Hello, my faithful and ever patient fans! Guess who just finished a new chapter!

Yes, guys, it's late. I know, and I'm sorry. I've been busy and this chapter went through way too many revisions that just added to the delays.

Also, thank you for your continuous reviews and support. It really helped move the story writing process along..

Moving on, it's time to welcome Chapter 23!

Disclaimer: …..We know, we know. I don't own anyone but Mandy and the rest of the OC's

Loki P.O.V.

Mandy seemed to have taken what I told her well and dropped the topic altogether. I tried not to dwell on it either, fearing that she would only be disappointed should there be no actual cure for her blindness. She had suffered from too many lies already.

I assisted her with the chores to make sure that she was indeed alright. To my relief, she appeared just fine. Mandy still smiled and blushed whenever I teased her and continued to laugh whenever I misused my Jotun abilities.

After we had finished, Mandy suggested that we bring the record player out once again.

"I don't get to listen to music a lot so it's kinda convenient now that we have it." She explained.

Gladly complying, I recovered the machine from the cabinet and allowed it to entertain the two of us while we relaxed on my couch-bed.

The tunes filled the house and it made the place more comfortable than usual. Mandy in particular seemed quite happy about it.

Submitting to the relaxing atmosphere, I leaned back into the headrest and closed my eyes. Slowly the music melded into the voices of children.

'Brother! Come join me! I can almost see the Bifrost from up here!'

'Thor, you know we are not allowed to climb trees!'

'But Loki, if I am to be king, I must be able to see the whole realm! Come up!'

Knowing how stubborn Thor could be, I decided not to argue and instead followed him up the tree.

'Hurry, Loki!'

'I am trying! The branches are too far apart!'

'Take my hand.' Thor said, reaching out to me.

I stretched out my arm to grab on to him but the sound of a crack distracted me. I looked down and found the branch I was standing on breaking off.

I turned to Thor once again, but it was too late. I was falling.

'Loki!'

I found myself waking up without realizing I had fallen asleep in the first place. The song that was playing was different from what Mandy and I were listening to earlier, signifying that some time had indeed passed.

Mandy was still beside me but she looked at me with a concerned expression. "Loki? Are you ok?"

"I am. Why do you ask?" I said, trying to understand what she was trying to say.

"Well, you were kinda mumbling about branches or something." She explained.

Making the connection, I told her. "I seemed to have dozed off just now." Mandy must not have realized that I was asleep.

"Oh, so you were sleep talking. What were you dreaming about?" She inquired.

I tried to wave off the topic. "It was merely a memory of when I was a child."

"What happened?" She insisted, forcing me to tell her the truth.

"When my bro- Thor and I were young, he invited me to climb a tree with him but on my way up, a branch broke off so I fell."

She cooed at the story. "Aww. Were you alright though?"

"There were no serious injuries." I answered nonchalantly.

"That's good." She said before suddenly grinning.

Curious, I asked her, "What is with that smile?"

She looked up and admitted. "Oh it's nothing. I just remembered something similar to that."

"What about?" I went on to say, taking the opportunity to hear about Mandy's past.

"When I was about ten years old, during a trip to the countryside, I went climbing up trees just so I could look over the land. The view from up there was always so amazing that I never wanted to come down."

Amused by her little tale, I pushed her to speak more. "What stopped you?"

"Aside from the fact that I couldn't exactly sleep up there, I had to go back home once the vacation was over. I haven't been back to that place since." She told me.

I carefully added, "And returning there now would be a waste given your condition."

Mandy did not appear offended and said, "Yeah. Still, I can't really forget what I how everything looked and the feeling of being above everything."

Her description reminded me of an experience of mine as well.

"I can relate. I recall the first time I was brought to the edge of Asgard. Nothing could compare to standing at the end of one world and just barely seeing another seemingly not too far away. " I shared.

Mandy's blind eyes lit up. "Wow. That sounds amazing. How did it look?"

I told her, "At night, you could see a vast space with endless stars all around. My mother used to sit there with me and tell me tales about each realm and star out there."

"It's nice that you have such sweet memories with your mom. You really love her don't you?" She commented sweetly.

"Of course. She was the only one who truly cared about me." I replied honestly, unafraid of what anyone thought.

