A few hours had passed of chaos but finally it seems things had simmered down to a begrudged muttering. Frigga had barred Odin and Thor from entering the chambers of healing with a quick assurance that he was somewhat healthy and that their presence would only serve to distract the healers along with herself.
During the timespan that Thor and Odin had been waiting outside the healers' room so that they might be able to see Loki, one of the magicians had timidly approached them with the news that there had been no error found in the spell no matter how many times it was checked over. The poor man was very nearly brought to the dungeons in Odin's rage had Tony not stepped in to point out that it wasn't his fault that Loki was truly messed up. A shouting match might have ensued at that point had it not been but seconds after that statement that Frigga entered the hallway.
"Loki's condition has been stabilized. He now rests in one of the beds as the healers watch over him." Frigga had spoken in a firm voice, not with the volume of Odin or Thor, but with a finality that left no room for more arguing.
After a few seconds Thor dared to speak up from the corner in which he had tucked himself into. "Will we be able to see him soon?" his voice of a much softer tone full of what could have been hope or worry, most likely both.
Frigga gave her eldest son a smile and a nod accompanied by an answer "Yes. The healers will tell me when he has awakened. If he is well enough then I will send for you." She glanced around to see if anyone had anything more to ask and finding no other questions she swept down the hallway.
Barely an hour later one of the healers exited the doorway to find that Odin had left but Thor and the avengers had remained. Brushing passed them and ignoring Thor's hurried quarry as to Loki's condition the lady left the hallway in the same direction as Frigga. Minutes later she returned, following the queen as she made their way to the doorway. This time Thor's question did not go unanswered but rather he was given a soft reassurance that Loki was well. Once that had been taken care of Frigga went through the doorway and into the chambers of healing.
What she saw was not was she had been expecting. To be fair though, she wasn't really sure what she should have been expecting. Loki was huddled in a tangle of blankets backed against a wall and into a corner, he seemed to be very, very confused about what was going on and who all these strange people were. The healers had been attempting to get closer to him with soothing words, but all they had done was frighten him more.
"Stand back." Frigga murmured in a voice to soft for the child Loki to hear but loud enough so that the healers could. As they stepped back and Loki began to relax she stepped forward, crouching as she did so. In the softest and sweetest voice she could manage she spoke to the half child, half bundle "Loki, I know that you are scared right now, but I need you to calm down. Okay? Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise."
It took a few seconds of staring before Frigga's words made it to Loki's ears but even then he didn't seem to react to them. Rather he looked at her face for a few seconds more before croaking out in a shy, scared and very confused voice
"Mother?"
While Odin, Thor and Frigga had all thought that de-aging Loki was a good idea, they had forgotten to include one very important point in their thoughts, how in Hela's name are they going to explain this to Loki without revealing what happened? Frigga had coaxed Loki back onto the bed, still mostly in the blankets, with a promise of an explanation, one that she was still trying to think up. After a few more minutes of being stared at by questioning eyes, she picked a story to tell him, one rather similar to a Midgard fairy-tale. She turned to him and began to spin the tale "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but the shock of seeing you awake after so long has gotten to me. We had thought you dead or at least trapped in an eternal sleep for so long. You were hit with a spell and though we tried to undo the damage there was little that could be done."
Loki watched her closely throughout the tale and for a few moments Frigga thought he might call out her lie but she need not have fretted as a few seconds later he asked "Is everyone okay? Is Thor alright?" A note of panic sounded in his voice as he recalled his brother and worry writhed on his face.
Quickly Frigga moved an arm around him and reassured him in a soft tone "Thor is fine, as is everyone else. However they are⦠older. Much time has passed since you began your sleep. Many things have changed in Asgard." Carefully Loki turned over Frigga's words, reading into them. After having given her words much thought he tilted his head back and looked her in the eye before asking
"How old are they?"
The queen sighed and returned his gaze before answering "Thor and Sif now both stand fully grown, as do their friends. Thor has grown to be old enough to lead his warriors into battle and Sif has grown to be one of them."
At this statement Loki did not react as Frigga thought he might have. Throughout this whole thing she was surprised at how calmly he took the news once the threat to Thor had passed. She had been expecting more fear or outrage or panic. Not this quiet acceptance he was now giving her. If anything she would have preferred the panic. Then at least she could try to calm him down or sooth his fears.
Rather than fear or anger Loki simply gave a nod of his head. Not a shell-shocked nod of horror but just a nod as he schooled his face into a polite mask. Frigga began to worry the moment she saw it, she had seen a young adult Loki morph his face into that look far too many times and now that she looked back she could find it accruing earlier and earlier in her memories. She knew that the face meant Loki was hiding, she knew what hiding lead to. However, before she could move to attempt to help him he spoke up, his gaze still fixed on her eyes yet somehow not meeting them
"Is he here?"
