A bystander, away from the centre of the capital of Asgard and all of its fuss, would have been sickened by the animalistic roars and cries the crowd was capable of forwarding towards the fallen prince of Asgard.

It was as though they had not an ounce of pity or sympathy for the man in chains in the circular yard. For them, it was a sport that they were entitled to, for this being had done wrong in the past and he ought to pay for it. They were correct, to some extent, but none had the humanity enough to let silence judge and punish.

Loki was dragged out in silver chains. Each chain wound around his hand was attached to two rolling wagons, which trundled beside him as he was taken forward. The chains weren't golden ones, like he had been in before, but silver - silver meant one more chance. Then, he was going to be cast aside for all eternity.

Perhaps only Jeehl watched with his lips pressed together in a pale frown, for he had not a heart of stone, and he had seen this man shatter as his love was torn from him. Now, its effects were more visible than ever.

Loki's hair was streaked with white. He was visibly older, with creases around his eyes and mouth. His hands did not stop trembling, even though his face betrayed nothing but an uncanny sense of calm as he stared emptily at the marble floor. He was clothed, this time, making him seem larger than he was, but when the wind blew at him it revealed his lean form; the body of someone who had thinned too quickly for it to be good.

He looked up when the horn sounded, feeling its sound shudder through his mind, then fixed his eyes upon the platform above the court. On the people he used to call family.

He could make out their faces vaguely. The image of Frigga hurt whatever it was that was left within the left side of his chest, as did the one of Thor. He met Odin's gaze, however, with none of his usual slivers of guilt and uneasiness - now, he did not care an ounce. He listened carelessly as he rose and spoke.

"Loki Odinson." Odin called, leaning against his staff, his eyes like thunder as he studied him. "You are brought here for me to hear what you have to say once more, before your punishment is carried out. However…"

Here Odin raised a hand for the crowd to quieten down. The guards stationed around the circular court glared at the bystanders, raising their weapons threateningly, before silence was established.

"Consider your words carefully. They may change the course of your future."

Loki did not say anything for a very long time, giving the impression of no previous knowledge of the punishment he was about to receive, and so Odin spoke again.

"You will be encased in gold, unable to move or breathe, although you will be conscious. You will be placed as a statue in the middle of this town, so all will be aware what fate awaits those who cast away honour. Now, speak."

Loki's eyes grew sharper. He noticed that Frigga had turned away, unable to bear the thought of him suffering. Thor's eyes, far away, looked pained as he ever saw them. Loki gave a sad smile in their direction, then turned his face towards Odin.

"Allfather, I have nothing to say." He muttered, knowing he would be heard. "Nothing, but a plea. A last plea. One little plea."

Odin said nothing, although his eyes narrowed. Loki breathed a shaky sigh, then exhaled, his voice and face steadying completely. He was deathly calm when he looked up again.

"Odin. Odin-"

Here, a guard cast a whip against him for saying the Allfather's name, bloodying his cheek, but he didn't even flinch.

"Odin. The one whom I used to give the name of father." He didn't move, although the left side of his face now dripped. "If you loved me, even for a day… An hour, a second, it doesn't matter. If you ever truly thought of me as Son…"

He smiled at his own words, as though reminiscing a better time, a long, long time ago.

"Then give me what I most desire, I beg you on my knees."

Loki Laufeyson's smile dwindled into nothing, like a sandcastle smothered by a breeze.

Odin raised a hand for the guards to stand down. They lowered their whips.

"Speak your plea."

Loki opened his mouth, something of a smile of hope lifting the corners of his lips.

"Death, Allfather." He whispered, relishing the name. "Tell her to come and take me. To end my suffering. I appeal to your mercy. As one who used to be called son. By you."

There was an outraged cry from the crowd, but, again, Odin raised his hand for silence, for Loki had not finished.

"Be it in the most painful of ways, if that is what is called for, but let it be quick and end in death. I wish for nothing more. I will leave in peace. Please."

Frigga swayed upon the platform - Thor caught her and hugged her close. He couldn't meet his eyes. The crowd began to roar again, calling for him to suffer, for him to pay; throwing things at him with shrill cries of rage. Still, he did not move, nor weep. His face was the one of a man who had enough patience for Death to come and take him.

After what seemed like an hour, Odin leaned heavily on his staff, looked into his eyes, then nodded.

"I have heard you. You will have your way, Loki Odinson. Captain."

A tall fellow in golden, sleek armour and an eyepatch stepped forward and knelt with his fist upon his breast.

