Chapter 9 – Not too late...

When Loki found Eris' cell, he took pity on her immediately. She was still unconscious, but the wounds from the whip already looked infected and very painful. "Oh Eris, I'm so sorry." He thought to himself. He lent against the force field that kept him out of the cell and her inside and he watched her as she stirred against the stone cold floor.

"Loki…" She whispered his name as she slowly woke up.

Her voice sent a shudder through him as he answered. "It's ok Eris, I'm here just be careful." He told her, keeping his voice low and quiet.

She tried to move so that she could see her lover's face, but she lay back down on the ground with a wince. "What happened?"

"My father whipped you, because he found out about us." He explained quietly.

"Oh…Where am I? Has the man finally killed me?"

"No." He smirked; he always loved how like Eris it was, to flaunt her own immortality. "And anyway you belong in what midguardians know as heaven, I belong in the depths of hell. But no he has locked you in the cells."

"So that we can be kept away from each other?" She asked sadly.

"Yes, but that isn't going to happen. I will always go against him and be with you Eris."

They stayed down in the cells together, talking happily, though all they really wanted to do was hold each other close, and promise that everything would be fine.

"I have to go Eris, it's getting late." Loki told her, as he stood from where he has been sat, on the steps that surrounded her cell. If is heart could have broken any further, than the pieces that it was already in from seeing his lover in a cell, it would have when he saw the look of sadness and loss that he was given when she saw him get ready to leave.

"As you wish it, my Prince." She told him, finding it easier to move this time, and she pulled her knees to her chest.

"You haven't called me by my proper name for years now." He mused, looking at her.

"I know, but I need to show some decorum and respect now, especially after today."

"Try not to think of that now, and get some sleep." He told her, making a bed appear for her.

Eris looked at the bed, then back to him. "Okay Loki." She stood and pressed her hand to the barrier between them. "Good night, my sweet Prince." She whispered, smiling weakly as she said it.

"Good night, my sweet and perfect goddess." He replied, pressing his hand over where she was on the barrier, before disappearing.

When he left, Eris sighed and walked to the bed and she smiled at how much it resembled Loki's bed, from the silk green black and pillows, to the wrought iron bed frame. "This certainly hasn't been one of my best days." She thought to herself, as she touched what she could of her back and healed her injuries, before pulling back the blanket and sliding into the bed so that she could settle down to at least try and get some sleep.

When Loki got to his room, he slid off his clothes until he was only in his leather pants and he moved to lie on his bed, his eyes on his fireplace which roared to life so that it was the cause of both light and heat in his normally cold and darkroom. He soon fell into a weird and restless sleep, only to be awoken a few hours later to a loud knock on his door. He groaned as he sat up, running a hand through his hair and when the knock became more persistent, he slid his undershirt on and got out of bed, opening the door, seeing two guards stood there.

"What?" He asked sleepily and now slightly annoyed.

"The Queen has requested your presence, your highness." One of the guards told him, as they both bowed to show their respect to the prince in front of the prince who was most likely debating setting tricks on them for the rest of their life, just because they were asked to wake him up.

"Fine, where is she?" He asked, knowing that he couldn't resist going to his mother if she was the one to summon him.

"She is in hers and the king's chambers."

"Fine, now leave my presence." He shut the door on them and walked to get fully dressed.

When he had put on his usual green and black robes, he walked to his 'parent's' quarters. As he knocked on the door, he was expecting to be blamed for his father's state, and this worried him, as he heard his mother give his permission for him to enter, he took a deep breath and walked inside.

"Loki." Frigga ran to him and hugged him tightly and Loki noticed that she had been the only one in the room with Odin.

"Where is Thor?" Loki asked as he hugged her back. "Surely the golden son would want to see his father in his time of need."

"Don't speak of your brother like that, and he will be here when I call for him." Frigga told him. "Now tell me what happened."

