Here is the last chapter finally. I have written on it the hole week, re-written it and then re-written it again. And I am sorry that it took so long. But hopefully you will like it. I am very happy with it. And well it did become a bit romantic, almost ridicules romantic at some parts, but hey I like being cheesy sometimes. So I hope you like it too. It's a bit shorter then the last chapters, but hope it's good enough not to bother you.
And the end. Well it isn't as good as the start, but I hope you like it anyway.
And the next chapter will involve Hel and the others, so hope you like it!
I will also inform you that I may post less chapters from now on. I will try to post at least one chapter each week, and hopefully more, but don't be to surprised if that doesn't happen. I have a lot to do right now but yeah.
Anyway as always thank you to my new followers and the ones leaving reviews!
So that's all, hope you enjoy the chapter!
"Loki," Cara called out as she walked through the house. She had woken up alone in the bed and it scared her. She tried to stay calm, and not let her imagination run away, but it was hard. All she could see was the horrible things that could have happened to Loki. What if they hadn't been safe her at all? Cara hadn't really known, she had just hoped that they would. She was afraid that it was her fault that Loki was taken.
Then she shook his head, she wasn't sure he was missing. He could be somewhere in the house. Even if they had explored the house this past week, there was still more to see, and Loki was a person thirsty for knowledge. Cara had been so happy to see him more like himself this past week. He was curious, he had been relaxing, talking more and even teasing and joking with her. Seeing him like that had made her smile so much. And she was glad that they had taken the trip, Loki had needed it, she had needed it. But if they had been able to capture Loki, it wasn't worth it anymore. She cursed herself for being so stupid, to let her guard down.
"Loki," she called out again, hoping to get an answer, because if she did, it meant that he was still in the house. But as she looked through the second floor and didn't get an answer or saw him, it made it almost impossible not to worry. Cara tried to comfort herself with the fact that there was no trace of a battle, but she knew that it didn't need to mean anything. She had learned a long time ago, that covering the truth with a bitter sweet lie, was never good. So no trace of a battle could be good, but it could also mean that the person that took Loki, was really good.
"Loki," Cara called out once more when she walked down the stairs to the bottom floor. And as he didn't answer her, she became really worried. She knew that it was a big house and you didn't always hear someone calling out for you, but she started to run out of room to search. And she felt that even if he didn't hear her for some reason, she should have found him by know. And now she felt the panic start raising and she took a deep breath, knowing that it wouldn't help her at all. She still had a few more rooms to look in before she could confirm that he was gone.
Cara started walking towards the other rooms when she saw something in the corner of her eye. She slowly turned around and stood there in fear. It caught her off guard and at ones all rational thoughts were gone. If she had been thinking she had understood that it was Loki's doing, he had opened the door down to the dungeon. But she didn't think of that, all Cara thought of was the demons of the past, getting out from the door. She knew it was illogical, there was no one behind the door, but it felt like it had been a wall between her and the past. And with open it was like nothing protected her. Cara slowly walked closer, prepared to run away if she needed, not wanting to get stuck down there ever again. She stopped at the top of the stairs, Cara started to realize that it was Loki who had opened the door, did it mean he was down there?
"Loki," she called for him, no answer and Cara didn't know what to do. The most logical was that it was Loki down there, but why didn't he answer her? Didn't he hear her? Was he hurt? That thought almost made her run down the stairs, but she stopped herself. What if it was a trap? What if someone wanted to trap her down there again, and was using Loki to do it. What if Loki was the one wanting to trap her. But she shook her head, Loki would never do that, she trusted him.
But Cara wasn't sure if someone else would do it. She didn't think anyone else could get into the house. Except maybe Odin, but would he really get through the trouble? At those words Cara almost laughed, way was she thinking he wouldn't do something like that. But if it was Odin, and he had Loki she needed to at least try to save him.
Cara closed her eyes for a second before she slowly started walking down the stairs, one step a time, forcing herself to continue, for Loki's sake. She listened for sounds that would revile a trap, or something else. She wasn't sure what she expected, and she didn't think logical, the fear was slowly taking over. Cara had never thought she would walk down this steps again, wanting to never see the dungeon, ever again. She hadn't been down there for hundred of years, yet now she walked down willingly.
