Chapter 48: The Dreaming and The Desperate

Loki's expression dropped immediately. "What?"

"I-I-I-I've been here for like more than three weeks and it's been a while since we, well, we were together the first time and I should've had at least one cycle by now and I haven't had one, not a single one," she stammered.

Loki looked from side to side as the fear of what mystery had been troubling his lover faded into sheer horror of what addition was now growing within her instead. No, he thought, she was right the first time, she has to be mistaken. He looked away, breathing deeply as Darcy sat more upright and took his hands in her own almost pleadingly.

"I mean, I can't really take a pregnancy test here, but I just don't think it's coincidence that I've been here this whole time without any, you know, girl problems." Darcy folded her hands together and squeezed them anxiously.

"No," he said softly and suddenly. Darcy frowned and gazed back at him in confusion. He shook his head. "No, no, no, no."

"No, what?" Darcy asked.

"No, you-you can't be with child. If you were with child you would know, I would know, you don't look any different," he muttered fretfully and stood, staring at nothing in particular as he also spoke to both Darcy and the air around them. "There's been no change, no change at all, I would know."

"Loki there has been a change you just didn't see it. In fact the realization came because we didn't see anything, that's kind of how it works," Darcy countered as she stood slowly, steadying herself against the wall.

He turned back to her and frowned. "No, it's a mistake, you are not with child," he said a little more firmly. "I forbid it."

Darcy gave him a stern look. "You forbid it?" she asked, a clear tone of indignation in her words. He looked away, still breathing rapidly. "What do you mean you forbid it? You don't want children? You want to be a king and that means you'll need an heir someday, right? How can you not want children, not even one?"

"I don't want children because I hate them, all of them," he replied angrily. She stared back in disbelief. "They're a nuisance, a constant source of consumption, a steady stream of chaos, and an all around menace to the general peace of any moment." Darcy gave him a slight smirk and shook her head. "They're nothing but trouble and I've never been troubled more than when I find myself anywhere near them." The memory of the four children that saved his life and seemed not only grateful but spirited and intelligent as well crossed his mind, but he quickly shoved it aside. Generalizing made things easier and it was certain to prove his point, after all. "Children hate me and I hate them."

"Oh really?" she asked. "And you want me to believe that those kids on the news were lying when they said you saved them from that demolished building?"

Loki felt a strong shade of pink form over his cheeks as both embarrassment and some slight irritation moved through him. It was difficult to hide such things from humans even half their world away they seemed to have an annoying way of spreading their events like gossip. He snarled furiously as she crossed her arms. "This is some sort of misunderstanding; you cannot be with child and I forbid any future attempts to do so."

Darcy lifted one brow at him in amusement. "Really? You're just going to forbid it and think that's going to be enough?" He looked at her nonplussed and in slight exasperation as if he had expected her to understand the authority in his stern demands. She sighed and shook her head. "Wow, you are so messed up. I hope the baby's not born with a god complex."

"There is no baby! There never will be!" he shouted furiously at her, his eyes beginning to glow red at their center. She frowned at him and backed away a pace. "I have forbidden it and that is final."

"Will you listen to yourself for five seconds? You can't just forbid something and it never happen. You might have magical powers and-and-and immortality with some stamina and strength that's beyond a humans, but you're not going to defy the basic laws of nature. Sex makes babies, we had sex, what part of that don't you get? You can't just undo that, not with all of your powers. So you missed sensing it, so did I. You're not perfect," she stated more firmly than ever before. He scoffed and turned away, shaking his head and feeling a swirl of uncontrollable anxiety gnawing at him. Mortals were frail, but they were also teeming with life more so than any Asgardian. It had long been a source of jesting that no virile Asgardian man could bed a woman of earth without producing six offspring at a time, two if she was infertile or well-aged. He groaned inwardly and muttered that he would have known, that his powers were too great to have missed something so daunting before muttering yet again that he forbade the issue then added that he forbade it as a deity. Darcy frowned and then glared at him. "You are not a god."

He stood more upright and whirled around, glaring at her furiously. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," she retorted. He took three slow, deliberate steps towards her. "You are a lot of things, Loki, but you are not a god."

"How dare you impugn my power and authority," he said, suddenly allowing rage to fill him in place of the confusion and fear. "Apologize, now!"