Loki pulled away, and he moved back slightly as he told her of his and Odin's argument in the hallway. "Why did he lie to me?"

Frigga brought him to her husband's side. "He didn't want you to feel that you were different." She told him simply. "He loves you Loki."

"How can he love the monster that he killed so many of all them years ago?"

"It doesn't matter to him; you've been his son for longer than you have a frost giant."

Loki went silent as he began to ponder this, and Frigga was also silent, keeping Loki in the grasp of one hand, as the other took his husband's hand as he lay motionless. Eventually, she asked him a question which he had dreaded.

"What are your intentions with young Eris?" Frigga asked him, to both resolve the curiosity that she was feeling, and to fill the eerie silence. She noticed Loki go emotionless and he started to hide in on himself, not liking that she had asked something personal about him. "Loki darling, you can tell me."

He sighed. "What do you mean?" He stayed wary as he kept his eyes on the floor.

"You know what I mean."

"My intentions mother is to someday marry her, if she will have me and give her children, if that is something that she wants." Loki told her.

Frigga looked at her son, and she could see how genuine Loki was in his love for Eris as well as how open he was with it in front of her, she couldn't bear to have Loki hurt. Especially not when this was the most emotional that she had seen him be for a long time.

"Go and get her."

"What?" He asked, looking at her in surprise.

"Go and get Eris, and bring her to me."

"You want to see her now?"

"Yes now Loki." She pushed him towards the door. "I hope her intentions are on the same level as his."

As he walked, Loki felt even more nervous than he cared to admit, because of what his mother had asked him to do. He ignored the guards who were stood at the doors leading down into the cells. They never questioned or stopped him – after all no one ever questioned the princes or stopped them from doing something for that matter – especially not the god of mischief. When he found Eris' cell, once again, he smiled at how at peace she looked. Eris was lying on her back on the bed, her head against the pillow, the blanket covered to just below her breasts, and an arm was draped over her waist, as the other hand rested on the pillow beside her head. Loki called a guard over to open the cell, and once it was open and the guard left, he walked to the bed and he sat on the edge, moving the side of his hand which was closest to her, down one side of her face. "She is so beautiful." He thought to himself as she mumbled his name, obviously dreaming about him this time.

"Eris, come on wake up." He whispered as he gently shook her.

Eris shifted in the bed, not really wanting to be woken up, but her eyes flickered open ad they fell upon Loki's bright green eyes. "Loki? What time is it?"

"It's early my sweet, but you must get up and come with me." He told her.

"Why?" She asked, trying to bury herself in the blankets, but Loki pulled them off of her.

"Not so fast." He told her. "My mother would like to see you." He noticed how tense Eris had gone as she most to stand.

"Why?"

"I don't know." H helped her to fix her hair and clothes, as well as fasten the belt with her swords – that he had made appear on her bed – around her waist.

"Come on." He took her hand and they walked back towards the King and Queen's chambers, this caused what nervousness that Eris was already feeling to magnify and make her feel even worse.

"Don't be nervous, I think she already likes you." Loki told her, as his way to try and comfort her, vaguely realising that the nervous and almost childlike fear in Eris was something that he had never seen.

When they got to his parent's chambers, Frigga was standing there at the door waiting for them. "Loki, our brother is with your father, go and join him, I wish to talk to young Eris alone."

Loki frowned, but he kissed Eris' hand and left them, walking into his parent's room, grimacing slightly when he saw Thor. At seeing the kiss, Fregga showed a small smile, before she looked at Eris who stood statue still like a proper soldier.

"Eris dear, can you please walk with me?" She started to walk away from the doors, and Eris was compelled to follow her, the Queen didn't slow down once she got to a certain speed, she knew Eris could catch up anyway. They walked in silence for a while, until they got to the rose garden – Eris' favourite place at the palace – yet this did nothing to ease her nervousness, in fact due to Loki's absence, she felt vulnerable. And vulnerability was something that she had never really experienced in her life, not even at the hands of her father.