When she got to the bottom she was really pale, and she had to stop herself from shivering, all the memories washing over her. The smell from the wet rocks, the coldness, the sound of torches burning, it had been all she knew for years. She knew that her cell was around the corner, but she needed to prepare herself, not knowing if she would end up there again. But if Cara could save Loki, it would be worth it. If he now needed saving, maybe he was fine.
Cara walked around the corner, and even if she had thought that Loki would be fine she hadn't expected it. She expected to see Odin standing there, laughing as he hurt Loki before he threw her into the cell. But Loki stood there, caught in thoughts staring at her cell. She felt relieved that he was safe, and if she had been standing somewhere else, she had been smiling.
"Loki," Cara whispering in a scared voice. Draco had told her never to talk, she knew what would happen if she did. Something in her head said that Draco wasn't here and she could talk, yet the fear was to great, even after all these years. Her father had never cared if she talked or not, maybe it was because he knew that she was into much pain, or that he loved to see her try to defend herself. She had tried to talk to them in the beginning, first the bit back to the men torturing her, then she begged when her father started, asking, anything, at first at least. But nothing had worked. So finally Cara had stopped talking, if it was out of hopelessness or fear, she didn't know, and she gave up. They won, and she did what they wanted, or maybe not fighting was a better description. So talking down here, right now was really scary, with all the memories in her head.
"Loki?" Cara asked in a low voice as she walked closer to him. He hadn't seemed to hear her the first time. As she walked closer Loki turned around to face her and she stopped.
"Hi," Loki said and Cara saw that he had been crying, and she got worried. Why had he been crying? Had something happened? Was he hurt? Was he scared? Why was he even down here?
"Cara are you alright?" Loki asked and she gave him a questioning look. "You are very pale."
"Oh," was all that she could answer. "I am fine."
That was a lie, and Loki knew it right away, he didn't even need to be the God of Lies to see that. She hadn't tried to hide the fact that she wasn't alright all too well. She wasn't in a state where she could do that.
Loki walked closer and slowly pulled her into a hug, giving her the time to stop him, but she didn't. Soon she felt his arms around her, he didn't say anything and neither did she. They just stood there in the light from the torch. She closed her eyes, trying to forget about all the scenes that were playing in her head, but she couldn't. She could never forget them, not fully. She looked them away in her mind, wanting to never think of them. She had met people who had hurt her more than Draco and her father did. But their betrayal and treatment would always be the one that hurt the most, since she had trusted them, especially Draco. And after the years down here, she trusted few people, and it took a long time to get her trust.
"Cara?" Loki asked and pulled her away from her thoughts, she didn't look at him, instead she looked at her cell. The familiar bars that had stopped her from escaping, hurting her if she even touched them. The walls that was painted with her blood. The blanket that had been her bed and the potty that had been her toilet. It was all so premature, like she was an animal in a cage, which was how they had treated her. Cara's eyes stopped on the dried blood on the floor, the spot where Minna had died. She couldn't stop herself from crying, the sorrow took over, the fear she had felt was nothing compared to the sorrow she felt over losing her daughter. Loki hugged her closer and she hugged him back.
"Loki…why are…you down…here?" Cara asked between her sobs and Loki stroke her hair, trying to comfort her.
"I wanted to understand," Loki started "I wanted to understand what happened to you, and how someone could do that to you."
Cara was really surprised to hear those words, and the honest in them. She wasn't surprised that Loki was honest, he was almost always honest with her, but to hear how much he wanted to understand shocked her. Cara didn't know what to answer him so she just pulled him closer to her, but Loki seemed to understand.
"I am sorry if I made you go down here," Loki said and Cara shook her head, not be able to answer him. "I just wanted to see if I could find some answers."
"Did you?"
"Not particular. I read some of your fathers notes, hope you don't mind," Loki said and she shook her head, she didn't care about that. "And I admit, he made me very confused, he wanted you to marry this guy to be safe and have a good life. He seemed to want you to be happy and safe. Clearly showing that he cared on some level. Wanting the best for you, at least to himself, because from what you have said, he never showed it to you."
Cara wasn't sure what to think of it, if her father had cared about her, it had been buried deep down, since she could never remember him carrying for her, not once.
