Silent minutes stretched into an eternity in Thor's heart before he finally found words that would leave his mouth in something less than a scream. "How could you do nothing?" Thor asked in a hoarse whisper. He turned to his father, bewildered and angry. "I manage for once to not lash out, to not take that wench's head from her shoulders where she stood for talking to you in such a manner and taking Loki as if it were her right to do so and you do nothing!"

"It was her right to do so, if that is what Loki chose. It was unbearably foolish. To make such an offer without thinking...it was something I might have expected from you." Odin said with a humorless huff of laughter. He leaned more heavily on his staff. "Thor, you must continue to not act foolishly, do you understand me? Lifa is powerful and much more malicious than her brother. Asgard...Asgard needs you to hold yourself together. To act in the interest of our realm and not just in the interest of your brother."

"She has stolen him!"

"He has gone of his own will. I could not stop that."

"You could have."

"Thor..." The blond watched as his father began to sink to the ground, the weight of everything crashing down around him. He had not slept since restoring Loki to the realm of the living and it was taking its toll on him now.

Tears glistened in blue eyes and he waved guards off momentarily. "Father?"

"We can hope he put more thought into this than we can see," Odin murmured, one good eye lulling before finally sliding shut.

Thor felt himself shaking with both rage and aguish as the guards carried his slumbering father off to his own chambers. There was much to be done, he reminded himself. Loki did not intend to stay and he would need his elder brother to help get him out. This was a trick played out before, so the brothers knew that it could work, but Thor just hoped that Loki had prepared for the magnitude of this scenario. If he had or had not, that didn't matter now. Thor would go after him, but not alone. He could not risk allowing his anger to overtake him and cause more trouble than had already stirred.

Sif was waiting for him as soon as he made it back to the palace. "I heard. The guards that brought your father back told me." she said, placing a hand on his arm.

He covered her fingers with his own. "Where are the three?" he asked.

"They still guard near your parent's chambers. We weren't certain that the talks were successful, only that Loki went with the Jotuns and your father sleeps." she answered.

Thor motioned for her to walk with him. "They were successful only in buying us time and Loki has paid a high price for that gift."

"Are you certain that is why he went?" Sif asked carefully.

Thor nearly growled. "Loki has not gone to conquer the throne of Jotunheim single handedly if that is what you are implying."

Sif frowned. "That is certainly not what I was implying. I am implying that by placing himself in such a situation, if you go to his aid, if you go into Jotunheim you go in as Asgard's king, not its prince or even its son. Odin is sleeping. What you do next you do in the name of all of Asgard."

"What would you have me do, Sif? Allow Loki to take everything on himself?"

"He chose to go!"

"He is my brother!"

"Then allow him his choice, Thor! You are not making this decision as a brother, but a king. If Loki still holds any fondness for you or this world he would tell you to think this through."

They stood with eyes locked in silent battle for several long moments before Thor huffed. "He said he'd need my help."

"Was Odin still standing?"

This caught the blond by surprise. "Yes."

"Then the tides have turned. You must realize this. He must realize this."

"He wouldn't know. He'd think I'd left him to our enemies. That I had deserted him!"

"You don't have the luxury to think of that now. You must think of what is best for your people, not just one. Especially one that was willing to give you up for the slightest bit of power!"

"We have put that behind us. Answer this, Sif: Will you help me or not?"

She sighed, eyes dropping to the floor. "You know I will not abandon you, no matter how foolish."

"Then let us not be foolish. Let us not be caught." Thor sighed and held Sif's shoulders. "Please understand, Sif. I cannot be a good king in my own mind if I cannot protect that which is most important to me. My kingdom would never be whole without my brother in it, no matter what he has done in the past. Now we will have to be clever like he is to return him here. Go to our friends. Tell them to pack their armor in secret so that it cannot be seen. When night falls we will journey back to the bridge and dress for battle there. Heimdall will send us through. We'll retrieve Loki and return to Asgard quick as you please. Go quickly. There are things I need to take care of before we undertake this."

Sif sighed. "A sound plan. Think on this though, as we prepare for night. What will happen when Jotunheim's ruler finds that once again Asgard has robbed them of their prize? What will we offer then?" Sif shrugged off his hands and strode past him before he could answer.

Thor knew it to be a question that Lifa would also demand an answer for, and he hoped he would have one when she did.

The cold Jotunheim did not bite him as deeply as it should have, and it was yet another reminder to the younger prince of Asgard that he was of these lands and not those that he called home. He had not allowed any of his captors to touch him as they walked the stretch of land towards what they considered their home and he could only keep a fraction of the contempt from his features.

