Merciful [A Loki Fanfiction]

Faith Trust and Pixie Dust

Merciful

Chapter Nine: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

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Last Chapter

"For one to trust, both must trust," the voice said. "Do you trust my daughter? You have a week."

Jaida

Three days with Loki was really wearing me down. The most he had done since summoning the tent was transport us to different location each night, claiming that he 'trusted' me to do all of the hunting, guarding, cooking, whatever.

"Jaida, when are you going hunting?" Loki asked 'innocently' from his lounging position on a tree stump.

I gritted my teeth and spun around. "You know what?" I hissed. "Do it yourself. I'm not a slave!"

"I never said you were," Loki said, a slightly befuddled expression on his face, standing slowly.

"You're treating me like one!" I said loudly. "For crying out loud, I have to hunt three times a day just to keep you quiet about food!"

"Well sorry, I didn't know you were so close to the animals. Ah, that's right, I forgot! You are one!"

"I would have thought you wouldn't be troubled with killing several animals yourself, seeing as you killed so many people in New York!" I retorted angrily. I instantly regretted it; even the birds silenced as Loki's face fell slightly.

"How many?" he asked quietly, avoiding my piercing look.

I tilted my head slightly; did he seriously care? "Eight hundred thirty-nine civilians. One hundred ninety-seven agents, the most in the history of S.H.I.E.L.D.."

Loki immediately sighed and lowered himself to the stump. "That many."

"Yes. There weren't many unaffected."

"Will anyone forgive me? Has anyone?"

"No," I said, wishing it weren't the truth. "Not yet. That was an act of evil. There was no in between. You may be able to change the opinions of some, but for those affected, New York will always be the first thing brought to mind when you're even mentioned."

"Ah." Loki ran a hand through his hair, which was slowly growing unruly. "I see. That is... understandable. Does that... are you included in everyone?"

I bit my lip. "I wasn't as personally affected as everyone. I didn't lose anyone close to me."

"What about Coulson?"

"... I didn't lose anyone close to me," I repeated hesitantly. Loki rose an eyebrow.

"Do you not trust me?"

I shouldn't, no. After all, Loki was the god of mischief and lies, the one who had killed more than a thousand people in just days, the one who had brought an alien invasion upon us and wreaked havoc, laughing as he stabbed his brother in the side. "Why would you ask that?"

"I would rather the one person required to be with me all day at least trusted me enough to, let's say, sleep," Loki said sarcastically. "That would make you much smarter than if you trusted me no further than you could throw me, and yet still left yourself vulnerable to attack. Even now you are unarmed."

"I'm never unarmed," I replied. "Let's just get packed up. I'll find something there."

Before I had even finished what I was saying, the forest we were in gave way to an older woods with a nearby cliff. Trying to mask my surprise that Loki had actually done something, I peeked over the edge of the cliff, noting the ledge seven feet down before turning around to the scene of a perfect campsite, complete with something that looked like a three-headed rabbit.