A/N- So… wow. We hit the 150 review mark, high five!
Big thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter (You're fab!):
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Hope I haven't kept everyone waiting too long- I have an exam tomorrow, so naturally, it's time for an update (instead of getting a degree…)
CH 14
Idunn looked up at Loki from her place on the chaise-longue. She lay on the plush velvet, her head propped up with a few cushions, her blonde curls no longer in her braid, spilling freely over the side. Loki couldn't help notice how the long white dress she wore didn't quite cover the bruises and burns still fading on her arms and bare legs. He drew his gaze away from her injuries and looked into her brown eyes, framed by thick lashes.
"Why?" He asked, getting straight to the point. He'd left Darcy, who was heading to a feast to meet Jane. He swallowed down the emptiness he felt- he was never welcome there, no matter how much Darcy insisted.
"A pleasure to see you too, Laufeyson."
He ignored the quip. "What gave Forseti Baldrson such power over you?"
"Why would you like to know? So you can procure the same power?"
"After all you've seen me do, you think I still desire power?"
Idunn propped herself up with barely suppressed pain colouring her features. "Individuals like you always desire power."
Loki folded his arms, his voice twisting with malice. "Tell me what you told the council. You owe me that. I tried to save an innocent woman's life and was imprisoned for it. Thanks to 'your' conditions."
Idunn saw the fire in Loki's eyes, though his anger didn't bother her. For some reason, it never did. He could threaten her life and still, she would be as cool and collected as usual. She found herself unafraid by Loki, no matter what he did. Still, she rested her head on the pillows once again, sighing heavily and closing her eyes. She felt tired.
"Forseti knew everything. He knew you'd strive to avoid the price of the Apple, and told me to go collect the debt. He told me everything I needed to know to crush you, Loki, all your tricks and schemes. And all he held over my head was the promise that he would target my orchard and decimate the Aesir with his army."
"Army?" Loki's interest was piqued, remembering Forseti's words in his cell. "Of…"
"… Jotunns, yes." Idunn opened her eyes, looking tired.
"Meaning he will be commanding from Jotunheim."
"I presume so, yes." Idunn looked at him.
"You said you wanted me in your debt. You said you served Asgard."
"I don't regret what I did." Idunn said lightly. "All you had to do was die in order to ensure Asgard's safety."
"Maybe I should go and give myself up then." He sneered, hiding the feeling of sense in his words. "Do you know what you did?! What you put me through?!"
"Of course."
Loki took a deep breath to calm himself. How could she be so blasé about all of this? "Do you know anything about Forseti, other than what you have told the council?"
"… I know your mortal isn't safe-"
"She's not mortal-"
"- and that Forseti has planned his moves way ahead of you."
"How far ahead?"
"Further. He only wanted your imprisonment to delay your meddling. He is building his armies and planning to march on Asgard. He plans to dirty your name and punish his family for the fault of forgiving you."
Loki rolled his eyes. "That, I guessed."
"If you have nothing more to say, I suggest you leave. It is interfering with my healing."
Loki turned immediately toward the exit, pausing only when he heard Idunn's voice behind her.
"There has to be a certain desperation when someone like you comes to bargain for a mortal's life. Forseti knew this."
His footsteps continued, his voice silent as he stepped out of her quarters, pondering his next move.
The feast that night was, to say the least, awkward. It was set in a smaller hall than usual, but still as grand. The lights on the walls glowed as if lit by candles, but on closer inspection, Darcy saw they were more like glowing glass orbs, casting eerily beautiful shadows around them. It was the little things that amazed her about this place; the magic, the knowledge and… otherworldliness of it all. She held her head high and walked in, sitting herself next to Jane, ignoring the looks thrown her way.
She wore a silk floor length dress, not unlike the one she wore at the wedding. It was her attempt at looking Asgardian, a silent admittance to herself that one day she would be stuck here forever. Honestly, she thought she looked great in it, but preferred the comfortableness of jumpers and jeans. The dark indigo blue colour brought out the colour of her eyes, whilst the corset with golden metal elaborations drew attention to the gentle curve of her hips and breasts. Her feet killed, but the incredulous look Jane gave her, and the double takes everyone else gave her were worth the pain. She was known as the strange girl who was once comatose and wore trainers in the presence of Gods, and now she strutted in in full 'Asgardian uniform'.
