Chapter 4: Nightmares

The sun streamed in through the stained glass windows of Maria's room as she opened her eyes and stretched. Before putting on a new tunic and pants before heading out to her normal guard rounds. "Hopefully nothing goes wrong today" she thought.

Loki screamed as he woke up from his nightmare. He prayed it wasn't audible to anyone outside. Loki swung his legs to the side of the bed. He put on his clothes and sat by the fire, reflecting over his nightmare.

Maria's senses were alert as she heard a mental scream coming from Loki's room using the shadow plane she entered the room in order to check in on the god of mischief. "Loki are you alright?" she said as she appeared out of the shadow plane. "I heard your mind go into a panic and came to check on you to see if you are alright."

Loki startled when she appeared out of nowhere. "I'm fine" His breathing was shaky. Why did his nightmares resurface now? He hadn't had them in years but now the image of his mother dying was seared into his brain.

"You sure?" she said looking at him with genuinely concerned eyes Maria had sensed a familiar presence within the shadow realm before she arrived. Though still uncertain she looked at Loki tilting her head to the side. "Want to discuss what the dream was?" she said trying to help. "Might help."

"Will you leave me alone if I tell you?" Loki rubbed the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. He had slept all night and yet he was still tired.

"Only if you want to tell me" Maria said leaning against one of the pillars "also it's still super early in the morning if you want to continue sleeping that's fine."

"I can't sleep. It will only get worse. Did you read my mind again? I never told you I had a nightmare." Loki looked at Maria curiously. "Regardless, I might as well tell you what happened, after you tell me you used telepathy."

"I actually did not use telepathy this time" Maria said as she looked at Loki. "But I can sense distress when others sleep. That is what I did before shadow traveling to your room." she still eyed Loki worried he seemed so tired she wished there was some way she could help.

"You have so many powers and abilities. I wonder how you learned all of these things." Loki thought aloud hoping to distract his mind from the contents of his nightmare. "I guess I'll tell you. There's no need for you to be worried. I was umm, like in a room of black. Then I was surrounded by the people I killed on Midgard. I was forced to watch them be gunned down and hear their screams of terror but when that didn't affect me..." Loki stopped for a minute. The nightmare had shaken him so badly that he hadn't yet recovered. "I watched as my mother was killed repeatedly. I heard her die repeatedly. I still hear it. The sword impaling her, her falling to the floor, her last breath." Loki's eyes darken from anger.

Maria looked at Loki "It sounds as if you were going through hell." she looked at Loki as she mentally thought. "It couldn't be a soul torment spell" she thought. "But it sure sounds like one from what he described. Question is who is the caster?" Maria thought for a few moments before looking back to Loki then walking up to him. "Loki look at me." she said as she looked at the god of mischief straight in the eyes. "Whatever dream that was try to let it go." Even though Maria had a hunch as to what was causing the dream she wasn't certain. "It will only linger if you obsess with it." she hoped that the next time the trickster god was dreaming she may be able to find the source at the beginning. Though she hoped she had been wrong about the guess. Placing her hand on his she looked determined to help him. "I will help if you want me to help"

Loki still looked down at his hands. At this point he could only do two things react in anger or cry. He quickly grabbed Maria by the wrist. "If you touch me again I'll hurt you. It may not be of my choice but you will be harmed." He could see Frigga begging him to save her but he had been in his cell. It was something akin to torture and he couldn't stand it. He transported away in a green cloud of smoke.

Maria sighed "So stubborn" she said into thin air. "I won't let you harm him whoever you are. I won't and you can count on it." Leaping into the shadows Maria located Loki in the garden sitting down on one of the benches deep in thought. Before appearing again leaning on the gazebo. As she looked at him still unafraid. "I am not afraid of harm." she said as she looked at him. "All I want to do is help you." she sighed.

Loki had projected an illusion of himself at the spot. He was still there but behind the illusion he had grabbed his dagger and began to cut himself. He was desperate for anything to lessen the pain. "I could have saved her if I hadn't tried to take Midgard to be my kingdom." Loki talked to himself. He was oblivious to Maria's presence; his grief consuming him.

Maria walked up to Loki she knew she would potentially get stabbed but she also knew that the illusion he was portraying masked his pain as he cut himself. "Stop beating yourself up." she said looking at Loki behind the illusion as she held her hand out "Helio" the cuts on Loki's hand healed disappearing. She hadn't touched him but she didn't want him to cut himself for something that had been beyond his control.

Loki looked over his hand and saw that his cuts disappeared. He allowed the illusion to disappear. He just wanted to hurt someone and if she wouldn't let him hurt herself he would have to hurt her. "You think I need saving?" he chuckled darkly. "I don't, I relish in the pain when I let it loose. It feels so comforting. I'm not sure you understand that though." He surveyed her a bit and smirked. "How would you like a slit throat?" It was as if the dream had broken him or rather his resistance to his inner pain. "You will know why I am feared."

