All characters and settlings belong to Marvel as much as I would like to own Loki and Thor I do not and I am just borrowing them for my own evil pleasure.
I would just like to wish everyone reading this story Happy New Year and I wish you a happy, creative and prosperous 2013. A slightly longer chapter this time because it turned out to be a long scene with a lot of information, I just hope you enjoy it.
Loki sat crossed legged upon the mattress; resting his bony elbows upon his knees. He laced his long, slender fingers together almost as if in prayer; resting them gently against his mouth as he studied Lady Sif when she entered the chamber. The beautiful dark haired warrior was still clad in the long, flowing garments that she had worn on her early visit but with the addition of soft, brown leather shoes. And she had a small bundle of faded blue cloth tucked under her arm. She gave Loki a nervous but relieved smile as he gestured for her to take a seat upon the opposite end of the mattress.
"Forgive my tardiness Loki" Lady Sif apologized as she struggled with one hand to unfasten the bundle which was now placed beside her upon the mattress. "But he...Helblindi..." she spat the name as if just saying it left a bad taste in her mouth "He can hold his ale almost as greatly as Thor..."
"I always remembered Thor being a little too fond of his ale at times..." Loki mused as he settled his hands neatly in his lap. "Who else knows you are here Lady Sif?"
"Don't say it like that Loki" replied Lady Sif as she finally unwrapped the bundle to reveal a small loaf of fresh bread and a portion of cold mutton. "Like Thor is already dead because we know he is alive...my brother has been blinded to what is happening in Jotunheim but he senses Thor's life essence...it weakens day by day but he is still alive. I am sorry..." Lady Sif said as she handled Loki the loaf and mutton, which he thanked her for with a weak smile. "It was all I could risk stealing from the kitchens...and as for who else knows of my visits here only my brother and Gunnarr, one of the silenced men that guards your cell, both can be trusted I swear upon my life"
"Let's us hope you do not need to put that trust to the test then" said Loki quietly as he took the food, tearing the loaf in half he offered Lady Sif a section but she declined with a shake of her head. "Then Heimdall knows this Thor is false but he stands idly by while all Asgard suffers at this impostor's hand?" Loki retorted bitterly.
"My brother is no traitor" Lady Sif returned her clear sapphire eyes flashed accusingly. "Heimdall remains loyal to the throne of Asgard but he is just one man. While Odin slumbers and Frigga is a virtually a prisoner within their chambers, he must act in a way that will safe guard the lives of all Asgardians even if it means standing idly by while people suffer even myself, his own blood..."
"Forgive me..." Loki replied in an unruffled, measured voice, he cautiously sniffed at the bread savouring the fresh, sweet aroma before taking a small bite. "It was never my intention to accuse or offend...I just think it is prudent to be aware of everything that has been going on beyond this miserable and isolated prison cell".
"My brother suffers too Loki..." Lady Sif added, her voice taking on a softer and mournful tone. "He hears Thor's anguish, his terrible agonized screams and yet he is helpless, unable to end your brother's torment lest Helblindi discovers his magic is weakening..."
"And why do you suppose that is?" Loki questioned arching an eyebrow, his beautiful features suddenly dark and serious. "Could it be that Helblindi draws the source of his magic from Jotunheim? Or that each moment he spends in Asgard away from his frozen realm it weakens him? Would Helblindi weaken to the point that he would have to return to Jotunheim?" Loki was musing out loud to himself than actually expecting answers from Lady Sif, but the warrior seemed to listen intently and nod her head in agreement with him. "Ahhh but is all mere speculation I know barely anymore about my own kind than the icy monsters Thor and I use to read about together in story books whilst hiding under the covers when we were meant to be asleep".
"Whatever the reason Loki if Helblindi's magic is weakening it means there is hope for us...for your brother...for Asgard..."
Loki had already made the decision that he was going to rescue Thor from his captivity within the icy Jotunheim realm before Lady Sif had returned to his cell. But after listening to all she had told him, Loki was even more determined to free his brother no matter the cost, even if that meant his own life. A long, heavily sigh escaped Loki's lips as he finished the last of the food and reaching across to gently touch Lady Sif upon the bandaged remains of her severed hand he steeled himself for the truth.
