Bad stuff happens in this chapter! Angst ahoy! Listen up, I'm not sure what constitutes as graphic violence and non-graphic violence in terms of fanfiction. Personally I think what occurs in this chapter can be constituted as NON-graphic violence as I don't get super into any descriptions of gore, but just be aware that somebody gets a pretty major injury in this chapter. That's all I'll say ;)
Also YOOOOOOOOOOO PLOT TIME! We do love when a chapter involves plot-stuff, huh? xD That'll be the case for the next few chapters, so woohoo! ^_^
Hydrangeas Say Our Family Will Flourish
Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Dying of the Light
Amelia marched annoyedly through the halls of Asgard in the direction of the room where King Thor spoke privately with his advisors. She had been in the middle of having a little catch up with Signy while the twins played in the gardens when her phone had rung ceaselessly until she picked it up and heard Tony's voice asking for Loki.
She was irritated, because she knew what it meant when Tony called while they were in Asgard. It was because Loki was needed for a mission, and usually Amelia would be perfectly fine with this, because she knew that if Loki was needed, it was because there was a very real threat somewhere on Earth, or occasionally somewhere other than Earth, but it was Valentines Day, and she and Loki had something special planned that evening.
Amelia had tried to dissuade Tony from taking Loki from her that day, citing specifically what day it was, and that she didn't want Loki to leave unless it was absolutely necessary; well, it turned out to be absolutely necessary, apparently. Tony didn't elaborate, he just stated that Loki was urgently needed.
So she left Signy to watch the kids and stormed through the palace to where her husband currently was, in the advisory room with Thor in a furtive meeting.
As she approached the door to the room, the guards stepped in front of the door and one spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry, princess, but there is an advisory meeting in effect and we cannot allow you entry."
"Well I'm going to have to suspend it for a few minutes, I have an urgent call for the prince," she more or less snapped at the guards, and then added, "please," when a wave of remorse rolled over her at her rudeness.
Then she was struck with another thought. If they refused her entry, she'd just have to tell Tony that Loki was unreachable at that time and then he wouldn't be stolen away from her; her eyes flickered over the guards as they looked at each other and a part of her silently begged them to decline her again.
Unfortunately, they stepped aside.
Silently cursing, Amelia nodded her reluctant gratitude to them and then rapped on the door three times fast; there was a pause and then she heard Thor say 'come in' in a slightly confused tone, because who and what would be so important as to interrupt the very important meeting between the king at his advisors?
Amelia entered the room in a visible huff and her eyes crept across the long table over the faces of the advisors who were clearly displeased at the interjection but tried their best to hide it, and up to Thor and Loki at the far end of the table. Loki's eyebrows rose and he stood attentively.
"Is everything alright?"
Amelia rounded the table and held out the phone with an incensed look, "Tony. It's urgent," she stated rigidly, and Loki's slightly perplexed look melted into understanding at her hard expression.
He sighed, took the phone and lifted it to his ear, "Stark," he greeted, and then paused as Tony presumably explained the mission parameters, "am I truly needed?" His eyes flickered to Amelia and her gaze softened - Loki didn't want to have to leave her for a mission on Valentines Day either.
Another deeper sigh from Loki, and Amelia knew her husband wasn't going to be able to wriggle his way out of the mission; her gaze fell, she was upset that her plans were ruined but she tried not to let it show in front of all the advisors.
"Right. Okay. I will be there as soon as possible."
Amelia watched as Loki hung up the phone and handed it back to her. The look on his face was contrite, "I'm sorry, my love. Our plans will have to wait till tomorrow." He brought his fingers up to brush across her cheek, and she quickly blinked and composed herself.
"You should say goodbye to the kids before you leave," Amelia murmured, and then gave a half-hearted apology to the advisors in the room, "sorry for the interruption." With that, she left the room stone-faced, simultaneously mad and guilty that she was reacting coldly to Loki when it wasn't at all his fault. It was his job, it couldn't be helped, but that didn't change the fact that she was pissed that their lovely candlelit dinner plans would be delayed. Perhaps it was selfish of her to feel that way, but she sucked it up.
She didn't give Loki his usual kiss goodbye before he left Asgard to join the Avengers.
Amelia carded her fingers through Kari's black curls as she tucked the boy into bed with a small smile on her face, her lip curling further when her son let out a big yawn, "Alright, to sleep with you. Your schooling resumes tomorrow so you and your sister need to be rested."
Kari rubbed at his eyes, trying to blink the sleepiness out of them, "But I wanna play in the garden," he said matter-of-factly.
Amelia gave an amused huff, "Well we can play in the gardens after your class tomorrow, okay?" She peered over her shoulder at Aster's bed, "How does that sound to you both?"
