Give me Love

32. The Deal

*Thor's POV*

Loki just managed to catch the (h/c) haired woman before she hit the ground. Odin waved his hand, and three guards hauled the human girl to her feet and carried her out of the room. Loki moved to follow, but was stopped by another two guards.

"Where are you taking her?" the disgraced prince growled to the king.

"To the healers." He said simply whilst standing. "And you will be going to your cell." He said as the guards pulled Loki away. Everyone in the room could see how much Loki wanted to fight, but he knew it wouldn't do any good; Odin could be unmeasurably pigheaded when he wanted to be... Once Loki was gone, the king began descending the stairs.

"Father..." Thor started, "What do you intend to do with (Name)?" he asked. The king stopped and glanced to his eldest son.

"Heal her, then send her home." He said. "I would send her back now, but the last thing we need is an Asgardian illness consuming all of Midgard." He then turned and exited through a door leading to his study. The crowned prince turned to his mother; disappointment and sadness on her face. They could both sense the storm that was approaching; they always could... Odin and Loki had clashed in the past, but it never ended like this... Frigga was usually always able to calm the king down before something like this happened... but not this time... She could only be thankful that her younger son still had his head...

And so, everyone was forced to stand by and watch as Loki dove deeper and deeper into anger and depression. He tore everything in his cell to shreds, used his powers against the others in the dungeon, causing numerous injuries and near-deaths, and had unintentionally caused harm to himself in the process. Odin refused to acknowledge him at all, and very nearly managed to escape any mention of (Name), except of course when the healers told him there was nothing new to report on her condition. The more time that passed, the more worried Thor became for both of their lives and safety. (Name)'s condition hadn't changed, she remained unconscious almost the entire time, and when she was awake, she was barely lucid enough to string together more than a sentence or two; and Loki... well Loki was still consumed by his sadness...

***

Thor sighed as he entered the throne room. The prince and his mother had plotted together to catch Odin off guard, and to try, possibly uselessly, to convince him to give Loki a chance. Thor bowed when he reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the throne. Odin raised a surprised brow,

"My son." He said. "Is there a reason you have come?" he asked. Thor opened his mouth to speak, but in that moment Frigga stepped into the room via the door to the left of the throne. The blond haired prince breathed a sigh of relief, not exactly sure how to start everything off... or how to finish... or how to convince him... or how to control him... really Thor was there for moral support while Frigga did the talking...

"Darling." The queen said.

"Yes?" Odin answered, glancing over to her wife. She took a steadying breath. Thor was slightly relieved to know that even she was nervous.

"We've come to talk to you about Loki and (Name)." she said. Odin raised a brow and glanced back to Thor.

"We?" he asked. The prince smiled nervously,

"Yes... we." He said.

"I thought you would be happy having Loki in prison." The king said.

"Not at the cost of his health... or (Name)'s..." Thor replied. Odin sighed and rubbed his temple.

"So you expect me to forgive everything he has done? The betrayals and wars he has caused?"

"No," Frigga said. "Just allow him to walk about the palace... allow him to be a part of his family once more."

"He has stated time and time again that he does not wish to be a part of our family." Odin retorted.

"He is stubborn... a trait that all of the men in this family get from you." She teased, causing Odin to grumble something under his breath.

"I cannot put all those in the palace - - and Asgard for that matter - - into harm's way just because Loki is sulking..." he said. "If he is allowed to walk freely, then what is to stop him from causing more trouble?" he asked.

"Tether him to something." Frigga answered. Odin raised a brow,

"While I do like the idea of tying him to a boulder with an unbreakable chain, I don't think he would take too kindly to it." He said with a smirk.

"With magic dear," the queen sighed. The great king took a moment to think it over.

"What would be his anchor?" he asked after what felt like an eternity of silence. Frigga glanced to Thor, who nodded.

"(Name)." the queen replied. Odin rolled his eyes, earning a less than pleased glare from his queen.

"She is not only a weak human, but also sickly. He could kill her and break free of his anchor in less than an hour." Frigga sighed,

"You really think our son is completely incapable of loving someone other than himself, don't you?" she asked.

"His record is against him." Frigga pursed her lips, unhappy with his answer.

"Father-,"

"Where do you stand on this then?" Odin cut Thor off.

"I do not think Loki would do anything to jeopardise (Name)'s wellbeing... He loves her..."

"He has professed to 'love' many women over the years-,"

"Father, that is true... but there is something different with (Name)... When I took her away to be kept safe with The Avengers, Loki came for her, knowing that we not only had the home-field advantage, but also the leverage of her over him."

"What are you saying?"

"That I think Loki knew perfectly well what would happen if he tried to retrieve (Name), even with all of his weapons and cyborgs, he knew what could happen..." he took a deep breath and released all of the irritation and strain from his voice. "I'm saying that he gave up the rule of Midgard to get her back..." Odin took a moment to take in Thor's words,

"Very well then..." he said, albeit reluctantly.