So, dark angsty chapter is dark and angsty. I'm feeling dark and angsty, so yeah. Things are ok for now with the ex, not sure what's going on, but she's physically ok and that's all I'm really trying to focus on right now. The lullaby is Noble Maiden Fair from the Brave soundtrack, which I'm totally addicted to and love with a passion. I needed/wanted Loki to start becoming an unhinged dickwad leading up to the Avengers, so be prepared for at least one more good rant before the fun begins. I'm planning on having the Avengers come in about 2 chapters =)

xxx

"How does she do that?" Loki asked with a laugh, watching Nenna stick her foot in her mouth and chew on it. He was sitting on the floor while she played on her back, Siobhan laying on the couch with her laptop

"Their joints are still really flexible, and they explore everything with their mouth. That's why I keep telling you to stop letting her have things. They just go straight into her mouth. Didn't you raise Hel?'

"I was a trouble maker, yes" Loki teased as Siobhan lightly hit him on the top of the head. "But no, I did not raise Hel on my own. She grew quickly and was mainly with the nurse maids"

"You didn't raise you own kids?" She asked softly, staring at her computer screen though she wasn't paying attention to it anymore

"I was busy with other things at the time. And they were said to be cursed form the start, so they were rather kept away from me"

"So only Sleipnir and Nenna?"

Loki nodded and held the Destroyer doll over Nenna, making exploding sounds while he poked her with the toy on the nose to make her smile

"We will destroy everything and create you a kingdom, mine daughter" He grinned as Siobhan sat up on the couch

"Everything?"

"Well, yes" Loki stated as Nenna grabbed the doll and promptly gummed it to death

"I sort of like some places. A lot of places, actually"

"Then everyone" Loki watched Siobhan slide down onto the floor, pulling the doll out of their daughter's mouth to nurse her

"I like a good number of people here, too"

"They must kneel to their new king"

"Then how about we compromise and you can destroy the ones who won't kneel" Siobhan smirked at the fact that a sentence like that was even leaving her mouth "You have completely brainwashed me, haven't you?"

"It did not take much effort" He admitted with a grin, leaning back against the couch "Nenna was unexpected, but certainly made things easier"

"Do I want to know?" She mumbled, shifting Nenna into a more comfortable position

"No different than what I will do with your world. I showed you your weaknesses; I protected you from those weaknesses. You were already bitter though, so I cannot take all of the credit"

Siobhan sat quietly, focusing only on their daughter. She had played the day of her attack over and over again in her mind, and there had been so many things that had been said that never made sense to her. But she had also wanted for everyone to be innocent, and allowing for Loki to have been a part of the set up allowed for those holes to be filled a little too perfectly. Sighing heavily, she stroked Nenna's pitch black hair as the baby nursed contently. Of course she had taken after her father in looks, though Siobhan secretly prayed that their daughter hadn't taken after him in personality. One Loki was enough; the thought of two genuinely terrified her

"You are angry" Loki observed, pulling the young mother out of her thoughts. He had moved to sit on the couch and was idly flipping through the channels on the tv. He had developed a love for watching Mythbusters, and was eager to catch the latest episode. She bit her tongue to keep from snapping at him, burping their child in silence before putting her down for a nap. Siobhan began to sing a soft lullaby, rocking Nenna to sleep as she fought to keep her tears in check

"A naoidhean bhig, cluinn mo ghuth
Mise ri d' thaobh, O mhaighdean bhan
Ar righinn oig, fas as faic
Do thir, dileas fhein
A ghrian a's a ghealaich, stuir sinn
Gu uair ar cliu 's ar gloire
Naoidhean bhig, ar righinn og
Mhaighdean uashaill bhan"

"Why is it that you cry?" Loki asked softly, leaning in the doorway as he watched the two of them. Siobhan pushed past him without a word and sat back on the couch, turning off the tv to spite him. "And now you ignore me"

"You did this. All of this. To me. Everything!" Siobhan hissed, clinching her hands into fists hard enough to break the skin on the palms of her hands "You, the one who I gave up everything for. Who I lie for. I lie about. I have given everything to you, and for what? For you to rape me!"

"I did not-" She cut him off with a hard slap across the face

"Don't you dare lie to me. I know what you did" She stood up from the couch, her anger causing her to shake as she began to pace the room. "I should leave. Take Nenna and go. Move back home. I don't need you. I never needed you! I know what you're planning. I could destroy you"

Loki grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against the wall, his own rage boiling over as he held her tightly, ignorant to her struggling for freedom and air. "Hear me, pet. You will do no such thing. My goals were simple, to teach you a lesson on listening to me when I say that you are weak. You were never supposed to have been taken, yet even now clearly the lesson is lost on you. So now, I shall spell it out simply for you. You are pathetic. Without me, you are nothing. Your kind is dull and worthless, and will be taken over quickly once I gain the power that is mine. Go ahead and call your authorities. They would not believe you even if you were to tell them everything that I have told you, everything that you know. I could tell you every action, every moment of time, piece by piece of what I am going to do, and they will never listen to you. You are alone now, in every sense of the word. Exactly as I wanted you. I will rule this planet, and you have the choice of either being by my side as queen, or dead in the streets with the others. Now, which is your choice?" He released Siobhan, causing her to fall to her knees and cough as she gasped for air. She looked up at him with a mix of shock and fear as he turned away and sat on their couch "Go wash up and collect yourself, least you wake the child"

Siobhan continued to sit on the where she fell in stunned silence, fighting to keep her breathing steady. A couple of minutes passed before she was aware of Loki kneeling beside her, placing his hands lightly on either side of her head at the temple

"Breathe in," He instructed, his voice soft and gentle as he stared into her eyes. She could feel him looking into her as a warm feeling began to wash over her, her mind swimming as she fought to keep her eyes on him. "Breathe my little one" He reminded her with a laugh, lifting his hands from her to scoop up her suddenly weak body

"What did you do to me?" She mumbled, faintly aware of being carried into their bedroom. Her limbs felt like a ton of bricks as he laid her down on the bed and busied himself with turning back the sheets

"You are tired, mine queen. You should rest"

"You're not answering my question" She could barely keep her eyes open as she fought to keep her thoughts together, which was beginning to feel more and more like trying to catch water in her hands

"You need your sleep" Loki continued to press, pulling the blanket up over her

"You erased my memory, didn't you?" Siobhan laughed bitterly, feeling Loki slip into her mind once more and forcing her to settle against the pillows

"Sleep, stubborn one" She could have sworn that there was a slip of dark power behind those words as she slipped into nothingness. Loki watched over her for a minute longer, allowing his ego to break as a single tear fell down his cheek. He had never wanted her to get hurt. She was a loyal companion and generally did what she was asked. But now she loved him, which was not what he was searching for from her people. He did not want love, he wanted to be praised like Thor. Love was false and fleeting, hollow words that were said when they were supposed to be said, scripted and nothing more. Devotion, like that which Thor was granted without a second thought, that is what Loki craved. And that, he thought with a bitter grin as he bent down to kiss Siobhan lightly on the forehead, is what he would demand and receive from Midguard