Chapter 29
Maria lumbered down the corridor, fighting to keep the grimace off her face. Her hand steadied on her bump – she felt really huge the last few weeks.
She moved with slow steps, taking her time so as not to make herself even more uncomfortable. Bloated and heavy, she was not comfortable with her body at the moment; her ankles were swollen and her lower back hurt, her clothes strained against her swollen stomach and her breath catching in her throat.
Her hand braced on her belly as she walked, feeling it occasionally harden as Braxton Hicks contractions swept over her womb. They had been happening a lot the last week; those harmless hardenings of her womb as her body slowly tested itself for labour.
It didn't do much to settle her, reminding her that the big day wasn't to far away. Soon, it wouldn't be painless contractions – it would be birth.
The corridors were bare today; it was such a lovely day, she was the only one not outside enjoying the sunshine. She didn't mind though. She wasn't in the mood to walk in the sunshine lately with the lumbering bulk of her children in her belly. Today though she was taking a venture from her chambers to somewhere in the palace she had not visited in a long time: Loki's cell block.
For some reason it had cropped into her head about her poor relations with that one guard who had guarded Loki. She didn't like that.
He would be around the palace; he was unavoidable. Maria didn't want to get on badly with anyone that she would have to share a home with. She just wanted to make her peace. She didn't want anything bad lingering on her conscience; she wanted everything sorted so that when the babies were born, they would be all she would have to worry about.
She hadn't brought him anything – what would she bring a soldier? Ultimately, she just wanted to apologise and hope that was enough.
If not, she would have done her best.
It had been a long time since she'd walked down this pathway; she'd had no reason to since Loki had been released. She still remembered the way though.
Thor would be proud of her, she thought. He didn't exactly approve of the guards attitude towards her but he would be glad that she was making such an effort to reconcile. Thor was too busy to scold every guard that had slightly too sharp a tongue towards her. Maria would do this for herself.
She hadn't missed walking down these corridors. They didn't hold many happy memories.
The corridor crossed with another, and Maria's steps paused as she glanced down the intersection. There were not many happy memories here for Thor too, she realised – as she glanced down towards the weapons vault.
That was where things had first started to go wrong for Thor and Loki, when they had first started to drift apart. Thor had told her all about it.
Her eyes glazed over as her thoughts ran away with her. Things had changed so much since then. Thor had been a different man and Maria had been so young, naively starting her university studies. Back then, she'd known nothing about such otherworldly things, about realms and aliens and danger. Her eyes had really been opened. And Thor had grown from a boy to a man – the man she married and loved.
Now Thor and Loki were slowly rebuilding their broken relationship. Things were getting back to what they new to be normal, only now Maria was a part of it.
And soon they would have a family of their own.
It was an inspiring thought – and it wasn't far away, she thought, hand settling on the curve of her large bump.
The thud made her jump though.
Her eyes snapped to her left, back down the corridor that led towards the cells, brow furrowing. What was that noise? There was nobody there, nothing there. The corridor was empty.
But there had been a noise. A blunt, heavy thud-kind of noise. That wasn't an Asgardian noise. Anyone or anything Asgardian was smooth and graceful, not clunky like the noise she had heard. There was never anybody down her anyway, save the guards that protected the cells and they never even moved, let alone made such a sound.
Suddenly, she felt somewhat reluctant to venture any further. The urge to call for Thor ran strong through her blood.
She didn't move, eyes scouring every inch of the corridor ahead of her, ears pricked for any new sounds that might further her suspicions. Something put her on edge.
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she waited, not knowing what exactly she was waiting for.
Then she heard it again.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
A quiet hissing echoed through the corridors and a chill ran through the air. Maria held her breath, feeling her heart race.
She was not alone down here.
Everything was still once more – until two hulking blue figures turned into the corridor, steps heavy and clumsy.
Blue skin with angry red eyes, muscular bodies bare from the waist up and clothed in dull brown leather around their legs. Thick, lumbering clubs were in their hands, long enough to be brushing the floor with every step. Maria knew what they were – Frost Giants.
Her blood turned to ice and she froze in place, not daring to move. They hadn't seen her yet; their eyes scouring around the corridor, deciding where to go. It wouldn't be long though. Mere seconds.
