To Have Loved Then Lost (LokixOc)

The Casket

The longer I sat with Frigga, the more we got into conversation. It was nice in a way. We were always kind to each other but never really talked as friends. I understood why Loki took to her so much.
"Loki tells me you're his advisor for now. I'm sure he's told you my feelings about that." Her tone wasn't accusatory, at least.
"My father feels the same." I told her.
"He still cares for you, you know." I nodded and pursed my lips, hoping she didn't grow angry. "And I can see in your eyes that you feel the same." I shouldn't be surprised, she was a witch after all. I nodded once more, admitting it to her. She sighed. "I suppose you can't help these things. I'd be a hypocrite to forbid it." She lifted Odin's limp hand and kissed it gently.

"I promise you from the pits of my soul that our relationship won't cloud our judgement to do what's best for the realm. And the Nine Worlds." I spoke in the most sincerest tone I could and she seemed to believe me, nodding and smiling softly.

"To start, I'll try to mend my relationship with the warriors and Sif. I've unintentionally offended them." I quietly stood from my seat, smiling a goodbye to Frigga and left. I imagined they were in the lounge they usually spend their time when not fighting, so I checked there first. I found out I was right when I heard Fandral's voice from behind the door.
"Our dearest friend banished, Loki on the throne with a mistress we thought a friend, Asgard on the brink of war and all you can think to do is stuff your face!" He must have been talking to Volstag. I was hurt by him calling me a mistress, but I let it slide due to his temporary anger. Still, it didn't stop me from eavesdropping . "Shame on you, don't you care?!" I heard something metal it the floor.
"Don't mistake my apatite for apathy!" Volstag shouted back which caused the other two to separate them.

"Stop, both of you!" Sif intervened. "We all know what we have to do."
"We must find Thor." Hodun spoke. I pressed my ear closer to the door.
"It's treason." Said Fandral.
"To Hell with treason, it's suicide." Volstag shot back. Too right.
"Thor would do the same for us." Sif added and there was a collective silence. I frowned, not knowing how to feel. I missed Thor but at the cost of Loki?

I backed away from the door and journeyed to the throne room. Loki had thankfully returned home for me to explain to him what I just heard.
"Don't worry, I told Heimdall not to open the Bifrost to anyone except myself." He smiled. "I wouldn't worry about what the warriors think." I looked down, wishing I could. We had been close for many years, but my closeness towards Loki as well always left tension between us.

"I visited Thor on Earth. Health-wise, he seems okay." Loki changed the subject and it managed to cheer me up. "He still isn't worthy of Mjölnir, but... I don't think he wants to be anymore." That's not at all what I was expected.
"Do you know why?" I tilted my head.
"He seems to have enjoyed his time on Earth. He says he wants to extend his stay as much as possible." I love Loki but I wasn't not blind to how deceitful he can be. And that sounded very uncharacteristic for Thor. Giving up on Mjölnir? Hardly.

"And what of Laufey?" I asked.
"The talk was peaceful. I asked his demands and he says he will call off the attack but only if we return the Casket to him." ...I mean, it made sense. But to go through with it? It was a difficult decision. "So, my advisor, what do you say?" He took both my hands.
"It depends. How trustworthy is he?"
"He's a brute, but a man of his word. He kept up the peace treaty this long until Thor barged in." That was true, we still didn't know if the giants who broke in had anything to do with Laufey.
"Then... for the sake of the safety of the realm and its people, I think it's best we return it. I was never Odin's to take, anyway."
"I'm glad you think so." Loki smiled brightly and kissed me once more. I smiled in return and kissed him back.

"Let's get some fresh air. I imagine the sky looks great tonight." I took him to one of the balconies at the front of the palace. One of the best views from the building; its gaze looking over the entirety of the city and far out into space. You could do clearly see the rainbow bridge that parted the two halves and the Bifrost at the end that... was glowing and spinning...
"Loki, what's that?" I looked up to see him furious, frowning and huffing. He whipped back around inside, his cape flowing behind him.

"Loki, please don't do anything reckless." I followed him into the vaults. An angry Thor is one thing, at least you know what to expect and his threats were mostly empty. But Loki's wrath was something else entirely. As he took the Casket from its podium, I saw his fingers turn blue like how he said. The longer be held it, the more his blue complexion spread. His eyes burned red, his ears pointed and strange patterns appeared on his face. It was unnerving to see him in a form like that.

"Loki, please, think through whatever it is you're planning." I tried chasing after him, tugging on the frozen box in his hand. He didn't speak. "This is a deadly weapon, just_" Through my pleas and trying to snatch the Casket away from him, he must have accidentally activated it, sending a deadly gust of ice and frost, completely shrouding my hand and arm up to just above my elbow in ice.

I screamed at the sight and the pain of the cold rooting into by nerves like thousands of needles. In shock, Loki dropped the Casket, causing his blue skin to return to normal and he tried to console me.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry_" He yanked at my arm, trying to either break the ice or rip it off. It only caused more pain.
"Leave it!" I screamed at him through my tears. "Leave it!" He obeyed that time and dropped my arm that now felt a ton heavier.
"I'm really sorry." He breathed, his eyes welling up.
"Don't speak to me for the rest of the night." I scowled at him.
"Thyra..."
"Leave me alone!" I commanded. He stepped back, bowing his head.

Still crying from the pain, I dragged my arm back up the stairs from the vault. I didn't dare look at him, through I know he was watching me. I found Father in our living room and his face ran pale at the sight of me and my arm. He instructed that I was to hold it over the fire pit until it melted enough for my arm to slide out again. Though this was Jötun ice and it would take a while.

"It wasn't on purpose." I promised him.
"Regardless, he could have killed you." Father angrily paced from either sides of the room. "I hope you're not going back to him after this." He warned.
"I haven't decided." I said, resting my arm over the flames.
"You're not, I forbid it!" He scowled at me.
"You forget I'm a grown woman, Father, I make my own decisions." I frowned. He sighed and rubbed his face in annoyance.
"What if this happens again?" He asked. "And what if he misses and kills you?"
"It won't happen again, he's giving the Casket back to Laufey."

Father stopped pacing, his face red with anger and fell back on the sofa.
"Why in Allfather's name is he doing that?!" He shouted at me like I was at fault. Though it was, partly.
"Laufey says he'll call off the war if the Casket is returned to him. That why Loki was holding it in the first place." I wasn't looking at him, focusing more of my attention of trying to manoeuvre my arm.
"So why did he fire it at you?" He sighed.
"He ordered Heimdall to not let anyone use the Bifrost which he disobeyed, likely to the warriors and Sif, and got angry." I glanced up at him and then back at my arm. "I tried to stop him from doing something reckless and accidentally caused this in the process."

Father rubbed his eyes as I continued to try and retrieve my arm. It was getting there. "I just need my space from him tonight and we can talk this through in the morning." I said.