"I know that you didn't intend in coming back," he interrupted her. It was a simple statement. Just an observation. No emotions.
"You do?" Gwen could bite off her tongue after that stupid comment. She had just betrayed herself.
Then he said something that surprised her completely. "Why would I blame you?"
She lost her breath. What did he say?
"I know that I would want to be tied down by someone who's gravely hurt." He turned to her. "I wouldn't have returned."
She laughed awkwardly. "I suppose I would have had to haul you in, if we were in that situation."
An animalistic laugh left his lips. Gwen jumped from the sound that rolled against the wall and back again. He curled up in his laughing fit. She wished she could tell him to shut up. Gwen sent a frightened gaze up into the ceiling. A vision of angry frost giants attacking flashed before her eyes. Gwen stared at the laughing frost giant next to her. She pinched her nose.
…
"My king," Balder lowered his gaze to Odin's feet. "All I am asking for is mercy on behalf of my brother."
"Balder, I've always viewed you as a logical creature. You are driven by your emotions now-"
"Of course I am! He's my brother."
"I had hoped that Thor would have convinced you about how your real blood-relatives means more than-"
"Are you talking about the fact that I'm your bastard?"
"You are given the best opportunity of them all. A high position in the society. I take care of my own children."
"What does power, wealth and high position matter when my brother is gone?" You betrayed Frigga when she lived. I am the result of that betrayal.
"Someone has to take responsibility. We can't allow Frigga's death to be forgotten."
"I'm not saying that we shouldn't mourn Frigga. You just want to find someone to blame! You don't care whether he's innocent or guilty. She wouldn't want this! Frigga was a peace loving individual. Please, give me the chance to find the rightful murderer. In exchange, you will let my brother free," begged Balder.
Odin sure loved his determination. "As you wish, my boy. Until you find the guilty one and also can present clues which leads to this horrendous murderer, your brother will stay alive. I give you two months."
"Thank you, my king," said Balder with a breathless voice.
The king got out of his throne and stepped towards Balder. "Have anyone in mind?" Odin was curious now, he could see signs of himself in the younger man.
Balder gulped. "Loki."
"Not on my watch!" Someone had been eavesdropping at their conversation. A woman dressed completely in white came into view. Her pale appearance and bandages across her body made her appear like a ghost. "No!" Sigyn stormed into the throne room. Her robe flowed behind her as she hurried up to them. "Loki is not someone you can blame for everything wrong in this realm!"
"Sigyn, you ought to rest," said Balder, quite astonished. "I am not sure you know what you are talk-"
"I know very well what I am talking about!" she barked at him.
"Sigyn, he is the indirect cause of your-, well, situation."
"You haven't seen what I've seen. He gave up his own wellbeing for another person. It was a beautiful gesture. He rebuilt a bow for a poor bow and used his shoelace as a string."
Odin raised an amused brow towards Balder. Balder lost his temperament. "A shoelace? Are you giving me a shoelace as an example?"
"It is the act of symbol, a metaphor, I'm talking about!"
"One act isn't enough to add up the rest of the bad ones!" Balder threw his hands up in the air in a gesture of resignation. "The world have gone mad!"
The king chuckled. "Serve me the innocent Loki on a silver plate, in two months from now," Odin told him.
…
Loki had slouched down towards a cold rock. "Can I trust you?" The question was intimidating in its own pure form and Loki's tone made it even worse.
She decided to throw it back. "Can I trust you?"
"Why are you repeating my question?"
"Why did you drag me all the way here?"
Loki tilted his head charmingly. "Because you can't trust me!"
"Why do you find it interesting to ask me the same question then? If you make sure I can't trust you, why do you care whether you can't trust me or not?"
"I like to know where I keep my allies/enemies."
"I must be labeled as an enemy, right?"
"Just as you've labeled me as a psychopath. It didn't take me more than a minute until I realized that you are a so called stiff shrink."
"For the record, I'm not a shrink. I'm not changing anything, I am just merely observing... (Even if it's impossible to observe without changing the system...) Why did you take me here with you? If I'm your enemy. Why did you let me get medicine for you? I was out of your sight for days. Quite risky, huh?"
"Why did you have the medicine on you when I dragged you back? Why didn't you send a message to someone to ask for help. But most important; Why didn't you contact my brother when you had the chance?"
Gwen put on her most perfect poker face. "The same reason as yours."
"Illogical."
She snorted.
