A/N:

It is finally here! Sorry to everyone about the delay, as I said, working and studying leave hardly any time for me to write! Thank you for all the reviews I haven't managed to get back to- you're all AMAZING for sticking by my story! I hope I continue to satisfy any Loki/Darcy feels everyone has! Also, a huge thanks to Jess for reading and checking every chapter- you keep my story squeaky clean and free of mistakes :)

Anyway...

So I may have encroached onto Norse Mythology territory here. All will be revealed at the end for you guys confused about references, don't fret!

Chapter 8

Thor sat next to Jane as she sat by Darcy's bedside, her warm hand in Darcy's cold one. She looked at her friend through tired eyes, watching her chest rise steadily up and down in the comforting sign of life. Thor saw sadly that his wife's bright eyed expression had been replaced with a dull and desolate look.

"Can't they do anything?" Jane asked in a dead tone, looking intently at Darcy's ghost-white face.

"No magic can save her, Jane. We just need to wait. Her body may repair itself."

"Is your father questioning the guests of Darcy's poisoning?"

"Maybe it wasn't an attempt at her life. We can't rule out accidents." Thor shrugged, suggesting reasonably.

"Really?!"

"Jane, you must understand that of all things, suspicion toward our guests will end in unfriendly relations. It is not what we need, after the chaos in Jotunheim we barely managed to control." He saw Jane's mouth open to protest, turning her gaze to him angrily. "My father has our people investigating quietly. It is common for our neighbours to take offense easily, given the influence Asgard has and the threat we pose, Jane."

"So he's not investigating an… an 'insignificant' human's poisoning because he doesn't want to offend people?" Jane couldn't understand why Odin wouldn't investigate, especially when the poisoner was likely to be in the very walls of his castle. "Nearly all of the guests have gone home- it's impossible to find them! They should have started this days ago!"

"Please, Jane." Thor put a gentle arm around her, sighing deeply. "I will ensure I find the person responsible, with or without my father's help. Besides, Darcy could tell us herself, when she wakes up."

Jane noted his use of 'when' and not 'if'. She scowled. "Any news on Loki?"

Thor scoffed. "He seems to be fond of Darcy, strangely."

"Loki isn't fond of anyone but himself." Jane found herself saying lifelessly. "He lacks compassion, a conscience."

Thor frowned. "Not without reason. He has been through a lot, and to see him sat here, comforting a 'mere mortal' (as he would put it) whose realm was briefly crushed by his own hand is strange. Besides, bizarrely, my mother is more than happy to play matchmaker, if the stories Sif told me were true."

Jane scoffed at the idea of Frigga trying to get Loki to feel any kindness, never mind love, towards someone. Especially toward Darcy. She thought of Darcy being involved with him and shuddered. "You believe he didn't do this? Why isn't he back in his cell?"

"He is mischievous and cunning, but I believe he speaks the truth about this matter. After all, what would he seek to gain from this?"

"I just can't believe him. He'd been out of prison the day before Darcy was poisoned. He even tried to kill you, his own brother, twice."

"My brother was foolish to attack me, but his actions against Midgard were unwise and uncalled for, it is true."

"Did he say why he did it?" Jane's voice was quiet as she looked at Darcy with continued concern.

"The attack on New York?" He asked.

Jane nodded.

"He gave us an excuse. My father did not believe him, but my mother fought to hear him out. I fear Loki's actions have caused a rift between our parents that may never be repaired."

"What was the excuse he gave?" Jane asked him freely. She knew he didn't like to talk about his brother, and so the past two years involved Jane avoiding the 'L' word. Thor had noticed Jane skirted around the past events, and his brother. He was more than happy not to talk about the complication of Loki whilst on Midgard with Jane.

Thor looked tired. "He speculated that the sceptre in his possession was a tool used by the Other himself to manipulate his free will."

"So… Mind control?"

"Essentially."

"Do you believe him?"

Thor took a while to answer. "I am still unclear. It is hard to tell with Loki."

"You went to visit him in prison, right?" Jane raised her eyebrows. "In the times you returned here without me?"

"I did. On more than one occasion. I would have brought you here, but it would have been a dull and heartless affair. He didn't look at me, and when he did his stare was dead, unresponsive as if he was still looking at the walls of his cell. He still holds a grudge against me for carrying out my father's wishes."

"You actually-physically- sewed his lips together? And then tortured him?" Jane asked incredulously. "And then you came home, to me, as if nothing happened?"

