Author's Note: Double chapter post! (The cliffhanger is still coming—this is just a random double-chapter-post, since this is a short bit that didn't really fit into the last chapter, but is a little odd to tack on to the front of the next one.)
Also, unrelated shout out: go watch How It Should Have Ended's take of Thor on YouTube. It's awesome; it kind of tears apart the whole ending of the movie in a hilarious manner. (Although it doesn't do Tom Hiddleston's hotness justice.)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Loki sighed with relief as his feet touched solid ground once more. He had stayed conscious this time.
He noticed with a start that he was still holding on to Darcy and Jane. He pulled his hand away from Darcy's back as though he was burned. She didn't seem to notice his guilty movement—she and Jane were too busy staring around in wonder.
"It's so beautiful," Jane murmured, smiling.
Loki made a noncommittal noise as he smoothed out his garments, transforming them into his usual armor. "This is just the foyer," he said. "I imagine Odin will be in the throne room at this time of day."
"What about Thor?" Darcy asked.
Loki grimaced. "Hard to say," he said. "He could be here; he could be out and about doing something else entirely."
Jane bit her lip anxiously. She seemed to be having second thoughts—what if Thor hadn't really loved her? What if he had moved on?
Loki hoped that Thor hadn't given up—on Jane, or on him. He realized now that he had been angry and foolish. He had never wanted to leave this realm, or anyone in it. He only hoped that they could forgive him.
He took a deep, shuddering breath as he stepped up to the door of the Throne Room, and he closed his eyes. They were going to hate him. They had every right to. Murderer. Monster. Villain. Liar. Bastard. Frost giant. Jotun. Fiend. Traitor.
He pushed the door open with a loud creak. There was a moment of chattering in the Throne Room…and then a hush fell over the small crowd inside. Loki glanced about the room anxiously, searching for…
"Brother!"
He froze, afraid to move now that Thor had seen him. What was his reaction going to be? And why was Thor walking straight towards him?
He grunted slightly as a pair of burly arms crushed all of the air out of his ribcage. He smiled weakly.
"Hello, brother," he said hoarsely.
All was forgiven. Rib-crushingly so.
Darcy smiled at the scene unfolding before her: Thor hugging his brother, eyes brimming with tears; Loki looking distinctly squished but not altogether unhappy; a grizzled old man who looked like a pirate rising to his feet slowly—presumably Odin.
Only Jane was out of place in the heartwarming seen as she looked on from the edge of the room, her lip quivering.
"Thor?" she said softly.
He looked up and let go of Loki suddenly, his face splitting into an awestruck smile. All at once, he seemed to forget even his prodigal brother. He walked towards Jane slowly, with hesitation.
"Jane," he whispered. His voice broke.
She beamed at him, running forward to throw her arms around his neck. Their lips crashed together in a searing kiss, oblivious to the crowd looking on in their overjoyed haze. Darcy doubted that even a taser could get them to stop kissing.
After a long moment that bordered on uncomfortable, Thor and Jane broke apart, both of them blushing bright red. Thor brushed his thumb across Jane's cheek gently, searching her face as if he couldn't believe she was real. "How did you get here?" he asked, still smiling broadly. He glanced at Loki. "And how did you survive?" He noticed Darcy for the first time. "Hello, Darcy."
"Thor," Odin said loudly from across the room. He turned to survey his other son with a slight nod. "Loki," he said more quietly. "I believe there are many questions that must be answered." He gestured to Loki. "Son…come with me. We shall confer. I am very curious to hear your latest tale of mischief." He smiled slightly. "Thor, please see to it that our guests are taken care of for the moment. I'm sure you will want to get reacquainted."
Loki met Thor's gaze and bowed slightly. "Brother," he said formally. He turned to Jane and nodded. "Jane." His eyes settled on Darcy. He didn't look away from her face as he bowed. "Darcy." He paused for a long moment, as if debating something internally, and turned to follow Odin from the hall.
Thor looked between the two women, visibly trying to contain the smile spreading across his face and failing, his cheeks dimpling. "Shall I give you ladies a tour of the palace?" he asked, taking Jane by the arm.
Darcy wrinkled her nose as she slipped the furs from her shoulders. "Actually, is there any way I could bathe while you two get, uh, reacquainted? I smell like giants and whatever dead animal this fur came from."
Thor chuckled. "Of course," he said. "I will arrange to let you both wash up if you wish, and that you both be given clean clothes."