Aster nodded in agreement from where she had the covers pulled up to her chin, snuggled up completely below the blanket.
"Good," Amelia said, then leaned down and kissed Kari's forehead, "Now, you two have some sweet dreams. Daddy will be back tomorrow, hopefully early on in the day." She moved and gave Aster's cheek a kiss, caressing the little girl's head as she did so.
Her small, quiet voice sounded muffled against the hem of the blanket, "Are you mad?" Aster asked, and Amelia frowned, wondering what her daughter meant. The girl clarified at her perplexed frown, "At daddy?"
Amelia understood then. "No," she responded, shaking her head assuredly, "I'm not mad at daddy. I'm just upset he had to go off on another mission."
"Why?" Kari asked.
"Well, because just like you, I miss him when he's not here," Amelia gave her children a smile, "but he'll help out the Avengers and then he'll be back as soon as he can be, and you two can give him a big hug when he returns."
The twins nodded in agreement and Amelia bid them goodnight, "Sleep well, my darlings. I love you both."
"Love you mama," they both replied.
Amelia tightened her robe as she left the childrens' bedroom, passing the two guards that dutifully stood watch on either side of the door outside the room, she gave them a nod of acknowledgement and took several steps down the hall to the entrance of her and Loki's bedroom, which was effectively opposite Kari and Aster's, passing the other two guards which stood and covered her room at night.
Before she could enter, a woman's voice called from down the hall, slightly puffed out, and Amelia turned to see a palace maid quickly approaching with a bouquet of flowers cradled in her arms.
"Princess," the maid greeted with a curtsy as she reached her and held out the bouquet, "the prince instructed me to bring you these just before he left earlier along with a message. He said he loves you dearly, he apologises that he can't be here with you tonight, and he will make it up to you tomorrow evening."
Amelia looked over the bouquet of deep red carnations and gave a content smile; her husband was so romantic, she shouldn't have overreacted earlier and gotten all snappy with him. It didn't matter one bit that their dinner plans were delayed and wouldn't be taking place on Valentines Day, because Loki was romantic every day of the year.
"Thank you," Amelia took the bouquet with a look of gratitude and the maid bowed and continued on down the hall. Amelia said goodnight to the guards and entered her bedroom, which was far too big just for one person to occupy. Loki's absence made the room feel ominously large and cold, she was upset she wouldn't be able to curl up beside his body that night and fall asleep with her head cushioned on his chest.
She eased the flowers into a waiting vacant vase upon one of the tables, her fingers touching the petals lovingly as she took a moment to admire them, and then she crawled straight into bed, pulling the covers back and slotting herself below them, patting down the area Loki would usually occupy, and sighed.
Sleep did not come so easily when Loki was not there, but after an hour or so, Amelia had drifted off.
Amelia was awoken an indistinguishable amount of time later by the sound of an unidentifiable receding whisper, a sort of distant echo that had Amelia thinking she was catching the last few lucid moments of a dream she'd been pulled from, but she found herself alarmed at just how close and real the voice was.
She looked around the darkness of the empty room, searching for any clue as to what had pulled her out of her slumber, but she found nothing and nobody. Loki was not back yet, the sky was still black outside as the only light that filtered in between the curtain gaps was moonlight, barely illuminating her surroundings.
She felt uneasy, like something was wrong.
Amelia slipped out of bed into her slippers and grabbed her nightgown off the stand, quickly covering her silk night dress as she made her way towards the bedroom door. She planned to ask the guards if they had heard anything unusual, but that plan went out the window when she opened the door to be greeted by nobody. No guards. They were not present, and it further unnerved her, because it was under Loki's orders that the guards were to stand watch at all times, especially given Loki wasn't in Asgard at the time.
The guards at the children's door were also gone.
Amelia left her room and made a dash for the kids room, her footsteps sounding too loud in the too quiet hallway; without wasting even a second, Amelia pushed open the door to the kid's room and entered, and what she saw filled her with terror.
A dark shadow loomed above Aster's bed, forming the silhouetted shape of a person with their arms raised, and clutched in their grip was something metallic and reflective.
Amelia was screaming before she'd even fully comprehended what she was seeing.
She thrust her arm forward, allowing it to act as a conduit to channel whatever magic she had laying unused in her body for so long, and a blast of invisible kinetic energy launched from the palm of her hand, sending the person tumbling back across the room. It was by no means a strong blast, and she had barely managed to put herself between them and the children before the mysterious person was up on their feet again, clutching the object that Amelia now identified as a blade.
"Leave this place!" Amelia yelled. The children had awoken at the time of her initial roar, she could hear the sounds of their panicked, frightened breaths as they struggled to figure out what was going on, "Stay away from my children!"
