A/N Dear Readers, Thank you so much for your follows, favorites and reviews! :D Your enthusiasm toward this story got me inspired me to write this chapter. I Couldn't let my wonderful readers down. Because of you all, all my stories collectively have reached 200 reviews! WOOHHOO! YOU GUYS ROCK! I appreciate so much each and every comment that you all given and I cherish them. Knowinf that you all have enjoyed the story is truly a joy! THIS CHAPTER IS FOR YOU ALL! Happy reads and writes. And Happy Thanksgiving as well. God Bless!
Sigyn nodded resolutely to herself as she determined to go back and do as she told the queen she would. She had promised the queen of Asgard that she would tend to her very ill son. Queen Frigga had been so kind to her in the centuries past since Loki had annulled their betrothal. She had to keep her word. Besides she couldn't leave Loki down there in the dungeon in torment, blind and confused. He needed someone. He needed her.
She swung her feet out from under the warm covers of the bed and pressed them toward the floor while taking deep breaths. Sigyn bought her pink painted fingertips under her long wet blonde eyelashes to flick away a tear. She pushed off the bed rubbing her hands together nervously as she determined to go back down to the depths of the dungeon beneath palace. With a few more calming inhalations she started to walk back across the room, she picked up her cape. She'd need it as frigid as it was in Loki's cell. She stooped down to pick up the scarlet overcoat and watched as a scroll tumbled out. A fancy, shiny looking as if newly pressed piece of rolled up papyrus, sealed with a seal of made of sterling silver and glittering sapphire gems. Lady Dagmar Audricdottir's scroll. The one she'd snatched from Lady Dagmar's treasure chest that night just before the extraction when she lingered too long in the Vanir noblewoman's chamber. All the other letters were old, the stationary well-worn and signed with Prince Loki's seal, but this one had been in mint condition as if it had never been opened, it had a clasp that decorated with Lady Dagmar's colors, a silver clamp beset with sparkling sapphires. She gasped. She'd meant to return it, but for some reason she hadn't. Now she couldn't Lady Dagmar had not left her room since the extraction, apparently too ill too even get out bed. There was no way Sigyn could slip the scroll back into Lady Dagmar's treasure chest without Dagmar being present. Sigyn traced her tanned finger over the pattern on the clasp. She bit at her rosy colored lips as her busy body hands fingered at the clasp attempting to pry it open the scroll. She stopped herself, pushing her hands down by her side. Her palms felt moist. She knew it was wrong to take it. She had never been known as a thief; she'd been called a simpleton and some had called her a whore, but no one had ever labeled her as a thief, still she'd been called a gossip. She'd always been a sucker for a juicy bit of gossip and she'd always known how to snoop out people's secrets. She'd taken great pride in spreading other people's secrets until the day when she'd become the one who court women stood behind columns and whispered about. But some old habits died hard and the untouched scroll had been too much of a temptation for her.
This was a private letter from Lady Dagmar to Loki. It was none of her concern. She should just give it to one of Dagmar's handmaidens, Sigyn told herself as her amber eyes rolled over the scroll. Even if they were suspicious about how she had gotten hold of the correspondence at least she'd not actually be guilty of reading the woman's letters. She'd never known Lady Dagmar to be cruel. Actually, she'd never known anyone to say any unflattering remark about Dagmar. Sigyn couldn't help but grimace with heartache as she thought of the way Loki would swoon and fawn over the Vanir maiden when she'd enter to the room. Even when She was standing right next to him, hanging on his arm, his eyes would look with puppy-dog infatuation at the raven haired enchantress. That thought made her want to open the sealed scroll even more. Just to know one little secret about the most virtuous daughter of the Prime Minister of Vanahiem was in some ways worth the risk of punishment. No. She shouldn't, she scolded herself, literally twisting her face and scrunching up her features trying to push the parchment and its glistening seal from her visage, but somehow she found herself drawn to unlocking the scroll.
The seal couldn't be merely pried off of the parchment scroll, through. It was stuck. Locked on. Sigyn strained gritting her teeth as she tugged at the bejeweled metal clasp. Perhaps it was sealed with some enchantment? Perhaps she wasn't meant to know what was written on the scroll. In frustration she flung the scroll across the room, it hit her mantle just over her slowly dying fire-place. It shattered.
The piece of silver snapped and the sapphires went scattering around the basin of the fire place. Lady Sigyn gasped. "No, no, no" she muttered nervously. She balled her hands up into fist and looked around nervously as if she thought Lady Dagmar would walk in at that very moment and catch her red-handed. Sigyn rushed over to the shattered clasp. She started to quickly pick up the piece. Perhaps tomorrow she could go to the forgery or maybe she could go into town and stop by the jewelers to get it fixed. Carefully she picked up every delicate sapphire that was within sight and gathered them in her trembling hand. "I shouldn't have taken this, oh dear," Sigyn muttered miserably with worry still collecting the precious stones off of her floor. Sigyn turned around perusing the surrounding ground on last time to check for any silver bits on any another shiny blue gems, as she turned her amber eyes fell upon the unraveled scroll. Sigyn reached for it out of impulse, once her fingers grazed the smooth parchment she retracted her hand. No. She told herself sternly, scolding herself mentally as she remembered her mother scolding her when she took one too many helpings of sweet cakes as a girl. She would refrain. She would refrain. "I will refrain," Sigyn muttered to herself as she closed her eyes and started to roll the letter back up. She was almost to the top when reflexively her big honey-colored eyes opened and she caught the greeting at the top of the letter, it was written in breathtaking calligraphy. The style was flamboyant and embellished. It was written in rare golden ink. Very expensive. Most did not even have access to such. Used only for the most official of royal documents. Sigyn imagined that since Dagmar was the daughter of Vanahiem's Prime Minister she had access to such. Sigyn took a deep breath before she allowed her eyes to read the words "To My Dearest Loki,"
Sigyn's eyes scanned down to the end of the scroll where she found a calligraphy drawn heart and inside of it, pressed the imprint of Dagmar's pomegranate lips. The blonde haired maiden dropped the scroll as if it burned her. She didn't even bother to roll it up as she felt hot tears start to run down her tanned cheeks. She sniffled and quickly began to wipe at her leaking eyes. The words on the page bore deep into her heart and nearly smothered it. She stooped down rolling up the scroll and bringing it close to her heart. Part of her wished she'd never read that letter, she wanted to burn it and never let it see the light of day. She marched over her fireplace, the flames were just starting to die, but this scintillating note would serve as kindling. She raised her bronzed arm ready to hurl the love letter into the flame and let it burn to ash, then no one would ever, then she could try to forget. Then she thought of something else, maybe she should go and tell everyone... tell all about Lady Dagmar and Loki and everything. After all she deserved it, Sigyn's name had been scandalized. The blonde-haired lady couldn't do it. She knew the pain of court when ones dirty laundry was aired. At least Dagmar would be able to escape to the hills of Vanaheim, but Sigyn had nowhere to flee to, to hide her guilt and shame. She looked down at the scroll once more, she couldn't tell. She'd keep it. For the right moment. She folded the scroll back into her drawer. Before exiting her own pretty pink chamber.
Knock! Knock! Knock! A warm tanned hand tapped upon a door in the hallway of the Upper Eastern Wing of the palace. The place reserved for the apartments of nobles. Knock! Knock! Knock! Fist continued to pound. "Yes! Yes! Just one moment please," A tired and frail sounding silver voice called from behind an ivory door as the door continued to be banged upon furiously. "Just a moment, please," the light silvery tone called back once again and coughing could be heard on the opposite side. Finally, the knocker noticed the sound of the knob starting to turn which halted the persistent rapping. "Yes?" a voice questioned as a face appeared. The face was pale looking, dark circles under long dark eyelashes that hid starlit eyes. Her face was without its normal adornment of oils and paints, but despite that fact that her eyes looked weak and her porcelain skin was a shade or two paler if even possible, she still looked pretty as a picture. It made the fair-haired woman standing on the opposite side of the door where the corridor was feel green with envy. "Sigyn?" bleary silver-moon eyes blinked as a slender, china doll light hand slid up to rub at tired eyes. "Good Asgard!" the Vanir noblewoman bawked. "It is not even dawn," she noted as she squinted and looked at the window in the hall trying to detect the first rays of sunlight only, to find that they were not yet in the sky. "What is it?" she asked with great concern, she reached out her delicate porcelain hand and clutched at Lady Sigyn's. Her brilliant gray colored eyes were large and expectant. "Were you able to see, Loki?" Dagmar pressed with urgency, her eye were two trembling, searching silver coins. She watched as Sigyn's expression seemed to flicker and then harden. "How is he?"
Sigyn snatched her tawny hand from the Vanir maiden's clasp. She looked at her with her lips twisting. "How could you!" she questioned indignantly loud for the hour that it was.
Dagmar's beautiful and normal poetically poised face quirked. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour, it was an indecent hour to be up unless your were a town crier or watchman or perhaps a farmer who rises before dawn or yet it could have been her sickness and exhaustion that made her unable to comprehend what on earth dear Sigyn was so distraught about. She didn't know Sigyn very well, but she'd often talked with Loki of her. Loki said that Sigyn was a flighty and jumpy girl, easily distressed. Dagmar had observed some of it, but even this urgency in the middle of the night seemed a bit uncalled for. "I beg your pardon?" Lord Audric's daughter questioned politely as she could.
"How could you?" Sigyn repeated, this time even louder with tears of vexation washing over her beautiful bronzed face. Dagmar continued to stare at the Queen Frigga's Lady-in-Waiting, her entrancing silver eyes batting back at Sigyn in confusion. "How can you offer concern after what you have done? As if you are innocent" the gold eyed handmaiden asked her lip quivering as she attempted to hold her ground."How could you just turn him into that creature?" she hollered.
Lady Dagmar's plump mouth dropped open, her heart began racing and pounding in her ears. "What?" she responded immediately in a voice quieter than nearly shrieking Sigyn.
"How could you perform the Extraction knowing that it would turn him?" Sigyn continued to question furiously. "You knew! You knew!" the golden haired maiden pointed an incriminating finger toward Dagmar's beautiful face as he pomegranate lips pursed "You knew it would turn him into a FROST!" Sigyn started to shriek in horror balling up her fist and stomping a petite with fury.
"Stop," Dagmar ordered bringing her porcelain fingers to cover over Sigyn's "Do you intend to wake the whole floor and confirm suspicions that have been a float for days now," She questioned her voice mere whisper in Sigyn's ear. Dagmar's sweet sterling eyes darted around the hallway. She'd thought she'd heard something, perhaps not. "Come inside," she offered tossing her raven locked head back toward her silver door. It was said in a delicate tone, but Lady Dagmar never allowed her hand to come from Sigyn's pinks mouth. Sigyn had no choice, but to follow the prime minister's daughter as she backed into her bedchamber, guiding Sigyn in as well. She exhaled with relief once they were in the safety of her private chamber. The room was dark aside from the oil lamp that gave off a sweet fragrance but little light. "The rumors are just starting to die down," Dagmar whispered more to herself than to Sigyn as she leaned her back against her door, making sure to close it tight. Sigyn shook her head vigorously trying to break free from the Vanir noblewoman's pale hand that was clamped around her mouth. Despite the fact that Dagmar was off a willowy frame and rather sick she held Sigyn's mouth quite firmly. "You must calm down," Dagmar tried to soothe gently she gave a small smile to Sigyn as she slowly, seemingly finger by finger started to release Sigyn's lips. "So much is swirling around the palace...so much has happened. These are troubling times," Lady Dagmar went on as she stroked at Sigyn's tanned shoulder, "You cannot let the gossip of court..." Dagmar started to explain to Sigyn as if she were a small child.
"I've been down there!" Sigyn barked now that her tender rosebud like lips were no longer being silenced. Her blonde hair flung in her face as she brought her head up to stare into the eyes of her rival. "I've seen him!" she panted. "I've seen him down in that dungeon screaming like a madman because you've turned him into...a...a...a" Sigyn's breath hitched as she looked around the room trying to make sure that no one was around "a Jotun," she finally breathed.
"No!" Dagmar stated firmly. "I didn't turn him into anything," she qualified pointing her finger toward the blonde-haired woman's face. "No," she started again.
"You performed the extraction!" Sigyn countered swiftly.
