After supper, everyone went their separate ways. After Thor's friends went off to the training grounds, he took Jane around the kingdom for a short tour, but only after he got her some Asgardian clothing. He didn't want too much attention on them as they walked around Asgard. Jane fitted well in Sif's clothing that she offered her so it only took a little while before Jane was transformed into Asgardian apparel.
While they walked, Thor told her all about Asgard and occasionally about the Avengers. He also listened to Jane tell him about how Erik went to work for shield and how her and Darcy met Daniel. She also mentioned about being suddenly moved to a remote laboratory around the same time the event in New York happened.
"So that was you?" she asked when Thor told her that he had asked shield to do something to keep her safe from Loki.
"After Selvig was taken, I knew that Loki could easily get you too. He has threatened me with you many times. He knows exactly what to use against me."
Jane nodded, but didn't say anything although it looked as though she wanted to. Thor watched her for a few moments before stopping.
"You want to see him, don't you?" he asked, understanding her. She looked up at him guiltily.
"Not if you don't want me to, but I have to admit; I am curious."
"No, no. We can start back now to see him. I don't mind. But I have to warn you, he can be very…" Thor tried to find the right word to explain how Loki was when he wasn't exactly evil at the time, but not his old Loki self either. "…cold-hearted." He finished.
"I know. I've just heard so much about him." she explained. Thor couldn't blame her for being curious. Although, he did feel a little uneasy about Jane and Loki being less than ten feet apart, even if there was a prison cell wall in between.
Once in the palace, Thor led Jane down into the basement. The corridors were a little bit colder and darker down there, but other than that it was just as beautiful as the rest of the palace. Guards stood outside of the entrance to the prison cell division that Loki was being kept in. The guards crossed their right arm over their chests and bowed as Thor approached them. Thor bowed back and they then resumed guarding in their original position. Thor walked in with Jane right behind him. If Thor remembered correctly, Loki's cell was the last corner cell on the right. He hadn't been down here since he accompanied the guards to lock Loki up when he first brought him home.
Thor was correct. The corner cell was the same as when he first came to it. Loki was sleeping in the bed in the corner on top of his sheets with his legs propped up on a pillow. His dark hair was down and wavier than usual since he couldn't put his hair gel in anymore.
"Maybe it's best that he's sleeping." Thor whispered to Jane. He noticed that she looked somewhat surprised.
"That's your brother?" she whispered looking between Thor and Loki over and over again, trying to find the resemblance.
Thor smiled. "You won't find anything alike in us. He's adopted and actually half frost giant."
Jane's eyes went wide for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day. "Really?" she asked. "I never knew." Thor turned his gaze back on his sleeping brother. He looked exhausted and more worn down than the last time he saw him, but the injuries that he had gotten from the war in New York were altogether gone. Loki's chest rose and fell to the rhythm of his heavy breathing.
"He's kind of cute when he's sleeping and not trying to kill me, actually." Thor said smiling. "Don't ever tell him that I said that though." Both Thor and Jane jumped when Loki suddenly spoke up.
"I heard that." He said sitting up. "Long time no see… Isn't that what the humans say?"
"I thought you were already asleep." Thor said walking closer to the strong glass walls of the cell.
"I was for once, until you came." Loki said in a bitter tone. "Though you sleep heavily, brother, I am quite the opposite." he added rubbing his eyes. "So what's your business here, anyways? You never come down here, why now?" he asked. Thor couldn't tell if Loki was hinting that he wanted Thor to visit more or not. Maybe Thor was just imagining things and hoping that Loki meant that.
"Jane's here." Thor said signaling Jane to step up next to him. "She's never met you before." Loki cocked an eyebrow.
"And you still want to meet me after all of the stories I'm sure you've heard?" he asked staring intently at Jane.
"I just wanted to meet Thor's brother." She said looking at him. Thor had to admit that he was impressed. She wasn't intimidated by Loki at all, but if she was she wasn't showing it.
"Ah." said Loki rising from his bed. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not Thor's brother." He said leaning against the white back wall. Thor just rolled his eyes.
"Why are you so determined on denying that?" he asked annoyed at Loki.
"Because it's the truth." He said, also annoyed.
"What does blood matter? We are brothers in every other way." said Thor watching Loki.
"Are we, still?" asked Loki, raising his eyebrows. "After everything that's happened?" Thor didn't answer. The honest answer was yes, no matter what Loki did, Thor would still call him his brother, but he knew that Loki didn't feel at all the same. His brother would just laugh at Thor's weakness against him.
Loki just shook his head. "So I heard about the elves." he said suddenly changing the tense subject.
"How do you hear of all of this down here?" Thor asked a little skeptical. Loki just smiled.
"The guards here are not short of gossip… or big mouths." Loki said loudly so that the guards could hear.
"Hey!" snarled a rather short guard. "You better watch your back Laufeyson."
"Literally." added the guard next to him. Thor watched Loki's face go suddenly hard as he stared at the guards with his death stare.
"Ok, ok. You two can have a short break. Leave us be for a few minutes, we are good here." instructed Thor. The guards exchanged unsure glances, but followed Thor's orders. After they were out of sight and earshot, Thor turned to Loki.
"Are you looking to be punished?" demanded Thor. His brother was so impossible sometimes. It seemed that he went looking for any trouble possible. Loki just shrugged and looked at the ground. It was silent for a long while. Thor just watched his little brother stare at the ground. He couldn't help feeling bad for him. He hated seeing him like this, locked up at the guard's mercy. Thor knew that Loki wasn't himself anymore and was immoral, but he saw flickers of the old Loki there. It tortured him to get glimpses of his old brother that he used to know, but only be reminded seconds later that he was no longer that brother he used to know.