Time seemed to slow down in an instant, Maria's mind racing. What could she do? Their legs were long – they could outrun her, even from their distance down the corridor. She had nothing to defend herself with. Why hadn't she taken Garik with her? He had offered, and she had declined. What a stupid move…
There was no time to regret that now though, as two blood red gazes turned left at last and saw her.
A deep growl rumbled from one of them.
Then they charged.
Maria didn't even think before she turned, hand on her large belly and ran – as best as she could at least. Her eyes were wide with fear as she moved as fast as her bloated, heavy body would allow, feeling every step sway her dangerously.
Behind her, she heard thundering steps, hearing them gain on her with every second. If they caught her, she was dead.
She darted round the first corner she came to.
Loki!
She cried out in her head out of instinct, but didn't have the breath to do it aloud. Already her lungs were fighting for air, constricted in her chest by her growing womb. He heart pounded furiously, working to keep up with her.
She had to lose them somehow. They were faster and stronger than her. She had to lose them somehow, hide – anything! She could not just roll over and let them catch her.
But what else could she do?
Where was Thor? Thor could help her. Anyone could! But there were no guards in this part of the palace save for behind her.
Had the Frost Giants killed them already? If they had killed armed guards, what hope did she have against them? Those clubs would cave in her skull in one sweeping blow. Not that they would need clubs. They could tear her apart with their bare hands, freeze her to ice, crush her…
"Help!"
She distantly heard the cry shriek from her mouth, though it didn't sound like her voice.
All she knew was running. Her legs ached already but she forced herself on, hands swinging her around every corner, hoping the momentum would make up for her lack of speed.
Already she could hear their steps louder behind her, chasing her down. She had mere minutes at most, surely.
She had no idea where she ran. All she saw was the flash of white and gold walls as she ran, but she had no idea where they were leading her. Corner after corner and she was already lost, just hoping that wherever she went, there would be someone there to help her.
She was running out of strength fast. Her lungs and throat burned, body ached and her mind was hazy with exhaustion, vision blurring.
She glanced ahead of her and saw a T- shape approaching at the end of the long corridor, seeing the wall ahead loom closer. Feeling her weakness, she already knew she would not have the strength to pull herself around the next corner; she was done. Gritting her teeth, she fought to turn her heavy body round as the corner came, knowing it was her only chance.
Her heart skipped a beat as her foot slipped, ankles clicking as they failed her. Her shoulder crashed hard into the wall and a silent gasp of pain left her, arms wrapping protectively around her bump.
She sunk down against the wall, glimpsing the flash of blue down the end of the corridor she had just come from.
This was it, she thought with a racing heart.
She couldn't bear to look, watching her doom loom ever closer. She couldn't do it. Screwing her eyes shut, she turned her head to the wall, listening to the pounding footsteps of the Frost Giants hunt her down.
In seconds it would be over, she thought, hearing the hiss of rapidly forming ice, the roaring battle cry…
Only it didn't end.
Surely, her death would end it all? But the noise went on, and it didn't seem to touch her. She didn't feel in any pain. If anything the noise seemed to be moving away from her.
Tentatively, she peeled her eyes open.
The corridor in front of her was empty. And to her right, all hell was breaking loose.
It was a flurry of blade, bodies and ice as Loki and Garik battled with the Frost Giants. They all moved so fast. Maria watched with her heart in her mouth as Garik fought, ducking and diving more than Loki to avoid being touched by their icy grasp. For Loki, it was nothing – his skin was already frosty blue.
She should run, she thought, while they were distracted. But she couldn't move. Her hand cupped protectively over her bump, shrunk up against the wall.
Her eyes were drawn to the fight, frozen with fear. Garik and Loki would protect her, right? They could beat the Frost Giants?
They looked so small and graceful compared to the two hulking figures that they fought. The clubs missed their targets as they swung through the air and Loki caught their ice spears in his hands, crushing them before they could get anywhere near him. Everything happened so fast.
The beastly cries of the Frost Giants echoed in her ears, blunted occasionally with Garik's swinging sword and the hiss of ice.
Then the club clipped Garik's shoulder and he cried out, tossed aside hard like he weighed nothing.
