Stolen Stars
Chapter Eight
So tame my flesh
And fix my eyes
A tethered mind free from the lies
And I'll kneel down
(I Will Wait – Mumford & Sons)
0o0o0o0o0o0
It's always been so dark and nice in here.
The coils rustle underneath the fading fog; and Something chuckles in fiendish delight. Another corner is cleared by gold and heat, and the Thing stretches toward the light.
But, oh, how much nicer it shall be to get out.
The light recedes, and It pulls back into Its forgotten corner, always watchful, always waiting.
Not much longer now. Fate pulls the strings, and…ah.
It can see the pathway now, all melded silver and fury. It was only a matter of time. It was always only a matter of time. If only the blasted Jotun bastard child hadn't gotten himself kicked out of Asgard and poisoned, this could have happened a whole lot sooner. The Thing glares at the door, blocked by sickly black and blue fog.
I suppose it can't be helped. Now there's the Valiant Child. Fenrisulfr. Strange thing, Fate.
It sighs, and the hiss flows through Its vessel like a shiver. The coils tighten.
0o0o0o0o0o0
It was too comfortable.
That was Loki's first thought as he was dragged back into consciousness. Panic at the unfamiliar bed brought reality back faster. But his hand grasped at fur blankets, and he calmed.
He was back in the palace.
Passing a hand over his face, he looked towards the window to gage the time of day. It was hardly dawn, so he guessed that he had slept about four hours after being flown in from the prison earlier in the night.
He shook off the faint humming that crawled along his skin as he neared the warded window and looked out to gaze out over Asgard, head mostly clear and unmuzzled, for the first time since his fated fall two years ago. A few Aesir were already moving about the golden streets, and he could see the destroyed Bifrost from his view. A bitter taste of fear rose up in his throat as he remembered the feeling of being sucked into the Void.
But that was the past. Loki retreated from the window and went to the basin in the corner to wash his face and neck. The cool, clean water was universes better than the muck he was handed by his wardens. After drying off, and combing his hair with wet fingers, Loki headed towards the armoire to check to see if it was stocked. To his surprise, it was filled with some of his old wardrobe. He wondered who kept them and why.
Unease and something too close to guilt settled in his stomach, so he pushed the emotions back and took out a deep green tunic and black trousers. After a bit more rummaging, he was able to find a pair of battered boots in a corner.
In any case, he thought absently as he pulled on the trousers. Rose would probably do with seeing me in something other than prison garb.
His brow furrowed in irritation as he caught the implications of such an attitude.
Stop it. There's no use starting this all over again, he chastised himself.
But before he would see her, Loki needed to talk with the All-Father. Being woken and judged by Odin in the middle of the night in order to avoid attracting attention of the rest of the palace stung Loki in a way that he did not wish to admit.
Ignoring the protests of his personal watchmen, he left his quarters to stride unannounced into the throne room. It was one way to stretch his limited freedom.
"I must speak with you."
"I believe you have spent too much time with the girl. She, too, is negligent to the protocol of the king of Asgard."
Hang protocol, Loki wished to snarl, but he held back his ire. "Her name is Rose, and I believe I deserve some answers."
"Whether or not you are deserving of answers is up to me," Odin replied coolly. "What is it you desire to know?"
"You are all too accepting of keeping me in the palace," Loki accused. "It is not in your nature to allow such a threat to be brought so close to the throne."
"There is little to be said," the All-Father replied, his gaze steady and severe. "We are your family, Loki. Regardless of your actions, I want to give you time and room to find yourself again. Despite what you might think, in the grand scheme of things I can forgive. Perhaps you should, as well."
"Forgive?" Loki spat, the fog that was left fueling his anger. "No, your majesty. We are beyond forgiveness. We are beyond family. So what is it that you want from the war criminal?"
Odin sighed, and Loki saw that he was right. There was something else.