Thor sighed, feeling a weight on his shoulders that had nothing to do with his heavy armour. "You must understand. We Aesir don't feel pain like humans do physically. We can get knocked around without a scratch. That is why his torture was mostly mentally applied, instead of purely physical. That's why I had to do it. Emotionally, we are capable of anything. It was not the physical pain that led him to hate me as he does now, it was the sense of betrayal he felt when I stopped his voice, his lies."

"He betrayed you, Thor. And Asgard. And Midgard. And his family: everyone who ever loved him."

"I know." Thor paused, remembering the words his father spoke to him when he had been a younger and more foolish prince. You're unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed. Since his father had forgiven Thor his misdemeanour, and taken back his words, he had set about repairing his brother's attitude with the best intentions.

"I went to visit him afterwards, when his stitches remained and his mind healed. He could not talk, and I doubt he would have wanted to. I told him about you, about Midgard, about the wonders of simple human life. I told him stories about Eric and Darcy and Puerto Antiguo. He tried not to seem intrigued, but I saw him listening intently."

Jane smiled sadly. "I'm glad he has a brother who cares about him unconditionally, but aren't you getting tired of him, Thor? All those lies?"

"Tired?" Thor thought for a second. "Yes, tired. But I still believe he has a scrap of humility left in him, and that is worth fighting for, no matter how hard. After all, though not in blood, he is still my brother. He has done terrible things, but I grew up with him, played with him as children. Although I do not forgive him completely, I will still stand by him, if he needs a friend."

Jane sighed, feeling like her new husband was too forgiving of Loki's actions. There was a long silence before she asked quietly. "Do you think Darcy will ever wake up?"

Thor shifted uncomfortably in his seat next to Jane's, knowing that she knew the answer to that question already. "Jane," he started off softly, and then stopped when he saw the tears cascading down her cheeks. He drew her into his chest, stroking her hair gently.

"She… She was so excited to see Asgard. But I shouldn't have brought her here. I don't know why anyone would want to hurt her." Jane sobbed into his clothes, pulling him closer to her. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"It is not your fault, Jane." He watched as she pulled away from him and regained her composure, taking Darcy's hand once more.

Loki opened the door to his chambers and knew something was amiss almost immediately. He didn't need to see the man sat on his couch to know there was someone there.

"You." Loki narrowed his eyes at his unexpected guest. "The blonde oaf. Forseti." He barely remembered his face, though it was only two days ago when he had seen him last.

"Lo-ki." Forseti dragged his name out playfully, like a song. He smiled and got up. It was not the smile he had seen Forseti bestow upon Darcy at the wedding, but a malicious, hate filled smile that surprised even Loki.

"Why are you here?" He asked. "Did you hear about Darcy? You need not be concerned –"

"Two days, Loki." He cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I've waited here two days in order to talk to you, but you… You never came back up here, too concerned for the pathetic mortal who is barely clinging to her worthless life right now. I thought they had thrown you back in your cell."

He laughed freely until his smile faded into a menacing stare. "You know exactly why I'm here, Laufeyson. "

Suddenly, it was as if the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly, and Loki stepped forward, fury in his eyes.

"It was you. You poisoned Darcy." Loki's fingers tingled as he felt a surge of power jolt through him like electricity. He wanted to knock this man down, to wrap his fingers around his throat and throttle the life out of him. But he held himself back, determined to hear the story Forseti would no doubt tell.

Loki's barely controlled anger allowed him one word, spat out from between his teeth. "Why?"

"Do I look like someone you were familiar with?" Forseti tilted his head with a sneer. "Wait."

His face began to change, his nose elongating and eyebrows growing thicker. His skin, still tan and free of imperfections, grew taut about his face, clinging to his bones as if he had been famished. His eyes remained the same bright blue, and his hair golden and flowing, like Thor's. His stubble was more pronounced, compared to his clean shaven imposter.

Loki stifled his gasp, his eyes widening. The resemblance was startling and he recognised him almost immediately. It had been hundreds of years and he'd almost forgotten. "Forseti… Baldrson. Mother thought you dead." After his initial shock wore out, he managed a defeated smile. "So I'm guessing you're here to procure some sort of childish revenge?"

"How did you guess 'Uncle' Loki?" Forseti said sarcastically. "I know you have your share of enemies wishing revenge on you- I merely thought I would join them. I hardly knew my father when he was taken from me. Taken from me by you."

Loki rolled his eyes, his anger now under control, trying, for once, to talk reason. "It would make no difference for me to say now that I did not murder your father."

"Liar!" He grabbed Loki's neck and pushed him up against the wall, his long arms managing to lift Loki's feet off the floor. "You are a murderer. You always have been." Loki clutched at Forseti's fingers, prying them off with apparent ease. He cried out when his hand began to freeze under Loki's touch. He let go abruptly and stepped back as if nothing had happened, repairing his frostbitten fingertips calmly. Loki stepped forward, but Forseti didn't even flinch at their proximity, still assessing his fingers.

