Maybe Today Will Bring a Better Tomorrow
A Thor: The Dark World Fanfiction

Chapter 11/12

Quiet, soft humming was the first thing Loki registered when pulling out of unconsciousness. It was mechanic though, not caused by the mouth of any sentient being, as it had no need of breaking for air. Still, it was a comfort to his aching senses and burning mind. It was a constant and he therefore used it as a focus point to drag his mind to awareness.

Thin lids fluttered wearily open, revealing the emerald eyes. They were dulled with pain and medication, but were nevertheless vivid in taking in his surroundings.

The dark prince lay upon a soft king-sized bed, with crisp, clean sheets at his back and blankets of the deepest green covering his worn body. Behind his head was a silken pillow that eased the pounding in his skull and allowed his dark locks to spread over its surface. He was dressed not in the thick layers of his ceremonial outfit and the thin clothing of his time in the dungeons were absent as well. Instead he wore simple cotton night cloths that he instantly recognized from his wardrobe that had been forfeit after his imprisonment. In fact, this bed, his bed, (and room and blankets and pillows) and all other possessions of his had also been stripped of him along with his rank and dignity in the lower regions of Asgard. While he had been more comfortable than the average prisoner, he had had to suffer the loss of many home comforts. He had tried to ignore it and gather what remains of his honor he could at the searching eyes of his fellow convicts. To be weak in such a place was a strain, demanded by his pride, but a strain nonetheless. Captives were not supposed to be happy after all.

Thin, pale fingers gripped at the covers and Loki brought them to his nose, breathing in the scent of the freshly cleaned cloth and relishing in it. However, it was while he was enjoying the idea of once more being in his own bed in his own room, that he was suddenly shocked back to his current position.

There were carefully crafted manacles about his wrists with a silver chain that led over the blankets and beyond his sight beneath the green bed curtains. Suddenly panicked, the prince scrambled at his bindings, pulling and scratching futilely at the cold metal without any effect.

He was back in Asgard, a world that considered him less than dirt and he left with no way of escape. He had gotten loose before, only to be captured by Malekith and left to regret it, sure, but he knew that Odin would hardly take that as an excuse for leaving his cell. He had been lucky to slither out of execution after his mess with Midgard before, but now? Now The Allfather would be not even hesitate before making a public display of his youngest loosing his head for cowardly fleeing his sentence.

Yes, he was certainly going to have a hard time wording his defense now. That is, if they let him.

When struggling with the cuffs for twenty minutes only produced raw wrists and a bruised fingers, Loki surrendered to his fate. Being unable to run, tired to the marrow and completely buzzed with a light brush of agony, he saw no point in pushing himself for a hopeless cause.

All in all, it seemed as if even fate had condemned him to the wrath of what was to come, deserved or not, and nothing he could do or say would change that. Instead he just sat in the silence, limbs limp and the humming (that he now identified to be magical barriers to keep him within the bed) his only companion as he awaited whatever was to come. He let his mind wander to the possibilities of how he had gotten to Asgard from Malekith's captivity and what had happened to his Mother after she had been dragged from his presence.

Two whole hours he was left alone, not even a servant coming in to check to see if he had awakened and therefore inform his fath-the King of his current state. He spent that time in tense insecurity and with a tinge of dreaded fear, completely unsure of the future. Ha, well no matter what it was, it certainly wouldn't be good on his part.

When the sound of his chamber door creaking open finally reached the prince's ears, he suddenly felt a chill flush over him. Two set of feet patting over the carpeted floor, one definitely to be defined as female, judging by the soft tread and the other doubtlessly a man, making firm thumps with each step.

The bed curtains were brushed aside by a delicate hand, revealing, to Loki's relief, Frigga, a smile on her lips and looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her. She was safe, Malekith had not taken the last person who gave a care for him away. Of course, he was probably dead then, since he had been so hell-bent on doing so, but Loki was hardly to be found weeping over the fact.

"Loki." Frigga leaned over the bed, placing the back of her hand gently over her adoptive son's head and checking his temperature. "You've been sleeping for a long while, how are you feeling?"

Still rather blown by the sudden presence of his mother, the chained prince leaned into her touch, relishing the idea that she was alive and well, when his last sight of her had been the elves pulling her off to an unknown fate. Still, he refrained from displaying too much emotion to her other than a small quirk of his lips, as he was still to find out the identity of the man who had entered. Loving Frigga was a private matter, even when it came to Thor and Odin. Neither could ever understand the bond that lay between them and he certainly wasn't about to give anyone an insight on it.