It was a man, Amelia could tell from his wordless responding growl. She was beyond scared, but she knew that she couldn't let this man past her, she would not allow any harm to come to her children, no matter what happened to her in the process.
The man took a step towards her. Amelia couldn't make out his features.
"Mama?" Kari's voice trembled behind her with heightened fear.
The dangerous man took another step closer, and Amelia acted on instinct. The closer he was to the children, the more of a danger he posed, so she rushed forward and threw herself at him, using all of her strength to push the man back. He merely stumbled back a few feet.
"Kari, Aster, GO! GET OUT!" Amelia cried over her shoulder, embellishing her words with frantic, jerky hand gestures to try and get her kids out of the room - anywhere but in there. She prayed they would obey and not remain frozen stuck in their beds, but she didn't have time to turn and check that they were actually doing as they were told, because the glint of the knife in the man's hand flickered in her vision just before it came plummeting towards her.
She caught the man's wrist in both hands, her arms quivering from the force as she kept the blade at bay, mere inches from piercing through her eye socket.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Kari's little voice cried, and Amelia witnessed a decorative, heavy statue fly off the shelf nearby and strike square on the man's head. Kari's magic was not strong enough to send the object with enough force to stagger the man.
"Get away! GET AWAY!" Amelia begged her children to flee, but instead Kari came running to her aid, against her wishes and much to her terror, smacking his balled fists against the man's legs with as much brawn as he could muster.
Amelia could not do anything in her frenzied grapple as the man ended Kari's futile assault by swiftly kicking him back with an awful amount of force.
"NO!" Amelia shrieked. She wanted to go to her son and make sure he was okay, but she was trapped in the skirmish as she fought for her and her children's lives; despite her best efforts, what happened next was not something Amelia could prevent.
She was spun around suddenly, held against the assailant's chest, her head was pulled back by the cruel hand clutching her hair and her neck was bared. The thin, sharp blade drew across her exposed skin, sinking in and tearing through her flesh, and then she was pushed forwards, collapsing to the floor between the twin's beds.
Amelia clutched her throat. The pain did not register, but she knew what had happened, the bitter tang of iron she could taste on her tongue was telling, but the fact that she could not breathe was more so. She gagged and choked on her own blood, but the fear of her imminent death was nothing compared to the fear of her children being left alone with the crazed killer looming above.
The last thing Amelia was able to comprehend was her daughter's petrified face as the child slid from her bed and knelt at her side, the horror-stricken whisper of "Mama?" the final word she heard.
The mission had concluded, the Avengers had been on course to head home in a quinjet, and Loki had been in the middle of wiping the blood of his enemies free from his blade when Heimdall's deep and booming voice penetrated through his mind.
"Loki. There has been an assassination attempt."
Loki had lifted his gaze skyward out of habit, his face awash with muted concern as he spoke aloud, "Heimdall? Is my brother alright?"
The curious stares of the other tired Avengers present were drawn in his direction at the break in the silence, but they were ignored.
"Not your brother, Loki. Your wife."
Loki could hardly remember what ensued between the moment he'd received that news in the quinjet and the moment he'd arrived back in Asgard and found himself barrelling through the halls of the palace toward the infirmary as fast as his legs could carry him; though from the looks he'd received from the other Avengers, he could only assume all colour had drained from his face.
"She is alive, but just barely." Heimdall's voice had been dutiful but grave, and Loki's heart had juddered in his chest with uneven palpitations.
He had stammered at Stark to speed up, and when the billionaire had pressed him to elaborate, an air of snarky tiredness about him, Rogers had been forced to hold Loki back from throwing punches. At the time, he was sure he had all but roared at Stark in a fit of rage that Amelia was injured, badly, but he would later come to realise that his cries had been more akin to somebody coughing and hacking in a fit of pitiful distress.
To Stark's credit, he had gotten the aircraft back to Asgard in record time.
That had been then. Now, Loki was almost falling over as he ran around corners and up steps so that he could reach the infirmary as soon as possible; he needed to see his wife, needed to make sure she was okay. His chest clenched painfully at the thought of arriving too late. What if she didn't make it? His eyes were already watering beyond his control and he was blinking back the moisture as he turned around the final corner and narrowly avoided a full on collision with several guards who were defending the infirmary.
"Prince Lo-" One of them began, but was swiftly cut off as Loki pushed past without a second glance.
"Out of my way!" He hissed unapologetically and threw open the door, bursting into the room with force. Across from him, Thor spun around, initially mistaking him for a threat, but his tense and rigid posture melted into relief when he saw that his brother had finally arrived.