"But he also wanted you to do as he says, not caring if you would love Draco or not. He wanted you to give him a grandchild that could continue his work, since you didn't want to. And at some points he seemed fine with that, wanting you to do what you felt like. He seemed to been struggle at first, on how to handle the situation. Until he decided that having a grandchild, and a daughter that did what she was told was more important than your happiness. And I can't understand why."
Cara still didn't say anything, what was there to say? If he now had wanted her to be happy at some point, he had not followed that path. Power was more impotent to him, and it wasn't like she would ever forgive him for what he did, or understand him.
"Compared to Odin who have hated me from the start, playing with me and my feelings, your father seemed to love you at some point. So that's why I have a harder time understanding how he could do this. Odin had no problem to do what he did. He hated me, he didn't even need to convince himself. But your father had to do that, and I can't understand how you can convince yourself to hurt your child," Loki's voice was full of sorrow and anger.
"I don't know Loki, he never showed that he cared. Odin played with you, but he didn't let the hate show at once, my father did. Besides power changes people, and for him it has always been more important than anything," Cara answered him and Loki just hugged her again.
"Wish I could have stopped him earlier," Loki told her and Cara met his eyes for the first time.
"You did stop him, that all that matters," she said and smiled a weak smile towards him.
"I would stop whoever you want me to stop," Loki said and leaned forward and was about to kiss her when she stopped him. Loki lowered his head at once, and he was about to apologise.
"Just not here Loki. You can kiss me whenever you feel like it, I will not stop you, but please just not here," she said in a low voice and Loki seemed to understand. He met her eyes again and smiled.
"Then let's get out of here," he said and took her hand and started to walk upstairs.
Cara sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea in front of her. Loki had noticed that she wasn't alright, that the visit in the dungeon had shaken her up. Cara hadn't said anything, still trying to forget about it. So Loki had walked over to the kitchen, thinking that food would help her, or rather chocolate cookies and she had smiled towards him. She loved chocolate, especially in cookies and Loki had apparently decided to make her some.
"You know that I don't blame you," Cara said without looking at Loki.
"I know," he answered her as he read the recipe "Can't stop from blaming myself though. I should have thought before I walked down. I would not be too happy to return to my cell."
Cara looked at Loki's back and she saw that he fought the thought of returning.
"I would never let you return there, and if you end up there again, I will either be there with you, or help you escape again," she said and Loki turned towards her.
"Please don't end up there with me," he said. "Because that means Thor would be our only hope, and we would never be free again."
At those words Cara laughed and Loki looked happy to hear her laugh again.
"Let's hope that we don't need to relay on only Thor to save us," she said and Loki nodded before he returned to the cookies and she looked down in the cup.
She didn't say anything as Loki was baking, it reminded her of her Sev, he had also baked for her when she was sad. Cara did really miss him, him and Simon being the only people from her early life that she was missing, both being dead. Cara rarely admitted it, but she was always afraid of losing the people around her. She had lost so many already, and she was scared of ending up alone. Afraid that the darkness would take her and she would never find a way out.
Cara looked at Loki who was concentrating and smiled, she was glad that he was at her side again. She had thought that he had lost him once, and it had almost destroyed her. She had a hard time keep going after that, she was just lucky that she had founded new friends. Friends who no longer was alive. She hated that she lived longer than other people, always forcing her to lose them to old age if nothing else happened. And she wondered how many more she would be forced to see die and…
Her thoughts come to a stop when she felt a finger with dough on her nose. Cara looked up in surprise to see Loki standing there with the bowl and a smile.
"Stopped you, didn't I?" He asked and she tilted her head, not understanding. "From thinking too much."
"That you did," Cara admitted and smiled as she took Loki's finger from her nose and putted it in her mouth and licked away the dough. She did it without thinking and when she did she looked at Loki in horror. She hadn't mean to do something like that, afraid that she would scare him.
"Loki I am sorry," she said and he gave her a smile and leaned forward and kissed her.
"Nothing to worry about Cara. I know that you will never hurt me," he admitted and she smiled at him. "I trust you."
"I would never hurt you, but I don't want to do anything you don't want to," she said and Loki sat down with the bowl.
