In the Dungeons of Asgard

----

"After all this time? What're you here for? To gloat? To mock me?" he spat.

"Enough. Loki." Thor's voice boomed with as much authority as he could muster. It was a ruse. I could see. Both of the brothers pretending, their prides, their egos deepening the chasm between them.

"There's someone here to see you." he continued, softer this time. I came out from behind the beast of a man in front of me; in view of the door. The sight before me, broke my heart into a million pieces as if it wasn't already broken enough over what happened. The antique furniture upturned, books torn, shards of broken glass everywhere. Loki's foot had one sticking out of it too, the open gash was bleeding. His hair was longer than I'd ever seen, almost to his shoulders, that and his grief stricken eyes made him look like a madman. Despite what Thor had said; this was my fault, I had gotten him in this, and now he wasn't even able to see his mother.

Loki looked outside his dungeon cell as I cautiously went in. It hurt me to see this but I deserved it after ratting him out I thought. Tears threatened to spill, it was difficult to look where I was going. Even the enchanted scenery of the beach outside was eerily calm waiting for the storm to arrive. I set the medicine box down.

"DO NOT TOUCH ME" he screamed at me, when I pulled out the shard of glass from his foot, the force of his words almost a physical blow. I staggered to stand up, my tears spilling everywhere.

"I'm sorry" I choked on a sob. In an instant, I was backed up against the wall, his left hand on my throat, eyes looking up to find his rage filled gaze.

"You're sorry? What're you sorry for? Ratting me out to my own brother? Making my father hate me more than he already does? Getting my mother killed?" He was right and that only made the tears come down harder. Knowing Loki, I knew his rage wasn't likely to subside anytime soon, though by his state I figured it would be worse if his rage got directed towards himself. It was hard to breathe even harder to speak.

"Everything" I managed to gasp. His anger was starting to internalize, I realised still gazing into his eyes. His shoulders hunched, carrying more burdens than they could, with a ragged breath he sat on the corner of his unmade bed.

"Get out" he said quietly into his hands, as though all his strength had left him. I followed. My hands felt warm against his pale face, as I lifted his head to look at me.

"Loki, you're a good man. I just wanted to stop you from doing something you'd regret later" I had struck the right cord, his anger dissolved, giving way to sadness and grief, that he never showed. He had only expressed it in front of me once before.

"She came here to talk to me and all I did was push her away." His eyes were lined with tears too.

"I told her she wasn't my mother. How does that make me a good man? I hurt her. The woman that raised me, when my own abandoned...." his voice broke. He didn't continue and I didn't let him; seeing the man I love fall to pieces before me. All I wanted was to protect him. I remembered what his mother had told me, he was misunderstood. If only I could show the world, this man in front of me the one who was so broken up over the death of his mother, that he couldn't function, the man who despite never meeting his father's expectations, still tried and tried again to please him.

"Your mother loved you Loki, and despite what you said to her, she knew you did too."

"You saw her?"

"Yes, I came as soon as I heard, well Thor found me... I'm so sorry, Loki. She, she was..." I sat down on the bed too, unable to form coherent words anymore. Our silence, however spoke volumes. Somehow, we ended up with his head in my lap, our fingers intertwined while I absently stroked his long hair. Both looking out his window, watching the storm roll in. We were both a mess.

"Run away with me" he finally broke the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"My father and brother think me a madman, so they decided to put the disgrace in the dungeon" Getting up, cupping my face in his bruised hands "let's go away from here, far away. Start afresh"

Before I could even think about his proposition. Someone burst into the room. Thor grabbed me by the shoulders, manhandling me out the room before I could protest.

"What the hell, Thor?" the rage in my voice pretty evident.

"Father wanted to talk to him, alone." He shrugged apologetically, pointing me towards the crack in the door. As much as Thor was obedient to his father, he loved his brother much, much more. From what I could see, the way these two turned out, all the credit goes to their mum.

Their conversation to me seemed to go in slow motion. His father, is not the best person in the world but he gave baby Loki a chance, so he must have at least some redeeming qualities. He's never approved of me much and frankly the feeling's mutual. "Who got that girl here?"

I could hear him seething.

"How am I supposed to know? Being locked in this godforsaken place?" Loki replied with equal vigour.

"Do not lie to me boy!" he bellowed "The only reason you're here and not dead, is because of Frigga. But even promises to her can only get you so much favour."

"What do you want?" Typical Loki. No bullshitting.

"I want that girl out of here! I want you to not ruin what little dignity we have left! " his father's anger still pretty evident.

"And I suppose you'd want me to throw in a side of ditch-the-midgardian-girl in that too?" he mocked, stressing on the 'Midgardian'.

For a second there, Odin seemed to be taken aback since he doesn't say anything. Maybe his expression confirmed Loki's suspicion because Loki's face, the only one I could see, had a look of cold fury on it. "Don't you see?". Silence. "She is, my anchor."

"That girl is using you." Even though Odin never said this to my face, it stung just as much. "Using me? Just as much as you wanted to, when you stole me here from Jountenhiem? Right?" Loki had told me he was adopted but this little titbit he hid pretty well. His face though. It was a mix of rage, hurt, grief and something I couldn't pin point; either way, before Thor noticed I slipped through the door, ignoring the outraged look on Odin's face, right to him. To hell with his father. To hell with the world. Loki was the only thing that mattered right now, the rest could be dealt with tomorrow. He had been strong for me so many times, this was my chance. I had to be strong for him. I instructed him to sit on the bed while I bound his foot in gauze. It was a really bad cut; I don't know how he was even standing. Also, I found an earlier undiscovered gash on his right hand, which I tended to immediately.

It's like I was working on autopilot, because somehow within a matter of god knows how many minutes, I was done putting his makeshift bandages and that was it. We were leaving, we were finally leaving that toxic place. We were getting our new beginning.