The A/N is going to be at the bottom. Sorry for any errors you find!
-Addie-
"You have to sleep."
I shook my head at Loki. I'd managed to stay awake for almost the entire night, which was a tiny miracle in itself. It was either extremely late, or extremely early, however you wanted to look at it. The tiny window in my room was fogged up, the darkness of night pressing against it. I was trying to convince myself that it was just my tired mind stirring things up, the stress of this whole situation, but I knew better than that.
The potion was gone. My internal clock had chosen now of all times to putter itself out.
I literally had the worst luck in the whole cosmos. Seriously, I was starting to wonder if I was the fate's version of a plaything, just to see how seriously twisted they could make my story.
I blinked quickly, my eyes burning from the lack of sleep. The dreams and the tremor in my hand were right back to the point of where I took the potion, and they were steadily getting worse. All I could do now was rest and hope to the gods that I was close to being rescued. If not, then my daughter and I were goners.
There was nothing Loki could do for me. Believe me, he was trying. Even when Freyr and Setne came back to get another bag of my blood, he told them no. Freyr looked livid, but Setne insisted he back off. They'd get their last bag when the Egyptians had met their deadline. That was in less than twenty four hours.
"Your fever is down, but you are still running a low one. You need to rest," he urged me.
"I'm in the bed," I argued. "I'm just not tired."
Loki gave me a disbelieving look. I didn't have to look in a mirror to know that I looked like a complete wreck. I was more than exhausted. There were dark circles under my eyes, and I hadn't been able to eat much without feeling nauseated. Waking up screaming three times in the past two days were enough to make my voice raspy and raw. My throat burned every time I spoke.
"You know, if it's just bad dreams, then tell me. I can fix that. It's really hard to keep you healthy if you are constantly lying and keeping things from me."
"You can stop the dreams?"
"I can make sure you have a dreamless sleep, yes," he vowed. Loki looked relieved that he could help in some way. I bit my lip, warring between the options. I knew I needed the sleep, not only for me but for my elephant. But I was terrified of what I'd see. There was a good chance that his potion wouldn't work. None of the others did. Maybe it was worth a shot. . Saving my strength was my biggest priority now. I'd tried breaking past the damned barrier that kept me in here, but nothing was working. I'd always end up passed out on the floor. I had nothing left. There was no clever way to get myself out of this one.
"Fine," I finally whispered. Loki stood with purpose and moved to a table across the room. He began mixing things together, his godly powers fueling his actions. He moved with an assurance I saw with Hecate. He took pride in his work and abilities.
"What are your dreams about?" he asked. I bit my tongue. I didn't exactly want to spill my guts to the god who was working for the god and ghost thing who were trying to kill my pantheon.
"I can't remember," I muttered.
"What did I say about lying?"
I looked up at him. "Who said I was lying?" There were some parts of my nightmares that I couldn't remember clearly. Most of the time it was just flashes, words, spasms of mental pain. The flashes I could remember where of the most painful times in my life. It was like something knew what would hurt me most, and it was determined to feed off of it.
"You might not be, but I can tell you aren't telling me the entire truth. You are very good at hiding your emotions. I think you've survived that way." I narrowed my eyes at him and shifted higher in my bed.
"You don't know a damn thing about me," I quavered.
"You're right; I don't. But I do know that there's an awful lot of pain in your eyes and tone for someone who doesn't remember anything at all."
"And how would you know that?"
"I know what makes someone look like that. I know what it feels like to slowly lose your mind, to have something torment you without reprieve. I was chained under a snake that dripped poison on me for over a thousand years. Our chains might have been different, but you've known that pain just as I have."
I turned away from him to study the window. It was too dark to see anything outside. The darkness felt different here. It was almost tangible, like the fog tonight. No matter how much Loki tended the fire, no matter how many blankets I wrapped myself in, I could never get warm. I rested my hand against my stomach, pleased with the heat it was emitting. The darkness here didn't seem to bother my daughter. I curled in on myself. I wasn't freezing, but I was cold enough that it bothered me.
"The reason you can't get warm is because your body knows it's not suppose to be here. Mortals don't do well in Niflheim."
"Where in Tartarus is Niflheim?" I huffed.
"First of all, what is Tartarus?" he responded with a smirk. I rolled my eyes before answering.
"Tartarus is where we send our monsters and imprison our immortals. There's even a place called the Stone inside it. You might find yourself acquainted with it very soon."
"I think I deserve a little gratitude. I am helping you now," he amended with a thoughtful glance towards me. "That should earn me some forgiveness."
"But I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. You have a lot to make up for."
"Fair enough," he admitted. Loki took a deep breath and placed his hands on the small table. "Niflheim is one of the nine realms of the Norse. I don't think the Greeks have a counter for it. It's a cold land of fog and mist, the gateway to Helheim, the home of the dead."
