Cruel Intentions

Chapter Four

"I need help!" Asta called out.

"What is it?" Eir asked.

"I need help lifting him back onto the bed. He's been cut. I sewed the wound shut and he's heavy." Asta explained.

"Hold his shoulders. I'll get his legs." Eir sighed.

The two counted to three before picking him up and gently laying him on the bed. Loki gripped Asta's dress tightly and Eir bit her lip as she looked at them.

"Asta, you're needed with us." Eir told her.

"Can't I stay here to check on him?" Asta asked.

"You are not his personal maid. Many other prisons have injuries that need to be cared for and you and I are the only ones who are better qualified. You must come now." Eir explained as she left the cell.

Asta looked back at Loki and sighed in defeat.

"Listen to me very carefully. Try not to move so much as to not irritate your wound. I'll be back. Just relax. Everything will be alright." Asta whispered softly.

She cupped his cheek in her hand as Loki gazed into her eyes. Loki brought his hand up to her face but before he could touch her, he winced in pain and Asta hushed him.

"See. Don't move. I'm sorry." Asta said before turning around and leaving the cell.

As the hours went by, Asta and Eir did everything they could to help the prisoners in the riot. Once everything was almost clear and the guards began to clean the halls, Odin stepped in and the two stood up quickly and bowed their heads.

"How much damage?" Odin asked.

"Not much on the cells but many prisoners were injured. All taken care of by the way. The guards have taken the rioters and are now cleaning the results of their fight." Eir explained.

"And who might this be?" Odin asked.

Asta's eyes widened as she turned to look at Eir and then back at Odin.

"Asta, your highness." Asta replied shakily.

"So you are the one Eir has talked to me about. You are much lovelier in person." Odin told her.

"Why, thank you, Allfather." Asta smiled softly.

"I am also aware that you have taken the duty of helping the special prisoner, is this true?" Odin asked.

"Yes. When I came to him tonight, he had a deep cut and I sewed it for him. Now, he should be resting." Asta replied.

"You were able to get a needle close to him?" Odin asked in shock.

"Yes, he-"


"Never mind that. From what I can see, your work here is done. You two are dismissed." Odin told them.

Eir walked Asta back to her quarters and smiled.

"Tomorrow, we will explore more with your seidr." Eir said before walking back to her chambers.

Asta entered her quarters to find Agnette waiting by the kitchen table.

"You didn't have to stay up waiting for me you know." Asta said.

"You were gone for hours. I was starting to worry that you might have been hurt." Agnette told her.

"Well, as you can see, I'm alright. It was the prisoners who were injured. Loki was too." Asta explained, trying to hold back her tears.

"What happened? Is he alright?" Agnette asked.

"He had a deep cut along his right side. He looked so helpless. He looked very different from the stories you've told me. I was able to stitch the wound and he's resting now." Asta replied.

"You stitched his wound?" Agnette asked.

"Why is everyone so surprised? I mean, he was scared but, it was just a needle." Asta retorted.

"I think you've forgotten that his lips are sewn shut and were sewn shut by a needle. It's safe to say he fears them. When he first had his lips sewn shut, while I was still a healer, I saw him one day. He had a cut on his hand that he got by knocking over a pitcher of water. The other healers did everything they could to stitch his hand but he would push them away. Sometimes even hit them. We all agreed it would be a miracle if someone was able to get a needle near him." Agnette explained.

"Why would he accept me stitching his wound then?" Asta asked.

"He must think you're special." Agnette chuckled in response.

"But, I'm not special. I'm just training to take Eir's spot when she's finished. I mean, I do care for Loki. He doesn't deserve what he's been put through but I'm not special." Asta explained.

Agnette walked towards Asta and took her face in her hands.

"You are special, Asta. You have the purest soul in the world. Asgard could do some good if more people were like you. You are special because of your gift. You can heal people and take their pain away." Agnette told her.

"When I'm in Loki's cell, I look at him and I see he still hurts. No matter what I've done, I can't take his pain away. I've healed him and made him feel hungry, but...he still hurts." Asta explained.

