, the one she broke the rules to save. Bittersweet, that was Zeus.

"Loki," she called after him, "you are dreaming."

She was trapped inside him, inside his subconscious.

Loki looked down at himself in surprise. He was fading, and the woman and forest too. "I am . . . waking up."

She called out to him desperately. "Please, Loki! You have to wake up and remember everything that I say, that I need your help, that I am trapped here in your mind, in your dreams. Tell your father, tell your mother, and anybody that will listen."

Loki could feel his eyelids moving; he was starting to sense the morning light fluttering in through his chamber windows. "Why should I help you?"

"Because I helped you, and I will always help you and anyone else, even when you are not deserving of it."

Much to his dismay, he awoke in the confines of a cell. He remembered falling when Thor destroyed the Bifrost. Apparently the Allfather and Thor had managed to rescue him after all. Goddamn them. Why was it that he could remember nothing else save that strange dream?"

"Brother," a voice called from beyond his cell. "I am glad that you have woken up."

Loki threw his sheets to the floor and hopped to his feet. "Thor, I demand audience with the Allfather at once."

"That is well. He sent me to collect you."

They walked in silence for some time, one at a loss for words, one with too much to say. It was Thor who spoke first.

"Brother," he said as they passed the gardens where they played when they were young. "I do miss you."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence before Loki answered. "I am not your brother."

"I only wish—"

"Thor," he hissed. "We were never brothers and never will be."

To Thor's ears his voice was like a knife: sharp, cutting, painful. Defeated, he quickened his pace and shifted his gaze away. "I only wish that things could go back to the way they were before."

Strangely enough, Loki found that Thor's words left him feeling emptyor perhaps sad; he could not tell.

... ... ...

Before him, Thor opened the big brass door, revealing his adoptive mother and Odin, sitting on his throne, all high and mighty and intolerable. Loki approached cautiously, arms behind his back, his chains clinking.

Odin wasted no time. "Is there any reason I should spare your life?" Thor shot Odin a desperate, shocked look.

Very seriously, Loki replied, "There is a woman in my head, Allfather."

Odin stood. "Is everything a game to you, boy?" Loki felt his father's spit landing on his face, repulsed. "Do you really expect me to believe that a woman has softened you, your anger, your jealousy?" This time it was Frigga who shot Odin a look, clearly cross with him.

"I only wish it were so. I believe the woman called herself Hecate. She claimed to be a goddess and requested your immediate assistance."

"I see. . . ." Odin sat and leaned back, tapping his fingers. "This changes everything."

"Is she some sort of apparition, some demon even?"

"No, Loki. She is what she said she was."

"You always told me that there were nine realms and only so many gods." Odin did not reply, and Loki scowled. "Very well, I should know not to trust you."

Odin lowered his head. "Loki. . . ."

Loki felt bile rise in his throat and anger beginning to swell within him, weighing his chest down, contorting his features. "Tell me! How do I get her out of my head?"

"You cannot. The only way to rid yourself of her is to cross arms with Zeus. He is the only one with enough power to do such a thing."

"Why is she in my head?"

"I would go so far as to say that she is the one who saved your life, my son, and that this is her punishment for it." He nodded his head in thought. "Yes, yes, it seems she has managed to save your life twice now."

Loki's head jerked up. "What?"


It was hours until she met with Loki again, hours that she spent wandering in the dark, passing the time.

"I understand that you saved my life."

Cate turned, eyeing Loki disdainfully. "You are correct."

"Why did you not say so in the first place?"

"You barely gave me the time to introduce myself."

"I . . . apologize," he said, looking down at his feet. He then looked up at her, confused. "Why did you do it?"

Cate did not reply right away. She stood a moment, contemplating if she should answer, if he deserved an answer. "Kindness, if you must know."

Loki scoffed. "Kindness, or foolishness? I would never do such a thing, never make a sacrifice of such magnitude for someone else." He averted his eyes. "But, nonetheless, I thank you. . . . I owe you my gratitude, so-called goddess of the crossroads."

"You're welcome, so-called god of mischief."

He hesitated before replying. "How can I repay you?"

Cate thought for a moment. "Next time we meet," she said, "before you say anything else, say hello."

Loki agreed though he thought it an odd request, and they walked together side by side, talking, learning. Cate asked if his parents had offered to help her, and Loki shook his head. He assured her that, no matter what, he would find a way to free her, if only to relieve himself of her presence.


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A/N -

power editing your work is such a bummer.

i do not english i am not made for this

anyway, loki is kind of being a jerkgranted, he kind of becomes onebut, really, i want them to have a legitimate, strong relationship, and that means that i want it to progress slowly and be believable. and he likely will show little to no kindness to her until a certain very important plot point i have in mind. he's proud. he's arrogant. he's loki.