It was dark and quiet. Andromeda looked around her with furrowed brows as the scene began to light up, the sun rising in the sky. She was dressed in a loose white gown and she was barefoot. She was in front of a sunflower patch, the same sunflower patch Andres had crawled into. She ran a hand through her hair and walked through the stalks of sunflowers, gasping with what she found on the other side.
It was her as a child and she was kneeling before a man. A very pale man.
"I am Prince Loki of Asgard." The man's voice chimed and the child version of her furrowed her brows.
"Where is that?" Her high voice questioned, as the man looked up at the heavens.
"In the sky." The man quipped back and little her gasped.
The scene seemed to rush away from her and Andromeda lost her footing, falling onto the ground, only it wasn't grass; it was the marble floor of her palace. She was in front of the infirmary and the halls were dark, signalling that it was night time.
"Prince Loki!" Her own voice echoed through the halls. Andromeda followed the voice and peeked into the infirmary, her eyes widening when she saw this 'Prince Loki' with her younger self once again. "Look, I'm doing it!" She was holding green fire in her hands.
The prince chuckled, an amused glint in his green eyes, "I see, little princess. Watch this." He whispered something and the green fire turned into a dove, circling around her head before disappearing.
"Are you a witch?"
As the elder Andromeda laughed at her younger self, the scene was pulled away from her again, though this time she did not fall. Her bare feet were in grass once more and she heard herself wailing. She ran to the sound of the cries and found the younger her by the coast with her knees and hands bleeding.
Her hair was braided back in the familiar bun of her childhood and she was wearing her favorite white dress with golden bangles on her wrists. But despite being dress beautifully, her chubby face was screwed into a grimace and her pretty eyes were dewey. Cosima and Ares were trying to shush her and the elder servant was trying to pick her up but she pushed his dark hands away from her. "I want Prince Loki!" She wailed, her voice cracking.
Footsteps sounded from behind her and she turned around, seeing Prince Loki regard the younger her with a frown. "Little princess." He sighed, picking her up and placing her on a large rock. "What happened?"
Little Andromeda shook her head with a sniffle, instead showing her bloody palms to him. The prince sighed once more and a cloth appeared in his hand. He cleaned the blood from her palms and tsked, "I told you not to play by the coastline, did I not?" Little Andromeda just nodded with a pout, her eyes downcast. "It is dangerous and you could drown."
"You would not play with me!" The little princess cried, her tone accusatory, "So I made up a game by myself!"
"Do not blame your misfortunes on me, little one." Loki's tone was strict but his touch was soft as he disinfected her scraped knees. "I told you not to play by the coast." He reiterated, his eyes flickering to her handlers with a glare. The servants lowered their heads in respect and he turned his attention back to the little girl.
"I am sorry." She whispered, looking down. Loki nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks, putting her back on her feet. The little Andromeda turned around to run off but the prince stopped her, pulling something from her ear.
The little girl grinned at the sight of the candy and reached for it, only for Loki to pull it out of her reach. "Be careful." He warned and she nodded, grinning when he handed her the sweet.
The elder Andromeda gazed at the prince watching the younger her with a smile, noting how fond the look in his eyes was. She was swept away again, only this time she landed in a different world.
Memory after memory, place after place she was swept away until she remembered everything. The engagement, the plagues, Asgard, Thor, Loki, the potion that made her forget; everything. She remembered everything.
Andromeda woke up with a deep inhale, sitting straight up in her bed. Her eyes danced around the room and she was relieved to find that she was back on Asgard...that is until she looked down at her bloody gown and the last twenty four hours played in her head.
She tumbled out of bed and walked into her bathroom, the white theme of the room almost blinding her. She looked at herself in the mirror and gasped, raising a shaking hand to the blood on her cheek. Her entire face was bloody and there was dried blood in her hair too. Her crown and veil was still on, though both were stained red.
Andromeda walked out of the bathroom, the only thing she felt was the cold floor against her bare feet. She was numb once more and she felt so weak, like she was withering away. She walked out of her bedroom in a daze, slowly stepping through the halls of the palace.
The princess drifted through the halls like a ghost, her usually fiery eyes empty. People stared at her, but they didn't dare say a word, instead murmuring amongst themselves. Andromeda looked like a corpse bride, her veil and dress flowing behind her like she was walking down a never ending aisle.
Feminine brown eyes widened when they caught sight of Andromeda and they hurried the other way, running through the halls and knocking furiously on a door once they reached their destination. The woman rapped her knuckles harder against the door and it swung open, angry blue eyes staring from the room.
"What is the meaning of this?" Thor exclaimed, glaring at Sif.
"Andromeda is awake and out of her room!" The brunette told her friend desperately.
"What?" Thor breathed incredulously.
Sif nodded, "She is in a blood-stained wedding dress muttering to herself. She has gone mad."
The prince set his jaw and nodded, storming out of his room and toward the direction Sif had pointed in. He looked around the halls and shouted her name, "Andromeda! Andromeda!"
Loki happened to be walking through the halls at the same time as his brother and he furrowed his brows, stopping Thor on his reign of terror. "What are you yelling about, brother?"
"Lady Sif informed me Andromeda was walking around the halls in her bloody wedding dress." Thor stated, his blue eyes still searching for the princess.
"What?" Loki rasped with worried eyes. He then joined his brother in his search for the princess. The pair looked everywhere for the mortal girl before they split up to cover more ground. It seemed like every one of their guess of her whereabouts were wrong, until an idea came into Loki's mind. The dark prince hurried to the destination in his mind and opened the door, finding the mortal princess sitting in the garden. She was staring at nothing with a rose in her hand; the thorns were digging into her palm but she didn't even flinch, even as blood seeped down her arm.
