Unadulterated Devotion
Thor paced from one end of the room to another, his agitation rolling off of him in waves.
"It is too soon," he said to the empty room. His mother had just left him with the maddening news. Leticia had only been with her sister for a mere two days and now they were to be ripped from one another, all due to the bloodthirsty vengeance of one despicable family. How had it all gone so wrong? He'd thought that he'd devised the perfect plan. He thought he'd found a way to provide solace to a woman whose plight he'd sympathized with from the start. He thought he'd found a way to soothe his brother's torn soul. He thought he'd found a way to mildly right the wrongs of the Norns but all he'd done was make it far worse. He'd only succeeded in giving Leticia false hope and extended the pain of her sister. His brother… Thor might as well have driven a dagger into his heart himself and then twisted it at the end for good measure. It would have been a far less cruel action on his part.
He leaned against a large brazier, one of three that softly lit the room and clenched his broad fists against it. How would he tell his brother of this? What would he say? How would he tell him that she would not be returning to him? How could he do it? He'd seen the change in his brother. He'd watched as the sad creature had gone from morose and perpetually angry to someone he actually remembered, to the boy he'd grown up with. Her affect on him had been monumental to say the least and now she was being taken from him. He pressed his forehead against the cool stone and fought the growing pain in his throat with the quickly rising impotent rage within him.
He'd never felt this helpless, not even when Mjolnir had refused him on Midgard had felt quite this useless. There, it had solely been his actions that led to his banishment and abandonment. It had been his fault, his brash egoism and quickly sparked rage the led him to his disgrace. He'd been the cause of his own pain but it had only been himself that he'd destroyed that day but here… three lives would now suffer for his well-intentioned meddling.
The Midgardians were correct; he had paved a road to hell, four of them in fact. He couldn't stop his mind from playing imagined scenes of the sisters being ripped apart as they cried out for one another. In his mind's eye, he saw his bother tearing apart his rooms in bereft rage, screaming out the injustices of this world and he saw himself standing to the side as he simply watched it all happen around him. The instigator of such colossal pain that did nothing but watch the lives of three crumble before him. Loki had called himself a monster once, thought himself a monster, but he was wrong.
Roaring out his rage, Thor pushed with all his strength against the pillar that had been supporting him and watched as it crashed against the polished stone floor, its contents spilling across it in a glowing red flow of burning pitch and red hot ash. The action did nothing to soothe his rage even as he stood over it panting from the exertion. He absently heard the hissing of his tears as they fell to the hot stone at his feet.
"It will not end like this," he declared to the room and to himself. He could not play the part the Norn's had set out for him. He'd traveled across the broken branches of Yggdrasil to save his brother once, he would do it again and more. However, this time he could not do it alone. Luckily, he was fairly certain that he would have help if only he asked. Gripping his great hammer, he strode from the room and into an unknown and dangerous future.
XxXxX
Loki balanced the stylus on the tip of his finger, constantly making micro adjustments to keep it upright and sighed. He was ungodly bored. He'd read all the books on his selves a dozen times or more and he had no desire to interact with anyone long enough to ask for new ones to be brought to him. He had no desire to write and he'd already slept and pleasured himself far too much. For now, this balancing act would have to sustain him until far more pleasant distractions would return in five days.
The sound of the locks on his prison door disengaging broke his concentration and he caught the thin bit of metal before it had a chance to clatter to the floor. He stood and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't expecting any visitations and this wasn't the time for meals. The door opened and in stepped one of his guards.
Loki turned to him fully and stood to his full height. He enjoyed the fear he usually saw in them these days ever since he'd frozen on of their rapist comrades. The moment he looked on this one's face, he knew something was different. It wasn't fear he saw but determination. Had one of them finally found the desire for vengeance? This would be good. Let him come. No matter the outcome, it would be better than this quiet, insidious void.
He gripped the stylus as he crossed his hands behind his back. It was as close to one of his beloved daggers as he was to get in here. It would be interesting if he could best this fully armored and armed guard with nothing but a pen. He would find out if it were mightier than the other man's sword.