"No!" Lady Dagmar's silvery voice cracked. Her bright gray eyes looked up at the amber eyed Aesir woman as if she had her in the face. "That isn't fair," she started her silver eyes and her voice trembling, "You have no idea..." The ebony haired noblewoman took deep breaths and turned her face away from the cruel stare of the honey eyed maiden who stood before her. Dagmar shook her head as she felt a rattling sick sounding cough start to overtake her. She kept her back to Sigyn as she clutched her hand to her heart. "I performed the extraction because the All-father, Prince Thor and Mistress Eir came to me thinking that it would be the safest way to perform the extraction. I had no idea what the results would be," Dagmar defended herself. "I only hoped that it would not kill him," Dagmar expressed in a hushed tone as she started to feel faint and maneuvered her way over to her bed. She sat down gracefully as she could and reached for a glass of water that her chambermaid had left on the nightstand. She guzzled rapidly feeling nervous. She finally brought her silver eyes up to look Sigyn in the eye, Sigyn had only moved a few inches from the doorway. "I did it in hopes that I could spare his life!" the young healer shouted back pointing at herself. "I did it out of the love I have toward him," Dagmar expressed her pomegranate lips trembling.
"How can you claim to love him... you left him!" Sigyn accused pointing a warm finger toward Dagmar's petite nose.
"Left him!" Dagmar's breath hitched, her pulse racing, "W-what do you mean?" Dagmar asked.
"You left him that night!" Sigyn insisted throwing her hands out as if almost imploring Lady Dagmar for something.
" What night do you speak of?" Dagmar rasped with nervousness.
"The night you spent with him and you saw him... as a... a Frost Giant!" Sigyn uttered in a harsh whisper.
"How do you know of these things?" Dagmar questioned even more ragged and frantic. "How do you know of these things?' The Vanir maiden demanded gripping the blonde lady-in-waiting by her shoulders. "Did Loki tell you?" Dagmar pressed.
Sigyn twisted away from the silver-eyed enchantress' gaze "And you left him again," Sigyn stated her voice small her head bowed. "You left him to that a cursed fate?" the amber eyed lady in waiting asked in an accusatory tone. "He is in agony! He is blind and confused and stripped down to this powerless state all by your hand," Sigyn shook her head miserably grabbing at her blonde locks to keep from bursting into tears. "You did that our of love?" she asked of the Vanir maiden as liquid ran down her rosy, tanned cheeks
"I did as I was commanded by the all-father!" Dagmar yelled back. "I need not defend my actions to you Lady Sigyn," Dagmar stated as she calmed herself. "How could you claim to love him?"
Lady Dagmar's silver eyes grew wide. Sigyn watched as the lovely Vanir healer's face seemed to twitch, her lips curling into a nasty snarl and her shoulders heaving. "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY LOVE FOR HIM!," Dagmar yelled. Sigyn was shocked by the loud tone in, but she hadn't even time to process the fact that the ever demure Dagmar had raised her voice for the fact that as the Vanir woman turned around a slapped Lady Sigyn across the face. The slap made a large popping sound and rendered a shocked gasp from Sigyn while her head and hair swung to the side. Sigyn stumbled with the impact of the hit she fell into one of the dark-haired maiden's marble coffee tables. Silver eyes watched in horror as Sigyn slumped over the counter and allowed a faint sob the escape her lips. She kept her head bent over for a moment, as she brought honey hued hands to massage at her offended right cheek. Her skin was hot and tender wear silky pale hands had decided to smite. She could hear Lady Dagmar's ragged breathing after the incident. Dagmar shook her head. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slapped someone. Or the last time she screamed like that. It was horrible. She felt ashamed. She covered her plump pomegranate lips with her right hand breathing hard into it as she staggered backwards toward her bed. "I'm sorry," the Vanir noblewoman muttered, "I'm sorry," she began again dropping her head. Dagmar with drew her hand back to herself massaging her ivory knuckles. She staggered back to her bed in a coughing fit from over exerting herself. She managed to make her way over to her nite stand where there was porcelain basin filled with cool water and cloth that was only partly submerged in the water. Dagmar reached into the water with the slender manicured fingers and wrung the cool cloth dry. She walked it back over to where, gentle Lady Sigyn stood dumbfounded still rubbing at the place Sitting down gracefully as she looked back at Sigyn who finally stood up right.
"I'm sorry," Lady Dagmar came up to Sigyn saying once more with the cool cloth in her hand. Sigyn flipped her long blonde strands out of her face only to note that Lady Dagmar was waiting in front of her with the wet towel extended. "Oooh," Lord Audric's daughter cringed noting her handy work seeing how Sigyn's cheek was inflamed with redness. "I'm sorry," Sigyn repeated once more as she came up and dabbed at Sigyn's tender, offended cheek like a mother would a young child. The cool cloth soothed the sting of the slap and the silver-eyed maiden wiped away the forming crystal tears from the blonde woman's cheeks.
"It is nothing, my lady," Sigyn started to apologize quickly turning her face from Dagmar. "I was out of term, milady, I had not right to speak to you that way...I...I" Sigyn stuttered nervously. Her gold eyes studied the floor. "I...please forgive me," Sigyn immediately blubbered her hazel eyes downcast at the pattern's on Dagmar's rug.
"I should not have struck you," the young enchantress responded waving her hand and ending the amber eyed woman's stammering.
"I deserved it," Sigyn nodded between sniffles.
The raven-haired healer shook her head as she cupped Sigyn's still red cheek, she whispered gentle words as she traced soothing circles over the swollen area with the tenderness of a mother. "No," she hushed the whimpering lady in waiting. Sigyn felt the pain dissipate. "Hitting you does not absolve my guilt," Dagmar explained as she patted Sigyn's shoulder before turning away. "I am working on a new tonic for Loki,' she expressed walking over to the wash nook of her chamber where she kept a few vials. "Loki's magic is gone, I know of no such source to bring it back, but perhaps," the dark-haired Vanir woman began as she poured a purple liquid int a cylinder with a thick gold solution, "perhaps his sight may be restored," she explained after she finished stirring the potion. "I would need a healing crystal and I would need to be at my full wellness to harness its energy, but this...this mixture, it should keep him comfortable," she expressed with a deep sigh. "We both care for him," she confirmed her voice slightly quivering, "Let us work together for his sake," Her silver eyes met with Sigyn's liquid gold pupils as they came into a pact and Dagmar slipped Sigyn a parcel full of remedies.
In the wee hours of the morning, Sigyn made her way back to the dungeon. The guard had changed and she was grateful for it or else it would have been hard to explain why she was returning after having run out the night before like a chicken with her head cut off. Sigyn stepped inside, it was almost unbearable from the hair-raising scream that ripped raw from Loki's throat bounced like a ball off of every wall in the room berated her ears, she covered her ears thinking that her ear drums would bust from hearing Loki wail like a dying whale in the depths of the sea. But the disgusting stench of the room made her pull her hands from her ears and move to encase her mouth and nose. The room smelt of bile and blood and of regurgitation. Sigyn covered her mouth and nose trying to keep herself from gagging. It was so noxious, even in only a few hours if the smell was any indication of the healing process then Loki must have declined. Quickly, Sigyn pulled the collar of her dress up over her nose and mouth so as not to breath the nasty fumes making her want to flee. She felt the unyielding cold cut through her even though this time she came ready, she wore her fur robes as if it were the dead of winter. Sigyn lit her torch. She raised it high and watched as the fire dispersed the darkness of the cell. She looked to the corner and found Loki frantically kicking about a screaming his lungs raw as he convulsed on a bed made of nothing but straw. The straw was scattered about and turned to ice. "NOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOO! Iwannitbac...Iwannitbac!" he cried and she could hear his voice breaking unable to bellow any. "pleasepleaseplease," he whimpered helplessly as his head swung bitterly side to side, he languished and panted. "AHHHHHHH!" Loki screamed out once more as he brought black nails connected to gruesome blue fingers to claw at his cobalt and panted.
"Loki no!" Sigyn called out rushing over to his side. She nearly slipped because the ice-covered floors. "No." she chided mildly as she came to her knees and grabbed at ice blue hands. Loki pulled and tugged against her firm, but gentle hold feverishly trying to return to clawing at himself thinking some how such an act would ease his pain. She grabbed at them so quickly that she forgot they were Frost Giant hands and prone to freeze. She gritted her teeth and tried to bear the cold the shot through her. "Easy, easy," the blonde haired attendant to the queen soothed.
Loki gasped. It was the first time in the minutes since Sigyn had been in the cell with him that he had actually been aware of her presence. He felt her hands gentle and steady doing their best to keep him still. Feeling the touch felt good, "It hurts! It hurts!" he shouted hoarsely as his sightless ruby-red eyes flung open. Out of reflex his mind to his eyes to scan to see who was touching him. It was a startling realization when he was only met once again by the unending blackness. It drove him insane, he bucked and thrashed frustrated that his pupils had become useless. They drove him mad. Dead eyes. He wished to gauge them out rather than to have to sit there with them burning and burning, stinging and irritated as if they were on fire. His talon like nails ripped from Sigyn's desperate hold and she watched as the black ice claw went to dig into the deep ruby eye sockets.
"Loki no!" she cried reflexively grabbing at the scratching fidgeting fingers.
"It hurts, it hurts so bad," he moaned once more clutching at her hand, she gasped as frost bite over took her flesh.
"I know, you'll be ok," she whispered back quietly only trying to still him.
"No. NOOO!" he shouted back, though Sigyn suspected he was not really contradicting her, but rather protesting his own pain. His hand ripped from her's and once more he took to scratching at his chest like a mangy dog scratching at fleas. She watched as Loki sank his ice hard nails against cold blue skin and made it bleed. Thick blood gurgled from the fresh cuts made by Loki's own hand. Sigyn shook her head as she watched the nasty, blood so deep a crimson that it looked black splatter over the gaunt chest. "Makeitstop! Makitstopmakit...pleazz" He groaned.
"Stop!" she cried desperately she ripped the hem of her dress to use it as a gauze. She held his hands and bound them in her shawl. While she quickly tried to dress the wound she'd watch him inflict upon his azure skin. At first, she immediately, started to pat down Loki's wound with the hem of her skirt. The thick blackberry blood saturated through the ripped fabric and dampened Sigyn's bronzed fingers. She quickly withdrew her hands that burned with the freeze. She hissed and gasped. That quickly she had forgotten how toxic a Frost Giant's blood could be. She screamed as her skin started to blister. Loki thrashed on the ground her cry startled him for he was not used to hearing any scream but his own. She needed ointment. She shuffled through the bag that Lady Dagmar had given her and found the ointment that was used from the frostbite burns. She opened the bottle and rubbed her hands together allowing the healing oils to blend in to her skin with festering with the burn. She side as the cooling sensation from the medicated cream eased her discomfort. She returned her gold eyed gazed back to Loki who convulsed and bucked on the floor, attempting to free his hands from being wrapped so tightly in her warm shawl.
"Make is stop! Make it stop!" Loki begged as he cringed trying once again to scratch at his chest as if he thought that somehow if he ripped his chest open he would be able to suck in the energies that he's lost during the extraction. "UGHHH!" he cried in torture. "Ohthor, brother...please make it stop," he sobbed oozing black liquid pouring and searing into ice blue flesh. "Mmmm," He moaned twisting his head back and forth in the straw and thatch that he had for a pillow. "Brudder...pleeeze, nomore,nomore...pleeeze...Ibegud...Ibegud...Ibegud ...Ohtor...helpme," He begged.
Sigyn panicked, not knowing what else to do for Loki. She was no healer and Loki's needs were obviously more than she could handle. She couldn't even touch the once prince without being scolded by his freezing cold blood. She searched through the parcel of herbs and ointments and tonics that Lady Dagmar had given. The bundle was not equipped with bandages though. Sigyn chewed her lip anxiously as she threw different items out of the bag. She pulled a flask full of water from the blue velvet bag which Lady Dagmar had given her to help Loki. She poured the water over it trying to wash the cuts and marveled as the liquid turned to ice molding back into Loki's Frost Giant skin. "Shhh, there, there," Lady Sigyn comforted wiping his brow as she saw him settle.
"It hurts," the once green-eyed mage muttered listlessly, his wide blazing red eyes slowly fluttering until the shut and he felt his trembling hands being unbound.
"You will be well," Sigyn promised, " Lady...D-d-dagmar," Sigyn stammered the Vanir noblewoman's name with regret, as she thought of other times when Dagmar's name had often made its way into their moments alone, she shook her head, "She sent this for you," the daughter of Admiral Arn explained."It will ease your pain," she expressed as she unplugged the vial and pressed it toward Loki's lips. She started to pour the thick cranberry colored tonic into his gaping mouth, but the first taste on the tip of his tongue made him turn away, it was revolting tasting. The rest spilled from the bottle and the crimson colored concoction ran down the side of his jawline. It nearly made Sigyn shudder, it looked like blood pooling out from the corners of his mouth. Frantically she took an embroidered handkerchief and wiped at access moisture removing the red from staining cold blue skin. "Please, Loki," she whispered cupping his frozen cheeks. He convulsed in her arms. "Dagmar sent it," she stressed, "You'll feel better," she offered. Perhaps it was the tenderness of her tone, or the gentleness of her hands caressing his face, it could have been his desperation to make the torment end, maybe it was the mention of Dagmar's name, whatever the reason, Loki took his medicine, before long he was quiet and sleeping, she shifted his floppy body so that he was no longer rest on the ice-cold floor, rather she gently elevated his head and placed it on her lap. She would better be able to tend his terrible wounds this way. His head lulled to the side and his long tangled black locks covered his garment like and apron.
