Exchanging of Words
After her time with Loki in his cell, Lilah was sent back to her own. Frigga decided that Lilah was no longer a threat and gave Lilah her own room within the castle. Of course, Lilah would still be watched the guards of Asgard.
"You can stay here," Frigga opened the doors to a beautifully decorated room, "It has not been in use for a long time." Most of the décor was emerald green and gold.
"Is this Loki's room?" Lilah asked in wonder. She had seen Loki's room briefly in his mind, but being inside it was completely different. There was a large bed in the middle of the room, looking incredibly soft and inviting. Lilah could not help but think of how many sleepless nights Loki had spent on that bed. She hoped that when he got free, Lilah could give him some new memories on his bed.
"I have kept it clean for when Loki would return," Frigga said quietly, still not happy that Loki was a prisoner. They were both suffering, but Lilah had faith that it would soon come to an end. The plan was to talk to Odin and convince him of Loki's changed demeanour; that he was a different man. But as Frigga had said, the All-Father would need proof, not just words.
Frigga kept silent as Lilah explored Loki's bed chamber. "I shall leave you to get your rest," she announced after a while, "Someone will bring you dinner. And if you wish to go anywhere in the castle, someone will need to accompany you."
"Thank you, My Lady," Lilah curtseyed. Frigga smiled at her before she left Lilah alone. The door closed with a thud. Lilah was alone.
A weight pressed down on her heart, fearing for Loki's life. When she had left him, or more like forced to leave, his words had scared her. Loki believed that there would be no mercy for him, that his life was forfeit. Lilah fell heavily on to Loki's bed, tears filling her eyes and blurring her vision. She did not want to think what life would be like without Loki in it. She could not let that happen, she wouldn't.
Closing her eyes, trying to stop the crippling pain of being without her love, she tried using the bond to reach out to Loki.
"Ahhh!" a severe pain shot through her skull as she met a resistance. Clutching her head, she tried to soothe the hurt. They must have bound his powers again. She tried once more, this time trying to push through the barrier. The pain returned, but Lilah tried to ignore it, desperate to check in on Loki. But the more she tried, the more intense the pain became. Loki… The pain became too great and Lilah ended up passing out.
-/-
Lilah kept passing in and out of consciousness. Sometimes she would see faces, blurred through her hazy vision. Sometimes it would be darkness. When she finally came to, she felt a fluttering in her stomach, an almost nauseous feeling. Her eyes fluttered open, and saw a couple of people in white attending to her. She tried to move her limbs, but found she was still too weak. All she could manage was a moan.
"Rest, milady," one woman told her in a soothing voice. Lilah desperately tried to keep her eyes open, however they felt like lead. The woman stood up and approached another woman. "She will recover, my Queen."
"Thank you for your help," Lilah heard the Queen reply. Lilah felt her eyes closing, but she fought the weight of sleep, wanting to hear everything. "Was there anything else that you discovered in your diagnosis?"
"My Lady, whilst we were examining here, we found that she is with-," Lilah couldn't keep her eyes open anymore, the voice fading to muffling as she succumbed to the blackness.
-/-
When Lilah came too once more, her body still felt heavy, but was on the mend. She still felt incredibly groggy, but this time her eyes did not feel so heavy. She had no idea how long she had been out of it, but she hoped it had not been too long. Her sleepy eyes scanned the room, searching for any sign of other people. Seeing that there was no one else around, she deduced that she was alone in Loki's room. Sitting up on the covers, she clutched her head, a headache threatening to split her skull. And that fluttering was still within her stomach, but the nauseousness had passed. Lilah reminded herself not to try and break the magic that was preventing her from connecting with Loki, lest she want to kill herself.
Looking beside her she saw that someone had left a platter of fruit, cheeses and bread, along with a pitcher of red wine. Lilah nibbled for a bit, hoping to regain some of her strength so she could leave the bed. Perhaps today she could go exploring about the castle.
Rising from the bed once she had her fill, Lilah first went in search of something to dress in. An array of dresses had been left in a wardrobe for her, ranging in all different celestial colours. How extravagant. Though, Lilah only had eyes for one dress. A dress that she knew was made especially for her. She donned the dress with Loki's colours, wishing she could be with him right now. Seeing herself in the mirror, a small smile came upon her red lips. Loki would no doubt enjoy seeing her wearing his colours.
As she was thinking of Loki, she wondered if they had reached a decision while she was unconscious. Slightly panicking, she opened the doors leading out of Loki's chambers. Two guards stood at attention at the doors, both looking to her as she walked out. Smiling shyly at them, she waited for them to tell her to return to her chambers.