"...Loki," the King stated his name in greeting, his voice solemn. Thor very clearly appeared to have been pulled out of a deep sleep when he'd been awoken as made evident from his disarrayed state, but it was not something Loki cared to dwell on at that moment, because his eyes went past his brother and fell on Amelia's motionless body in the hospital bed beside him.
Loki's mouth fell open in shock as he slowly approached the bed. He wanted to avert his eyes because the sight made him feel sick, but at the same time he couldn't look away from his wife.
Her skin was white as snow, her closed eyes sunken in; she looked like a corpse, and if it wasn't for the fact that her chest rose and fell subtly to indicate that life was still present within her, he would've thought she was already gone. The sight that truly made Loki's stomach churn was the contrasting deep red colour that soaked down the front of her night dress.
Thor noticed Loki's harrowing stare and spoke quietly, "Inga did not have time to change her gown yet…"
Loki took deep breaths through his nose as he covered his mouth and sat on the edge of Amelia's bed; looking upon her corpse-like body brought him physical pain, a tight pull in his chest that he couldn't shake. For a few moments, his throat felt paralysed and did not allow him to swallow, he almost mistook the sensation for choking.
"A-Amelia?" Was all Loki could manage to say. He reached with a shaky hand, pressing his palm to Amelia's cheek with featherlike gentleness; her skin didn't feel warm enough and it worried him. He turned his wide, fearful gaze to his brother and directed the most pressing question on his mind, "She… she'll recover?"
"Yes," Thor answered immediately, the relief in his mismatched eyes was reflected in Loki's, "She will make a full recovery, but… she lost a lot of blood. She's weak right now, the healing will take time."
Loki felt as though his heart was pumping ice through his veins, the whole situation felt terribly surreal and nightmarish. If it was a nightmare, he wanted to wake up. If it wasn't a nightmare, he hoped this was a serious next-level prank Amelia was pulling, but the more logical side of his mind knew this was very real.
His eyes fell to the bandage wrapped around Amelia's throat. He couldn't even begin to comprehend his own dread, the thought that his wife had sustained such a terrible wound left him in disbelief. A slit throat was a fatal injury. He could have very well been crouched over her dead body at that moment, had anything gone slightly differently.
Loki finally managed to swallow, clearing his constricting throat and taking a few deep breaths; he tried and failed to steady his voice, "The children? They're safe?"
"With Inga and Signy, through there," Thor nodded his head to a door that led to one of the small private rooms, "we thought best to keep them away from Amelia while she is… like this."
Loki nodded, relieved they were safe. He would see to them shortly, but for now he still had questions. "Thor," he breathed, "who did this? Who tried to kill my wife?"
Thor did not answer right away. He stared at Amelia, his face saturated with guilt, "I have the guards investigating and combing the palace for any clues to explain what has taken place here tonight," he murmured, and Loki got the distinct feeling that he was trying to avoid answering the question directly. Did he not know? Had they not captured the assailant?
"That wasn't the question," Loki bit out through gritted teeth, "tell me who was responsible. I want a name. Have they been apprehended?"
Thor sighed, nodding his head lightly, "It was Sten Ulfson. The library assistant who went missing last year." He paused as the recognition sunk in on Loki's face, "And he was not apprehended. Because he's dead."
Loki's eyes darted back and forth along with his frantic dark thoughts, "The guards killed him?"
"No," Thor answered, "he killed himself. Before he could be captured."
Loki's lips parted. Thor's curt answers did not yield the level of information he was looking for, "Brother. Tell me what happened. Everything you know, from the beginning."
Thor exhaled slowly, taking a moment to gather himself, "At precisely thirty minutes past two o'clock in the morning, one of the guards, Asbjorn, was alerted to a commotion coming from the childrens' room; he rushed in and found Ulfson stood in the middle of the room with a bloody knife in his hand, Amelia was already down and unconscious, the kids were terrified, but as soon as Asbjorn entered, Ulfson raised the knife and stabbed himself in the heart."
Loki grinded his teeth together. This took place in the children's room? Aster and Kari were actually witnesses to all of this?
"Asbjorn shouted for help, alerting more guards, and helped to stem the bleeding," Thor's eyes flitted briefly to Amelia, "Inga and I were woken, we rushed to the scene and Inga got to work helping Amelia. I gathered the children and took them out of there while the guards surveyed the room. Loki, I… I thought she was going to…" he paused as he struggled to compose himself, "I could hardly stomach seeing Amelia like that. I couldn't imagine what the children were thinking. I just kept telling them it was going to be alright. I feared Amelia might-"
"Don't." Loki swiftly cut his brother off, not wishing to even ponder the worst possible outcome. "The childrens' quarters and mine and Amelia's quarters are supposed to be guarded at all times. How did that man enter?" If his palm wasn't still placed tenderly against Amelia's soft cheek, he would be balling his fists up tight. None of what had happened made any sense to him, there was so much missing and he hated not knowing these things.