Her smile grew at my statement that she said, "You know, it's nice to hear some happy memories for you. You always make it look like your life was always terrible."

"Most of it was." I insisted.

"But doesn't remembering the good things feel better than brooding over the worst of the past?" She offered.

I snorted, "Centuries of torment and lies cannot be forgotten or ignored so easily."

"Centuries?" She asked, eyes growing wide.

I turned to her, surprised by her reaction. "Have I not mentioned that I am over a millennium old?"

Seemingly ashamed, she admitted. "If you have, I probably didn't focus on it. Wow, you must age really slowly then."

"We would normally reach about five thousand years if nothing kills us first." I added.

She childishly pouted saying, "That's so not fair. In sixty years, I'll be an old lady and you'll still be exactly the same."

I rolled my eyes at such an immature comment. "Oh come now. I am aware that humans age faster and live shorter but that does not change the fact that the years will come to all of us."

"But for you that's a long time from now. I know I won't even make it over a hundred." She then said.

Mandy's complaint began to sound less childish and more disturbing. The thought had not crossed my mind before but after she had stated it, I finally realized: Mandy will not be around forever. As she mentioned, in merely a few decades, she would age and eventually die.

I could not process exactly how I felt about the revelation for logic and sentiment were at opposing views. I have only known Mandy for several days, yet in that short time, much had happened between us to consider her a mere acquaintance.

Shrugging off the pressing mental debate for the moment, I attempted to lead the conversation elsewhere.

"Such a time will come but as you like to say, let us think only of the present."

With a defeated sigh, she agreed. "You're right. It's just that I never really thought of things like that. I don't even really know who gets the better half: a short life or a long life."

"I would assume it depends on what happens to the person. A short life would be bliss for a person who suffers. Why prolong the agony?" I told her honestly.

"Sadly, Loki, we don't really get to choose. I mean, you tried to kill yourself and look how that turned out." Mandy brought up.

Unoffended, I conceded to her. "Like I said, the universe only desires to make me suffer."

"Or that something greater is coming." She added.

I smiled at her insistence. It seemed that I would never be able to convince her to follow my opinion.

"I will believe you when it happens." I told her.

She happily shrugged and said, "You've got a long life ahead of you. It's bound to happen."

I returned her statement in kind, "You have a shorter one. I assume yours will come sooner."

"Thanks for that." Mandy said in response.

We went silent for a brief moment before she spoke again.

"What's it like to have lived so long? I bet you know more about history than anyone else on Earth."

I confessed to her. "I did not visit your realm as often as the others but the last time I was here was not as eventful. Mortals saw Thor's lightning and immediately assumed he was a god."

"But what were you doing?" She asked, emphasizing that unlike most people, she was more interested about me rather than Thor.

I thought for a moment before telling her, "I believe I was roaming around the villages in disguise. I am not exactly sure what else I did at that time since we were not there long."

"I guess days and weeks are too short to stick in your memories then." She commented.

"Now and then we forget things, the same way your kind forget some of your past." I confirmed.

Mandy went on to say, "Yeah, but if humans forget in just a few years, you probably won't remember little things from a hundred years or so."

In agreement I said, "I suppose that's true. Unless the event was significant, it would most likely be forgotten after a while."

"Like me." She muttered, though I heard it quite clearly.

"You?" I repeated.

With obvious hesitation, she clarified, "I'll probably be one of the things you won't remember later on."

I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "Now why would you think that?"

"Why do you need to remember a blind human girl who will only live for a few decades?" Mandy said with a scoff.

"You think yourself insignificant?" I questioned, still confused as to her thoughts.

"I'm sure the people in my past have already forgotten about me, if they ever noticed me at all. I wouldn't be surprised if you would do the same." She explained

"You insult me. I am not at the level of those worthless, ignorant mortals." I said, almost exclaiming.

"I'm not saying that you are. I just think that who I am isn't really worth remembering. What is there for anyone to remember about me? All I really have is myself and when I'm gone, I'll just be forgotten." She sadly stated.

I sighed. In a way, there was some truth in her words but also some exaggeration.

"I know not about others, but if it makes any difference, I will surely remember you."

Mandy turned to me, surprised. It took her a moment before she could find her voice. When she did, she responded with a joke.