"I also hoped that you could now assist us in the identification of the leader of the Chitauri," Odin admitted. "Thor suspects that you had a superior. But that is not all—"
"Oh, so that's it," he replied, a bitter smirk pulling at his lips. "Information. You weren't able to get what you want from those little sessions in my cage, so you think that now that I am sane and healthy I would be more receptive to your questionings. You think that all you need to do is lull me with the promise of forgiveness and I would spill everything." His guard laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. Loki realized that in his growing fury he had been stepping closer to the throne. He stopped, but continued to speak. "Sorry to disappoint you, my king, but this is nothing more than a gilded cage. And you are just too much of acoward to admit it."
Odin looked down on Loki, his expression blank. Loki hated it.
"Above all, it is my duty to protect this realm and all the Nine," the All-Father said quietly. "If I did not think you could do good by it, I would have kept you in that prison for the rest of your life."
Loki scoffed, turning to leave, but then the king said something that stopped him in his tracks.
"What do you think Lady Tyler expects of you?"
"Why do you think I care?" Loki replied. He winced. He had said it too quickly to sound casual.
"Well, she is your advocate," Odin told him. "Rose Tyler has as much leverage over the evaluation of your mental state as I do. You should respect her opinion in that regard."
Loki couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Of course he respected the woman, and he knew her opinion must have worked enough to bring him out of the dungeon. But why should she expect anything other than curing him? She saw what he was planning. TARDIS or not, he would escape and he would get revenge. The Tesseract was only one of many plans against Asgard he could use.
"Has she said anything of what is expected of me?" he asked, his tone tight and defensive. Odin smiled slightly.
"I think you should ask Lady Tyler yourself."
The god of mischief narrowed his eyes at the vague suggestion. He couldn't be sure if Odin only wished to find out from Loki himself, or if Rose had already told him and Odin wanted Loki to get it from the horse's mouth.
"I think it is nearly time for your session with Rose," the king said. "You would not wish to keep her waiting."
Loki wanted to snap something scathing back at his adoptive father, but he merely bowed sharply and was escorted out of the throne room. He was brought back to his quarters in the east wing.
He was beginning to consider tracking Rose down himself, but that would send the wrong message.
Luckily after a while of musing by the window as the sun rose higher and noises from the city below grew louder, a soft knock came at his door.
"Come in," he called, turning towards it. He was slightly disappointed by the absence of his blonde 'advocate' as Odin called her. Instead it was a servant woman who looked vaguely familiar. Racking his brain and muddled memories, Loki recalled her as one of his mother's handmaidens. Visions of chasing skirts passed across his mind's eye. Ah, yes. Isrid was her name.
He scowled when she didn't curtsy, but didn't comment. He was still a criminal, after all.
"Lady Tyler has requested to meet with you in the sitting room," she said, looking slightly nervous. After a moment, Loki realized her discomfort was due to him. Loki suppressed a grin and stepped unsuitably close to her.
"The one in the east wing?" he asked, his voice merely a low growl as he watched her fidget under his gaze.
She swallowed once and, in true Aesir fashion, masked her fear in determination.
"Yes," she replied, her chin jutted out defiantly.
"You may tell Lady Tyler that I will be but a moment."
"Very well." The woman gave him a haughty once-over and then spun on her heel and fled. The guard at the right of his doorway gave him a reproving look. Loki chuckled. Some things never changed.
He didn't think much on the fact that he found it necessary to check his appearance once more in the looking glass before he headed to the session.
"Will you be following?" Loki asked his shadow.
"The king allows privacy, but we will be right outside," he warned. "The room is warded, so I would suggest you do not try anything. There will be swift repercussions." Loki sighed.
"Of course," he muttered before he swung the door open to the sitting room.
Rose was sitting in one of the armchairs, her back to him as he quietly entered the room and shut the door. Another had been moved to sit across from her, obviously for him.
"How did you sleep?" he murmured into her ear, taking great pleasure in startling the woman.
"Jesus, Loki!" Loki straightened, grinning at her in triumph.
"I am glad I can still sneak up on you in this body."
Rose huffed, and stood.
