It was only two days till the trial for Loki. The imprisoned prince sat silently in the far off corner of the cell he had been in since coming home to Asgard and now in fear of his upcoming trial he had gone into an anxious stage. Everyone now had come to wish him good luck on the trial, well, those who still cared about his fate. His friends, his brother and of course his mother, but one person he had wanted and dreaded to come never did show. His adopted father, Odin. "Of course he wouldn't..." Loki murmured to himself as he huddled closer to the wall, his green eyes only faded deeper in their mist of regret.
Odin approached the cell of his younger son. His adopted, misguided one. Clasping his hands together behind his back, he stood at the door and saw Loki huddled into the corner, looking quite depressed. "Loki," Odin greeted in a low, sad voice. "What have you done, my boy..."
Loki's eyes that had drooped in tiredness snapped open at the low yet familiar voice of his father. His emerald gaze slowly turned to the king of Asgard with shock. "F-Father..?" Loki whispered. He wasn't expecting this at all. The Trickster god tried to stand but stumbled, his legs too weak to be able to hold even his thin frame still, only making him slide back down the wall he rested near.
Odin nodded and sighed, looking down and frowning," Loki. It is nice seeing you, even in such grave circumstances. I thought I had brought you up better, my son... But I suppose not. Why would you want to do something so terrible, son? Why? Are you not content with simply advising your brother? You know I love you and value you just as much as Thor..." it made Odin sad to see that his younger son was too weak to even move much, and he felt his heart clench at the sad sight.
"Because I was always better than he was. I deserved the throne not he. But it doesn't matter now. And I am not your son." Loki felt a flare of anger course through his heart but even he could not find the heart to spit venom back at those unbearable disapointed eyes. The raven haired god bowed his head in shame, in guilt. He just couldn't hold Odin's gaze. "...This is what happens when you try to make a monster into a Prince...this was my fate from the very start. You should have never taken me..." Loki whispered. "I was born a beast...and now I shall be slain as one too.."
Odin looked just a bit hurt at that, Loki's words cutting deeper than he knew. True, he had originally taken Loki in hopes that he could be used to unite the frost giants and the Asgardians, but that hadn't worked, but he had always loved Loki in some way. "You are my son, and maybe, but Thor is the eldest, and you can not change that. Especially now after what you have done to the Midgardians..." He sighed and crossed his arms, taking a deep breath and saying," I do not regret taking you. You were an innocent child. You would've died, and despite all you've done, my son, you are still mine. You shall not be slain a beast. You are Loki, prince of Asgard, brother of the king, son of Odin."
Loki listened quietly at his adoptive fathers words and after a short pause, the god of mischief gave out a humorless laugh. "I was still better off being left to die when I was a babe Father. You never loved me...I was nothing but a gambling object you could throw in as an a excuse so that horrid race would leave you be. You say you care, you say I am no creature. But look at me...look at where I am, what I've done.." Loki leaned forward his eyes bright with rage and angry tears of hate. "How am I not a beast now? How can I ever be loved by anyone...I never was in the first place!" Loki spat. "You fed me lies my whole life, why should I ever trust a damn thing you utter!" Loki's growled, pulling himself back into the shadows of his corner. "Why do I bother...why do /you/ bother...Coming down here to make amends with the screw up before he is executed I assume?" There came a soft chuckle that sounded more like a whimper from Loki's dark shadow.
Odin shook his head, covering his face with his hand, he said softly," I have always. Always cared about you Loki. We all must make strategies and think ahead; you surely should know that. Look at what you've done? It's not spontaneous, my boy. I am disapointed but that will never cause me to hate you. You always were the smarter one." Odin sighed and felt awful, the deep pain that he had caused his son, to make him think that he was unloved and despised. "I see you, Loki. I see the boy you once were, the innocent, mischievous, intelligent boy you were, and now this madness had overwhelmed that boy." Odin looked up as Loki continued, the man looking more and more sad with each word," I do love you, Loki. I always have. Despite what you think, I adore you, my son. I bother because of this, I bother because I am your father, and I care about you. You shall not be executed, Loki.I will do what I can on the council to keep it from happening, I can vow to that. Alas, I must go now, but I will be back, my son... Do not worry. You are my son whether you want to be or not. We all love you." And with those words, Odin turned away from the cage, unshed tears in his eyes as he left.
Loki watched his father leave speachlessly. His mind felt numb and so did everything else. That had been one of the very few times he had heard his father speak those words of affection to him and for once there was no undertone to said words. The felt genuine to the fact that it broke more of the broken heart Loki already had. "Father...?" Loki whispered in the dim and empty jail. Loki just couldn't understand how this all could be possible, how he could let this go so far, how he had went to making jokes with his big brother to falling into oblivion and then into finally, this cell. There was a very small chance that he might make it, the hope of maybe actually living through this is higher then he had expected it to be. Loki sniffed softly; glad for the shadows of the dark corner he now lay beside since he could hide his tears more easily. "I-I..I'm sorry Father..." Loki murmured into his arms as he waited for sleep to take him.