"Ma'am, you are permitted to explore the castle," one guard spoke to her, his voice holding authority. "A word of caution, you are being watched."
Lilah nodded her understanding and left the guards to their duties. As she wandered around, she did indeed notice that she was being watched. There were guards around every corner, all of them alerted to her presence. Lilah felt caged, and she wished to be outside with nature. She missed the grass beneath her feet, the wind in her hair, and the sun upon her face. As she walked, she pondered if she could find her way to Loki's prison cell.
While Lilah strolled, she came across a balcony overlooking the kingdom of Asgard. Lilah gasped as she took in the tremendous view. Asgard was indeed beautiful, unlike anything she'd ever seen or imagined. Seeing it through Loki's memories was nothing like experiencing it for herself. Filled with awe and wonder, Lilah took in every detail. Even though she was overcome by its beauty, she craved to experience this with Loki. Unwanted tears came to her eyes. I have been terribly weepy lately.
"Lady Lilah?" a voice came from behind her. Lilah turned around to find Thor standing in the doorway.
"Prince Thor," Lilah bowed, but he waved her off and approached her.
"I hope you are well?" Thor asked politely.
"I am much better, thank you," Lilah responded, waiting for the barrage of questions that would inevitably be asked, "How is Loki?"
"He asks for you constantly," Thor answered, "Please, help me understand what happened in your realm. What has changed my Brother so much?"
"Can you not understand, of all people, what it is like to fall in love, my Prince?" Lilah asked. Thor looked away from Lilah, obviously thinking about the mortal woman on Midgard. Thor stayed quite while he contemplated her words. "I fell in love with him. I knew nothing of his past, or his heritage, or what he had done. Yet I did not judge him. I saw a lonely and broken man. And over time he began to trust me, and I him. And with that trust, came love."
"But when you learned of what he had done, the destruction and death he had caused on Midgard, you still trusted him?" Thor asked, still trying to wrap his head around what she was telling him.
"Thor, Loki has only ever wanted to be worthy," Lilah pressed, a little angered, "Had you and Odin seen that, and truly loved him as he is then none of this would have happened."
"I do love my Brother. I always have," Thor argued.
"You may have loved him, but he was never in the spotlight. Only in the shadows of your ego, and Odin's shame. Who could possibly contemplate Loki for the crown when the Mighty Thor took away all possibility with his greatness? And Odin could not allow a Frost Giant upon the throne."
"How dare you speak to me that way!" Thor protested.
Lilah stood her ground, "I am only telling the truth. King Odin is as much to blame as you are."
"What are you trying to say? That my Father never loved my Brother?" Thor objected.
"Your Father may have claimed to love Loki, but because he knew what he truly was, he could never completely love a Frost Giant," Lilah replied, "Loki is worthy of the crown. He has seen the error of his ways, and will most likely repent for those mistakes for the rest of his life."
Thor was speechless, utterly baffled by Lilah's words. She had definitely given him something to think about. And she knew that no one had ever spoken so blatantly to him before. "But what about all the people he had killed on Earth?"
"Thor, you were there, you saw Loki," Lilah tried to make him see that Loki was not the evil they presumed him to be; "Did you not notice the change that had overcome him? The Tesseract had been controlling him. Feeding on his desire to be accepted and turning it into something sinister. I have been inside his mind, Odinson, and seen the truth."
"How do I know I can trust you? What if this is all an elaborate plan for his escape?" Thor asked.
Lilah sighed, suddenly tired. All anyone could think of was plots and schemes. "I did not come here to argue, my Prince, I just want him free. If he is to prove he can be trusted, how can he do that within a cell?" Thor stared down at Lilah. "Please, I love him. All I want is for him to be free, to prove himself. Whether by blood or not, he is your Brother.
Thor was quiet, stepping away from Lilah. He stayed silent, pacing back and forth. Lilah watched him, hoping that she had not made things worse. "I will think on what you have said, and talk to the AllFather."
"Thank you, Prince Thor," Lilah bowed.
"You are welcome to continue your exploration of Asgard," Thor bowed his head to her, as he was walking away he stopped and turned to her once more, "Oh, and congratulations."
Lilah stared at his retreating back in confusion. Congratulations?
And there you have it, Chapter Twelve. It's all slowly coming to an end. Slowly. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and please let me hear your thoughts.
I'm still overwhelmed how many reviews I have with this story. I did not expect it to gain so much love! Thank you!
