Chapter 6 – The price to be paid
Jane struggled slightly as the guards escorted her from the dark cell, it was a wasted attempt on her part but she couldn't help herself from trying. This whole ordeal was bringing a new sense of fear to spread over her – one that she had not felt before and would possibly not feel again. Thor had insisted that she would be returned home – as had Loki. Why was she so frightened then? Perhaps she could sense that there would be more to it – perhaps she could see that Odin wished to punish her just as much as he wanted to punish Loki. Maybe she was going to pay back for everything with actual punishment. She had no clue but continued to wriggle within the grasp the guard held over her.
"This is – just would you stop holding me so tightly? You're hurting me" she pleaded but the guards simply tightened the grip, dragging her up the stairs and through a not so dimly lit corridor. There were cells in this room also, ones that were lit brightly and surrounded by glass. Jane wondered if this was where they kept more important criminals – which in itself was a silly thought to pass her mind. Why would any criminal be of more importance over another? Surely they were all just as bad as each other.
Then she saw him, in the final cell – Loki. He was stood at the front of his cell, no sign of emotion on his face as he watched them drag the other through the corridor. Jane tried to struggle a little more, leaning towards his cell to try and get some glimmer of attention from him. There was none, he looked right through her.
"Loki – please, say something" she pulled her body back but one of the guards wrapped his arm around her and threw her over his shoulder. "Let me go! Loki!" she reached out to him and watched as a few extra guards appeared and seemed to open the cell – escorting Loki in the same direction. She stared over to him and he still offered her no sign of comfort, no attempt to communicate with her. He acted cold, as though he didn't care about her anymore and Jane wondered how true that was. Had she been the butt of this joke? Had she been foolish to believe any of the things they had shared? Was this the moment she alone paid for everything?
Jane didn't have a lot of time to wonder that before they were both being held in front of the All-father. She stared up to the older man and a shiver spread down her spine, being here was more petrifying than being in that cell. It was like all of those things she had been involved in before were nothing – nothing compared to this moment.
"Jane Foster, of Midgard" she glanced down as her name was mentioned by the All-father, almost as though she was being announced officially. She was, in some way. The guards pulled her forward and stood her in front of the steps that lead up to the throne. "You will look up to me while I address you" his voice boomed, forcing Jane to look in his direction. Thor was there; he stood beside Odin and seemed heartbroken to have to witness this. What had Jane done? Why had she been so foolish to get involved with Loki?
The room fell silent; the air became colder as Jane attempted to keep her emotion together. She had always been fairly good at doing so but she had never been faced with this situation before.
"You have been found guilty of trespassing and treason" Odin spoke, staring down to her as though she really was a common criminal. "You have played a vital part in Lokis deception and for that you are to be punished in a similar manner" he glanced over to Loki but returned his gaze to Jane. "It is not lightly that we take such crimes – and you are a foolish mortal to think you'd be granted any level of freedom after what you have committed". He glanced over to Thor who seemed to become more confused by it all, perhaps a little alarmed at where his father was taking this. "Many have been punished for slighter crimes – and you are to be made an example of" he stepped down a few of the steps, moving a little closer to her. "You are guilty of all that has been charged against you and you are there for sentenced to execution" the words echoed throughout the large hall, followed by a few gasps.
Jane remained still, her heart almost stopping as the word ran through her mind 'execution' – she was going to be killed, she wasn't going home. It wasn't just a matter of never seeing Loki again; she was actually going to be killed.
"Do you have anything to say about your sentencing? Do you perhaps feel it is unfair?" Odin spoke, waving Thor away - who had run down to plead with him. "Son, this is the price that many have paid for lesser crimes…she is not the mortal you fell in love with. She has played you for a fool and will do so no more, my decision is final".
Jane felt her knees buckle beneath her but the guards kept a firm grip on her, holding her steady as her body tried to give way. "I – no, I have done the things you said I have…I don't want to die but I'm not going to beg for it to be different!" She found a small level of fire within her at that moment but still hung in the grasp of the guards, feeling queasy from the whole situation. She couldn't even see Loki, he was behind her but she didn't have the energy to look back.
"And you, Loki? Do you not have a plea to share with us? Perhaps you too feel it unfair to sentence this mortal woman in such a way?" Odin walked by Jane and moved closer to his other son.
"No" Loki muttered, holding his head up high "your sentencing of this stupid woman is of no importance to me – she is just a part of my game and I care not what you do to her". Loki glanced towards Jane who had been swung around by the guards so she could see him. He stared over to her "she was just a toy to play with and now I'm rather done with her, you can cast her off to her own mortal heaven and return me to my solitude once more".
"You are a good liar, Loki – you have been since the moment you could talk but I'm not as old and foolish as you think" Odin walked around him. "I know you care for this mortal and for that reason alone, you are sentence to watch her execution".
Loki remained calm and together "I look forward to it, will there be refreshments?"
"Don't mock me, boy – you will show your true feelings when you witness the horror of the execution I have selected for her" he sneered behind him and walked away, moving back to his throne.
"Take them both back to their cells, the execution will take place - - " he turned back to them and pondered for a moment "tomorrow morning, I don't want to risk having my trickster son finding a way to free his lover from her punishment" he nodded and the guards pulled them away.
Jane could not walk, her legs had given in and her body wanted to shut down as she was dragged back down the stairs. Loki was being taken down behind her and still showed no signs of care "you lied to me…you made me believe I meant something to you!" she shouted back to him, tears streaming down her face.
"This was brought upon by yourself, it was you who became the fool in my games" he muttered, the guards hushing them both "you are only getting the punishment you deserve".
"I – how can you" she couldn't even put together a sentence before she was dragged down the corridor and taken out of sight, down the stairs to her dimly lit and cold cell. She had been a fool, she had been more foolish than she had ever been before and now she was going to die because of it. If only she had been wiser when it came to Loki, if only she had seen through his deception and alerted Thor of his survival – perhaps she would have been okay. She definitely would have been okay but there was nothing she could do about that now.
She was thrown on to the cold dark floor and remained there, sobbing uncontrollably as she was finally left to wallow in her own self-pity. "I'm going to die tomorrow" she whispered, the thoughts of her life rushing through her mind in a flash. She thought about her parents and how swiftly they had been taken from her life, she thought about Darcy and Erik – about all they had shared in their quest to find answers. She thought about Thor, about the moment she ran him down in her car…the moment they had first kissed. Her thoughts flashed to Loki, to the man she had been so foolish to follow but had followed anyway – the man she had grown to love.
All of it rushed through her mind – but none of it mattered. In a few hours she was going to die. Her mind settled on the moment she told Loki she loved him – the look on his eyes, the way he almost returned the words to her. Did he love her too? Jane didn't know what was true anymore and before she could ponder on the thought any further, she passed out – her body finally giving in to her pain and fear.
