Chapter 6

Thor stumbled a bit as they reentered Asgard from the Bifrost. He remained up right clutching Loki tightly to his chest to ensure he wouldn't fall from his grasp. Frigga and Odin walked up to meet them.

"Oh my sweet boy. What did they do to him?" she asked putting a hand to Loki's cheek.

"I know not, but we must get him to the healers now."

Thor took off for the healer chambers, his family and friends on his heels. Thor arrived and carefully laid Loki on an empty bed yelling for help. Loki grunted and hissed in pain as he was laid down and it was then Thor noticed his hands were covered in blood and Loki's back arched as he was laid down. Thor turned him over carefully. Loki's back was covered in scars. Thor realized his brother had been whipped. He yelled again for help. Eir and other healers rushed in, pushing Thor out and closing the door. Thor stood there dumbfounded for a minute before his family and friends finally caught up.

"Thor go clean yourself up. The healer's will be awhile with Loki." Frigga stated.

"I don't want to leave. I want to be here incase…." Thor let himself trail off. He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"My son please go get yourself situated. We will send word if we hear anything before you come back." Odin insisted.

Thor finally nodded and headed to his chambers. He kept his eye on the door that Loki was behind until the last possible second.

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When Thor arrived back, his mother and father were still sitting outside the door.

"Any word?"

"No Thor, no one has come out at all." Frigga assured.

Thor sat next to his mother. The family sat in silence for awhile before Thor broke it.

"This is all my fault." Thor stated.

"What do you mean dear? How can any of this be your fault?" Frigga asked.

"I should have gone with him on his walk. If I had then he wouldn't have been taken. I could have protected him and he wouldn't be here now." Thor stood up and walked a little closer to the door that Loki was behind placing a hand on it and laying his forehead on it.

"Son we cannot change the past. If you were there, there is still a possibility that he could have been captured or worse you both could have been captured. I know you think yourself invincible but you're not and I know you feel responsibility for Loki as he is your younger brother, but you must also realize he is grown now and you won't always be there to protect him." Odin explained walking over and putting a hand on Thor's shoulder.

"I can still try. I still should have been there." Thor shrugged off Odin's hand and took a couple steps away from him.

"Be that as it may, darling, you must stop blaming yourself for this. Loki is here now and he is alive. He will need you while he recovers. You two are so close and have such a strong bond he will need your strength right now to help him." Frigga reassured putting her hands on Thor's face and forcing him to look her in the eye.

Thor nodded in agreement with his mother and they hugged before sitting back down again. The family sat for a while longer before Eir came out and bowed when Odin stood.

"My King."

"How is my son?"

"He has suffered a great deal your majesty. He is malnourished and there are multiple wounds all over his body. His back has been whipped, he has multiple cuts from a knife all over his body as well as burns. The bottom of his feet were badly burned with a hot iron it seems. Those will take a while to heal. He also has a mild concussion and some of his ribs have been broken from being beaten. There is also something else your highness…"

"Well what is it?" Thor demanded.

"It seems there were things carved into his skin. More specifically into his forearms."

"What is it Eir?" Frigga asked.

"The word 'monster' is carved into his arms and it seems it was carved with a cursed knife. We will try our best to get it to heal and not leave a scar but right now we are doing what we can to keep the other wounds clean to keep an infection away and there is a possibility a fever could start."

Thor felt his stomach flip at the news. His brother had things carved into him. He had been whipped like a common criminal and burned. He tried to push the tears back and get his voice to stop shaking as he addressed Eir again.

"Will he make it?" Thor asked.

"Right now my Prince the next 72 hours are critical. If he makes it through that then I am sure he will make a full recovery, but please keep in mind that infection is still possible and a fever."

"May we see him?" Frigga asked.

"Yes my Queen. He is sleeping right now and probably will be for awhile. That is another thing we are worried about as there is a possibility he could slip into a coma."

The family nodded and went into the room to see their youngest. The sight that greeted Thor made him stop in his tracks. Loki was pale like the sheets he laid on. His ribs and back were covered in bandages as were his wrists to hide the angry marks that were left on him. With Loki finally cleaned up, Thor could see how much his brother had changed in the small amount of time he had been away. Loki was thin. Way too thin. Even under the bandages he could see Loki's ribs trying to poke through. His hands and wrists were boney as well. This didn't look like the Loki that Thor knew. This looked like a ghost of Loki. Frigga went over and immediately began to fuss over Loki. She stroked his hair back and placed a kiss on his forehead. She whispered words of comfort to him. Odin stood on the other side of Loki's bed simply gazing down at him. Thor finally was able to make himself move towards the bed and take Loki's hand in his own. He was very cold. Loki always had cool skin, but now it was colder than usual. The tears were really fighting against Thor's eyes now but he pushed them down again.

"I need to get back to my duties. I am sure by now the Creed leader knows that Loki is gone so I must go make sure we won't be going to war." Odin announced.

Before leaving, Odin placed a gentle kiss on Loki's forehead. "Get well soon my son."

"I should go join your father right now. I will be back later. Will you be ok here?"

Thor nodded. Frigga also placed a kiss on Loki's forehead before leaving. Once Thor was alone he sat down beside Loki's bed still holding his hand. Thor brought the blanket up higher to Loki's shoulders to try and warm him. Thor felt tears spring to his eyes as he thought about how everything had transpired. If he had just been watching Loki more closely then none of this would have happened. His brother wouldn't have been taken and he wouldn't be fighting for his life right now. He brought Loki's hand up and pressed a small kiss to it and holding it against his face, letting it ground him. The tears finally worked their way down Thor's face as he placed his other hand on Loki's cheek and stroked it with his thumb.

"Brother I am so sorry for everything. This wouldn't have happened if I had been there to protect you like I should have. I promise you brother I won't ever let something like this happen again. Just please come back to me. Please brother. I can't do this without you. Please open your eyes. Give me some sort of sign that you can hear me." Thor begged.

Loki offered no response. Thor laid his head down on the bed in defeat and let go of his emotions.