Loki thrashed and bucked twisting in agony in his sleep. "Nonono Thanos please," he begged.
"This is very disappointing, Loki," a cold voice said with a calculating tone as plodding footsteps made their way through the cell. "Did you think you could deceive me?" the cruel voice chuckled as the footsteps padded softly closer. "You have failed me," the voice growled.
"I did try, I did try...I...I...I have failed myself, please," he sobbed pathetically, his disheveled black locks falling in his face while he bowed his head low like a dog being scolded by his master.
"We have kept good on our word have we not, Loki?" the dark gravelly voice rumbled with a harsh kind a patronizing tone. The boots came closer and the once prince of Asgard kept his head down staring dejectedly at the floor. "I gave you new purpose when you were a disgrace, granted you ancient wisdom which you so desired, put a realm within your grasp," the cruel voice sneered as a heavy hand condescendingly patted Loki's black coiffed head. "Haven't I, Loki?"
"Y-yes," Loki stuttered.
"And in return you were suppose to bring me the Tesseract, you were the only one who knew how to work it...so you claimed," The voice continued to lecture and Loki's green eyes followed the feet as the circled him like a vulture. "Isn't that correct, Loki?"
"Yes, Thanos," Loki muttered keeping his back bent and pressing his forehead against the cobblestones of the floor.
'But now I find you here. In a dungeon, without the Teserract! Powerless!" the voice roared and Loki's bony body quaked under the boom. "And I'm lead to conclude you cannot make good on your promises," the voice quieted. Loki felt a thick finger hard as a rock come and drag across his thin jawline until the thumb rested on Loki's narrow chin, roughly the sausage like thumb nudged Loki's chin up forcing him to look up into glowing gold eyes a horrible smile rippled across the chiseled mauve colored face. "Maybe this is what you intended all along little Trickster," Thanos inquired.
Loki's emerald eyes grew wide with terror, he tried to shake his head as it was pressed between Thanos' thumb and forefinger, but Thanos held him in a confining holding. "Nononono, Thanos...I...I..."
"Silence!" Thanos yelled and Loki quaked in the purple titan's presence. "Your incompetence and weakness is nothing short of pathetic," he hissed. "I have no tolerance for such pathetic creature's such as yourself," gave Loki a brutal smirk. As he gestured his head back toward a barbarous looking contraption and a gnarled looking helmet that sizzled with electricity.
"NO! THANOS!" Loki screamed.
"Loki, Loki, wake up," a kind voice cooed. It was such a startling contrast from Thanos' malice filled tone. It was familiar and gentle and attempted to pry him back to reality. "It's ok, it's ok," the female voice whispered it was very near. "You're alright, you're alright," the soprano voice called to him. A silky hand reached out and touched his shoulder the part that was covered by a thin piece of shredded garment. "Wake up."
Loki's eyes flung open, the were burning like a red tempest, but they were sightless and he was startled being engulfed in blackness after having just seeing Thanos in full form. "Thanos please," Loki begged as his head swiveled from side to side listening intently trying to find out from when the sounds came.
"There's no Thanos, Loki," a gentle feminine voice corrected the once prince mildly as she cleared her throat. She had no idea who a Thanos was, but he certainly was not in the room. "Shh, shh, it's ok" she stated lowering Loki back down onto his hay bed. "It's alright...I'm...I'm here to help you..." she announced cautiously as she watched Loki's head turn in her direction. She raised her lantern and looked at his features, they were still sharp and regal and some how she thought they looked even more pronounced in this form. He looked like an ice sculpture. His red eyes squinted by force of habit as he attempted to see in the dark.
Loki's frigid hand fumbled trying to find her, "Dddagmmar?" he chattered as he clasped the small hand in his for dear life.
"No," Sigyn slowly corrected still holding Loki's freezing hand that somehow oozed with a cold perspiration as if she was a melting icicle. "It's me..." the blonde-haired lady attendant to the queen stated trying to sound as strong as possible. "S-s-Sigyn," she breathed.
After she said her name Sigyn bit her lip and waited for Loki's response with bated breath. She doubted he would want her present. After Loki called off their betrothal, he'd completely distanced himself from her. He acted as if they had never had any relationship. He was polite of course. He was courteous as a prince would be to any maid who was a member of court but he was impersonal and unfeeling about it. They had courted for almost a century and when it was over he dismissed her as if she had never existed in his world. It was a pain that still stung deep.
"Sigyn," Loki slowly breathed her name his voice raspy from hollering for so long. He brought a trembling frost blue finger up to touch her face. Her felt her chin and circled the frigid finger carefully across her rounded cheek and then over to her petite nose memorizing her face. The blonde maiden shivered as the cold finger ran around her flesh. Her teeth started to chatter.
"L-l-loki," she stammered through the cold touch.
"Sigyn," he stated back as he weakly traced the line of her forehead. She doubted that he was truly aware of who she was he was delirious and groggy at best.
"Yes," Sigyn repeated slowly and Loki's tinted blue lips managed to curl into a quivering smile. His hand limply fell back by his side. Sigyn caught it to keep his knuckles from slamming against the ice that lined his floor. He was already in enough pain. He'd already cut and clawed at himself, he'd lost his magic and his sight he didn't need anymore bumps or bruises on his frail frozen frame.
"I can't see," Loki informed her his voice slurring as the effects of the tonic from earlier had not completely warn off.
"I know," Sigyn stated as she reached into the remedy bag and found a tub full of the lotion that was supposed to help Loki's eyes. She slathered generous helpings of the potent smelling cream across Loki's film covered burning red eyes. They started to water with salty pitch tears. The tears must have stung Loki's cloudy looking red eyes because he hissed and side and whimpered as the lotion took effect. "I'm sorry," Sigyn sweetly apologized once more once she finished blending the dark brown eye salve in over Loki's cobalt eyes. "Shh, shh, shh," she cooed once she had finished. "Try to relax," she instructed as she swipe the sweaty strands of his black hair out of his face as it was starting to get stuck in the eye ointment. "Here," Sigyn offered as she shook the flask with whose water she had used to clean Loki's self-inflicted wounds. She shook it noting that it still was half full. She slowly shifted her hand under Loki's weak neck propping him up. He felt so light, his neck trembled just from the slight readjustment. "Drink something," she encouraged as she held the bottle close to the cut blue lips. Greedily Loki curled his thin lips around the flask, desperate for water. He had not had anyone bring him food or drink since the extraction. He sucked the flask dry and still feverishly desperately trying to consume every last drop of cool liquid. He was so thirsty, he hadn't even realized how parched he was until the water reached his mouth. Even after there was nothing left inside the flask Loki still vigorously continued trying to guzzle from the container. Sigyn cooed rubbing her hand through Loki's tangle mesh of ebony hair making him relax and helping his jaws to loosen around the mouth of the vial. "Good boy, you drank it all," she encouraged. "That was good right, you're thirsty," she spoke on, Sigyn had to pluck the bottle from his mouth. Leaving his icy lips agape and longing for more. His head swiveling as he sought his source of nourishment. He heard her chuckle. He felt like an ignorant babe, a mindless child not yet wise enough to understand when his bottle was empty so his caregiver needed to remove it from him to keep him from getting hiccups. His dead eyes rolled back in his head as his head lulled against Sigyn's soft forearm. Sigyn slipped her body out from under Loki's and gingerly lowered his sore and shivering shoulder's back to the his mat made of hay now that he slept.
"Don't leave, please," Loki begged as his black ice nails clutched at the hem of Sigyn's skirt entreating her to stay by his side.
The day's passed slowly for the once prince, day in and day out he was in constant torment. The very fabric of his being had been ripped from him. His agony was ceaseless. His head throbbed as he was kept in a dizzy and disoriented, being raped of his powers kept him mind in a terrible fog, full of confusion and shadows, nightmares and feverish delusions. His body yearned for something it could not have. Something that had always been in abundance something that was as natural as breathing and now he was forced to live in darkness without even his very breath. He felt like a fish tossed in the desert, a sunflower left in the tundra, he was out of his element left to die. He longed for something so sweet as death, death would be a mistress who he would welcome to his bosom with open arms at this point.
But through all the anguish Lady Sigyn was a constant presence. Her presence was the only comfort he had. She was the only person in his lonely world of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Her soft as rose petal hands were there to tend to him. They brushed over his frigid brow as he thrashed in his sleep, The smooth fingers held his hand that was rough and calloused as chipped ice while he hollered in torment. Her voice that was as light and airy as a sweet spring day was the only call to beckon him away from his horror filled dreams. Her simple words were the balm in his ears to let him know he'd not slipped from the land of living.
Each day she returned administering the home remedies that Queen Frigga and Lady Dagmar had prescribed for him. She rubbed the eye salves made of plants and fungi on his burning blind eyes. She even applied eye drops. Loki would squirm and fidget uncomfortably as the blonde-haired maiden carefully lifted up his stony azure eyelids and held the open wide while she dropped two dabs of the solution into each fiery vermillion eye. Sometimes he would howl, no doubt the medication solute was painful to the weak sightless pupils. She would let him rest. Wrap silk ribbon around his eyes as she'd feed him. She'd ladle hearty helpings of broth into his hungry gaping mouth. He ate with vigor all though he could keep down little. The withdrawal made his stomach irritable and often after only consuming a small amount of vegetable broth the raven-haired prisoner would retch. Sigyn was kind and a sensitive, she'd wipe his mouth after he regurgitated on himself and clean up his body.
She knit him a blanket. "Here, Loki," she said one afternoon when she came in and found the once mage shivering in the corner like a freshly sheared lamb, "I made you somethings," she explained as she came to sit by his side she brought a cool towel to rest over his forehead and he calmed easily with her touch, smiling up with fondness as he heard her soprano voice that always sounded like a gentle spring rain. She held a cozy feeling fabric against his ice hard and ice chiseled cheek. She moved the cloth up and down his jawline allowing the red-eyed Frost Giant to get a good feel. "I knit it for you," she said excitedly, "it's warm, see..." she expressed. Loki couldn't help but growl and roll his dead eyes in annoyance. No he could not see. He could see nothing. He's been stripped of sight, just as he'd been stripped of everything else that he'd ever held dear in life. He squeezed his blind eyes shut tightly as he felt a tremor shoot through his body. The tremors were less now, but they were still far too often still they left him helpless and shaky unable to stand and dependent upon the pity of another. Then regretted her statement. She sucked a sharp breath in as she allowed a sincere 'oops' to come out. "I mean..." Sigyn began to stammer. "I mean... feel it...it's warm," she rubbed the thick blanket over his quivering blue limbs. Loki growled, "It's made of golden fleece," the amber eyed Lady-in-Waiting went on, she often tried to fill their moments with chatter. Loki didn't talk much, when he did he was panicked and frenzied moaning and groaning delirious, he often acted like a little boy. "Like the one on your bed," she nudged perkily. "I...I managed to weave in some cashmere I got from the royal sewing room," Sigyn rambled on as she helped Loki into a sitting position so that she could spoon feed him a steaming cup of his favorite quail and barley stew. He was still groggy with herbal tonics and his head slumped forward, his narrow blue chin pressed against a heaving sapphire chest. "I...I hope...I hope you like it," Sigyn mumbled further as she folded the thick quilt and placed it by his side. she chimed in as she noticed Loki fingers fumbling with the fabric of the quilt. The once articulate Prince of Asgard could only manage to nod as he felt tears well up in his eyes, how many months hand it in since he'd felt the luxury of cashmere. He wanted to express so much more than the simple nod of thanks that he gave as a reply.