"For being the first human to trip over you?"

Following the flow of the conversation, I said. "Among other things, yes. Besides, what of those people in that town?"

Her expression returned to sadness once again. "All they know about me is that I'm Mrs. Wednesday's charity case. They will never know me as me."

"I know you." I told her with no hesitation for I knew it was true.

She gave me a small smile and a pat on my hand. "And to think you were more of a stranger to me than them. You do know me better."

Glad that she took it well I said, "Then be assured that at least one being will know who you truly are."

"And that one guy happens to be not even human." Mandy playfully added.

I grinned at that and said, "You should feel lucky then."

Her smile grew wider as she told me, "I do."

Satisfied, I leaned back into the couch once again.

"Oh, and Loki, I'll never forget you either." Mandy went on to say.

While a little flattered, I decided to copy Mandy's little joke rather than to thank her directly.

"For being the first non-human you've ever encountered?"

She shook her head and told me, "For being one of the kindest persons I've ever encountered."

My eyes grew wide. I almost thought that it was simply my imagination. A compliment like that was impossible to be attributed to me and I found myself at a loss of words as my mind tried to process what had just occurred.

I am a liar, a murderer and a monster. How can you say something like that to me?

Mandy P.O.V.

I noticed that Loki had gone silent after I had spoken. He must have been shocked that I had thought of him that way but I made no move to change what I had said. It was all true.

Despite all the things he had done in the past, he was always good to me. He never treated me like a fragile doll or a failure to society. To him, I was just a girl who happened to be blind. In his eyes, I was only Mandy.

"Hey, don't be so stunned. You really should really give yourself more credit." I teased, trying to break the tension.

No sound could be heard from him so I began to worry.

"Loki? Is everything alright?" I asked, moving closer to him, and reaching for his arm.

It took a brief moment before he finally responded.

"Yes, everything is fine."

I gave a sigh of relief. "You scared me for a second there. You were so silent."

"Must you always be so concerned about me?" He asked, slowly regaining his usual demeanor.

"You give me a lot of reasons to be." I retorted.

"I am quite capable of taking care of myself." He said defensively.

I rolled my eyes saying, "Sure, sure."

He made an audible huff of frustration, causing me to giggle at his childishness.

"You enjoy tormenting me, don't you?" He asked, though not sounding serious.

I smugly told him, "Well you like teasing me so I think we're even."

"It was all in good fun." He justified.

"For you maybe." I retorted.

Loki did not seem offended and instead decided to compliment me. "You seem to take it far better than most. Many times I've expected that you would throw me out."

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Now, why would I do that? I kept thinking you'd be the one to leave without a word."

"I do recall that you assumed I left when you were ill." He said, supporting my previous statement.

I admitted to him, "I'm glad you didn't, but I wouldn't have been surprised if you did."

"You really should stop thinking that you are of little worth." Loki muttered, annoyed at how I was.

I decided to return it. "You should too."

He sighed loudly. "And there you go again."

"Hey, you started it." I joked, tossing one of Loki's pillows in his direction.

After the sound of it making contact, he asked in a very playful tone, "Are you challenging me?"

"Just taking a free shot. I'll probably miss the next time." I honestly said.

I could hear a hint of mischief when he told me, "I might just take the hit."

"You aren't the type who wants to lose. I'm not gonna ask you to that." I said politely.

Loki then commented, "I'm impressed."

"Thank you." I replied with my head held high.

Suddenly I felt something hit me in the face and throw me onto my back on the sofa. It did not hurt but I was a little shocked at what had happened.

"Mandy! Are you alright? I did not think my throw was so strong." I heard Loki say as he moved closer to me.

I rose up slowly as I told him, "It's fine."

"Did I scare you?" He asked with concern in his voice.

I shook my head and said, "Just left me really confused. I didn't know what hit me."

"It was merely a pillow. I hope I did not hurt you." He confessed.

Understanding that he was just returning the pillow fight, I did not take it against him.

"You didn't. You've never hurt me anyway so quit worrying." I told him to ease his mind.

Heard Loki sigh before saying, "Sometimes I wonder why you trust me so much."

Sure of my own answer, I told him, "Because I know you."

At that, Loki chuckled which was a pleasant but uncommon thing to hear from him.