"Andromeda." He muttered but she didn't even acknowledge him. The prince slowly made his way over to her, kneeling next to her spot on the ground. He took the rose from her hand and examined her palm, beginning to whisper an enchantment to heal it.
"No." Andromeda whispered, still not looking at him. "I want the pain."
"Andromeda…" Loki muttered but she shook her head.
"T-t-they are all dead, Loki." The princess murmured, finally turning her head and meeting his eyes. "I killed them."
The prince shushed her as if she was a babe, rubbing her back comfortingly. "You know not what you say, Andromeda."
The princess shook her head once more, her voice void of emotion, "I killed them. It should have been me to die."
"Shut your mouth, girl." Loki snapped, before calming himself and lowering his voice. "Do not say such things."
Andromeda's eyes were empty, no fire and no sap, they were just brown orbs. She looked at nothing again and muttered, "I want to die. I have no reason to live. Everyone I love is dead."
Loki searched her face and frowned to himself. He was quiet for a moment before he moved toward the bronze beauty and lifted her up. "I will take care of you until you are in your right mind."
Andromeda did not say a word, nor did she struggle. Loki also said nothing, instead walking down the hallway towards his rooms. He opened the door to his chambers and charmed it closed behind him. He walked to his bathroom and whispered something under his breath, making water appear in his large porcelain tub. He gingerly placed her in the water and with a flick of his wrist made her clothes disappear from her body.
The prince took off his cloak and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, grabbing a rag and soaps. He got on his knees in front of the tub and began to wash her. Andromeda just let him have her way with her, moving her like a life sized doll. He scrubbed the blood from her body, his hands lingering against her soft brown skin. When her body was cleaned, Loki moved his attention to her hair. He placed her back against the porcelain wall of the tub and sat behind her, running his hands through her curly hair. He wet her hair and soaped it up, cleaning the dried blood from her scalp.
When he was finished and Andromeda was clean, the bath water was a diluted red color. Loki wrapped Andromeda in a towel and lifted her out of the tub, placing her on the tiled floor. He wiped the water from her body and dressed her in one of his tunics; the shirt coming all the way down to her mid-thigh.
"Can I sleep? I would like to sleep." Andromeda whispered, though she had been asleep for the last day. Loki nodded nonetheless, lifting her up and carrying her to his bed. He lowered her to the mattress and pulled the comforter over her, tucking her in. "Sleep well." The prince murmured as her eyes fluttered closed.
A few hours later the beauty was rustled awake. Her eyes fluttered open and met green ones. "You have to eat." Loki urged, helping her sit up. He placed a tray in her lap with a plate of fruit and a glass of water sat on it. He lifted a piece of fruit to her lips and she leaned forward silently, eating it out of his fingers.
"I had a dream," Andromeda started as she chewed, "That all of this was just a dream and I woke up in my wedding dress with a ring on my finger. It was nice." Loki said nothing, instead helping her drink the water that was in the chalice. The princess looked exhausted. Bags were under her eyes, which were dull like tree bark, her skin did not glow as it usually did, and her usually soft lips were chapped and dry. When Andromeda had eating as much as she could, Loki put the tray off to the side and she slumped back into the bed, falling asleep once more.
In the darkness of her dreams, the sun was shining above her and she was sitting in the garden with a rounded stomach. Her baby began to kick and she smiled down at her belly, rubbing it lovingly. "Meda," Perseus' voice came from the right of her, "What do you think it will be?"
Andromeda smiled prettily at her love, leaning her head on his shoulder, "A girl. I can feel it."
"She will be beautiful like her mother." The warrior winked, rubbing his wife's stomach. "Everything will be alright, Meda." He muttered and she looked at him with furrowed brows. "He will love you better than I could."
"What?" The princess blinked, her hand on her stomach, "Who?"
Perseus smiled at her but said nothing, instead continuing to rub her belly. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her stomach, then pressed his ear to it.
"Who are you speaking about, Perseus?" Andromeda questioned again, running a hand through his hair.
"Everything will be alright." The warrior repeated, his voice fading.
Andromeda opened her mother to reply but everything was taking away from her. Her eyes opened to darkness and she sat straight up in the bed. She let out a heavy sigh and looked down at her stomach, finding it flat. She looked to the side of her and saw Loki reading calmly.
Andromeda swallowed thickly and laid down again, pulling the covers over her. "Can you read to me?" She inquired in a voice akin to her younger self's.
His green eyes flickered to hers before returning to his book, flipping a page and beginning to read outloud. Andromeda could not understand what he was saying, but the softness of his voice calmed her. She moved closer to him in the bed and laid her head on his shoulder as he read, her eyes looking at the odd characters on the pages.
"I am sorry." She apologized sleepily after a few pages of reading.
Loki stopped reading and put the book down. "Why are you sorry, pet?"
"I was unkind to you...before I left." Andromeda whispered, still looking at the pages.
He sighed through his nose, shaking his head slightly. "I was deserving of your wrath."
"It was insignificant little acts." The kingdomless princess murmured, closing her eyes. "Things can be taken away so quickly, everything is insignificant. My life is but only a the length of a candle wick; it can be blown out so quickly. I see that now."
Loki said nothing else, instead raising his book and continuing to read. Though his words were from the script, his mind was somewhere else entirely.