Loki dragged his head to turn in the direction from whence Sigyn's light as a feather voice came from. "Sigyn," he breathed as his hands felt over the quilt. It felt so warm, so rich, it was the type of bedding that should have been in a prince's chamber. It had been so long since he'd had the meager comfort of even a cozy blanket to nestle up in. He hadn't even that security to protect him in the night when Thanos slipped through his battered psyche. He had not even had the privilege to burrow like a frightened boy beneath a blanket. "I..." Loki started his voice still unable to raise above a murmur from so many days and night when he'd scream bloody murder as he felt his soul split in two. "I..." he tried again faltering as he felt an ember of affection flicker in his heart. It was so foreign feeling. So bright. It felt good. It felt like the cashmere and golden fleece quilt against his fingers; rich, snug, decadent. "Will...will, you read to me?" he asked humbly, hopefully, his messy, mesh of tangled ebony locks falling in his as he made his eyes face his lap. He hesitated for a moment bunching up the opulent feeling cashmere and bringing it up to stroke against his gnarled and carved in looking Jotun chest, "Please?' his breath hitched with hopefulness of enjoying literature once again. He yawned tiredly as the brew started to take effect.
Sigyn scuttled next to him, she wiped the edges of his mouth gingerly as she removed the access dribble from around the corners of his thin blue lips before she carefully lowered him back onto his bed of straw. If his eyes could have seen he would have seen the love and tenderness glowing within side her golden irises as she brushed back his matted black hair. "Yes," she replied as she grabbed at the quilt she'd made for him and draped it over his bony blue body.
"Promise?" Loki inquired as unseeing, blaring ruby eyes started to shut. "It's been so long since I've read," he expressed.
"Yes, my prince, I promise," she swore as she applied a small amount of the herbal ointment to treat his blindness on his eyes. Sigyn brought two fingers to her pink lips as she planted a kiss on them and then tapped the fingers on Loki's closed eyes.
Queen Frigga's Lady-in-Waiting sifted through shelf after shelf of book, scroll and parchment pamphlet trying to find something that she thought Loki might have wanted to read. She was far from being a well read young woman and she could scarcely remember the list of names of books that Loki thoroughly enjoyed. She was starting to get frazzled. The library might as well have been a labyrinth for she was lost, not knowing where to begin in choosing a book. She thought surely Loki must have read over all the books with int the palace library at least a dozen times over. She wandered aimlessly, finger pressed to her lip like a child taken to a carnival in the town square lost in a sea of people.
"Sigyn," A loud voice cried as thick strong hands caught her around the shoulders. Sigyn gasped and shook startled at being grabbed out of no where. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the deep baritone voice chuckled patting her shoulders down to calm her trembling. "I didn't mean to surprise you." he chuckled an explanation.
"No, no, my prince," Sigyn started shaking her head smiling up at Prince Thor. "I'm sorry...I...I was not paying attention to where I was going," she began dusting off her gown. "I hadn't expected anyone to be n the library tonight...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to disturb you," Sigyn nervously sputtered out an apology as she dipped into a curtsy.
'Yes quite," The golden-haired prince looked around the room and chuckled as her ran strong and sturdy fingers through his sunlit mane, "No one has really used this place since we thought...Loki..." his voice trailed off. "I...I...I was just here," He began dropping his blue-eyed gaze to the floor. "Sigyn," Thor began slowly, "I...I know...I know that you have seen Loki in the days since his extraction," he breathed as he took her by the hand. "Mother, she told me she sent you to help Loki...I...how is he?" Thor inquired in earnest.
"He is still very unwell your majesty, he's very sick. He's in much pain, he's suffering," Sigyn whispered shaking her head as she rubbed her right arm with her left hand. "sometimes his screaming becomes so loud I cannot bear it, I have to leave the room if only to keep myself from going to deaf," Sigyn went on in earnest. "He becomes easily panicked, he cries, begs for his life from someone called Thanos?" Sigyn expressed with a sigh and a shrug, her gold eyes trembled as she searched Thor's eyes that were as lovely as sea and sky for an answer. She watched as he started to answer his mouth opening for an immediate response, then somehow he thought better of it an slapped his lips shut. Lady Sigyn pursed her lips, she knew not what answer Prince Thor was looking for. She wished she had better news to report. She twiddle her thumbs nervously before his young highness.
A hard frown curled under the golden prince's blonde mustache, "So you think he shall die?" Thor asked his voice slightly pained, but more so accusatory. He looked up at her his eyes stormy.
"I...I...I could not say, my lord...I am no healer, I have followed Lady Dagmar's instructions on how to treat Loki, have done everything I could... I am limited though, perhaps if Mistress Eir or one of the other healers was able to attend him, then his chance would better for survival," Sigyn suggested.
"Mistress Eir doesn't have much hope that Loki will make it through withdrawal," Thor confessed his mammoth shoulders falling. "She says that for an enchanter of Loki's ability to be stripped of his magic it is highly unlikely that his body which id dependent upon his powers would be able to make the transition before he succumbs to death," Thor explained with regret he was unable to even bring his eyes to glance up at Sigyn as he felt water prick at them. Sigyn was such a tender girl he'd not let her see hm cry.
"What!" the queen's Lady-in-waiting balked at the news. "What? No!" Sigyn protested back. "You don't, you don't believe that do you? Do you, Prince Thor," she inquired in earnest forgetting her place and reaching out and grabbing the blonde son of Odin by the hand/
"I know not what to believe for Loki," Thor confessed "He's suffered so much, without his magic, Loki must be so weak..I know not how much more he can endure," Thor responded as he started to pace about.
"Loki is strong," Sigyn contradicted shaking her head. "Loki is making progress. He is more aware of his surroundings now. He is more himself...he... he... he," she stuttered with anxiety, she couldn't take the thought of Loki dying, despite all that he was. She loved him. "He asked me to read to him," Sigyn tried to explain furiously.
"Asked you?" Thor inquired curiously.
"He's blind," honey hued Aesir woman breathed. She looked up at the golden prince and her eyes welled with tears. Thor's eyes blinked back at her his mouth hanging open he felt his heart sink low into his chest. Loki loved to read. He cherished his books over all else and now when he'd lost hiss powers, when he'd lost his freedom he'd lost his sight and thereby lost his ability to enjoy his favorite pastime. Thor felt like throwing his hammer to the wall and bringing the library to ruin. It was his fault. He'd hurt his brother so.
"I see," Thor uttered, then immediately the pang of guilt washed over him and nearly sent him into a sob. He bit his thick lip. He was so clumsy and thoughtless with words. Here he talked of sight after just hearing that his brother, writhed and rotted in a subterranean prison sightless as a worm. "I mean...I...thought...I thought perhaps Loki's eyesight would be restored in all this time since the extraction. At least I had hoped," Thor started his tongue feeling thick and heavy now, "Perhaps his sight is lost to him," Thor shook his head miserably as he thought of how his brother had lived the last few months in that dank, dreary rat infested cellar only taunted with the hope that if he would reform he might one day be able to catch a glimpse of the light of day, now he'd never see any light again, poor Loki had been in the dark so long. It was unbearable to even try to fathom what he might feel.
"Lady Dagmar has started giving Loki stronger eye treatments," Sigyn asked noting the way the blonde behemoth's brows furrowed as he thought long and hard over the matter. "She now has me to take him eye drops along with the herbal salve that the apothecary mixes. The droplets are mixed with salt from the Rivers of Sion in Vanaheim it is healing water and with a bit of extract from one of Idunn's apples. I know not of healing, but it seems promising," Sigyn smiled up at the troubled future king. Her warm colored shoulders moved up as she started to laugh, "Loki doesn't like them much, they are uncomfortable for him, he squirms like a child, when I drop them in his eyes," Sigyn explained.
Prince Thor exhaled through his nostrils, his mountainous shoulders slumped into rolling hills, He placed mighty, but nonetheless gentle hands on her shoulders, "Thank you for what you do for him Sigyn," Thor offered looking her in the eye. Sigyn couldn't find anymore words as she looked into those deep blue gems swirling with hurt and pain and worry. "Please keep me informed if there are changes," the crown prince commanded, he lifted the heavy hands from off of her slender bronzed shoulders and started to walk away.
"Prince Thor!" Sigyn called timidly after some time. She'd been left standing where she was idly playing with silky strands of her golden hair, by the time Prince Thor was nearly out the room. He turned around slowly, she could hear his red cape rustle in the cavern of books. "I...I...I" the pink lipped Lady-in-waiting stammered. She didn't know if she should say what she thought. What did she know anyway. "I...In all due respect, highness," she started her voice still timid. She bowed her head and automatically performed a curtsy to show her humility if her words were out-of-place. "I...it would seem hard for anyone to recover being forced to live in such bad conditions," she finally uttered breathlessly after the words had flown from her lips. She gasped as she dared to make her vivid and wide-set gold eyes glance back up at the handsome prince. She chewed her lip as she noticed the scowl ripple over his features.
Thor gave a moment's pause, "I will have Loki placed in a new cell on the morrow," he promised. His voice resolute as when ever he spoke as the sole heir to the throne. "The hour grows late, no doubt you have had along evening, should we not retire," the prince gestured with his hands toward the door seeming willing to escort her out of the grandiose library. He fidgeted ever so slightly before extending his arm to help carry the old dusty chronicles as he and Sigyn exited the palace library.
"Well I bid you goodnight, Lady Sigyn," Thor stated once they were in the hallway just outside of the elaborate stain glass door of the library. He inclined his head toward her before promptly turning on his heels and heading down the hall.
"Prince Thor!" Sigyn called. Her voice echoed in the empty corridor and she felt sheepish her bronzed cheeks blushed like baby rose buds, luckily Thor did not turn around. He stood in place his cape to her as he waited for her to finish her statement. "He-he-he asks for you,"
Prince Thor had made good on his word and had moved Loki to a better chamber. It was a white-walled cell with pristine white floors, sealed off with a golden, glowing, see-through magic reinforced field. Much more up to code with the normal holdings for criminals and vagabonds in Asgard.
Loki's new cell was well furnished. Queen Frigga and Prince Thor had pressed hard upon King Odin to at least give the prisoner that much comfort since Odin had become adamant that it was too dangerous for Loki to be tended to with in the confines of the palace walls. The furniture was meager in comparison to Prince Loki's high standards. He did not have chests and cabinets made of onyx and black marble. He did not have exquiste tapestries of rich earthy hues and masculine emeralds aligning the walls of his cage. His floor was not carpeted with the most expensive rugs from the all the realms. He had no bed made of gold, with cool silk sheets, pillows stuffed with golden swan feathers, or blankets of the rarest animal pelts. But he had a bed, simple and adequate as it was, it felt like sleeping on a cloud after having slept on broken muddy stones, thatch, straw and gravel nest and having just having dangled limply from manacles that were strapped to ceiling of his cell and having to sleep in that position, anything was bliss. The comfortable bedding seemed to speed the healing process, Loki slept better and longer and despite the painful process of withdrawal Loki's strength returned quickly after nights of proper rest.
Sigyn had started to bring him heartier meals once he was able to keep down all of his broth and stew. He was far from dinning like king, but he was at least not feasting like a disgusting pig scraping its snout along the bottom of a troth trying to any meager scraps he could consume. He ate regularly now once a day which had been an improvement from months ago when he could scarcely track his meals to once a week. By the end of the week Loki had regained the dignity of feeding himself and not being dependent on the blonde-haired damsel to spoon feed him like he was a he was a babe, but in many ways he'd reverted to a very childish state. Needing Sigyn to come along and read cater to him daily , bringing him his prescribed tonics and lotions along with daily readings. He enjoyed the reading. He sat like a little child bouncing on his knees at the prospect of story time. He'd smile, listen attentively and clap at the different stories to show his appreciation for the reading and for her company.
Sigyn had been faithful in her coming and he imagined she came around the same time everyday and she stayed for a while. He was sure she stayed for more than an hour maybe she stayed for more than two hours, he had gotten use to her routine. He waited for her like the last child who would await for their parent to come and pick them up in the schoolhouse yard. No, he thought chiding himself as he stumbled from his writing desk to his bed. He waited for her like a devoted spaniel waiting by the window eager to spy its master walking up the road returning home from a long journey. He waited for her for what seemed like an eternity.
The foot steps made the blind Frost Giant in the isolated cell, stir in his slumber. At first he was excited thinking that it was Sigyn. But Sigyn's footsteps had a different pattern and sound. Her footsteps were light like a butterfly resting on the nose and they had a specific rhythm. She walked as if she were ever practicing a step to a dance. The feet that drew closer to his cell were not quick lively little patters, they were hard, lumbering self-assured stomps. The footsteps did not come from a dainty foot clothed in a bejeweled leather sandal or wrapped in a gentle silk slipper. This person that came toward him was in sturdy gold-plated military boot. "Thor," Loki seethed low in his throat jet black talons dug into his down pillow and tore it open. He only wished the cushion for his head had been his brother's chest. The black swan feathers fluttered like dark shadows over the floor, making the tidy chamber look unkempt and giving a darkness to the pristine cell.
