Author's note: Hello everyone! It is so very generous of you to appreciate my little Loki-story when there are so many amazing "Thor"-and "Avengers"- fanfictions out there. I hope I can keep it interesting for you.

So long, have fun with Hayley and Loki and take care!

Chapter 9: Pitch black

When Hayley came to, her head was pounding. She opened her eyes but couldn't see anything. Everything was black around her. For all she knew, she could have gotten blind or be dead. She sat up and touched the surface of what she was sitting on. It was made of wood; that she could tell. She felt a little further around her and made contact with skin. Hayley startled but then she realized that it was a hand. And then something groaned.

Her hands still bound she reached for the person next to her. In this pitch black world all Hayley could do was try to understand her surroundings by touch. As soon as she traced the leather of the sleeve up to the shoulder of the man that was lying next to her, she knew; it was Loki. "Loki?" she whispered uncertainly. He grumbled again and Hayley heard him shift his position.

When Loki was sitting upright against the cold and damp stone wall he took Hayley's bound hands and led them to his face. Hayley didn't understand why and was about to ask so when she felt it. Her fingers touched his cold skin at his forehead, then his nose and cheeks and then… Hayley's fingers felt cold metal on Loki's skin and it took her a moment to comprehend that he had some kind of muzzle on and couldn't speak.

Therefore, she was even more surprised to hear his voice in her head. He softly spoke to her, "Are you alright, Hayley?" "Yes, I think so. Where are we?" Hayley said out loud. Loki continued whilst still holding her hands, "We are in the dungeons of Nornkeep. This… thing Karnilla put on me prevents me from doing any magic. I guess", he examined the shackles around Hayley's wrists with his fingers "she did the same to you. These handcuffs you're wearing are different from the rope she tied us up with before. They are made from a very rare element that blocks any spell of yours since you mainly use your hands for that. Me, I am called "silver tongue" for a reason. Only Karnilla has the key for this contraption I am wearing. Could you at least try with the rope around my wrists, please?"

Hayley realized that Loki's hands were still bound with the same rope from the throne room. She started to untie the knot, "What happened after… you know… the spell?" Since she didn't hear Loki's answer right away she stopped with her task at hand and repeated "Loki?" He grabbed her hands and then she heard him again. "I need to touch you to put my voice into your head. This way my residual magic can flow through you and I can use the little you have left, too, to communicate." "Alright," Hayley answered. "then let me get rid of that rope first and then you can explain this horrid darkness to me." She fumbled with the ends of the cord and eventually managed to unravel the few knots that held it together. Loki freed himself and tossed it into a corner. Hayley could hear him rub his sore wrists and longed to do so herself, since her shackles were too tight around her flesh.

Finally, Loki found her hands again. This time, he entwined their fingers. If she now thought about how good that felt, would he be able to hear that in her head? If he did so indeed, he didn't say so because he continued without mentioning it. "We need to get out of here. After you passed out in the throne room, Karnilla had us thrown into her quite literally Dark Dungeons." Luckily, Loki couldn't see Hayley blushing at his mentioning her fainting; but that spell had hurt like hell! "If we only had a little light." was Hayley's reply. She decided to at least try, unwillingly freed her fingers from Loki's and thought about a small spell of how to produce the flame of a candle in the palm of your hand. Only, as soon as she tried to execute it, her handcuffs became flaming hot and glowing red.

Hit by a searing pain almost as bad as Karnilla's purple cloud in the throne room, Hayley fell from the makeshift bench onto her knees on the icy stone floor. Willing her consciousness not to leave her, she heard Loki swear underneath his muzzle, and felt him slide down next to her on the floor. Loki held Hayley until the pain almost subsided. His hands brushed her neck and she heard him again in her head speaking gently, "I told you those shackles block magic." Since her mouth was still occupied with both grinding her teeth and uttering stifled whimpers, she answered him in her mind. "You could have mentioned the excruciating pain if disregarded."

He caressed her hairline and the nape of her neck. "Is it better now?" If it hadn't already, what he did with his fingers sure would have helped her get distracted from it. "Yes, it is. What are we going to do without magic?" Hayley leant her head against his shoulder and relaxed into his touch. Loki had started to form little circles with his thumbs on her skin. He massaged the parts of her neck and shoulders that weren't covered by her blouse. Short of sitting on Loki's lap, Hayley's back sank onto his chest and she had to stop herself from uttering a moan of pleasure.

Feeling Loki caress her skin here in this pitch black world of all places almost seemed surreal to Hayley. The thought crossed her mind that she had the ultimate excuse to touch him. It reminded her of one of her dreams. She cleared her throat, turned around and took one of Loki's hands in hers. "How do we get out of here? We cannot wait for Thor to rescue us." Even in her mind she could hear Loki's annoyance. "No, we will not wait for my brother! Let's check this cell for any loop holes."

And with that he got up and bereft Hayley of his soothing touch. She heard him feel the walls or scratch and knock on some cracks and crevices. So, she decided to do the same. Three walls of the very small cell seemed to be made of concrete stone. When Loki and Hayley had about grasped the extent of them, they met again at the fourth wall and found that it contained a barred door. Both of them felt the thick poles for any chance to damage or break them, but all they could find was that the door was thoroughly sealed by a heavy lock.

