A/N: Have I mentioned how much I'm loving The Hollow Crown? I've been on a bit of a Shakespeare run as I also had Hamlet on my Netflix queue and have been watching that as well. David Tennant is, of course, brilliant in it. I haven't quite finished it, but I have nothing but good things to say about it. If you haven't had a chance to take a look and you're a Hamlet fan, I do recommend it.

Now, back to our favorite Asgardian princes!

The dwarves began to close in on him and Loki looked ready to create one of his tricks to escape, but their leader shook his head. "I wouldn't do that, if your brother is in as such trouble as you say."

Without warning two dwarves took hold of Loki's wrists and clapped cuffs on them and the young god felt his magic suddenly drain. His green eyes grew wide and he began to struggle.

"Peace," Elpin chuckled. "You will see to our friend Arlan before you depart. He will pass judgment on you where your father lacks."

"How dare you?" Loki hissed, feeling very vulnerable without his unique set of skills at hand. "Who do you think you are to speak of the Allfather in such a way?"

"We are older than the mountains, Silvertongue, before your kind had come and we will remain long after your kind has passed. Odin Allfather has managed to conjure two unruly stallions for sons. And all good stallions must first be broken." Elpin motioned to his brethren. "Take him to Arlan. Skonal, Draken, come with me. We must find the other and he should be an easy hunt."

Loki twisted and tried to jerk free, the magic dampening cuffs causing him to come up short. "Do not lay your hands upon him." he warned.

Elpin laughed heartily. "Would you prefer we lay our axes upon him? We can honor your wishes, if you like, princeling. We can tell your father this: Odin! Do not judge us for the death of your first-born. Your second born warned us not to lay hands upon him." He laughed again and turned away.

Loki tried with all his might to pull away as the others hauled him ungracefully back towards their fortress. He considered calling to his brother, shouting for him to run, but he knew that would only bring him more quickly. Perhaps if he only heard the approach of the dwarves -gods knew they were not silent creatures- he would go to the Bifrost for help. Fear drew a deep well in his stomach when the thought occurred to him that Thor might not make it that far.

The dwarves found the god of thunder hunched behind fallen logs, looking pale and worn. He lifted his chin slightly, blue eyes glazed over in pain and suffering. "Where is my brother?" he rasped.

"Come with us. We will take you to him," Elpin offered and Thor did not have the wherewithal to realize the trick. His breathing was labored and he allowed himself to be urged up and forward by creatures much smaller than himself. He stumbled, the poison making him clumsy, and moved in the direction they urged him without question. He nearly fell more than once on their short journey back to the castle-like structure in which Loki had first ventured.

The dwarves were carrying Odin's first born to the best of their ability by the time they crossed the threshold and started for the room in which they meant to keep the two young gods while they waited for Arlan. The name was mentioned around Thor several times as they hauled his lagging form down a set of stairs, but he had never heard it before. It certainly didn't sound like a dwarf, but he couldn't imagine that they kept much company other than their own. "We've prepared a place for you, young prince, that suits your visit," Elpin laughed, opening the door. "We have already given your brother his welcome gift, but I suppose yours was taken in the form of the stolen wine, wasn't it?"

It was then that Thor sensed something was amiss. He stepped away from the group of dwarves, eyes casting about for a sign of his brother. "We meant you no harm. My apologies if we have offended you. I will go to my father and tell him I lost Mjolnir to you. Please, let me take my brother and return to Asgard." His voice was fading, the end of his apology coming out a raspy plea. He coughed deeply, and the dwarves could see the small smear on his lip that his hand did not catch.

Elpin shared a glance with his closest fellow, who shrugged. "The wine you took, son of Odin, was meant for another guest, one with a different constitution. Clearly the recipe is not meant for your kind. At least you have the knowledge that your brother will not suffer the effects of it. However, you cannot be permitted to return to Asgard. Your brother has offered to make restitution and he must fulfill his obligation."

Anger flooded Thor's veins. "Where is my brother?" he demanded.

Elpin motioned towards the door and Thor could see Loki leaned up against wall in the far corner. He was curled up on himself, his princely clothing showing signs of wear that had not been there when he had left him behind those trees. Thor tried to call out to him, but his name came out only as a strained cough and one of the dwarves pushed him inside and the door slammed shut behind him. The blond stumbled across the room, fearing the worst when Loki did not turn to meet his gaze. He realized, as he dropped to the floor beside him, that his brother was indeed conscious, and choosing to keep his face buried against the wall. "Loki? Are you well?" Thor managed, his hand clutching at the younger god's shoulder.