The prisoner's breathing quickened into a ragged wheeze as he heard the footfalls become silent. He knew Thor lingered just outside the golden magic reinforced barrier. He waited for the familiar sizzle and fizz sound of the shield dissolving to let him know the future king was entering his 'humble abode' He was edgy like a coiling snake ready to strike, his blue fingers gripped ravenously at the cashmere quilt that Sigyn had sewn for him. Why didn't the oaf enter? Having second thoughts? Had he merely come just to see him in the hideous true form? Had he come to pay him a visit only to mock him? Loki growled.
Outside the golden cage Prince Thor looked on the prisoner with shock and first time he'd truly seen his brother as he was. There had been times when they were boys when he'd caught glimpses of Loki's true nature. One time they'd been playing in the court-yard Loki was little, too little to climb trees, but he'd been so desperate to keep up so eager to prove to Thor that he didn't have to be left out of the game that he and his friends were playing he climbed up the tree. Getting up hadn't been all that hard. Loki was limber and light on his feet, but getting down, he'd slipped on a branch lost his footing and fell from the high bows. He broke his arm and Thor watched as said arm turned blue. Father said it was because of the break, lack of circulation of oxygenated blood to the broken limb. It seemed plausible. His father was wise and he'd never known his father to be a liar, he believed easily enough. There had been the time after his first Bilgeschnipe hunt in his adolescent years, Loki had gotten hurt, he thought his brother's skin looked blue in the cold snow, but it was freezing out and Loki had fallen into the lake. He'd dismissed his brother's strange coloring as frost bite. If only he realized then how accurate of a thought that had been. But now he was here, face to face with what his brother truly was. Their was no parent to tell him otherwise and no reason of his own mind to rationalize otherwise. Perhaps there had been other signs over the year, Loki's love for snow, his propensity to easily become over heated and fatigued after long hours in the son, his strange allergies to things that most Asgardians loved.
The blonde prince breathed steeled himself with a deep breath, cracking mammoth knuckles as he swallowed hard. Before he pressed his hand toward the palm scan on the side of the door that allowed him access to the hold. He stepped inside tentatively, he let out a burr and a shiver the chamber was a cold as if Thor was standing in a snow storm. He cleared his throat as he pulled his teal colored cloak over his burly, bronzed shoulder. "Loki?" he questioned as he forced his gorgeous sapphire eyes to behold the Frost Giant huddled in the corner of the room. His bare chest exposed as the cobalt ice block that it was. The circles and lines, that were carved into his pecks and his abdomen were frightening and foreign. Thor remembered learning that the Frost Giants had few written records so their history was recorded on the people. He wondered what the strange patterns on his brother's icy skin meant. Thor could not help but notice how thin Loki was, his brother and always been of slight frame but he appeared to be no more but skin and bones glazed in frost. He was glad he had come baring a tray full of food, potatoes and salted turnips, honeyed rolls and stuffed herring with a piping hot bowl of quail and barely stew and a warm cup of herbal tea. His eyes surveyed over Loki's cold blue hands and bare blue icicle feet. They darted up and he beheld Loki's face, still angular and noble, but the designs patterned in his frozen flesh reminded him of Laufey. He remember when he took them to Jotunheim when Laufey's red eyes cast over Loki. Did Laufey know? He could see their similarities, it was startling, it nearly made the hardened war forged prince take a step back as Loki's glowing ruby eye rolled about trying to pin him. The eye was red and dead, he could see the film that covered it. He dropped his head until he heard Loki's raspy cackle. "Loki," the mallet carrying prince called as soft as his deep voice would allow. His heavy feet padded over the icy floor. His foot nearly slipped it was like attempting to tread over a frozen pond. Thor froze for a moment knees buckling as he tried to keep his balance on the ice-covered ground. He scuttled forward carefully until he found the black cedar wood table that Loki used. He set the tray of assorted foods down on the table and leaned on it heavily to try to keep his footing on the slippery floor. He frowned as he looked down at the porcelain plate full of food. Loki didn't respond to his presence. He wondered if perhaps Loki's condition was merely worsening, had he lost his hearing as well? "Loki?" Thor questioned once more turning his golden crowned head to face in his younger siblings direction, he watched as Loki wheezing breath formed condensation in the cold room and his narrow shoulders heaved up and down
"Well, well, well," Loki began to chuckle his voice crisp and articulate as it always was. "If it isn't the mighty Thor. Descended from on high, come to grace me with his presence in my lowly cell," the red-eyed Jotun's distinguished voice turned to mockery and Thor's childishly enthusiastic beam turned into a hurt frown, "his majesty is too kind to this poor prisoner. Please forgive my ill-suited manners your excellency, I would bow in your presence, but I am so weak I fear, I'd not be able to stand after I bent my knee," he spat and then swept his hand across his chest in a mocking bow. He straightened and brought his blue face up, he listened intently for Thor's breathing, he found it and turned his murky blood-red eyes so that the fell on Thor. He flashed a twisted grin at the son of Odin and licked chipping ice lips. "Come close brother," he breathed beckoning Thor forward with a frigid black ice tipped finger sick sneer on his face. "Come close, brother dear, my eyesight is so dim," he nearly purred with the anger of a chained jungle feline. Thor moved carefully over the slippery ground until he stood arms length from Loki.
"Loki," Thor tried to start again, "I...I brought you something to eat," Thor started hopefully as he placed the tray on the floor by the bed at Loki's frigid looking feet long black nails dangling over blue toes. "Herring, turnips, stew...all the things you like...I" Thor watched as the tip of Loki's black tongue dabbed at his quivering bottom lip hungrily before he reached his left hand down slowly feeling for the food. Thor watched as Loki's cold blue fingers haplessly groped in the air fumbling to find the food. Loki's smile transformed to a deep cut in ice scowl as his fingers searched in vain for the food. Thor gripped up one of the honeyed rolls and presented it to Loki. The once prince of Asgard sunk blackened nails into the succulent bread plucking it from Thor's mighty hand taking only a cautious nibble before turning and twisting the roll and sniffing the bread in order to examine it.
"Is that really you, dear brother? Loki beamed up with a sick icy grin. "It's so dark in here, " he paused and scoffed shaking his head allowing long and unruly midnight locks to fall in front of his face. Thor grimaced, the was lit up as bright as day, "I can scarcely make you out," he stated and Thor heard Loki's regal voice crack like the thin ice under the weight of too many eager children ice skating.
'Y-yes, Loki, it's me," Thor proclaimed. He lowered himself to his knees before the Frost Giant form of his brother. Loki hummed as he heard Asgard's golden prince's armor plated knees collide with the ice on the tile. He reached out long icicle finger to feel. He felt at Thor's silky blonde tresses, he allowed his licorice talons to trace along the line of Prince Thor's stubble covered jaw. He purposefully had his claws dig into Thor's flesh as he did so. He felt the strong warrior prince wince as he did so and took pleasure in it giving way to a barely there grin. Finally, he reached down to Thor's right side. His fingers skimmed across the cool metal of Mjolnir, "Ahh it is you," Loki teased. He listened attentively as Thor lowered his hammer, the heavy mallet thumped and echoed in the frozen chamber. It even cracked the ice that had formed on the floor. "Speak Thor!" Loki barked out an order to the crown prince of the realm. "Haven't you anything to say?' He inquired harshly, "Or have you just come to stare at the creature?" he snarled. "Like what you see, Thor?' Loki asked with a smug sneer, his nose crinkling as he slammed a blue fist on the post of his small bed. "Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Like It?' His red eyes trying to find Thor's blue eyeballs. He hoped for a moment that rumors and superstitions that he' heard as a child were true and that maybe if he stared Thor in the eye he could turn Asgard's golden prince into an ice sculpture.
"Brother," Thor's voice was humble and Loki could hear it quivering.
"Don't call me that!" Loki roared and Thor watched as his azure neck bulged as the words ripped from his throat. "Don't call me that," he seethed. "Do I resemble anything of your kin?" Loki questioned ruthlessly leaning over into Thor's face. "Do I? DO I!" the blue skinned once prince demanded He flipped his overflowing tangled black hair back and folded his azure hands patiently in his lap. "For so long as a child I would sit and wonder why... why I bore no resemblance to my family," he ground out the final word of the sentence. "I searched books on genetics trying to find answers for my odd appearance. I suppose I tricked myself into believing my striking differences from my older brother had to do with genetic variation,. I suppose it was some relief to find out I do bear a striking resemblance to my real father,"' he snickered sickly. "Don't you see it?" Loki beamed his sick grin at Thor, who looked up at him like a cringing child. "Laufey's son through and through," he enunciated "Does it not awaken something deep inside?" the raven-haired red-eyed Frost Giant inquired. "Some deep-seated primordial prejudice? An ancient bloodlust?' Loki posed twistedly. The once head mage in Asgard liked a black tongue over snow-white teeth, "Does it not drive you berserk!?" Loki asked panting tapping his knees excitedly "Do you not have the desire to slay me?' He mocked with a tempting laugh.
'No," the azure eyed prince breathed with regret. "No Loki, please," Thor stated."Loki no! Never...I Never would want..."
" Never? NEVER!" Loki blasted. "Oh I seem to recall. "When I'm king, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all," Loki gestured wildly as he remembered his brother swinging his invisible club as a child.
"Loki, I was child...I didn't know...I didn't know. If I would have known it wouldn't have changed anything," The son of Odin tried to explain with earnest.
"Come, come, come," Loki gestured flippantly with frosty blue fingers. "If I had looked like this?" He began to spit. He brought the onyx rock hard nails to claw at his rigid icy chest. "Would you have played with me as a child? Or would you have run to father telling him there was a monster in your closet? Would you have defended the little Jotun runt? Would you have called him brother?" Loki questioned bitterly his frost-bitten lips snarling.
"Stop," Thor pleaded. "Please Loki stop! Enough," Thor declared his mighty bronzed hands came up and gripped Loki by his shoulders snatching him off of his sleeping cot and pulling him on to his knees on the ice floor. He engulfed the nearly nude Frost Giant in a strong embrace. The embrace felt so warm in contrast to the chill that he'd felt for so long. The way Thor hugged him, like when they were boys, who laughed and joked and scampered through the palace together, like when they were youths, sharing the struggles of growing up together, like when they were men who fought at each other sides, defending their realm and one another."You're my brother Loki." Thor declared his arms still tight around the Jotun's skeletal frame, while Loki's arms remained limp by his side. You'll always be my brother. Whether we share a drop of the same blood or not we are brothers. We have shared our lives together for all these years. And now you say that is nothing, you say we never had anything, you say all that was but naught and folly," Thor shook his head and he grabbed Loki by his thin jaw, "I care not what race you say you are. You are a true son of Asgard. I care not who you say your parents are... your parents are my parents. I love you, your my little brother...I want you back...I...want my brother back" Thor couldn't seem to bring himself to continue, Loki felt Thor's hot tears splash against his icy flesh. It kindled something. Something so long-buried, so warm and bright, something soft and tender, squishy. He lowered his head, reflexively allowing his chin to rest on Thor's broad shoulder. He felt Thor's shoulders shuddering as he held him firm in an embrace. It reminded him of times when he was a little. They would wrestle and play fight, he'd get hurt, Thor wasn't necessarily a cruel older sibling, just reckless and rough, he'd shove Loki down. Loki would start to cry and before his blubbering could explode into a wail where he'd run for their mother, Thor would stand him up and hug him tight apologizing, dusting off his trousers and telling him not to cry. He hug Thor tight feeling so protected and loved in his older brother's arms. He'd look up at him ask him he was mad and Thor would pinch his nose wink and say he wasn't mad at all. The fight was instantly forgotten and they'd run off and frolic some more. Loki bit his icy lip. He bit down hard until he tasted the sticky Frost Giant blood that swam through his veins. He drew power from the pain. He hated that feeling, it was a feeling of weakness and vulnerability, the emotions of a pathetic, needy child; desperate for approval from those he loved and admired most. Those were the feelings a whimpering boy longing for comfort from those he thought were strong. He growled and pushed away from the loving hug he was folded in.
"You want your brother back?" Loki asked in a breathless tone as if he'd been running for miles and not just sitting in a cell.
"Yes, yes Loki," Prince Thor begged. "More than anything, I...I'd give anything to have you..."
"That sniveling little shadow of yours no longer exists!" Loki spat as he shoved Thor off of himself, hurling him to the ground. "He's dead!" The Frost Giant continued as he imagined the look of hurt and terror that must have welled in those sapphire blue eyes. "And he is never coming back,' He reminded the gaping blonde prince.
"Our brotherhood," Thor started rolling off of his back. "You make so light of it?"
"Brotherhood" the inky haired Jotun began to chuckle his voice sounding like gravel. " Brotherhood, you flout out noble words that you don't know the meaning of," Loki continued to laugh at the ignorance of Asgard future king.