"For what? You're the one 'forbidding' me to be pregnant and we don't even know if I am or not. You're so screwed up right now I'm surprised you can walk without tripping on your own delusions," she shot back.

"You horrible little girl!" he shouted furiously. The attack on Alfsheim, the revelation from Brenhin, and then this new threat were weighing heaviest against his displacement and homeless state. Darcy glared back, her nostrils flared and a glow of anger tinted by maternal protectiveness haloed her features. Loki felt his stomach churn at recognizing the same anger in her that had often crossed his mother's features when courtesans made remarks about how different and ugly her second born was. Loki stepped towards her, standing over her in a manner that he hoped would assert his station over her as well. He panted as he glared at her and she snarled back. "You may lack the facilities to recognize it, but I am . . ."

"Watch what you say, Loki," Darcy suddenly interjected, raising one finger to point at him. "You might not believe it entirely, but there is only one God and He does not accept challenges. You keep claiming to be His equal and you'll find yourself humbled beyond belief." The trickster fumed a little more, his eyes now glowing fully red as his skin turned a soft shade of blue. The last time he had asserted his deity-hood he had indeed been tossed around like a rag doll at the hands of the Hulk, not something he had ever wanted to endure again. He had never quite attributed it to anything higher, but then he had always dismissed the notion that the Aesir were demi-gods and that the great creator was above anything that Asgard could produce. Darcy sighed and looked at him as tears began to form again in her eyes. "Let me try this again; I think I am pregnant." Loki began to protest, but found that Darcy was able to raise her voice above his and command a certain presence that told him it would be safest to keep silent for the next few moments. "Seeing as you were the only man I have ever been with, if I am pregnant then the baby has to be yours." He stepped away, frowning and realizing that even if she wasn't with child, which he now had practically accepted as full truth, then she was assuming the state before motherhood entirely. "Now, is there a doctor or a midwife or something that I can talk to and see what is happening with me?"

"No," he said flatly.

"No, you don't have doctors or midwives?" she asked in confusion. "Then what was that room full of people that were healing us when you took me the first time?"

"No, you are not with child," he said firmly and slowly. She sighed and shook her head, looking down. "I do not know what has caused this idea and the insolence with it to come upon you, but I don't like it."

"Yeah, well, I'm the one who has to live with the hard part if you're wrong," she quipped back. He growled a little and turned away once more. Darcy frowned and glanced out the window as the sun set over the Asgardian sky. "This isn't who I thought you were. I had hoped, I mean . . ." she stammered. He turned back to her, still infuriated though more quiet now. She shook her head and walked towards the second bed chamber. "Never mind."

"This will all be clearer and calmed in the morning," he said as she walked away. "Until then I suggest you rest and gather whatever strength or stability that has eluded you and created this nonsense."

Darcy whirled around in the doorway as he approached. He froze, expecting a thorough and well-formed tongue lashing from the young woman that he had abducted, tormented, taken, and now quite possibly impregnated. He winced inwardly, but stared back with a steely unyielding anger. A tear rolled down her cheek as she stared back and her full, red lips began to tremble as another strong wave of sobs took her. Another unusual and quite powerful wave of guilt washed over him and he started forward. Before he could speak or reach for her she slammed the door shut and turned the handle backwards, locking it in place. Loki reached down and tried to turn it, growling as he felt the pins and gears in place to keep it still. He instinctively began to draw energy around the lock and move the pins and gears with heated intensity. His conscience moved forward and placed its metaphysical hand over his gifts preventing the trickster from unlocking the handle any further. He sighed as the conscience silently shook its invisible head offering no chastisement further than a saddened sigh as it disappeared.

He leaned against the door and knocked softly. "Darcy, please let me speak to you," he said softly. "Please, Darcy, I'm done shouting."

"Go away," Darcy sobbed from the other side of the door. His heart ached at this and he reached for the handle again. An unexplainable inner voice reminded him that forcing entry would just make things worse. The voice sounded suspiciously like Brenhin, but that was just silly. The trickster sighed and tried the handle once more. "Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Darcy, please," he begged, sincere and somewhat chastened by the sorrow he had brought to her.

