Hey guys! I hope you like the new chapter! I worked especially hard on this one - we've got a lot of ground to cover and I've been really busy lately. Still, I managed to write a little bit each night and finish it by the end of the week. Enjoy!

By the time the guards returned to his chambers, the Jotunn girl had moved Loki onto the sofa, righted the furniture they had knocked over in their scuffle, and vanished into the servant's bedroom with no explanation. Loki worried that she was going to fall asleep again and leave him on his own, but when they heard the ringing footfalls down the hall, she emerged from the bedroom looking markedly different. She had changed out of her ripped, rumpled tunic and put on a new one he had never seen before. It was light purple, and it blended well with her pale blue skin. She had combed her frazzled hair and put it back in a simple braid, and she was wearing a small pendant around her neck. Loki watched her as she crossed the room and helped him to his feet. His shackles had already become uncomfortable, holding his body in a state of constant tension. His mind was racing as the guards entered the room, a dizzying mixture of fear and anticipation. He was desperate to get out of these chambers after months of imprisonment, and even more so to finally see his mother. But the thought of the journey from here to there was nauseating. He would have to walk through the court flanked by guards, chained up like an animal. He would have to endure the stares of everyone, from the lowliest chambermaids to the grandest courtiers, as they gawked at his disfigured lips and weakened frame. And the way his ankles were fettered only allowed for an agonizingly slow pace. He felt a twinge of envy as he watched the Jotunn girl raise the hood of her tunic to cover her face.

His sense of dread increased as the guards approached and proceeded to manhandle him, checking his shackles to make sure they held. He felt the chain around his waist pulled tighter, forcing a whine of discomfort past his stitched lips. Loki tried not to look at any of them, tried to keep his head held high and his eyes impassive – they were all beneath him, mongrels and commoners, dirt under his feet. Then his head was jerked around and he found himself staring into the grinning face of his main tormentor as the man shoved a metal ring around his neck. Loki balked at this, but the lock snapped shut and the man pulled hard on the chain attached to it, causing Loki to stumble forward. At that moment the Jotunn girl, who had been circling the rabble like a bird of prey, darted into the group and seized the chain from his hands. She latched onto Loki's arms and pulled him away with surprising strength, taking up a defensive posture in front of him. He noticed she was gripping the candelabra he had used against her when they first met. "Don't do that to him! He is your prince."

The guard put his hand on the hilt of his sword as the others moved to flank him. "Didn't I warn you not to speak to us, you little beast?"

"You are all unworthy of the armor you wear." She hefted the candelabra and seemed ready to use it to test the protection of their helmets when a smaller, seedier-looking man intervened.

"Now lads, let's not let this get out of hand. Mummy won't like it if we rough up her little boy before she sees him." Loki glowered and pulled at his chains while the other guards chuckled harshly.

The swarthy one narrowed his eyes at the slim blue figure in front of Loki. "Queen won't give a damn about this one, though. What say a few of us stay behind with her, make sure she knows her place?"

The seedy man shook his head nervously. "That won't do, Iron. Her Grace has ordered us to bring the savage girl as well. It'll look bad if she's too damaged."

The guard called Iron snorted. "Since when has damaging a Jotunn beast ever looked bad? What the hell's this world coming to?" He flung his hand from his sword in disgust and pointed at the pair of them. "Fine, we'll settle this disagreement later. Her Majesty is waiting for us to bring the monsters."

Loki felt a prickle of electricity run up his spine as the Jotunn girl reluctantly put down the candelabra and allowed the guards to lead them from the room. Monsters. These brainless oafs looked at her and him and saw the same thing. This was exactly what he'd feared when he first saw her standing in the doorway of his chambers. This association, this equation between them was more dangerous for his future than any number of malevolent guards. It would follow him far longer than any physical injury they could inflict.

Loki was so lost in this new cloud of worry that he didn't properly register where they were until they reached the main causeway. Then he blinked, startled by the noise, the bustle, the blur of colors which he'd once found so familiar. Finally, after all these months, he was outside. But the reception that greeted him here was hardly welcoming. It seemed like the entire court had come to spectate the first appearance of their fallen prince in over half a year. On the causeway, in the courtyard, in the pavilions above, everywhere he looked there were faces he had known all his life. Some of them wore sneers, others were twisted in disgust. He heard many court ladies gasp at the sight of his stitched lips. Children stood on their tiptoes to see over each other. Loki halted, feeling a dizzying sense of déjà vu overtake him. This was too much like his sentencing; the crowds turned out to watch him receive his punishment, the murmuring and pointing, the chains, the fear. They had already made up their minds about him; he knew it from the way their eyes hardened in silent judgement. The trickster, the mischief-maker, the silvertongue, the god of lies. He had been a lost cause from the moment he was born.

