Almost a whole day passed before Thor came back. I had spent that time alternately sleeping and wandering aimlessly around the tower. Bruce had told me that I was in shock and Steve sat me down and told me that it was not my fault I had shot him. Steve tried to tell me everything was alright, that I had done nothing wrong. I had nodded dutifully but my insides still felt hollow.
I was angry at Loki for all he had done. He had tried to subjugate the world once, failed, and then he had torn me away from my quaint little life. I had wanted him dead so many times, but I never imagined that I would be the one to kill him. I wasn't even sure he really deserved to die. I had seen glimpses of hurt, sadness, and loneliness beneath his mask. I hated him, but my hate hid a certain amount of sympathy. He had taken me away and made it impossible to return to my life. He had put me through what he had experienced and I had almost grown to understand his pain.
I was trudging aimlessly around on the balcony when Thor returned. He appeared in a brilliant white light a few feet from myself. Touching my gently on the shoulder as he passed, he swept inside to where Tony was watching me pace.
/
Tony was less than pleased, Thor was insisting upon taking Elizabeth back to Asgard to see Loki. "Do you really think Loki will just undo everything on command?" Stark sipped his drink and waited for a reply from Thor. "His magic has been bound and it will only be unbound in order to remove the collar from Elizabeth. In his weakened state, he cannot do much to harm anyone." Thor took a deep breath. "Loki is the only one who can remove the collar, it was his magic that placed it there and it will only respond to his touch."
Stark almost lost his drink. "Oh, so now we're letting him touch her? What do you think that will do to Elizabeth? Did you not see how she cringes away from him? It's obvious that he's hurt her! Why do you think it's a good idea to give him another chance?"
Thor stood abruptly. "It is the only way." Before Tony realized what was happening, Thor had brushed past Stark and out onto the balcony. He wrapped one arm around Elizabeth, pulling her into his chest. Stark rushed out, but not before the white light had carried the god and the mortal away.
/
I had heard everything Thor and Tony had said. If they had asked me, I would have told them I was completely willing to go with Thor. When Thor and I appeared in Asgard he tried to apologize. I reassured him that I wasn't mad with a firm pat on his arm and a somewhat forced smile. He seemed to brighten then. "Lady Elizabeth, welcome to my home." He put a hand on my shoulder and stepped away so I could see where we were.
I felt my jaw drop and I could hardly breathe. The room we were standing in was a dome of sparkling gold, in the center, stood the tallest man I had ever seen. He was taller than Thor and dressed in gold armor more extravagant than Loki's. Thor guided me closer and greeted the giant. "Heimdal, how fares my brother?" He turned and looked down at me. I felt tiny and naked under his golden eyes. "He is well kept with Frigga." Thor smiled warmly, "Thank you Heimdal." Thor bustled me happily past the sentry and onto the bridge. I marveled at the sparkling colors beneath our feet.
When we reached the city, I was unable to take everything in. An ache at the beauty of everything settled in my heart. Before I knew it, we were inside the palace. The sparkling exterior hardly gave warning for the beautiful interior. The sculpted vaults of the ceiling glittered with precious gems and metals, marble in a rainbow of colors served for the walls and floors. I felt very out of place in my plain black t-shirt and jeans.
We finally came to a carved wooden door. Thor knocked twice and the door was opened by a beautiful woman. She wore a flowing creme dress not unlike the ones Loki had provided for me. When she saw Thor, her face crinkled into a smile and she planted a firm kiss on his cheek. Thor wrapped her in an embrace. "Hello mother."
The woman ushered us inside and shut the door. "Lady Elizabeth, how lovely to make your acquaintance. I am Frigga, mother of Thor and Loki." Her kind face didn't look old enough to be the mother of the two men but I assumed that Asgardians aged differently. Her smile filled the room with a happiness and kindness that seemed to soak into your bones. I couldn't help but feel safe and loved in her presence.
She looked me over with a pointed glance at the collar. "Now, I assume that you will want to see Loki." I nodded and she gestured toward a door nearby. "He's just through there. Come with me." She walked swiftly toward the door and I had to rush to keep up. She tapped softly before opening the door. She gently nudged me inside and shut the door after her.
The room was pleasantly lit and furnished in golds and light pinks. On a couch at the opposite end sat Loki. He was dressed in his simple tunic and pants. He almost looked like he belonged. He smirked when he saw me. "My, you look well. Come to collect on my promise, yes? Well, I swore it and I shall honor my word." He rose and approached.
