(A/N: I can't reply to every comment but I just want to let you guys know I'm so thankful for all of you. Enjoy.)
In the week that Andromeda was lying on the stone, the royal family was in turmoil. Loki would stay in the room with the princess everyday, disguised as his mother. That was until Queen Frigga learned of his exploits and put an end to it. The queen herself was a little troubled by how long it was taking for Andromeda's body to take the potion. She had seen her lifeforce paling by the day and it alarmed her, but she did not dare say a word to this to either of her sons.
Thor would also visit Andromeda everyday, though he would bring a white flower from her favorite garden and place it by her side. He would gaze down at her with a face bare of any emotion, stroking his beard. After he would leave the room, he would train to alleviate his frustration.
Loki felt the guiltiest about Andromeda's condition, so guilty that it would keep him up at night. When he did sleep, he would wake in a cold sweat, the spirit of the princess coming to him in his sleep. She would just stand there and stare, not saying a word, and Loki would cry, though he would not let anyone see his sorrow. To everyone else in the palace he was fine, barely touched by the princess' state. His ruse was so believable, Thor got angrier and angrier with his brother. This feeling of resentment grew and grew and on the seventh day of Andromeda being asleep, Thor finally confronted Loki.
The younger prince was sitting in the library, looking for spells and potions to awaken Andromeda when Thor stomped in.
"Andromeda's condition grows more dire by the day and all you do is sit on your rear end and read! Not even the least bit bothered by the trouble you have caused!" Thor accused, point a meaty finger at his brother.
Loki closed his book with a sigh and stood from his desk, "Are you finished?"
Thor's face turned red and his glare intensified, "You have all but killed her and for what? To fit your perfect image of a wife?"
"She is not dead yet, brother, so you should mind your words." Loki warned with a glare of his own, "And this was not for me, this was for her own good."
The elder prince let out a mocking laugh, crossing his arms. "For her? You think I am daft?"
"Well…" Loki trailed with a smirk and his brother's eyes narrowed. The elder boy gripped the lapels of Loki's cloak and lifted him, pushing him harshly against the wall.
"I still mean what I have said, brother," He spit out the term of endearment mockingly, "If she is to die-!"
"I will perish, too. You have made that quite clear." Loki finished with a roll of his eyes before they turned dark. "But the blame will not only be mine, for you did not have enough charm to convince her not to drink the potion."
Thor pushed him against the wall once more, "You know why I could not!" He shouted, his voice shaking the bibliotech walls, "You know why!"
Loki smirked, "Do I? Maybe you could refresh my memory, brother."
"You know your words hold more weight than mine." Thor muttered, setting Loki on his feet and stepping away with shaking fists. "That is all I will say about it."
"She loves me." The younger prince supplied smoothly, "She runs to me and not you, it must be a rare occurrence for you to have someone prefer me over you, golden prince of Asgard."
Thor huffed, "Not this again, Loki, they love us both equally."
Loki chuckled humorlessly, "Oh but everyone knows the favorite is the first born. The all-mighty Thor. You are so used to being favored that you cannot take that this time I am the victor."
"She is not a prize to be won-!" Thor started but Loki interrupted him.
"Isn't she?" He shouted, his calm resolve broken. "It is like everything else, except despite all of my other pitfalls in life, I won the best prize of all! I took care of her, I bathed her, I cared for her, I read her to sleep like a babe. She is mine, I have placed my mark on her ever since she was a child."
Thor shook his head, unimpressed, "In your arrogance you have killed her." He muttered darkly.
"Don't you think I know that?" Loki snapped, "Don't you know that I am in the infirmary with her everyday, willing her to move a finger? Don't you know that I can not sleep at night because what I have done? I am trying to fix it!"
Thor opened his mouth to reply but Queen Frigga's voice rang from behind him, "You mustn't fight, my sons." Her tone managed to calm both of the men, their heads hanging in shame. "I know the both of you care for Princess Andromeda, but at this critical time she would not want the both of you to be fighting." She floated over to both of them and put a hand on Thor's arm, while putting her other hand on Loki's. "I am disappointed in both of you for your words today, but there is a girl fighting for her life on the other side of the castle. You two should be channeling your emotion towards helping her, not besting each other." With that, the queen left her sons in the library, her words resonating through both of them in different ways.
After their mother left, Thor left the library. His large footsteps echoed throughout the hallway and he slammed the door to his chambers once he reached them. His maids made busywork of undressing him and bathing him in his tub, though unlike he usually did, no indecent remarks or risque actions were made. He simply stared into space.
He was dressed in his nightclothes, only a pair of satin sleep pants, and he dismissed them for the night. He laid back on his bed and stared at his ceiling, which, like all the ceilings in the palace, was painted to resemble the Asgardian sky. His head rolled to the side and he caught sight of a white flower on his nightstand. He reached for it and brought it up to his nose, lightly smelling it. The smell reminded him of Andromeda, though hers was more Midgardian, like the smell of her planet.
He played with the soft petals of the flower and thought about her soft skin, the color of bronzed tree bark, though much more appealing. He imagined if he told her this comparison she would be upset...He was never really good with words. Not like Loki.
At the thought of his brother, he crushed the flower.
It was his fault that his...that Andromeda was unconscious and damn near dead. He did not mean what he said about killing Loki if she dies, he could never harm his brother in such a way, but he was not sure he would be able to contain himself when the inevitable happens.
