Chapter 1
Rebecca blinked; she tried to take in everything she was seeing and hearing. "Welcome to Asgard, Rebecca", Loki said again, smiling at her, his green eyes staring at her. "Is this a dream?", she asked quietly, not wanting to take her eyes off Loki. He chuckled. "No, does it feel like a dream to you?". She nodded her head. It had to be a dream, didn't it, she thought. A second ago she had been back in her bedroom looking out of her window, now she was stood in this grand bed chamber with Loki in front of her. It had to be a dream. Loki walked towards her, the chains around him rattling and scraping across the floor. He nearly reached her, before the chains anchored to the wall behind him stopped him moving any further. He let out a sign of annoyance, tugging at the chains glancing back at them, hoping they would let him get closer to Rebecca. "Well, if this is a dream, it makes a change to the nightmares I've had", she muttered to herself, looking at Loki, still trying to figure out if it was real. "Nightmares?". Loki immediately turned around to look at her, his eyes full of alarm. "What nightmares?", he asked concerned, attempting to take a step closer to her. "Oh, don't worry its nothing. It's just a strange dream I keep having that's all. I don't remember what it's about or anything once I've woken up. It's just strange though, like it's a memory, and every night it's the same dream…". She tailed off, glancing away, trying to remember the dream. She couldn't remember what happened in it, but she knew that the ring was involved in it somehow.
"Well your not dreaming now, don't worry. Although I think I am", Loki said to her gently, bringing her attention back to him. He was staring at her, a gentle smile on his lips, his eyes filled with joy. "I was so worried after I had left you. I had hoped the Avengers wouldn't have found you. I did not want them to harm you". She smiled weakly, taking a step closer to him. She looked down at his manacled hands, and reached out her hand and touched his. He gently took her hand in his, and squeezed it, feeling her warmth. She looked back up at him, and gently cupped her other hand on his cheek, her eyes welling in tears. "This is real. I'm not dreaming", she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Loki weakly smiled at her, gently squeezing her hand. "But, how? How did I end up here?", she asked him, stepping away and looking around the room. "Well, I think you know the answer to that", he said slyly, grinning at her. She stopped and looked down at Loki's ring that she still wore on her finger, and noticed its markings had a faint glow emitting from them. "You never said that your ring had magic too!", she gasped, looking at it more closely. "Well, you never asked", he chuckled, smiling at her. "I've had it ever since I can remember. Like you, I too found it. I have used it ever since".
She stood there, looking from the ring to Loki, her mind trying to make sense of it all. So, the ring had transported her to Asgard, she thought, frowning; but why? "You look cute when you do that". "What?", she said, snapping back to Loki. "When you think, you look cute", he said grinning. She smiled at him, before realising that she was blushing. "So, tell me. How did I end up here then? Surely this ring of yours isn't that powerful", she asked, plonking herself down on the corner of the bed. Loki sighed, as Rebecca made herself more comfortable; she could tell this was going to be a long story. "When I was younger, much younger, I happened to stumble across the ring. I found it in this very room actually", he said, raising his finger, gesturing to the room. "This was all before I claimed this room as my own; before I used to share with my brother Thor". He stopped, biting his lip, resisting the urge to make some comment. "I had hidden in here one day, underneath the bed whilst Thor had been chasing me, and that's when I found it".
"But that still doesn't explain how I ended up here?", Rebecca interjects slowly. "Let me finish", Loki says, holding up his finger causing Rebecca to fall silent, staring intently at him to continue. "It has a mind of its own, the ring does. It knows what spells to cast or where to take you, without even asking. It is very powerful, and dangerous, although it may appear small and harmless. If you don't know how to control it, it will control you". He looks at Rebecca, and down at the ring still on her finger. "You were thinking about me, weren't you?", he asked seriously, taking a step closer to her. "No, not really. I mean, I wasn't thinking completely about you. I was just thinking back over everything that had happened before and after I had met you, and thinking about my parents and myself and-". "-and you wished that you could get away from the life you were stuck living in because you know it to be a lie", Loki interjects, cutting her off. She stared at him; shocked and surprised. "Yes", Rebecca whispered, nodding. She wanted to get away from her life back on earth, her plain boring life. Loki had completely turned her life upside down, and she didn't know what to do without him.
"You were drawn to the ring, weren't you?", he said slyly, stepping closer to her. She glanced up at him, then back down to the ring still on her finger. She thought; she had been. That was why she had picked it up back on earth in the first place; it was like it had called her name inside her head. That's why she had put it onto her finger, not only because she had wanted to claim it as hers, but because she felt forced too, like a voice whispering in her ear to put it on. She nodded her head, and looked up into Loki's eyes. "You need to fight its hold of you Rebecca", he said suddenly serious to her. "What. Why?", she asked confused. His eyes told her everything she needed to know; they looked at her, filled with pain and fear. "Otherwise, if you don't, it will consume you".
