"LOKI?" Astrid called out through the dungeons. For some reason, the prisons had grown darker. Perhaps since most of the inmates were killed that day, they didn't need to the cells working. Therefore, the golden glow did not illuminate the hallway.
"Astrid?" She heard. She rushed up to the cell where the voice came from. Expecting the worst version of Loki to greet her eyes, she was confused. He was put together. Not a single tear stain had ran down his face. "What are you still doing here?"
Astrid placed her hands on the cell and looked up at Loki. "Had no one told you about Frigga?" Still bewildered by his nonchalantness.
"They have."
This caused even more confusion. "Do you not grieve?" She asked cautiously.
Loki let a chuckle slip from his lips as he turned from her. "What sort of question is that?" He asked bitterly as he paced around his cell.
Astrid turned her head downward in shame. It was a stupid question. "My apologies, Loki," she said before lifting her head once more. "I just expected you to... look more distraught."
He stopped in his tracks, his back turned to her. He twisted his neck to look at Astrid. His eyes scanned her remorseful expression. Her brows furrowed in concern as her teary blue eyes looked up at him. Her hands still pressed to the cell veil, an offering for him to do the same that he ignored at the start. But she still kept them up. He sighed heavily as he approached her. He raised his hands, hovering them over the veil to line up with her own. He watched as Astrid smiled gently at the action.
"You're here alone?" Loki asked quietly.
Astrid nodded. "Yes, of course."
Loki nodded. A green glow enclosed around him and his cell causing him to disappear as well as the put together room. It was replaced with a cell that had been torn apart. As if a hurricane had ripped right through it.
However, what her eyes latched onto immediately was the figure slumped against the white cell opposite the veil. Loki. His bare feet were stained with dried blood from stepping on broken glass that he broke on the floor. His once near hair was now disheveled and messy, partially covering the right side of his face. His green leathery armour was now replaced with a green velvet shirt and black linen trousers, both stained with dust and blood. His face was stained with tear streaks.
Astrid furrowed her brows with more concern at his current state. She quickly made a portal to inside his cell and knelt beside him. She enclosed her arms around him, bringing him to her chest in a hug.
Loki chuckled into her skin though Astrid felt his tears hit her chest. "Why would hide this from me?" She asked quietly, smoothing a hand down his hair.
Loki took a few moments to respond. "I was ashamed."
"Ashamed of what?"
She heard him gulp as he stuffed his face deeper into the crevice of her neck and shoulder. "I sent him up those stairs. I thought Thor or Odin would be up there."
Astrid eyes widened at his confession yet she did not remove herself from him like he expected. He though she would push him away in anger, disgust and rage. But rather she held onto him tighter. "You're such a fool," she whispered, continuing to smooth his hair.
He wept into her shoulder, his fists clenching her deep red skirt. "I'm sorry," he chanted in gasps as he cried. "I didn't know she was there."
Astrid shushed him gently. "You didn't know," she whispered. "Though, it wasn't very smart to try and kill your father and brother either." Loki sniffled as he rose his head from her neck. Astrid reach into her pocket. "You know, Frigga's last words to me were to gift you something. It would be dishonourable of me to go against her final wish to me."
"Oh?" Loki questioned while he wiped his eye. "I'd love to see it."
Astrid scrunched her nose up. She really did not want to let the object go. It brought her comfort in times of need. But it was meant to be with him. And he clearly needed it.
She pulled the handkerchief from her pocket. "I apologise for it being crumpled and worn. I found myself twisting a lot."
Loki gently took the cloth from her hands and peered at the intricate patterns sewn onto it. He had alway wondered what it was she played with when she got nervous. Most interactions they had since they garden talk, she had been found fiddling with it. And now, his eyes had finally laid upon the mystery.
He scanned the detailed lavenders and yellow rattle flowers that wove together on the cloth. His thumbs danced over the raised thread of the golden and green swirls and lines that followed the flow of flowers. His fingers messed with the few messy threads that lay forgotten underneath the masterpiece. His heart thumped at the amount of wrinkles on the cloth due to endless amounts of twisting and clenching.
It made him so overjoyed. It was something so special. A handmade present. Something he knew meant so much to her that she carried it everywhere. Something that resembled her, as well as himself. Something that she poured her heart into, despite the amount of times he broke it so far. It smelt like her. It felt like her. It practically was a tiny part of her.
A true smile grew on his face. A genuine one as he turned to Astrid. Her face was etched with worry; worry that Loki would hate it, find it strange, anything. But she saw his smile and teary eyes and relaxed ever so slightly.
"Thank you," he whispered. "I'd be a fool to not treasure this for eternity."
Astrid smiled back. "It's no problem at all, Loki."
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