He felt a rough shove on his shoulder as the swarthy guard commanded, "Walk." Loki staggered but found that he couldn't get his legs to move in coordinated fashion. Something was wrong with them – with him – he could feel the heat from hundreds of eyes as it scalded his flesh. He was burning, feverish. He was suffocating under the weight of their stares. I can't do this. He felt the chain around his neck jerk him forward and he fought to keep from being dragged out into the crowd. I can't do this. He knew that resisting only made it worse, created more of a spectacle for them to gawk at, but suddenly his body was rigid with panic and he couldn't breathe. The guard yanked harder on his lead and Loki stumbled forward as his ankles caught on the chain running between them, bringing him sharply to his knees. No, please, no. Not this. The air rang with laughter as he struggled to get up, but the chain wouldn't allow him to maneuver his legs enough to stand, and his shackled hands were useless. He wanted so badly to cover his face. He wanted to disappear like one of his illusions. The gardens. He had to get to the gardens. Loki looked wildly around at his guards, realizing he needed someone to help him stand, but they had all stepped away from him and the crowd was inching closer, their eyes charged with malicious enjoyment. For years he had been above them, an infuriating, unreachable trickster who made games of their lives and ambitions. Now he was on his knees only a few feet away, unprotected and powerless. They were going to take their time. They were going to have their fun mocking him. Thor. Mother. Someone help me. I can't do this.

Just as quickly as they had approached, the crowd suddenly drew back like a receding tide. A long, hissing gasp rang out across the courtyard. Looks of shock and horror overtook their faces, but they were no longer staring at him. Loki twisted his body in the direction of their gazes and beheld the slim figure of the Jotunn girl, who had stepped out from behind the guards and stood before the vast crowd with a strange expression on her face. Her face. He could see her face, and they could too. She had lowered her hood, and now she was standing before them with her blue skin exposed to the light of day. Underneath the glaring sun, she looked wilder and more foreign then anything he had ever seen. What the hell is she doing?

The Jotunn girl regarded the court with impassive eyes, taking her time to peer into their shocked faces in the silence that followed her emergence. Even the guards seemed unnerved by this completely unforeseen turn of events. Loki tried again and failed to climb to his feet, and she turned toward him and spoke so softly he could barely catch her words. "My prince, please be calm. Not one of these people will harm you. You are safe." He fixed his eyes on her so he wouldn't have to look at them. She came a few steps closer and reached out to him. "May I help you to stand?"

Loki nodded because he had no choice. He would do anything to get away from these poisonous stares, anything to stop feeling what they made him feel. She nodded once and circled around him, placing her hands under his shoulders. He leaned his full weight upon her as she eased him to his feet and steadied him. "You're all right. It's all right," she murmured as if speaking to a frightened animal. "We're almost there. We just have to make it through the courtyard. I'm going to go first, and you'll follow me. And don't be afraid. No one will stare at you." She raised her snowy head and gave him a smile so wide and genuine it left him stunned. "They'll all be looking at me."

With that, she drew her shoulders back and strode into the crowd, which retreated at her approach like they were oil and she was water. Loki clenched his fists and forced himself to move forward in her wake, stepping carefully so as not to risk falling again. Almost there. Almost there. He'd barely made it a few paces when the whispering began from all sides.

"Is that….what I think it is?"

"Is that one of those things?"

"A Jotunn?"

"A savage."

"A frost giant!"

"I don't believe it."

"Why aren't the guards doing anything?"

"What is it doing here?"

"Someone should kill it!"

"It's so blue. And look at that hair!"

"What a ghastly shade."

"What does it want?"

"Stay out of the way! Get back!"

"Why was it talking with the prince?"

"Did someone bring it here on purpose?"

"Look at that hair."

"Is it a gift from Jotunheim? For him?"

"Is it because he's….?"

"….one of them?"

Loki flinched as though he'd been struck and glanced around wildly. He wished he could walk faster, or run, or simply melt into the ground. After a moment of blinding panic, however, he realized no one was staring back at him. They had all lost interest in watching his humiliation; now they only had eyes for her. The Jotunn girl strolled ahead of him at a leisurely pace, peering closely at everyone she passed, which seemed to frighten them. Her posture was perfectly erect, like a performer coming onstage for a curtain call. The movement of her body seemed to invite their gaze, from the sway of her shoulders to the curve of her bare legs. Her white hair practically shone in the sun, threatening to pierce the eyes of any who looked too long. And the placid expression on her face suggested she had absolutely no idea how hideous she was.

