"Aura…Aura…"

The half-elf stirred in her bed, hardly waking. Her eyes somewhat opened to barely see a figure, but she rolled back over anyway. Curling into herself more. Mumbling incoherently.

"Aura…Aura, can you hear me?" the voice crooned.

She roused and looked over her shoulder. Rubbed her eyes. "W-who is it?"

A familiar smile focused into her blurred vision. "Don't you recognize me, even in your slumber?"

Her eyes widened as a broad grin spread across her face. "Loki!"

"Who else would I be? Did you peg me for someone else? I hope not Thor."

"I can't believe you found me. After all this time, you were able to find me."

"Of course I found you. Did you really think Odin could keep you away from me forever?"

"I…I don't know. I kept telling Heimdall to keep you off Midgard so you wouldn't be caught and tortured by the bad guy. I didn't want you to get hurt."

Loki's emerald eyes glittered with their usual flare. "Do you think a simple Midgardian would be able to hurt me? Me?"

She looked away. "I didn't know about that, either. They hurt me, so I may have assumed. But I should've known not to. You're much stronger than I am."

"Strength comes in different forms, love. There are things you're stronger at than I am. You're much more kind, and I could never match the goodness in your heart."

Her hand found the side of his face. He felt so cold, but she didn't question it. She was simply thankful to have her beloved back with her again. Tears brimmed in her joyful eyes. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too. I never once stopped thinking about you. I'm only sorry I couldn't get to you sooner."

"How much time has passed on Asgard?"

"Too much time. Any time passed without you is too long."

Aura smiled. "I've only wanted to be with you."

"You are with me. You're with me right now. I'm not leaving you again. I'm not letting you stay by yourself any longer."

"Do you promise?"

"Of course I promise. You won't have to be without me ever again."

Her eyes fluttered closed. "That's good. I don't want to be without you ever again. I've been so lonely here. There's been so much pain and isolation. I didn't know how much longer I could live like this. Now I don't have to wonder because I don't have to live like this."

Loki smiled. "No, you don't. I'll take you away from here. I'm going to free you. You aren't falling back asleep on me, are you?"

"No, I'm not. Why would I be falling asleep? I'm too happy."

"Well, you keep closing your eyes. Are you tired?"

She snuggled closer to the edge of the bed so she could be closer to him. "Well, you did wake me up from the middle of a deep dream. It's cold in here. It takes me awhile to get functioning again."

"Cold? I haven't noticed any cold."

"Maybe you're not as susceptible to it as I am since you don't have as much fire magic as I do. They used to have it absolutely freezing. My fingers were almost black, and all my skin was blue. I don't know how I survived for so long."

"See? You have strength, too. You just proved it to me. Hopefully to yourself, too. Maybe you got some stubbornness in you, too." He smirked.

She lazily waved a hand. "I don't know that I've ever been stubborn."

"You're stubborn enough to love me when everyone told you not to."

Her eyes found his. "I honestly don't know why it's such a crime for us to love each other. Are we really the ones that are wrong? Is what we feel wrong?"

"No, my love. We are not wrong. Everyone else will always have their own opinions. As long as we feel the same about each other and we promise ourselves to each other, we're perfectly fine."

"I promise myself to you."

"I know you do. Just as I know you promise yourself to me."

"I do."

His defined features crinkled with happiness as he leaned closer. "And I do, too."

She traced an invisible pattern along his arm. "Where are we going to go?"

"Wherever you would like to go, my dear. Anywhere in the Nine Realms. Anywhere at all. So where do you want to go the most?"

"Anywhere away from here. But I've been thinking about it. We know I'm partially light elf, so I would like to go to Alfheim. Queen Frigga has described it to me before, and it sounds like such a beautiful place."

"You will love it there. It's almost as beautiful as you."

Her exhausted self couldn't contain a giggle. "You've been there?"

"Of course I've been there. I've been everywhere you can imagine looking for you. And you can believe me when I say I've never seen as gorgeous of a being as you."

She continued giggling as her cheeks turned bright red. "Loki, please. You're embarrassing me. You can't possibly mean that."

"Why wouldn't I mean it? I love you, don't I? Of course you're the most beautiful creature to me. Even if you don't see you're beauty, I see it, and I think that ought to mean something."

"Well, I think you're the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"Even more handsome than Thor?"

"Always more handsome than Thor. He's not my type, anyway."

His tone grew mischievous. "Oh, now you have a type, do you?"

"Yes. And it's you. It's always been you. Even when I would see you walking through the halls as we were children. It's always been you."

"And it's always been you for me, too."

Aura sighed with contentment. "So we're going to Alfheim?"

"If that's what you wish."

"I think so. Will we have Heimdall take us there? I know he didn't want to banish me to begin with. Do you think he would be okay with sending us there?"

"I don't think Heimdall will have a problem. I know he feels sorry for what he's done, but he was just following orders. It's not his fault."

"I know. I just wanted to get your opinion on it. You know more than I do when it comes to such matters."

One of his black brows rose. "Why do you think I'm better than you at so many things? We're equals in this relationship, love. You're not my servant; I'm not your master. Neither of us is better than the other. We're equally as good at everything. That's what makes us such a great pair."

"Okay. That makes sense. I believe you."