Darcy stood, furiously wiping tears away. "I said, go away, Loki!" she shouted more loudly. She slammed both hands against the door for emphasis. "Now!"

The trickster stepped away from the door, shocked and truly hurt that the one creature he had grown fond of was so expressly angry with him. More importantly, he had once again been the cause of tears in another being, something that was beginning to claw at him inwardly. He sighed and slipped into the other bedchamber, striding over to the window and placing both hands on the open sill. He looked out into the darkening sky mirroring the sorrow and heavy guilt that was now cloaking his proud soul. He fought the urge to cry and turned back to the bed, sitting and letting his head fall into both hands as he tried to think of the best way to undo his latest infraction. Exhaustion was too great at the moment and he soon found himself lying back and closing his eyes, promising to wake after only a few moments. From the shadows now forming in the corner of the room, a small pale figure emerged and grinned brightly. The trickster had great power, but Drifa knew that her powers exceeded his own in many ways at least for the time being. She smiled and climbed onto the bed, looking down at the peaceful Asgardian as he slept. She reached down and touched the side of his face gently, pleased with how quickly he had responded to her silent command to sleep. Without any further crystals to spare, she had to find a more suitable means to corner him and guide his thoughts. Dreams were a suitable means for any sorcerer and she knew that of all the things he had cast aside and become, Loki was nothing if not a dreamer.

(*)

While Loki fell fast asleep, Volstagg tried desperately to excuse his need to go out to Drifa's dwelling to the guards who had been ordered by the All-father to prevent anyone, including the prince Thor, from leaving the palace without his express permission. Odin had contemplated the notion that his adopted son might have been eliciting the unwitting help of any of his former friends and the easiest way to track that would be to see which of them attempted to leave. Unfortunately, as was the recent way of Odin's plans, all that happened was an argument between the guards and Volstagg who had openly been instructed by Frigga to find him. Even if Loki had been using the older warrior, there was less of a chance of finding him when he knew that Volstagg answered directly to Frigga as well.

The sky grew darker and Darcy sat awake in her bedchamber, still gazing out at the sky through the window. She had calmed down enough to stop crying for a short time and sat peacefully, contemplating everything that had happened. She couldn't afford to think too much about the negatives and become overwhelmed again, but she needed to find a way to get this fixed once and for all. Thor was here and while he and Loki didn't seem to get along at all, being reunited with stronger relatives when such a powerful enemy was after them was clearly the best course of action. Brenhin had said this and it wasn't often that the servant had been wrong about anything. She stood slowly, determined to reason with him that she demanded they do as the servant had said, and made her way to the first bedchamber. She glanced inside, noting that her beloved had fallen asleep, likely exhausted after such a trying day. She frowned and leaned against the facing. It occurred to her that she could head off to the palace on her own, but would it be safe?

"I can get you there safely," Drifa offered. Darcy jumped at the sound of her voice, but relaxed when she recognized the form of the little girl oracle that had confronted them in Nifleheim. Drifa smiled kindly. "It would be easier to handle this without his input, you know. If you can speak with his brother or his father and convince them to deal gently with him, he will return as meekly as a lamb."

"I really don't see anything about him being meek," Darcy replied softly, glancing at her beloved with a sigh. "Still, he won't be able to say no if they come and actually get him. Maybe that's what he needs."

"Yes, that would be best," Drifa replied with a kind smile. "For all of you." Darcy glanced back at her inquisitively. The girl had strange powers, stranger and deeper than Loki's. Could she know if there was a child in their future? Drifa grinned and reached forward, placing a hand gently over Darcy's womb. "Yes, for all of you."

Darcy grinned and fought back tears again. She breathed deeply. He could be retrieved by his family and made to accept their protection, but she couldn't make him want or care for a child. She shook her head, there were other things to think about now. "You can help me get to the palace?" she asked, pushing aside the thought of dealing with another emotional outburst.

"Of course, anywhere in the palace," Drifa said proudly.

"Good, I need to know where Thor is, he's the best person to talk to," Darcy said with a sigh of relief. Drifa lifted one brow both inquisitively and in amusement. Darcy hesitated and then another thought came to her. The father of Thor and Loki had cast out Thor for pride and selfishness; even if she convinced Thor to forgive his brother it may not be enough to convince their father if he was angry enough. No, she had to go straight to the source of any potential snafus. She had to speak to Odin herself. "Wait, no. I think I need to speak to the king, to their father."