Loki let out a strange sort of sound, but refused to turn, pushing his brother away every time he tried to come close.

"Loki? Won't you say something? What have they done to you?" Frustrated, Thor took hold of his brother's shoulder and pulled him, giving him no choice but to turn. What he saw caused him to pull back. Someone, and he had a good idea who it was, had threaded together his brother's lips so that his clever tongue could not be heard. Blood was smeared and every twitch of the muscles in his face seemed to cause him discomfort. He gave off a low sort of moan when his brother's blue eyes came to rest on the dwarves' handiwork and he resigned himself to simply look at the floor.

Thor struggled to comprehend the sight before his eyes, knowing what he was seeing and yet hoping that he would blink and it would not be true. Instinctively he raised his hand as if to touch Loki's face and the younger god gave a muffled cry and jerked away, but the movement cost him dearly and Thor could see the tears building in his brother's eyes. "Loki, you must let me..." Thor said thickly. His hand hovered uselessly before coming to rest on Loki's knee, where he thought his brother would not feel a threat of contact with his face. He cursed vehemently. "They'll regret this. Loki, will you let me help you?"

His brother looked at him, green eyes dark with anger and hurt and humiliation. He blinked, one heavy tear sliding down his face.

"Can I at least get your hands free?" Thor asked.

Loki gave a small shake of his head to indicate that he could not. Thor slowly lifted his hand and rested it on his brother's shoulder. "The thread. I can remove that. Will you allow it?"

Loki blinked again, a second tear following the first. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, giving one small, short not.

"I will be as careful as I can. I'm sorry, Loki. I'm sorry." Thor brushed his lips against Loki's forehead so faintly that the younger brother thought he might have imagined it. The task was excruciating for both brothers, Loki forcing himself not to scream and pull the threads apart all at once, and Thor pulling each stitch so as not to permanently damage Loki's lips. Thor had never been so careful or gentle in all his life, but the pain was unavoidable. What seemed like a lifetime later, he announced softly, "Loki, that was the last."

Thin lips were still pressed together as if they were held there and the trickster reached a careful finger to them. He winced and withdrew it bloodied. Very slowly he allowed his mouth to open and a small groan escaped him.

Thor waited as if he expected his brother to begin speaking immediately, but was not rewarded until several moments later. "Did they give you something to counteract the poison?" he asked, mouth barely moving and pain showing in his eyes.

"No, but it is as you said: they won't kill us. Surely they won't risk Father's wrath."

"There's something off about them," Loki murmured thoughtfully and he began running skillful fingers along the braces that bound his magic. He found the seam that hid the latch and began to tinker with it, looking for a weakness.

Thor sat on the cold stone floor, feeling the weight of the poison in his blood. He watched Loki twist his hands in the bands and suddenly feared that Loki would hate him for this. There had been many scrapes he'd pulled them into since they were children and they escaped mostly unharmed, but as he saw Loki frown and wince as the expression pulled the wounds in his lips Thor wondered if this might not be the bridge too far. Blood dotted and gathered as Loki continued frowning, too engrossed in his attempted to overcome the magic that bound him to notice. He wished he had paid more attention in their lessons. While he excelled at combat and athletics, Loki had become the star of academics and magic. His younger brother had been born for the stuff, it literally flowed through his veins and dripped from the words he spoke like honey in summer. Thor had never envied him his talents, until now, although if even Loki knew not what to do of the bands, all the studying Thor could have done would have yielded nothing now.

The only time Thor could recall being interested in magic was when he would go see Freya, one of Rowen's healing apprentices. Freya was lovelier than the dawn with long golden hair and deep gold eyes. She had the patience of a goddess and had, with good humor, taught him small spells and runes during lazy afternoons spent in gardens and pools and other places.

A drop of blood spilled from Loki's lips onto his long fingers as he worked, and as it fell words she had spoken came to his mind. He opened his mouth, breath catching and halting his speech. Doubt momentarily plagued him. He was no mage or sorcerer and would not dare pretend to be so, but if he could ease Loki's suffering for even an instant, if it would stop Loki from hating him for getting them into this scrape then he would risk it. He would risk everything. The words fell from him and he felt strange, as if warmth was spreading in his chest.

Loki looked up, startled. "What are you doing? Thor?"

Even as the words began to fade from his mind the warmth in Thor's chest was replaced with icy cold but he could see...yes...the wounds were closing. He could only pray he was not hallucinating. Silence hung between the brothers for long moments, both exhausted and stunned. Thor managed a small smile before his eyes fluttered closed and he collapsed to the ground.

TBC

A/N: Weekends are always too short. Ugh. Please let us know how we're doing! =)