A/N: Thank you to Nako13yeh, Harold, boukenbee, Guest and Vi-Violence for reviewing :)

I couldn't breathe. Barely able to see straight, I scrabbled and thumped around on the floor, my limbs acting outside of my control as I began to convulse. The first sentry who entered my cell grabbed me from behind, caught me in a tight embrace around the middle and drove both forearms hard into my belly. It felt like he was trying to break me in half. I blacked out once, only to regain consciousness a few seconds later, doubled over and gasping for air. He did it again and again until the broken shards began to come back up, accompanied by regurgitated food. I was in agony, but at least I could breathe again.

Once my windpipe was no longer blocked, he let go of me and I sank onto the bed, still heaving. The second guard remained with me while the first fetched help, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword in case I tried anything stupid. I stayed where I was, dribbling a mixture of blood and spit and vomit, and waited.

My work was done. The rest was up to fate.

I longed to pass out again and escape the searing pain in my throat, but by a cruel twist, unconsciousness evaded me. Equally disappointing was the guards' decision to leave me where I was rather than take me to the healing-rooms (or better yet, the palace) as I'd hoped.

While they were cleaning the floor, I was busy suffering. Every breath hurt. My body was tense all over, knuckles turning white as I gripped my blanket. My midriff was bruised; when I lifted my nightshirt, I could count the individual marks where the guard's metal vambraces had dug into me. I opened my mouth to ask for a healer, but closed it again in pain, still unable to speak.

Before long Thor arrived, barging through the golden barrier.

'What's going on here?' he barked.

'My lord, the prisoner – '

'I am aware of what he has done. I want to know why.' With a wave of his hand he dismissed the guards, who scurried out of the room. 'What's your scheme? Tell the truth, now. I've no time for your machinations.'

I made a choked noise.

'…No scheme, brother. Whatever you might think – '

'Don't try to play the innocent. I know you're up to something. What are you hoping to gain? Pity? A reprieve?'

I said nothing. Don't answer. Let him draw his own conclusions.

'I don't understand. Were you trying to die?'

I averted my gaze, my silence steering him towards the answer. It took a while, but he got there eventually. Predictably, his first reaction to my brush with death was to yell.

'You fool. You damned fool. What were you thinking? After fighting for your life, you'd throw it all away because you were afraid to face justice?'

I waited patiently, knowing he was only speaking out of emotion and his tirade would end soon. Sure enough, Thor's anger ran its course and the reality of the situation sank in. His arms fell to his sides and he stood at a loss. Much quieter now, he said:

'Why did you do it? If this is about your sentence, we had no other choice. You must understand, we had to handle you with caution.'

'It's not that, exactly,' I croaked. 'It's merely…Father said…'

'Said what?'

Here it came – the difficult part. I had to cry. I'd feigned tears in the past, but it still took effort to force my body to weep.

'He told me I couldn't return to my old life. All that time I was with the Chitauri, I just wanted to…I just wanted to come home. I wanted my life to go back to being the way it used to be. And he told me it was impossible.'

Thor was struggling to put on an impassive face, as if my tears didn't affect him, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Despite everything, he still wasn't capable of distancing himself from me.

I shielded my face as if embarrassed.

'You must think me pathetic. I don't mean to – to behave like this. It's just…after all that time I spent…'

'Hush. Enough,' he said gruffly. 'I'll go and tell Father what's happened.'

'No, don't – don't tell him.' I gulped back a sob. 'He'll do nothing but scold me. I'm tired of being scolded.'

'He needs to know. And while I'm there, I'll talk to him about lightening your sentence.'

'You'd do that?' I asked, eyes widening, striking the perfect golden note between astonishment and gratitude. 'You'd do that for me?'

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

'I cannot promise anything,' he answered uncomfortably. 'There's no guarantee he'll agree to my requests, but I'll see what I can do.'

'Thank you. Truly. Thank you.'

He made a move as if he were about to pat me on the shoulder, but changed his mind and lowered his hand.

'I'll do my best,' he assured me, and left.

There. Problem solved. Within a few breaths, my weeping ceased. I wiped my eyes and nose dry, turned onto my side and tried in vain to get comfortable. Nestling my head against the pillow, I endeavoured to breathe as slowly and as little as possible, minimising the amount of air that had to pass through my wounded throat.

Finally exhaustion overpowered pain. I slept for hours, and didn't wake until I felt someone shaking my shoulder. Squinting through the fog of semi-sleep and recognising Odin, my instinctive reaction was to flinch away from his touch.

'Don't try to speak,' he pre-empted me. 'Do you remember the promises you made?'

I nodded, wincing.

'Do you still intend to keep them?'

Another nod.

'Then I will hold you to them. You will be transferred from this cell to your bed-chambers, and confined there for a hundred years.'

Upon hearing those words, my first instinct was to slump in relief, but I knew I had to keep up the act. I stared at him as though having difficulty processing his words.

'Understand that I am giving you a gift. I am indulging you. If you break even one of the vows you made, you will be thrown back in this cell immediately, and your sentence will be increased to five-hundred years.' He straightened up. 'Your transferral can wait until you are ready. Get some rest and let yourself heal. Once you are sufficiently recovered, the guards will come and collect you.'

'…Yes, Father,' I rasped. 'Thank – '

'Don't thank me. Thank Thor. In the face of your…actions, he insisted that I be more lenient towards you.'

His tone put a damper on my sense of triumph. He was doing this for Thor, not for me. Oh well, no matter. The All-Father had acquiesced to my pleas. As long as I stayed on my best behaviour, he could have no reasonable grounds on which to retract my newly-granted privileges. From here, life would be a steady (albeit incremental) uphill climb back to liberty – and perhaps, someday, a semblance of normality. All that remained was to wait.