My stomach sank. Of course I wouldn't do well here. Loki leaned back against the wall, watching the brew thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't worry, though. It can't kill you, being here. It will just make you feel weaker, closer to death and all," he explained with a sigh as he sat in a chair. Great. The hits just keep on coming. I wondered if I would ever catch a break. It was quiet for a few minutes. I tried to memorize the pattern on my latest blanket. I heard Loki working, and I used that to keep me awake.
"Can I ask you something?"
I looked up at Loki. He sat in a chair, his hands rested under his chin with an appraising and curious gaze. I nodded my head.
"Are you one of the ones they forced into immortality? One of the mortals they took against their will?"
The world fell out from underneath me. "What makes you think that?"
"When you scream…" he began, but he stopped and rubbed the back of his neck. "Some of it was coherent."
It felt like a part of me had been violated. Not many people knew about my past, and there was only one person who knew everything. I wished Apollo was here. I'd give anything for his presence right now. I leaned against my knees, trying to think what I could have possibly screamed. So many memories tore through my mind, each one more horrifying than the next.
I studied the fire, wishing that I could will the flames into me. My internal flame had gone in the past few days, the hopelessness of the situation taking its toll on me. I was deluding myself into thinking everything would work out. I wasn't that lucky. A tear ran down my cheek, and I didn't even bother trying to wipe it away.
"What did I say?"
"You mentioned a few names, Orion and Tiberius. Who were they?"
"That's my brother and my mortal husband. They died a long time ago," I whispered.
"How old are you exactly?"
"Almost two thousand," I whispered. His eyes turned sad. He shook his head, just a tiny bit before looking down at his feet. I knew that look. I dug inside of me to ask the question I wasn't entirely sure I wanted the answer to. "Did…did I say anything else?"
Loki opened his mouth to respond, but he quickly shut it. Fury built inside of me. What I was mad over, I wasn't entirely sure. I knew I didn't want this god's pity.
"Tell me."
"You were begging someone," he finally admitted.
"And what was I begging for?" Although, I already knew the answer. It was the freshest of my nightmares.
"You were begging Ares to be gentle with you."
I closed my eyes, but that didn't stop the tears. They were flowing freely down my cheeks now. It was all I could to stop myself from sobbing. All my emotions were warring together, the past and the present so eerily similar: the rage at being helpless, the fear of hurting ones I loved, the raw sadness of knowing there was not going to be a quick end to my suffering. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, and I swear I felt my daughter's tiny hands push up against one of mine. There was one profound difference this time: my family wasn't dead and gone. I had a husband and a daughter who needed me, and I would never stop fighting for them.
"How long?" he murmured.
"Almost a thousand years. I was cursed," I explained quietly. Loki nodded his head. He didn't ask me anymore questions. He finished the elixir, adding it to the cup that held my other potion. He helped me drink it, being careful to not touch me any more than he had to.
"Is he…the um…" Loki pulled the cup away and looked at my stomach warily.
"No," I stuttered after I swallowed. "Apollo is."
"Your husband, right?"
I nodded my head. He helped me ease back into bed and made sure that the blankets were tight around me. He walked over to the fire, summoning the flames higher and brighter. Heat rushed into the room, and for the first time all day, I actually started to get warm.
"Are the myths true about you?" I wondered.
"What do you know?" he asked curiously.
"Not much…just that you cause a trouble," I responded meekly.
"They don't paint me in a good light," he responded. I was familiar with his bitter tone.
"Neither did mine."
"Something we have in common, then," he responded gruffly. "That should kick in soon. I'll be right outside."
With that, he left the room, and without the distraction, I quickly fell asleep.
I made it five hours before I woke myself up. Loki was right there, with a cold rag. My fever had gone up again, and he looked at me in concern.
"This shouldn't be happening. That potion should have worked," he complained to himself.
"Thanks for trying," I rasped. My throat felt like I had screamed until it bled. I closed my eyes, focusing on the tiny series of flutters in my stomach. I had to bear this weight. I had to fight for my daughter. I may not make it, but I'd be damned sure she would. When I opened my eyes back up, Loki was looking at me warily. He took in my expression and pulled away.
"You look resigned," he realized. "What aren't you telling me?"
"I'm not-"
"You are lying," he hissed as he cut me off. His eyes glowed with rage, and the fire roared in response. I flinched away from him. "I am trying to help you, and you repay me by hiding things from me?! By the gods, child!"
"Why should I trust you? You took me from my home; you made me think you were my husband!"
"I didn't know-"
"It doesn't matter that you didn't know! You know now, and you aren't doing a damned thing about it!"
"I AM!" he bellowed. Loki ran his hands through his hair. "I've stayed up listening to you scream in pain, seen the tears that flow down your cheeks. I've watched your health steadily decline since I brought you here, and you are right, that is my fault. I messed up. I keep messing up, and by all the gods, by all the pantheons, I am trying to do the right thing."