"I slept fine, thanks. Despite being dragged out in the middle of the night."
"Yes, well. It couldn't be helped, I suppose."
"Yeah, I got the whole talk. Guess it's not such good PR giving you free reign over the palace." Loki's harsh smirk made her wince. "Sorry."
"Don't be. You only speak the truth," he said mildly as he took a seat in the armchair. "I committed treason against Asgard, therefore I am a traitor. It would make any loyal citizen of Asgard nervous."
"But shouldn't they trust the king to know what's best for all his subjects? Including you?"
"Can we not speak of politics?" Loki asked, feeling weary. "I must admit have had enough of it for today."
"Sure, of course," she replied quickly. Loki's chest clenched at the patience in Rose's expression as she rested her forearms on her knees, open palms towards him.
He would never admit it to Rose, but this was his favorite part of their meetings. The few seconds Loki waited before taking Rose's hands in his was not completely out of adjusting to the complete trust he was about to give over to her. It was a large part of it, yes, but as the trust came more naturally, Loki savored watching Rose. Her straight, confident posture made her look almost regal, and the incredible compassion she exuded was enough to take his breath away.
A sinister part of him mocked Rose's inane sentimentality, and feared that it was a false act to torture him in the end. What was she doing, looking at him like he deserved any kindness? He could (should) kill her in an instant, regardless of the fact that she would regenerate afterwards.
But the other part, the suffocated sliver that grasped at her light like a drowning man, fell apart in those tiny moments. Loki knew that Rose would sit for hours if it meant him trusting her enough to take her hands and allow her into his broken mind.
In the end, he thought as he slid his palms over hers, suppressing a sigh of relief when the warmth of her mind washed over his. I will always trust her.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Rose slowly retreated from Loki's mind, sweat beading on her temple.
Easy there, Rose ol' girl, she thought, closing her eyes to keep the room from spinning. She took a deep breath and rested her head back.
"Are you alright?" Loki sounded concerned, and she heard him stand. Rose cracked an eye open to see him reach for her, then hesitate and rest his hand on the arm of her chair instead. She found it disturbing that Loki didn't trust her enough not to jerk back if he touched her.
Purposefully she reached over and patted his forearm. "M'fine. Worked too hard. Thought I could get all the rest in one go." She chuckled breathlessly, looking up at the ceiling and shaking her head. "This body is reckless like that."
"Do not do that again."
Rose looked at Loki, startled at the barely restrained anger in his words. His expression was deadly.
"Excuse me?"
He stood swiftly, knocking her hand off of his arm. He turned, putting his back to her.
"Please do not push yourself, Rose," he said, his tone slightly calmer. "We do not know what is too much for you to handle. It's not worth it."
'You're not worth it', you mean, Rose corrected silently, her mood souring at his stubbornness. You are such an arse.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm already over it, okay?" she said, rolling her eyes as she stood. "God, you're such a drama queen."
Loki scowled at her, but it was half-hearted and more out of aggravation. Rose gave him a beaming smile, enjoying his irritation as she shoved away the lingering headache.
"C'mon, Grumpy. Let's get out of here. A good bit of fresh air, that's what we need! The gardens are part of the palace, aren't they?" Before he could protest, Rose strode over to the door, swinging them open. "Can Guns here join me in the garden?" The three guards looked at one another.
"I do not think it wise—"
"Oh, seriously?" Rose exclaimed, exasperated. "The man has to enjoy a bit of his artificial freedom. You'll all be right there anyway. Just fifteen minutes. Please?"
The guards were helpless to her fluttering lashes, and soon the two of them were being escorted past whispering subjects of the palace and out into the fenced courtyard. Rose caught Loki staring at her more than once.
"What?" she finally demanded.
"I thought I was the only one you could do that to," Loki stated, looking adorably bemused, and very much like he was torn between annoyance and fondness at her forwardness. She winked cheekily and tugged at his sleeve to follow her.
She saw him hide a smile.
That's all she expected, really. For him to really smile again.