"No reflection was to be allowed now, not one glance was to be cast back; not even one forward. Not one thought was to be given either to the past or the future. The first was a page so heavenly sweet, so deadly sad, that to read one line of it would dissolve my courage and break down my energy. The last was an awful blank, something like then world when the deluge was gone by."
- Charlotte Brontë
Chapter 4. Fallen Lovers
Jane whimpered, her eyes only inches from Loki's feet. On all fours she sobbed, tears dripping from the end of her nose to land in wet patches on the floor. All previous thoughts of composure had fled at the sight that had greeted her as she stepped into the room, and now as a large shudder passed through her she wondered if maybe it would have been better to die in the battle after all.
"Get up Jane" came Loki's voice from from high above her, cold and commanding. Jane shivered but otherwise did not move. She was not even sure that if she wanted to move she could. The pain had leached through her body like a drug, misery paralysing her so that all she could do was cry and cough at his feet. She waited for his inevitable outrage and flinched instead when she felt cold fingers hooking her chin and turning her face upwards. Through teared eyes she saw Loki crouched before her, his own eyes searching her face.
"Come now," he said softly. "Is this not what you wanted?" He reached his thumb up to brush away a tear that had streaked down her cheek. But whilst his words suggested sympathy, whilst his actions might have been comforting, the mocking sympathy in his voice made Jane's stomach twist. It wasn't just the cold fingers biting into her skin though, it wasn't just the joy that gleamed in his eyes as he wiped at her tears, it was the knowledge that he had planned this all along. This was not an act borne of circumstance, it was an act of cold and calculated malice, directed purely at her. What had she done to wrong him so desperately that he would want to hurt her in this way?
Lifting a hand from the floor she weakly attempted to push him away. Her knuckles were red and raw, the skin broken on one of them, no doubt as a result of trying to hammer down the door to no avail. She had fallen to a heap in front of Loki who had stood coldly amused the whole time. Jane's fingers now closed around his wrist, but her meagre attempts proved futile at moving him and she let her hand fall back the floor, another sob shuddering through her body. She had never in her entire life felt so powerless, so susceptible to Loki's mind games and tricks.
She turned her eyes to the floor in abject shame, her skin burning beneath Loki's cold grip. Suddenly though his hand was removed and she felt her head fall downwards. A sudden longing to simply give up took over and she bent herself lower to the ground, fully intending to just lie down indefinitely. But then she was being dragged cruelly upwards, stumbling on her feet as Loki hauled up upright. She wavered slightly, but somehow managed to remain standing. Squeezing shut her eyes a lone tear caught suddenly in her eyelash, clinging for a moment before succumbing to gravity.
Wasn't this what she had wanted all along? Wasn't this was she had prayed for in the darkness? Anything to see his face one last time, anything to feel the touch of his lips against her own? Countless times she had seen his face in her waking mind and in her fitful dreams, but always there had been some sense of closure, some relief at being able to say goodbye. Even in those times where she had been strong enough to visualise him as no longer a loving being, she would always approach him knowing that what they had, the love that they shared, could never truly leave. She had known that she would walk to him with mournful purpose, to plant a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth, to rest her head one more time on his chest, to brush away a hair from his face. So why - why was she so full of dread now? Why did the sight of his body repel her as if they were opposite poles on a magnet?
Other than her shallow breathing, the room was as silent as death itself, but Jane knew that Loki still watched her. She could almost hear him echoing in her mind, urging her forwards towards her fallen lover. Without thinking she took a shaky step forward, knowing with a certainty that this was a result of Loki's influence on her. The magic crackled in the air as she took another step. With a deep breath Jane lifted her eyes to the raised platform in the centre of the room, feeling the same breath immediately driven out of her.
She had often heard that those recently passed could simply be mistaken for being deep in sleep, but such a description seemed utterly wrong when she looked at the body of Thor. There was no mistaking that he was resolutely not asleep - his body was lain out flat and rigid, his hands resting at his sides, upturned so that his fingers curled ever so slightly upwards. For a moment Jane could not take her eyes off them, so sure was she that at any moment one might move; but they did not. He was still. A memory suddenly came unbidden into Jane's mind, bludgeoning her with its strength - a green dress dotted in daisies, a glint of sun flashing against a golden wedding band. With a gasp of breath Jane was bought back to the present, back again to Thor.