"Three arrows." Odin called. "The gateway for her to come. Your aim is flawless - carry out the execution."

The crowd roared as the guards began to tug on Loki's silver chains, outstretching his arms, as they tore off his shirt and left him kneeling in the middle of the court with his face empty and peaceful, now.

"Your last words, Loki." Odin called, his gaze heavy and bitter. "Speak them now."

Loki's eyes flickered upwards towards his brother.

Thor swallowed, although he did not turn away. He nodded to him firmly, tears streaming down his face, then bowed his head.

Loki smiled. He hoped it was a reassuring smile. A smile that said: Thank you, brother. I did love you, even though I did not tell you, then.

Thor caught it. Only his mother sobbing into his chest kept him from breaking down completely and rushing down from the platform in a mad attempt to keep the arrows from him.

"I have spoken." Loki muttered, then let his head slump and his consciousness drift away from the present, a strange peace coming over him at the thought of the possibility of seeing his beloved once again.

Believe it or not - there are sheds in Asgard.

They were built of white stone, propped up by chestnut wood and looked like a house you would see in a historical village, somewhere, but they were sheds nevertheless. They served as storage rooms and, occasionally, love rooms for the servants of the houses of Asgard when they wanted to confess to one another away from prying eyes. How these confessions took place is not important.

Henrietta emerged in such a shed, coughing and panting, for it had felt as though she had travelled half the universe in the space of a second, which she had. She rose, looking around, then gave a sigh of relief, for the door opened and in came a young man, about her age, carrying some wood.

"Hello? Sorry to bother you." She said, as he froze, looking her up and down. "Do you know anything about where Loki of Asgard is being kept?"

She grew rather impatient when the man didn't answer.

"Please." She wrung her hands. "Where is he?"

The man frowned, then shrugged.

"Kept? I don't know." He said. "All I know is that my master left with his wife to watch the execution-"

"Execution?"

"Yes, execution. Punishment. Whatever you want to call it."

Hattie felt her breath shortening and pressed both hands to her mouth, collapsing on a wooden crate. The man dropped the wood and knelt beside her, uneasiness in his gaze.

"Are you alright? Should I fetch Nannerl? She's our medic."

"No, no." She breathed, rising again. "I need to get to that execution as soon as possible. Please. Can you tell me where it is?"

"Well, we're not too far. If you run, you might catch it."

It was beyond him why she was so desperate to catch the punishment of the fallen prince, but servants were told not to ask questions, and that was what he kept to.

"Follow me." He said to her, then turned and jogged out of the shed.

Hattie was too preoccupied with keeping her breath steady and following the servant to notice the splendour of the capital of Asgard; the golden foundations, the reds, greens and gold that adorned the flags and rooftops of the white, gleaming houses.

They tore through the streets, Hattie's panic urging the servant on, so that they collided with peasants that had stayed behind, for they had work to do. Thankfully, the streets were rather empty. Hattie was growing out of breath, but still she powered on, something urging her to hurry, before it was too late.

The Captain stepped forward, his crossbow loaded, his eye trained on Loki's torso. He blocked out all the sound of the crowd, then clicked the lever…

Fwip!

The roar of the crowd drowned out Loki's cry. His brow creased up, his face twisted, a searing pain in his right shoulder, for the arrow had been buried dismally deep. His breath quickened as he moaned, but still, he did not see, for his mind was elsewhere, although he felt the pain.

Frigga collapsed upon her throne and buried her face in her hands. Odin dropped his gaze. Thor was roaring with the crowd, but in defiance, rage, his teeth gleaming in a snarl, his fists tight upon Mjolnir as Loki clenched his teeth below him, fighting with himself to stay upon the platform. Still, Loki did not weep.

"One!" Someone called. The Captain loaded another arrow into the crossbow, pulling the string taut, then raised the weapon to his face, finding the lever with his finger.

Henrietta began to hear the crowd before she could see it. They jostled with one another, pumping their fists into the air, some still in their palanquins, leaning out of the windows.

The servant paused some distance away from the jostling gathering, but Henrietta ran on, diving beneath arms, pushing between couples, tripping, then rising again, her dress ripping, her heart in her mouth, her pupils constricted, too feverish to cry.

The Captain narrowed his eye, pulled back his shoulder and flicked the lever.

Fwip!

Blood - red blood - leaked down Loki's torso, sweat stood out on his forehead as he cried out. His head was thrown forward from the impact. He ground his teeth together. He squeezed his eyes shut, his muscles stiffened, although that helped nothing - his hands were useless. Pain seared through his nervous system, sending him jerking as he swayed.