"The right thing would have been to say no!" I screamed, but my voice broke halfway through it. "I am dying. I'm not immortal, Loki!"
"Another lie! You have Ichor! You are carrying a child of your gods-"
"My blood is killing me!" I cried out. I was so tired of fighting, so tired of holding in the truth. What did it matter at this point? Loki took a step back to study me. I took a deep breath and sat up. "My soul is immortal, but my body is not. I'm an accident, Loki. My ichor has been destroying my mortal body. I wanted to spend more time in the mortal work, so I took a potion to delay the process. I guess with everything that's happened it has worn off."
"Worn off?"
"Hecate told me I'd be on a limited time frame," I quavered. I knew what I was about to say was a long shot. "There's only one thing you can do to help me. The only way to fix me is to make me immortal. And you can't do that, Loki."
"There's got to be something I can do," he offered in a pained tone. His eyes were wild, searching for an answer I'd thought I'd made obvious.
"If you want to help me, the only thing you can do is let me go," I pleaded. I wasn't one to beg, but I didn't see the harm in it right now. "I need my husband, my pantheon. I need my family. That's the only way my daughter and I can live. I need to go back home. Please, Loki, please let us out of here."
"I can't," he whispered as he moved away. He shook his head, his face as frozen as the fog against the window. He left the room, taking the heat with him. I watched the empty frame for a while, hoping the spell would fade away, but it never changed. I pulled myself out of bed and staggered to it. I pounded against the invisible barrier, sobbing to an empty room. My one hope at some kind of escape just disappeared. Maybe Loki was done with me. Maybe the help I was receiving would stop. Maybe I'd just sealed my fate…
I stumbled back to my bed and sat on the edge closest to the fire. Even that little bit of movement had drained me. I tried to stir the fire back up, but I couldn't make it strong enough to battle the cold. I don't know how long I tried before I gave up and curled up underneath the blankets again.
The meager light in the room dwindled. It had to be sometime during the day. There was more light than usual, but it was muted, like a storm was coming. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the overwhelming emotions.
"I'm getting warmer, I'm telling you!"
"Well, we need you to get hot because that spell isn't going to hold for long," a female voice spat back.
"Let's try down this hall."
I shot up in my bed. I knew that voice. I moved to get out, but I couldn't move fast enough. Every part of me screamed that I was probably dreaming, that I'd fallen asleep again. This just couldn't be real!
By the time my feet hit the floor, someone had walked through the barrier. His messy hair and bright green eyes were something I'd never thought I'd see again.
"Percy," I gasped.
He didn't even respond. He moved quickly to me, pulling me in to his arms for a hug. For a moment, all I felt was my brother's warmth. He felt like home, like everything good, and even my little elephant was doing flips inside my tummy in joy. They'd never met, but she knew he was someone close to me.
"Oh my gods, Addie, you are getting huge," he chuckled into my hair.
"How? How did-" I cried out, but I couldn't finish. I clung to him like he was a lifeline.
"Oh thank Ra, you found her," the female voice sighed as she stepped through the barrier. I pulled away from Percy, and that's when it hit me. That brief moment of happiness was now tainted by that shimmering blue barrier. I'd just let two demigods enter my room, ones that had Greek blood and were now possibly just as trapped as I was in this Norse hell hole.
"Alert the others," Percy told her.
"The others?" I quavered. "Who's with you?"
"Annabeth is here. She's been so worried," he explained. "This is Sadie. She's Egyptian and not trying to kill you. Her brother is helping us, too. There's someone else who knows you, too-"
"No," I gushed. "No, no, no! You shouldn't be here, Percy," I whispered.
This was their back up plan all along. Why didn't I see it before? Setne and Freyr had a web so artfully woven with me as the bait in the center. The spell keeping me in here was for more than just me. If they had wanted to incapacitate me, then they could've kept the chains. They knew someone would come looking for me, and if they did happen to find me, they had the perfect trap laid. They'd just get more ammo to use against the gods, more fuel to add to the fire.
"This was all a trap," I realized.
I'm so so sorry I didn't update last week. I've been going non-stop, and I honestly haven't had any time to write. My health has been acting up again, and I'm getting ready to move (I've actually been packing all day...bleh), so when you throw that with a 40 hour work week, there's zero free time.
I have to go out of town this weekend, but I am going to try really, REALLY hard to give you something next Monday. I'll have a lot of free time between my flights. After all, its hard to leave you guys hanging.
Speaking of, what do you think Addie's going to do? Do you think Percy's going to be stuck with her? How is that going to twist everything? Sound off in the reviews with what you think!
Your reviews literally make my day, and its good to hear from you guys. Thank you for each and every single one I receive. You guys are the absolute best!
I hope you enjoyed this! Until next week (fingers crossed!)
