Disclaimer: I don't own Thor or its characters. Just my OCs.
A/N: Greetings, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks so much for the support! So... With my bosses suddenly deciding to break my team up (which we're all deeply sad about), I have lost my long weekends, so I have no idea how much time I'll have for writing. Fingers crossed, I can get my novel finished and sell it... Really, it may take a miracle for that as no-one seems to want to read the first draft. Anyway...
AngetCoCo: Here you go! New chapter! Thanks for the review.
Equal-Opportunity-Reader: Well, Thor should know better than to interfere when Freya's on fire ;). Thanks for the review hun!
OmuiYuni: Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Simone98: That shove might be just around the corner... Thanks for reviewing!
Happy reading!
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Dangerous Minds
Chapter Nine
The night of Loki and Astrid's separation was one that would change the lives of Freya and Loki forever.
The events of that night began when Freya was sitting in the library alone. She'd given Loki some space and had gone to find some peace and quiet after explaining the situation to Thor. She was staring out of the window, watching the sun set peacefully over Asgard as she thought about Loki. More often than not, she thought about Loki.
The sound of the door opening caused her to break away from her thoughts, however, and she looked around to see none other than Astrid marching towards her with a look of pure rage on her face. And in her hand she held a long bladed dagger, causing Freya to leap to her feet as she conjured her own sword. How Astrid had managed to get back into the palace undetected, Freya did not know, but now she was cornered and alone with a vicious looking woman.
"You! You ruined everything!" Astrid spat, swinging the blade at Freya with a venomous growl, "I was going to be a Princess! I could have been a Queen!"
Freya didn't have to time to reply as Astrid swung at her again, screaming at her, calling her all the names under the sun. Disappearing in a wisp of smoke, Freya appeared again a few inches away, blocking one of Astrid's blows with her own sword.
"You wronged Loki! This was your own doing!" She yelled, "You never wanted him! You only wanted to satisfy your hunger for wealth and power! You are a fool, Astrid!"
In his chambers, Loki paced back and forth as an utterly anxious feeling settled in his stomach. He had no idea where it had come from and what the reason was behind it but he knew that something was wrong. A knock at the door startled him from his worrying, and he opened it to find one of the guards standing there with a rather concerned expression on his face.
"Your highness." The guard bowed slowly, "Astrid of Vanaheim has been seen entering the palace. We have soldiers searching for her but we cannot find her."
Loki didn't even speak. He just hurried out of his chambers and with the guard in tow, he set off in search of Freya. If Astrid had come back, it wouldn't be to see him. The last he knew, Freya had been in the library reading, but as he and the guards searched from room to room, he kept his eyes and ears peeled for any sign of either her or Astrid.
All of a sudden, as they approached the library, the hairs on the back of Loki's neck and on his arms began to stand up...
As the other woman swung for her again, Freya disappeared and reappeared behind her, kicking her to the ground. They'd been fighting for a long time and both were growing increasingly tired. As she saw that Astrid was too tired to move, she moved to apprehend the older woman, grabbing a fistful of silver hair to hoist her to her feet. But in a fluid motion, Astrid disappeared out of Freya's grasp, and before the younger woman could react, a searing, burning pain shot through her abdomen and back. The sound that emerged from her lips sounded so alien to her own ears, as though it was coming from far away rather than her own throat.
With a rather insane smirk, Astrid retracted the blade that she had just forced through Freya's body and quickly fled, leaving Freya to collapse to the ground in a pool of her own blood. She suddenly felt very dizzy, almost as if she was floating above her own body. She'd been stabbed. Run through, actually. The blood began to make her clothes stick to her, and as she tasted iron on her tongue, she knew that her mouth was filling with the same substance. Her life was draining away and she was going to die, alone on the floor of the library.
But the sound of thudding caught her attention, and she was suddenly aware of voices calling out for Astrid. But a familiar voice brought her an overwhelming sense of peace. Despite how anguished it sounded, she felt safe knowing that its owner was with her. She felt like she was home.
Loki, upon seeing his friend curled up on the library floor, her precious blood staining the beautiful white marble beneath her, screamed her name in utter despair. He felt a rush of heat hit him as he suddenly felt very faint at the hideous scene before him.
"Freya!" His voice became raw as emotion flooded him before he had the time to realise it, "No... Oh, no..."
He knelt down beside her, watching as a thick trail of blood ran from her near white lips, down her jaw to her neck. He quickly rolled her over to examine her injuries, and when he saw that she'd been run through, his heart seemed to stop for a moment. She needed a healer, and she needed one quickly. He wasn't prepared to let her go. Not yet.