Shakily Jane reached her hand forwards towards the edge of the platform, her fingers gripping its edge, only centimetres away from Thor's. Time seemed to slow down in that moment, and she inched her fingers every so slightly forwards until the tips of her fingers finally met his hand. She had imagined that she might have felt something, some spark, something that told her that their love had been real, that even in death she could still reach out to him and find something there. She choked down a sob. There was nothing. Only coldness. Only death
A wave of grief suddenly reached up and crashed down over her, drowning Jane in it. It was all too much and she knew she was breaking. She withdrew her hand quickly, clutching it to her chest as if the touch had stung. Her eyes did not leave Thor as she whispered to the darkness.
"Why?"
The question seemed all at once much too small and much too big to fill the void in Jane's heart. Nothing could serve to explain the events that had forever changed her life, no answer could ever be given that could possibly serve as recompense for what had been done.
There was silence, but then a cold voice spoke. "Some things were decided before you even sparked into existence, young Jane. Some things were set in motion before the cogs of this planet even started turning".
There was no mockery in his tone this time. Jane could taste the bitterness in the back of her throat as she tore her eyes away from Thor and turned to face him. He was stood back from her in a darkened corner of the room, light reflecting from his eyes in two pinpricks. As he stepped forward though his face was caught briefly in the soft light, the shadows that played across his face giving him an otherworldly demonic look.
"I don't understand any of this" Jane said quietly as much to herself as to him, watching as Loki took another fluid step towards her, his shoulders tight, his muscles taunt. It was as though she were a prey to be stalked and he, the ultimate predator. She shook her head to herself and hugged her arms tightly as Loki stopped before her. She did not turn her eyes up to his own, but she knew his were centred on her, could feel the weight of his gaze upon the top of her head.
"It amuses me that you even try. When will you understand Miss Foster that you are but a mere mortal? Your tiny brain should not attempt to comprehend the reasonings of a God, nay, should not even question the reasonings of a God. I have come to rule you pitiful creatures so that you need not trouble yourself with such worries. The real question here is why must you resist? It is only for your own good."
Jane shook her head again. It was no good attempting to even ask him why it was for the good of humanity that he bring forth the dead body of her lover, why he kept her in captivity when in his eyes she was good for nothing.
"I want to go back to my room now" she said in a small voice, missing Loki's eyes that narrowed at her, a small crease appearing in the centre of his brow as he watched Jane turn her back to him and to the body of Thor. There was silence for only a moment before Loki acceded to her request.
"Very well".
Jane felt as though she might crumble as she walked across the room. When she reached the door this time it opened with no trouble and she stepped out silently, not once looking back at the two brothers, one of whom watched her with his head cocked to the side, as if she were a puzzle to be worked out, before flickering from view entirely.
.
.
The sun had just slipped above the horizon when Jane heard a muffled knock on her door. She had not slept all night and could feel the comings of a headache developing behind her eyes. The knocking finally subsided and she breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the covers up further around her head when suddenly the door clicked open.
"Ma'am?" sounded a nervous voice. "I am sorry to interrupt but-"
"What time is it?" interrupted Jane as she tugged down the sheets from where they covered her eyes against the morning sun and rolled over to face Serilla, a frown stuck firmly on her face. Her voice was hoarse from crying and her throat felt scratchy.
"It''s six ma'am" answered Serilla sheepishly as Jane untangled herself from the sheets and pushed herself up to face the girl. There was a bundle of clothing in Serilla's hands which Jane assumed was for her. "Do you wish to use the washroom before breakfast?"
For a moment Jane contemplated on saying no, or even simply rolling away from the girl's horribly sympathetic eyes. But then she felt a pang of guilt in her chest - Serilla had done nothing to hurt her and it was not her fault that Jane was being emotionally tortured by a deranged Norse god. With a sigh she nodded and pushed the bed covers stiffly away from her.
As she had lain awake that night she had thought countless times on Loki's strange words, but try as she might she could put no rationale to them. She wondered now if they even meant anything, or whether they were simply the ramblings of a dangerous madman with a complex against everyone's existence but his own. She had even hoped that his horrendous show last night might have put an end to their meetings, that he had achieved his goal of pushing her misery to the brink of her very own destruction. Alas though, Serilla's presence belied that very idea.