"I know what I am about to ask of you will cause you great pain but I need to know Sif..." Loki whispered in a soft, solemn voice as he looked at her with beseeching emerald orbs. "I need to know exactly how a great warrior as you came to lose her hand, why my brother felt so compelled to sacrifice his freedom and give himself up to the enemy."
"Loki...I...I..." Lady Sif pulled away from Loki and hung her head to hide the tears beginning to cloud her sad, blue eyes. "I am sorry...I"
"Please Sif...I am not judging anyone nor condemning their actions..." said Loki calmly as he cupped his hand under her chin and tilted her gaze upwards to meet his own. "I just need to know..."
"I understand..." replied Lady Sif fighting back her tears as she slowly pushed up the sleeve covering her wounded arm to almost her shoulder. "But before I tell you anything Loki, I need to give you this..."
"Thor...oh brother..." gasped Loki in surprise as reaching across to Lady Sif's arm his fingertips brushed something cold, metallic and heartbreakingly familiar. Loki just stared at the worn, scratched surface of the vambrace fastened to her arm, cunningly hidden under the heavy fabric of her sleeve. He traced a long, graceful finger along the simple but unmistakable outline of his horned helmet that had been proudly etched into the metal of Thor's vambrace.
"But...I...I thought Thor had discarded these vambraces, that I had become unworthy of my brother's grief or honour ..." muttered Loki suddenly choked with emotion.
"Thor may have respected the Allfather's command by removing these vambraces for a time but he never stopped loving you, Loki" said Lady Sif as she started to tugged at the buckles to release the vambrace from her arm. "He never stopped believing in you...hoping one day you would find a way to redeem yourself...I think he mourned the loss of your companionship even more deeply than that of the mortal woman he once loved, wearing these gave him the comfort as if you were somehow still by his side..." said Lady Sif in a respectful, hushed voice, the second strap unbuckled she gave the vambrace to Loki as a tear tumbled down her cheek.
"It all happened so quickly we had news of an attack upon a settlement in the mountains in the east, so Thor gathered a group and we went to their aid. We encountered creatures not from any of the nine realms, with strange weapons..."
"The Chitauri came to Asgard?" questioned Loki, his handsome face suddenly darkened with a puzzled frown as he continued to quiz Lady Sif. "But the Chitauri I had dominion over were little more than slaves controlled by The Other..." Loki shuddered as he remembered that vile creature's promise...'If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain...'
"Chitauri..." Lady Sif's voice interrupted Loki's troubled memories. "Yes...that is what Thor called them, ugly, brutal things but once Thor had defeated the leader the rest just collapsed as if dead...but the attack was just subterfuge, a distraction. We returned home only to discover Odin gravely wounded and the Casket of Ancient Winters stolen..."
"The Jotun have the Casket of Ancient Winters?" questioned Loki, his expression grim and accusing.
"Yes" returned Lady Sif. "Odin tried to stop them but Helblindi opened the casket and..."
"Even the Allfather's with all his powers could not fight against the infinite icy cold of Niflheim..." Loki mused.
"No. But he managed to close the portal between the realms forcing the Frost Giants to find another way back to Jotunheim, they fled to the mountains. Thor was commanded to go after the Jotun and retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters...then your father fell into the Odinsleep..."
"And I suppose no one told me of this because Helblindi used the gateway between the realms that I had discovered? I am surprised that the Allfather missed such a portal, that he did not seal it after I fell into the void? But I will not dwell upon that too greatly it is in the past, it will not help us now... yet I wonder if Helblindi's magical power is being strengthened by the Casket of Ancient Winters, if he is using it to travel between the realms...but forgive me...go on with your tale" encouraged Loki still loving cradling the vambrace in his hands.
"It was upon our quest searching the lands beyond the city now turned to icy a wilderness for the Casket of Ancient Winters, during one terrible surprise skirmish with the Jotun that Fandral fell. There were so many, we were overwhelmed and so Thor sacrificed himself to allow the rest of us to make our escape. Thor unbuckled this vambrace, telling me that I should place into your safe keeping until a time you would return it to him...then he strode towards the enemy..."