"Odin still wanders the halls of the palace, he will be eager to hear from the mortal his son abducted, I am sure," Drifa replied with a grin. Darcy nodded and straightened herself, donning a more serious expression. "But, remember that the All-father is obligated above all citizens to uphold his laws. Loki has transgressed in many ways that even his brother and his friends did not know about. You will need cunning to convince him to look past any sins on Asgard or Earth."

"Hey I was part of debate club, I can argue without raising a sweat or asking questions," Darcy replied proudly. Drifa nodded and then slowly closed her eyes. Darcy took one last look at where Loki still lay asleep before the room around her spun furiously once and then filled with light. The light was dim, but was more than what had lit the small dwelling on the outer rim. The gold of the hallways reflected the dim light making it seem brighter than it truly was. Darcy gasped as she realized she was now standing in an enormous hallway with ceilings as tall as an average skyscraper. She darted to one side and stood against the wall as she saw a figure in the distance. Down the hallway, walking away from her, she saw the same form that Loki had taken to scare away Eldred. Odin was not adorned in full armor at the moment, but his face and shape were unmistakable. Darcy drew in a deep breath and tried to remember the basics of the small optional course she had taken in international protocol when meeting with dignitaries and royalty. She had to address him properly and as a king it needed to be your majesty or was it your royal highness?

"I should've taken better notes," she muttered to herself as she slowly approached him. Her heart began thundering as she made her way towards him, stopping a few feet away. He hadn't sensed her presence yet, but she was sure that he would do so any moment. The sound of her own heart was loud enough to echo against the gold walls, she was sure of it. She centered, reminding herself that letting her pulse and pressure get too high was bad for the baby. She shuddered at that thought and all it implied, but then a sudden calm moved through her. That was the ace in the hole; that was something she could keep up her sleeve if the king argued with her . . . she was carrying his grandchild. She drew in a deep breath and moved more fully into the center of the hallway a few feet away from him, finding the courage to stand without trembling. "Your Majesty?"

He stopped moving and turned slowly to face her. Darcy noted that even the string-less patch over his eye had been mimicked perfectly by Loki. She hid a smile and bowed her head, knowing that she might not be able to stand if she knelt completely right now. He looked her over confusedly as he took a few steps towards her, recognizing almost at once that she was not Asgardian. She cleared her throat as he spoke. "Tell me your name, child, and what business brings you so close to Valhalla when you are clearly not of this realm?"

"I, uh," she stammered, breaking two of the rules she had made for herself in her debating and speaking. He folded his arms behind him neatly as she folded hers in front. "I came to speak to you about your son, Your Majesty."

"Did you, now?" he asked with a laugh. "I suppose you are one of many mortals entranced by him. I can assure you that his heart belongs to another, though I hardly think any mortal has any place at his side."

"What?" Darcy asked in confusion. Sif wasn't a mortal and Loki had no connections to anyone else . . . did he?

"I believe her name is Jane and he is quite attached to her," Odin continued. Darcy let out a sigh of relief and put a hand over her chest. "No doubt you will want to return home as quickly as possible."

"Actually, Your Majesty, I think Thor is a great guy and all, but he's not the one I'm here about," she explained. Odin stood more upright and looked at her with greater interest. "In fact, I came to see if you would be willing to send someone to retrieve him and promise not to do anything harsh to him."

"You desire Loki?" he asked, amazed firstly that a mortal would've come this far just to seek out the trickster and secondly that they would be as bold as to ask for something so outlandish. "And you want me to promise what exactly?"

"Well, it's just that with everything he's done, I'm well aware that you're probably going to want to, you know, punish him or something," Darcy said, unable to hide the anxiousness that she had tried so hard to hide and suppress. Odin felt too powerful, too ancient to be completely calm around. It was in the nature of mortals to fear the ancient until it had given them reason not to and so far Odin had not shown Darcy that he was anything less than as intimidating as the massive palace. "And, that's really why he won't come back, he's embarrassed and afraid even though we're being pursued and threatened."