Loki stood his ground as the other man, who didn't even bother to close the door behind him, walked straight toward the prisoner. He couldn't help the smirk at the guard's audacity. He hadn't even drawn his weapon. What a fool. At three paces, he lunged at the other man. He managed to grab the shoulder guard and spin the man around, placing him in a firm chokehold. Loki was just about to bring the sharp stylus down into the man's neck when the sputtered voice stopped him cold.
"Loki, wait…"
His brow pinched together in confusion. "Thor?"
"Yes, let me go."
Loki released him immediately and staggered away, baffled by this odd circumstance.
"Explain yourself," he hissed. He hated being made a joke and if his false brother thought this funny, then his sense of humor had never been further from the mark.
"We need to leave. Now."
"But…"
"There is no time."
"Is this some sick joke?"
"It's Leticia, she's to be executed in the morning."
Loki was on Thor instantaneously. He grabbed his chest plate and shook him. Neither noticed the way the golden metal frosted over wherever Loki's frozen flesh came in contact with it.
"What? It is almost dawn now! And how? She was serving out her commuted sentence here, with me."
"It has been coming for months but it was not to be this soon."
"This soon?!" The metal beneath his fingers crumbled and both men staggered away from one another as it broke apart and shattered on the floor.
After a stunned silence, Thor shook himself free of the momentary shock. "But we have a plan."
"We?" Loki asked distractedly as he stared at his icy hands.
"Mother and I but it will only work if you come with me now."
Pulling his eyes away from his hands, he looked his brother in the eye. "Then this is her magic at work. I don't understand how it would be immune to this prison." He gestured to Thor's current form before shaking his head. That wasn't what was important right now. "Why are you doing this?"
"I have so rarely done what is truly right in the past. For once, I would like to try."
Loki only hesitated for a moment longer, weighing the possibilities in his mind. Even if there were a small chance that this was a cruel trick by Odin, meant to finally end him, then so be it. Better to go out like this than slowly rot here. He merely nodded at the unknown face before him. Thor wasted no more time as he headed for the open entrance. He waited just beyond the threshold as Loki stepped through, once again feeling the rush of magic filling his no longer muddled and dulled senses. He couldn't help but watch as his hands slowly bled back to that of an Asgardian's complexion, the much hated azure fading away like the nightscape at dawn.
He saw the unconscious guard, whose visage his brother currently bore, crumpled on the floor at their feet.
"How long before you can use your magic?"
"I know not, perhaps an hour, perhaps less. I've never had the occasion to test it."
Thor didn't look pleased by the estimate. "I feared as much. Can you still freeze the door as you did once before?" he asked as he pointed to his ruined chest guard.
Loki didn't give a verbal answer; instead he pressed his now pale white hands against the door and concentrated. It only took him thinking of a terrified Leticia upon the chopping block for his hands to return to blue and for the ice to spread ominously across the door. Within a moment, the metal of it broke apart and crumbled. When he turned back around, Thor was holding out a rather feminine cloak of fine white lace to him. He raised an eyebrow at the piece of clothing.
"Unless you can disguise yourself with your magic, this is your only other choice."
"What is it?" he asked as he took the delicate fabric from his brother.
"It's mothers."
"Unless you've changed your manner of dress, I can see that well enough. What purpose does it serve?"
"Mother says it can hide you."
Sighing, he slung it around his shoulders and pulled the white, fur lined hood over his head. He looked to Thor to see a ridiculous grin spread across his lips.
"Not a word."
"It's far prettier than the wedding dress you once convinced me to wear."
"I said, Not. A. Word."
Thor managed a quiet chortle before a sound at the base of the staircase drew their attention and changed the atmosphere to one of earnestness once again.
"Come."
Loki nodded and followed his brother down the steps. Thor pulled his own guard's cloak around his shoulders to hide the broken chest plate. Once at the bottom, they passed by two other guards, neither spared them more than a passing glance much to the complete surprise of both princes. They passed through the dungeon corridors as quickly and quietly as they could before breaking into the predawn light. Loki continued to follow Thor as he made his way for a small pavilion across the small courtyard. Once inside the dim interior, they came to a sudden halt.
"Why do we terry? I thought time was of the essence."
"A moment, brother."
