A/N: So this thing has actually been sitting around on my tumblr for some time, but I forgot to update on here! I am very sorry, but the good news is this is almost finished on my tumblr, so I'll try to update every few days or so till I got it finished!
Chapter 4
"Darcy, I don't know what to do. I'm going crazy over here." Jane told the other girl with a sigh. She had spent the night curled up in the bed, unable to sleep. The necklace haunted her. And then his scream...It sent chills down her spine. "The spell keeps me from leaving, the only people I talk to face to face are the agents who bring us food. And he keeps showering me with gifts, as though that will make me like him!" Jane scoffed audibly at the idea. "Speaking of which, I've got a really cute dress for you whenever I get out of here."
"Can't be too bad." Replied Darcy, her voice crystal clear through phone's speakers. "And yay for dresses! Don't tell me he gave you a new laptop or something, or else I'll have to steal it from you. What did he give you?" The younger girl asked.
Jane sighed. "There was this...necklace." She started to explain, but her voice caught as she remembered what had happened last night.
"Yeah? A necklace, huh?" Darcy waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "Ok, well, I've got to go, so you stay safe, don't let the old man get you too down, I'll bring some tequila when I see you again, k?" Jane couldn't answer, her throat tight. "Ok, well, see you soon."
Jane put the phone down, and suddenly the weight of everything that had happened hit her in full force. Tears streamed down her face, hot and fast, her breath coming out in choked sobs. Her mind raced, rehashing the past few days over and over. She couldn't stop picturing the necklace, and his eyes, staring into her soul. Racketing cries shook her body as she tried to think of something, anything other than last nights events. Being stuck in these same rooms was making her crazy.
There was a knock at the door. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. "Go away!" She shouted through her tears.
"Jane?" A women's voice asked, distinctly not-Loki. "Jane, its Pepper."
"Pepper!" She cried, flinging the door open and hugging the other lady, not caring about how her tears soaked her blouse. "You don't know- you don't know how much I've wanted this- wanted to see someone, in the flesh." She sobbed into Pepper's strawberry red hair.
"Shhh, its ok, I'm here now." Pepper rubbed her back soothingly, encouraging Jane to calm down. Slowly, her tears subsided and her breathing returned to normal, and she let go of the other women.
"Sorry." She giggled a little, taking a look at the wet stain on Pepper's blouse. "I don't know what got ahold of me."
Pepper smiled understandably. "It's ok. It'll dry. You, on the other hand... Whats going on?"
Jane slumped down onto the bathroom floor again. "Loki." She replied with a whisper. "I'm trapped, a prisoner in my own room. He won't let me leave." Remembering what was going on brought tears to her eyes once again, and she took a deep breath to control herself.
Pepper sighed and sat down next to her. "We're working on that. But we can't persuade him to lift the spell, short of torturing him or locking him up, and that may cause as many problems for you as it does him. We don't know what kind of magic he's got you under." Pepper raised her chin up, and looked straight into her eyes. "You've gotta stay strong. We're gonna get you outta this, I promise."
Jane gulped and nodded. "Good, cause I don't know how much more I can take. He keeps..." Jane took a breath before continuing. "He keeps giving me gifts." She finished.
"Gifts?"
"Like, he gave me this necklace..." Jane trailed off, remembering. "Last night, he tried to cook me dinner and of course I refused but then I came out to get some food later and he gave me this necklace."
"Huh." Pepper leaned back and thought for a moment. "I don't think he's asked for any jewelry, which means he would have to conjure it up. That takes a lot of energy to do. Don't worry," She added, "We're working on a way to block his magic, but it's gonna take some time."
"I have a theory about that." Jane looked up, her mind putting together new ideas. "His magic works through the re-arrangement of atoms, right? But it takes so much energy to conjure something stable. I don't think his spell can last forever, thats why he's trying to give me gifts, to woo me." Jane went queasy at the thought of it. "So I'll stay by choice."
Pepper nodded at the idea. "I don't doubt that's probably his plan. But how long until it wears off?"
"Its been almost three weeks." The realization of just how long it had been since she had left struck Jane in the heart. "I'm going a little stir crazy."
Pepper smiled. "I would've been pulling my hair out if I had been in here this long."
"He told me...He told me Thor left." Jane said in a whisper, praying that Pepper would tell her it wasn't true. "Did he?"
Pepper nodded sadly. "He had to return to Asgard with the tesseract. Hopefully, they'll be able to rebuild the bridge and he can return and take Loki with him. But until then...I'm afraid he's out of our reach."
"Oh." Jane's voice was small, her heart crushed. She had been hoping, no, praying, that what Loki had told her was a lie. The truth hurt too much, and she felt like crying again. "Why didn't he say goodbye?"
Pepper sighed. "He had to leave very suddenly. I don't think he had a chance to. I know he missed you." She brushed the hair from Jane's face, trying to put on a brave face for the other women. "He'll be back."