"The pain is lessened, but I presume that you were able to remove the poison from my system? I no longer feel my magic lashing out without escape." He paused, green eyes looking down at the shackles on his wrists before sending his mother a soft smirk. "Well, for the most part."

Frigga frowned at the chains, withdrawing her hand and letting out a sigh.

"Your father was adamant that you wear them, Loki, I played no part in that."

"The idea was not even considered, you would never bind me when in my sleep."

"Perhaps, but sometimes a vocal statement can clear suspicions before they start." The Queen sat on the bed covers, taking on of Loki's hands into her own and meeting his emerald gaze directly. The movement was subtle, but the prince could easily sense the tension and turmoil that lurked beneath his mother's skin and he knew instantly that something was conflicted within her. "In answer to your question, we were able to retrieve the potion before it proved fatal, but your magic will be unstable for a while. I've had the poison tested by the healers. Loki, I know what Malekith inflicted on you and I am so sorry I could not prevent it. You must have had no rest, even in sleep, with the images of the horrors you've endured flashing before you. Had I known, perhaps I could have tried harder to cease it. My son, I am so very sorry for failing you yet again."

Loki went still. She branded his torture upon herself? She had been his constant, his stand point that was like food to a starving man. When all the world had gone dark and all he knew had abandoned him, her light was what kept him alive and sane. Through all that and he tried to take his hurt on herself?

The jotun prince could not, would not, allow it. Not now, not ever.

"You are not to blame."

"Yet I did not understand the sufferings you were enduring."

"Ignorance in aid does not cause guilt to the one trying to assist." Loki set his jaw. "I will not have you labeling yourself based on lack of knowledge. You could not have done anything about it and you know this. Do not overextend your mourning for incapability at a time of need. You did what you could and that is all that matters."

Casting a glance back towards his mother, he saw her opening her mouth to reply in counter, and quickly turned the conversation in a different direction before she could utter a word.

"What does Odin plan for me, then? Execution?" He let out a shuddering breath then, and while it was genuine, he made it more audible so that he might take Frigga's attention completely away from the last point they had been talking on. "My sentence was strict in regards to escape attempts. No doubt he shall take active note of this and punish me in like manner for my absence from my cell."

It was clear the Queen was hardly fooled by his play on flipping the subject, but she made no comment, effectively caught by the words he had spoken. He eyes widened at what he implied and she was adamant in her condemnation of them.

"Loki, your father has no plan on bloodletting." She caught his chin in her hand and forced him to meet her stare. "Though your punishment is far from erased, you are not to be imprisoned and most definitely not slain. I would not permit it. Odin has taken in my account on what occurred and has shown leniency. You will be restricted, but no longer confined."

Shock rocked the dark prince, and he suddenly found that he could not take his eyes away from the regal one's of his mother. Leniency and Odin in the same statement when the topic was Loki? Heaven knows that if it could rain elephants, it would be pouring outside. He didn't believe it. There was no possible way that it could ever be truth. Odin despised Loki and had made that fact quite clear as he sentenced him away.

Loki's birthright had been to die. Odin said it and it was probably the only true thing he had ever spoken to his frost giant runt.

"Th-then why the chains?" Mentally scrambling for an edge, he lifted his bound hands. "If he truly though to show leniency then why am I still chained like an animal? Does he truly fear me so much or did he merely lie to you, my mother, as he has so many times to me?"

Before Frigga had a chance to respond, another voice entered the picture and a powerful hand moved the curtains aside without any sign of care.

"You are still a prisoner, even when granted space and spared your life. Every night you will be bound, just be thankful that you lie within your own bed and not within a dungeon cell."

Electric blue orbs stared directly into Loki's own emerald ones and instantly he felt himself retract a bit, knowing the prowess of the other to rank much higher than his.

"Thor." He swallowed thickly, teeth clenching within his mouth as Loki tried to control the emotions that raged within him. "I did not know you were present..."

He trailed off, too frozen to continue.

Thor, however, was not to be deterred by his lack of words, practically sneering out his own.

"Midgard taught me many things, including the value of silence and having the will to listen. That world you tried to take and destroy has so many more wonderful gifts, but I doubt you'd care for such trivial nonsense."

If Loki had been shocked by receiving mercy from a King who was rarely known for such things, he was absolutely stunned by the change that had taken hold of Thor. Where once there had been an overly lovable fool, there now was a furious prince with pure hate in his eyes for the prisoner before him. Old Thor had hurt him many times, yes, but it was usually because of his blindness to understand the feelings of others. Very few times had it been deliberate pain he caused and never before had he despised Loki, even with his desperate pranks and tricks.

