Curiosity Killed the Cat

Chapter 22: Blood and Healing

Frigga carefully placed one of the Golden Apples inside of her basket, making sure to only touch it with the cloth, lest she never be able to let go of it. She had her hand on the door leading back inside the palace when she heard a series of grunts from outside. She carefully walked back over to her balcony to see what the commotion was.

When she leaned over the railing, she saw a troop of guards running towards the third circle. She put the basket that held the apple in her pocket dimension and rushed out to follow them. She ran towards the spot where she heard the struggling come from. When the people gathered around the square saw her, they parted a path for her to get to where the main action was. When she got to the center of the square she saw Thor beating some of the residents of the circle. There was blood everywhere and fury in his eyes.

"Thor, Stop!" she yelled at him, pushing him away from the poor people he was hurting.

"They killed father!"

She made sure she put distance between her son and the residents, not only the ones he was beating, but the ones who had come to see the commotion as well. "Thor, these people didn't kill Odin. He was already at the end of his lifetime, the storming of the castle was just the event that secured it. Calm down."

"If they hadn't stormed the castle he would still be alive!" He raised his fist and the people behind her cowered at the sight.

"We don't know that, but what I do know is that you are harming these people, your people, and this needs to end now."

As she said this, the guards finally reached the square and stood, stunned, not knowing what action to take. The captain looked to Frigga for guidance. "Your majesty?"

Frigga looked at them, then looked at Thor, and one glance told her that her son was not going to back down. She sighed heavily, and with a calm voice commanded: "Take Thor into custody, and send healers here to help the injured. Check the surrounding area as well for survivors and... possible fatalities."

Thor looked at her incredulously as he was restrained from behind and led off from the scene of the crime.

An hour later, the healers reported that there had been 6 fatalities and 31 were injured, 13 of those were in critical condition. Frigga resolved to find more out about this matter after she attended to Loki. Before leaving she appointed Heimdall as Regent in her absence.

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Loki and the other tricksters were cleaning up their latest prank, which involved a lot of cheese, a lot of pasta, and just a smidge of C4, when Frigga walked through the door. Loki dropped his sponge and hugged his mother. When he pulled back, he noticed the exhausted look on her face. He furrowed his brows and looked down to see blood soaking the hem of her skirt. He looked up worriedly but was calmed slightly when his mother put her hand on his shoulder and reassured him that it was not her own.

"Amma, what happened?"

"We can discuss that afterwards, but for the time being I have the apples necessary for your healing to begin."

Asclepius looked up from the couch at the word "healing" and immediately strolled over to the two deities. "In that case, if it alright with you, Loki, I would prefer to start right away."

Loki nodded his assent and the three left to go to the medical center. When they entered the room, Eris was already standing by the examiner's table.

Asclepius sighed. "How are you already down here?"

"I have my ways."

Asclepius shook his head in amusement and gestured for Loki to lie down on the table. Loki stripped down to his boxers, cheeks reddening a bit. Eris whistled and Loki gave her a quick glare before settling down on the table. Frigga smiled a bit in mirth at Eris, before taking her son's hand in her own.

Asclepius used a mortar and pestle to crush the apples into a fine paste, which he mixed with the contents of a glowing green vial. Loki looked at it curiously, until Asclepius explained. "Last time I healed you, some of your magical essence was left onto the tools I had used. I kept it in case I ever needed to heal you once more. The essence will help fight against any remaining spells that Odin may have placed to activate if there was ever an attempt to remove the scars." Asclepius paused for a moment before going on. "If that is the case, then it may be necessary to re-open the wounds for them to heal properly. If the ends up being the case I will give you painkillers before moving forward."

Loki's eyes widened a bit and he took a deep breath. Frigga gripped his hand a bit and he squeezed back in response.

Asclepius took some of the poultice he had made and spread a bit on one of the scars on Loki's upper arm. Loki winced as a stinging sensation ran along where the scar was. After a minute or two, the pain died down a bit and Asclepius wiped off the excess. In the place where the deep scar had been, there was only smooth skin. Loki smiled a bit before nodding to Asclepius to keep going. The pain was worse in some areas than others; his hands, feet, and ribs were particularly painful. During certain areas, Eris provided him a washcloth to bite down on so he wouldn't hurt his teeth by clenching them. Once his front was done, Loki turned over to his back and proceeded in the same fashion.

When Asclepius was done with his work, he brought over a mirror from the other room. Loki looked in the mirror and for the first time in five years, he felt like he was free. Free from his past, free from everything. Tears leaked out of his eyes and he smiled as he hugged his mum and Eris, both of whom were beaming for him. He profusely thanked Asclepius who insisted it wasn't a problem.

Loki sighed contently. He then looked at his mother and remembered his earlier question. "So where did that blood come from?"