"I trust you not to. I know that you will never do anything I don't want to. That's why I am not afraid to be near you, or when you touch me," He took her hand and she smiled, she didn't need to say anything, her face showed how happy she was to hear those words. To know how much Loki trusted her.
She leaned forward slowly, giving Loki time to step away, but he didn't and she smiled as she kissed him. This was the first time she kissed him first. Before that she had always left it up to Loki, so he did what he was ready to do. But she was happy to be able to kiss him first too. When she leaned back again Loki gave her a smile to show that it was okay. Cara nodded and then looked down at the bowl.
"They don't bake themselves you know," she teased and Loki rolled her eyes.
"I do know that. But I can't figure out how to use the oven," Loki admitted and Cara laughed.
"Sorry I forgot that it's a magical oven, not ordinary one," she said and took the bowl.
"Are you calling me ordinary?" Loki smirked and Cara placed the dough on a baking sheet.
"No, there is nothing ordinary about you, and you are a magician. However, that doesn't mean you know how to use our things," she said and started the oven just as she placed the cookies in it.
"It's because they are illogical," Loki said and Cara nodded.
"That they are. Most of the wizards and witches in this world don't know logic. That's why it could so easy bring them down," Cara informed him.
"For real?" Loki asked surprised.
"For real."
"But without logic it…then…all…" Loki lost his words and Cara laughed.
"Good for you that this isn't the first time I meet you, and that I know that you actually have a silver tongue," Cara teased and Loki gave her a look.
"I am just surprised."
"I could tell. And yes to people outside the community it's surprising. But I guess they all just are used to it," Cara said and smiled when the cookies was ready and she took the out of the oven.
"That was fast," Loki said.
"Magic," Cara just answered and placed the cookies and some milk on the table before she sat down to take one.
Sitting there in the kitchen with Loki, eating cookies and laughing made Cara feel a lot better. She started to become herself again and Loki noticed and looked proud.
"Yes you did a good job," Cara teased.
"Always do," Loki answered and she just rolled her eyes at him. "I saw that."
"You did? Thought you wouldn't. I mean you are sitting in front of me, so I thought I could hide it," Cara teased and Loki just smiled at her and took another cookie. Cara had really missed the teasing, she hopped Loki would feel safe enough to do it once they got back too.
"Cara?" Loki asked and she nodded. "I have been thinking about Hel."
"What about her?" She asked. It wasn't usual for Loki to bring her up, and Cara had almost felt like Loki accepted that his daughter was lost to him.
"Her birthday is coming up," he started. "And I am thinking of visiting her. Would you care to company me?"
"It is? Well if I can get there without dying or like the last time I would love to visit her again," she said and Loki smiled.
"I think she would appreciate it. She can't really leave her realm, but I can visit her," Loki said and Cara nodded. She had guessing that Loki would have a way to visit his daughter. "Do you think she would like it?"
Cara heard that Loki was a bit unsure about it, most likely afraid that Hel would blame her for something.
"She would love to see you again, just like all of your children would. They love you very much Loki. And for you to visit them would mean a lot to them," she told him and Loki slowly nodded before he smiled.
"And I love them."
"I know you do," Cara smiled towards him. She knew that Loki loved his children over everything, that's why she was so mad at Odin for using them against him.
"So when is her birthday?" Cara asked.
"In a few weeks," Loki informed her.
"Then we have time to find her a present," Cara said and though of what the ruler of the dead would like.
"That we do," Loki said and they started talking about what to give her.
After eating all the cookies, and thinking of what to give Hel, they started to get ready to leave the house. They both knew that they needed to return to the tower, but they both was actually a bit scared to do so. They didn't know how the Avengers would react. They hadn't left on good terms. Cara guessed that in worse case they could take the twins and return here. But she didn't want to do that, she actually missed the tower and the Avengers.
Sure they could drive her mad, and make her angry, but she had started to like them. They did mean well; it just didn't always end up that way. And Cara guessed that Loki had starting to like them too, especially since he didn't kill them the last time. This was a guess, nothing she had solid proof of, but he didn't protest upon returning. He could have asked to just get the twins and return here, but he didn't.
