Jeez, I didn't think I'd get this far! Naturally, because of exams and degree work having to be done, I found time for writing (see: procrastinating) So- update time!
Thank you to: scarletwitch0, RM Kox,Gyoro and Ururun, fan-de-carlisle-cullen,RhizOneill,Just a Fangirl, jaquelinelittle andlwolf for your fantastic reviews last chapter! As always, thanks to everyone who favourited and followed as well!
On another note, I think it's hilarious that most of you seem to hate Odin! As you can tell, I don't like him too much as a father ;)
Apologies for any mistakes/typos!
Chapter 13
"Brother." Loki peered up to see his brother's muscly form stood at the doorway of his cell. "I hardly think you're here to visit me, are you?"
Thor swallowed visibly and sighed, getting to the point quickly. "Loki, in light of recent events, father has agreed to free you from your cell."
"Hm." Loki found nothing to say to his brother, and let him stand in silence at his door for a moment. Thor shifted his weight almost nervously and walked into the clammy darkness of the chamber.
"You're free."
"So Heimdallr can watch over every move I make? And tell Odin everything?"
"What did you expect?" Thor knelt down next to him, and handed him a thick cloak. Loki scowled at it before obliging, and putting it around his shoulders. The warmth was comforting, as much as he hated to admit it to himself.
"Nothing less." Loki admitted, ignoring his brother's outstretched hand and propping himself up on the wall. "Will this be a regular occurrence every time something vaguely suspicious happens?"
"I know what you did. Or didn't do. They found Idunn."
"And?" Loki looked up at his brother bitterly.
"And she was close to death. You'll tell us why when she lifts whatever enchantment she's put you under."
"Who says I'm under an enchantment, brother?"
Thor just looked at Loki tiredly, and walked away, leaving the cell door open. Loki followed the red cape in the darkness, tugging his cloak around himself like a small child.
"No more tricks." Thor said quietly as they walked through the cold, narrow maze of corridors and stairs.
"I wasn't planning on it, brother." Loki swallowed down the feeling of discomfort when the truth slipped from his lips. And he knew he meant it. For the time being.
Darcy woke up in a grander room than her own. Despite the malicious words promising a return to Midgard, she found herself upon Asgardian silks, instantly recognisable by its superiority over Midgardian material. The view out of the window, left wide open, was unmistakably Asgardian. She frowned, sick of waking up in foreign places, confused and disorientated.
"Darcy."
Queen Frigga's voice was calm and soft. She walked over to the bed where Darcy lay on top of the sheets. Darcy sat up, wrapping her arms around herself nervously. She swayed dizzily, narrowing her eyes to stop the room from spinning.
"Why am I still here?" Darcy hated the whine in her tone. "I thought you were sending me back."
"Some 'Asgardian' guards are seemingly not to be trusted." She smoothed the golden silk of her dress, not making eye contact with Darcy. "They tried to slip you out of Asgard- only Heimdallr halted them."
"'They?'" Darcy knew the answer, only wanted Frigga to say it out loud. Instead of giving her an answer, Frigga looked at her, hard.
"My husband can be a stubborn man. And as you have guessed, our children share the same traits. Some more than others."
At this, her cheek lifted in a half smile which disappeared with a sigh.
"I'm sorry." Frigga continued. Her voice was frank, and she looked down at her with what Darcy thought was pity. "I knew. But it didn't make sense. Forseti- my own grandchild- presumed missing and… dead… had no reason to come here. I chose not to believe it, and my ignorance cost Loki his freedom. And nearly cost you your life. It was Forseti's men that endeavoured to kidnap you."
"I guessed. But… You knew too?" Darcy said in a low voice, scowling heavily. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Only when Heimdallr confirmed it did I start to petition for Loki's release. You must understand, Darcy, that I thought Forseti had disappeared. Gone, forever. You do not know the story of my son, Baldr, do you?"
"No."
Queen Frigga took a deep breath and began to explain everything to Darcy. The mistletoe arrow, the accusations against Loki, the death of her son, the flight of her grandchild.
"…And when my son's wife threw herself into the pyre, I knew that we could never speak of this again. And so I didn't. I kept this deep in my heart, and prayed for my grandchild to return. But when he returned, I was ignorant to the change of his character. He will not be like Loki, who has had constant support throughout his mistakes. He is guided by greed, by revenge. I wish not to lose both Loki and Forseti in this fight."
