Chapter 14

So what if you can see the, darkest side of me?

No one would ever change this animal I have become

Ans help me believe it's not the real me

Loki's POV

Ilazki had been acting strangely the night before. She seemed to be fairing well today. Almost as if she had completely forgotten about everything yesterday. I sat at my usual spot reading one of her boring books to pass the time. It seemed every piece of literature she owned was absolute garbage, I half wondered if the only reason she got them was for the pleasant looking cover.

"Lets go get some take out." Ilazki's voice chirped happily. I turned to see her but was astonished at her appearance. She had cut her hair short and her choice of makeup was much darker than usual and her choice of clothing was a bit revealing, I didn't mind, she looked much more appealing but I wondered if this had anything to do with yesterday.

I closed the book in my hand but as I stood up she took my hand, gesturing me to follow her to her room. Confused I followed and wondered what it was she was planning.

"I picked out your outfit so we could match!" She chimed. Already I was regretting my decision to follow her. I looked at what she had laid out and was already against her choice of clothing.

"I am not wearing that." I scoffed. She pouted a bit and for a moment it was as if her mood from last night resurfaced before she changed her expression to an uncaring one.

"Fine, let's go then." She smiled, the deeper I looked I could see her smile was a charade. I didn't comment and we went to her car, that's when I noticed the bloodied bandages under one of her stockings. I vaguely wondered about it as I watched out the window. The dark clouds from before seemed to have vanished, something about everything seemed strange.

"Are you in the mood for anything in particular?" Ilazki asked. I looked over at her as I answered.

"Is there something wrong?" I watched as she glanced at me with betrayal before quickly hiding behind her facade again. She simply went on about a place she always liked and we headed that way. Once the car stopped I watched her as she took the keys and flashed an innocent smile at me. Perhaps this was a side effect from the elixir? I doubted it but I would have to settle with that for now.

That's when I noticed her hands trembling, her breathing uneven, and her eyes. They weren't there usual cerulean, one was glowing. Malekith. I reached over and touched her forehead without thinking, invading her mind to push out the problem.

Her mind was chaotic, so many things were going on but the one thing that kept replaying throughout the chaos was a voice. As I focused more on that voice the images became more stable and soon I was at the source.

There was nothing but bloodstained sands and dark crimson skies. As I made my way through I found Ilazki, she was laying in a valley of vines that were intertwined with her limbs. A strange blue fruit blooming just over her head. Her breathing was uneven and she seemed dazed, I made my way over to her, she didn't seem to even notice me as I began to check her for injuries.

"She's not going to wake up if that's your game." I looked behind me to see Ilazki, what? I glanced in front of me but she was there. How could there be two of her conscious'. I turned my attention back to the one behind me and watched as she came closer, her crimson eyes on her other self. "She should have never trusted him. Now look at her, she's a mess." Her attention went to me.

"Ilazk-"

"I'm not her, I appear this way because you chose to see me as her." Her words puzzled me as she continued, "For now, I will allow your presence. Unless of course you can't fix this mess."

"What is going on?"

"Ilazki's mind has been poisoned, in a sense." The false Ilazki looked at the sky. "She consumed something odd, similar to how the aether, as you call it, is constructed."

"So she consumed the Fruit of the Faerie..." I concluded.

"You have to go now. Before your presence is discovered." She said.

Before I could answer her she sent a surge of dark energy towards me and I was no longer inside of her mind. Ilazki leaned into my hand and moved it from her forehead to her cheek, enjoying what she thought was some sort of tender moment. She seemed completely unaware of the fact that I was in her mind just a moment ago.

"I guess I'm a little tired. I'm sorry if I worried you." She exited the car, this was strange... I followed her, pondering on what I had just seen in her mind. Fruit of the Faerie, I remember from my youth Frigga had once told me a story about the strange mystical fruit. Malekith used these to influence his followers to do his biding or he would combine the power with a strange mystical orb to see what his followers would see as a way of having almost complete control over them and letting them believe they were in control of some new found power. This could explain certain events.

I was quickly brought out of my thoughts as Ilazki had grabbed me by my shirt and pushed me up against a wall, I looked at her with irritation.

"What are we?" She quietly demanded. I noticed a few on lookers but they didn't seem too shocked about her behavior, this must have been a trap so that I wouldn't make a scene. How gallingly clever of her. I smiled mischievously.

"Isn't it obvious enough?" I answered with a question, if she was under Malekith's influence, he must be trying to interpret my relation to her, perhaps I could work this in my favor if I let him believe we are an item. I gazed into her eyes with false tenderness. Baiting her to guess what I wanted her to say. She almost immediately lost confidence and her face flushed with embarrassment. I watched her as a lion does its prey, waiting for her to speak. Moments went by and she seemed to have given into her cowardice, I decided to push her a bit.