Hayley sighed and reached for Loki's hand. "What now?" she said disheartened. Reassuringly he squeezed her palm. "As far as I can tell, that is no normal lock. Only magic can open it." "Great." Hayley mumbled in her head. "Well, there is one thing we haven't tried before and I guess if at all we only have one try. I could channel all the magic I can muster into you and you'd do the same and this might just be enough to open the lock. You know that opening locks is one of the easiest spells to do." "But you saw what happened when I try a spell with these things on." Hayley shook her forearms to stress her point even though Loki couldn't see it. But he could very well feel it underneath his fingers, and he felt her anxiety, too.

"Yes, that's the catch. You are going to feel pain – a lot of pain. The shackles will prevent you from using the full extent of your powers but you'll have to hold out until the lock opens. I promise, I wouldn't ask this of you if there was any other way. But you can at least wriggle your fingers a little and I can't even utter a single sound. I'm sorry." Hayley's heart started to beat very fast and her breathing quickened. Apart from the emotional agony of losing her parents and later her best friend, she had experienced greater pain today than she had in her whole protected life. Nevertheless, she'd do it! She wasn't a child anymore and she could do it. Loki would be there to help her.

"I'll catch you if you faint again." Hayley wasn't quite sure how this was possible but she did hear in her head the grin with which Loki had said his last words. Hayley took a deep breath. "Let's do this!" Through the bars, she clasped the lock as far as her handcuffs would allow her. Loki positioned himself behind her and let his hands run slowly but surely over her shoulders to her arms and onto her hands. "Ready?" Hayley gave a quiet sound of approval and focused. She felt Loki's palms become a hint warmer and heard his "Now!" in her head. Hayley focused her entire energy on one of the first spells Loki had ever taught her. First, the pain was bearable; Loki's magic seemed to take some of it away. But then it rose to a stage where she couldn't take it anymore. However, Loki's magical and physical presence made it impossible for her to stop. Piercing agony originated from her hands to her arms and upper body and eventually engulfed her whole being. Tears ran down her cheeks and she could barely stifle a scream. On the brink of losing her consciousness for a second time that day, Hayley heard a cathartic click of the lock and collapsed into Loki's arms.

Both heavily panting, Loki held her upright pressed against his chest. Hayley lifted a shaky hand to her nose to wipe away the trickling blood.

Once they were out of the cell, their surroundings turned from pitch black to grey shadows and finally almost normal colors when they reached the end of a long staircase. All of it was happening in a blur to Hayley. Loki had put his arm around her and half carried, half dragged her up the steps. In the back of her mind Hayley wondered about the lack of guards and resistance. But when they came close to the throne room, it dawned on them why.

Inside, a battle was raging; Karnilla and parts of her demon guards against Thor, the warriors three and Sif. Without a sorcerer Karnilla's attacks were difficult to handle. Loki and Hayley stumbled through the large double winged doors. Since Loki couldn't signal his brother about their presence, Hayley screamed with her last ounce of strength. "Thor! We need the key!" Thor turned around and Hayley gestured at Loki's muzzle. Thor frowned but when he turned to face Karnilla once more, he found her wearing the key as a pendant around her neck. Before she could bellow her next spell, he pounced at her, ripped off the necklace and threw it to Loki. Hayley sank to the floor, her nose still dripping blood.

Dazed she watched as little drops fell on her hand. Then from the corner of her eye she saw as Loki's muzzle landed rattling on the ground a few feet away from her. Her blurry vision permitted her from noticing what was going on around her in detail. The next thing she realized was Sif's warning shout, "Hayley, watch out!" But she could already feel the small and pointy claws of Karnilla's pet dragon tearing into her back. She screamed and tried to swipe the beast away with her arms. Unfortunately, she was still wearing those cursed shackles, so she did the only thing she could think of. Hayley mustered the last bit of her strength, got up and drove her back against a wall. A nasty cracking sound followed and a rather curious sensation on Hayley's right side.

The girl felt the limp body of the creature fall to the ground behind her and at the same time parts of her body started to grow numb. She twisted and found bite marks on her right side just above her hip. "It bit me," she whispered. The very next moment, Loki was at her side and finally released her from her shackles. All of a sudden, she wasn't able to move at all.

Flashes of what happened next crossed her vision; Loki picking her up, both of them suddenly being back in Asgard, the golden ceiling of the king's chambers, her bed, Loki's hand on her forehead and concern written all over his face. Then Hayley blacked out.

Flash forward:

Hayley didn't open her eyes. However, she didn't know why she had been sleeping after all. Quietly, she overheard the conversation of two voices that seemed slightly familiar.

"Father, please, is there nothing you can do? I cannot lose her. She's… important."

"All we can do is wait, Loki. We have the antidote. Let's hope she wasn't weakened too much by your escape. Sit with her. It'll help both of you."

A few moments later, Hayley felt a warm hand in hers and then a kiss on her forehead.

"Please, don't leave me," a voice whispered. "I need you."

Flash back.

A/N: Review question of the chapter: How shall we punish Karnilla? Let's think of something together! :)