Author's Note: I will try to get a new chapter up soon. I have since hit writers block so hopefully it won't stick around too long. Hope you like this. Please review!

Chapter 8

The next couple days Loki had begun improving. He was still on the weak side, but Eir assured everyone it was normal. Thor still spent all of his time with Loki. He would talk to Loki about anything and everything. Frigga would also spend a lot of her time with Loki. It was about a week later, that Loki started to look bad again.

"Brother are you alright you look pale and you're not eating." Thor observed one evening while sitting with Loki as they were eating dinner.

"I'm fine. Just not very hungry right now." Loki stated picking at his food.

"Maybe you should get some more rest." Thor suggested.

"I guess." Loki mumbled.

Loki pushed the tray his food was on aside and laid down. He was asleep in minutes and didn't even wake when Eir came back in to check on him. Thor didn't think anything of it until later in the night when Loki started to toss fitfully in his sleep. It had woken Thor up when he started to doze in the chair next to Loki's bed. He tried to calm him and that was when he noticed Loki's skin had become warm. He immediately alerted a guard to find Eir. Eir entered the room a few minutes later.

"What is the problem my Prince?" Eir asked.

"Loki is warm, I think he is getting a fever." Thor stated.

Eir checked Loki's temperature herself and the rest of his vital signs.

"You are right my prince. He has developed a pretty high fever. This will hinder his recovery."

Before Thor could respond, Loki's body started to convulse.

"What is happening?" Thor asked.

"Seizure my prince. Hold him on his side gently." Eir instructed.

Thor gently rolled Loki over on to his side and held him as his body shook. The seizure lasted awhile. Loki's body bucked hard against Thor's hands. Thor kept a gentle but firm grip on Loki's shoulder and hip to keep him from falling off the bed. Loki's eyes were rolling around behind his eyelids. When Loki finally fell limp he was gasping for breath and moaning in pain. Thor realized some of his wounds were reopened.

"He is bleeding again." Thor pointed out.

Eir quickly called in more healers and they worked quickly to rewrap his wounds. Loki cried out a couple of times and Thor was there to comfort him. Thor noticed that a few of Loki's wounds had a black color to them.

"Éir what is wrong with him?" Thor asked.

"A few of his wounds have become infected. This is a major set back."

"He will survive won't he?" Thor asked.

"At this time prince it is uncertain. The next 48 hours are critical. If the fever breaks then he will pull through." Eir explained.

Thor nodded in understanding.

"Will you please send word to my mother and father so they know of the change?" Thor asked.

One of the healers passed the message to a guard and the guard left to deliver the message. The healers finished redressing Loki's wounds and changed the sheets. Thor went back over to the bed and ran a hand through Loki's hair.

"Stay strong my brother, I'm here for you. I'll be right here until you recover." Thor whispered.

Frigga came rushing into the room.

"He has developed a fever?" Frigga asked.

"Yes. Eir also said a few of his wounds have become infected as well. Where is Father?"

"He is in council at the moment, but he was informed. He said he would try to come when he could." Frigga explained.

Frigga walked over to Loki and started to fuss over him. She smoothed his hair back from his sweaty brow and whispered soothing nonsense to him.

"Why don't you go get some rest my dear? I will watch him for awhile." Frigga suggested.

"I'd rather stay here. He had a seizure before you got here, and I want to be here to care for him if he has another one." Thor stated.

"I am here now and so is Eir and other healers, now go rest. You will need your strength if you are going to care for him through this."

Thor finally gave up arguing. He placed a gentle kiss on Loki's forehead and squeezed his hand before leaving for his chambers.

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"Thor?" Loki asked, eyes squeezed shut in pain and his hand reaching out for his brother's touch.

"He is resting in his chambers my dear. Is there something you need?" a voice stated taking his hand.

Loki opened his eyes and the blurry image before them came into view and he saw his mother's kind face.

"Mother, wh-what is wrong with me? I'm so hot." Loki complained.

"You have a fever my dear and a couple of your wounds have become infected." Frigga explained.

Loki tried to shift his postion, trying to find a comfortable one, but the heat made it impossible as did his wounds. Every move he made and breath he took caused him pain. He gasped as he felt his back spasm and pain traveled up his body.

"Shhhhhhhhhhh relax my dear, try not to move." Frigga coaxed as she ran a cool cloth over his face.

Loki sighed in relief as the coolness of the cloth soothed him for a moment. His back felt like it was on fire and the ache in his body went all the way down to his bones. He wanted nothing more than to drift off into oblivion, but the heat and pain made it impossible. Before he knew it though, his whole body started to spasm again and he lost control of his mind and body for awhile.

Frigga immediately called for Eir as she turned Loki over on to his side so that he could ride out the seizure. It broke her heart to see her youngest in such pain and she couldn't do anything about it. Eir came in the room and helped Frigga hold Loki on the bed. This seizure lasted longer than the first one. When it was finally over, Loki had a few tears running down his face and he was moaning in pain again as Eir checked his wounds.

"Loki? Are you still with me darling?" Frigga asked.

"I'm so hot and everything hurts." Loki moaned.

Eir called in some healers and they set to work cleaning Loki's wounds and rebandaging them. Frigga comforted Loki when he would cry out in discomfort. As they were rebandaging his arms, he caught sight of the words carved into him.

"What is this?" Loki asked.

"It's nothing my dear, don't worry about it." Frigga stated as Eir took Loki's arm and tried to get it rebandaged quickly.

Loki pulled his arm from Eir's grasp and looked more closely.

"Monster? Am I a monster mother? Am I?" Loki asked with tears in his eyes and his voice shaking.

"No Loki. You are not a monster, you could never be. You are my son, the ones who did this to you are the monsters." Frigga coaxed.

"But I slaughtered so many of their warriors without blinking. I am a monster." Loki cried as the tears came down his face.

Frigga too had tears in her eyes. She wiped them away as she ran the cloth over Loki's face again, wiping away his tears as well.

"No my dear. No. You are not a monster. They are the monsters. You are my son and I am here now, I've got you." Frigga soothed as she stroked Loki's hair.

Eir came over with a potion at that moment.

"Here my Prince, drink this, it will help with the pain." Eir assured.

Frigga helped Loki sit up a bit as Eir fed him the potion. It was bitter and made Loki's face twist in disgust, but Frigga offered comforting words to help him drink it. Loki coughed a bit as he laid back down trying to get comfortable again. Frigga started humming a lullaby as she cooled Loki's face and wiped away his tears as they came out his eyes. Eir and the healers finished rebandaging the wounds and left to give the mother and son some privacy. Loki fell asleep to his mother's humming and Frigga prayed the fever would break soon so her son could finally be well again.