Freedom is Servitude

Loki ran his fingers along the walls of the corridor leading deeper into the bowels of Asgard. His black boots grinded against a layer of fine sand on top the stones that made up the floor. Torches lit his way, flickering back and forth and making the shadows dance. Loki had jumped once or twice imaging something leaping out at him. He kept expecting to run into a guard or two, but he never did. There was no one down here except for the solitary prisoner. It seemed that being forgotten was its punishment.

Ikol sat perfectly at ease upon his shoulder, silent. As they neared the end of the curving hall, Loki began to hear a faint rumbling. He stopped as he came to a stone arched gap in the wall where he was able to look down into the crater of a prison.

The Hel wolf was alone in his cage, pacing. The rumbling Loki had heard was the wolf muttering to himself. Loki had to step closer and lean in through the arch to understand what it was saying.

"DEATH TO ASGARD," he spat. "Curse them all. They will all bleed and grind to dust beneath my claws…"

Loki stepped back from the wall with wide eyes.

The Hel Wolf was formidable with its size and appearance alone. Its short snout was overflowing with sharp teeth, just waiting for an opportunity to rip something apart.

"How exactly am I supposed to convince this thing to help me?" Loki hissed at Ikol who fluttered impatiently on his shoulder.

"You're clever," Ikol rasped. "You will think of something." Before Loki could protest, Ikol launched himself off his shoulder and disappeared into the darkness.

"Unhelpful sack of feathers," Loki muttered under his breath.

Taking a deep breath of foul air, Loki lifted his hood to cover his black hair before descending further into the chamber. He stepped loudly meaning for the Wolf to hear his approach. The Hel Wolf whipped around with a horrendous growl.

"WHO DARES COMES BEFORE ME?"

Loki forced his feet to carry him forward without trembling.

He shouldn't be here, he suddenly realized. This was not only stupid, but dangerous. What would the Asgardians think if they saw him down here attempting to free the Hel Wolf?

No, Loki frowned. They forced my hand. They refused to help me save my brother so now I have to enlist those who will.

"Loki," he said, his voice loud and clear, free of any fear he felt. "I've come to spring you." Loki lifted the keys given to him by Sigyn with a little jangle. He smiled his teeth flashing. In truth, his heart was racing, ready to beat right out of his chest.

I'm doing this for Thor, he reminded himself.

"Loki…" The Hel Wolf rumbled, tasting the word as if he were tasting flesh. "Why would the god of mischief be needing to free me?" he wondered as if he already knew. "To burn and destroy I hope."

"Perhaps," Loki replied nonchalantly. "However, I require a service of another nature."

"Then you are out of luck, little god, for those are the only services I will be rendering for any Asgardian," the Hel Wolf snapped. Loki tisked and shook his head.

"Ah, but prisoners cannot choose how their freedom is procured," Loki wiggled the keys in his hands, letting the sound leap off the stone walls of the prison. "Now I can leave you down here to rot and wallow in your filth, plotting a revenge you will never see come to fruition, or…" Loki dragged out the word, letting it hang between them. The Hel Wolf silently, begrudgingly met his eye. "Or, in return for your freedom you can swear you'll serve me."

Something that sounded like a laugh erupted from the Wolf. "You really think I will exchange this prison for another? Serve you? BAH!"

Frustration bit at Loki's patience. "Freedom is servitude, Hel Wolf," Loki scowled, lowering the keys to his side as he leaned closer. "Now you can take your changes with me and get a chance to enact your revenge on the Asgardians for imprisoning you or stay here where you never will. Make your choice and remember you will never get an offer like this again."

The Hel Wolf was silent, seemingly considering Loki's words.

"Free me," he finally said. Loki let out the breath he had been holding.

"That's what I was hoping to hear," he said holding the golden key to the cell's lock. "And in return you will serve me, yes?"

"…yes," was the reluctant reply.

Loki was not convinced. This was a creature of Hel and he wasn't to be trusted just on his word alone.

"Swear it," Loki demanded wrenching the key away from the lock. "Swear a binding oath upon your very soul."

"I will serve you. May my soul wither away to ashes if what I speak is not true."

Satisfied, but only just, Loki opened the door to the Hel Wolf's cell with a loud click. As soon as it was opened, the Hel Wolf jumped out, knocking Loki off his feet.

"MY SOUL WAS DESTROYED BY THE SLATTERN BITCHES OF MEPHISTOS! SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US?" the Hel Wolf laughed.

Loki scrabbled to his feet as the Hel Wolf lunged again. He ran to the side, just as the Wolf slammed himself into the bars.

Ikol flew from wherever he had been hiding and dropped something in the path that Loki was running. As he drew nearer, he saw that it was a rope. While the Hel Wolf regained his wits, Loki swooped down and picked it up. When the Wolf ran for him again, Loki was able to use the rope to lasso around the giant wolf's maw.

The Hel Wolf had not been expecting Loki to be able to slip the rope into his mouth as he swung himself up onto his back. He trashed and roared his anger at being so easily ensnared. The magical quality of the rope kept it from snapping against the sheer force of his anger or from being cut to ribbons against his teeth.

Loki held on for dear life until the Hel Wolf finally accepted defeat.

"What do you wish from me, you thrice cursed tyrant?" he heaved, gasping for breath.

"What I asked." Loki reminded him, smiling through his discomfort. "And let's make it total servitude for trying to kill me."

"Yes, Master," the Hel Wolf groaned, lifting himself to his feet. "For as long as I live, I will dream of what it will be like to tear you in half."

Loki gripped the rope tighter to quell the rising dread. "That will do. Now," Loki shifted on his back into a more comfortable position. "To work! Can you guess where we are going Hel Wolf?"

"I dare to even speculate, meat," the Hel wolf grumbled.

"The clue is in your name, Hel Wolf. You're going home."

"Home," the Wolf rumbled. "What a sight that will be. And my name is not Hel Wolf. It is Garm."

"Well then Garm. To Hel we go."

As Garm bore the way out of the prison, Loki felt his adrenaline plummet.

He had no idea where any of his prior courage had come from. He had subdued a Hel Wolf all on his own and now it served him. What would Thor think about that…and much less Sigyn? Loki had no clue he had that in him to accomplish such a thing. He could only guess what other things he might discover about himself before this was all over.

Loki looked to the darkening sky to see Ikol soaring overhead and thought of the last words his former self had said to him…

"You and I are one, little Loki. Whatever mistakes I've made are ours to share. Your fate and mine are intertwined. Whether you wish it or not."

Loki clenched his jaw and forced himself to look ahead.

I will be different this time, he vowed. However, he could not stop himself from worrying about the path he had chosen to take in order to save his brother.

Was there another way than this? Other than betraying Asgard?

No, a voice he thought was his own said. There was never any other way.