He was in the confession booth now. "I've hated you ever since you introduced yourself. You are studying me like an animal in a cage and all I can see in you is pity for me," Loki spat the last words. He sighed and said the next in a much softer tone. "But you saved me against the chitauri, when both my hands and feet were bound and I couldn't stand a chance, I hold you very dear for that. After what you did for me when you cured me I can't despise you anymore. I owe you."
Gwen had shied back from his harsh words in the beginning but had relaxed after the later soft sayings from his side.
His soft tone changed to something that resembled mischief. "Your presence made it easier for me to realize my plan."
Her muscles grew stiff again. "Plan?"
"Dear Gwen, what is my biggest wish according to your file?" The smile plastered onto his face was sickening.
"A throne. It doesn't matter where and how. Just a throne." She licked her lower lip. "Is this a part of your plan?"
"Unfortunately it's not. I consider this to be something along the lines of a divagation."
"So, is this a terminus or a dead end?"
"Enjoyment for the moment." He seemed extremely smug from his clever answer.
"So, you're enjoying this? Well, I'm not. I'm freezing my fingers off!"
"Why don't you go down to the warm fount, then? I thought you loved that place?"
The frost giants scared her and being right under them was terrifying... wait, she was in the presence of a frost giant right now! This particular frost giant wasn't blue (not right now) nor extremely tall (well, enough), but he was currently insulting her. She threw away the warm blanket and shivered in the cold air as she went to collect the towel and a small bottle of soap from her latest packing. "Why not? It would be amazing to get away from you for a moment. I might as well have a great time as well. I should take a bath and finally be able to get the fourteen layers of dirt off me!" Gwen disappeared down the hidden staircase. The staircase was just as long as she remembered and Gwen almost ran down the last steps when she arrived in the warm hall.
…
She threw her clothes in a pile and eyed the shadows. Her worst nightmare would be finding out that the Jotuns were spying on her in the dark corners. She shuddered and jumped into the water. It was amazing, warm and refreshing. Gwen swam for a while until she started washing her hair. It took her almost half of the bottle to clean it. Her gaze went to the little pink razor beside her bottle and she started to blush. Why did she bother with shaving her legs? Making sure that she would die with lean legs? So people could remember her for that? That idiotic thought required a snort.
Gwen climbed out of the pool and swept the towel around her. She rested her head on her knees and tried to calculate how long ago she had eaten a power bar. She was extremely hungry now. Gwen knew that a power bar wouldn't actually due now. A nice meal of warm food was her biggest wish. Mashed potatoes, a juicy steak, a salad and a glass of red wine to round it off. She could practically smell the food and her mouth watered. She sighed and decided to dress herself again. The hot air had almost dried her hair and she hung the towel up to dry as well.
Footsteps were heard in the stairs.
She was already facing him with a raised brow when he arrived from the dim lit stairs. "Missed me?"
He returned the irony gracefully. "I hoped to get a glimpse."
"Yeah my bony body is perfect for viewing," she said painfully aware of the fact that she had dropped a lot of weight lately.
"Actually I wondered if you had drowned. I had expected you to come back running up the stairs for your dry cakes, which you eat with a monstrous appetite, much sooner."
"I am sorry if my table manners revolts you, prince. By the way; the power bars are not cakes!" She made a face. "Just because it looks like you are going to throw up every time you eat something." She mimicked his behavior. "You're nibbling on it, eats like a mouse and it takes you forever to finish. If I hadn't known better I would have suspected that you suffered from some eating disorder."
"'If I hadn't known better...' tell me where did you get that experience? I think I should feel shocked!"
"Well, stop walking around bare chested all the time while giving me the first hand information regarding your fat percentage. I have already offered you a sweater. How the hell do you manage to keep the fat? Slow metabolism? Don't be afraid to admit it!" She got up and kicked the small of his leg.
He didn't react at all.
Gwen started to go upstairs with her things in her hands. Loki followed soon after. She noticed something different about him, he was happier and his cheeks were even a bit rosy. Something was going on. Gwen wasn't entirely sure if it was something good.
"We're getting out of here," Loki said with a voice filled with excitement. His arm cupped her waist to get her to climb the stairs in his fast pace.
"Slow down, Loki. My legs are shorter than yours!"
He continued to drag her up the stairs. "I have a plan."
"You got another plan?"
They arrived in the ice cave again. Gwen shuddered from the coldness, the water drops on her skin froze to ice. Loki handed her the rucksack. "We're going to Hel."
"Hel? What place is that?"