"I know what brotherhood is Loki," Thor protested his voice sounding strong as he rose to his feet, The Frost Giant prisoner listened as he heard Thor's clumsy hands digging into the folds of his cloak. I know because my brother taught me," He declared. Loki heard as something slashed through the air. It sounded like a knife slicing through the air. Thor grabbed at his cold wrist. Loki listened as the blonde prince hissed his Aesir skin burned as it came in contact with the freezing flesh of a Frost Giant. Thor gritted his teeth fighting off the urge to let go and escape the pangs of the freezing touch, he sighed as he pressed something into Loki's blue palm. "Do you remember this?" he asked his voice urgent. "Do you remember this Loki?" he asked relentlessly. Loki's thumb and forefinger played with the item in his hand. A dagger. He groped around the hilt of the instrument. It was cold and rigid and beset with stones. He could picture them the rounded black pearls, encrusted in gold, the rubies and diamonds that were laid on the hilt cut in round brilliant designs. Hard blue fingers maneuvered their way from the handle of the weapon and inched up to the blade. It was rigid and felt as if it was made of porcelain, it was a blunt blade, but the point of the blade was sharp, if it wasn't for the fact that now, Loki's hands were as jagged as the iced cliffs of Jotunheim, the tip would have pierced his flesh and mad him bleed when he tapped it. Loki drew a sharp breath.
"The Dragon's Tooth Dagger," Thor announced just as the words enter Loki's head. Loki could detect that Thor's eyes were looking right at him, trying to burrow beneath the murky film of blindness and under the terrible bleeding color of his dead irises, trying to see deep into his soul. It was working, with a growl, Loki whipped his head to the side, twisting away from the strong blue-eyed prince's gaze. He felt Thor's masculine hands come around his forcing it to close around the ancient dagger."You gave it to me the Solstice of my 456 year, I still believed in Julenissen, then," Thor tone was nearly jovial and full of affection as the holiday memory played in his head. "I was a naïve boy," Thor bobbed along. "I thought Julenissen gave me the gift," he shook his blonde head still smiling, "I was so excited about the Dragon's Tooth that I didn't even read the inscription on the encasement that you gave me," he pulled out the small black box. He flipped open the top of the box on the inside of the box was royal, red velvet lining, Thor's hand traced over a gold inscription. "To Asgard's Great Warrior, may this weapon ever be at your side, as I will be, Happy Solstice! Your Brother, Loki," Thor read as his voice shook. "Do you remember when you gave it to me?" Thor's booming voice was surprisingly gentle. He waited for a while for his younger sibling to respond, but Loki remained tight lips as he kept his head facing the wall. "Hmm?" the golden prince prompted once more. The Frost Giant started to quake. He breathed. "It was one of the greatest gifts I ever received. I used to carry it everywhere, up until I got Mjolnir, I had no greater possession, it never left my side brother, never," Thor promised. He kept his large bronzed hand clasped over Loki's shaking blue fingers. He heard as Loki's breathing grew more ragged with every alternating inhale and exhale.
"This is yours," Thor whispered tenderly as he slipped a cold finger. Instinctively Loki's unseeing eyes glanced at the ring. He couldn't see it, but he knew it. He knew its familiar weight resting on his little finger. "I made it for you, to symbolize...how strong I thought you were, how brave I thought you were, how powerful...I...I saw us as equal," Thor gulped and his blue eyes batted as he tried to keep them from leaking. "Loki I..."
"You say you see us as brothers, as equals, but I see nothing equal about us. The again," Loki began with a sick tainted smile, 'I see nothing at all, now" He reminded Thor as if he was pouring salt on an open wound. "You live in a glittering palace and I live in a squalid dungeon!" Loki spat. ' You wear robes of silk, and satin dyed in resplendent colors," He started allowing the ending 's' to slither off of his tongue. "What color do you wear today brother, teal like the grasslands of the Southern plains, radiant red like gem, royal blue?" The trickster questioned as if he was putting the prince on trial. Thor winced under the incriminating snarl of Loki's voice. He twisted his head so that he couldn't allow his eyes to fall on Loki, ratty prison garbs. "you wear armor of sparkling silver and gold, I...I...I" Loki nearly giggled. 'I am clothed in rags,' he compared. "I don't have shirt of my back or shoes for my feet!" the blind wretch of a prison barked. "You dine sumptuously on 5 course meals thrice a day, if not more," Loki slowly, hungrily dragged his bruised looking tongue along his chipped icy lips, he brought his cold blue fingers to rub over his scale thin stomach, "I EAT YOUR TABLESCRAPS!," He hollered violently as he kicked over the plate of warm food, its contents sloshed on Thor's clothing and splattered on the golden prince's face. Thor stepped back aghast and Loki's frightful vehemence. Loki over exerted himself with his outburst it left him winded and panting like a mongrel. Then he started to laugh as if he hadn't any bit of sanity left. Loki's laugh became bitter and brittle. He cackled on manically for a few minutes. He laughed so long and with a crazed sound to it that Thor thought that Loki had forgotten he was there. He inched closer the wildly guffawing creature of Jotunheim, tentatively reaching out warm bronzed fingers to touch cold as ice cobalt skin and pull his brother back to reality. Before his flesh could even make contact with that of the being that bore resemblance to Loki, he watched as vermillion eyes snapped and looked up at him. The eyes were covered by a murky film, showing that they were unable to even detect the smallest hints of light, but still they gleamed and burrowed a hole through the mighty Thor. Thor retracted his hand from reaching out to Loki as if the very air that surrounded his brother burned him. "You have the source of your power!" Loki pointed to the magnificent weapon that dangled from his hips. "Mine! Mine," he rumbled low in his throat, "was taken from me like the virtue of a girl sold to a brothel!" he shrieked as he gasped folding over in as the pain of the withdrawal started to come back. Thor watched as Loki started to squirm in discomfort desperately clutching at his gut feeling the yearning and burning for powers he no longer possessed. He fell to his knees riddled with pain. He hated how he found himself bent and doubled over before Thor's feet. "Does that sound like brotherhood to you?'his voice was low and husky with malice. "You are a Beloved prince a son of Odin...I am a... MONSTER!" He screamed out once more. The blue-eyed prince knew not whether the prisoner screamed in pain or in anger. Perhaps it was both. "Does that sound like brothers to you!" He hollered in anguish.
The Crown Prince of Asgard squatted down by the twisting and twitching blue body. He watched as Loki scratched and clawed at the floor trying to gain composure on the pain. Loki gritted his teeth finally, feeling the pain subside, he sat up and crawled back to his small cot and sitting there. "You don't have to live like this any more," the golden prince began, "I...I...I've come to tell you, that father wants to offer you a chance at redemption. We don't want you in this cell any longer," He explained reaching up and daring to touch Loki's shoulders. "Hmm," he smiled although his grin faltered when he remembered how Loki's blaring red eyes could not see the grin. "Father has come to an alternative atonement for you... a position...a position to work as a servant in the prison with in the palace. Show father how humble you are now and in a few years time he'll restore you," the golden-haired prince encouraged his mallet wielding bronzed fingers rising from Loki's slim heaving shoulders and stroking at Loki's tight jaw.
For a long moment there was silence between the two of them. Thor imagined that Loki was mulling over the offer, he watched as his brother's cool breath formed condensation. "Loki," Thor prompted after sometime, he rubbed his warm colored knuckles over Loki's frozen cheek.
'Redemption," Loki uttered the word as if it was a new one that he needed to add to his vocabulary.
"Yes, yes," Thor nodded emphatically. "The feat is simple enough," Thor expressed hoping to convince the once silver-tongued prince of the logic of taking their father up on his offer.
'Redemption," he started to cackle madly. Suddenly, the mad guffaw stopped. Loki's head snapped back in place his ebony mane whipping back in his face. 'Redemption," he exhaled his voice rough as gravel. It was almost painful to hear. "Being your slave?" He spewed with a tone laced with venom.
"A servant?" the thunderer qualified.
"Is that what you call redemption!" He yelled in the muscular Asgardian prince's face, Thor lost his balance as he leaned back from being poked in the eye by Loki's icicle like nose. He was on his rear as Loki raised himself up off of the bed and loomed over the Crown Prince."Hahaha is that what you want from me, Thor, brother," He hissed the moniker, "to be your slave?" the blue bodied prisoner hovered above Thor and demanded "For me to be your slave boy? To draw your bath water, polish your armor so your face shines in it? Walk three steps behind you and jump and your beck and call? Get down on my hands and knees and shine up your shoes? Kiss your ring? Better yet kiss the ground you walk upon groveling like some animal in your illustrious presence?' Loki questioned rabidly his lip twitching with disgust as each word flew from his chilled tongue.
"I'm trying to help you brother!" Thor shouted pushing himself to his feet.
"Should I thank you for your kindness," Loki dropped to his frozen knobby knees in a mockery. "Oh thank you your highness, how good of you, how kind of you to take pity on this hideous Frost Giant, you are so noble to a fault. How magnanimous of you," He sneered. "Hail the mighty Thor who spared the savage his life!"
"What is it that you want!" Thor hollered back. "You want to stay in this prison?" Prince Thor roared throwing out his hands. "Do you want to die down here?"
"I'd rather stay in this prison," Loki mumbled bitter, pushing against the ice solid ground and standing to his full height, "I'd sooner die than work as Odin's little Jotun slave, a living relic to be on display for all the world to see, after being a prince of Asgard," He hollered back spittle flying from his trembling cobalt lips. He forced his head back and hurled spit in the golden prince's face. Thor looked horrified as he watched Loki pant vehemently, He wiped the nasty saliva from his face and watched as Loki's hard stance wobbled. Thor rushed to his brother but he didn't get to him in time as Loki weakly crumbled to the floor.
"Loki," the blonde placed his hand on his brother's back. He could feel Loki's spine like the plates of a dragon's scales beneath his finger tips. Loki raised his hand up gripping Thor by the throat, "Loki," Thor muttered as he felt the burn of the freezing touch on the flesh on his neck. "Let go," Thor ordered.
"You have taken everything from me," Loki breathed sinisterly, sinking his black ice nails into the flesh of Thor's browned neck. The great warrior prince called out in pain. "You talk to me of redemption...Of brotherhood," the Frost Giant scoffed. "I want none of it!" He breathed low in Thor's ear. "I hate you," he stated in a cruel whisper as he released Thor's neck and flicked the dagger that still was in his right hand and turned it around and plunged it into Thor's side. Thor let out a muffled cried as he staggered backwards clutching at his wounded side gasping in pain from the blow. He nearly fell to the floor. "I HATE YOU!" Loki hurled as his arm collapsed to the ground as he tried to control his violent spasms. Thor stumbled over the wall still holding his side as small amounts of blood started to trickle out. The stab hurt, but hearing his brother scream his utter loathing of him was far more excruciating than a hundred daggers piercing his flesh. He brought tear filled eyes to look at Loki, blue and horrid, gasping as he went through a tremor still suffering from withdrawal. He writhed. Thor shook his head. A tear poured from sapphire eyes. Thor had to leave the chamber. "Run away, run away Odinson," Loki tormented as he heard quick thudding footsteps exiting. "For I will have my redemption, when Ragnarök is at your door, when you are powerless and dead at my feet!" Loki screamed. As he heard Thor's boots stumble as they fled from the chamber. Once outside the prison. Thor pushed his back to the golden wall, slide down on his haunches and wept. His golden bearded was damp with tears as he brought his bloodstained hand up. The blade of the Dragon's Tooth Dagger wasn't very sharp and it wasn't as if Loki hadn't pulled this little stunt before. Loki had stabbed him on top of Stark Tower during the Battle of New York City, but he'd looked in his brother's eyes and he'd seen, fear and pleading, he'd seen tenderness and confusion...he'd seen love. None of that existed in Loki's tone as he bellowed the devastating words. Those words shattered his heart more than a thousand swords could have shattered his body. In all their years as brother's Loki had never told Thor that he hated him. In all they'd been through, since the time that they'd gone to Jotunheim Loki had never said he hated him. He wept like a child, who'd lost his best friend and this time he was convinced he truly had. His brother was surely gone.
It seemed as if it had been many days since Thor's visit before Loki heard footsteps daring to approach his gilded cage. He noted the footfalls, heavy and booted, gallant and triumphant. He seethed. Thor. That fool. He'd come again! Loki had nearly strangled him, he should have. Why did he stay his frosty hand? Why hands he plunged the blunted blade in Thor's eye socket and left the golden prince blind as he was? Better yet why hadn't he slit the trusting oaf's thick throat.