"Listen to me. You are healing him. The pain you see is emotional pain. He's been through so much the poor man. Wounds such as those take longer to heal than any wound known to man." Agnette told her.

"I understand. I will help him with all his wounds. After all, that is my job." Asta smiled.

"Just be careful. He sometimes can't express himself in the way he wants." Agnette told her.

The following morning, Asta was excited to see Loki. She couldn't explain why but, she felt happy knowing that she was helping Loki. She walked with Eir into the prisons and intertwined her fingers together.

"After last night, I am still very much tired and at my age, teaching you won't be as great as it usually is. Today, I will give you the day to work and experiment any spells you want. Just be alert and focused." Eir told her.

"Oh, thank you. I will do my best." Asta grinned.

"Just like always." Eir chuckled as she left the room.

Asta walked towards Loki's cell and stepped inside to find him asleep on his stomach. She rolled her eyes as she walked over to him and carefully pushed him onto his back. She saw small blood stains on the pillow and nudged Loki awake. Loki moaned softly and his eyes widened when he saw Asta hovering over him and reached up to cup her cheek. Asta smiled as she took his hand in hers and laid it back down. Loki furrowed his brow as Asta gave him a look.

"You disobeyed my instructions." Asta told him.

She pointed to his pillow and he saw the blood stains. He mentally scolded himself as Asta chuckled and took out a cloth from her robe.

"No worries. There isn't much blood this time." Asta said.

She knelt down beside him and cleaned his lips of the blood. Then, she walked over to the right side of the bed and pulled back his covers.

"I need to look at your wound." Asta said softly.

Loki went to remove his shirt but winced in pain. Asta helped remove his shirt and inhaled sharply as she looked at the wound. The skin was inflamed and she bit her lip as she hovered her hand over the wound. That was when she saw that the stitches had been tugged on as if someone tried to remove them. Asta looked up at Loki with sad eyes and sighed.

"Do you not trust me?" Asta asked.

Loki looked down at the floor away from Asta and she scoffed.

"Hey, look at me." Asta told him.

Loki's eyes widened as he turned to face her and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Do you trust me?" Asta asked once more.

Loki nodded his head and Asta sighed as she let her arms fall to her sides.

"Then why would you irritate your stitches? I'm trying my best to help you." Asta explained.

Loki put his head down and Asta sighed as she pulled out her kit.

"Luckily, you didn't irritate them so that I had to re-stitch you." Asta said nonchalantly.

Loki quickly turned to face her and he panted softly as she got close to his wound.

"All you need is ointment and some of my seidr to help." Asta told him.

She rubbed the cream along his wound so that the redness would go away and used her seidr to make the swelling disappear.

"Eir, gave me most of the day with you. It's just us." Asta giggled.

Loki went to sit up and Asta quickly stopped him.

"Allow me. That's what I'm here for anyway." Asta said quickly.

She adjusted his pillow and helped him sit up on the bed.

"There. Better?" Asta asked.

Loki nodded his head and Asta smiled.

"You know it's funny that sometimes when I speak with you, I feel as though you're my conscience, um, answering my question given the circumstances." Asta laughed nervously.

Loki's eyes lit up as he listened to her speak. Just her voice made his heart race. Asta looked at his bed and then up at him.

"May I sit down?" Asta asked.

Loki quickly nodded his head as he moved his legs to give Asta room. She sat on the edge of his bed and smiled at him.

"I don't see why they have to keep you cooped up in here day and night. I always say forgive and forget. It's not healthy to keep a grudge. When you forgive someone, your life opens up to so many beautiful things. I was once angry all the time." Asta explained.

Loki let out a soft chuckle and Asta gave him a look.

"I know it's hard to believe that someone as happy as me was once angry. But, believe it or not...I was. Oh, I'm not used to talking about this. In fact, I don't think I've ever told anyone about this. I too had someone special taken from me. Many people actually. You see I..." Asta trailed off.

Loki carefully lifted his legs and swung them over the bed so he could sit next to Asta. He leaned close to her as Asta sniffled and looked away from him.

