Chapter 24

Imogen blinked blankly ahead as she lay in her bed, feeling lifeless and cold. Since the day of the execution, she'd barely felt alive anymore.

She'd not heard from Thor either.

She didn't regret what she'd said. It ran over and over in her head, but the more she thought about it, she was glad she'd just been honest. Perhaps it would spur Thor to make a decision all the sooner and bring her torment to an end at last.

The more she thought about it, death or exile would be a welcome alternative to her imprisonment. A fresh start or an end to the pain – right now, she would settle for either.

She was ready to give up. Things could never go back to how they were before anyway.

Could she really ever look at Thor in the same way again? Could he for her, or would he always have that little doubt in his mind that she was not faithful? Would he truly love their child, if he questioned whether he was the father? Would Shelby ever know what happened? There was just so much that had been so ruined…

Despite her lifelessness though, she was still heartbroken. Thor was still her husband, the man she had entrusted her life to. And despite all that had happened, after all the anger she had harboured for him, she still loved him.

She hated him and loved him equally as fiercely. He would always be her husband, the father of her child, no matter what he did to her. She could never forget the way he had made her heart pound when he made love to her, the way he made her feel like she was glowing when he married her for all of Asgard to shamelessly see, the loving look in his eyes when he had stared down at her, his safe arms wrapped around her… she could never truly stop loving him.

Judging by the way Thor was so torn and conflicted by all this, he obviously felt the same.

That wouldn't be enough to save her though.

Her arms were hugged around her and a part of her just wanted to sob endlessly into her pillow, her heart aching painfully in her chest. She had to endure this, until Thor finally gave her closure in one form or another.

She just wanted the pain to end, wanted all of this to end. She didn't care how anymore, as long as this agony would stop…

In the end, she didn't have the energy to cry anymore. Crying would do nothing for her, wouldn't ease her pain. But it did hurt. It hurt so badly it felt like her chest was closing in on her, like her ribs were curling up and crushing her lungs and heart to dust inside her chest. She couldn't bear it, and Thor's face swimming in her head only made the pain fresher and fresher with every minute.

When the door to her room opened for her breakfast, Imogen barely noticed. She didn't move for the maid as the young girl hurried in and put the tray on the end of Imogen's bed; she had no intention of eating it anyway.

Usually, the maid would leave the food and go straight away. They never wanted to stay long, barely looking at Imogen as if she would curse them the longer they stayed in her presence. Not that she minded – she didn't exactly have friends amongst the maids nor want to.

So when this maid did not leave immediately, it roused Imogen's attention.

All she could see out of the corner of her eye was the shadow of a figure lurking at the end of her bed, silent and watchful. Curious, Imogen stirred, pushing herself up with her arms.

When her eyes turned to the woman at the foot of her bed though, her blood chilled – Linda.

The young woman looked just as radiant as Imogen remembered, slim figured with pale blonde hair and flawless skin, face soft and innocent. Gone were her alluring eyes from the last time Imogen had seen her. When she had been trying to bed Imogen's husband…

The sight of her brought some life back to the Queen though and a surge of emotions ran through her. Slowly, she eased herself up from the bed.

First came the pure horror of seeing the beautiful young woman. Imogen remembered the heartache she had caused, the doubt she had put in Imogen's mind when her name had first been suggested to Thor…

But then she remembered the way she had seen the girl laughing and joking with Thor in the corridor, how that had driven her out of the palace in her first runaway, how that was now used to incriminate her… that was Linda. Her fault; just for being there.

Imogen didn't bother trying to hold back the flow of anger that washed through her system, clenching her fists and feeling her face flush slightly with her fury. Linda's presence had started to unravel things between her and Thor, had started everything falling apart. This was all her fault, traced right back to the cracks she had first implanted in Imogen's marriage to drive her away from her husband.

"You." She breathed, voice seething and her burning violet orbs honed in on the young woman.

She didn't blame Linda for looking slightly afraid – Imogen felt like she was ready to kill the girl. The longer she looked at her, the more furious she became.

Linda wrung her hands nervously in front of her. "I needed to see you." She blurted in a rushed, anxious voice, eyes flittering to the door. Her chest started to heave slightly as her breaths grew quicker and quicker. "I needed to speak to you. I- I need-"

Within a matter of words the girl was gasping, words caught in her throat. Imogen watched as Linda's eyes lowered, drenched with fear, and she fought against her panic, fighting for control. She wasn't doing a very good job, breaths heaving uncontrollably into her lungs. Her fingers trembled helplessly.

As much as Imogen wanted to be angry with the girl, she started to struggle the more she watched her hyperventilate. What was happening? What had gotten Linda in such a panic?

What was she even doing here in the first place anyway?! "What do you want from me?" Imogen asked warily, staying cautiously away from Linda.