He rolled his eyes towards her and gave her the blanket. "Hel is the goddess of Nifelheim, the protector of graves. She rules the underworld."
"Underworld?" She gulped. "How are we getting there?" She felt like fainting. He didn't mean that they had to die to get there, right? "Answer me!" Her voice went into falsetto.
"No, we're not going to die." He had sensed her question.
"So, you are telling me that we are going to be strolling into the underworld, to realize your new plan and then calmly walk away?"
"Exactly!"
"Are you completely crazy? Did you hit your head when I was away?" She checked for new wounds.
He turned around and cupped her cheeks with surprisingly tenderness. "We can't stay here forever. You are going to freeze to death. Your food supply is almost empty." Loki stroked her shoulders. "See, you are shaking already after a minute here. I can assure you, on my honor, that we are getting out of Nifelheim alive."
Gwen knitted her eyebrows together and bit her bottom lip. His sudden change from evil to good was enough to make her dizzy. "What are we going to do there?"
"We are going to alter everything," he told her with shining eyes. "I'm going make up for the biggest mistake of my life. I am back in control. We're going to fix this!"
"What exactly are you talking about? Are we going into the realm of the dead, meaning isolate ourselves in darkness, to make up for a simple mistake?"
"What do you know of darkness? What do you know of despair? What do you know of isolation? The answer is; Nothing! You know nothing of that. This is nothing compared to real isolation and darkness. You are not going to stop me!"
"Let me go then."
"Too late." He threw the remaining power bars towards her to catch. "You walked into this by your own machine. Take your responsibility."
"Why the hell am I taking responsibility for your mistakes?"
He stopped and silenced for a moment.
Gwen tapped her foot on the ground, both from anger and the fact that she was shaking in the cold.
"Alright." He slouched over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Loki stared deep into her eyes. Her pulse picked up the pace immediately. "All I ask of you is to follow me to the end of the living world and a little bit further."
It wasn't little that he requested. Gwen knew she couldn't say no. He was a master in the art of convincing. Loki wasn't named the silvertongue for nothing.
Gwen stood fixed like a statue before him. Loki caressed her cheek. "I have the chance to make everything right again. I can make things turn out normal again. Will you help me doing so, please?"
The underworld could only mean scary things. Gwen saw an image of herself being carried onto a burning stake while the dead danced around her. She started to sweat. "One condition; You must promise that you won't sacrifice me in some weird ritual there! Give me your word. Give me a holy promise."
"You don't have to worry about that, Gwen."
"Say. The. Words. Out. Loud."
He added things to his promise. Loki put his right hand over his heart. "I promise to not sacrifice you nor allowing you near danger."
"I'm still not fond over this plan. What are we going to do?"
"We're going to bring Frigga back!"
…
The prisoners were returned back to their places. The cuffs were locked once again. The voice of freedom had been silent for a while now. Anger, disappointment and hatred grew towards the prince that had promised them restitution. Everything went back to normal. The riot had been beaten down by Odin's army. The deepest coal mine of Asgård was back to square one.
The prisoners walked in straight rows through the deep corridors. The chains rattled as they moved forward towards their punishment.
Thor stood hidden in the shadows, waiting for the right moment when he saw Heimdall passing by. He scanned the crowd. The depressed looks in their faces were the same. He felt sorry for them.
Someone with golden eyes walked past. Thor took the chance and pounced. He grabbed Heimdall by the collar and dragged him into the shadows. No one reacted when Heimdall was removed from the line. Without a word, opened Thor a secret gangway and pushed Heimdall before himself. Once they were out of the eavesdropping ears of the guards and prisoners did he start talking.
"Heimdall, I want you to follow me."
"May I ask to where, my crown prince?"
"I'm giving you your freedom back if you cooperates with me. Help me to find out who started the war. Together we can take down the enemy and the future of Asgård's throne can be safe."
"My tongue is bound in my mouth. My thoughts are trapped in my mind."
"You made the trees whisper your message and you convinced me. There are ways to tell me without talking."
"There's nothing I want more than to get my message out to the world," said Heimdall and tears appeared in his eyes. "I don't want to serve a punishment I wasn't-" His voice died down.
"We'll get this spell off you," promised Thor. He knew that he was doing the right thing. To consider his brother, Loki, as the ultimate criminal stung his heart. Even if it meant that he pushed a dagger into Loki. It hurt him to know that he stabbed his brother in his back. The universe wasn't fair. Thor convinced himself that if he got a hold of Loki, then he could steer him into the right direction. All he wanted was the scrawny little brother back.