"A few years ago, I was sent to study my seidr gifts with my grandmother. A few days later, when I went to go back to visit my parents and siblings, I was told that they had all been killed by pillagers. I had a baby brother. I had hoped he was alive but they told me he was dead. Burned alive in his crib. He was just two. My mother father, older brother and sister all had multiple stab wounds and...it was unimaginable. But I was not angry because of their deaths. I was angry because they could not find the pillagers. My grandmother lost her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren that day. We both lost what we held dear to our hearts. For months I was filled with anger. I wanted to hurt someone. I wanted to release my anger by inflicting pain on another person. Finally, after months of searching, I looked the pillagers right in their faces and I didn't feel angry anymore. During the months of searching, I did a little searching myself. I told myself that when I saw the pillagers, I would not hurt them but forgive them. And when I did, the anger was gone. I was myself again. I still do hurt because of what they did, but, at least I don't hurt to the point of wanting to hurt someone else. That's why I say forgive and forget. It helps the mind to stay healthy." Asta explained.

Asta looked back up at Loki and sighed as he cupped her cheek in his hand.

"I must be boring you. Are you hungry?" Asta asked as she stood up from the bed.

Loki shook his head and Asta knew he was lying.

"Don't lie. Lay back." Asta said.

Loki laid back on the bed and Asta used her seidr to fill his stomach. She gasped softly as Loki leaned forward and nuzzled his nose against her neck. As he did, Asta smiled as she closed her eyes softly. She had to admit, the feeling of his skin on hers made her heart race and her stomach flutter with excitement. She stepped back and turned her back to him processing what happened. Asta quickly managed to convince herself that it was a thank you and turned back around.

"Um, I uh...ha-ha, I don't know what else to say. For once I'm at a loss for words. Can you believe it?" Asta chuckled nervously.

Loki moved to one side of the small bed and patted the empty side. Asta gave him a look before shaking her head.

"Oh, no. I can't. Well, I couldn't. I could be caught and who knows what the Allfather might do if he found out and-"

Asta cut herself off as Loki raised his hand and shook his head. She sighed in defeat as she walked over to the bed and carefully laid herself down on the bed.

"It is nice to take a rest once in awhile isn't it?" Asta asked.

She laid on her back stiffly as her hands were clasped together on top of her stomach. Asta looked up at the ceiling and quickly turned to face Loki.

"You know I don't know why I keep asking questions when I know you can't really answer them." Asta commented.

Asta watched carefully as Loki wrapped his hand around hers and intertwined his fingers in the gaps of hers. Her face was a few inches from his and she smiled softly.

"You know, you truly are a good man, Loki." Asta said softly.

Loki gazed into her eyes and nuzzled his nose against hers. Asta giggled and closed her eyes softly as she laid against the bed.

"Last night was tiring. I barely slept wondering how you were doing." Asta said.

Loki let her hand go as he realized Asta fell asleep. He gently removed himself from the bed and pulled the covers over her. He picked up a nearby book and sat with his back to the bed as he read. A few hours passed, and Asta awoke to the sound of running footsteps.

"Asta!" Eir cried out.

Asta sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Yes?" Asta asked.

"What have you been doing?" Eir asked angrily.

"I was just getting some shut eye. I was tired from last night." Asta replied.

"The guards don't think so." Eir said.

Loki gave Eir a look and then turned to look up at Asta. She sighed as she got out of bed and left the cell. Asta walked down the hall with Eir and sighed.

"I did nothing wrong. We didn't do anything, Eir, I swear." Asta told her.

"I believe you but, those guards will do anything to hurt Loki any chance they get." Eir told Asta.

"What?" Asta asked.

At that moment, Asta could hear Loki's pained moans and the sound of his body being thrown around.

"No! Stop them!" Asta cried out.

She tried to run to his cell but Eir gripped her tightly as Asta sobbed.

"Stop it! His wound will open! Stop it! Don't hurt him!" Asta screamed as she pushed Eir away.

She began to run to his cell when someone's hand gripped her arm. She tried to pull away and turned to see who was grabbing her. Her eyes widened and she froze when her eyes met with Odin's.

"Leave them be." Odin whispered.