Chapter 59.
Floria walked next to Odin with a shawl wrapped around her face like a hood, in her hands were fresh clothes for her husband and his boots. She kept her eyes low and hid the swollen eye as they passed the cells that contained various prisoners, her shame written on her face in darkening bruises. Prisoners were staring at the woman, Odin doing his best to shield her from their gaze and she trembled. This was no place for such a gentle creature, and Odin prayed that this would not force her further into herself.
One cell in particular caught his attention, holding Thor as he slept off his injuries and drink. His snoring loud enough to wake the dead as he lay on the clean, white floor. They both stopped, looking up at the lean figure in Emerald and black, pacing back and forth in his cell like a caged panther. His hair arranged neatly, and his right hand bandaged to allow the knuckles to heal from beating Thor so violently. He walked to one side, then the other, not noticing the old King or Floria standing with her head down.
"Loki?" She said softly, her voice shaking in fear that he would rage at her. She blamed herself, and felt unclean in a way. The clothes in her arms heavy, and she unworthy to touch her husband's articles. Loki turned at her voice, his mouth falling open and he walked to the humming barrier and stared at her.
"Floria! Norns!" He said and she looked at him, the purple and black eye making him cringe and her lips trembled. It was swollen to a slit, and he feared she would loose vision in it if nothing was done soon. He growled under his breath, and she held up the bundle in her hands like an offering of supplication.
"I brought you fresh clothes to wear... yours are torn and soiled." She said and looked away from him, shame on her face and he glared at Odin.
"Did she see a Healer? Look at her! Did she ask for this? Tell me, am I to be the one punished for the actions of your Golden Son?" Loki hissed at Odin and Floria shook, the old man waved a hand and the barrier dropped. His eye following the enraged man as he stepped down toward his wife. She handed him the clothes with a curtsy, not touching his hands and she stepped back with her head down. Loki growled at the cell next to him, the cat calls from it enraging him and she covered her face more to hide the brusing. He saw the cut lip, and the marks on her neck from careless hands, his rage building and she looking fearful.
"I came to apologize for leaving you here, but you needed time away from everyone to calm yourself." Odin said and Loki put his hand out for Floria. She backed away and his hand closed on the air, her chin quivering with unshed tears.
"Go to our Chambers, I will speak to you there." Loki said and she curtsied to him. She left quickly, nearly running away from him and he felt his heart break.
"She is still recovering from the assualt, Frigga told me that it was terrible and I plan to make example of Thor." Odin said and Loki shot him a look that seethed in anger.
"He was trying to rut with her against her will! Do you not see the injury he caused her, or are you blind to everything that Thor does wrong?" Loki said, his voice growing thick and the fight leaving him. "She will not look at me because of the rage he drove me to! I loathe violence done against women, you know that and I refuse to let this matter drop! She looks beaten, and acts like a whipped dog."
"Then Frigga has done well raising you to the man I see before me." Odin said, motioning him to follow. "Come change your clothes, and we will talk. As to Floria not being able to look you in the face, that is something you need to discuss with her."
"What are you going to do about Thor? If he looks in her direction again, I will not be held accountable for my actions!" Loki demanded, Odin regarding him and sighing. His eye looked down, and he let out a measured breath.
"I plan to judge him, he has comitted a crime and needs to face the conquences of it." Odin said and Loki shook his head in disbelief. He thought that Thor would end up with a stern warning, perhaps another ineffective lecture. But now, he was facing true judgment.
"What?" He asked, and Odin motioned him into his study so he could change his clothes. He walked in and stripped off his torn and bloodied tunic and put the new one on. He put his boots on, Odin watching and Loki stood quietly and waited for his decision. This could not stand, not after all that Thor had done to humiliate this house.
"I plan to make example of any man who would harm a woman in that way. It brings me no joy, but I will do what has to be done to ensure that Asgard does not fall into chaos." Odin said and he turned a book toward Loki, he read the spell and his eyes went wide in shock.
"He will be... Are you sure of this?" Loki asked, and he pressed his lips together. He wanted to get back to Floria, to comfort his wife and he shook his head. "He did not actually have a chance to go through with the act. Perhaps an exile for a set amount of time is in order, he needs to quell his temper and be reminded that not all things are for him."
"Where would I send him? In Midgard he was surrounded by friends and allies, celebrated even. The only punishment I can think to be an effective punishment is if he is made a woman himself."
"He will never learn that way." Loki said, stopping when he saw the commission to make Thor a Maid in the Castle, stripping him further of favor and his eyes went wide. Forcing him into humiliation, then further making him have to serve those he held title over would be hard for him. Loki wondered if this was a humorless joke, or a clever plan.
"If he sees how others have used his example, then perhaps he will learn that women are not dalliances to use for his pleasure." Odin said and folded his hands behind his back. His eye closed, and he sighed with weariness. "I am very sorry that I turned a blind eye to Thor for so long, and regret that a sweet woman has now suffered for my sins."
"She will recover, bruises fade..."
"But the scars left on her mind will remain. I saw myself how long it took for her to trust anyone, and it now make take her longer to regain that trust again." Odin said and Loki sat heavily in a chair. He motioned for Odin to take the other, his face grim and he sighed.