"Oh Thor...you gallant, courageous and steadfast fool" Loki sighed with a relieved, nervous little half chuckle as he raised the vambrace to his lips and tenderly kissed it. "That even in your darkest hour you still believed in your little, disgraced Jotun brother...but how did you come to lose your hand Lady Sif?"
"We turned back...Hogun, Volstagg and I...we couldn't leave Thor to his fate. It was I that found Mjolnir abandoned upon an icy blood stained ravine edge. Helblindi tried to claim the hammer, fearful and full of rage I smashed at the icy with my sword and watched it tumble into the dark, frozen depths of the ravine. For this act of defiance Helblindi hacked off my hand...we fought and I slipped nearly joining Mjolnir over the edge. Helblindi would have ended my life if it hadn't been for Hogun and Volstagg appearing upon the cliff edge above us...the last thing I remember before the blood loss claimed my consciousness was Helblindi shifted his appearance and Hogun shouting Thor's name. When I awoke in the House of Healing I discovered a fragment of paper, hastily scrawled upon and hidden under Thor's vambrace which I still wore, the message from Hogun told me to be careful, to refrain from speaking about what had happened and that he and Volstagg were searching for Thor..." Lady Sif sobbed as the tears started to trickle down her cheeks. "Maybe if I had not been so weak, if I had been able to convince Hogun and Volstagg to stand up to Helblindi, to reveal his true identity..."
"Do not blame yourself..." said Loki as again he cupped his pale, slender hand under the tearful warrior's chin and gently eased her tear stained face upwards so that she had to look into his intense emerald eyes. A fleeting but reassuring smile danced across Loki's lips as he continued in a soothing but firm voice. "Thor is still alive, that is all that matters..."
"What...what do you intend to do?" asked Lady Sif as she took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Despite everything Thor still has an unwavering faith in me..." continued Loki as he fastened the vambrace to his arm just above the shackle and covered it with the sleeve of his tunic. "And I swear to you I will not break that faith...I shall rescue my brother and together we shall free Asgard..."
Loki watched almost amused as a tiny glimmer of hope briefly lit up Lady Sif's still tear misted blue eyes, she genuinely shared Thor's belief that he, the loathed and disgraced prince could save Asgard. And this steadfast faith in him caused Loki to feel something that he had never experienced before, the sudden and unexpected pride that even though his wasn't born into the family, he was still a son of Odin.
"There is one thing that puzzles me..." said Loki finally breaking the silence. "It is probably obvious but I would appreciate your insight upon my conundrum...why is Helblindi disguised as Thor continuing to battle the Frost Giants in the mountains? Surely he is risking his own people just for keeping up the pretence that he is the Thunder God? Unless...he is protecting a hidden portal back to Jotunheim and if that is the case then it leads me to wonder if the Casket of Ancient Winters is very close or even between the realms..." Loki mused out loud as he was trying to construct a better understanding of the situation in his head. "But that still does not explain why he just hasn't taken Asgard and revealed his true identity?"
"I think you might be right Loki..." replied Lady Sif as she drew her coat against the cold, damp of the prison cell. "About the Casket of Ancient Winters...that might explain why the 'winter' that has engulfed the land seems far more severe in the mountains. But what if Helblindi coverts more than just Asgard? I think this is bigger than just the need to avenge Laufey's death...I think he wants dominion over the Nine Realms just as his father did...and the clashes in the mountains are just another deception. I think Helblindi's people are actually searching for Mjolnir...because if Hogun and Volstagg find the true hammer it is the one thing that can without doubt prove that the man who claims to be our king as an imposter... "
"Yes" agreed Loki with a smile. "I confess that I was duped for a time but if your theory about Helblindi is correct and what Odin once told us as children is true that Mjolnir is the only thing that can destroy the Casket of Ancient Winters...would that not be a more crucial reason to search for it?"
"Which also strengthens my fear that Thor must be too weak to summon Mjolnir to his hand" said Lady Sif mournfully. "And in turn every day he is parted from Mjolnir he will grow ever weaker still..."
"And if Helblindi while under the guise of Thor can get his hands upon Gungnir or another uru forged weapon then he will could possess the ability to destroy the hammer...with Thor's life essence gradually waning I fear the destruction of Mjolnir could kill him...and if Thor dies then all hope will die with him..."