Frigga stepped forward, she gently grasped his arm and pulled up his sleeve. To my surprise, a slim gold band with engravings very similar to the collar was wrapped around his wrist. The only difference was that, instead of a green stone, it was set with an opalescent crystal. Frigga wrapped her slim fingers around the band and I watched as it seemed to melt open and reshape in her hand.
Loki took a deep breath and rubbed his wrist. He seemed larger now, I would have been frightened had Frigga not been by my side. Looking me over again, he waved a hand and my body was engulfed in gold light. It pulsed once and I felt that the form of my clothing had changed. I was back in a emerald green dress, this time with an embroidered cape. I humphed to express my irritation at being taken out of my normal earth clothes.
An impish grin split Loki's face and he looked at his mother in childish glee. She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Loki, it may be lovely but that is not what she is here for." His face fell slightly. "Fine." He turned to face me fully. "I rescind all previous commands." I felt an invisible weight lift from my shoulders.
"Thanks," My voice was scratchy from disuse. I cleared my throat and gestured at the collar. "Now can you take this thing off?" He looked at me for a moment. Frigga gave a nod. Slowly, Loki wrapped both hands around the metal. Suddenly he yanked me forward. He leaned down so that we were eye to eye. His eyes held a look of desperation and fear. "Don't leave me."
Frigga yanked Loki away. She grabbed his wrist and replaced the bracelet. It took a moment to realize what had just happened. When the full force of the truth hit me, my knees buckled and I thumped down on the marble floor.
/
Frigga shook her son by the shoulders. "Why, Loki, why? What is the purpose of prolonging her suffering? Her release would have helped to redeem you in the eyes of the Allfather. Why do you ask for greater punishment?" Loki looked into her eyes and she saw the naked answer within them. Dropping her hands to her sides, Frigga let the anger in her gut die. Turning on her heel, she glided through the door, shutting it behind her.
/
I was hardly aware that Frigga had left. After I had found out that I hadn't killed Loki, the empty feeling of guilt had left. Now, I almost regretted not killing him. I felt a fire well up in me. Loki had ruined my life even further now. With a feral cry, I threw myself at him with all my might. I hit him in the side, making him curl over in pain. I hit and scratched at his face, kicked at his legs and stomach. He gasped when one of my knees connected with his ribcage.
I managed a couple more solid hits before he lashed out at me. I was flung several feet away. Picking myself up, I lunged at him again. This time, he was ready. He grabbed a handful of my hair and held me at arms length. His grip yanked tears to my eyes. I flailed pitifully, trying to loosen his grip, then I gave up. When I quit fighting, he released me and sat back down, heavily, on the couch. I slunk away to the opposite corner of the room and settled myself down on the pink marble floor.
It was not long before Frigga reappeared. She looked at Loki then at me. "I've prepared a room for you both. I'll show you to it." She gracefully led us through her chambers to another room. This one contained two huge beds separated by a folding panel. Both beds were draped in a soft gold. The room itself was a light creme color, like most everything else in the queen's chambers.
Frigga set herself to playing the good hostess and informed us that dinner was to be served in two hours. She shot me a meaningful look. "If you need anything, there will always be someone around." I nodded. Satisfied, She turned and rustled softly out of the room.
Loki flopped down on one of the huge beds and exhaled pitifully. Wanting to avoid him as much as possible, I trudged over and sat myself on an edge of the other mattress. Another sigh emanated from behind the painted partition. Then there was silence for a while.
I had taken to inspecting the new dress I wore. It was made of a green silk with an almost metallic sheen. It was fit slimly to my body with a short train and a wide boat neck. Around my neck, fastened just below the collar, hung a long green cape of a slightly thicker material. The cape itself was embellished with tiny embroidered vines and sparkling gems. I unfastened the cape and let it fall to the white marble floor.
The metal fastener crashed loudly on the stone. Another loud sigh. The silence dragged on for a few moments longer. Finally, I broke it with a timid voice. "I was glad you weren't dead." Loki's voice came as almost a laugh. "Was?"
"Yeah, was. Thor would have killed me if you were dead." I snapped back. Now Loki did laugh, a sharp, harsh laugh. "You are an awful liar. I know you were glad for reasons other than Thor and your freedom." he paused, "You think I deserve pity." I heard a rustling like he had rolled over. "I don't need your sympathy."
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