"The Other and his decimated army send their regards," he said coolly, threateningly. "As do the victims of your attempted genocide."

"You're associating with them? An unwise choice." Loki said, his fists clenched.

Matter-of-factly, he said, "Well I've joined the, uh, masses who want you dead. Including your own race, Laufeyson."

"You formed a club?" Loki said sarcastically. "You're as pathetic as the Avengers, though I underestimated them greatly, I admit."

"As you did, Loki. And now you're out of your cell, the fun can begin. Hunting season, as the Midgardians would say."

"I should kill you for what you've done." Loki spat, thinking of the comatose Darcy.

"As should I."

"Why go after an innocent mortal? Are you a coward? Do you not want to bring the quarrel you have with me to me?"

Forseti stepped back and sat back down on the couch, reclining at ease.

"Oh, but I have brought it to you, Laufeyson. You are under suspicion again and doubt is a dangerous thing, you know that. Who do you think watched and learned as Thor told you stories of Jane's friend, and saw your ears prick up in interest? Who do you think led the mortal to your cell, making her talk to you?" He exhaled, frustrated that Loki hadn't figured it out yet. "Then, I had to just see how you looked at each other at my uncle's wedding, and then crush you, as you crushed me."

"So you relied on my… compassion?" Loki laughed. "A prick of the ears in a dank prison cell was my supposed downfall? Is that it?"

"You believe you aren't capable of compassion, are you?" Forseti said, drumming his fingers on the leather sofa. "But you're wrong. I could have easily disposed of Queen Frigga instead, but I'm not conspiring to murder my own Grandmother. Unlike you, I value my family, and we Aesir are so hard to kill."

At this, Loki's jaw clenched together painfully, feeling the anger pull him toward Forseti with a stronger force. He couldn't help it when he strode toward his nephew, his fist making contact with Forseti's face with a satisfying smack. Forseti hardly moved or reacted, taken by surprise, a red mark now forming on his left cheek. Loki drew his fist back for another, and another, until Forseti's hand came up to stop him, gripping his fist painfully tight. Forseti's mask was back, only now it was marred by a bloody nose and a red mark that would likely turn into a bruise.

"Don't you dare think about harming my mother." Loki spat, drawing back as Forseti stood up and released his fist. He was nearly as tall as Loki- smaller by only a few centimetres. When he spoke, it was full of hatred that had been bottled up for hundreds of years.

"I just wanted you to feel what I felt the day you murdered my father, and the day my mother threw herself into the flames in anguish. And for that, the mortal will do. She will die. And I, I will return for the grief-stricken Loki Laufeyson afterwards, and I assure you, I will not be alone." He pushed past Loki and went to the exit. His last words before he shut the door behind him were ominous and filled with loathing.

"This is what it feels like to lose something important you barely had a taste of."

Loki paced up and down his room. He found himself restless, which was uncommon. His monotonous life in his cell for the past few years had ensured he was desensitised to that. His need for physical movement had greatly declined. Still, the encounter with Baldr's son had left him bottled up with rage.

And he felt, for the first time in his life, useless. The damage was done, and it would be impossible to find Forseti now, even for him. He wasn't allowed to leave Asgard, especially not to travel to Jotunheim or the unexplored realms, where he was likely to hide. Odin was not taking the matter seriously anyway. Only when human deaths happened in their hundreds, he would step in and create a fuss. For a mortal like Darcy Lewis, it was unlikely he would turn Asgard upside-down to find the would-be murderer (who would turn out to be his grandson if he looked hard enough). No, Loki thought, it would make Asgard look bad. And it would be stupid of him to tell them the truth when he was under suspicion himself.

He should have killed Forseti whilst he had the chance. He should've felt the satisfaction of revenge, but he had let him go. Why? Along with his need for physical movement, he realised that the urge to kill his family members had drastically fallen in the past few years, too. He felt exhausted, worn out even by the thought of the repercussions. Besides, a mortal's death was never seen to be worth the death of an Aesir, much less a royal. Maybe imprisonment, he thought, reflecting back to his own sentence.

Loki hadn't murdered Forseti's father. He had never fought it when the guilt was placed upon his shoulders, and bore the punishment that followed. But he had felt responsible for his then-brother's death. After all, in those days, he was a curious being, a bookworm obsessed with science and magic among other things. It had been he that had innocently suggested to a friend that they had not tried the young mistletoe to kill the unkillable Baldr Odinson. Naturally, someone with less admirable motives had overheard, and decided to put it to the test. After the arrow pierced Baldr's heart and ceased it beating, Loki's friend had told his father of the words he had shared with the strange, outcast prince. It was enough to prove him guilty. They pointed their fingers at the black haired recluse easily, effortlessly.