"Hey." Darcy shuffled herself in casually, picking up a knife and fork and shovelling food onto a plate from the platters in the middle of the table. "I'm not gonna say 'I told you so', but I did tell you so."
She stopped shovelling food enough to glance around to Jane and smile angelically.
"Idunn, huh?"
Darcy's smile faded, her cutlery falling to the table with a clink. "Jane I-"
"Come on." Jane gently pulled her up, and they exited the hall, only stopping when they'd reached a beautiful balcony looking out onto a stunning sunset-lit Asgard. Darcy walked to the edge, resting her elbows on the stone wall, playing with the wine glass she had taken from the dining hall. She ignored what was on the other side of the wall; the perilous drop downwards that made her stomach unsettled and her head dizzy. Jane walked up to her side and turned her gaze onto Asgard, too.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" Darcy mumbled.
"How you woke up. I'm not angry, I'm just…" Jane sighed. "I hate it when you keep secrets, Darce."
"Did Frig- I mean Queen Frigga- tell you?" Darcy couldn't help irritation seeping into her tone.
"I was at Idunn's council meeting. She told everyone you were… Aesir. The Queen couldn't do anything about it. It was just… evidence."
"I was going to tell you later, Jane, I swear. I just… Don't want to deal with it now."
Jane pulled her into a warm hug, and Darcy burrowed her face in the crook of her neck, returning it gladly.
"You can talk to me, Darce. I'll always listen."
Darcy choked back a sob. She didn't usually cry, but Jane's genuine words made her eyes well up and a lump in her throat appear.
"Thanks." Darcy smiled and pulled away from her friend, resting on the wall again. She picked up the wine glass balancing precariously on the wall and took a sip. "I promise I'll let you know next time I wake up from a coma with a magic apple thing, wielded by a God who tried wrecking New York-"
"-I assume Loki is out of prison, then?" Jane raised her eyebrows.
"You assume correctly." Darcy couldn't look her in the eyes, and instead looked to the bottom of her goblet, swirling the red liquid inside.
"You talked? That Idunn woman said he'd saved your life."
"Uh yeah." Darcy decided to omit the whole part where they'd basically jumped each other.
"It's so lucky Heimdallr stopped the guards trying to smuggle you out. The guards are under suspicion as it is." She put a comforting hand on Darcy's arm and smiled.
"You know me. I'm used to being attacked here by now." Darcy shrugged, putting her goblet down. "So, uh, how come you weren't eating with Thor at dinner?" She tried to change the topic.
"We're fighting. It's nothing." Jane rolled her eyes, not wanting to admit that Odin's behaviour had put a toll on their relationship, with Thor taking his father's side most of the time, yet arguing for Loki's release. "Plus I wanted to talk to you."
"Right. Those honeymoon blues." Darcy nodded absentmindedly. There was a moment of silence before Jane spoke again, so quietly Darcy had to strain to hear her.
"Darcy. A word of advice. Don't do what you're thinking about doing."
"What do you think I'm going to do Jane?" Darcy whispered back angrily, trying not to make a scene in case anyone was listening. She looked at Jane, suddenly furious. She knew exactly what she was about to say, yet carried on feigning ignorance. "What?"
"I can't stop you doing anything, Darce, but whatever you've got going on with Loki, I advise you to just… stop it."
"Sorry?" She tried to appear oblivious.
Jane's words were carefully weighed before she said them, a hesitance in her tone.
"Idunn said that you were targeted by Forseti because of Loki. You never said that. You made out like it was a …coincidence, a misunderstanding. I didn't know it was because you're… affiliated with Loki. Doesn't it make sense just to leave this all behind and go home for a little while? Erik will take care of you. I can even talk Stark into looking after you if you're scared that Forseti will come after you again. Just while the dust settles, and then you can come back and forget about this."
"I don't want to be babysat." Darcy clenched her teeth in frustration. "And I don't want to forget."