Jane took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I need to get out." She stated, surprisingly matter-of-fact. "I won't stay here any longer, and he can't make me." She stood up, holding onto Pepper to stay on her feet. "Tony has to figure something out. Get me equipment. I'll run things from this side." The idea gave her hope, hope that she could work on the problem, do something for herself, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.
"I'll see what I can do." Pepper responded, holding her up. "But I don't know if Loki will like this idea."
Jane snorted with laughter. "Ha. Whats he gonna do, lock me up? Oh wait, he did that already." She answered herself sarcastically. "Just get me the equipment, ok?" Suddenly, she hugged Pepper, holding her tight, as though she might disappear at a moments notice.
"I'm sorry," Pepper held onto the Jane, becoming emotional herself. "I know this is hard for you. I wish- I wish I could take your place, or at least make this easier on you." They pulled apart.
"I know." Jane nodded, both women's eyes filled with tears. "I'll be ok, I promise. Now," Jane added with a small laugh, "Tell me what's been happening on the other side."
Pepper smiled and started to describe what had been happening with the other Avengers since she had left. Hearing about the outside world helped distract Jane, and she tried to push the thought that she may never see the outside world again from her mind. Pepper's stories brought hope to her.
The other women stayed as long as she could, but finally her duties called her away and Jane was stuck alone again. At least she had some hope. Pepper was going to see if she could get some equipment for her to work with.
Her stomach growled. With a sigh, Jane got up and left for the fridge, her bare feet making little noise on the hardwood floors. There were leftovers, of course- Loki seemed to have an affection for cooking, but there was always too much- and sandwich preparations, but neither sounded particularly appealing to her at the moment. Instead, she reached into one of the cabinets for some cereal.
A thought occurred to her as she poured the milk. Where is Loki? She thought, looking around. She had just come from the bedroom, so he couldn't be in there, but she could see him nowhere in the main living area, and there wasn't a lot of places to hide here. She wondered if turning invisible was now one of his magic tricks.
Instead, the front door opened, and Loki walked in. Well at least he's not invisible, she thought, taking out a spoon and not bothering to look up at him.
"Jane." He stopped in front of her, and she continued to look at the cereal box on the counter. "Jane, please."
"Please what?" She snapped, refusing to look at his face. "What do you want now, Loki? Come to torture me some more? Offer me some more fine jewelry? Lock me up in the bedroom now?" She clenched her teeth. After her crying jag this morning, she was hoping for a fight to get her blood pumping. "I bet thats precisely what you want. Me, bound, gagged, on the bed, waiting for you. Well you won't get it!" Suddenly she threw the bowl of cereal at him. It hit him in shoulder, leaving milk and special K down his jacket. The bowl hit the floor and shattered into a million tiny pieces. She turned to face him.
Loki simply looked at her, disappointment filling his eyes. Jane thought there may have been tears blossoming in his eyes, but it was probably just a trick of the light. "WHAT!" She screamed at him. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"
He brushed away the cereal from his shoulder, and looked down. "No Jane, I do not wish to harm you."
She advanced on him, her heart pounding in her head. "Really? Then why do you have me locked up like an animal? Why won't you let me leave? Why would you marry me, for god's sake? What's your plan, Loki? You've broke your brother's heart. You've killed hundreds people. What more do you want?" Her bare feet stepped on the broken bowl and cut her, and she fell back against the counter, wounded, her foot bleeding.
She swore under her breath. The cut was on the ball of her foot, and the blood ran down her foot and dripped onto the floor as she tried to get into one of the barstools. Loki hurried to get down the first aid kit and sat down on the chair beside her.
"Will you let me touch it?"
She thought for a moment before nodding. She wouldn't be able to clean the cut very well my herself anyways. As much as she resented letting him touch her, her foot required attention more than her pride. Gingerly, he took her foot with his hands and placed it on his knee. His hands were cool, smooth, and for a moment Jane wondered what his hands would feel like in hers. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, and suddenly a stinging pain radiated from the cut. She hissed under her breath as he ran a cotton ball of peroxide over it.
"I'm sorry." He told her quietly, his hands gentle as he finished doctoring her cut and placed a bandage over it. He set her foot back down on the floor.
"Exactly what are you sorry about?" She responded sarcastically. "The people that you murdered or the abuse that you've inflicted upon me?"
He looked at her, his emotions raw. His eyes were glossy with tears. Somewhere within her, Jane felt a pang of compassion for him. "I am sorry for so many things, Jane Foster." His use of her old last name struck her as odd. "I wish to apologize."
She shook her head. "I can't forgive what you've done."
"I know that. Still, I am greatly sorry. I...I never wanted to inflict this pain upon you." Jane searched his eyes but could see no lie. "I am freeing you."
Jane could believe her ears. "What?"
"I am freeing you." He repeated. "I wish I could ask you to stay, but I do not think you will agree. You are free to leave."
Jane couldn't understand. He was letting her go. But why? "Why?" She managed to choke out.
He met her eyes, and a single tear ran across his pale face, raw with emotions. "Because I love you."