"Ma'am?" Jane looked up at Serilla, realising that she had become lost in her own thoughts. The girl was looking at her strangely and Jane suddenly felt a surge of annoyance at this diffident creature - if only she would just leave Jane alone instead of staring at her with those doe-eyes and loading her 'ma'am's' with silent meanings.
"I wish you wouldn't call me that" Jane said forcefully and rather unkindly, looking away and squeezing shut her eyes. She raised two fingers to her temples and feeling the pain behind her eyes ease slightly she sighed and opening her eyes turned back to Serilla.
"Please, call me Jane" she said more softly, removing her hand from her head and pushing herself out of bed
"Master Loki told me-" Serilla began haltingly, as if unsure whose commands she were to follow.
"Master Loki can go to hell" Jane spat under her breath to herself, but knew that Serilla had heard her from the sharp inhale from the girl. Jane's eyes quickly flinched to her and she raised an apologetic palm to the girl, showing that she meant no real offence. "All I meant is that I would feel much more comfortable if you would call me by my name" she said. Serilla's eyes dropped to the floor in front of Jane's feet and she remained silent. Jane sighed. "How about Miss Foster? Can you call me that?"
Serilla continued to look nervously at the floor and twisted her foot, but finally gave a small nod, looking more like a child than ever before. "Yes ma'am" she said quietly, before her head shot up to look at Jane with an expression of pure horror. "I mean, Miss Foster" she corrected herself in a rush of words. Jane offered her a small smile and motioned for her to lead the way.
Serilla was waiting outside the door when Jane emerged from the bathroom, her hair still damp. Unlike the previous night the maid led Jane a different way down the long hallway, for which Jane was thankful. She did not know if she could bear to be in that room again, separated from Thor by only a thin wall and the impenetrable veil of death.
The doors leading off from the hallway were closed as the pair walked by, but in one Jane saw a flash of startled eyes before the door was closed quickly, barring Jane from what she was sure were the human inhabitants inside. Finally though, Serilla led Jane into some sort of conservatory, where morning sun slanted in to cast its rays against a small table that had been set for breakfast. As Jane surveyed the scene, a cool breeze wound through an open patio door, lifting the linen curtains and ghosting along Jane's skin. Involuntarily she stepped forwards - it felt like more than a lifetime ago that the air had been that fresh, that beautiful, but she quickly stopped herself as her eyes fell on the chair across from the open door.
Loki sat casually, one ankle balanced on the top of his thigh, a book held carefully in his long fingers. He did not regard her approach and instead merely flipped a page in the book in a fashion so nonchalant that Jane could only assume that was his way of telling her that it mattered not that she had arrived - he would make her wait.
"Leave wench" Loki suddenly commanded sharply, and for a minute Jane had nearly replied with a sarcastic "kindly", but then Loki's eyes had flicked upwards and past her shoulder. There was a small squeak from behind her and as she turned she saw Serilla hastily departing from the room. Jane frowned and turned back to Loki whose attention was still firmly focused on the book in his lap.
"She is just a girl" said Jane quietly, taking the seat furthest from Loki and luckily, one that looked out into the perfectly manicured gardens.
"And you are not?" asked Loki, quirking an eyebrow upwards as he brought his eyes up to regard her. Jane avoided them and instead reached across the table for a slice of bread, knowing full well that the only way to appease him would be to eat whatever was put in front of her.
"No" she retorted, feeling her shoulders stiffen in defence. Her knuckles were white against the small jam jar she had picked up randomly from the selection that had been carefully laid out in the centre of the table.
Loki gave a small smile. "Things are different on my world".
"Well we are not on your world now" said Jane with venom as she slopped the purple jam onto the bread with a force that was not strictly necessary and tore off a quick bite. Loki quirked his eyebrow at her again and looked back to his book.
"Evidently".
Jane regarded him as she furiously chewed at the mouthful of bread, her jaw aching as she took another large bite. The ghost of a smirk still played in the upturned corners of Loki's mouth and Jane had to choke down her rage - had he forgotten last night? She certainly had not. Somewhere though amongst the self-pity and sadness that she had allowed to fill her had come anger. It coursed deep and hot, in a strange contrast to the serene morning framed just behind Loki's bent head.
Ramming the remainder of the bread into her mouth she chewed quickly and swallowed it nearly whole, coughing as the lump of food descended painfully.
She began to rise from the chair when Loki's voice sounded. "Sit down".