Thor's face was grim, "The initial search located all four missing guards nearby… all dead."
Loki stared in disbelief. How did an assistant librarian lure and kill four guards?
"This doesn't make sense," Loki worded his thoughts and swallowed tightly, "A full investigation will be conducted. I will lead it. I will figure out what happened and why it happened," the burning rage in his eyes flickered out when his gaze fell on his unconscious, injured wife once more, "...but only once my wife is alright."
His interest in the specifics dampened a bit as his train of thought landed entirely on Amelia. Her health was his top priority, he would do everything in his power to ensure she recovered comfortably. His thumb brushed over her skin and he found himself willing her to wake up so that he knew she was alright. Loki would feel much more at ease with Amelia awake and talking; there was a lot of fear present while Amelia continued to lay motionless and without cognizance.
The deep red colour of the blood soaking her gown was there in his vision, refusing to go away, and Loki decided in that moment that it needed to be gone. He glanced around and spotted the fresh white infirmary gown folded and placed on the bedside table and stood, making his way to Inga's currently vacant station, much to Thor's confusion.
"What are you doing?" Thor asked his brother, keeping his voice quiet despite the fact that Loki had crossed to the opposite side of the room, he felt that raising his voice even slightly would be detrimental to Amelia's recovery sleep.
Loki did not bother to answer. Instead, he collected a wooden bowl, a fresh hand-towel, and filled the vessel with warm water before returning to Amelia's bed. He put the bowl of warm water down on the bedside table and went around the bed, taking a handful of the privacy curtain and sending his brother a significant look.
Thor put two and two together, understanding that Loki's intent was to clean Amelia up, and respectfully took a few steps back to be on the outside of the privacy curtain.
Loki drew the curtain and stood alone with his wife in the now enclosed area; he immediately summoned a blade and cut Amelia's blood-saturated clothes from the body, leaving her bare as he gently removed them without jostling her too much. The blood had stained her skin through the gown, so he took the hand-towel and dipped it in the warm water, he wrung it out and then rubbed it across his wife's chest with the utmost softness, cleansing her of the evidence of the terrible attack she faced.
He ensured every last smudge of red was vanquished, leaving only her ghostly pale skin, and then moved to her hands which were also dyed red. It was clear she had clutched her throat to try and stop the bleeding herself and Loki flinched as he wiped the sticky blood away from her palms and fingers, horrified at how scared Amelia must have been. Nobody, least of all Amelia, should have to suffer the distress of believing they were about to die helplessly.
Once she was suitably cleaned up, Loki took the clean gown and managed to, with a bit of a struggle, dress Amelia with it. He was forcing himself to be delicate with her, his hands almost shaking with restrained, cautious movements as if she was fragile and could break at any moment.
The bloody garment tossed aside, Amelia already looked a little less spiritless. The contrast of white and crimson had caused her to look stiff and cold, and now that she was dressed in pure white, the subtle colour of her skin was clearer and more obvious. There was a light pinkness returning to her body and it relieved Loki.
The sound of the curtain being pulled aside made Loki turn sharply, pinning who he thought was his brother with a look of anger, but his gaze softened when instead he saw Inga. The healer looked exhausted and perturbed, but her arched brows also grew less intense when she saw Loki had cleaned Amelia and redressed her.
"Oh. I was going to do that," Inga stated softly.
Loki shrugged slightly.
"Well, thank you," Inga sighed. She sat on the other side of the bed and inspected Amelia in silence, looking like she hadn't had a moment to rest in hours, and Loki presumed she had probably been working endlessly to ensure Amelia's survival, for which he was immeasurably grateful.
"Thank you," Loki countered, "for… saving her." Once again, Inga's healing expertise ensured the longevity of somebody he loved.
Inga looked over to him and nodded her head in acknowledgement of his gratitude, but it looked as though there was something on her mind. Her eyes dragged over the gauze covering the wound on Amelia's neck and she opened her mouth, speaking hesitantly, "I think Aster has healing abilities."
Loki's eyes widened as he looked at the woman, "What?"
Inga sighed again, "You saw the blood on her gown, there was so much of it, enough to suggest one of her carotid arteries had been nicked, but when she was placed into my care I found that her carotid artery was intact and she wasn't bleeding nearly as much as the splashes of blood on her clothing would suggest. I think Aster might have… done something. Healed her, at least partially."