"Two!"

The crowd roared, calling for the Captain to hurry, to give them a treat, to clear their land from the blemish the fallen prince had become.

The Captain, however, did not rush. His face was set and grim as he took the last arrow and inserted it into the crossbow, pausing. His eye caught Jeehl's, who watched him with placid sorrow, then flickered back to his crossbow.

The string was tightened. The arrow was pulled back. It was loaded.

The Captain raised it to his cheekbone, his hands steady and firm. Odin looked away. Frigga trembled. Thor roared on, cracking the handle of Mjolnir.

"Three!"

He narrowed his eye. His finger contracted, pulling the lever-

"NO, PLEASE, NO!"

Henrietta Knott broke through the circle of the crowd, falling to her knees inside the marble court. She scrambled up, her hair unravelled, flying behind her in an arc as she picked up her skirts and fell again.

A stunned silence settled over the crowd. Thor cast Mjolnir aside, shock etched into his face. Odin surveyed, as stunned as the silence. Frigga dared look up.

Henrietta got to her feet in a frenzy, then threw herself in Loki's direction, calling his name, her name, telling him it was a trick, that she was alive, to look at her, look at her.

But Loki did not hear her, lost within his mind, and she could not reach him - there was an invisible barrier around him, an agonising ten metres, preventing her from touching him.

She hammered on the barrier, but she was pushed away by its force. The guards came forward, raising their whips - the Captain's finger jumped.

Fwip!

She turned as the arrow sped. It cut cleanly through the air, flawlessly aimed, cruelly glinting as it spun, nearing the barrier within unmeasurable time with pinpoint precision…

It stopped and hovered inches away from her temple, for Odin had raised his hand and commanded it to do so.

The guard that clutched Henrietta's shoulder made to bring down the whip, but he was pushed back by Jeehl the fair-haired, who had tears running down his pale face.

"Don't touch her, don't." He hissed, pointing at the other guard. "On guard!"

The guards backed away, leaving Henrietta free to scramble back up and turn, hammering on the barrier.

"Loki! Loki, I'm not dead, can you hear me? Please! You said that you would listen! LOKI ODINSON!"

And Loki heard his name. He blinked, his chest moving up and down, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, then raised his head. His eyes sharpened, flickered upwards, then stopped, widening, as he set eyes upon her.

Complete silence settled over the court. Thor stayed where he was, restrained by Odin's word.

Loki struggled to his feet, his breath quickening, his eyes roving over every detail of her, as though he couldn't believe she was real.

Henrietta, he mouthed, Hattie?

"It's me. I'm not dead." She called, tears streaming down her face. "It was Ahlan's trick. He played with you, to kill you. I had no choice!"

He didn't seem to react. He kept mouthing her name, his head shaking slowly from side to side.

"It's not your mind. I'm real. Look!"

She banged on the barrier, distorting the atmosphere, then nodded and sent him a smile.

"See? I'm not dead. Not an illusion."

A thousand mouths dropped open, then. Loki rose to his feet and threw himself forward, pulling his chains forward, his veins standing out like drawn, blood clogging up his speech as he yelled.

There was a flash of green and black, then gold, as the two huge wagons moved with a groan, pulled forward by his arms, as he roared with pain and anguish, as his wounds deepened, as his skin faded from white, to blue and back again, as his eyes blackened with the force.

"HENRIETTA! HATTIE, DO NOT MOVE!"

His face screwed up as he fell upon his knees, as his chains loosened, propelling the wagons forward, as he scrambled upwards, crying out, agony in every crease.

"Hattie, Hattie, don't go away! Stay there… solid… Don't recede-!"

Loki's legs gave way. He gave a sob. Tears dripped down his face. Black, at first, then dirtied, then pure as silver, running down his skin as strength left him, as he collapsed forward, still dragging himself onwards towards her, his mind torn beyond repair.

"I'm coming. Wait. I'm coming!"

Hattie banged on the barrier, then leaped forward, for it was no longer there; she ran, throwing herself beside him, and pulled him into an embrace.

"Hattie…" he cried, unable to move, gasping, "I am… Hattie… I love you."

He wouldn't stop calling her name, crying that he loved her, for her to stay, for her not to crumble into nothingness as she had before, that he was sorry, that he does not wish to die, that he wishes to go back, that he'll wait for her as she asked, that she is everything to him.