When they had packed a few things from the house and they felt ready Cara took Loki's hand and transferred them back to the tower. They landed on the roof without a sound. They both looked out over New York, who was as busy as ever. After a week on the countryside the city seemed bigger than before.
"Are you ready?" Cara asked Loki when he looked at her and he nodded. "We are in this together."
Cara took Loki's hand, she knew that he was nervous, and on some level so was she. She wanted this to go well, she really did. But she was prepared for the worst and protecting Loki and the twins come first. She just hopped that everything would go well. She didn't know how the Avengers would react. Them being away for a week could have given them time to regret what happened, but it could also give them time to become hostile, realising that it was a bad idea to have Loki in the tower. Cara gave Loki a smile when she opened the door and went inside.
"Welcome back Lady Cara and Mister Loki," Jarvis said as they got down from the stairs.
"Hi Jarvis," Cara said in a friendly voice.
"The twins are with Lady Frigga, playing in their room. The others are down on the training ground," Jarvis informed them.
"Thank you Jarvis. May I ask you to be so kind not to tell the others that we are here yet?"
"Of course Lady Cara, I will give you some time," Jarvis said and Cara smiled and they walked towards the twins room. Cara looked at Loki who walked next to her, and she could tell that he was glad to see the twins again, and so was she. When they got to the door Cara knocked and soon Váli opened the door, and first he just stared at them before he run towards Loki.
"Father," he screamed and laughed as he run into Loki's arms, and soon Narfi came running too.
"We have missed you," Narfi said with a big smile.
"I, or we have missed you too," Loki said and the twins looked at Cara and smiled too.
"Mother," they said and ran over to her to.
"Hi," Cara said and hugged them.
"I am happy that you are back," Frigga said and they looked at her with a smile. "I don't think they could have waited much longer before they wanted to look for you."
Cara and Loki looked at the twins who just laughed.
"Come and look what we have done," the twins said and took their hands as they walked into the room. They stopped in front of a big puzzles, covering most of the floor, showing all four of them.
"Where did the photo come from?" Cara asked a bit surprised and looked at Loki who didn't seem to know.
"Jarvis took it. It's from when we surprised you with dinner," Narfi said and Cara smiled, not surprise that Jarvis had a photo to give them.
"Do you like it?" Váli asked.
"We love it," Loki said "Thank you."
The twins smiled wide and looked at Frigga.
"They loved it," the said and she laughed.
"I heard that. And I told you they would," Frigga said and turned to the grown up.
"It's good to see you again," She said and hugged Cara before she turned to Loki to see if he would accept the hug, and when he did, Frigga could not stop herself from crying.
"Did I do something wrong?" Loki asked a bit afraid that he had hurt his mother.
"Not at all my love," Frigga assured him. "So tell us about your week."
"Yes tell us," the twins said. Cara and Loki sat down with the others and started telling them.
After telling them about the week and assuring the twins that they could come along on the next trip Cara and Loki had went to make some food for the others. Cara thought it was a good place to start, and Loki had wanted to help her. Frigga had smiled towards them but not said anything, as she offered to stay with the twins a bit longer. Cara and Loki had thanked her and walked away to the kitchen.
"What are you going to make?" Loki asked and Cara thought about it, she wasn't sure at first.
"How about a buffet of fish and seafood?"
"I think they would like it," he said and she smiled.
"Well then let's get started," Cara placed all they needed on the countertop and started preparing the dinner.
Loki helped her in any way he could and even if she didn't need the help, she appreciated it. And she knew that Loki needed to do this too, as much as she did. Cara prepared the food in so many different ways she felt was needed, soup, deep-fried, sushi, boiled, fried, grilled and she thought about doing it in a dessert, but she went for a chocolate cake instead. And she had a lot fun while she was doing it. She enjoyed Loki's company and to challenge herself. It was always a challenge to make food in so many different ways. As she finished the last things Loki sat the table and when he got back to her in the kitchen she heard the others get out of the elevator.
"Food!" Clint shouted and almost run to the table. The others did look at the table and realised that it could only mean that Cara and Loki was back. They had all been waiting for them, but they had also been a bit unsure or rather nervous about it. They had been reminded that both of them could be dangerous the last time, but they had also realised that they had pushed them really far. At least Loki, they hadn't listened to him and they more or less had themselves to blame. And Cara she only defended him.