Loki looked between Amelia and Inga, his mouth hanging open in shock.
"If my assumption is true and Aster did use magic to help stop the bleeding, then I have no doubt she saved her mother's life," Inga swallowed, "Loki… the fact that Amelia is alive right now is miraculous, I have no other explanation. I tried talking to Aster but she isn't speaking."
Loki blinked a few times fast. So many thoughts were flying through his head that it almost made him dizzy, from the vast amount of questions on how and why this had all happened to the surprise of finding out about Aster's supposed new ability and how she had used it instinctually to save her mother.
"You need to see them," Inga murmured, "it's been incredibly difficult keeping them calm. Signy has been doing her best but they're terrified, Loki, they need you."
Guilt wrenched its way through his thoughts; he'd been sitting by his wife's bedside since he arrived waiting for her to wake up and he hadn't yet checked on his children who had both witnessed the traumatising event first hand, they'd seen their mother attacked by a stranger in their room with a deathly sharp blade, watched blood cascade from her throat as she fell.
"You're right," Loki responded with a whisper, "I will see them now."
Thor pulled the curtain back and stepped in, evidently having been listening to the words exchanged between Loki and Inga, "We will stay with Amelia."
Loki nodded grimly, "Call for me if she begins to wake."
"We will," Inga told him.
With that, Loki rose from the bed, casting his unconscious wife one last glance before heading determinedly for the back room in which Aster, Kari and Signy were waiting. Loki expected to hear the children crying as he approached the door, but there was just ominous silence coming from the other side. He opened the door and stepped in.
Signy looked up, her hair in disarray, her expression anguished, but her eyebrows unknitted when her eyes fell on him, a flutter of relief evident in her features. She visibly exhaled, and looked to the kids who were quiet as mice and noticeably exhausted; Aster sat cross legged on the only bed in the room, her head hanging as she stared at her hands in her lap while Kari laid on his front with his face buried in the pillow. The room was dark but they were lit by the light of an oil lamp.
"Hey." Loki's voice was a soft whisper in the room as he addressed his children. Aster barely moved and Kari lifted his head from the pillow at the sound of his father's voice.
"Daddy?" Kari sniffled, his cheeks red and his eyes puffy from crying.
"Yes, it's me. I'm here," he hoped his presence was an automatic comfort.
He sat on the edge of the bed and Kari crawled forwards, seeking a consoling embrace from his father, and that's when he noticed the purpling bruise on his son's cheek; instantly, Loki felt he knew who was responsible for it and his gaze darkened. Quietly, he asked, "How did this happen?"
In response, a fresh wave of tears rolled down Kari's cheeks and his cries were loud and fearful, tugging at Loki's heartstrings. It was not the kind of sound he wanted to hear coming from his son's mouth; he held the boy as he weeped and looked to Signy for an explanation as Kari clearly wasn't able to talk in that moment.
Signy's empathetic frown deepened and she spoke softly, "He tried to fight off the attacker. He said his mother told them to run but he didn't want to leave her," she bit her lip, clearly very affected by what had occurred, the worry was palpable in her expression, "he says it doesn't hurt bad. Poor thing… this should never have happened."
Loki couldn't agree more. It should not have happened, and it wouldn't have happened if he had refused to aid Stark and the others in their stupid mission. He looked down at Kari, who was holding his gaze with watery eyes, and then looked to Aster who had yet to speak. His daughter wasn't even looking at him, she was staring down at her hands in her lap like she had been the whole time since he'd entered.
"Aster." He drew her attention at the sound of her name and she finally looked up at him through eyes that had witnessed something truly awful, it was clear she was still processing it, perhaps even struggling to do so.
What made matters worse was when Loki's stare lowered to Aster's green night dress and he saw the spots where blood splashed on it. From the way she'd been staring at her hands, Loki wouldn't have been surprised if they too had been coated with blood before Inga had cleaned her up.
Loki held out his arm, "Come here."
Aster crawled tentatively across the bed and nestled herself in the crook of Loki's other arm, resting the side of her head against her father's chest as she sunk against him. It was only a few hours away from sunrise and the kids had been up since the time of the attack, they must have been so tired, but their fears were keeping them awake.
Holding his children tightly, Loki bowed his head and whispered to them, "Mummy's going to be alright. She was hurt, but she will get better, alright?" He had to assure them first and foremost that Amelia would be okay, it must have been the biggest fear on their mind at that moment. "You two… you were so brave. I'm sorry this happened. It won't happen again," he blinked hard so as not to cry, he didn't want the kids to see him crying. His eyes had been shiny with moisture since he'd received the news that Amelia had been harmed, but he'd kept the tears in this far.