She looked at Loki "Well I don't fear you." she still didn't fear him as she casually turned her back to him. "I understand the loss of someone you care about." she said still keeping her back turned and began to walk towards one of the rose bushes. "Just thought you might want a friend to help you"

Loki was taking deep breaths, battling his urge to kill her. "I might want help but I can't be around people." He walked up behind her. "Bad things happen to those that are close to me." He had his dagger in his hand but made no move to use it. Yet.

Still looking at the red roses in the garden she smiled a bit remembering "It's never a bad thing to ask for help." she said with a reply. She knew the rage well her mother and brothers had been murdered in front of her eyes as a child by her own father who had cursed her. Maria had vowed revenge for those acts and had traveled to negotiate with death himself as to swap the souls of her brothers at the very least to save them she had to murder five other beings in exchange for their release. She could relate quite well to what Loki was experiencing.

"You don't understand little one. Thanos took over part of my mind so I would help him. Though I look sane to you that part of my mind still exists and it wants to hear you scream." Loki put her in a headlock and stabbed Maria in the back. The same thing Malekith had done to his mother.

Maria calmly smirked as she got stabbed in the gut she took the dagger that Loki was holding from behind her back and pulled it out. "Well this is has let one of my secrets slip." she said as the wound slowly closed itself up she noticed Loki's face as it did so turn into almost a confused look. "Stab me all you like Loki. Heh my jackass father made sure that I would be forever cursed not to die while he went on a sadistic family murder spree and had me watch chained up." she knew her father Malekith was to blame for several suffering aspects of the realms. It was one of the cursed aspects that she despised about her father so much that she had planned his demise with the lords of the underworld.

Loki sighed and turned around to sit back on the bench. "Whoever did that saved your life. If I can't kill you there's no point in hurting you." Loki relaxed and it seemed as if his calmer self was released. "Sorry, I, umm. Sorry." Loki looked around the garden.

Maria let out a sigh "You might want me dead if I tell you who my dad is so to be honest it's ok you don't need to apologize." she said as she breathed normally before going off to walk a bit in the rose garden changing subject. "I love roses" said looking at all the blooming buds most despised her father so to be stabbed in the back was a normality to Maria.

"I know I'll hate myself for asking but who is your father?" Loki stayed a safe distance away from Maria. He didn't wish to cause more pain. Not to her or anyone else.

Maria sat down on one of the benches then waved a hand over half of her face to reveal both blue skin and dark elf ears "Does this answer it?" she said looking at Loki with red irises that were normally green. "I am used to pain so don't worry about being afraid of hurting me." she said as she let her form hide once again behind the illusion. "My father caused so much grief to others I thought I could mend his damage here…" she said looking down at her feet.

"I don't wish to hurt you. Not at the moment at least. You didn't kill my mother, Malekith did." Loki walked up next to Maria. "I don't hold her death against you."

Maria let out a bitter chuckle "That is the problem. My father murdered not only murdered my mother but yours as well." she said leaning her head against the railing of the gazebo. She remained silent allowing Loki to process the meaning of her words. "I feel responsible for every murder he caused.."

Loki stood in front of her. "You should not feel responsible for something that you did not do. If you judge others by personality apply the same to yourself." Loki moved away from her. "You aren't a murderer."

"Ironically enough, I am a former assassin though I hated the occupation I had no choice in the matter." she said looking at the roses. "Basically a killer that gets payed. How different is that from a murderer?" she said looking at Loki with green eyes. "Let me just tell you this right now Loki because you are still a good person. Don't beat yourself up about the past. If it helps you any at all I think your nightmare was caused by a spell." Maria at the point only wanted to help Loki not only because he had suffered enough torment but because she genuinely cared about what happened to him.

Loki furrowed his brow. "What kind of spell? Also, I am not a good person. If you couldn't heal back there I would have killed you without a second thought. I deserve the death penalty for my actions. I've hurt too many. You were forced to kill, I was coerced." Loki picked a rose and admired it's thorn covered stem. It was so pretty yet it had such potential for harm.

Maria arched an eyebrow then smiled a bit. "Even if I could not heal I would have found a way to live Loki." She said "Besides what is past remains in the past. As far as the spell used as you slept I'd say a soul dream spell." she said looking at Loki.

"Alright, let's just focus on the spell. Who is the caster?"

Maria sighed "That is the problem...I sensed their presence but...I didn't see the person or being casting it. The only clue that tipped me off was the repetitive torment description of your dream as that is the normality of the spell when it's cast on the target."

"So someone wished to break me, have me return to the monster I was on Midgard?" Loki took a deep breath and sat down on a bench. "Anything else?"

Running a hand through her hair Maria sighed "the type of spell as you could possibly guess is dark magic. My guess though only in theory is that whoever cast that spell knows what they are doing and the energy required for it is immense at least for one at the level that it was cast."

Loki let his head rest in his hands. "I'm too tired to deal with this right now. It's the worst thing about this kind of spell. It weakens you. There's no way I could create a mental barrier strong enough with how tired I am and if I sleep I'll only lose energy."

Turning to Loki Maria looked at him "Let me help you please. I can cast the spell so that whoever is casting it with bounce over to me when I sleep." she looked at him still determined to help even if it placed her in harm's way. "Besides then I can catch the caster and you can sleep better."