"Astrid wanted you in order to become a Princess... And then a Queen." Her words were weak, but Loki could hear them clearly, which drew his attention to her face again, "She did this to me..."
"And she will be punished severely for it, I promise you..." The Prince breathed, lifting her into his arms to cradle her as she began to close her eyes, "Freya?!"
He slapped her cheek lightly, feeling relief wash over him when she let out a groan as he stood with her in his arms, walking as fast as he could out of the library as the guards continued to hunt for Astrid. He hoped his legs would stay strong enough to keep him going. He felt like he was going to collapse.
"Open your eyes! Stay with me..." He pleaded with her, feeling the lump rising in his throat, "I cannot lose you too. You need to stay awake..."
The feeling of her blood sticking to him made his stomach churn as he hurried towards the healing room with her. He screamed for a healer, for anyone to help him with her. He was not going to lose her; not today. He could feel her body shaking as he gripped her tighter, and he felt his knees growing weaker at the thought of her dying in his arms.
"Freya?" He spoke softly to her as a healer hurriedly led him to a bed that he could put the injured woman on, "You are not going to die today. Do you hear me?"
Freya felt so tired. The pain was now minimal and the fear she had felt when Astrid had struck her was slowly ebbing away. She could tell that she, in fact, was dying. So, in her final moments, she knew she needed to share her secret with Loki. She needed him to know how she felt before she left him. She could not rest in peace otherwise. As he carefully placed her on the bed, he could hear her trying to speak to him, and he desperately wanted to tell her to shut up and save her energy, but he couldn't bear to. He knew that this could be the last time he would hear her voice, and to spend an eternity without getting that last chance to hear that sweet sound would be torture.
"I must confess something to you..." She gasped the words out, reaching for Loki's hand as he crouched beside her, with a slack jaw and tearful eyes, trying to ignore how harshly the healers rolled her onto her side to face him, causing her to whimper, "Please..."
"Anything you wish, my darling." He whispered, swallowing thickly as he held onto her hand tightly.
"In this world, there is only one man who I would wish to look upon in my final moments..." She spoke so quietly Loki almost couldn't hear her, "And I am fortunate enough to have him before me now."
Loki's eyes filled with more thick, hot tears as his chest began to heave. Every breath seemed to hurt as the realisation of what she was doing began to dawn on him. She believed that she was dying, and she was trying to make her peace with him, which cut him more deeply than anything he had ever felt. Freya let out a small sob as she squeezed his hand, knowing that there was no way she could stop now. She had to tell him the truth.
"I am in love with you, Loki Odinson." Her eyes began to flutter as she spoke, and Loki's heart leapt into his throat, "Y-you mean everything to me. You are my whole world. I-I could not leave you without letting you know that you are treasured. And you are loved. You are truly, deeply loved..."
"Oh, Freya..." The whisper came out more as a sob than just words as Loki was almost blown away by the power of her statement.
And in that moment, a wave of truth came crashing over him, almost knocking him to the floor. He realised that the jealousy, the need to touch her, and those jolts in his chest that he'd been experiencing were ones of love. Love for her. The woman who was now laying on a healer's bed, dying right before his eyes was so precious to him, and now he understood why. He was in love with her, and hopelessly so. And he was about to lose her. Her eyes began to close, and she let out a long sigh as a peaceful smile appeared on her pale lips. She was letting go. Loki felt like vomiting when he realised that she was giving in to death.
"Freya...?" He breathed, standing up so fast he almost fell as he moved to cup her face, "Freya?! Don't you dare leave me like this! Don't you let go! Do you hear me?"
As a tear slid down his cheek, he fell to his knees, never taking his eyes from her face. She couldn't die. She couldn't tell him something like that and then just leave him! He couldn't say goodbye to her without telling her of his love for her. He couldn't bear to say goodbye at all, but especially not after this. He needed to hear her voice and see her eyes, just one more time.
"Where is she?"
Loki closed his eyes at the sound of his mother's voice, hearing the thudding of his brother's heavy steps following behind her. Frigga rushed around to Freya's bedside, casting a glance at her youngest son who was silently weeping next to Freya's bed. She had never seen him in such a state. She could feel Freya's life force leaving her and as she rolled up her sleeves, the Queen looked to her eldest son who looked lost as he gazed from his brother to the injured woman.
"Thor? Take your brother..." She ordered, causing Loki's eyes to snap open.
"No." His voice was harsh and raw, "I will not leave her!"
"I will not permit you to see this." She told him sternly, "You need to leave, my son. That is an order."