Frigga did not miss the hidden question within his words 'Can I see him?' Biting her lip she gave the question a few moments thought.On one hand she would have liked to spend more time with her son, not to mention Thor was an awful liar and Loki could catch on. On the other hand, Thor and Loki had been very close when they were younger and she wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to keep the two separated for long. Taking one more glance down at her youngest son she decided that anything that helped remove that mask from Loki's face was the best course of action.
"I will tell him that you wish to see him now. Will you be alright here on your own?" To which the former trickster gave a nod and just the slightest glimmer of excitement shone past the mask before he quickly locked it away and answered in a respectful voice, one that she would have expected to hear from a noble who sought something from Odin. Not from a child who had yet to have passed even the first marking of maturing.
"If he is not busy and has the time, then yes, I do think it would be a good idea for the two of us to meet. I also do not think I will have any issues being alone for a few minutes."
Frigga was now truly worried. Not because that sort of thing was unusual behavior for Loki when she looked back into his past, but rather that the fact that this was not unusual behavior for Loki.
Now that she took the time to glance backwards at those memories she did have of Loki, more worry attacked her as she noticed how easy it was for her to recall the times he had done wrong, but how hard it was for her to remember all the times he had tried to do right. She knew that there had been many times he had done the correct thing but it would seem that those times were almost always overshadowed by Thor. But no matter how far back she looked Frigga could not recall a time that Loki had not been like this. Only now with the proof thrust in front of her eyes could she look back and see all the wrongs Loki had been done.
Frigga pulled herself from her thoughts to give Loki a sweet smile and then exit the room. No words were offered from either, Loki because he had naught to say and Frigga because if she said any more she might very well break from the urge to beg her son for forgiveness.
Once outside the door in the hall that connected the healer's rooms, Frigga was relived to find no healers present so that she might not be seen in such a state. In the peace of the hall she sank down until she sat and covered her face with her hands as the memories of all the times she had passed over Loki. They flooded by her, a thousand moments of times that she could have done something.
A thousand times she had ignored his needs in favor of Thor's because at the time she had not been able to see that both children were her sons. Not simply the golden child. A thousand times she had forgotten a promise, a meeting or even Loki himself. A thousand times she had not stood up for him be it in front of children, nobles or Odin himself. A thousand times that she had stood by and allowed him to be mocked, harmed or punished to avoid a conflict. Even when she knew quite well he had done nothing to deserve it.
As Frigga looked back upon her failures she did not just morn over what she might have been able to do. Instead she learned, learned from all the wrongs she had done so that she would not make them over again with this second chance this wondrous spell had afforded her. And as she looked back over all those times she came to a conclusion. It was not a conclusion she wanted to draw and not one she would speak of until she had thought it over a hundred times, yet somehow she knew that it would always be the one she would draw. The factor that never changed throughout all that is bad that had happened to Loki was Asgard. From the people that lived in it to the very land itself that seemed to reject him she could see now that it would be near impossible to raise him here, especially after all that had taken place. Now Frigga could see that if Loki was to heal, was to be restored to his right state of mind, it would not happen in Asgard.
With that thought stuck now at the back of her mind she pulled herself up from the floor and cleaned her face with her sleeve. Frigga took a few moments but she managed to regain what was close enough to her normal composure so that Thor would not be able to see what worried her, not that she was worried, fooling Thor took all the same intelligence as fooling a rather loyal dog.
With a confidence so full and strong and yet so very fake, Frigga exited the hall onto the central conjugation of the healer's chambers and from there she exited into the hallway where Thor, Sif and their allies from Midgard awaited. When she strode out the doorway she was met with a tense silence.
Two glances told her that Odin had left the area. Good, this would give her an excuse to leave and attend to her thoughts. She spoke with the same definitive voice from before "Loki is now awake and as far as the healers and I can tell, he is unharmed. He is, however, more than a little confused. I have told him that he was attacked by a spell caster and plunged into a sleep in which he did not age. Thor, try not to bring up the matter, as you have as much talent in lying as Loki had at following orders. I am going to inform Odin of the current situation as well. If an issue should happen upon you, please contact one of the healers and they will inform me." And with that she swept down the hallway.
Thor almost leapt up from the seat he had taken at the news that Loki wished to see him. Seconds later he reminded himself of how fragile Loki had been when they were younger. If Loki wished to see him he would have to calm himself so as not to harm or scare him. As he calmed himself, he gave his mother a nod and walked into the chambers of healing. With cautioned steps he made his way in only to remember he didn't know what room Loki was in. He opened his mouth to ask but before he could one of the older healers put a finger to her lips and then moved it towards the first hall on the right. A moment passed with them in that pose before she shifted them so as to convey the number three. Thor gave her a grateful smile and nod before he moved to the hall and down it until he reached the first room. A closed door met him and after drawing a few shaky breaths before his hand clasped the doorknob and began to turn.
A/N:
Annnd I'm ending it there because I am a terrible person.
Next up will be the sequel to A Frozen Heart.
Some mistakes in the last chapter have been corrected thanks to my new beta!
See you guys next whenever-the-heck-I write-the-next-chapter!
