Chapter Six: Dread It
Loki was dragged across the stone floor, his vision too blurry to see everything clearly. Nevertheless, Loki was able to tell that the area he was being dragged too was similar to a throne room.
He struggled to break free of his captor's grasp, but the hands digging into his skin were not budging.
He was suddenly pulled into a kneeling position, the only thing keeping up were the hands holding tightly on his forearms.
Loki felt, rather than heard, the huge footsteps approaching. He could feel someone, or something, towering over him.
A deep voice caused Loki to jump.
"And what do we have here?" the voice asked.
Loki's vision swam as a large finger lifted his chin upwards. A giant, purple face peered into his.
Incomprehensible words were exchanged between the purple creature and the creatures holding Loki.
"Ah," the deep voice rumbled again, in English this time. The creature stared down at Loki, cold, dark eyes making Loki feel smaller than he was. "You are not a normal Asgardian, are you? You're something different, something…" the creature paused to look for the right word. "Powerful. Not many people can survive falling through the Void, let alone falling for nearly a week."
A week? It felt more like a year to Loki. Whatever the length was, Loki's fall was abruptly stopped, painfully, by hard rock; where he was found by two aliens and dragged here.
Loki opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
The finger left Loki's chin. He could barely make out the creature as it turned away from him, standing facing the stars with its hands clasped behind its back.
"You know, it's been a while since I've had a visitor. Not many come through here since the place is so remote and dangerous to go near. But you—" the creature turned back towards Loki, and in one stride was inches away from the Asgardian. "You wished to die. That's why you fell into the Void."
Loki's head jerked up in shock. How had the creature known that he let go of the staff with full intentions to die? Loki attempted to search his brain for creatures that could read minds, but a large headache advised Loki against thinking too much.
The creature lifted Loki up to a standing position. "Your emotions are conflicted. You are heartbroken, alone. Someone has inflicted a great pain onto you."
The creature let go of Loki, causing the Asgardian to fall forward. Alien arms grabbed hold of him, catching him before he hit the ground. Loki struggled to stay upright, legs shaking with the action.
"I can cure you of your pain."
Loki scoffed internally. Nothing could ever fix what Odin did to him. Nothing could ever win back his brother's trust. No, Loki had to suffer alone. He broke it, he had to fix it. Now, if he could just get off this piece of rock...
"You're thinking about leaving," the creature stated.
Loki's breathing hitched. For the first time, he noticed another alien standing off to the side, holding a scepter with a glowing stone. The stone was glowing a pale blue, wisps of blue light curled in the air. Loki realized with a jolt that the blue light was connected to his head.
"Ah. You've finally noticed. To be honest, I thought you'd notice sooner, given your reputation... Loki."
Loki bolted upright with a loud gasp, bare chest heaving. Beads of sweat soaked Loki's pale skin.
Shadows filled the bedroom, making it seem scarier than it actually was.
Sigyn stirred beside Loki. She groaned and pushed herself to a sitting position. She blew hair out of her face and yawned. "What's wrong?" Sigyn asked. The light from the moon bathed her face in silver light.
Loki looked down at her and hugged the blankets closer. He shivered, but it wasn't because of the cold. He never got cold. The feel of blankets against his bare skin helped calm down his nerves.
"Are you alright?" Sigyn pressed on, concerned.
"I'm fine. Just a nightmare, nothing more," Loki said and dangled his legs over the edge of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, sweat making it stick up in places.
Sigyn rolled over to turn on the bedside lamp. She sat up, pushed the blankets off her legs, and crawled over the bed to sit beside Loki. The silver night dress she was wearing just barely reached her knees. The straps hung off her shoulders, defining her chest and curves perfectly.
"Just a nightmare, huh?" Sigyn started to massage Loki's tense shoulders. "I'm sure there's more to that."
Loki sighed. "I keep reliving every moment I spent with Thanos over and over. It started after the New York Incident. I can't stop it, either. Every single night I have a nightmare. They're so vivid, too. They seem so real because they actually happened."
Sigyn hugged Loki and rested her head on his right shoulder. "I know it must be hard. There are spells and medical ways to deal with PTSD and anxiety; if that is what you are facing," Sigyn said.
Loki wrapped an arm around Sigyn's waist. "They won't go away. I doubt spells will work."
"We can give it a try. If that doesn't work..." Sigyn shook her head. "We'll find a way. I'm sure of that." She let go of Loki and rolled back to her side of the bed. She turned the lamp off and laid down; arms outstretched and beckoning. "Come here, handsome."
Loki obliged, resting his head on Sigyn's chest. He breathed in her flowery aroma and fell asleep with a heavy sigh.
Sigyn combed through Loki's long, dark hair with her fingers. "It's alright," she whispered. "We're safe in Valhalla."