Finally in the silence, Loki sighed. "So what are you going to do?" he asked quietly. "About the elves?" he looked up at Thor, waiting for an answer. Thor looked back at him and shook his head.
"I have no idea, Loki." he admitted.
Thor realized that Jane hadn't said anything for a while. He looked over at her and saw that she looked completely tired out. She was rubbing her eyes trying to stay awake and looked like she could fall over any second. Thor noticed that it was much later than he thought it was and Jane must have had a very long day. He wrapped an arm around her.
"Sif said you could stay in her room if you'd like. She is excited that there is actually another girl in the palace for once." he suggested.
"Ok." She said yawning. "Sorry it's just been a long day." she verified Thor's thoughts. Thor nodded and looked over at Loki who was playing with his mortal band of light around his wrist. He wasn't sure what to say to him. Talking to him when he wasn't trying to take over some realm, really made him feel like it was old times. He didn't want to push it, though.
"I'll come back later, Loki." he promised.
"Take your time." Loki said irritably. Thor sighed. His brother was intolerable.
"I'll show you to Sif's room." Thor said pulling Jane towards the door. As he walked out, he noticed how tired he was as well. But with the threat of elves, Jane not being safe, Loki still constantly at his throat, he doubted he would get much sleep at all.
Loki watched Thor and Jane leave. He had half hoped that Thor had just come to see him to visit, not only because Jane wanted to meet him. He tried to push that half of him down, though. He had to keep reminding himself that he was not his brother anymore. He had to remember that he shouldn't care. But why does he need to keep reminding himself more and more these days? Certainly he did not want to go pleading back to his arrogant brother. Thor had always gotten things his way. He seemed so different when he was around Jane, though. A small part of him knew that he was being replaced by Jane. Loki used to be Thor's best friend, the person who he would always come to and who he would count on no matter what happened. But he didn't care, he reminded himself. He didn't care.
The guards came back in, and resumed what they called "guarding", but they really were just taking a nap and gossiping more. Loki lied back down on his bed and crossed his arms over his chest. It scared him to think that Thor had no idea what he was doing. He was going to get the universe destroyed if he didn't act fast. But Loki didn't care, he didn't care he kept telling himself. Loki closed his eyes and rested his head on his pillow and tried to fall asleep again.
He suddenly thought about how Thor mentioned Sif. If he had to admit one thing that he regretted, it would be trying to kill his friends. He hadn't meant for them to get in the way. He missed his friends. Obviously they weren't his friends anymore though. It would never be the same; he had tried to kill them, his own friends. Slowly, he began to fall asleep.
Sif and Jane stood in a big room with tall windows that showed off the kingdom's gardens on the side of the palace. Sif's room was beautiful with intricate designs running up the columns around the room and her ceiling looked like the detailed ceilings of old opera houses or theaters that Jane went to as a child.
"Thank you so much for offering to let me stay in here." thanked Jane. "Your room is beautiful."
"Thanks. It's nice to have a girl around here for once. I love them, but sometimes hanging around Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg all of the time can drive you insane." Sif said smiling. She was incredibly pretty with her long dark hair spilling over her back and her olive skin was flawless. Jane wished she could be more like Sif. She was so brave and so noble.
"So what happened after you all left Earth, the first time we met? After the destroyer was defeated?" Jane asked Sif hoping she didn't mind telling her. "Thor said he would tell me, but we have been awfully busy lately."
Sif just nodded but didn't look at Jane. "I was in the healing room with Heimdall during the whole battle, but Thor and Loki fought on the rainbow bridge where the bifrost used to be. Loki had set up the bifrost so that it would build until it destroyed the realm of the frost giants. The two brothers fought until Thor was able to break the rainbow bridge by the bifrost, stopping the destruction of Jotunheim." she told Jane. "There was a humongous explosion that was heard from all of Asgard when the rainbow bridge was destroyed. Thor and Loki were thrown off of the edge of the broken bridge but they were saved by the king at the last second. Both of them were literally hanging off the edge when Loki just let go." she finished, solemn.
"So everyone thought that Loki was dead then?" asked Jane.
"Yes. Thor was devastated for the longest time. His brother was presumed dead," she said helping Jane spread out a blanket on her extra bed where Jane would sleep. ", and evil." she added in a matter-of-fact way. "And Earth was lost. He couldn't see you." she said sadly looking at Jane.
"I knew he had a reason." said Jane looking out the towering windows. "So how long have you known Thor?" Jane asked, changing the subject.
Sif smiled remembering. "For as long as I can remember. I was and orphan and Thor and Loki found me when we were young and brought me to the palace."
"So you are Loki's friend as well?"
Sif's face suddenly became hard. "I thought I was, until he tried to kill me; and his own brother." Jane nodded. She decided she didn't want to bother Sif with any more questions. Jane was tired and she didn't want to make Sif upset with talk of her old friend. Sif sighed as they finished making Jane's bed.
"Thank you, Sif."
"You're very welcome."
Sif went to extinguish the fire and the two girls then got into their beds. Jane lied there in the darkness of the room. She thought about the elves. The idea that they knew who she was frightened her, but she was willing to fight for Thor and for Asgard. She turned on her side to look out the window at the beautiful city and wondered what Darcy was doing, but that was the last thing she thought before falling into the dark endless depths of sleep.