Somewhere between brooding over his brother and thinking about Andromeda, Thor fell asleep.
In the darkness of his dreams, he was riding on a horse, the noble steed galloping proudly. He had his armor on and his new weapon, Mjolnir was fastened to his side. He was riding toward his golden palace and an army was following him.
"King Thor!" "King Thor!" His people yelled for him and he grinned at them with a wave.
He reached his home and got off his horse, walking in the doors of the palace. He took off his helm and placed it on a pillow a maid was holding up for him. He ran a hand through his long blonde hair and walked to the his chambers, where his queen was waiting for him.
Thor grinned and leaned against the doorway, watching his wife fix her hair as she sat at a vanity. She looked up at him through the mirror and her face stretched into a smile.
"My King." She greeted teasingly, placing her crown back on her head and standing up. She walked to him and wrapped her slim arms around his waist. She looked up at him through her long lashes, "I am glad to have you back in one piece."
Thor pecked her full lips and muttered against them, "I am glad to be back with you, my Queen."
She smiled at him, her skin flushing, "Did you bring me anything?" She teased and Thor boomed out a laugh.
"Is that all you want from me, woman? Gifts?" Thor questioned, trying to keep his face neutral, but his shining blue eyes gave him away.
The woman giggled and nodded, twirling away from him and walking to her vanity, "Yes, that is why I married you after all. I seem to recall a promise of jewels beyond my wildest desire." She hummed, bending over to look at her reflection.
Thor laughed once more and took a necklace out of his satchel. He walked behind her and pulled her by her dress toward him.
"Thor, stop!" The woman snapped playfully, "The seamstress is already repairing ten of my dresses because you ripped them, we don't want to add another to the pile, you brute!" Her chiding was interrupted by Thor holding up a necklace to her neck.
He smiled at her through the mirror and kissed her shoulder sweetly, "It matches your skin, Andromeda." The queen smiled and he fastened the necklace around her neck, his hands lingering on her soft skin. He spun her around to face him and kiss her nose, murmuring, "Are you still mad at me?"
Andromeda pouted for a moment before it melted into a smile. "Yes." She simply replied, standing on the tips of her toes and kissing her husband. He happily returned the kiss and the two of them fell back on the bed, the king taking his wife.
While Thor was dreaming of Kings and Queens, Loki was dreaming about something much more troubling.
The younger prince had fallen asleep in the library, hunched over a bunch of spell books. In his dreams, he saw Andromeda's face. But it wasn't smiling, nor was it bright, her brown eyes were alit with fire and rage. She was mad at him. Though, she looked just as beautiful as she usually did. She was dressed in pure white and her hair was loose, she looked like she had gotten up from the stone and walked to him. Her lips were poised in a smirk, but she wasn't saying anything complimentary, the opposite actually.
"Snake." She hissed, "Witch, you disgust me." She laughed loudly, "How could I possibly love you? I left for a reason, you fool. All you do is lie and trick, but I will be your fool no longer."
"Why are you saying this?" Loki questioned lowly, his eyes watery. He reached for her and she smacked his hand away with disgust.
"You taunted me. You tormented me. You made me hate myself for moving on." Andromeda sneered, a fiery glow to her skin.
"Andromeda, listen to me! I did no such thing!" Loki retorted and she threw her head back in a striking laugh.
"LIAR!" She shouted, the sky thundering and rain drops starting to fall, "All you do is lie! Night after night, dream after dream. You came to me. You would never speak, you would just stare. And in the day, when I finally thought I would be free of your hold, you watched me. You were always there; I could not escape you! And so now I will return the favor and haunt you for the rest of your miserable life."
Loki swallowed thickly, his rage starting to build from a conversation that was never had. "Do you loathe me that much?" He yelled, matching her volume. "You had to take some mortal potion to forget me?"
"Do not turn this on me, Prince of Asgard, this is your punishment for what you have done!" Andromeda screamed, her eyes flashing.
"I cared for you," Loki continued, walking toward her "I bathed you, I feed you! I protected you-!"
"I DID NOT ASK FOR YOUR PROTECTION!" Her voice boomed and everything around them started to shake.
He walked closer to her, trying again, "But I provided it because of the way I feel about you."
"The way you feel?" Andromeda repeated mockingly, her head tilting in question. She pouted teasingly and the rain stopped for a moment, "And how is that?"
"I…" Loki swallowed, bringing a hand up to her cheek, "I love you."
Andromeda bit her lip and searched his eyes before leaning into his lips and murmuring, "You do not love me, Loki. Not the way Perseus did." Loki felt like all the wind had been knocked out of him, he stepped away from her and stared in shock. Andromeda continued with no remorse, a smirk even starting to line her lips, "He loved me better than you. He never hurt me or lied. He was always complimentary. He was perfect. Why would I choose you over him? A title? HA! I would have been queen, not some puny princess who could never turn into something more."
Loki fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks, and she floated over to him, bending down to whisper in his ear, "He is the only man I have loved and laid with; two of which, you will never be."
With that final utterance, his eyes snapped open, as he was being nudged awake by a guard. "What?" He snapped, wiping his face of any trace of the night terror.
"I am sorry to wake you, my liege, but the princess is dead."