Linda's hand flew to her chest and settled over her heart as she battled for control. Finally, after forcing some measured breaths into her lungs, she started to calm down. By the time her eyes lifted though, they were still swamped with terror. It filled Imogen with a strange sense of dread – what could have her so afraid like that?

"I-" Linda gasped, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Please, I need your help."

Whatever Imogen had been expecting, it most certainly hadn't been that and it rendered her speechless for a moment. Her help? Imogen was locked away – what help could she possibly offer? "What are you talking about?" Imogen asked warily.

This had to be some kind of trick, she reasoned. The nobles must have sent Linda to mess with her head or something, surely. But what had they said to her to put such fear into the girl's eyes. Imogen was no fool; there was no faking terror such as that. Something had Linda frightened for her life. That much was obvious. At the very least, it sparked Imogen's curiosity.

"The mage." Linda gasped, voice almost a whine as she fought to stop her voice becoming a sob. "She said she would spare me if I did what she said, but I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to kill anybody, I swear. But now he's dead and I – I didn't-"

Panic overcame her again and Linda's chest heaved with ragged, sharp breaths. For a moment, Imogen thought she was going to pass out.

As Linda's words sunk in though, she started to focus on other things. The naming of a mage sent shivers down her spine and she dreaded to think of why. "What mage?" she asked, her voice deathly quiet. "What are you talking about?"

She stepped forward and clasped Linda's upper arms, shaking her impatiently out of her panic. She didn't have time for this – she needed to know who this mage was!

Visions of wild grey hair flashed in her mind and her stomach turned sickeningly. It couldn't be…

Linda's glistening eyes clung to Imogen's. "She's going to kill you." She breathed. "She set you up – you, Koli and Thor. She won't rest until you're all dead, until we all are."

Her voice faltered at the last note and her head fell forward, knees buckling underneath her as she almost collapsed. Impatiently, Imogen moved the girl to the bed, sitting her down. "Tell me." She ordered firmly, still feeling sick with dread. "Tell me everything."

It took Linda a few moments before she was ready to talk and she kept her hands clasped together, wringing in her lap and shaking.

"She used to work in the city." She began. "The mage that made your mother's medicine. Old… grey hair… small… those eyes." Linda's hands ran over her face, as if those eyes were watching her right now and she was hiding herself from them. Shakily, she pulled them down again.

Imogen's heart fell through to her stomach with horror – it was the witch after all. She recognised that description anywhere.

"She'd taking revenge on all who have wronged Elga and you were top of her list."

Well, there was no question Elga would have a vendetta against Imogen. Her life had been ruined because Imogen had refused to let Elga frame her all those years ago, leading to her imprisonment, shame and exclusion…

But why did the witch care?

"Why Elga?" Imogen asked. "Why does she care about Elga?"

"Elga is her daughter."

Her daughter?! Imogen's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That's not possible." She said back in a heartbeat. "She's too old to be Elga's mother."

The woman was ancient, thin and hunched and ragged. The greyness to her hair and the great many wrinkles on her face easily betrayed her age.

Linda's head simply shook. "She's not as old as she looks." She explained. "When she was a young mage, when she was married to my father and had had Elga, one of her spells went wrong and it aged her nearly to the end of her life. Black magic - before she knew what she was doing. My father forced her to leave, but kept Elga for himself. She never – she never forgave him for that."

Imogen's mind span as she drank in this information. So the witch wasn't an ancient old woman after all, but only a middle aged lady? The same age as her own mother most likely. If that was true, Elga could indeed be her daughter…

"When Elga found out you wanted a boy, they planned it." Linda went on. "She lured you to take her witchcraft to help you get pregnant but deliver early, so the child would not survive. She killed your son. I thought that would be enough for them, but I was wrong…"

Imogen staggered back and her hands searched for the post of her bed, fingers clinging to the wood for support. She felt faint.

She had known the witch had killed her baby all along, but to hear it, her suspicions confirmed… it was heartbreaking. Her baby had been murdered before he had even taken his first breath! What kind of monster did that…

"And Koli?" she gasped. She had to hear it. She had to hear it all.

"He abandoned her after she was freed." Linda explained. "He was unfaithful to her and abandoned her and their baby."

Of course, Imogen thought in her head. She had seen what state Koli's actions had done to Elga, how badly it had ruined her. She'd watched him slander her first hand, right in front of her face! No wonder Elga had wanted him dead…

"He hated Thor and bragged about you already. All we had to do was watch him condemn himself, sew the seeds of his own destruction. After he kissed you, Elga filed the report of treason and had him arrested. The mage – s-she made me poison his food with her magic to give him hallucinations so he would confess. He didn't know what he was saying. To him, it was real – she made sure of it."

The colour drained from Imogen's face. The confession that was making Thor doubt her, making him contemplate killing her for… it was all lies. It was fantasy words spoken under a drug induced mania.