I lifted her chin to make her gaze at me and I leaned in just enough for her to feel my breath on her lips as I spoke. "Go on Ilazki, tell me." I reveled in the lust I saw in her eyes, how easily she was affected by such a simple gesture.

I frowned when she did not respond any further and pulled myself away from her grasp, I wasn't sure why but I suddenly felt a small pang of guilt from playing with her mind like this. I felt her arms wrap around me as I had pulled away and she apologized.

"I don't remember you but I'm trying to understand why I have these feelings for you. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. I didn't mean to hurt you if I did..." She explained, I mildly wondered if this was a game worth playing as I turned to her.

"Perhaps it would help if I showed you the memories we've shared together. It wont be the same as the way you experienced it of course." My words seemed to light up her face. I would have to manipulate the memories I show her to fit the lie I was spinning.

"Maybe, we should eat first." She said sheepishly and began to lead me again. Her demeanor had immediately changed from before. It's almost as if she was now a completely different person.

Soon we had made it back to her dwelling, as I walked past her couch she had the audacity to push me onto it. I knocked my head on the wooden arm as I fell. I sent her a glare as she laughed, making her way over to me, straddling me. I caught a small wince on her face as her leg brushed against the couch and my eyes went to her injured leg. My mood softened a bit and I gently pushed her off as I sat up.

"Did you have another vision?" I asked as my gaze lingered on her injured leg. She didn't answer me, so instead I decided to pull her stocking off, revealing a bloodstained, and badly wrapped, bandage that wasn't really even a bandage, just ripped cloth. I began to unwrap it, she didn't protest and only watched intently as I began to heal her self inflicted wounds.

"You shouldn't do this anymore." I said as I finished healing her. "I can stop them for you." I wasn't entirely sure why I was offering but she simply looked away.

"I... I didn't have a vision." She admitted shamefully. I furrowed my brow at this, so, this was purely self mutilation. We sat there in silence, I was unsure how I should respond, so I said nothing and pondered what would be an appropriate response, but, I couldn't think of any. I sighed in defeat.

"...Perhaps we should reevaluate our situation." Her gaze looked distant again and her breathing was erratic, she leaned down into the couch. I took this opportunity to look into her mind once more.

I was taken to the same valley of vines, but there were blue flowers blooming along the vines. The false Ilazki stood beside me with her arms crossed.

"Are you going to continue to be useless?" She scolded. I looked at her and noticed an odd magic binding her to where she stood. "I've already told you that Malekith has influenced her, if you continue with these games you will fall into a trap. Now remove his influence on her." She demanded. I looked to the vines and decided to try to pull Ilazki free. As I pulled the vines tightened their grasp, she looked a me with confusion before I felt a sharp pain.

"Asgardian, your persistence is becoming quite irksome." Ilazki spoke, I found myself back down on the couch with a dagger lodged into my shoulder.

"Malekith." I took Ilazki's wrists to restrain her. "It's a shame you missed the convergence." I taunted. Ilazki's features darkened and one of her hands slipped from my grasp. She twisted the dagger that was still lodged in my shoulder and took it. Ilazki began to tear it down towards my chest using much effort. I hissed in pain, she lowered her face towards mine and spoke sweetly.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you Asgardian." It was Ilazki's voice but I knew it was only Malekith using her as a medium. I pushed her off of me and retreated to the back room to buy some time while I formulated a way to stop him without killing her.

I waited as I heard slow footsteps coming, when I saw her she stopped and her expression was of guilt and fear.

"Loki..." She dropped the dagger that she had was in her hands. I relaxed a bit and sat down on the end of the bed as I began to heal my shoulder. I felt her sit next to me and my eyes darted to where the dagger had landed but it was no longer there and I prepared myself again. Just as I had expected she turned on me again, I caught the hand that she held the dagger with.

"So your not as foolish as I took you for, no matter. Never the less, you will die at my hand." She pushed the dagger closer, forcing her way through my defenses. I wondered just how much control he had over her, Ilazki may be gullible, but there was strength in that when paired with her strong will. I gave her a sweet smile.

"Ilazki, if your still conscious-"

"Your wasting your breath Asgardian." I felt a second dagger in my abdomen. I let out a strangled groan. "Why don't you fight back Asgardian, surely by now you are craving her blood to be spilled." I pushed her to the floor and summoned my daggers and pinned her left hand with a pair. Her other hand I held with my bloodied one. My blood slowly dripped onto her as I held her there, I tightened my grip on her hand as I invaded her mind, searching for Malekith but only found a voice.

Did you really think it would be so simple Asgardian.

A/N:

Updated again! I haven't been in the best of moods but maybe it helped for this chapter haha

Also I just read the reviews! Thank you! And I'm so glad your enjoying everything so far! Things are about to get intense, so hold on to your snacks haha

ps. When I first tried uploading this my internet was being dumb soooo yeaahhhh. Sorry it's late! lol