And it was only a moment more before both men heard the grinding of stone on stone as a hidden corridor he'd never seen before slid open to reveal the beautiful face of his mother.
"Mother…" he trailed off, nothing more profound need be said as he beheld her concerned face. She beckoned them both to her, touching both their cheeks once they were near.
"My sons, together again." Her sad smile dissipated into grim determination. "But soon to be parted once more if all goes as we hope. Come." She led them into the hidden passage and spoke once more when the grinding sound of closing stone left them in silence. It was then that the plan was explained, what would need to be accomplished to keep Leticia from death's grasp.
"This will never work," Loki hissed once the plan had been relayed. "I have not my magic enough for such a feat yet. We'll all be caught and she will die."
"You always were a pessimistic boy," their mother chided. "I can feel it welling deep within you already." She pressed her hand to his chest as though to emphasize her point.
"And how is it that you can feel what I cannot?"
"Because I'm stronger than you. I always have been." She smiled at his obvious surprise but didn't dwell on the statement for long. "You will be able to accomplish what needs be done, of that, I'm quite certain."
The brother's exchanged a worried glance and Loki couldn't help but feel wonder that the insanity of their current league. An adoptive mother to two boys, one Asgardian, the other Jotun but she was willing to sacrifice everything for those that were not of her blood. She would risk all, her position as queen, her husband's trust and love and the stability of an entire world, all for her 'sons'. What had he ever done, what had either of them ever done to deserve such unadulterated devotion?
"I will always love you, my son." The tears that were streaming down her cheeks made him regret all the pain he'd ever caused her, made him feel like the awful son he'd always been.
"Always," he whispered when she pulled him down to kiss his brow as she done so often when he was a boy. She stepped back but kept one hand on his cheek, unwilling to let him go just yet. He knew this was goodbye. No matter the outcome of their machinations, he would never see Frigga again. Now, when there was no time, he longed to tell her all the ways he would forever be indebted her, how he wished he could crawl into lap as he had so long ago and take comfort from her warm embrace and soothing words. But all he could do was take her hand and kiss it, praying that she understood his regrets and his love.
Then she was gone, sweeping away like the queen she was down another corridor to carry out her part of the plan.
He didn't hear Thor at first, softly calling his name, not until the crown prince placed his hand on his shoulder.
"We must go."
Loki looked toward the corridor that she'd disappeared down for a moment longer before nodding and turning to follow Thor once more.
"Then lead on, Brother."
XxXxX
AN: Another chapter! That was a slightly shorter wait than the last one. And now we have something happening. A plan… what is the plan? Oh, you'll find out. I promise. Will it work? Will Leticia be saved? We shall see. And now, my favorite, review responses!
Mrs. Darcy: I'm so glad it worked. You never know if a story will continue to flow properly after leaving it for so long. I'm glad that's not the case with this one. Thank you for the inspiration wishes, I hope for the same. And I'm thrilled that you loved POM. That behemoth of a story was a hoot to write and I'm so pleased that people still seem to be finding it and enjoying it. Thank you.
Anon E Mouse: Good to be back. I enjoy smut that has a strong emotional element to it, both in my reading and my writing. It makes it so much more interesting that way. You didn't have to wait nearly as long!
Yasumi: Thank you. If I'm not writing smut that's heart wrenching at some point, then I'm not the one writing it. :P I'll make you squirm a little while longer before this fic comes to an end. I've been well, just had a lot of changes. Thanks.
Guest: I'm so happy that you and others feel that way. It's nice to come back after so long and find people still dutifully following. It's heartwarming, to say the least. You're quite welcome!
sweets1111: Thank you! *flower for you
female'wraith: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks.
ClaMiAl: It's been far too long. I love that you find it unique considering the sheer volume of Loki fics out there. I'm glad you enjoyed it despite it's brevity. I'm a smut-o-holic, so 'not much happened' is my curse. She is certainly planning something and you'll find out what and who succeeds quite soon.
lovingmom2013: I can't wait to give you more!
Eleanora Silverdoe: Thanks. I'm happy to be back and find so many people still following this story.
emolistic: You're welcome. Life does tend to get in the way but I don't think it will ever keep me away from writing for too long. I'll always come back.