"Forseti says he'll start a war." Darcy said after a long time. "Well, he said he had Frost Giants in Yo-tum-something…"
"Jotenheim. It is Loki's place of birth." She nodded. "It is understandable. The Frost Giants have harboured a long standing feud against Asgardians, worsened by Loki's actions. He so nearly decimated an entire race to prove himself to his father. No amount of gold, aide or knowledge we send to their realm will ease the pain they suffered. And so they hate us. With reason."
She shook her head, and reached out to touch Darcy's cheek softly. Darcy cringed away from her, unable to process her apology. She knew she should forgive Frigga, but she felt like she was as bad as Odin had been. Denying it was Forseti? Sounded stupid to her.
Frigga looked up and finally looked at Darcy with a sad smile. "I know it may be hard to forgive me. I have brought you a… gift."
And without a word, Frigga stood up and pulled open the heavy wooden door with ease.
A gift? For her to be alone again? Great one, she thought bitterly. Her thoughts continued to run like a constant stream of cynicism, when the door opened again, revealing a timid Loki at the other side. Frigga smiled at her before disappearing behind the door, her shoes clicking down the corridor.
"Yo." She said nonchalantly, swallowing down her surprise.
"Yo." He repeated back to her, with a confused look on his face.
"Means 'hello'." She explained.
"I'm not familiar with Midgardian slang."
"I know. Sorry."
It was silent, until Darcy swung her legs over the bed and walked to the window, shutting out the breeze.
"I didn't poison you. I regret shouting at you in my cell. I apologise." Loki said quietly. His expression seemed unusually full of anger when she looked back at him over her shoulder. She turned again, staring out of the window over the Asgardian city, not quite taking all of in the glittering utopia.
"You didn't poison me then?"
"No." He missed the sarcasm in her voice.
"Why the change in heart?"
Loki pursed his lips in silence, both hands behind his back. "Idunn contracted me your life in exchange for my lies. Only, the last lie I was permitted was to falsely admit Forseti's actions."
"Why are you saying this now?"
Loki wandered around the room, randomly picking up ornaments and surveying them with false interest. He spoke too casually for Darcy's liking. "Because she was under the threat of Forseti. Asgard has recovered her, and she has removed the contract."
"And my life?" Darcy asked quietly.
"You can keep your life. Consider it a gift." Loki strode across the room and stood behind her as she looked out into Asgard. Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around her in a loose embrace. They stood there for some time, staring out of the window into the sunlight.
"I won't say thank you for saving my life you know, seeing as you were the reason I was targeted." She chuckled under her breath. "I did think for a second there that you were going to kill me or something."
"Really?" His arms loosened around her, and she found herself grabbing them and pulling them back around her body.
"No, stupid. I was joking."
"I've never been called stupid before. Mischievous, evil and monster are often the words used to describe me." Loki sounded genuinely puzzled until he sighed, changing topics.
"Forseti read all my moves." Loki felt Darcy lean back into him. "He knew I'd go to Idunn to save your life. He knew Odin would throw me into a cell."
"He does have the upper hand, I guess." Darcy frowned. "At least you're free now."
"He didn't expect Idunn to escape."
"We would've figured it out without her. I would've anyway." Darcy turned around in Loki's arms and looked up at him. "I may regret this, but I think I can trust you."
"Not exactly a wise choice." He smirked.
Darcy shrugged. "I don't make good choices. Not usually."
He leant forward, until their noses touched. "I can't- and won't- tell you what to do."
Darcy felt his hesitant hand caress her cheek, and trail down her neck until his steady fingers brushed her breasts. She stepped forward, pulling him closer with the same cautiousness she had with the first boy she'd ever kissed. She stood on tiptoe as she pressed her lips to his, a chaste and innocent brush of lips. At first.
"You better not." Darcy warned, before taking his face in her hands again and bringing him down to her lips with more force.
It was over in a flash- Darcy's determination to ever stay away from him. Her restraint waivered and disappeared as he bent down further to consume her. He pressed his lips hungrily against hers, pulling her body closer to his with a tight embrace. Her breasts rubbed satisfyingly against his chest, both their hands exploring, searching. His fingers finally found a place curled around her waist, digging into her skin with a pain she didn't even register. Her hands reached upwards to run his long black hair through shaking fingers. She gasped when they finally broke the kiss, breathing heavily with foreheads pressed together, looking into each other's eyes with a passionate intensity.