Maria flinched, snapping her head away. She couldn't look; she couldn't watch them die.
Her hands rose to her ears and she blocked it all out as she screwed her eyes shut. Vaguely, she still heard muffled roars and grunts, but she ground her fists into her eardrums, as if she could blot out the world entirely.
She wished it would stop – that everything would stop. She should have stayed in bed, made Thor stay with her…too late for that now.
Just as that last thought ran through her had, silence suddenly fell.
Slowly, Maria peeled her eyes open. She didn't have the nerve to turn around and see anything though. What would she see? Flash of ice? One last swing of a club before her world blotted out forever?
She couldn't believe it would end like this. She had thrown herself off buildings and faced unimaginable pain back in New York – and she was going to die cowering against a wall!? She guessed things were different when it had just been her life on the line. She was nothing. She had meant nothing then. Now she was a wife and soon to be mother. She meant something now, had people to live for.
That fact would not protect her though.
Her body was curled up as tight as it would go, every inch of her tense and waiting for the end.
So when something gentle touched her shoulder, she screamed.
Her arms lashed out as if that would do anything to prolong her life, futilely batting away at the Frost Giant. Until strong hands gripped her arms and held her, still and helpless.
"Stop! Stop, it's alright!"
Maria gasped, eyes snapping wide open.
That was not a Frost Giant. That was –
"Loki!" His name breathed from her lips as she turned around, and there he was, blue face slowly fading back to pink with each passing second. It was fascinating, beautiful. Every moment that passed, his gentle face returned to the one she knew, his features twisted with concern.
Maria never thought she would see Loki worried – he never worried about anything. His brow was furrowed and his thin lips parted as his eyes scoured over her face, sharp with concern.
It didn't suit him.
For now though, Maria didn't care; her arms flung around his neck and he grunted in surprise as Maria pulled him in, dropping to his knees.
"Oh my God, I am so glad to see you!" she sighed into his neck. "How did you find me?"
Gently, Loki reached back and peeled Maria's arms from around his neck, but kept his hands around hers comfortingly as they settled between them. "I heard you."
Heard her? Oh yes! Suddenly Maria remembered how she'd called out as she'd ran – not just to anyone who might hear in the corridor, but in her mind. Loki had heard her. And he'd come running.
She owed him her life.
As Loki leaned back, she could see over his shoulder and the carnage that was left in the wake of the battle. Garik was still knelt at the side of the fallen Frost Giant, breathing hard, with his sword still protruding from its heart. The other one lay on its side further down the corridor, still and unmoving.
Blood pooled on the floor around the bodies and Maria felt her chest tighten, gasping for breath. God, they were dead. Loki and Garik had killed them.
Her eyes were wide as she nudged back along the wall, wishing she could get away, but unable to tear her eyes from the scene. They were dead!
Had she really wanted this? She hadn't wanted them to kill her but she hadn't want them dead either. She didn't want anyone to die because of her. But they had died because of her. Lives had been ended because of her. She knew it had been either her or them, but that didn't make it any easier for her conscience to bear.
The breath caught in her throat and she felt the world blot in her panic, hands clawing at Loki for support. Take me home, she begged him in her mind. I don't want to see.
Loki didn't even pause; he slung an arm around Maria and hauled her up as she leaned on him for support. The movement broke her gaze from the carnage and she blinked fast, trying to get the images out of her head. She just wanted to get away from the death.
The clatter of armour distracted her further and she looked up just in time to see the small swarm of running soldiers rushing towards them from down the corridor. She prayed that Thor would be amongst them. She needed his comfort, his strong arms to hold her and protect her. She needed her husband.
A quick scan of the men hurriedly approaching fast dashed that hope though.
Instead of Thor at the head of the soldiers, there was the man who had guarded Loki's old cell. His teeth were gritted as he ran towards them, eyes dark and dangerous with anger.
The guard she had gone to make peace with.
Maria felt Loki tense beside her, his hand tightening at her waist slightly. Glancing up at him, she saw his jaw set, eyes narrowed.
Her brow furrowed. What was going on?
Her confusion was soon answered though as the guard stopped in his tracks and pointed. "He has the princess!" His finger was aimed squarely at Loki. "Stop him!"