"Take him to the dungeons and strip him of all that is Asgardian," Lifa said as they took to the steps of their half-destroyed ice palace. "I will be along shortly."

The guards on either side of Loki grunted their understanding and directed him - they seemed to have no need to grasp a hold of him any more than he wished for it - downward.

The stairs were slick and his boots were not made for the ice. He slipped twice and caught himself, before finally sitting down hard the third time.

The guards sneered and laughed. One reached out as if to shove his shoulder with his foot, but Loki was faster and on his feet out of reach before it could connect. "I would suggest not touching me if you wish to live." Loki warned in a calm voice.

"As if you would risk your life in such a manner." the guard said smugly.

Loki's lips curved. "As if I would be killed so quickly over such a life as yours." By the expression his companions made there was more truth to his statement than Loki had first guessed and he kept that knowledge tucked away for later.

As they approached an iced over cell the guard leaned close to his ear. "You will learn quickly under Lifa that death is far from the worst end for you, Asgardian."

Loki turned to look at him, his eyes cold and emotionless. "I have already seen worse than death. I have seen things you will never imagine. Lifa can do her worst."

The guard smiled, pulling thin lips back over sharp teeth. "We will be sure to mention that when we bring her your things. Now hand them over, or we will take them from you."

"All I have is what I'm wearing." The guards looked at him expectantly and Loki's lips twitched downward. Lifa was trying to take his dignity and pride from him. Good luck to her on that front. "Will you have me bare in this cold?"

"Clothing has been left for you, but you'll soon know what cold is," the second guard said with a grin.

Loki glanced into the cell and did find what might be called clothing on a block of ice. He entered, one hand clutching reflexively to his brother's cloak. Slowly, feeling eyes on his back, he removed his princely clothes for the rags they had left. When he had finished, he threw them at the guard and wrapped himself in the red cloak.

"That too."

Loki snorted in response, sitting himself down on the cold ground. "No."

The guards exchanged glances. "Give us the cloak or we will take it from you."

Loki looked almost bored and drew in a deep breath through his nose, allowing his lip to curl ever so slightly. "Well then. Come and get it." He could practically smell their fear and their hesitation. His reputation was not without it's advantages and there were only two of them. He was unbound and far from helpless and truth be told would be grateful for the fight. They did not wish to challenge him, it was obvious, but better this wan prince of Asgard than their icy queen.

It was a mistake to underestimate him, which they soon learned. Their unconscious bodies were on the floor outside of his cell when the others came. Loki clenched his fists and felt the magic weave around his fingers. "Is that the best you can do?" he challenged.

They sent five for the second round. They learned quickly, apparently. It did surprise him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't fight for his own life. One large foot stamped down on the cape, effectively stopping its wearer in his tracks and another Frost Giant slammed him hard in the ribs, knocking the breath out of him. Loki tumbled to the ground, gasping for air and feeling the affects of the cold on his lungs. He may have been bred for this world, but he was raised in the temperate lands of Asgard.

He was held down so that he could not squirm away, but he thrashed and cursed against them. Thankfully, it seemed the rags that they had given him were not as easily burned through by the chill of their touch, as was his own clothing, and his skin remained the same color he knew well. Cuffs were snapped onto his thin wrists and he felt his connection to his magic drain away, leaving him feeling very vulnerable. The Frost Giant that had stepped on the cloak now pulled it from him.

"No!" Loki yelled. "You will not take my last bit of home from me!"

"This is your home now, little one," Lifa's rough voice filled the room. "For as long as you survive here."

"You know nothing of what home means." Loki said. He was struck across the face for his trouble, blood showing in thin line across his cheekbone.

Lifa scoffed at him. "And who do I have to thank for that? Oh, that's right. Odin Allfather. And your pathetic excuse for a crown prince. And you. It is a shame for Jotunheim that you were not retrieved as an infant to be spared being raised as such a weak minded, sentimental fool. It was fortunate for me that you were left on Asgard to soften, however. It is a brutal place now, our Jotunheim. It was glorious once, more glorious than Asgard. Before I am through with you, whore's child, ice will flow through your veins whether from acceptance of the pitiful creature that you are or because I have forced icicles through your skin one pore at a time."

"You think you frighten me," Loki sneered, a grin stretching his lips. "You're nothing. You're a second best that was chosen because Laughey was too weak and stupid to realize an obvious trap laid for him. I killed him, and in the end, I will stand over your body as well."