Darcy didn't even notice her state of undress until she was backed up against the wall, her bare back grazing against the hard stone where Loki had rucked up her top.
"Woah, there cowboy." She pulled her top down, grinning.
"Sorry." He took a step back. "I got…"
"… Carried away. I know." She laughed, pulling him back toward her. "Me too. I hope Frigga isn't waiting outside the door."
"I highly doubt it. It's not in my mother's nature to pry."
Part of Darcy wanted to carry on with what they had started but she realised with a pang she had already gone too far. With Loki. The man who'd wrecked New York had saved her life in return for what he prized most; his lies. The same man who'd tried to kill his brother had kissed her with passion she hadn't realised he'd ever had. It was far too intense, and she found herself questioning, why me?
"Why you?" Loki looked at her confused as Darcy clapped her hands over her mouth, realising she had said it out loud. She lowered her hands and frowned, deciding to go for it.
"Yeah. Why me? Why not some Asgardian… Some Aesir woman?"
"You are Aesir."
Darcy tilted her head at him. She was still backed up against the stone, Loki's body pressed up against hers. "Thanks to you. Answer the question."
"Why should I? You'll always believe that I'm a manipulative, God of Mischief anyway. There's no way you can fix that. Or me. You'll always doubt my words."
Darcy pushed him away instantly and shook her head.
"You're not my 'sixty minute makeover' deal. I'm not here to fix you and move on to repair another broken, dilapidated mess. I want you to learn to fix yourself, so when I'm not here, you don't go batshit and pull another New York."
"Sixty-minute makeover?" Loki ignored the phrase 'when I'm not here', dismissing it completely.
"It's a show where they pimp houses up. I think you're missing the important point here."
He sighed, resigned. "Fine. Do you want the truth? I… I talked to you because it felt like I should. Ever since Thor mentioned your name…"
"He mentioned me?"
"Among other things. He came to my cell after he… sewed me up, and he told me stupid tales like how he eats Midgardian 'tarts' and how he and Jane communicate with others. Then he mentioned you, and I couldn't help but take interest. You sounded… intriguing. And when you turned up in my cell, I thought Thor had put you there for my rehabilitation. That, or it was another trick to torture me."
Darcy tried to appear light-hearted. But her heart was anything but light. "Intriguing? Although I do agree, tell me more."
"There was a… a ball game?" Darcy nodded, signalling him to continue. "That Thor attended with you and Jane. He noted some of your… eccentricities."
Darcy tried to keep a straight face, knowing exactly what he meant.
"Just stories." He tried to wave it off.
"Tell me."
Loki sighed and stepped back, sitting on the corner of the bed. "He said you punched a man for laying a hand on you. Thor stated he would have come to your rescue, but you had no need of his services." One side of his face lifted with a brief smile.
"Really? That one?" Darcy said, outraged. "Out of all the stories, he told you that one? What about the ones where I'm ladylike and things?"
"I never heard those." Loki's tone was teasing and she couldn't help but smile.
"Well, there was…" Darcy searched her memory for a time when she wasn't acting stupidly sure of herself, or just downright stupid. "The wedding!"
She jumped up in the air and Loki looked alarmed.
"I was on my best behaviour at the wedding." She pointed at him.
"You were inebriated."
"And then poisoned." Darcy countered.
"And now we're here."
"Where is here?" Darcy wondered where this whole Loki thing was going. Was she even in it for the long haul? She didn't really want to think about it. Loki as a boyfriend sounded weird.
"East wing of the palace. Fifteen floors up."
Darcy raised her eyebrows. "You know what I mean."
Loki stood up. "Here is in the calm before the storm. Forseti will attack eventually and we need to be ready."
"So dramatic." Darcy rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant."
When Loki looked at her puzzled, she sighed and gave up. "Eugh. Fine- doesn't matter. Let's go find the others, shall we?"
Loki watched her as she shut the door on him, leaving him standing in the room by himself.
A/N-
I think it's got to the point I need to thank everyone for sticking with me through this even though I don't update every week (or sometimes, every month)… I still feel like I have loads of problems in this story, but I hope it's living up to everyone's expectations (if not, I'm always open to suggestions/evaluation!)
Aaaand that's all folks, until the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed some Darcy/Loki finally- I know I did! More to come next time!