Her eyes flicked to him incredulously. "But I've-" she began before Loki cut her off again, his eyes still firmly on the book in his lap as he repeated his command but this time with more force. Slowly, Jane lowered herself back into the chair, folding her arms stiffly and pressing her lips together. She could feel the newly formed skin over the cut on her knuckle split back open as her fingers clenched into fists.
Finally, Loki closed the book and placed it softly onto the table in front of him. Jane's expression was almost murderous, and she was sure his calmness was only meant to mock her. His eyes turned to her own rage filled glare and locked them in place, a hint of amusement glistening in their emerald depths.
Loki allowed the silence to build before he finally spoke, cocking his head to the side as he did. "I am always confounded by your race's disregard for self-preservation. It bemuses me that humans have lasted as long as they have".
Now it was Jane's turn to lift her brows. "Was that a question?" she retorted grimly, wishing that he would stop speaking in riddles and simply leave her be.
With unnerving grace Loki uncrossed his legs and reached forward to pass Jane the book he had been reading. For a moment Jane could only eye him questioningly, before she finally took it in her hands, his own long fingers falling to rest in his lap. His eyes never left hers as she opened the cover to stare at the title - 'Romeo and Juliet'.
"Why do humans feel the need to recklessly end their miserable lives?" he asked her softly. Jane turned her eyes from the book cover to regard Loki. His expression was, for once, sincere, but with a rush of frustration Jane slapped the book back together and pursed her lips to glare at him.
With a sigh Loki pointed a long finger at the book in her hands. "The two mortals in this book died for one another. Such a concept, if not to prevent the sacrifice of the other, seems utterly absurd to me". Loki stopped and looked at Jane gravely. "Why?"
Jane ignored his question and instead asked him flatly "why are you even reading this?" With a blasé wave of his hand Loki dismissed her question.
"It was on the bookshelf and I am bored. But tell me - why?" He leaned forward in his chair slightly and steepled his chin with his hands, his eyes intense.
"I am a scientist, not some literature student" said Jane impatiently, making a show of turning the book in her hands to look for the author. She might have been telling the truth that she was a scientist - she had always been more interested in maths and physics textbooks; numbers held meaning, truth even. Stories were nothing but make-believe, and she had come to know all too well that happy endings were confined only to parchment and bookshelves. Still though, she could hardly have failed to know one of Shakespeare's most famous plays. Regardless, she feigned complete naivety of the book as she passed it roughly between her hands.
Still though Loki waited for an answer, and Jane was beginning to realise that there would be no way of getting out of the situation until she provided one. She sighed heavily, gave him one dark look and then absent-mindedly opened the book and ruffled the pages with her thumb.
"Because they loved one another so much that they could not bear to be without one another. There, happy?" she asked impatiently. The corner of Loki's mouth twitched slightly and he regarded her silently for a moment. Jane wondered what he was thinking, why he even cared. Suddenly though he rose from his chair and turned his back to her, his profile stiff and dark against the fresh morning light. An errant gust of wind blew his scent to Jane, both masculine and foreign at the same time. Jane recoiled from it and pushed her chair further from where he stood.
Loki remained looking out over the fields, deep in thought, but turned his head back to Jane when he heard the scrape of her chair on the floor. She thought then that he might have said something, but instead he resumed his gaze to the rolling hills. For a moment Jane remained watching him, trying to imagine that it was Thor that stood in his place. They had the same broad shoulders, the same rigid stance that was half composure, half shifting awareness, like an animal ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. But Loki was taller, thinner, harsher. In the sunlight she saw now that his hair was so dark that it looked almost a dark blue, a far cry from Thor's golden locks.
For a moment her breathing hitched in her throat and she thought she might cry again, but with a gulp she looked away, picking furiously at a piece of dirt underneath her fingernail and trying to ignore her quavering lower lip.
She hand't realised that Loki had turned back around until he spoke. "If the ability to live, or in this case, not live, is an indication of the depth of affection towards an individual, then why is it you have not tried to take your own life?" He looked down on her pensively, and though there was no mocking tone in his voice, his question hurt like a knife to Jane's stomach.
"Exc- w-what?" Jane stammered, feeling her breath catch in her throat which had suddenly become incredibly dry.
"You live, whilst Odin's son does not. Surely then, the pain of his being gone does not drive you to ending your own life?" Loki moved quietly around the edge of the table to her, a lone finger drifting over the polished surface of the table. "Does this not mean your love for him was a farce?"