"Please Darce… It's just… When you started to defend him, I got scared that-"
"What? That I'd screw him?"
"Darcy." She warned. "He saved your life, I know. Doesn't mean he's a good person. Be careful."
"I know he isn't!" Darcy growled in frustration and threw her arms up, downing her wine. She wanted to tell Jane everything that Loki had told her. He wasn't using her- it was Thor's fault he'd even heard of her. Besides, what would he use her for? She wasn't of any use to Loki anyway- the only useful thing she'd done for him was stab Forseti.
"You don't have to be his friend out of pity."
"Too late for that. He and I were involved even before I was poisoned!"
"-Involved?-"
"-I'm sick of trying to justify this Loki thing to you." Darcy said, exasperated.
"There is a 'Loki thing' though. And I'm not trying to make you justify it."
"Sounds a lot like you are." Darcy muttered under her breath.
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are!"
"Am not!" Jane's anger dissipated into the realisation that Darcy had got her into a childish fight of 'yes you are' and 'no you're not' again. "Okay. So are you leaving or staying for now?"
"Leaving. Staying." She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "Damn it. I don't know!"
"If you stay you'll need to be less…"
"Conspicuous?" Darcy shook her head. "Not my forte."
"Stop finishing my sentences."
"I'll stop finishing my sentences when you stop telling me to stay away from people."
"It's not-"
"Save it, Jane. I'm twenty six for God's sake! I think I can make my own decisions. End of discussion."
With this, she stormed off childishly, trying to control her anger toward everyone in this goddamn realm. Jane had comforted her, and then stupidly brought up the topic of Loki. Hell, even she didn't know what they were, and Jane had caught her off guard. She calmed slightly, thinking she'd overreacted. Maybe she should've gone back to Jane, apologised and had a girl's night of getting drunk and doing whatever they did here for fun.
However, she knew it was too late when her feet began climbing the staircase that led toward Loki's room. She had walked straight past her new room that had been prepared for her beforehand, a little curious of what it was like inside. She sighed. She hated the feeling of arguing with Jane, especially over Loki, and she knew what she had to do to ease the pain in her head. Her remedy was to visit the source directly.
"Things will look suspicious if you stay in here all the time, you know." Darcy let herself into Loki's unlocked room, shutting the door gently behind her. He was slouched on his bed, a book in his long fingers. Looking up, he took in Darcy's Asgardian gear, realised he was staring, and promptly returned to his book with pretend boredom.
"You're suggesting I be more social, then? Attend meals with you?"
"Go for a walk or something. Talk to people. It wouldn't hurt… a lot."
Loki merely raised his eyebrows, still not looking at her. She sat beside him, and sighed.
"Fine." She huffed and lay down on the bed, propping the cushion behind her, mirroring Loki's position, mocking. "So then. When are we going to Jotunheim?"
"We?" Loki slammed his book shut and looked at her as if she had gone mad. "I don't remember talking to you about this."
Darcy shrugged. "I know you want to go. That'll be where Forseti is."
"How would you know that?"
"He said he had an army of Frost Giants… So…"
"No." Loki resumed reading, hiding his surprise at how quickly Darcy had deciphered Forseti's whereabouts. "You're not coming."
She plucked the book out of his hands with a short, sarcastic grin. "I thought you said you wouldn't tell me what to do. Ooh, what's this?"
"Just a book." Loki snatched it back off her. "Just out of curiosity, but if you do come with me, what good will you be?"
"I stabbed a guy once, remember?" Darcy argued. "Please? I won't be entirely useless."
Loki sighed and dropped the book on the side table, rolling over to his side, his full attention on Darcy.
"You know how many warriors went out to find Idunn? Thirty. You know how many came back?"
Darcy knew the gist of the answer before he continued.
"Six. Six came back. Forseti killed the rest. He won't hesitate to kill you-"
"-Again. I know. I want to come. I will come. I'll find my own way if not."
Loki wasn't used to losing arguments, but he sighed in resignation. "You'll never let me leave without you, will you?"
"It's nice to see we're on the same page." Darcy smiled widely.