Loki felt his heart rate begin to settle now that he was no longer the object of their scrutiny and scorn. He kept walking, focusing on the pale braid falling down the middle of her back. At some point the guards fought their way through the crowd and re-took their positions around him, but he barely noticed them. They were on the stairs leading down from the courtyard; now they were crossing the walkway and passing under the arch; now they were through the main gate, beyond which the crowd could not follow them. Loki nearly collapsed in relief when he heard the gate swing shut, muting all those hateful voices and leaving only the stillness of Frigga's private gardens.

The swarthy guard seized his lead chain and pulled him roughly down the path toward his mother's favorite gazebo. The Jotunn girl fell back and trailed behind them once more, silent as a cat. She seemed completely unaffected by the journey here, her eyes a solid wall of grey. Loki wondered how well she understood the consequences of showing herself before the court like that. Before he could decide how he felt about it, he heard a stirring up ahead and a blessedly welcome voice rang in his ears. "Loki! Oh, Loki!"

He turned and found himself enveloped in his mother's arms, and for a moment all his fears vanished. She was warm and bright, robed in smooth silks and smelling of her favorite springtime gardenias. She pressed her lips to his cheek and cradled his hands in her own, and Loki let himself be consumed by her affection. It had been so long and it startled him, this feeling of someone wanting to be near him with no reservations. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder and closed his eyes. She took a deep, shuddering breath and squeezed him tightly. "Loki. Oh, my son, my son. I've missed you so terribly."

Loki made a hushed sound deep in his throat and Frigga seemed to understand what he meant. She settled her hand in the crook of his elbow and guided him gently toward the gazebo. "Come sit with me, dear. I can't tell you how glad I am to see you again. When I heard that –"

"Pardon me, your grace," the swarthy guard cut in, forcing Loki to stop as he pulled against his lead chain. "We have been tasked with keeping the prisoner secure and preventing any harm he may cause to your noble personage. If you would please –"

"Your assistance is appreciated, Sir Iron, but I will be perfectly fine in the company of my son. You may remain within eyesight, but I insist you give us privacy to visit in a dignified manner," Frigga said in a firm voice that demanded obedience. "Also, remove that vile thing from his neck."

Sir Iron grimaced but did as he was told, and Loki felt a weight lift off his shoulders as the man unlocked the heavy collar from his throat. He gave his mother a grateful glance as she waved dismissively at the guards, causing them to shamble away dejectedly and take up position at the far end of the garden. Sir Iron shot him one last loathing look, which Loki returned in full force. The next moment, his mother's eyes shifted past him and settled on the Jotunn girl standing unobtrusively by the hedges. "You must be…." She trailed off and stared, seeming at a loss for words. He nudged her gently and she recovered, shaking her glossy head. "Ah, very well. You may wait here. Come, Loki."

Loki allowed his mother to lead him into the gazebo and settle down beside him on the reclining couch. He took a deep breath and gazed around, reveling in the fact that he was here with her. The sun shone warmly on the beds of flowers lining the lawn around them. The gazebo itself was a small, cozy nook outfitted with comfortable furnishings and Frigga's tasteful style of décor. He had been here many times before, and he always came away feeling calm and refreshed. Loki made a mental note to try not to throw anything at the Jotunn girl for at least a week. Savage though she was, if it weren't for her he would likely still be stuck on his knees in the middle of that noxious crowd, silently screaming for a way out.

"You look so pale, dear." Frigga touched his cheek, and Loki forced his thoughts away from what he'd just endured. She peered into his eyes and ran her fingers gently over his tightly sewn lips. Loki would not have allowed anyone else to touch his stitches, but he bowed his head and let his mother fuss over him like she had often done when he was younger. "It looks dreadful, but at least the wounds have healed. Does it still cause you pain?"

Loki nodded vehemently and Frigga bit her lip and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You must be so hungry. You need nourishment and proper care. Do the healers give you anything for the pain?"

He shook his head and shifted uncomfortably, trying to adjust his chained limbs. Now that he was finally with his mother, Loki ached to confess everything about the new life he was condemned to – the loneliness, the misery, the desperation, and the fear – but his voice was sealed inside him and even if he'd had a quill, he wouldn't have been able to write with his hands shackled. He gave Frigga a despairing look and tugged slightly at his stitches. She winced and moved to grip his hands in hers. "I know, dear. I know. Please don't pull, it won't help."

"Nnnnmmhhhh." Loki gritted his teeth and squeezed her hands, trying to communicate his frustration and need. Frigga stroked his palm and murmured comforts to him until he stilled.

