The Threads of Fate [Book 4]

Chapter 14: Scars

Loki laid on the hard bed with his eyes closed and arms folded behind his head trying to ignore the voices of the guards standing near his cell while they discussed mundane topics between themselves. The topic of discussion eventually turned towards him, making Loki hit the heel of his palm against his forehead in exasperation before sticking his middle fingers in his ears to block them out, knowing full well they could see him. It was childish however Loki no longer cared.

Why Odin bothered to keep stationing them here Loki did not know. It wasn't like he could go anywhere, the walls were unbreakable and his seiðr was bound, something Loki was unfortunately still adjusting to. The amount of times Loki had tried to change his clothes or summon a book to pass the time were too numerous to count; not to mention trying to make his meals look somewhat appetising.

The servant who brought him his breakfast that morning had been nice enough to slip some fruit in with the tray. Loki had only been able to give her a smile in thanks so he didn't alert the guards it was there. They had, along with the cooks, been given strict instructions by the Allfather to only allow him gruel twice a day, which Loki only ate because starving himself to death seemed like a stupid way to go. And he wanted to spite Odin.

Shuddering over the thought that tonight's meal would be another bowl of the stuff Loki tried to think of anything else. Letting his mind drift, like it had for the past however many weeks he spent down here, Loki tried again to work out where the laughter he had dreamt of came from. It seemed familiar, but who's it was though he could not place.

Maybe his dreams were his mind playing tricks on him while he spent his days down here. Surrounded by white walls and with nothing to occupy his mind he was obviously making up scenarios to keep himself sane. Maybe it was the thought of seeking some comfort after everything he had endured. There was many a time he lay there after another round of torture wishing for a Valkyrie to come and take the pain away; that he was finally dead and no longer had to feel.

It was the only reason he had agreed...he wanted the pain to stop.

He'd had another dream he could only guess was about her; well he wouldn't exactly call it a dream, whoever it was had somehow invaded his nightmares. And yet when he only dreamt about her it was always the forest, always a playful giggle that sounded just nearby before something forced him to wake up.

Loki knew that her voice didn't belong to anyone he had met to date, yet the reaction from his body told him he knew her...could it be related to the small dots that now ringed his lips? Removing a finger from his ear Loki began to trace them lightly again, brow creasing as he did so, his tongue running along the inside of his lips feeling their exit point. Needle and thread was the only thing he could think of to cause this kind of scaring. That thought made Loki bite his lip accidentally as he tried to stop a gasp in panic at the image that once again flashed before his eyes - him on his knees, black thread pulled tight across his mouth; the metallic taste of blood.

Loki knew they weren't done before the whole bifrost incident and they weren't there when he left Midgard with Thor and it wasn't something he did to him; Loki would remember having his mouth sewn shut, that kind of thing seemed like something he wouldn't forget...did the woman in his dreams do this to him? When would she have had the opportunity though?

Maybe it was his father wanting to send him mad. That would be the perfect excuse for Odin; the Mad Prince left to rot in the dungeons to protect the people of Asgard from his tyranny.

Another person entered Loki's thoughts, making him sigh as he opened his eyes to stare at the blank ceiling above, letting the guilt fill him. His mother, his only source of comfort and love within this place, was dead because of him. The shock of what Loki had tried to do to Jötunheim and then to Midgard had killed her; or so Thor had told him.