"I ask that you now not interrupt me, as I have a story to tell you about why I made the attempt against Midgard... And why I understand so very well how Floria suffers now."
"I will only listen then, as I wish to know what happened to turn your heart so cold." Odin said and Loki began to tell the story, starting at his fall off the Bifrost.
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Loki entered his Chambers, finding Floria sitting on the couch in the sitting room. She looked up at him, her hands shaking on her knees and he sat next to her silently. She looked down at the floor and remained quiet, the expression on her face was one of worry toward what was going to happen to her. She did not know why he was gone for so long, nor what he would say to her when he return. She felt dismissed, violated, and utterly alone in her fears, and prayed he did not find her tainted.
"I am sorry for what happened, I should have..." She started and he stopped her, his expression neutral and she looked down at the floor again. "I'm so sorry."
"You did nothing wrong, you should not be sorry at all." Loki said and she looked at him in shock, he took her hand and she tried to pull away but he kept holding it.
"I am tainted by another man, unclean." She said and Loki shook his head, his other hand touching her eye and she hissed in pain. He used magic to heal the wound, it vanishing and restoring her vision. The bruises faded, and her skin was restored to how it looked the previous evening. Unblemished and glowing in the soft light of the lamp, his hand drifted from her face and she looked into his eyes.
"You smell clean to me, I see no soil on your hands or face. Neither do I see any stains on your dress, you are still as pure as driven snow." Loki said and her face crumpled and she started to weep I to her hands. She shook with the sobs, her gasps for air shaking her and he put his arm around her shoulders and held her close to him. She started gasping harder, his hands holding her and smoothing her hair as they sat together. He leaned back, letting her cry and scream her pain into his chest. His arms reassuring her that he would still be there when she composed herself, and he would never turn his back on her.
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They watched the fire together, having never left the couch and his fingers combed her hair softly as she clung to his tunic. They said nothing for hours, and he saw a Maid enter with a tray of food for them to dine on. Sari brought Alarea to be nursed, and Floria took her into the other room to care for her child.
He stood in the doorway and watched her, walking over and saw how she held her baby to her breast and fed her. He walked in and knelt at her feet, resting his head in her lap and she combed his hair with her fingers as she held the baby close. He closed his eyes, and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.
"Forgive me for failing you." He said to her and she stopped her ministrations to his hair.
"I don't understand." She said and he let out the breath he was holding.
"I promised to keep you from harm, and I failed to keep that promise."
"I forgive You, and always will." She said, her voice a whisper and he wept into her skirts. His fists bunched them and he buried his face in the silken fabrics as he allowed himself to free the pain he felt for so very long. His soul cleansing itself as her hand combed through his hair and he shook, hugging her legs so that her knees pressed together and he remained at her feet.
"I swear to never fail you so again." He said, pressing his cheek to the damp that he left. "I will never let him touch you, or look at you in any way but that of respect again. I so swear it."
"I believe that you will try, and I will forgive you if you are unable to keep that promise already." She said and he kissed her knees through the fabric, her body tensing and relaxing at the gesture.
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He lay on the couch in the sitting room that night, the blanket over him to allow her space to heal. He stared at the ceiling, his mind a flurry of what had happened that day and he heard someone walk toward him. She stood silently at his feet and he sat up, her face troubled and she worried at her hands.
"What is wrong Nightengale?" He asked her and she pressed her lips together.
"I don't like the bed anymore." She said and looked nervous at his words. He stood up and motioned for her to have his place and she lay down, her head on the pillow as he covered her.
"I will commission us a new one, large enough that we do not have to touch one another if we do not wish to." He said and ahe shook her head. Her eyes focused on the fireplace, and he waited for her to speak again patiently.
"I don't want that either. I would like a new mattress however, I want nothing of him tainting our marriage bed anymore." She said and he sat on the floor with his back to the couch. Her fingers played wirh a bit of his hair, and he leaned his head back.
"I understand. That space is sacred to us, and he never should have violated it. Your body is sacred to you as well, and he..." Loki started, but stopped as her hand tightened on his hair. She relaxed it, her eyes welling up with tears and he looked at her.
"What was it?" He asked and she shifted, her hands covering her womanhood through her robe and she looked ashamed. "Did he put himself...
"No, but he touched me there." She said and shivered, she voice catching and he turned to look at her.
"Floria, it is nothing to be ashamed of. That is his crime to bear, not yours." He said and she sat up, her eyes widening and she tried not to shout.
"He called me a whore. And I wonder if I am one now." She said and he took her face in his hands, looking into her eyes and her chin quivered.
"No." He firmly stated, his eyes on her and he shook his head. "You are no whore, and he had no right to touch you. He is a bastard, and his punishment will fit the crime that he comitted against you."
"What will happen to him?" She asked and Loki pressed his lips together. He thought about how much he wanted to hold her close to him as they slept, but did not press the issue. He would let her heal in her own time, let her tell him what she wanted and he kissed her forehead.
"You will see, sleep now, or at least try. I will sit here all night and keep watch, no one will come near you." He said and Floria nodded, laying back down and he leaned back against the couch next to her. His presence promising protection, and he listened to her breathing to see when she finally dozed into sleep.