"She wasn't satisfied with the baby's death." Linda went on, voice catching emotionally in her throat. "Elga wanted you dead too so she implicated you with Koli. She planned it all. She knew the King would have no choice but to investigate it. Then she would do everything she could to get you a guilty sentence."

A ragged breath passed through Imogen's lips. "She's nearly succeeded." She breathed horrified. "She's already killed Koli…"

"It's you she wants most." Linda said. "You, then Thor, then anyone who stands in her way. They're working together – the mage and Elga. I thought I knew my sister, but…w-when she threatened father…"

Linda's hands covered her face as tears finally broke through their barriers and she sobbed, loud, noisy tears.

Imogen stayed by the bedpost still, head still swimming. "Threatened your father?" She knew the innkeeper – as far as she knew, he was a good man.

"They said if I helped them, they wouldn't hurt him." Linda forced out brokenly, head still in her hands. "They needed me to get them into the palace. They said if I helped them, they wouldn't hurt him for throwing out Elga after her disgrace, but I overheard them: they are going to kill him… and then they are going to kill me."

As soon as the words left the girl's mouth, Imogen believed them. There was no faking fear like that, the way Linda's body heaved with hysterical sobs underneath her simple white maids dress…she feared for her life.

And she was right to – she'd just told Imogen everything!

Imogen's worst fears had been confirmed and she felt horrified for it. This was not a misunderstanding after all or even a simple meddling noble taking gossip too far – this was a plot, a claim on her life. Elga and the witch were actively trying to kill her. And if that alone wasn't sickening enough, they were trying to get Thor to be their executioner.

Fear ran chilled through Imogen's blood and she didn't even bother to deny it to herself; she was afraid. Misunderstandings were one thing, but when you had a powerful sorceress trying to kill you…

The truly frightening thing was that she had nearly succeeded. Imogen had watched Koli die. Gods only knew, all eyes must be on her now, waiting for her to share the same fate. With the right pushes, the right 'evidence' or 'witness', Thor could do it. He could kill her.

The witch knew what she was doing. Everything was playing into her hands.

Except for Linda, Imogen thought.

Her eyes travelled to the young girl and her heart ached. She didn't like Linda but she was only young and she had just told Imogen everything – if the witch had any sense, Linda would be the next one to die if her plan was to succeed. Imogen didn't want her dead; she could never be that cruel.

Linda was in just as much danger as Imogen now, both of their lives undeniably on the chopping block.

"She's in the palace." Linda breathed through her fingers, hands hovering shakily in front of her face. "As soon as you are dead, she will kill Thor. Then nobody will be able to stop them."

What?! "She's in the palace?!" Imogen blurted, horrified.

Ice washed through Imogen's veins at the thought of the witch under the same roof as her. As her, her husband and her child – it was sickening.

She was afraid for other reasons though. If the witch was in the palace, she was in a prime position to manipulate who she wanted at a whim to turn events in her favour. "If I stay here, it's just a matter of time." Imogen realised numbly. The witch would arrange her execution in weeks – if not days – if she had such close proximity to Thor. She would make him hate her. Maybe she had already gotten to him…

On the bed, Linda sniffled, starting to compose herself. When she stood though, her eyes were still wide as a frightened child. "I can get you out." She nodded frantically. "It's the only way. She can't kill you if she doesn't know where you are."

True, but she was a witch, Imogen thought in her head. She was sure she would have her own dark ways to find out…

But did she have any better ideas?

No.

"How?" she asked. How could Linda get her out with all those guards on the outside of her room, locking her in?

Linda just glanced anxiously to the door. "I can't say yet, but I can. We must go tonight before she finds out. We could head for the woods, for the Deep Forest - there's no one there to see us. I will come for you tonight. Then we must go."

A part of Imogen drew back with mistrust when Linda didn't tell her how she would get her out, but she didn't have much choice. She could trust Linda and they escape, keeping her life. If she got caught, she might as well just throw herself off the palace roof and be done with it – running away would seal her guilt.

But if she stayed here, she would be dead within weeks. Of that she was sure.

If she was to have even a chance, she had to go with Linda.

"What about Thor?" She asked. "I can't leave him, not if she's coming for him too-"

"You must!" Linda cut her off. "If you do not, she will just use you as bait to trap and kill him too. She will not kill him before you are dead. She will be relying on him to hunt you down for her. He cannot know."

Imogen was not comfortable with any of that, but again, she had little choice. And Linda made a valid point – the witch would be following Thor to lead her to Imogen. It made sense. Still, the idea of leaving him vulnerable with the witch on the loose made her feel uneasy.

Unfortunately though, she was in no position to barter or wait for a better plan. Her execution notice could come at any time…

She had to go with Linda.

A/N

All the chapters are written now so I'll release chapters a bit more regularly now. The end is near! Hope you like where this story is going and please leave me a review!