Could you really kill your brother? He heard a small, timid voice from deep within the recesses of his heart ask. He's your brother, a nagging small voice reminded him. The voice in his head made him jump. That tiny ember spark, so small, so flickering like a candle. Like the last candle on a birthday cake that even after one huffed and puffed and blew their lungs dry it still refused to go out. Loki sneered as his chest felt the warm flutter once again. "No," he said allowed chastising himself for even given way to such weakling and insufferable notions such as his kindred with Thor. They were no kin, they were mortal enemies. "I hate him," he told himself and he felt the tiny, twinkle, flicker as it prepared to be extinguished.
He cares about you, he wants help.
"He's a liar!"
You're a liar.
"We aren't brothers..."
He loves you, he wants to help you.
"he wants me to be his slave!" Loki yelled in the empty icy room. When his outburst was done and his rage started to cool evened out his breathing, he rubbed his cold blue palms together in impish delight ?...But he'll see I'll make him my slave! He'll see...he'll all of Asgard will see," Loki threatened as his voice trembled manically.
You hurt him.
"I hate him!" Loki told himself.
You miss him.
"I..." Loki's voice cracked, steeling his mind and ignoring the tiny, gentle voice exhaled through his pointy nose that resembled an icicle, now as he monitored the approaching steps.
Yes the steps were strong, heavy, boot-laden, but they were slower than Thor's they had a distinct limp, so scarce that hardly anyone else could catch it, but even blind as a bat in a frigid prison he was shrewd and he heard the off beat clip-clop of the one gliding to him. He stiffened as the sound drew closer. Before long it was upon him. He the faint fizzle and his of his golden shield dissolving and allowing some one to enter his cell. His heart beat sped up, but he remained flint face, his features betraying no emotion. His red eyes dead and void of emotion and sight.
"Hello Loki," a strong regal voice spoke upon entrance,
Loki's breathing came out quick and labored, on the verge of rage. He growled feeling the oppressive presence of the golden king standing over him. He wished he had that knife, had he had his powers he would have just summoned the weapon to his hand, but he sat powerless before the king of Asgard. A rumble rolled from his blue throat still raw and soar from the days and hours he'd spent screaming. As he clutched his hands in the fist by his side he could feel a sharp and uneven icicle form in his palm. He would have allowed a sinister, gleeful grin to appear across ice chiseled features had he not been a master of illusion. How dare he show his face here. Loki felt his blood boil as he remembered that his visitor wasn't showing his face because, he couldn't see him. No matter he knew who he was. He who had tried to strip him of all his magic of the thing in the world that had been his sole source of pride and joy, ahh, but in leaving him bereft of the mystic energies which he'd take centuries to study and hone, he'd exposed his true form and those powers were innate and could not be taken. He felt the ice dagger formed and he swallowed slowly as he concealed the tool. He'd aim it at the unwanted guest's heart.
The the stately visitor paused as he looked around the cell. The walls were iced and the temperature of the container below freezing. The cell had been nicely furnished though. Thor and Frigga had seen to it that Loki would enjoy more lavished setting to speed up his recovery process. "Are you pleased with your new accommodations, Loki," the gray-bearded king asked as Loki heard his feet slowly shuffle across the frozen ground and heard the fabric of his cape rustling as he moved. "Loki?" a regal voice called. The voice was sturdy but concerned. He knew well of Loki's condition, but he hadn't expected the prisoner to be unresponsive. "Do you like your new accommodations?" He repeated his steps were wary as he approached the frozen figure upon the small bed. Loki's glaring crimson-eyed film covered gaze saw nothing and stared blankly at the shimmering gold shield of his cage as he were in a trance. He heard the warrior king sigh, was it regret? Pity? Ahh, Loki arrived at it when he listened to the footfalls become silent. Sentiment. He nearly snarled as he felt it radiating off the old man. He managed to keep his visage blank and listless, his vacant cloudy eyes unfocused and moving about, his lips slightly parted in a dull, slack-jawed expression, his breathing a tired wheeze, his shoulders rounded and posture slumped, his limbs limp on the bed. He looked as if his very spirit had left him. "Oh child," He heard the elderly leader's voice reverberate with dreadful fear and worry as he gazed on the Frost Giant he once called his energetic and mischievous younger son. "I..." Odin began as he moved closer. Weathered hands covered in gold rings hovered over a sloppy waterfall of black wavy hair.
Red eyes with dilated dead pupils flashed in the visitor's direction, a sickening smirk spread over sharp blue features, " Hello...Odin," He breathed voice cold as ice. He felt the shift in the floor as the king took a step back. "Look familiar, Odin" Loki hissed, as he brought dead eye up toward the cyclops of a ruler. "Is this how you found me,left in a cold prison to die? Did I look this way, blue skin, red gleaming eyes? Was I then as I am now a powerless child?" he demanded of the king. "Ha, you are a fool. You thought you could rear a monster as anything but...Do you wish you had left the monster to die?' He inquired cruelly.
"My son isn't a monster," Odin stated stoically.
"No, Thor is your beautiful prince, your golden boy, he has shaped up to be every inch the king you dreamed he'd always be," Loki rambled on with bitterness.
"And what of my son, Loki..." The all-father started.
"I'M NOT YOUR SON!" Loki screamed his shrill voice cracking the ice as he panted afterward. "I'm the son of Laufey, I am the monster, the seed of your mortal enemy Odin," Loki reminded him. Loki started to let out hollow guffaws. He tossed his head back exposing the slenderness of his cobalt neck. "HAHAHAHA!" he roared bringing his head back up and leaning it into Odin's face. "You thought you could change what I am. Thought you could take a Frost Giant's seed a monster's runt and somehow you'd tame him and make him your pet," Loki continued to chortle with mockery toward the king. "You are a fool!" Loki declared. "And all your efforts have been brought to naught," he clicked his tongue and dropped his head. "How does it feel? How does it feel to know you have failed? To know that you raised the scourge of the realms? Are you proud of me, my father," Loki hissed as he pronounced each word as if he was aiming darts at a board. He let his abrasive questions beat against the king's ears. He thought he could hear Odin draw in a sharp breath. "Or do you wish you'd left me condemned to the ice?" he laughed and his pointed nose leaned over further into Odin's noble face. He allowed his cold breath to touch the great ruler's gray whiskered and he imagined him freezing.
Odin shook his head as he pulled the chair from the table by Loki's bed. He lowered his old knees as he sat on the lounging chair. "I heard you wanted someone to read to you,"Odin offered. He heard Loki's growl as he swung his black-haired head.
"Is that why you have descended to these depths all-father, after all this time?" jeered with a sneer, "To read to me?"
Odin took a deep breath and swallowed slowly, ignoring Loki's rantings was hard. He was not one to tolerate the ramblings of the insolent. "I found this book..." The golden king began, he looked down at the old tattered leather-bound book with the beautiful illustration of the Frost Giant female and her sled pulled by giant white bears. "This was one you loved as a child...I thought it might bring you some comfort," the warrior king expressed. Loki heard as the parchment pages turned. The parchment was old and feathery from centuries of collecting dust. As soon as the book flew open he caught a whiff of the old book smell. He couldn't help but inhale deeply and allow the aroma to intoxicate him. He loved the smell of ancient knowledge. "Snow Queen," Odin began to read.
The gilded king slowly opened the chamber door to his youngest son's room. The hour was late and he and an ambassadorial party had just arrived back from a long envoy to Alfheim. He had just come from Prince Thor's room, he had been eager to greet his young son after more than a month away from the palace, but Odin had found that he'd entered the chamber of a child in heavy slumber. Thor's red quilts were tossed all about and he was curled messily within the silky silver sheets. He was snoring loudly. His snore could call in thunder. The child hardly stirred as Odin ruffled his shaggy blonde mop and kissed him on the forehead. The king expected to find the same when he went into his younger son's chamber. No doubt the younger child would be exhausted.
"Loki?" Odin quirked his gray eyebrow as he entered the evergreen room, he was surprised to find that the lanterns were lit and the fire in the hearth was ablaze. The large bed was without a tiny frame lost within the folds of the warm covers The emerald blankets were posted between two chairs making a tent shape. "Loki?" Odin inquired once more looking around the room.
"Papa!" a high, energetic voice squealed and a thin, big emerald-eyed face popped out from between the flaps of the makeshift tent. Quick as a flash spindly, porcelain legs scampered excitedly toward the king. "Papa! Papa!" the child exclaimed running up with out stretched arms toward Odin. Before Odin could even respond he felt the small body slam into his leg, hugging it tightly. "You're home!" Loki beamed green eyes dancing as he looked up at the one-eyed king. Naturally, Odin cupped the child in a strong embrace. "Welcome back to Asgard, father" He giggled showing a missing-toothed smile to the leader of the realm.
"Now that is a proper greeting for a father to receive when he returns home," he laughed heartily as he dropped down on one knee so that he was at eye level with the child, Prince Loki was barely the Midgardian equivalent of 5. "Your brother merely greeted me with a chorus of snores," Odin smiled rubbing rough hands over silky black locks.
The black-haired child snickered clapping giddily, "Thor always snores," he whispered like he was telling Odin a secret.
"he is a heavy sleeper," Odin explained. "Unlike you, my boy, you are a light sleeper," he reminded the child, his look became sterner, though there was a playful twinkle in his blue-gray eye as he rose from his battle warn knees and straightened himself with a groan, "You should have been asleep Loki, it is very late, why are you still awake?" he inquired crossing his arms as he prepared to hear one of the child's infamous excuses.
"I...I was just reading father," Loki expressed somewhat sheepishly as he dragged a toe through the plush gold carpeting on his bedroom floor. He trained his emerald eyes to look down.
"Reading?" the great king's voice was curious, Loki was a younger than Thor had been when he started to read. Of course he had begun to notice that Loki was very bright, scholastically Thor and Loki were seeming to be fairly equivalent and Odin didn't have doubts that with Loki's rapidly developing vocabulary and naturally inquisitive nature that he would some day soon surpass his brother. "I wouldn't want you to stay up all night reading, Loki and then not have energy for your riding lessons in the morning," Odin admonished stoically as he eyed Loki's room. "I hope you've shown this much interest in your horseback riding, Loki," the king continued. "Don't you want to move from your pony and ride an actual horse like Thor's?" Odin inquired he arched up a mixed gray and auburn hued brow.
"Yes, Father...I do," Loki replied back playing with his tiny fingers daring to look up at the mighty king. "But...but, but I always read before bed..." he explained. "Would you read to me, father?" Loki asked green eyes shining up at Odin with hope, he clutched his pale fist together pleadingly, small gap-toothed smile parting his thin pink lips.
Odin blew out an exasperated breath as he rubbed a scarred hand over his mixed gray bristled shaking his head, "The hour is very late, Loki," Odin began wearily. "I have had a long journey through the Bifrost returning from Alfheim," Odin reminded the excited boy. "Perhaps I can find Helga and send her in to read to you," the king offered with a wink as he placed a big hand on top of Loki's small head. He watched as the jade pupils filled with a slight disappointment and his broad grin faded into a crestfallen expression. "I'll read to you another night, my son, alright," The king offered dismissively walking away from the petite raven-locked child. He was almost at the door when he heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet scampering behind and tugging feverishly on his gold and brown coattails. He turned around and dropped his head to look at the child.
"Father, if you are so tired," Loki began to offer, first he stared down at the kings tall boots before dragging trembling eyes to gaze upon Odin's face. "Maybe...maybe I could read to you...like...like a bedtime story!" the young prince proffered his small ivory first earnestly clutching onto the silk fabrics of Odin's royal garb.
King Odin was about to send the boy right off to bed, but somehow as he gazed into the young, innocent, hopeful eyes of his little son, despite the weariness of his flesh he could not deny his son's simple request. He nodded obligingly allowing a gentle smile to grace through his graying beard and mustache. "Very well, Loki," he breathed. Loki clapped his hands with energy he started bouncing in place. His cool, little hands glided to clasps Odin large, calloused fingers, he pulled his parent toward a lounging rocker by the hearth. He instructed his father to sit down was he trotted over to his bookshelf. Odin turned around and watched as the ebony locked youngster licked his finger and slid it over the rows of books upon the bookshelf in search of the right one. Finally, Loki plucked one from the shelf. It was old and warn, tattered, an ancient looking manuscript with some of the pages starting to slide out.
"This is my favorite book, Father," Loki expressed broad beam stretched forth on his narrow face as he happily trotted back over to Odin. He held the blue leather-bound story book in front of his face before pulling it down and revealing his elated grin.
"The Snow Queen?" Odin read aloud. As he extended strong arms to embrace the happy child.
"Yes, yes, papa," Loki nodded his head wagging like a floppy rag-doll. "Have you ever read it, Father?"