"Good. How about we leave now, okay? I want to get you out of this place. You've been here far too long. You've been gone too long. I want you with me. Let's get you to your feet, okay? Unless you're going to fall asleep on me again."

Her nose scrunched. "I'm not going to fall asleep again. I think I'm okay." She wriggled her toes. "Yes, I can feel my feet. I think I can stand."

Loki rose and backed up a couple steps to give her room. "That's fantastic, love. Come on. Let's go to Alfheim together."

Aura swung her feet to the floor. Pushed herself up. Looking up, she smiled when she saw her beloved holding out a hand. Taking it, she could only beam. She was free now. Loki had come, and he was going to free her.

"Come on. Let's go to Alfheim together."

She nodded. Looked back at her room. She wouldn't have to stay here any longer. She was free.

"Come on, love."

Her vision returned forward. Loki had let go of her hand and was already at the door. She couldn't help but skip with glee as she followed him to the door. Now she wouldn't have to be cold any—

Bang!

Aura bounced off the metal door and stumbled back a few steps. Tears swelled in her eyes, sharp pain resonating through her face. Blinking a few times, she looked at the door. Felt something warm on her upper lip. She brought a finger to her nose and pulled it away. Blood.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the red liquid. What had just happened? She was about to be free. She was about to be with Loki for the rest of their lives.

Loki….

She snapped her gaze back to the door. No…no, no, no, no. "No." She went to the door and felt along all the seams. "No. No!" Banged on it a couple times. This couldn't be real. This door was fake. This was all fake. It had to all be fake.

Where was Loki? Loki was right here. He was just there, waiting for her. He was right there. Where could he have gone? There was nowhere to go but out.

"Loki," she cried. Smacked her open palm on the frigid obstruction over and over. "Loki, I'm in here. Please. Please don't go to Alfheim without me. We're supposed to go together. Don't leave me in here. You promised you weren't going to leave me. You promised."

Her chest heaved up and down with rapid breaths, her fears of being abandoned realized. She whirled around and searched the room. Just the bed and desk with its small chair. Where was he? Where did he go? He was right here.

She had felt him. She felt the touch of her fingers against his skin. He was right there.

Quickly sliding to hands and knees, she checked under the bed. Then the desk. Sweat formed around her neck and underneath her arms, despite the cold temperatures. Did he leave her? Where did he go?

"Loki…Loki, where are you? I need you. I need you to come back to me. Please don't leave me alone. You must come back. Please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone anymore."

She hugged her chest. Her lungs ached because she breathed too fast, and she couldn't get enough of the thin air in her. Her longing gaze returned to the door. But it was just the door. Her beloved wasn't waiting by it anymore. Where? Where did he go? There was no possible way he left without her.

Aura's eyes moved back and forth across the cement floor. Using the cracks and gaps to map her thoughts. Played what she just remembered experiencing. She had been asleep. That's when she heard him call her name. He was there. He talked to her, smiled at her. He was right there. He had disturbed her from a dream where she had been—

Everything in her came to a screeching halt. Except for her chest. She only breathed faster while realization sunk in. Her large eyes stared blankly at the dull floor.

It had been a dream. Everything she thought had passed moments before had been a dream. A-a hallucination. She mouthed the word "hallucination." Allowed it to sit in her mind and dictate itself.

Hallucination.

Her legs slid out from under her, and she fell on the side of her hip. Keeping her torso up with one arm. The other hand covered her mouth. She had perceived the whole thing. It was her desperate brain's fruition. Nothing had been real. Her Loki wasn't tangible.

He was…he was an illusion.

Trembling overcame her. Her supporting arm visibly shaking. How long had she been alone? How long ago had Director Fury come seen her? She hadn't been keeping track of the days. She wasn't even allowed to see the face of the guard who escorted her to the bathroom across the hall. Nor whoever slid her trays of food through a slot that opened at the bottom of the door.

The door. That big metal obstacle. It was the only thing blocking her from the outside world. Keeping her from human interaction. Keeping her from being free. It was her chain.

She couldn't control herself any longer. Dropping fully to the ground, she retracted into a fetal position. Tears freely falling and leaving iced trails down her face. Her silent cries turned into fully audible sobs as she hugged as much of herself as she could.

"I don't want to be alone anymore. Don't leave me here. Don't let me go. I don't want to be let go. Don't leave me alone. Please don't let me go…."

Her delicate form shook more than ever. She didn't know what to do. Didn't know how to process the delusion her mind had created to fill the void of her isolation. In all her years of servitude and abandonment, she had never experienced this before.

She was losing it.

That's what it was, wasn't it? She was lost. Her heart and soul, her mind was lost. Everything that made her who she was, was lost. All of it. Gone. She wasn't Aura, the Asgardian palace servant who loved Loki anymore. She wasn't even on Asgard. Hadn't been for an amount of time she couldn't even comprehend. She wasn't working in the palace; she didn't even have any serving duties here.

And she didn't have Loki. Most importantly, she didn't have Loki. He didn't know where she was. Didn't know where Odin had banished her to. There was no way he could find her when she was underground in a base she was sure hid itself all too well. He couldn't find her, couldn't get to her.

She was lost. And she didn't think she would ever be found.