Author's Note: Hello everyone! So this is officially the second to last chapter to the story! A little sad in my opinion, but thanks for those who have been reviewing, they always bring the biggest of smiles to my face :D. I would expect the last chapter to be up within the next few days - it is written for the most part, but I have a few kinks I need to work out. As always I hope everyone is enjoying this!
Lemme know what you think!
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Maggie was fairly proud of herself for the amount of time she held it together after Loki's disappearance. She headed back to the shop and found Gabe, Chase and the rest of her customers huddled in the basement, letting them up when she called a false alarm. Amazingly she fielded Chase's questions no sweat, but shooed everyone out into the streets, even telling Gabe and Chase to head home. Gabe simply shrugged and said he'd see her tomorrow, Chase on the other hand had to stay and chat. After deflecting the rest of his questions and nearly breaking her entire facade when he asked about Lance, she kicked him out the door with a simple 'tomorrow.' She locked everything and finally allowed her mask to slip. She sobbed, her face burying into her hands, her shoulders shaking, tumbling behind the counter and slipping down along the wall, curling in on herself on the floor.
Ever since Odin came to her with the - what did he call it? A proposition? She had called it a curse, taking care of the former brat prince, giving him a job and a place to live under her roof all because she had been expelled from Asgard for a series of thieveries (and escapes from the heavily guarded Asgardian prison). Odin claimed he didn't know what to do with her and since he refused to stop holding such grand parties for all of the wealthy (which is where she would steal mountains of jewels) and could not hold her in a cell longer than a few hours, banishment was the next step. She was thrown from the clouds and onto Midgard where she found stealing from the wealthy was not as easy a feat as she had grown used to. So she found work, a building to live in and when the old couple decided that owning a business was too much for them, they turned to their young protégé and handed down the entire building to her.
It was a dream after that, changing the name of the coffee shop to "Maggie's Place" and drawing in customers her own way, allowing the crowd of business people through unlike the former owners, knowing once in a while they would decide to stay for whatever their reasons. She was happy, happier than she had ever been on Asgard, she found friends that were true to her, a boyfriend that wasn't so much so, but she lived and learned as she never had before. When Loki came at first she dealt with him, wanting nothing more than to let him live his life without butting into hers. It didn't work that way however, she grew used to him and eventually intrigued with the banished prince, his happiness filling her with such pleasure it shocked her. The subtle looks in his face when he was pleased, annoyed, bored, everything. She wanted to know everything. Pride seeped through her bones when he first smiled, believing that maybe, just maybe he could be happy there on Earth, with her.
How selfish. How foolish.
Did she really believe he would never find out of her silent treachery? His father came to her to care for him, she lied to him about being mortal, of course he would feel betrayed just as he did on Asgard. She knew he might try to continue with his plan of revenge, it was entirely possible, but the past several days and the time they spent together was some of the happiest she'd ever seen him. Why did everything have to change? Why did it have to stop so quickly?
Maggie sat on the floor of her shop for hours, her tears eventually ceasing but her mind continuing to reel. She could only guess the havoc Loki was incurring upon the palace, never really telling her exactly what he had planned to do after he arrived home. Glancing at the clock, Maggie willed herself to finally leave the floor, knowing above all else she had to get the shop ready for tomorrow morning, she had sulked enough. Patting her cheeks and rubbing her hands on her jeans, she headed into the kitchen, grabbing her apron from the counter where she had flung it earlier and unraveling it. Slipping the strap over her head and tying it at her waist, she set to work, allowing the mindlessness that came with her baking. Silent tears slipped over her face as she glanced at the closed doors behind her, half expecting Loki to waltz through after his trip to the library just as he always did.
"I can't stand this," She whispered harshly, leaving her station and moving to Gabe's radio above the stove, fiddling with the damned thing to try and turn it on.
"Lady Sigyn!"
Her heart stopped at the sound, whirling to find none other than the queen of Asgard in her kitchen, her eyes wide and panicked.
"Queen Frigga!" Maggie bowed, but the Queen ran up and took her shoulders in her hands.
"Lady Sigyn, you have been the one who has taken care of my son while he stayed here, correct?"
"Yes m'lady," Maggie nodded.
"You must go to him," Frigga said in a hurried tone, her hands shaking, but it was Maggie who shook her head, turning from the Queen.
"I can't do that," She said softly.
"Of course you can!" The Queen cried. "The All-father said you and he were more friendly than any others have been with my son."
"Until yesterday," Maggie said, continuing when the Queen sent her a confused stare. "He found out about my betrayal, he doesn't want to see me anymore."
"Dear Lady," Frigga took Maggie's face in her hands. "Do you love my son?"
Maggie stared into the Queen's soft eyes, a shiver lancing up her spine as she nodded.
"Then show him your love," She said softly. "He has been let down by those he loves all of his years. Please, help him, show him what the love of a woman truly means once you have earned it. Please... save my dear son."
Maggie held her hand to the Queen's, willing her tears not to fall, feeling strength slip back into her bones as her back straightened, her shoulders rolling back.
"Where is he?"
Loki growled, twisting his head and arms from his binding, gaining no inch from the metal. He had been stripped, yet again of his armor and cast out, bound to rocks with a vicious snake above him. He held his eyes shut for every time the snake hissed, a drop of venom fell from its fangs and seared into his skin. He gritted his teeth when he heard the sound again, the now familiar burning pain spreading over his forehead. He growled, pulling at his restraints once more to no avail.
When he left Earth he disguised himself in the form of another, waltzing into the palace with little trouble. It was there that he found the gods and goddesses, so full of themselves and their adored, considered indestructible Balder. They threw things at him, chuckling amongst themselves, priding in their immortality. Anger flew through Loki like an electric current and he eyed Balder's beloved, blind brother Hod. He grinned wickedly, knowing of Balder's only weakness and went to Hod, handing him an arrow of mistletoe, watching as Balder was killed by his brother. A perfect ending in Loki's opinion, but the other gods frowned after finding him, laughing with tears falling down his face, bidding the all-father to bind him as he should have long before.
The look his father sent him when he casted him out for the second time, his mother silently weeping next to him. If only Maggie could see him now...!
He winced at her name... he couldn't help it, his thoughts always traveled back to that woman. His heart, for the first time, ached when he thought of her. Her smiling face danced through his mind's eye, making him want to do nothing more than curl into a ball. His time spent on Midgard was taken up with her, just her. Their night together sent a shiver down his spine, the taste of her, the feel of her against his skin... he could think of nothing else.
The pain radiating from his head zapped him back to the present, snubbing the low heat that burned within him. It reminded him of her treachery, her lies and deceit. It was all that consumed him, what made him change, handed Hod the arrow and guided that arrow into the chest of Balder.
Above him the snake hissed again and he prepared himself for another drop of venom. He waited, but it never came. After a moment, he cracked open an eye, amazed to find a basin being held above him. He followed the trail of arms holding the brown object, his eyes landing on the crying face of Maggie, her eyes closed with silent tears sliding down her red cheeks. He stared at her, disbelief ringing through him. Why was she here? How did she know?
Slowly her eyes opened and she looked down at the bound god, her hands shaking with the basin as she did so. Blue met green, Maggie looking more shameful than Loki thought possible.
"Why are you here?" He muttered.
She winced from his words, her eyes closing again. She sat there silently for a minute, sniffling and using one of her hands to wipe her cheeks.
"To help you," She said finally, her voice cracking.
"Why must I receive help from you?" He muttered.
Her eyes hardened as she gazed down at him. "Because I'm all you have."