Darcy tried to contain a little girly squeal of glee. It was stupid, but she felt really gross after trekking through snow for days and then having the jotun stare at her like a steak for two hours. Plus—though she would never admit it to anyone—the dresses were really pretty and shiny.
She shook her head. After surviving a near death experience and being eye-raped by frost giants, she was freaking out over a dress. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever grow out of her girly obsession with pretty things.
Loki folded his hands behind his back. This was awkward, to say the very least. Thor may have forgiven his misdeeds and welcomed him with open arms…but Odin was always more cautious. He was unreadable, even to Loki, master of manipulation.
The old man took a seat at the table and gestured for Loki to sit opposite him. He sat down without a word, studying Odin's face anxiously for some sign of what was to come.
Odin steepled his fingers and fixed his one eye upon Loki. "So, my son," he began. "You have returned to Asgard, bringing with you not an invading army or threats but Thor's beloved mortal and another human maid." He hesitated, uncharacteristically struggling for words. "I am astonished, but not at all unpleased. But I must ask you: how did this come to be?"
Loki sighed heavily. "It is a rather long story."
"Such things always are," Odin replied, his beard twitching with amusement. "Perhaps you should start at the beginning."
Loki nodded. "Very well," he murmured. "It began with the Bifrost…"
He told Odin of his arrival, of his wound, and of Darcy's assistance in finding the solution. He worried that the Thrice Blood spell would be difficult to explain, but as it turned out, Odin was familiar with its purpose. Loki continued, pausing only occasionally to answer questions. He told the story in all of its detail…except for Darcy.
He skipped over their conversations in the blizzards and by the campfire, and he didn't even consider mentioning his outburst in the glowing cavern—but these were irrelevant details, he rationalized, of no more importance than the precise geography of the land they had traveled on Jotunheim. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter.
He was entire truthful to Odin—albeit with judicious omissions—until it came time to recount his meeting with the jotun.
"We were captured," he explained, "and they brought us before the local leader—a general by the name of Orðin Leið."
Odin sighed. "Ah, yes. We have met. A very unusual dichotomy of cultured cunning and disgusting lack of civilized behavior. He is a worthy opponent in combat, but his pride…He is easily angered, making Thor seem practically level-headed by comparison, and he holds grudges for a remarkably long time."
"I gathered that," Loki said quietly. "I attempted to negotiate with him, but we were…unable to come to a tolerable agreement."
Odin raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he said. "You, with your persuasive abilities? I do believe you could make a king believe he was an ass, ears and all, if you wished. And you had no interference from Thor to ruin your attempt at diplomacy with rash action." His eye narrowed. "Are you sure no agreement could be made?"
He knows. He knows you're not telling the whole truth. But Loki could not tell Odin what had happened. He could not tell him of Darcy's trick, for if he said it in just the wrong way, it could be construed badly. He might blame Darcy, punish her for causing another war with the frost giants. No, Loki could not risk it, especially in light of her ignorance; she had doubtless been under the impression that the jotun operated the same way as the dwarves, bound to an agreement once they made it, damn the consequences. She studied politics on Midgard, she was not culpable for her mistake in making treaties with beings she had never dealt with before in her life.
"None suitable to my tastes," he said diplomatically.
Odin hm'd softly, and stroked his beard as he considered. "I see," he said sadly. He sighed and closed his eye. "Loki," he murmured, "my son, I have made my decision." He rose slowly to his feet, leaning upon the table for support. Loki stood at attention.
Odin hesitated a moment before speaking. "Your crimes regarding the attempted murder of the frost giants have been forgiven, due to your display of remorse in addition to your hand in reuniting Thor with his beloved. However," he said gravely, "I cannot grant you the blood you seek."
He waited for Loki to protest, but he was silent. He made no complaint—he simply stared at Odin without emotion.
"You have, in seeking jotun blood to heal your injury, inflamed the tension between our realms to a point where war is inevitable. Blood will be spilt. It is that unintentional crime that I must punish, for the sake of being just and unbiased in my discipline." His eye was not teary, but it ached with sadness all the same. "Please know that…" Odin hesitated. He seemed to be choking on words that he desperately wanted to say, but could not under the circumstances. "This is the only way," he said quietly. "I'm sorry…son."
Loki swallowed hard. "I understand," he said stiffly. "Your…your judgement is sound." He bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you."
And he left the room, with heavy heart but no regrets. He had done the right thing, for once. He had protected an innocent girl who did not deserve to be punished. That was enough.