The next thing that Loki felt was Thor's hands on his shoulders, and then heard his older brother speaking to him in a tone so soft, it made the God of Thunder almost unrecognisable. Thor had to get Loki outside and away from Freya so that their mother could work to save her. He knew his mother would use whatever magic and whatever healing skills she could to save the young woman's life.
"Come, brother. Come on." He whispered, grabbing the younger Prince tighter when he fought to get back to Freya's bedside, "Leave our mother to her work."
It was clear that Loki wasn't willing to leave, so Thor heaved his brother out of the healing room and pinned him to the wall opposite the doors, knowing that Loki didn't have the energy to escape his grasp with trickery.
"She is in safe hands, Loki." Thor said quietly, bringing a hand up to cup the side of Loki's head, a look of sympathy mixed with grief washing over the blonde's features, "Mother will do everything in her power to save Freya."
"I cannot lose her, Thor." Loki shook as his body was overcome with emotion, feeling how weak his legs were becoming, "I need to tell her the truth..."
"The truth about what, brother?" Thor asked slowly.
He was frankly unnerved by the state that Loki was in. Loki never shared any kind of emotions with anybody but Freya, and occasionally their mother. Loki normally put up a front when it came to being with Thor, or their friends, or their father, but now his walls were down and he was openly grieving. Maybe he was just too tired to try and hide what he was feeling.
"I need to tell her the truth about how I feel about her..." Loki gasped, feeling his chest tighten as it became harder and harder to breathe, "I love her, Thor."
Thor heard the words and his eyes slid closed at his brother's words. Loki had finally realised the love he had for Freya after all this time. Centuries of the pair dancing around one another had led to this. If Freya didn't survive, then Loki would be grieving for an eternity because it had taken him far too long to come to terms with a love that had lasted for hundreds of years. Feeling Loki struggling to hold himself up, Thor moved onto his knees, supporting his brother as he moved to sit on the ground. The older brother sighed, shaking his head as Loki wiped at his eyes furiously.
"Her being on her deathbed is what has caused me to realise it." The younger man breathed, "I cannot believe how blind I have been. And she feels the same as I do, and she's dying..."
"Mother will work tirelessly to save her. You know this." Thor said, "I hear that Astrid is responsible."
"So Freya claims." Loki answered, his expression rather vacant.
"Astrid was found screaming about what she had done to Freya." Thor told him, "She has admitted it. She seems rather proud of it."
"I care not." Loki spat the words venomously, "Astrid is nothing to me."
"She is in a cell in the dungeons." Thor said quietly, "Freya's parents have been informed. And Astrid will be punished for what she has done."
"She will." Loki snarled, his eyes red with the tears, "I will ensure it."
They sat in silence for what felt like hours, waiting to hear any kind of news. When Frigga finally emerged from the healing room, Loki's eyes shot to her, and he hurried to his feet so quickly that he hit his back against the wall on the way up. Frigga stepped towards her son, cupping his face in her hands as he made a move to embrace her.
"She has been saved." Frigga said softly, gasping as Loki pulled her into a tight hug, "She is not yet out of danger, but she is stable. For now. She is in a deep sleep and may not wake for some time."
"Thank you, mother." Loki whispered, "Thank you so much."
As he pulled away, Frigga cupped his face again, stroking his cheek lovingly. The look in his eyes said everything she needed to know. Her son had finally realised where his heart lay. It was a shame that it had taken Freya being so gravely hurt for him to realise it, but he had realised it, and she had no doubt that he would act upon it sooner rather than later.
"Go to her." She said softly, "Thor and I will wait for her parents."
Loki wasted no time in moving back to the healing room, hurrying to Freya's bedside. A young healer's apprentice hurried to him with a seat, placing it next to the lady's bed. She curtsied to the Prince, who thanked her with a nod and sat down next to Freya.
"What is your name?" He asked her, causing her to stop in her tracks.
"Elina, my Prince." She replied, turning slightly to look at him.
"Would you be so kind as to bring me some books from the library?" He asked quietly, "I should like to read to Lady Freya."
"Of course, your highness." Elina whispered, bowing her blonde head as she curtsied once more before hurrying out of the healing rooms in the direction of the library.
Loki turned his gaze back to Freya who had more colour in her cheeks and seemed very peaceful. Her breathing was steady and even, reminding him that she was still alive. His watery eyes felt sore and heavy as his gaze moved down her body. He thought her so beautiful in her peaceful state, and that wasn't a sudden opinion because he had realised how he felt for her. He had always thought her to be beautiful. Always.
"Oh, Freya..." He sighed, reaching out to hold her hand, "What have you done to me?"
-TBC-
Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading so far!
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