"You're going to be alright. Nobody will hurt you, not while I'm here. You're safe, and so is mummy. I promise," he continued to assure them.
Aster's little voice finally cut through the room, "Please… don't leave mama again."
Loki's eyes widened and he very nearly failed to hold back tears. Aster was more frightened for her mother than herself.
"I won't. I won't leave her ever again. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Signy wasn't as successful at keeping her emotions in check and she quickly wiped tears away from both eyes. Loki wanted to ask questions, but he knew the children weren't emotionally ready to answer anything; he particularly wanted to question Aster on her apparent usage of previously untapped healing abilities, but it would have to wait.
For now, he just held them and stayed with them. He ran his fingers through Kari's curls to calm him down and held onto Aster's hand firmly.
After almost twenty minutes of silence and quiet sniffles, Kari and Aster's eyes were beginning to grow heavy. It was no surprise, the sun was starting to rise and the twins had failed to get a restful slumber that night; Loki was happy to let them nod off because he was well acquainted with trauma, and he knew that sleep would not come easily over the next few weeks for either of his children.
Just as their heads were beginning to droop, the door opened and there Thor stood, a look of trepidation about him, "Loki, she's waking up."
It took everything Loki had not to jump up from the bed, after all his children were still leaning against him and their heads lifted, eyes suddenly wide open at the news that their mother was waking up.
"Alright, I'm coming," he announced to Thor, and then gently moved his children from his lap to the bed, "stay here. I'm going to talk to mama first and then you can see her in a little while, alright?" He knew the kids were not going to be happy, and their faces fell at his words.
"But I wanna see mummy," Kari argued, almost to the point of tears again, "I wanna see her now."
Loki caressed his face, "You will see mummy, I just need to talk to her first, so she knows what's going on," his words tumbled out a little forced as he tried to explain to his son concisely and plainly why they needed to stay put for the moment. Kari ultimately hung his head sadly but didn't fuss any further.
"Would you watch them again, please?" Loki asked Signy, who nodded her head.
"Of course. Go to Amelia."
That was all Loki needed to hear, and he cast his kids one last reassuring glance before moving quickly from the room, shutting the door gently behind him. He rushed back to Amelia's bedside, sitting at her side and leaning over her as she showed signs of consciousness while Thor and Inga stood back respectfully.
"Amelia? Can you hear me? It's Loki," he spoke softly but firmly. Her eyelids twitched and rose, and her eyes rolled for a moment as she struggled to reach for wakefulness, but then she seemed to hold on as the rest of her body woke up with her. There was recognition in her gaze as her brown eyes landed on him, but her pupils danced around a little like she was dizzy, and she appeared overall dazed and confused.
"Amelia?" Loki repeated, lips parted in worry, "Do you… remember what happened?"
Amelia's eyebrows knitted slightly, the lack of awareness more than obvious, but her tongue darted out and wet her lips in preparation of a response, but then as if somebody had flipped a switch in her head, her eyes grew exceedingly wide and her hands clasped weakly at his clothing.
"Th-the… twins…" Her voice was barely comprehensible, a ghastly rasp escaped her throat in the form of a sharp exhale and just about managed to form the words with the utmost effort, and her face contorted in pain as her hand flew up to her throat.
Loki caught her hand before it could land at her neck and only just caught Inga in his peripheral moving to pour a pitcher of water into a glass on the bedside table; he quickly assured Amelia even as she strained to speak the words again and again, "They're okay, they're alright, Amelia they're fine. Don't worry- they're not hurt, Amelia, they're okay," he repeated the words like a litany until she heard him. The realisation calmed her almost immediately and she sunk against the bed, completely enervated from her hectic movements, she couldn't even hold her head up.
Inga stepped in, tilting Amelia's head up by the back of her neck and allowing her to drink the water from the glass; she took a few small sips and winced as she swallowed. Tears pricked at her eyes as the memories of what happened began to settle in in graphic detail. She mouthed words because it hurt her to speak, but Loki didn't catch it the first time because he was looking into her eyes, absorbing the distress she exuded.
"What was that?" He prompted her to say it again, cupping her face tenderly.
"I thought I died," she mouthed, the very faintest whisper behind her words, and Loki bit his lip hard to steel his emotions.
"No. You're alive. You're alive and strong. And you're going to be okay," he promised. Amelia's hand went slowly to her neck where her fingers brushed the bandages and her eyes widened minutely with unease. "Are you in pain?" Loki asked.