A silence fell over them again as both the disgraced prince and wounded warrior were lost, caught up in the troubling depths of their own thoughts. All Loki could picture as he momentarily closed his emerald eyes and dragged the bear fur blanket about him was Thor cold, alone and in terrible pain. A dreadful, sickening guilt gnawed at Loki's conscience as he remember that not even a year had passed since he would have delighted in the prospect of his brother suffering in such a cruel manner. But that was before he was free of The Other's influence, before the trial, before Thor had so passionately pleaded for his life. All those nights of confinement locked within his prison cell Loki had been plagued by nightmares that ripped him screaming from his slumbers. Terrible, vivid dreams that had left his trembling body slick with sweat and tears of regret misting his eyes as he was haunted by the look of disappointment and anguish in his brother's eyes as he let go of Gungnir and fell into the abyss. And now it so pained Loki to think of his older brother trapped in the icy realm of Jotunheim, humiliated and tortured by the enemy, those detestable, savage creatures which whom he was ashamed to number among.
A sudden pounding upon the cell door brought Loki and Lady Sif swiftly back from their quiet musing as Gunnarr peered through the bars of the prison door.
"I should take my leave of you now Loki...if Helblindi should awake to discover I have gone..." said Lady Sif as she rose from the mattress and tenderly placed a kiss upon Loki's pale cheek. "Be strong, Thor needs you, Asgard needs you...I'll try to steal you some more food soon...you need to replenish your strength if we are to rescue Thor..." added Lady Sif as she snatched up the cloth in which she had concealed the food and healing stones and hide it within the folds of her long, full sleeves.
Loki watched her walk across the cell towards the door, grinding his teeth as he fought between a betrayal of trust and the overwhelming need to quash his suspicions. Lady Sif's unexpected friendship, hope in the darkness just seemed too advantageous and timely to be true, so taking a deep, reluctant breath Loki called after her.
"I am sorry..."
Lady Sif stopped moments from reaching the cell door and turned to gaze down at Loki. "Sorry for what?" she asked in a puzzled whisper.
"I am sorry for that trick I played upon you all those long years ago...I am sorry I cut off your beautiful, lengthy flame red hair..."
Lady Sif looked at Loki for a few seconds with a confused frown before replying "I believe the damp in this hateful prison cell must have addled your brain Loki. I know that shameful mischief you played upon me was centuries ago but surely you have not forgotten the true colour of my hair? And while you seem to be in an apologetic, confessional mood..." probed Lady Sif in a serious voice although Loki couldn't help be notice the smile that flickered across her full, red lips. "Why did you cut off my long, golden tresses? The rumour was you were jealous Loki and you cut off my hair because Thor was forever complimenting me upon it..."
"Yes...I...I...confess it was true...I...I...was jealous" replied Loki hoping he sounded embarrassed as he endeavoured to disguise his relief at Lady Sif picking up on his deliberate mistake. Loki knew it had been common knowledge among the Asgardian court that the Lady Sif once possessed golden hair, until his act of mischief but it was hardly a detail to concern one of Jotun blood. Loki was now pretty certain that Helblindi in his hast and desire to possess the Casket of Ancient Winters and seek revenge upon his father's murderer he had neglected to seek out such familiarity and details regarding those close to Thor other than himself. Loki lets a tiny, long sigh escape his thin, pale lips as he felt his misgivings towards Lady Sif melt away.
"I forgive you Loki..." smiled Lady Sif as she reached up and brushed a stray lock of wayward black hair from her face. "I forgave you centuries ago but it is strange that you should ask forgiveness now..."
"I have so much, so many of whom I must ask to forgiveness Lady Sif" replied Loki humbly, his fingertip searching out the battle worn, honour etched metallic surface of Thor's vambrace hidden under his tunic sleeve.
"Oh Loki..." sighed Lady Sif as she turned and knocked upon the heavy, wooden door signalling to be let out of the cell. "To think you were so jealous of my long, flowing golden hair when despite all the compliments Thor paid me..." she continued with a softly, playfully mocking laugh. "He once drunkenly confessed to me he actually favours those with raven tresses..."