She reached forward, grabbing his chin so that he had to meet her eyes. He could feel the chill spreading across his face and he knew that a monster was taking his place. He hated her for it. "Gag him. I've heard stories about his silver tongue. I will have none of it here."

It took another four of them to subdue him well enough to get the gag on, the taste of blood staying on his lips after they had wrapped his mouth shut. He was shoved unceremoniously into the wall, his head bouncing off the frozen rock.

Lifa eyed him and disliked the still defiant look in his bright eyes. That simply would not do. This son of two worlds would forget the one and fear the other when she was finished. "Bring me a knife." she called. "Make sure he isn't moving." she instructed the guards still in the cell with her. "And take that cloak to my throne. Maybe I'll actually go to the trouble of burning it. Isn't that what you Asgardians do to send off your dead? Because I've heard of your brother's deeds as well, whether you tricked him or not. I promise you if he steps one foot here I will make him scream until he can scream no more and then I will cut out his heard and bring it to you."

Loki growled low cruses against the gag, threatening her within his own mind with every possible version of death that he could come up with. He was very creative, after all. One guards still had him pinned to the wall and he struggled with all his might. They may have stripped him of his magic, but regardless of what the Warriors Three thought, he was no physical weakling. He kicked and squirmed until the pressure that it took to keep him pinned began increasing and crushing. He choked against the gag as he felt bones give an uneasy shift as they never should and he stilled, eyes never leaving Lifa. She held his gaze easily.

A servant appeared at her side and offered her the blade she had requested. "Bare one of his arms. This silver-tongued bastard is not the only one who can work some magic."

Loki snarled from behind his gag, but could not stop his left arm from being wrenched free of its bindings and held out before the Jotun queen. She held the tip of the blade aloft as a painter might hold a brush above a canvas. "We would not wish your death too quickly. Especially if I can lure the other son of Odin here. The old man looked tired. Maybe if I can take both his sons, the rest of your world will not be far behind." She turned his palm face up and buried the tip of the knife in the soft skin of his arm. Loki bit down hard on the gag, refusing to cry out. Lifa spoke over the cuts as she made them, the lines becoming a drawing of sorts in his skin. His blood dripped to the cold floor.

He felt magic that was not his own creep into his veins and he hissed. He tried to fight against it with all natural instincts, but the bindings on his wrists kept him from doing so. She leaned down so that she could look straight at his eyes. "You really aren't anything like him, even without the spell the Allfather cast on you so long ago. You don't have my brother's bravery or his mind, no matter how clever you think you are, child, it is not enough. All you did by offering yourself up to me was bring pain into your life and give me different direction to take Asgard from. If you think you are here to take my brother's throne for yourself, you are sadly mistaken." She gave a final twist of the knife before removing it.

There was silence in the cell, save for the methodical sound of his blood dripping off of his fingers and onto the floor. He could not articulate against her through the gag, but his cold gaze spoke volumes. Lifa resisted the urge to drive the blade through his heart; it was far too soon for that. He was still defiant, still proud. He wished not for the throne of Jotunheim, it was clear by the disdain in his expression. He should want it with every cold fiber of his being and it was a shame to his heritage that he did not, that his heart was bound in loyalty to the throne of Asgard. "You are a disgrace. Not worthy to rule in any realm. You could not take Asgard, you do not deserve Jotunheim. You couldn't even manage the likes of Midgard. You should have surrendered yourself to death long ago. You belong nowhere. You can rule nowhere. You are wanted nowhere." She lifted the blade again.

He let out a frustrated snort when the blade touched his face, very lightly, and moved down to his throat. He wasn't sure when his captor had let him go, but the spell she had cast seemed to also keep him in place. He tried to move, but found his limbs sluggish to his commands. Lifa's lips tugged upward into a harsh semblance of a smile and sunk the blade a little deeper when it ghosted over his collarbone. "I hope your brother comes. He'll find a twisted mess instead of a sibling, and then I'll kill him. Perhaps I'll keep you alive just long enough to watch the life leave his eyes."

Loki couldn't stop the muted gasp as the blade bit deeper.

TBC

A/N: Don't hate us, but we're going to a firework show tomorrow, so this will probably not be updated as we won't be writing tomorrow. I can't say about the 4th. For those of you who are Americans, happy early Independence Day. Be safe, have a good time, and please give a moment to think of everything sacrificed to give you the freedom you enjoy today.

See you in a couple of days! XD