Amelia swallowed and winced, blinking tiredly, and Inga chose to speak up, stepping closer to the bed, "There's a numbing salve below the gauze, but the inside of her throat will be sore for a while and will make it difficult to speak. The best thing to do is keep drinking fluids, and best to keep the talking to a minimum." She remained professional, but her usually strong voice was fluttering with emotion, though she held herself together better than her sister; it seemed everybody was affected by what had happened. The fear and stress of almost losing Amelia was hard on all of them, but Loki faced the worst of it.
What would he have done if Amelia had died? He did not want to think of it.
Despite Inga's warning about keeping speaking to a minimum, Amelia tried to talk. "Wh… whe…" she couldn't get the word out without grimacing, and the pained frustration was evident from her defeated expression. Instead, Loki took her hands by the wrists and lifted them both into view.
"Sign it."
Amelia blinked, looking as if she just remembered that she could do that, and weakly moved her fingers. She could barely hold up her hands by herself, but just about signed 'where' and 'children' in a way that was legible enough for Loki to comprehend.
"They're through that room back there, with Signy. They're alright, love. Scared and upset, but alright."
Amelia's hands moved again, "Bring them." She wanted to see her children with her own two eyes, so that she could be assured they were fine.
"Are you sure? You need rest, they might-" Loki trailed off when Amelia took his hand and squeezed it as tightly as she could, which wasn't all that tight, and he looked to Inga, who gave a little shrug and a nod. "Alright. I'll bring them out," he agreed, cupping Amelia's cheek once again before he rose from the bed.
He returned to the back room and opened up the door. The kids were still awake, but their lidded eyes showed they weren't too far from flopping down into a deep slumber. "You can come see mama," Loki told them as he lifted them both up, "but you need to promise to be quiet and gentle with her, because she's in a delicate state and needs rest."
"Promise, daddy," Kari murmured, leaning against his shoulder tiredly. Aster nodded in agreement also, and Loki brought the children out while Signy followed behind, and returned to Amelia's bedside.
Upon seeing them come into view, Amelia's eyes filled with tears and she opened up her arms, inviting them to join her on the bed. Loki relented, placing the children carefully on either side of her, and they immediately laid down beside her, both crying as they put their arms gently around her. They steered clear of the bandages around their mother's neck and cried into her shoulders as she rubbed circles against their backs, showing them wordlessly that she was there for them.
That's how Amelia and the twins all fell asleep, succumbing to their exhaustion at last shortly after the sun had risen above the horizon. Loki could see the sunlight peeking through the curtains that covered the infirmary windows; he wasn't tired, not yet, and even if he was tired, he'd refuse to lie down and sleep. He needed to stay awake and keep watch until he understood exactly what had happened, because it was abundantly clear he couldn't trust the palace guards anymore.
Thor had stayed too, sitting in a seat on the other side of Amelia's bed. He remained quiet, stewing in his own mind. The king probably blamed himself, and why shouldn't he? After all, Amelia was harmed under the watch of the guards he had assigned to their rooms. A small part of Loki blamed Thor too, but he kept silent; he wouldn't point fingers until he fully understood the situation.
"It pains me," Thor broke the silence after almost a full hour of noiselessness, "that we're unable to interrogate the man who did this."
Loki sighed and lowered his head, "I know."
"We have little to go on. We don't know what his motives were. I cannot begin to-" he waved his hand impatiently in the air as he reached for the right words, "I can't understand why somebody would ever want to hurt Amelia like this."
Loki let his eyes close, "Neither can I," he answered honestly, "Amelia has never done anything that would put a target on her." When he opened his eyes again, he found that Amelia's eyes were also open wide. Loki straightened and then leaned forward slightly, "Darling?" She must have only been dozing, and their conversation had awoken her.
"N...no…" Amelia whispered, and in her eyes Loki could see that it was taking everything she had to speak out her words, the persistent rasp in her throat evidence of the pain it was causing her.
"Shh, don't speak. It's okay-"
"No," Amelia forced the word out, tears prickling in her eyes and falling down her cheeks, "No...t m-me…"
Loki frowned, "Not… you?"
"Not… me. Them."
It took a few moments for Amelia's words to sink in, for the words to make sense in the context of what he and Thor had been talking about. But when it clicked into place, Loki felt a fresh wave of dread overcome him, and he understood what had occurred in a new light.
Amelia hadn't been the target. The children had.
EEEEEEEEEEE, please tell me your thoughts guys! I wanna know everything you're thinking! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COMMENT! I LOVE READING YOUR COMMENTS!
Side note, a new teaser promo came out for the Loki series and OMG, I always included the occasional scene where Loki dried himself/Amelia with the use of his magic because I just figured he had a lot of creative uses for magic, AND NOW THE TEASER CLIP HAS GONE AND SHOWN THAT HE ACTUALLY DOES DO THAT LMAO.
I'm so excited to hear what you think!