"Yes, Loki I suppose, many years ago when I was but a lad myself," he stated scooping up the lightweight child as he plopped him down on a sturdy knee. His continence was grim he looked at the book.
"It takes place in Jotunheim," Loki explained as he pointed to the first illustration of the elegant ice palace that rose towering stories and stories above the snow-capped mountains. Odin nodded but didn't give a verbal response, "You were there when you fought the Great War against the Frost Giants, right papa?' Loki asked hoping that Odin would be pleased with how he was able to recall his lessons.
"Yes, Loki many centuries ago, before you were born," Odin expounded his voice quick and curt.
"Did they have a beautiful palace like this one?' He asked eagerly as he displayed the picture in the book before the golden king.
"Mmm, yes in the Sacred City there is a castle, Loki,"
"And an ice temple?"
"Yes, an ice temple, Loki..."
"You went in, right Father and took the Casket?"
Odin's face looked stricken, "Yes, son," he said his voice on edge.
"Look, there's the Snow Queen!" Loki announced giddily as he flipped to the title page of the old storybook. "She's lovely," he sighed as he traced his fingers over the elaborate embroidery in her dress. "But Jotuns are so ugly," He shook his head and laughed sticking out his tongue. "Did you ever see any pretty Frost Giants, in Jotunheim, Father? Are their pretty ones like the Snow Queen?" he asked looking up at Odin his green eyes batting.
"I...Yes, Loki, I found one that was quite comely. But...You know this story very well Loki, wouldn't you rather read something else tonight? Something new?' Odin offered hoping to distract the precocious youngster from delving into subject matters his young mind couldn't handle. "It is summer, Loki, why should we read a book about snow and ice that seems rather inappropriate," Odin corrected.
The ivory brow furrowed, wide green eyes dropped in a puppy dog like plea as his mouth arched into a sad frown. "That the good thing about books, Father," Loki's voice was quiet and timid as he rubbed his hand over the page. "You can go anywhere...do anything...I prefer winter to summer, so I...like to read this story...I suppose I could choose another if you do not like this one, though," the child's shoulders rounded in defeat as he started to scoot off of Odin's high knee and walk back to the bookshelf to retrieve a different story. "I'm sorry," he offered.
Odin brought his tawny hands to massage his temples. "It's alright, my child, just read the one you have," he patted Loki lightly on the back offering comfort and giving a faint smile. Loki's grin stretched from ear to ear. As he started to read. Odin listened intently as his younger son told the story until they got to the end.
"Father," Loki said stopping in his reading and yawning while rubbing tired emerald eyes until they were raw red, "Can you read the rest? I'm tired," he nodded looking up at Odin with half-lidded eyes. The wizened warrior king's heart crumpled as he felt Loki rest a tired head upon his golden breastplate. He lifted the young scholar up carrying him in his arms back to his large bed. Delicately he laid Loki down before he sat on the edge of the bed and folded over to the last page and finished the reading."The End," Odin concluded finally shutting the dusty parchment pages. "Now go to sleep, Loki," Odin instructed.
"Did you like it, Father, I don't think Thor like's that story, very much, but I like it...did you?' Loki asked as he felt Odin's strong hands tuck the sheets around his slim body.
"I liked it fine, Loki," Odin assured the boy and his rough hand smoothed over the ebony strands of Loki's hair. "Now no more talking child, hush and rest,"
"I feel bad for the Snow Queen though," Loki shrugged shutting his eyes.
"Why Loki? She was a wicked queen, who was cruel,"
"Idunno," the raven-haired child slurred. "She was very wicked, but it seemed like she just wanted a family," Loki explained.
Odin smiled, "I think everyone does Loki," Odin stated giving one last tuck of the covers as he watched the child settle into sleep. "You have much empathy, you will be a good ruler, someday,"
"What does empathy mean?" Loki inquired green eyes popping back open with the thrill of learning a new word.
"Shh," the king soothed him, "It means you are very compassionate," he assured, he watched the corners of Loki's mouth tug upward as his drooping eyes finally closed. He planted a kiss on the sleeping child's forehead before he exited the room.
Furiously the Frost Giant snapped out of his daydreams of times long passed. He seethed as the memory fizzled from his minds eyes and Odin's commanding tenor voice resounded in his ear reading familiar words. Words he'd memorized by heart. He listened to the story clenching his fist as the tale unfolded. All that time the old tale had simply been a clue to his own past. How much of a fool had he been as a youngster that he'd not figured it out sooner. He was as gullible and naïve as his idiot brother. Swallowing lie after endless lie so trustingly when truth had literally been right before his eyes. He wished he could see Odin, see the expression that the old king wore. Did it pain him to read the old legend. Loki had asked him as a boy was the story true. The elderly ruler responded telling him it was just a legend. LIAR. It was true, it was reversed but it was true. None the less. Odin was the Sun King who stole little Jotuns from their beds. It was so laughable.
Odin drew to the close of the story, the most exciting part When the feeble boy, Gert infiltrated the Snow Queen's ice fortress defeated her Jotun guards and was now ready to rescue his friend. The moon was high and its chilling light beamed down upon the ice temple tower, where the Jotun Queen intended to perform the ceremony and turn, beautiful Kai into a Frost Giant and make him the heir to Jotunheim. Once Kai had completely forgotten his home her spell would be complete, Kai would become a child of ice and he would never be able to return home again. When the full moon hit the ice chamber at the stroke of midnight, the Snow Queen would plunge Kai into the freezing cold pool and he would be lost to his friend Gert for good. Gert's only hope was to get Kai to remember who he was before it was too late.
"Gert cautiously approached the pedestal where Kai sat, silent and still, his body, blue and his eyes cold and hollow," Odin read. "'Who are you?' asked Kai"
"'Kai don't you remember me? I am your best friend! Kai you must remember please before it is too late!"
"'Kai, this boy is of the Aesir, the monsters who slew your father, avenge him and kill this boy!' The Snow Queen's icy voice commanded. Kai looked back and forth perplexed between the two voices."
"'Kai please, remember. Think Kai!' Gert urged reaching out to him until the Snow Queen caused the ice to rise up and freeze his feet. ' What's your name?' Gert asked frantically as he tried to pull his foot free of the ice, only to fall onto the floor,"
"'I am called her, son,' the Snow Queen's prisoner replied his voice automaton and chilly" Loki could hear himself repeating the phrases along with frozen heart Kai from the story. They resounded in his soul bringing cracks of pain that splintered off into sharp shards of icy bitterness.
" Gert's hands became frozen to the floor as the Frost Queen waved her hands around. She'd bury that meddling child in a tomb of ice, nothing would stop her from having a proper heir to Jotunheim to help her in her revenge. Gert screamed out as ice encased all of his limbs leaving him hunched over on all fours. Kai's hardened eyes grew wide they flickered as he gasped watching what the Snow Queen was doing." Odin continued. "'Who is your Father? Gert managed to ask in a shiver as the ice started to over take him," Odin read his voice serious and grave and Loki felt the slate-colored eye land on him he could almost feel Odin's bated breath as he waited for a reply, much like poor Gert in the story.
"'Don't listen to this weakling my son! Kill him, kill him and you shall be a Prince of Jotunheim this day!' The Snow Queen ordered in the background as she looked up at the moon continuing to rise. It was almost time, a minute more and the beautiful boy would be hers," Odin voice quickened with hasted as the tension in the children's tale mounted.
Loki mouthed along with the fairytale character, "My father is a king slain," His voice with a rippled whispered so low Odin's old ears did not detect it. It was all the Frost Giant could do to keep from screaming at the top of his lungs.
"'Where are you from?' Gert asked frantically as ice rose up his spine and chest"
"Jotunheim," the once prince of Asgard echoed the statement of Kai in his mind. There it was the cold, hard truth hidden in his favorite bedtime story. He was no Son of Odin, no Prince of Asgard, he was the child of monsters and he would take his rightful place amongst them. AS the great king of Asgard was about to give the dramatic and redemptive conclusion to the tale Loki's icy façade faded and he broke into mad cackles HAHAHAHAH!: he guffawed feverishly and boisterously his crazed chuckles exploding in the room. "FOOL!" He spat ending his manic laughter with the same startling abruptness that it had begun with. "Did you really think a FAIRYTALE would make me less of a monster Odin? You are as laughable as that witless oaf you name as your heir," Loki ranted. "Think ye that this old story shall make me capitulate? Shall make me repentant! HAHAHAH!" Loki started back up with his crazed giggles. "Let me extinguish such feeble-minded hopes from your head...NEVER!" he shouted until he was breathless and his upper body slouched over blue legs. He kept his torso leaned over. "When I was a child I thought I was Gert, ahh lovable, lame Gert, slight of body but of much fortitude in mind, I thought that one day you would see me as the hero, that you'd celebrate me for what I was..." Loki shook his head red eyes blistering with hot black tears. "But I was Kai, the Snow Queen's son, cruel and cold hearted and so easily beguiled by lies," Loki whispered his silver articulating each word as if he was fashioning a pointed blame to aim at Odin's chest.
The gilded king rose to his feet walking toward the panting Jotun in his presence. "If you are Kai, there is hope for you, yet," Odin steadied his voice as he observed the twitching creature who seemed so far removed from the little boy who once sat in his lap. "Like Kai, you can come home if you chose to."
"I am shall not be as Kai, I shall not return from the cold and spare Gert." Loki voice was still with the type of grave seriousness that sent shivers down the war hardened kings spine. Loki could feel Odin cringe, doing all he could to stay his hand and from striking him. "I will bring your precious boy to his knees, I shall smite him..."
"ENOUGH!" The all-father boomed.
"Oooh," Loki pursed cracked ice lips toward the king, "Have I struck a cord? Oh I have, haven't I? Torture Loki. Beat Loki with in an inch of his life! Leave him to rot blind in his cell! but at the very mention of a hair being harmed on little Thor's head and you are ready to finish what you started with me. Aren't you? Aren't you?" Loki barked in defiance.
"When you were a child you loved this story because it spoke of a power stronger arms and armies, of a strength greater than force. It was a tale of redemption through love. "You understood that Love had the power to save Loki. That Love was stronger than any spell, stronger than any weapon of war. You were a wise child."
"When I was a child I believed you to be my father, I was not wise."
"I am your father!" Odin proclaimed his voice so stern that Loki jumped. "And you are my son," he confessed with a sigh. "Knowing what you have become pains me more gravely that I have ever been pained," he confessed with a whimper. "Seeing you, a bright, mischievous, gifted and wise, and gentle young man, who was reasonable morphed into this sick creature burdens my soul. I have missed, my son, I have mourned him and I love him...I love the real you Loki, but I must protect the realms Loki and if you chose to be a monster than that is how I must treat you." Odin affirmed. "I will not recant your punishments your crimes are vile and dishonorable," Odin lectured. He moved behind Loki.
Loki could feel Odin's illustrious presence smothering him. He growled as he felt Odin circle him until he landed in front of him. Odin sank to his knees removing his gauntlets and allowed his bronzed skin to linger on Frost Giant flesh as he cupped Loki's gaunt cheeks and chin. Loki's breathing hitched icy breath grew ragged with devilish pleasure. Here was the moment. The king of Asgard kneeling before him. His fist clenched tight around the ice dagger he'd formed earlier. He could picture it, thrusting it into the old king's side, Odin gasping for air. And no matter what the punishment would be, death would bet better than living without powers for the rest of his days. Just as a cobalt hand started to move with the icicle knife ready to strike a deadly blow he heard Odin whisper. "Remember who you are Kai, and come home," Odin muttered the words from the book. Loki gasped and choked back a sob as his whole body started to shake. He tried to buck and pull away, but Odin would not release him, "remember who you are Loki and come home," He murmured in the Frost Giant's blue ear. The dagger fell from Loki's hand clattering against the ice floor and shattering, black tears flowed heavily from sightless crimson eyes. He felt Odin's white whiskered lips plant a kiss on his frozen forehead. His skin started to tingle, hot and like electricity, it felt wondrous, the Jotun flesh melting away and Loki felt himself and his skin was soft and smooth once again. "You're only a monster if you wish to be, Loki," Odin said as he departed leaving a pale, bony, half-dressed young man in the cell as he departed.
A/N Well I have seen Thor 2 and I greatly enjoyed it, with that being said I will continue this story into Thor 2. This will still be my own original plot for Thor 2, but in conjunction with some aspects of The Dark World. I will try to make it as anti-spoiler as possible for those who haven't seen The Dark World yet. We are winding down to the end of this tale, with probably only 1 or 2 chapters left, but I thank you all for taking the ride with me :) Thanks for reading everyone and Let me know what you think.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!