This time, Jane could hear the hint of amusement underlying Loki's words, seeping through them, as if he was gleeful that he had somehow thought he had proved a point. The knife in Jane's stomach twisted again as his words sank in. Was he right? She had not even considered ending her own life to be away from the pain she felt from losing Thor. She had wallowed in her pain, yes, but ending it entirely?
"I won't let him die in vain" she said quietly, so quietly in fact that she wondered if Loki had even heard her. He snorted softly and stopped his slow walk around the table to look at her.
"In vain, Miss Foster? You think that if you died then his death would have been in vain? Such a line of thinking would suggest that you believe he fought and died for you." His brow raised slightly in mock surprise. "Your inflated sense of self-worth is indeed amusing".
For a moment Jane considered fighting back, but suddenly she knew with absolute clarity that it would do no good to fight with him. Better to just let his words wash over her like a roaring tide over rocks than to soak them in. It was no guarantee she could survive him, after all, not even a mountain could withstand the elements, but, she thought, it might at least buy her some time.
Her gut wrenched when she realised she was doing it again - buying time. What for? Time for a life spent alone without Thor or her friends. But still, that was what she wanted wasn't it? She would rather keep on living without him than take her own life. Her own words that she had just spoken sounded hollow, even to her. "I won't let him die in vain". It was true in one sense, she supposed, but it was not something she had actively thought about, debated in her head during the dark days of her initial confinement.
Loki's eyes glittered and he knew that he had found his mark. "This is what I think Miss Foster. I think that whatever thing you and my lowly brother had between the pair of you was merely a farce. You wanted someone powerful didn't you? You wanted him just because he was a God."
Jane shook her head silently in disbelief, but Loki continued. "He made you feel special didn't he, Thor? Yes, yes, I've seen him have the same effect on countless women". He stopped and looked down at her and Jane refused to meet his eyes. He smiled, almost kindly, as if he were trying to comfort her. "There is no need to be ashamed by it - many a weak female fell for his charm".
"You're wrong" said Jane quietly through gritted teeth. "About everything".
"Am I?" Loki said, although she knew he wasn't asking her to question his own reasoning, but rather her own. Jane said nothing despite the fact that her blood roiled beneath the surface, tinged now with doubt and guilt. It was almost as though Loki could see it because his mouth twitched upwards into a smug grin of satisfaction before he turned back around.
"You may leave now" he drawled, casually waving his hand in the direction of the door. Jane did not hesitate and was out of her chair like a bolt. It was only when she was back in her room did she realise the book was still in her hand.
.
.
Jane looked up warily when the noise outside grew louder. Putting down her newly acquired book she climbed off the edge of the bed and went to look out of the window at where a large black helicopter was landing on the perfectly manicured lawns.
Movement out of the corner of her eye suddenly distracted her from the slowing blades and she could make out Loki, striding across the gardens with purpose. The wind lifted his hair from his shoulders slightly and Jane shivered. Even from here she could see that he exuded the confidence and power of his species. Standing almost a head taller than the pilot who had now hopped out the helicopter, it was clear that he was not of earth.
She watched as he said something to the pilot who nodded quickly in response, his expression unreadable through the dark visor of his helmet. The discussion seemingly done, the pilot walked back around to one side of the helicopter, whilst Loki climbed into the side nearest her with his usual languid grace. Someone, Jane presumed one of the servants he kept at the property, ran forward and shut the door, quickly backing away again as the blades begun to spin. The grass flattened and the servant's hair and coat tails whipped wildly about him and then the helicopter had risen, and in moments was simply a black spot on the sky.
Jane wondered why Loki did not simply magic himself to whatever place he needed to be. He was perfectly capable, he had shown her that already. She furrowed her brow. Why did she even care? She returned back to the bed, picking back up the book and smoothing out a crease in the page from where she had hurriedly put it down. Jane did not resume reading it though, and instead flipped back to the first page, her thumb brushing over the words written there:
"To Cassy, Happy Birthday my Sweetheart. Forever my Juliet".
There was a date in the same cursive writing underneath the message: 1965. Jane pictured the unknown person inscribing the message. Perhaps it was the same person that had once owned this house. Jane had read the message now at least dozens of times. She wondered who Cassy was, what she would have thought of the gift. Obviously, it had significance for them - the words conveyed so much love.