Baldr had died, Frigga went into mourning, and Nanna, Baldr's widow, had joined her husband in his funeral pyre. And his son had disappeared. No one had questioned it- it was the norm for the offspring of Gods to go their own way if their grief was too much.

And so Forseti disappeared, and everyone forgot. Loki sighed in frustration, running a slender hand through his long hair. He should've known Forseti's name from the moment he met him at the wedding, but his face was different, his voice changed, and he bore no resemblance to Baldr in any way, shape or form. Even his mother had not recognised her transformed Grandson at a glance. It was uncommon for Gods to have the same name, but not impossible. After all, the guests had come from realms on the furthest of branches. He hadn't thought past the obvious. Why should he?

He had been jealous of Forseti at the wedding, he realised too late, and this had clouded his judgement. He could've easily seen the mask underneath, put his name into scrutiny, but instead he watched as Darcy was charmed and touched by this handsome man with seemingly no 'red in his ledger'.

His absent thoughts led back to Darcy, who was, no doubt, drowning in a sea of Jane's tears in the medical wing. Darcy Lewis had been caught in between his and Forseti's quarrel; a victim of circumstance. Mortals were fragile. He knew this from past experience, but female mortals even more so (with an exception to a few, namely, the red haired assassin Romanoff). No wonder his brother had felt the need to protect Jane whilst she was still mortal. But she was Aesir now, no longer a mortal that could wither and die of old age… or poison.

Loki stopped his pacing and gasped softly. Of course.

Idunn stared at the broken but beautiful prince with the black hair, whose green eyes were staring determinately into hers. Idunn was striking, a slender, graceful work of art with no imperfections. Her long golden hair, braided back in an elaborate plait, ruffled in the breeze that blew her long dress ghostly about her. He had transported here in an instant, leaving Idunn bewildered at his sudden arrival. They stood in an opening surrounded by tall fruit trees. In the distance, Loki could see the towering spires of Asgard through the branches. He liked the feel of grass beneath his feet, and the smell of the forest around him. It was nice to be outside his cell.

Idunn folded her arms gracefully. "I do not owe you anything, Loki Laufeyson."

"Then I should have left you with Thiazi." He said lightly.

"What is it you require? Make it brief." The golden woman asked, resignation colouring her tone.

"An Apple. A single Apple."

"Darcy Lewis' comatose state may not be changed by this."

Loki didn't ask how she knew why he needed it.

"It is a possibility." He admitted. "But I would like to try."

"She may become Aesir."

Loki paused. "Better than dead."

"And so you think because I granted Jane Foster an Apple, I will grant her friend one too?"

He looked at her with a tired seriousness, sick of her questions. "That is all I ask."

Idunn looked amused and laughed musically. "Is this the moment you profess your fondness for mortal women?"

Loki scowled. "I preferred you as a nut. Will you grant me my request or am I to go away empty handed?"

"Everyone knows that, for an Apple, there is a price." Idunn's amused glance was met with an intense stare.

"Name it."

A/N- Okay, as I said, I went into Norse Mythology territory. Background reading! The facts (for those interested/ who haven't/won't/can't be bothered to google it) are these:

Forseti is Baldr and Nanna's son (Baldr being Frigga and Odin's son)

Loki (in mythology) did kill Baldr by shooting an arrow of mistletoe at him. Basically, Baldr had some weird prophetic dreams(involving him dying) that caused Frigga, his mother, to make a deal that made him unkillable. She had asked every object vow not to kill him, but didn't make a deal with mistletoe (too young, unimportant to make a vow). So Loki gave an arrow of it to Baldr's blind brother, who shot him, and Baldr died.

Note: I'm sticking to the whole 'Loki is innocent' thing in this story though!

Idunn is the goddess of youth, and ensures that everyone in Asgard stays pretty and young and tall and handsome and charming… oops. Anyway, she was taken by Loki (who was forced by a Jotuun, Thiazi) and everyone in Asgard started aging. So Loki, fixing his problems, flies in there as a falcon, turns her into a nut (Yeah, a nut. An actual nut nut.) and rescues her. So there was my explanation to Thiazi, and to the nut reference in the last bit!

So. Hope I got everything correct for you Norse Mythology buffs out there- most *cough* (all) my info came from Wikipedia. It's pretty interesting!