"Thor tells me you are often unwell when he comes to visit." Loki rolled his eyes and grunted, and his mother smiled thinly. "I know you and your brother have a history of being at odds, but Thor has come a long way from the rambunctious boy he used to be. He cares about you and is honestly trying to do right by you. If you let him in, he can offer a great deal of support."

Once again, a million replies rose in his throat and he had to swallow hard to suppress them. Loki looked away and Frigga continued gently, "Besides, if you can exercise better control of your anger, you'll be afforded more privileges to help make your imprisonment bearable."

Loki was not interested in being tamed like a captive animal. The only thing that would make this punishment bearable was its end. He struggled to adjust the chain latched around his waist, which was fastened so tightly he could feel his lower ribs bruising.

"Does that hurt you, Loki?" Frigga eyed him with concern. "I instructed your guards to treat you with care, and your father has assured me –"

"Hhhhhhmmmm! Nnnnnn hhhmmmmm." Loki pulled harder at his stitches this time, realizing with a sinking heart that he was powerless to tell his mother the truth of what had been going on away from her supervision. The guards had treated him better when he received regular visits from Frigga and Thor, but as the former had stopped visiting and the latter came less often, their façade of respect had given way to brutality and torment. And they knew he couldn't tell anyone; that was why they weren't concerned with manhandling him even when he was allowed outside his chambers. Loki struggled fiercely against the bindings that kept him locked in silent submission, but he only managed to exhaust himself and alarm his mother, who pulled him sideways to lean against her.

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to upset you by mentioning him."

Loki moaned in frustration and stared up at her, trying to communicate with his eyes. Frigga embraced him and Loki wished he could stay in her maternal protection forever, just as she had protected him from the scorn of the court as a child. He felt so tired and so weak. Time passed and his breathing slowed as he stared across the gardens, watching the distant figure of the Jotunn girl standing by the hedges. Frigga followed his gaze. "Has that one been kind to you?"

Loki nodded grudgingly and she smiled and rubbed his shoulder. "Good. I don't know precisely from where Thor got her, but he seemed convinced she would be a good attendant for you. I know it's not easy." Frigga's face took on a sharper expression. "And I know you don't want to think about it….your father, and the choices he made that impacted your life. But you need to consider the future, dear." Loki tilted his head to look up at her quizzically, and she pursed her lips. "Odin will not be king of Asgard forever."

Loki made a low, growling sound and Frigga patted his head soothingly. "I don't know how many years more he intends to rule, but Odin is old and tired, and your brother is young and strong. He will inevitably pass his kingship on to Thor –" Loki squirmed irritably at this idea – "and at that point all the responsibilities of the realm will go to him as well. Including your custody as a prisoner."

Loki blinked, surprised that his mother was bringing up this point. He knew that Thor would be king – knew it was as inevitable as the sunrise in the morning – but he didn't like to think about the finer details of where that left him. Stranded in captivity, he would be passed on to his brother and bound to his will just as he was currently bound to Odin's. Then Thor would be in charge of deciding his fate.

"Your brother loves you," Frigga insisted, tilting Loki's chin up to look her in the eye. "He will be merciful to you if you give him half a reason to do so. Your crimes are great, my son, but if you can show remorse for your actions and obedience to your brother's will, I am sure he will reduce the severity of your sentence. Perhaps he will even give you back your silver tongue." She tapped fondly on the corner of his mouth and Loki squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a wild conflict of emotions roil inside him. He knew Thor would treat him better than Odin. But he chafed at the thought of living under his brother's control. He wanted to be spared from this pitiful condition, but he hated the idea of begging Thor for mercy. His pride, or what little there was left of it, would never recover from a blow like that. All his life he had fought against the unspoken assertion that Thor was better than him, more powerful, more worthy. If he knelt at his feet then he would finally be forced to acknowledge it as truth.

Frigga stroked his dark hair and reached for a book lying on the wicker table. "Would you like me to read to you, dear? It seems so long ago that we diverted ourselves with this story. I recall we were about halfway through when….when the Bifrost incident happened. After I learned you had fallen, I closed the book and never picked it up again." She shut her eyes briefly. "But now that you've returned, perhaps we can finally finish it?"

Loki nodded eagerly and tried to smile at her, though he was only able to manage a brief twitch of his lips. Frigga patted his hand and opened the text to the page where they had left off so long ago, before New York and the Chitauri, before Thor's banishment and Loki's attempt to take his place as successor to the throne. Before he had known anything about the horrendous truth of his heritage and felt his sense of identity destroyed by it. He closed his eyes and listened to his mother's voice and let himself believe that this was all there was, just them and the book and the gazebo floating through empty space between the world-tree's branches, out where no one else could reach them.