As she thought about these two lovers who she would never meet, Loki's words popped unbidden into Jane's head once more. "Why is it you have not tried to take your own life?". Jane's gut squirmed as she tried to banish the thought.
Was it that she had never considered such a thing because she knew deep down that Thor would never have allowed her to do that, that she would be disappointing him if she simply went and ended it all. Or, was Loki right? Was her willingness to live significant in showing that she could live without Thor, nay, wanted to keep on living without Thor. Surely if their love was so great, then the pain would have been too great to bear, too great to have lived with?
She hated that Loki's poisonous words now filled her thoughts, hated that he was making her question her own love for Thor that she knew she had borne, and would continue to bear. She shook her head, as if she were trying to shake out the thought itself. With a sigh she turned back to the book and began to read.
.
.
When the knock came on the door, Jane was ready and waiting. The sound of the helicopter's blades descending had already signalled Loki's return, although in the fading twilight she could barely see the figure that had leapt out and stalked quickly back the house. The stars had appeared now, and she turned her back to them as the door opened. She knew the drill, and silently she moved out of the room, the doubts which she was trying so carefully to hide secretly following with her.
She bit her lower lip sharply as she arrived once again in front of the door, the door that was only one away from where Thor lay. The sight of him lifeless once more flashed into her mind like a lightening bolt in an already stormy sky. She flinched as she realised her teeth had drawn blood. Clasping her shaking hands firmly, she drew in a deep breath, loosened her own grip and opened the door.
Her eyes immediately found Loki who was sat in the same seat he had previously taken. His gaze was locked straight ahead as if he were in deep thought, but his head snapped to Jane as she took a step into the room. Something in Jane was resonating the danger of the situation, more so than ever before. She could feel it in the air, the anger and frustration that came in waves from Loki, and she could see it in his face. His mouth was drawn thin, his eyes glittering in a silent fury that made Jane want to close her eyes against them.
"Don't be shy", he spat at her. "Come in". Nervously Jane took an uncertain step forward, casting a quick glance back at the door from which she had entered. Was it too late to turn and run? Of course it was, her time was up from the moment she had left Tony's, maybe even before then. Trying to steady her nerves she moved forward to take the seat opposite Loki's.
He glared at her, making no attempt to mask his obvious distaste for her. Taking a slug of wine he refilled his glass and then motioned the bottle towards her. "No thank you" Jane muttered, looking down at her empty plate.
Minutes passed in silence, and yet still no food came. When Jane finally raised her gaze upwards it was only to find Loki, his eyes nearly black, locked onto her with a frightening intensity. Seeing her turn to him, the corners of his mouth pulled slightly, turning his face into something between a snarl and a smile.
His eyes always on Jane, Loki lifted a finger and ran it around the edge of the wine class, the low sound thrumming through the air towards her.
"Are you scared, Jane?" he finally said, his voice icy.
Jane's tongue felt like a dry lump of leather in her throat as she answered. "Yes".
Loki's eyes narrowed at her, and then he smirked, sitting back in his chair. "That's good, that's good indeed Jane. Because you see, some people say no."
Jane stiffened, too scared to move even a finger, too scared to wipe away the cold sweat that clung to her hairline.
"You see Jane, some people think that if they say 'no', it somehow makes them…" Loki's eyes swivelled to the ceiling and then back to her as he mused "…brave. But the thing is, they aren't brave. They're stupid. They're weak". The grin disappeared from his face as he spat the words with ferocious venom. He stared at Jane for a moment, as still as she was silent, and then suddenly he threw back the rest of the wine down in throat and stood. The scrape of the chair on wood made Jane flinch.
"Stand up" he commanded her, thumping the glass down so heavily on the table that a spider web crack formed along the stem.
Wishing no repeat of last time Jane rose, her legs shaking.
"Now stand over there" Loki said, pointing to the empty space in the middle of the room. Almost in a trance Jane moved, tension flowing through her veins like poison. Her stomach roiled and she wished she could curl up in a ball and shut her eyes against this evil, but her legs did not obey, continuing instead to bring her forward.
She bowed her head and Loki came silently towards her, circling her, his eyes never leaving her. She whimpered as he came to a stop just behind her, bending towards her to whisper softly in her ear.
"Humans - you all think you are so strong". His breath was cold against her cheek, every hair standing to attention on her body as he leaned in closer. "Would you like me to show you how weak you really are?"