"Sure you do." He said with sarcasm, ruffling my hair as if I was a child.

I grabbed his hand to take it off my head when I realized something.

"Loki, your hand is a little smoother."

He removed it from my grip, probably trying to take a closer look.

"What happened?" I asked.

Though a little shaky, he replied. "The skin on my hand reverted for a moment, but it is blue once again."

"Is it because you touched my hair?" I suggested, although I did not know if it was even possible.

He attempted to ruffle my hair again but then told me, "No. Your hair had nothing to do with it. Perhaps my magic is just slowly returning."

"Oh, that's good then." I said but there was a tone of disappointment in my voice.

Loki must have noticed since he said, "You don't seem too happy about it."

I attempted to convince him otherwise. "What? Of course I am."

"I can see that you are lying. What bothers you about my magic returning?" He asked, seeing through my terrible acting.

"It's not that I don't want you to get them back. I'm just worried what'll happen when you do." I admitted.

"Are you assuming I will use them to terrorize you?" He teased, not following my train of thought at all.

I shook my head in response. "You could do that even without your magic. It's just that if you have all your powers back, you might not need to stay here and-"

"You feel that you will be useless when I regain them." He supplied

I nodded silently, slightly embarrassed at my weakness and immaturity.

He tried to console me. "Mandy, even when I regain my magic, there is no certainty that I will be leaving. I have nowhere to go and you know that."

"I guess I'm just overthinking things." I said, trying to close the subject.

"Or that you actually wish to send me away." He added although this time I was unsure whether he was teasing again or being serious this time.

Either way, I made my stand quite clear. "Of course not. Stay for as long as you need or want. You are always welcome here."

"I am glad to hear that." He said with sincerity.

It was evident that he was indeed grateful and I did not want to make him regret admitting it.

"And don't ever forget it."

Having settled my little dilemma, our conversation reverted to lighter topics. The day went on as our discussion did and soon enough, night fell. We took our meal, relaxed for a bit and then parted ways for bed.

It seemed that both of us were quite content with how today went. I could almost hear the smile in his voice as when bid me goodnight and that was definitely a good sign. Loki was becoming settled and more comfortable. I hoped that if more days like this occurred, he would slowly heal and move forward with his life, knowing that the universe is not completely against him after all.

I held on to that wish as I laid on my bed. Taking in the peace of the night, I allowed myself to fall asleep.

…

…

….

The sound of shattering glass broke through the deafening silence of my sleep, forcing me awake. Though startled by the noise, I did not make any obvious movement; not even bothering to open my eyes. I remained still as I tried to listen for any clue as to what had happened.

The weighted taps on the floor signified that there was someone in the room but I could not identify who it was. I had hoped that it was just Loki, who had entered my bedroom the same way before, but it would not have made sense for him to do so since I did not recall having a nightmare for him to wake me from. The next logical reason was that there was a burglar or some other criminal inside.

I continued to remain motionless despite the feeling of impending danger. If the invader was just a thief, he would only need to silently steal some items and then be on his way without needing to interact with me at all.

The footsteps started to move to my direction, making the situation even more unfortunate for me. I was unarmed and very much vulnerable. Loki was probably still asleep and too far to notice what was going on but I was ready to call for him the moment the stranger did anything.

Suddenly the sound stopped. Painfully long and silent seconds passed by as I waited for any sign of the intruder's presence.

"Gotcha!" a hushed voice suddenly exclaimed as I was yanked by the hair out of my bed while a calloused hand clamped over my mouth before I could scream.

I tried to fight him off, kicking and struggling out of his grasp but he managed to maneuver himself to restrain me while keeping me gagged. He then proceeded to drag me away with him, out of my room and through the broken window.

I ignored the cuts I was getting from the shards, knowing that the kidnapping was obviously not the end of it.

When we finally reached the outside of the house, a sinister yet familiar voice spoke.

"Hello, bitch. It's payback time."

End of chapter 23

DUN DUN DUN! It's been a while since I've done cliffhangers. What's going on and how will things go? Oh, and do you like how their relationship is going or is it getting too cheesy?

Leave me some reviews if you can. I'd really appreciate hearing what you guys think, feel, love and hate about this story. It helps me improve and give you guys a better story. Thanks!

See you in the next chapter!