Now, this new version of Thor, he felt only a loathing that left him without words.

"Thor!" Frigga's stern tone did not break their intense eye-contact, but it caught their ears. "Do not speak to your brother that way!"

The golden-haired man made a scornful laugh and Loki shrinked inwardly at the sound, so foreign and odd as it was. It wasn't maniacal, but it was certainly disturbing, especially since his tone was normal and clear.

"That creature is no brother of mine. I have told you this Mother, he has no place with us. What with Malekith-"

"Loki had nothing to do with that, Thor, I've told you as such."

"And I've said I would hear it from his own mouth." He looked to the chained Loki, eyes narrowed. "Well? Is your frosty heart also guilty of trying to hurt the one you once called mother?"

Loki's mouth gaped in disbelief. Thor had thought he had aided Malekith? Granted it may have looked like that when they were taken, but didn't his Mother's words coupled with his not-brother's condition show proof of his resistance? Did he truly think him so low as to cause harm to the only one left to care for him?

In a downcast whisper, Loki replied.

"I would never hurt Mother."

"Mother?" Thor growled. "You deny your father and sibling but you'll keep Mother? We come together Loki, not parted. You cannot have one without the rest. We are bound by blood as proof, but you? What have you to call yourself Odinson? Even your name was gifted to you by Odin. What binds you to us? What worth have you?"

Frigga resembled a boiling volcano on the verge of eruption as Thor finished his statement. Her eyes seemed like daggers of molten steel as she stood up and with a very firm voice told the elder prince to make his exit instantly. He did as she bid, but not without absorbing the shattered expression of his little brother's face as he left. Loki, in turn, knew what had just happened and was utterly confused. Once Thor made his leave Frigga locked the door behind him.

Thor had struck a deep blow, one far too understood to be normal for him unless he had altered his personality fully during Loki's imprisonment. Something seemed wrong. His heart burned more than Thor would ever be capable of doing and it left him feeling empty.

"I don't understand what possessed him to speak in such a manner, Loki." Frigga pleaded, observing the blank face that take taken hold of her son. She moved towards him, taking him into an embrace and holding him close to her bosom. "He has been disturbed since my captivity. Simply know that neither Odin nor I think that way of you. Odin may be harsh and perhaps even cruel, but his heart knows the truth."

Loki blinked. Odin had renounced him certainly, perhaps not before all of Asgard's people so that they might bear witness, but definitely in private. Perhaps that was all the worse, as those outside the palace would believe all goes well, those who dwelled within would know the stark contrary.

"It hardly matters. Any love I felt towards the Allfather is dead and I knew of Thor's wrath before now." He sighed, bringing his fingers up to his temples and rubbing them, his chains clinking with each movement. "Thor did not lie in saying I have nothing to show my worth with. What more can I be but a Frost Giant runt, cast out by all, even his own blood relatives? I am a monster, playing the role of a prince."

At that, the Queen frowned angrily, moving back from her son and looking him straight in the eyes as she had so many times in his youth. Loki had never been one for self-confidence when dealing with emotions and what others thought of him. He had had his magic to fall back on when hurt, which was quite a frequent occurrence due to his cloaked sensitivity, and in result many people grew to hate him for his backlash of tricks.

"You are my son, and you are worth more to me then all the stars combined. Those who gave you up surrendered the thrill of knowing you, and you should not dwell on them." The Queen softened her tone, noticing the blank expression of protection he wore. He knew well that every mother thought this way of her children, but when eyes of universe names you to be disgusting, what can the opinion of one who gives love unconditioned be? "The Frost Giants are no more monsters then you or I...Harsh and brute they may be, I cannot believe that they're entire race is that of sniveling creatures. They feel, Loki, and you are proof of it. Blue or pale, you love, feel hurt and understand duty. Is this not proof enough? You are not a monster."

Loki gave no reply and turned his face away from her. Her words slipped past him, brushing at his hearing before disappearing into the air. He was too weary to speak anymore on subjects that had already been finalized, through word or thought. He knew what people wished of him, his subjection or his permanent absence. While Frigga's view on him was the only one he cherished and held himself up to now, she could not stand against the tidal wave of hate that hit him hard, no matter how much she worked against it. She did not control people's minds and neither did she think for them. Those who thought ill of him would always do so, regardless of what she desired.

The minutes passed in awkward silence, one hoping for a reaction and the other not willing to give it.

Eventually, Loki leaned further back in his pillows, his head pounding for relief. He cast a swift glance at his chained hands, before looking back at his mother's downcast eyes. Questions assaulted his mind and he bit his lip lightly. He had bruised Frigga with his lack of reply to her heartfelt statement, but he knew that by responding negatively (which he certainly would have) he would have prolonged piercing her heart again and again, something he simply could not do.