"Try not to get yourself killed." He said with deep exasperation.
"I could say the same for you." Darcy retorted. "How many times-"
Her sarcastic comeback was cut short as he pulled her close to his chest. She shuffled closer to him, her face finding the material of his shirt. He wore a light shirt under a loose green waistcoat and dark trousers, opting for comfort rather than his usual attire. She felt overdressed, and her corset dug into her uncomfortably. Loki suddenly wanted to say something to her, but it stuck in his throat, as did the compliment regarding her appearance when she walked in. He wanted to say something; a word of warning that showed he wasn't entirely indifferent.
"Tomorrow?" Was all that came out of his mouth in the end.
"Sounds like a date." Darcy struggled to say under her breath. She gasped and went to push Loki away from her for a second. "Can you-"
Loki let go of her as if she stung him, hurt in his face as he rolled over to the other side of the bed. Darcy immediately shook her head as she stood up, realising that Loki was reading that as rejection. "No, no! This goddamn corset is digging into me and my feet kill."
"Oh." He got up and walked over to her, confidence back in his stride, practically purring. "I can help with that."
He turned her around to face him as he undid the clasps on her corset, freeing the material bunched around her waist. She exhaled in relief and rested her hands on Loki's chest, feeling it rise and fall underneath her fingers. She quickly flicked off her shoes and kicked them out of the way.
"Thank God for that. I'll never get used to wearing this crap."
His fingers lingered at her waist and she smiled up at him. "I'm going to bed."
"You could always sleep here…" He looked at her with uncertainty, expecting her to run, to shout monster at him. It was the product of two years of cruelty and a lifetime of dismissal and unworthiness that had shaped his now unsure mind.
"Hm." Darcy smiled. "Sif did say I had a new room prepared …"
She balanced on her tiptoes and brought Loki down to her lips, pecking him lightly, teasing.
"… But I think I feel kinda comfortable here. I'm not so… confused anymore."
He seemed to take this as a green light, kissing her so intensely she was practically lifted off her feet. His fingers trailed down her neck, making her giggle softly. He took a hold of her hips and pressed his body to hers, making her breath hitch. She suddenly stopped kissing him and frowned, catching her breath. "Just sleeping, Loki. We'll need the energy for Jotunheim."
Loki nodded and pulled her closer, claiming her lips again as she threw her arms around him.
"I have nothing to sleep in." She gasped between kisses. "I should go back to my room." Loki pulled away from her and smiled.
He nudged the shoulder straps of her dress away and let it drop to the floor gracefully, leaving Darcy stood in her bra and knickers.
"Um." She made an effort to cover herself with her arms, feeling exposed. But Loki quickly shrugged off his waistcoat and pulled his shirt over his head. He smiled mischievously at her before dressing her in his shirt, which brushed the tops of her thighs. She went to pull the fabric down bashfully when Loki intertwined his fingers with hers and placed them on his chest. He ran a hand through Darcy's hair, tucking it behind her ear with a tenderness she hadn't thought he'd possess.
"Better?"
She laughed quietly, taking in Loki's slender chest, tracing his skin with her fingers. "Better."
Darcy slid her fingers through his again and pulled him gently toward the bed, sliding under the soft sheets and burrowing her head underneath Loki's chin, content.
"Do you trust me?" Loki asked, wrapping his arms around her.
"I don't know." She said honestly, breathing in his scent. "I'm here aren't I? Even though Jane says I should stay away from you."
"Maybe she's right."
"Uh, uh." She pulled away from him, shaking her head. "I've made up my mind. I'm staying. If you start that 'I'm so untrustworthy, stay away from me' shit I'm actually going to hit you."
He smirked. "Maybe I like getting hit."
"Ohh," she closed her eyes and returned to her place in his arms. "I thought I had you down as a masochist. Now shush."
He closed his eyes. He was oddly comfortable here, as he had been the moment he woke up with her in his arms before. He wondered how long it'd be before he made a mistake that would drive Darcy to leave him completely. With that in his mind, he tightened his grip on her, their legs intertwined underneath the sheets, his lips in her hair.