"Take it off", Loki ordered suddenly. "Why?", she asked, a little firmer this time, standing up. Loki didn't reply, only clenched his jaw before walking away towards the door. Rebecca sighed and lifted up her hand, gripping the ring with her other fingers and pulled at it. The ring didn't move. Confused, she pulled again, this time harder. The ring didn't move. "Loki, what have you done?", she said, trying to keep the rising panic out of her voice. Loki turned and looked back at her, gesturing his hands out defensively, smiling innocently. "I haven't done anything". A sense of frustration and panic gripped Rebecca as she continued to try and pull off the ring. No matter how hard she tried, the ring didn't budge. "Why won't it come off?", she shouted at Loki in frustration. He sighed, and came up to her, taking her hand in his, running his finger around the ring, muttering something under his breath. Suddenly the chains around him glowed red hot, and he screamed out in pain, letting go of her hand, collapsing to the floor. "Loki!", she screamed, dropping down to her knees next to him. She tried to touch his chains, attempting to pull them off him, but they continued to glow, and burnt her. All she could do was watch in horror, as he thrashed around on the floor, screaming in agony as the chains burnt him, their markings glowing red hot. Eventually, the burning stopped, and the chains returned back to their normal cold state. Loki lay on the floor, struggling for breath, his face screwed up in pain, tears falling down his cheeks.
"Loki. What just happened?", she asked quietly, her eyes filled with tears. She had never heard him scream like that before, or seen him in so much pain. She felt his pain in his scream, and she ached inside from it. Wincing, he slowly sat up as she put her arm around him, helping him. "I can't use my magic", he whispered weakly, his voice cracked and still in pain. "What do you mean? Why are you in those chains?", she asked, looking down at them. They ran from his neck to his ankles, with his hands joined in front of him and around his waist, etched in strange markings. "Why do you think?", he hissed at her, clenching his jaw as he sat up. She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders and she cautiously took hold of his hand. "After I was brought back from Midgard by Thor, I was immediately imprisoned in these", he said, gesturing to the chains. "They are forged from pure dark energy by the Allfather. Only he and the head of the guards can release me from them. I cannot escape from them, and nor can anyone else help me. Should I even use any magic at all, whether to escape or to create an illusion, I am punished, as you saw". "But then why did you try to use your magic then if you knew what would happen?", Rebecca asked, placing her hand onto his cheek, looking into his hurt green eyes. "It's too dangerous for you to be here", he whispered, his face coming closer to hers.
Without warning, the door of the room was unlocked and thrown open. Rebecca gasped in terror, as an armoured guard stood there, sword in hand, looking down at them. His cold eyes were fixed onto hers, unwavering, as his grip on his sword tightened. Rebecca gulped as he took several steps further into the room, coming closer to her, as she pressed her back further into Loki's chest. She heard his breathing quicken as his cold breath fell down her neck, his hand tightly holding hers, his body tense. The guard looked down at her, and smiled slyly. "Still attempting to break free Loki I see. It will do you no good", he said coldly. Wait, what? Can he not see me, she thought. She looked more closely at the guard, and followed his gaze and gasped. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking through her! She turned around to look at Loki, who quickly glanced at her, before looking back at the guard. "Do send my compliments to the Allfather, his skill at mastering dark energy has certainly improved. Perhaps if you were to let me out, I could show you what if feels like", Loki snarled at the guard, flashing him a wicked grin. The guard smiled, before pointing his sword directly at Loki, its sharp tip merely centimetres from Rebecca as she sat there hidden. Rebecca didn't dare breathe as she pushed herself further back into Loki, her eyes fixed on the sword as it hovered in front of her face. "I'll be back at dawn for you. Then we shall see who is left smiling", the guard said slyly, sheathing his sword, before turning around and leaving, locking the door behind him.