"What are the boarders I must understand in this altered sentence of mine?" Loki raised his bound wrists, the metal clinking lightly in the monotone of the room. "I am to be leashed during the nights, but what of my days? What accesses do I have?"

Frigga sighed, frowning at where he decided to take the conversation.

"You are to have restraining bracelets at all times, restricting your magic unless given permission to use it. The armory, the vaults and outer walls are all off limits and will result in your immediate confinement. You are also forbidden to enter the training grounds unless escorted." She stilled, shoulders weighing down lightly as she continued, clearly upset. "Odin has said that you are to remain from entering the banquet halls as well as the throne room and council chambers. However, the library is open to your use, but you are not permitted to do any magical research. The stables, too, you may use if you wish to ride, but you may not go beyond the palace walls. You are expected to return to your room at nine o'clock every evening, so that you can once more be restrained."

Loki swallowed, trying to ignore the sudden feeling of the walls closing in on him. He had grown up in this place and to be confined so...it was an odd and terrible feeling.

"That is quite a list."'

Frigga nodded.

"Odin would not yield at many points when I tried to gain you more space. However, Loki, there is more that shall be required of you." She paused, breathing deeply. "The Allfather believes that you should meet with Sylire, the Master Healer, every other day to understand the state of your...mental capabilities and capacity. You are to speak with him of the experiences you've had since Thor's failed coronation." The Queen sat straighter. "I support his wishes in this area, my son."

"You think me mad then?" Loki whispered, a aching throb within his chest.

Loki was quite aware of the many issues his mind had developed over the years as he spiraled further and further into depression formed of a want for acceptance and placement. Of course, it had been various things that had set him into the desperate turn he had taken, he knew each problem by heart like a dagger lodged firmly in his chest. Sometimes it was little things, being rejected by Thor's friends over and over, being cut off when trying to make a point or being scoffed at for his 'womanly' use of magic. Other times it was more serious things, like Odin blaming Thor's past incompetence on Loki's head or being shamed in public for his tricks.

And then Thanos...

Yes, Loki understood that he had his mental challenges now, but he didn't want to add the label of insanity to his plate.

Frigga smiled sadly, grasping his hands tightly in her own.

"Not mad, Loki, merely misguided and confused. You've been neglected so much in vast manner in this way and I can't allow it to continue. Your abilities are so many and so bright that I cannot permit them to be lost within you. You could climb to such lengths and I want to aid you in getting there. You simply need another to give you confidence in this regard so that you might build up your own."

The dark prince stared silently at his lap, making no move but a light twitch in his jaw.

His mother seemed to sense a deep disturbance in him combining to the already twirling mess within him and leaned forward, kissing his temple tenderly and pulling back as she went to stand.

"Rest for tonight, my son. I will send some one tomorrow morning to release you."

She turned to leave him but a question rose in Loki's mind and he stopped her with his voice. It was something he had to know and while he had already guessed the answer, he wanted to be sure.

"What happened to Malekith?" He swallowed. "Does he live?"

Instantly the Queen turned back to Loki, eyes hard and glimmering with a deadly light at the mention of the dark elf. Even before she spoke Loki knew what had happened and a warmth settled over him.

"He is dead. His end was disgraceful, and his corpse lies sprawled upon the plains of his home world to decay without honor."

Indeed, Loki was glad to have Frigga on his side, for a fearsome and merciless enemy would she make on the field of battle.

She left then, leaving her son to his thoughts in the quiet of his old room.

Hello! Sorry for the little wait there but this computer (family one) has been hard to get onto lately, what with my brother and dad wanting it too. So, sorry for any mistakes, obvious or not, and sorry if it might be a bit choppy...I didn't have much time to write. Also thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter:

Kekeh, Linoria, Kanshou87, darthxrik, Faded Electric, Cati Jones, Guest, Tamuril2, Elaine Weasley, Moonring, chickpea, Sumi Anzu, singlelady200, pallyndrone, Rehabilitated Sith, Chooch77, Potkanka, Chelsea19, fangirl666, alhena14, Adamzgal, Saramagician, GLOmP3R, Setok4ibal, Guest, Guest, thephoenixandthedragon4ever, Sirius Dancer, Guest, PriestessOfFreya, Vidgealz C Valvatore, XienRue

I hope the reviews keep coming!

Next chapter is the last then the sequel begins! YAY! Get Ready for Fraternal Bonds!

Thanks again!

-Ireland Ranger