Jarvis had told them what Loki had done after he had left them, and they had all felt really bad about it. None of them had wanted him to go to Fandral, they hadn't even thought that he would. So the past week they had actually talked a lot about what they had done and how they should act around Loki. They had -read the papers Natasha had told them to read so many times. And she had been furious with them when she heard what happened. And she said that they should be lucky that neither Loki or Cara killed them, because they had the right to do so.
So after all the reading they realised that they needed to think more about how everything could effect Loki. Cara had told them from the beginning that no one would know how Loki would be if he got through it, but they had just assumed that he would either keep being evil or change and be good. They never thought that he could be something in between. Looking back at their actions made them feel shame. So they all hopped that they could fix this with Loki and Cara, and before Thor got back. He and Jane was still on their honeymoon, and they all hoped that it would be fixed before Thor got back and killed them instead.
When they walked closer to the table Cara and Loki walked out from the kitchen and they all looked at each other in silence for a long time, no one knew what to say.
"The food is for you," Cara finally said and at those words Clint didn't care anymore. He just walked over to the table and sat down and started to eat.
"He has complained about our food all week," Tony said with a week smile and Cara looked at Clint and then Tony.
"I can imagine. Poor little Clint," she teased.
"I would be insulted, if the food wasn't this good," Clint answered with food in his mouth. The others still didn't move.
"I haven't poisoned the food, if that's what you are worried for," Cara said and at those words Clint stopped eating for a second but then he shrugged his shoulders.
"Even if you had, I will die happily."
"I think they are more afraid that I would have poisoned the food," Loki said to Cara.
"If you would ruin my food with poison, I may poison you!" Cara said.
"I have no doubt that you would," Loki told her but then looked at the Avengers. "But my children and mother is going to eat this, and I do not wish for them to be in pain."
The Avengers still didn't move and Cara looked at Loki.
"Alright, so it wasn't poison they are afraid of. And I would guessed it's you or me that scares them, but they walked over here so I don't think it's that," she said and pretended to think of what it could be.
"Maybe they just have forgotten how to act around people," Loki said in a teasing voice.
"Don't think it's that either," she said and then snapped her fingers, like she founded the answer. "I think it's the hole apology thing that worries them."
"I think you may be right," Loki said to her.
"Of course I am right, I am always right," Cara said and Loki rolled her eyes at her. "So since they don't seem to know what to do, I think we will need to start."
Cara turned to them and looked serious.
"I am sorry if I scared you the last time. It wasn't my intention. And I know that none of you did mean to hurt Loki. There for was my actions unnecessary and uncalled for," Cara said.
"And I also apologise if I scared you. I should just have walked away," Loki admitted and the Avengers just stared at them for a long time, feeling as the tow mages wasn't the one who should apologise, yet they barely dared to speak, until Natasha started to fake cough.
"No we are the ones that are sorry," Tony started.
"We really are," Clint said from the table.
"We should have thought about how you felt Loki. It wasn't fair of us to push you like we did," Tony said.
"And you did scare us Cara, but it wasn't your fault. We had done the same if it was anyone close to us," Steve said.
"And!" Natasha said and gave them a look.
"We apologise," they all said.
"No harm done," Cara said to them.
"You low life doesn't know better," Loki teased them.
"Hey!" Tony protested but Loki didn't say anything as he left the room to get Frigga and the twins.
"If you want any food I recommend that you start eating now, before Clint eats it all," Cara said.
"Not my problem," Clint said and the others sat down and started to eat. It was still a bit tension in the air, and it would most likely take awhile to get rid of it, but they had at least apologised and that was a start.
"Loki seemed different," Steve said and turned to her.
"He is feeling better," Cara answered him just as Loki got back with the others. The twins looked at the table with big eyes before they started to take a lot of food, which made Clint grab more food, afraid that the twins would take it all. And the others laughed as they fought about the food, and took the food they wasn't battling over.
"It's great to have you back," Natasha said and looked at them.
"It's great to be back," Cara said and Loki nodded.
"So tell us about your trip," Bruce said and for they started telling the story for the second time. This time with the twins commenting things, like they had been there.