Loki's Pain

Chapter Thirty-One- Revelations

"Mother..." Loki whispered reverently once the woman stood before them, a gentle smile gracing her beautiful face. "Yes, my son." She replied, her eyes twinkling mischievously before turning towards the little boy next to her. Kneeling down for a moment, she spoke in a soft and loving tone, "I need to speak to these lovely people for a moment, Loki, so why don't you go play in the garden over there for a bit?" She asked a question, but it was clear in the child's gaze that even if she had asked him to slit his own throat he would have done so with a grateful smile. He hurried away with a scheming grin that boded a well-thought out prank for her later, and Ash couldn't help but laugh with delight at his adorable cuteness.

"Hello, Loki." His mother greeted properly once his younger self had left, reaching her hand out towards his battered body before forcing it back with the knowledge that the magic might shatter if she didn't. "You look...tired." She commented, hesitating, trying to chose her words with care.

"Life has not been... kind... lately." Loki replied, equally careful, "But not wholely awful..." Loki glanced towards Ash as he said the last, slipping his left hand into Ash's right before turning back towards his Mother with a small, knowing smile on his face.

He watched as his Mother looked more closely at Ash standing next to him, seeing his equally bedraggled appearance, and saw the expression on Ash's face as he looked up at Loki with clear love in his gaze. Her grin grew wider with the knowledge, and she turned back to Loki with an expression that conveyed her happiness for him without the need for words.

"You must not say much else, Loki. The future should not be tampered with. When it is, it often leads to far worse fates than those you already know." She spoke clearly, a hint of sadness in her voice, and she began to turn away.

"Mother! Wait!" Loki said in mild desperation, "I must!"

"Quiet, my son." She chided, glancing back at him sharply to see tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry!" He said, grief leaving his voice raw, "It was my fault. My weakness... Though I can't tell you why, or how, or when....know how sorry I am! For everything. Every fault, every mistake, every crime...no matter how big or small. You were the perfect mother, the perfect friend, teacher and confidant. I will love you for that until my dying breath, despite..."

"You know?" She whispered, regret tinting her tone.

"Yes." He replied simply, and held her gaze firmly as he continued, "I could not have been happier even if I had been born from your loins, Mother. No matter what happens, no matter what I may say later, know that you have always been and always will be my mother."

She smiled then, tears of her own slipping from her eyes, as she turned away. "Know this, Loki," She said then, her gaze now resting where the younger Loki was playing in her garden, "No matter what you may be, do, or cause...no matter what harsh words you may say to me, crimes you may commit, or things you may blame me for... You will always be my beloved son. You could try to kill me and I would still rush to your side to sooth your wounds the next time you stumbled and fell... I could not care for, or love you more, even if you were my own flesh and blood. You are the Son of my Soul, and I will always watch over you, no matter how far apart we may become."

Right then they heard child Loki shout out faintly as he ran back towards his Mother. In one hand he held a bouquet of glowing flowers, that proved that the scheming grin that had promised pranks earlier was just a lie. He was lifted up in her arms as soon as he reached her, laughter spilling forth from them both as she spun him around in the middle of the field. Shimmering petels drifted loose around them, looking like pale blue lightning bugs floating in the cool night air.