"Pursued? Threatened?" Odin said more loudly, concern definitely behind the louder tone. She nodded quickly. He sighed and shook his head. "Thor told me of his exploits on Midgard and their ties to Thanos, but I had no idea he was pursuing. That is most troubling."

Darcy contemplated correcting him, but instead bit her lip and nodded anxiously. She and Loki could always set any misunderstandings aright once he was safely in the palace. "Yeah, it's very troubling." Darcy moved a step closer, feeling oddly empowered after the falsehoods. She placed a hand defensively over her midsection, wondering if the trickster would be more inclined to act rationally and put aside any hatred for his own offspring if she presented the issue to his parents with him present. Their reaction would be overjoyed; all grandparents received the news well in her experience at least in royal families. He turned and gave her a cautious side glance. "Your Majesty, there isn't much time to retrieve him while he's not expecting it."

Odin narrowed his eyes at the young woman for a moment. She seemed to be more than earnest about this and the thought of having the family finally reunited even if it meant pushing protocol aside was a refreshing one. He watched her expression and noted the slight trembling in her features and the gleam in her eyes as she explained the idea twice at odd speeds, obviously anxious to have come and approached him alone. He grinned. No, there was no pretense in the youth's eyes and she looked as innocent and frightened as he had expected a mortal that had been in Loki's presence to seem. What Odin did not expect was the pleading with ardent trust that the girl seemed to have for his son. He sighed heavily and moved several paces toward her.

"There are few times that I will allow the rules of nature to bend in the name of even true love," Odin said softly. Darcy's expression fell and she allowed her hands to fall lifelessly to her sides. The All-Father smiled wistfully at the sight of such tenderness. This wasn't only a good opportunity to bring the trickster home, but it would impress Frigga beyond any act he could perform on his own. "But if you and my son are indeed under threat of death, both of you will have protection here with the rest of the family."

Her eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. Darcy hadn't felt this kind of full relief after such a chaotic pulse since she and Loki had last been intimate. Odin also seemed genuinely happy and as though some old desire had been fulfilled at long last. She suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around him and he did the same, still feeling that all of this was surreal and wondering how long it would take to awaken from this dream. The cold of the enormous halls had been surpassed for the moment by the warmth passing between them. Odin looked down at her as she released him and stepped backwards awkwardly and felt a wave of relief wash over him. Frigga would be soothed, Thor was already home and behaving more solemn, and now Loki would soon be home and somewhat subdued by this human woman. As Darcy bowed slightly to the All-Father, Odin noted the strange mark on her left hand. He narrowed his eyes and moved forward seizing her by the wrist firmly and turning her hand until her palm faced him. He stared at the symbol etched magically on it. Darcy shifted uncomfortably and groaned, looking back at him in concern. Darcy shifted again and tried to pull free instinctively. Odin frowned. "Stay where you are, child," he commanded. There was no cruelty in his tone at the moment, but the old man's voice told her that any further movement was a direct violation of any trust. He examined the mark for a few seconds more as a twinge of anger and confusion surged through him. He slowly looked up into Darcy's eyes. "Where did you get this?"

Darcy bit her lip and looked away for a moment. Odin tightened his grip on her hand forcing a small squeak from her. "I-I-I accidentally touched something magical," she admitted in a half truth she hoped would satisfy the immortal. He seemed more concerned about this than Brenhin had been and certainly more than Loki had been. "The mark just showed up when I touched it. Nothing else happened."

"What was it, what did you take hold of?" Odin demanded more loudly.

"I-I don't remember," she lied, beginning to tremble.

"Think back, then," he said in a warning tone. Darcy stammered uncomfortably for a moment, glancing back and forth timidly. She and Loki had agreed to keep his apprenticeship and the mark a secret should they return to his home in order to make sure he could deal with Eldred later. Odin frowned at her silence, sensing the trickster lying through the girl. He growled a little and pulled harshly on her wrist. "What did you take hold of?"

"A-a ball, a crystal ball or something!" she suddenly exclaimed. This was not going to end well unless she was entirely honest. "I think it was the Norn Queen's Eye."

"The Norn Queen's Eye? How in the sacred branches of all Yggdrasil did you find that?" Odin demanded hotly. He snarled at her and pulled harshly at her wrist once more. "How did you find the orb?"