They both sat there in silence, their breath coming in quick gasps, still holding each others hand. "Why couldn't he see me", Rebecca whispered finally, breaking the silence. Loki didn't answer as he let go of her hand, and pushed himself up to standing, eyes still fixed on the door. "Loki?", she asked again, looking up at him. "He couldn't see you because of the ring. You are invisible to him, just like a shadow". He looked down gravely at her. "Think of it as a good thing, because if he had seen you, you would have been killed. No questions asked. If any Midgardian were to enter Asgard, especially if they came with me, they would be killed". Rebecca sat there in shock; so she was invisible, and if she had been seen, she would have been killed. It was horrifying. "So what are you saying? I can't take off this ring then?", she asked quietly, getting up. "Yes. Besides, the only way you could get that off now would be for me to release you from its hold with magic, but that's not going to happen anytime soon", Loki said serious, looking down at her. "Great, so I'm a prisoner again then!", she spat at Loki, feeling a deep rage start to build up inside her. "Rebecca", he said hurt, trying to take her hand, but she just walked away, back over to the window on the other side of the room, looking out at the stars. "You knew I would put it on. You knew I would", she shouted at Loki, hitting her fist against the wall, but immediately regretting it as pain shot through her arm. "Rebecca!", Loki said pleadingly at her, trying to walk over to her, but the chains stop him getting any closer. "No! You knew I would. Y-You lied to me", she screamed at him, her eyes full of tears as she slumped down the wall, collapsing onto the floor as she cried, clutching her fist. "Rebecca. Please listen to me. You are not yourself, you're upset and angry at me, and I understand that", he said, trying to reassure her. "Liar!", she spat at him ferociously, causing him to flinch. "Please. Just listen to what I have to say. I will tell you everything you want to know, whatever question you ask. No lies".
She sniffled and looked over at him, before nodding her head. "Why did you lie to me? You said you would come back for me?", she asked weakly as tears continued to flow down her cheek. "I tried Rebecca. I tried so hard to get back to you. But I overestimated the strength of the Avengers", he said looking at her, his eyes full of hurt. "How long has it been since you last saw me?", he asked gently. "Its been a whole week", she said looking at him confused; how on earth could he not know that it had been that long. "Ah, I see. It has barely been a few hours here", he said slowly. Rebecca looked at him, alarmed. "A few hours? But it's been a whole week! How could you not know that?". Loki looked at her, sadness in his eyes, he whispered, "It's only been a heartbeat. But for all that time, I could not stop thinking about you". "Me too", she whispered, a fresh tear running down her cheek. She gave into all her conflicting emotions and jumped up, running across the room, flinging her arms around Loki's neck, taking him by surprise. She cried so hard into him, but all he could do was rest his head on top of hers, whispering to her, telling her it was ok. "I missed you so much", she cried to him between sobs, her body shaking. "I missed you too", he whispered, kissing her forehead. She looked up, gazing into his beautiful green eyes, and let her inner demon take over. She leant up and placed her lips onto his, kissing him hard. She pulled away, and looked back up at him, a grin plastered over his face. "You look beautiful, by the way Rebecca", he said to her, looking down at the beautiful gown she wore. Rebecca could only smile back, her heart feeling like it was doing back flips.
"Loki, you don't know how much you've changed me", she said smiling, hugging him tighter. "I know, and you don't know how much you've changed me", he whispered, leaning down to her, gently kissing her lips before pulling away. "What's going to happen to me?", she asked, as she watched him look out towards the window. "I'm going to send you back home", he said gently to her, turning around and sitting down in the chair next to the bed. "Why?". Loki didn't answer, but just looked down at the floor. "Loki, why?", Rebecca asked again, more forcefully. "Because it isn't safe here for you. I put you in too much danger back on earth and I nearly lost you. I'm not going to let that happen again", he said looking firmly at her, his eyes hard. "But how are you going to do that when you're a prisoner and can't use your magic. Admit it Loki, I'm trapped here aren't I?", she said to him, walking closer. He didn't reply, but looked down at the floor, biting his lip. Rebecca didn't need Loki to tell her, she knew deep down inside that he didn't know what to do. "I don't think I can ever free you", he whispered quietly. She looked at him confused, but when he looked back up at her she knew what he meant; his eyes said it all. He knew that he would never be free, and that she would be trapped here. "What will happen to me?", she asked, slowly walking over and sitting herself down on the bed near to him. "We won't know until I know my own fate", he said quietly, looking at her, a tiny flicker of fear in his eye.
"You should probably get some rest. You must be tired", he said suddenly, trying to change the subject, smiling at her. She looked at the massive bed that she sat on, the golden headboard reaching up to the ceiling, and the green covers looking inviting as she sank down into it. "But what about you?", she asked, realising that she would have to share with him. "I won't sleep. I don't want to sleep. I will stay here and keep watch, just in case that guard comes back", he says, making himself comfortable in the chair which was a little tricky with the chains. "I thought he couldn't see me though", she said, pulling back the covers, climbing into the bed. "I don't want to take any chances". He smiled at her as she lay down, "Get some rest. You will be safe here, don't worry". She smiled at him, pulling the covers up as she made herself comfy, resting her head down onto the pillow. "Goodnight Loki. Sweet dreams", she said without thinking. No sooner had her head hit the pillow that she felt herself drifting off into a deep sleep. "Goodnight Rebecca, my love", Loki whispered to her as she slept, looking at her, before sighing, looking back towards the window, counting the hours until sunrise would come, and his fate would be decided.