"I know, Loki, I know." She murmured, running down a hand down his hair. "I won't let go, never, don't worry so."

Thor had sunk to his knees and buried his face in his palm, weeping. Frigga stood, clutching Odin's arm, tasting tears as she smiled at the scene, knowing she had been right. Odin surveyed the scene with a frown, thinking.

After a long pause, he gave the order to take his son away to the infirmary, for the highest order medics to attend to him immediately. It was done so, the two figures transported to the building with a flash. The crowd was dispelled. Thor tore off into the direction of the infirmary.

The trial and execution were over.

"We've done all we can do. The rest is up to higher powers."

Henrietta sat beside Loki's bed. He had been moved from the infirmary straight to his old chambers, to his bedroom. The room was beautiful, painted green and gold, flowers blooming on the sills, ivy creeping in through the windows and enveloping the walls as though peeking in to see whether he had returned.

Henrietta stopped tracing his face with her eyes and looked up at the medic.

"The rest?"

"His mind is shattered, lady Knott." The man said, his eyes wise and sad. "There's nothing we can do about it."

"Is it really that bad?"

The man bowed over Loki's sleeping form, turning his chin this way and that. He muttered something intelligible in his sleep.

"I'll be surprised if he can talk once he wakes up." He murmured, letting him go and straightening. "It appears he had been affected for a very long time. If it had been known sooner… perhaps something could have been done."

Hattie buried her face in her hands. She felt the healer's hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, lady Knott. Truly."

She nodded and attempted to smile. The healer bowed his head and left, leaving them in silence, but not for long, because the door was thrown open and in strode Thor Odinson, looking shaken.

"Henrietta!" He cried, tearing out his beard. "What in hell is going on?"

He had her in an embrace before she could recollect herself.

"Sorry, Thor, sorry… ow, you're hurting…"

He let go of her instantly and placed her back down on the chair.

"Forgive me. I just… I can't believe any of this. I can't believe both of you are alive…!"

Thor slumped on a chair, making it groan under his weight, then buried his face in his hands and wept.

"Can't we have just a second of peace in this realm?" He snivelled, wiping his face. "Is it too much to ask for?"

Hattie lay a hand on his shoulder.

"That's what it looks like." She murmured, then turned back to Loki. "I suppose a miracle is too much to ask for as well."

Thor wiped his nose and stood, frowning, looking down at his brother.

"I could kill him for keeping this to himself." He muttered, patting his head with a softened expression. "Damn this whole fate thing. I don't care about balance. I'll kill if I have to, to get him back."

"You'll do no such thing, son…"

Both of them turned. Thor bowed his head; Henrietta stood, unsure what to do, for Odin stood before them.

"Not if I can help it."

Odin looked down at Loki lying still upon the bed, then at Henrietta, who averted her eyes and bowed her head. A strange twinkle had lightened his expression minutely, although they could all see the chasms of wisdom engraved upon his face.

"Thor, leave us, please."

"Yes, Father."

The door shut behind him as he left, casting a backward glance at Hattie and Loki. Odin frowned, surveying them.

"So you came back from the dead to save him, Henrietta."

Hattie bowed her head again.

"I was never dead, my lord. It had been a trick."

"A trick that outwitted even the god of trickery. I suppose he must have been blinded by love to fall for it."

She said nothing, picking at her fingers.

"Don't look so skittish, child. Sit. Sit beside your husband."

Hattie froze at those words, lowering her hands. She looked up at Odin, searching his face; he nodded.

"You heard me correctly. Your souls have been bound. Loki has given me his permission to do so a few seconds ago, although he will only know of it once he wakes up."

Henrietta sank into the chair, her face falling.

"My Lord… the healer said his mind is… Well…"

"Shattered." Odin said, grimly. "It is. It just requires someone capable of putting the pieces back together, and thankfully, that person is here."

"How long will it take?" She breathed, hardly daring to believe it. "Will he be able to function normally, as though he did before he was…"

"Yes, he will. However, it requires for you to be sent back home. Your presence in the same dimension may have a negative effect on its reconstruction."

Hattie felt herself torn - she wanted to be with him, and yet, she had to leave him so that he could function normally. There was no doubt, however, about what she was going to do.

"How long, Allfather, how long?"

"That is to be determined. Patience, Henrietta. You have had a lot, especially with this character."

Loki breathed a shaky sigh in his sleep. Hattie shut her eyes tight, her lip trembling. Odin managed a shadow of a smile.

"Have a little more."