"Ow!" she exclaimed. "Master Eldred needed it, we had to go get it in order to make him stop trying to kill me; that didn't work, but he was getting weird then!"

"Master Eldred?" Odin yelled. He held tightly to the girl's wrist and looked harshly at her. "What were you doing with Eldred? How long had either of you spent near him?"

Odin frowned. He remembered when it had been revealed to him that his son had already surpassed many of his instructors in his studies. Frigga had begged that they apprentice him to Drifa, but Odin had believed that Loki would do best trying to train alongside Thor at that age. He had been convinced that he had committed some unforgiveable sin and been sentenced to purgatory during those next few years, but Eldred's training had made the jeering and hate more bearable. Odin's grip softened and he felt a larger wave of relief slam into him. If Loki had been under the tutelage of Eldred then that is what had prompted the wickedry and continued mischief that had escalated beyond playful into malicious. He sighed and shook his head as he looked back at her sadly.

"You are a walking source of dark energy in a potent symbol vulnerable to anyone close enough to see your hand," Odin stated, glaring down at the symbol and then looking back at the girl with a small measure of pity. "Loki must go back and retrieve the orb or you will be a target for any sorcerer or demon."

"He can't go back until we can be sure that Eldred doesn't suspect his return, or mine," she argued. Odin narrowed his eyes at her. "He says it would mean my death."

"Then you are dead," Odin shouted sternly. She cringed as the All-Father's words resounded through the chamber, now overwhelmed by the danger she faced in both Eldred's wake and the king's presence. He sighed and shook his head. "If he needs assistance then he should take his brother and the warriors three, but he will go back now before Eldred has a chance to amass some malignant spell to retrieve this."

"He can handle this without Thor and so can I if you'll just let him come back and explain things," Darcy countered angrily. "I'll just go back and tell him that we should . . ."

"No!" Odin shouted, pulling the girl back. She gasped and stared at the immortal in terror. The All-Father was infuriated, but relieved that his son's actions were prompted by the vengeance of Eldred; he was livid, but still comforted to think that the boy's magic was strong enough to face off against the old weasel. Still, Odin also felt that the only way to make sure that the precocious youth did as he was told when he was told to do it was to assert his own authority in the face of Eldred's fall in the boy's mind. Even from the distance between them, Odin could hear the youth's heart racing furiously at her beloved being separated from her now and even at a distance he could hear the faint traces of Loki's heart racing as well. This was an acceptable means of control and asserting authority; once he was on his way, Odin could go and share the news of the boy's return with Frigga and they could all wait for his return when the family would be whole once more. Odin called for two guards who approached hurriedly and bowed. He looked sternly into Darcy's eyes. "You bear a marking that can be used by any powerful sorcerer and with your life-force behind it that makes it all the more powerful. Not only could you die, but the entire realm, all of the realms hidden and otherwise could be destroyed by this kind of magic."

"But I . . . " Darcy continued. Odin turned gave her a firm look that went beyond the firm expression he had displayed during Thor's banishment. The girl frowned and looked back and forth between the guards and the immortal. Whatever the old man was thinking, it couldn't be good. "Please, just let me go and tell him what you've told me; the guards are unnecessary."

"I will be the judge of what is necessary and where you will go. Until he returns from the task I have spoken of you will stay safely with all of the other relics," Odin corrected. Her eyes widened in horror. She didn't know everything about the realm, but from the brief stories that both Brenhin and Loki had told her, she knew that the relics were kept in a vault like an armory. That was not a pleasant place to peruse let alone be told to stay in. Odin turned to the guards and gestured to Darcy. "Take her to the vault and seal her with the rest of the Norn relics."

"What?" Darcy shrieked. "No!"

The guards nodded to their king and took hold of Darcy who was still in shock at the king's command. His temper had shifted as violently and instantaneously as his son's had in times past. At least he hadn't sentenced them both to imprisonment or something worse. She began to protest verbally as they reached the doorway and made their way down another hall. Too stunned to fight physically with the guards as they led her toward the vault itself, Darcy tried to think of what she could possibly do next. Meanwhile, Loki's mind filled with fantastic images and Drifa stood ready to guide each and every one. While Darcy would give a perfect focus for desperate cries, Loki would see in dreams exactly what would happen if all of his plans came to fruition . . . all of them.