Author's Note:
Excuse any typos. Read and enjoy! Don't forget to review!
Chapter Seven
Loki braced himself for the momentary pain that pierced his lips before blessed numbness took over as he took his stance on the pedestal. He clasped his hands behind his back, staring blindly ahead.
He never made the same mistake twice.
His punishment for going against Odin's will. He would not make that mistake again and forget where his place should have been. The pain had reminded exactly of who he was and where he should have been in that moment...here. Here, where he had solemnly agreed to the Sewn Thread.
But how could he have forgotten something so valuable?
The question was one that demanded an answer.
Darcy Lewis.
Sigyn.
How dare she think to know him? She knew nothing of his life. She knew nothing of the trials he had faced. History may have been written in her world, but there was myth to every fact. She thought to challenge him and go without procussions? He scoffed at the idea.
She was...a distraction. A willing intrigue.
Because of her he had forgotten a thing most vital to his survival and the Silencing Thread had nearly cost him his freedom.
Looking around the lush garden, he almost expected to hear Darcy's voice after having heard it for so many days on end. But more than that, he expected to find the Odin father watching him again.
But he was alone.
What had He thought when he'd seen his "son" so entangled with a mortal? Did he think he was becoming like Thor? He had no such misgravings. He was Loki, the God of Mischief and Lies. A trickster. But Odin had seen weakness and Loki couldn't...he hated weakness. Odin and Darcy had witnessed his pain, which in itself, was weakness. And it had been Darcy who had helped him.
Odin would have watched from afar needless of the fact that his "son" would have died if he hadn't reached that damned pedestal.
A muscle in his cheek throbbed.
He would have smiled.
He'd broken not one, but two rules last night. Rules were made for a reason, not to be broken. The first was when he'd left Asgard. He was bound here. He couldn't leave without clearance. Fools. He could do as he wished. He'd been doing so since the moment he was born. Let them think he hid himself away when the Silencing Thread released him.
Rules be damned.
The second rule was Sigyn. He'd broken a very revered and costly rule. He'd formed an Immortal Bond. The Bond wasn't a bond as in the sense of connecting with someone permanently.
He'd turned a mortal Immortal.
If he hadn't already broken every law in Asgard, he had now.
Only Odin could make a decision that could have such a powerful impact on Asgard. He snickered at the thought. He'd made the decision himself to bestow enough of his power into Darcy to give her a taste of immortality. Just as suddenly, he'd taken it away.
Oh, how he wished he could have smiled against the Thread.
The thought had been spontaneous. There was no reason as to why he had done it, other than the fact that he had wanted to and could. She was bothersome.
His chest moved as he breathed, wondering at his reason. His ears pricked at the sound of a door opening. The footsteps were familiar.
His dear father, he thought bitterly.
There it was again. A bitterness that crept up, reminding him of days past. Even Sigyn saw past the darkness that crept up. Even now, after he sought forgiveness, he was still seen as second best. No one saw him. No one pushed him. Not Father, not even Thor. Bitterness. It was a sour taste in his mouth. This was still Odin's way of keeping him pushed far back. Out of the way.
Was he wrong to want to be seen? To be heard? He didn't carry light like Thor did. He didn't have an over-whelming sense to follow good. He was dark. He was twisted. But that was what he was. He was Loki.
No one saw that. But she did. She pushed him. She wasn't afraid. She-
"Why?"
He lowered his gaze downward, staring his father down. Two guards flanked him, awaiting his command. Loki lifted an eyebrow in quiry. The Silencing Thread tightened abruptly, signaling his release before the black threads vanished. His hands shifted before falling forward and then clasping them in front.
"Why what?" Loki asked in return. He wasn't a fool. There was a reason why the Odin-Father was here. But he already knew the answer.
"Did you think I wouldn't know, Loki?" Odin said, his voice weary.
"The ever watchful eye of Heimdal...he is useful, isn't he?" Loki added, his tone calm. But the mockery was clear. "There are paths that not even Heimdals watchful eye can travel." Did they really think that the path that he and Thor had used once-outside of the Bi-frost-was the only way to Midgard? There were many and he knew of every one.
"There is bitterness in you, Loki. You are falling back."
Loki gave a soft laugh. "Bitterness, father? You know so well of bitterness, don't you?" He stepped down from the pedestal. "I have no plans of slavery, father, if that is your fear." He nearly sneered the words out. He was suddenly angry, though he didn't know why.
"No, but you have other plans."
"And what plans do I have?" He had no such plans. He was cunning and conniving.
Burning pain pierced his lips as the black thread weaved through his lips again, one stitch at a time. He staggered and then sank to his knees, one hand faltering at his lips and the blood that oozed around each thread. He lifted his head, staring at the All-Father with accusing eyes.
"Why would you grant immortality to a mortal, no matter how brief? Why, Loki?"
Odin didn't sound enraged. He sounded rather sad, but accusing. His tone said what his words did not. That was why Odin was here. That reason alone. Loki actually laughed. The thread tightened at the vibration, but he laughed. Odin felt threatened? By Darcy? He would have laughed again but the thread prevented it and his eyes clenched shut.
The pained amusement was clear. Odin feared the thought of Darcy becoming a Goddess? The fool! He feared she would wreak havoc on all of Asgard? Or the fact that Darcy was of Midgard? Oh, the irony. So this was his punishment. Again. Odin was here because of that split moment when he'd given Darcy immortality.
He'd known how revered a rule that was, but he'd done so anyways. He'd done so willingly with no regrets. But this, this was priceless.
He forced his eyes open and felt the warm wetness of his own blood dripping, staining the back of his hand.
"There is always punishment, Loki. For every rule broken, for every misgrieving." Odin murmured.
For every rule broken, there was always a price to pay.
Odin grasped Loki around the forearm and lifted him to his feet. Loki would have stumbled if not for the All-Fathers firm grasp. The Silencing Thread kept his retorts at bay, each step a painful reminder. Odin dragged him forward a step and then they were moving through time and space before they stepped out into a clearing surrounded by boulders.
Odin's hand at his shoulder forced him to his knees and then his hands were strewn out and forward by a heavy chain that was stretched six feet.
Odin looked almost sorrowful. What, did his father actually not want to punish him? He waved his hand and the Silencing Thread left his lips bare.
"For your crime, Loki." And then, "Forgive me."
Loki had known that in time every rule he broke would be brought to light. But Odin was offended at one and one only.
He lifted his head and saw the Goddess Skadi.
Why? There was nothing more he hated than being forced into submission. What was his punishment that could possibly involve Skadi? When she lifted her hand high above her head the hairs at the nape of his neck stood on end. Something slithered. Hissed. He could hear the way the heavy body moved, the way it slithered along the boulders...making its way.
Loki recognized the beast for what it was and as he sat there, restrained to his knees, the massive snake head came to a stop high above his head. Its mouth opened, dagger like teeth pointing downward. It didn't strike, just stayed posed above him, jaws spread wide.
A single drop of venom fell.
Loki hissed out when the venom landed on his cheek. The small drop of venom burned like acid, smoke rising. Just that, a single drop. His skin started to heal instantly; and another drop fell in its place.
Your reviews mean the world to me!
Author's Note:
In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, the Goddess Skadi is responsible for placing a serpent above Loki while he is bound. For reasons, of course.