The other men didn't stop, running forward around him directly towards her and Loki. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, waiting for the hard impact of slamming armour to collide with them. Instinctively, her arm curled around her round belly.
The hard collision never came though – not for her at least. She gasped as the men tackled Loki, tearing him away from her mercilessly.
Maria crumpled in a heartbeat without his support.
Loki's back thudded hard against the wall as the men slammed into him, his shoulders wrestling with the men that grappled to subdue him. His arms tugged at theirs but he didn't wrench himself fully out of their grasp, like Maria knew he could. Why was he holding back? Loki glared at the men around him, but ultimately did nothing as they held his arms behind his back and knocked him down to his knees.
What was he doing? Maria wondered as she watched the scene with wide, horrified eyes. Why were they arresting the man who had saved her? Why was he letting them?
"Loki!"
She didn't understand anything. What was happening? Why was it happening?
The guard from Loki's old cell strode forward, looming over Loki with a smug look in his eye. "You thought you could fool us." He breathed in a deadly whisper. "You couldn't fool everyone."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" the yell burst from Maria's lips before she could help it, just so confused.
The guard didn't even glance at her; his finger pointed to the bodies of the Frost Giants. "Who do you think granted them entrance?" he accused in a loud voice. "How would they know the way if it was not he who showed them?"
Stay quiet.
The words shot sharply through Maria's head in Loki's familiarly curt voice, deep with urgency. She could hear the bitterness in it though.
What was he saying?
Her frown met only the back of his head though, Loki's dark gaze squarely on his accuser. His mouth stayed shut. Why? Why was he not defending himself?
"He did it before." The guard went on. "Now he has done it again."
If Loki wouldn't defend himself, then Maria would. "You're wrong!" she yelled, fighting to push herself up the wall.
It didn't last long though, and she quickly fell hard back to the floor. In an instant, Garik was running over to her side as if the rest of the chaos wasn't even there and all he saw was her. Crouching down beside her, he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Maria shrugged him off.
Her eyes bore into Loki and she didn't flinch when he snapped his head round, glaring at her with an almost murderous gaze.
Be silent!
Maria met his gaze boldly, refusing to back down. No!
You don't know what you're doing!
"This time, I will see you hang."
He's mad, Maria thought as soon as those words left the guards mouth. Her gaze broke from Loki's and shot straight to the guard's face, seeing the black, venomous look in his eyes.
That was all he cared about, she realised. He had been furious when Loki's sentence had been lessened – gods, he'd hated Loki's mere existence even when it had been in that squalid cell. He'd made no secret of the fact that he thought Loki was still a threat to the realm, loathing every breath he took…
He wasn't interested in the truth, Maria understood. He was looking for any excuse to prove he was right about Loki, to prove that he was still a traitor.
But he was wrong.
"Maria!"
Garik's hands found her shoulders and held her back as she started forward – the soldiers hauled Loki to his feet and marched him forward.
"Go find Thor!" Loki called over his shoulder, before the soldiers whisked him away around the bend of the corridor – back towards his old cell. The guard in charge followed up the party, but didn't spare even a glance behind him as Loki was taken away.
In practically the blink of an eye, everything was still again. Only the corpses of the Frost Giants were left in the corridor with Maria and Garik.
Her eyes lingered on the corridor where Loki had been just a moment before, her anger slowly melting away with fear. What had just happened? This could set back all their progress. They had fought hard to free Loki and now… this could ruin everything. This could undo all their efforts. And how many chances would Loki be given?
It looked bad. With Loki's track record, a situation like this was truly incriminating. The guard hadn't just said those things for kicks; he had a point.
Everyone else would be thinking the same thing too.
Maria gasped as she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, and her hand shot to over her heart. Gods, what was this now? Gasping in a breath, she felt like her chest was tightened, like a rubbed band was pressing her lungs in, refusing to let them expand.
Her spare hand grappled for Garik in her panic and the breaths rasped from her, short and sharp. What was happening to her?
She was only able to force out one breathless word: "Thor!"
Garik didn't hesitate – scooping up Maria in his arms, the trusted guard ran through the corridors in desperate search of his prince.