Jane closed her eyes feeling the tears that had been welling slip quickly down her cheeks. She quickly shook her head, longing to step away from him but locked in place by his presence.
"No?" Tsk tsk little Jane" he said, his voice soft but suffused with sarcasm. He moved around to stand in front of her, his long fingers grasping her chin and bringing her face up to look at him. His lower lip curled downwards, his brows raised. "I could kill you. Right here, right now. And all I would have to do is move my hand".
The grip on her face became stronger, his fingers biting into her flesh. Jane whimpered, in pain, in fright, she did not even know. The terror infusing through her was more potent than anything she had felt before.
Suddenly the fingers on her face were gone as Loki shoved at her. Jane felt herself stumble and winced when her hip caught at a low table behind her. She looked up when she saw Loki advancing on her and involuntarily took another step backwards. Loki stopped as he saw her retreat and cocked a head to the side, watching her with a smirk on his face.
Jane continued to move away from him, desperate to find something, anything that she could take shelter behind. Still he stood there watching her, and if possible he seemed taller, bigger than ever before, his shadow filling the room so that everything around her felt all of a sudden dark and cold.
"Nothing can stop me Jane". Loki said, his voice cold. "You really think something as worthless as your pitiful species can stand up to me?"
For a moment time felt as if it stood still as Jane's terrified gaze locked with Loki's, and then suddenly she experienced the worst pain of her entire life. It started in the centre of her abdomen, but slowly grew, tendrils of agony snaking out towards her extremities.
Jane screamed, sinking to her knees, her hands clutching at her stomach. The ringing in her ears grew louder by the second, and her own cries sounded foreign to her, as if they were coming from somewhere far away. Black spots danced before her vision and she felt herself loosing consciousness, when without warning the pain stopped.
Curled on the floor Jane grasped for breath, her arms still wrapped around herself. Something had angered him, she knew that. Gone was the enquiring and seemingly composed being whom had enquired of human love this morning. And now he was taking it out on her...she knew that. She was but a play-thing for him, a rag-doll.
"See how easy that was for me?" she heard a voice say from somewhere above her. She squeezed shut her eyes, willing him to just leave her.
"Please" she heard herself beg, "please".
The room was silent for a moment, and all she could hear was her own laboured breathing. Then there was a footstep and she felt Loki beside her. A crooked finger brushed at the skin of her cheek, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Please" she muttered again, curling further into herself.
"Please what Jane?" Loki purred, his thumb moving to caress her jaw. Jane tried to move away from his touch but every time she did so his fingers would grip harder, keeping her in place.
"Please" was all she could say again. She wasn't even sure that her words were uttered for Loki's benefit. No, they were for anyone, anything that could hear her. Please, just please, let this madness stop.
"I want to hear you say it" Loki said close to her ear, his breath ghosting over her hot flesh. "I want you to tell me how weak you are". Jane whimpered, tears streaming down her face, her breathing ragged.
"Say it Jane" Loki said again dangerously, "say it".
"I, I'm weak" Jane managed to choke out between her tears. She half-heartedly tried to pull away from him again but his fingers moved round to grip at the base of her head, preventing her from moving.
"Tell me how pathetic you are" he hissed from between his teeth.
Jane coughed, her body convulsing. "I'm pathetic, oh god, please, please, I don't…I can't…". She could feel herself shaking, her whole body completely overwhelmed. How did she think she could ever stand up to him?
When the next wave of pain came this time she did slip into unconsciousness, although she was sure that it could only have been for a couple of seconds, because when she did come to she was still curled around herself on the floor. From somewhere near here she could hear a malicious laugh and then suddenly she was heaved to her feet.
Her legs immediately buckled, but Loki caught her, snaking an arm around her back, taking her entire weight. From somewhere in Jane's clouded mind she knew that the cold leather her flushed cheek rested on was that banded around Loki's chest, but all she wanted to do was sleep. There was just…nothing. Nothing left. She didn't even have the strength to attempt to pull away from him.
"Such a little thing aren't you" Loki said quietly above her, his rage suddenly seeming to still as he looked down at the woman in his arms, her tear stained face dipping forward as she once again slipped out of consciousness.
His eyes then left the top of her head, roving to the door behind which Thor's lifeless body lay. He smiled thinly. "I made you a promise once Brother.
I intend to keep it".