"I don't like others fighting my battles. Even when I am this tired. You were hired to guard me from physical threats not magical ones. Besides I want to know who's after me." Loki wasn't sure who would come after him. If they had this amount of power he needed to know who they were.

Maria smiles "Well I will help you anyway. Besides I am still a guard and a guard's job is to protect." Maria looked at him "I don't mind helping out Loki besides your beat tired about to collapse right now."

Loki sighs, "Fine, do whatever you think is necessary." He stifled a yawn. "I fear that I'll fall asleep whether I want to or not." Loki shifted to a more comfortable position on the bench.

Maria holds Loki up "You need to go back to bed Loki." she teleports both Loki and herself into his room setting him in his bed and casting a protection mental barrier into his mind as she sat down by a nearby pillar, she cast a mind spell of protection on herself so that when Loki had the nightmare again she would be there to help him. Before falling asleep herself she made one last spell that allowed her shadow to guard every area of the room. Though she knew this was going to drain her she wanted to help him.

Loki watched as she created various spells to protect him. He was perplexed as to why she wanted to help him. He had actually denied her at least twice and yet she seemed so determined. She reminded him a lot of himself, just plain stubborn. It wasn't long before Loki felt sleep creeping around him. He knew that once he woke up he would know who was tormenting him but did he really want to know?

Maria looked at Loki's tired form on the bed and smiled "Just sleep Loki" she said a bit tired herself "whoever did that spell will show himself"

"You know, I don't exactly sleep umm, clothed. Don't ask, it's just how I sleep. So, umm...I'm just, never mind." Loki clothes appear on top of the bed.

Maria shrugged "Doesn't bug me Loki. I lived with five older brothers" she said as she leaned her head against the pillar.

"Oh, thank the gods you had older brothers." Loki fell asleep quickly. It was maybe an hour later that his assailant began his mental attacks.

Maria appeared next to Loki in his dream "Good it worked" she looked to Loki she sensed a dark shadow puppeting the dream its presence to her almost familiar but dreading. "You alright Loki?" she said her ethereal self looking over at the mischief causer. While her shadow lurked and stalked the perpetrator trying to locate the caster.

"You're in my mind?" Loki looked at Maria. "I'm fine as long as you are here." He smiled.

Smiling back at Loki, Maria nodded "Well lets see what horrors are occurring shall we?" A bright blue flame appears in her right hand as she holds her left out to Loki. "over my dead body will they hurt you again." she said with a kind but warm smile.

Meanwhile the shadow has stalked the caster down Thor is in his room with an odd spell circle on the ground his eyes have turned pitch black.

The nightmare simply repeated itself as it had done the night before but this time it started with Frigga's death. Loki held his eyes on the blue flame that Maria had to distract himself. "It's all just a dream, it's not real, it's not your fault." He repeated to himself.

Maria just stared at the illusion "Dirkis tormentia removia Loki" a slight scream is heard as the nightmare suddenly turns into a shadow and writhes in agony. "I know who you are leave him alone." In an almost demonic voice the shadow replies

"Well played daughter you saw through my spell excellent. How are you faring in this world? Hmmm seeing the death of your mother was that enough to break you?" the illusion sounds like a dark hiss. "No matter I have taken all that he holds dear to him much like you took what is precious to me. A power that does not belong in the hands of a foul girl such as yourself."

Glaring at the shadow Maria threw the ball of flame at it "GO to HELL FATHER and SAY HI TO UNCLE!" the laughter of the dead king reverberated through the empty dream as the scene swaps to the rose garden from earlier. "Loki are you alright?"

"I am so confused. We're in a rose garden. Are we still in my mind? Was Malekith tormenting me and what "precious" did you take from him?" Loki sat down after saying all the questions in his mind.

Maria sighed "we are still in your mind just a nicer memory of your dream state" she said as she answered his questions "Father has been trying several ways of reviving himself from the pit of hell he is now stuck in. The precious was his abilities his powers as part of a pact i made long ago to get rid of my father from harming others I had to take his underworld powers." she said as she sat down. "Though he can't do much without a physical body to be possessed…."she suddenly sat alarmingly straight "Loki where is your brother at this moment?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Why does it matter?" Loki's face showed some concern for Thor. No matter how he felt about Thor he did not want his brother possessed by Malekith.

"Son of a….he said he took something precious to you you don't think?" Maria's face nearly paled like that of a ghost "We have got to wake up now"

Meanwhile Maria's shadow pounces on Thor's drawing him back and pinning him to the wall. Thor on the meantime is not himself as Maria's father knocks the shadow back against the wall with Thor's own shadow.

Author Note:

Hi guys. Hope you enjoyed chapter 4. Sit tight things are gonna be interesting from here on out. Also you might want to bring some holy water for this story because sin is a high possibility. (hint hint this story just might merge mythology and religion might still uncertain so keep the holy water )

Review and tell me how you like or dislike the story so me and my wonderful friend Hanna (she did the Loki stuff I do the Maria and Thor stuffs. Sometimes she'll help with the smut stuff since i suck at it) so enjoy relax and eat popcorn while reading the story and until the next chapter. CalmChaosangel101 out.