Frigga moved to sit on a stone bench, and she looked up at Eris who remained standing. "Don't look so frightened dear." She smiled warmly. "I only wish to talk about your relationship with the Trickster God."

Frigga was known throughout the kingdom for her calm and caring nature, but even this did nothing to help Eris relax, as the little goddess perched on the edge of the bench after a gesture from Fregga to do so.

"Eris sweetheart, what are your intentions with my son?"Frigga suddenly asked, knowing that Eris would most likely appreciate how straight forward the Queen was with her.

She stopped. "My intentions, your highness?" She asked, suddenly feeling very guarded towards the queen, since not even Loki had discussed what they wanted to happen in their relationship together.

"I know that you know what I mean Eris; Tartian's have played this sort of game for as long as time has gone on."

"Forgive me my Queen, but I don't see what my blood line of Tartian has to do with this." Eris told her.

"Eris, it's not your blood lines that I was referring…" The Queen sighed. "But you know what I meant, and I would like you to answer my question."

Eris looked at her then at the floor, keeping her eyes there. "My Queen…My Intentions for me and Loki…Are…Um-"

"Maybe I should try a different approach." The Queen thought at seeing how nervous Eris was, and then she remembered Loki's intentions and decided to interrupt her. "Eris, would you ever want to marry my son?"

Fregga frowned when Eris stopped, and then she realised; Eris was actually more nervous about her true feelings than anyone that the Queen has already met, and that even meant Loki – the God who said nothing to anybody and always played tricks – was. "Eris?"

When Eris looked at her, something was different, Eris' once beautiful, hazel eyes were now dull, and it took a while to realise that Eris was sad.

"Forgive me my Queen, but I do have further intentions with your son, I wish to marry him and be with him for as long as his immortal life will allow." Eris told her.

"Then what was stopping you from telling me this?" She asked her.

"People like Odin or my father finding out, because then it would not be allowed to happen."

"I can assure you Eris; neither of them will be able to stop you and Loki from marriage."

"Lord Odin knows what I am, my Queen, he would never wish something like me upon either of his son's."

The Queen looked at her in confusion, not really knowing what she was talking about, so Eris decided to explain.

"I am a Tartian your majesty; however I am tainted, it is impossible for someone to be in control of Chaos with normal blood. But this means that because Chaos is eternal, I am unable to die, my power is seen as limitless, and it can at times rival your husbands."

"So that is why Odin didn't like the idea of you and Loki courting." She sighed as Eris nodded. "Let me talk to Odin okay? I'll make him see how happy you both are together."

Eris smiled weakly.

"Now come, let us go back and join my son's with my husband." She stood with her.

Meanwhile, back in the King and Queen's chambers, Thor was giving Loki the third degree, wanting to know everything about what had happened to their father, and he could see that it was upsetting Loki to have to recall it.

"Thor I've told you everything, now for the sake of all that is good, shut up!" Loki stood as he had his outburst, and as he and Thor squared up to each other, his blue skin and runes came back. Whenever the two men had squared up to each other, Loki had never felt fear towards his brother, despite Thor being almost three times as big as Loki and wielding a large and metal hammer. Instead of feeling frightened, Loki just seemed to laugh it off, like it was one of his jokes. Although, the only thing that was stopping the brother's from hitting each other was the Queen who entered the room as Thor tightened his grip on his hammer.

"What is going on here?" She demanded.

Loki and Thor looked at her, only Loki looked away at seeing Eris' eyes fall upon his frost giant form.

The Queen looked between them, and quickly realised what problem has arisen between them – Eris didn't know that Loki was actually a frost giant.

"This has just got very awkward." Thor murmured, rather happily, which earned him a glare from both Loki and Frigga.

"It's not too late…" Loki whispered, so only Eris heard, despite her being the furthest back, but he seemed to have whispered it for no apparent reason.