Adopted

6. Gone

You run up the stairs and make way for Odin's room as Thor follows you. You see that the door of his room is already opened. Odin is still laying in his bed. Loki, who is also in the room, stares at both you and Thor, but Frigga immediately runs up to you and Thor and gives him a hug when she sees him, and then she turns to you and holds you tightly as well.
"Loki", Thor angrily says the moment his mother has let go of him. When Frigga lets go of you too, you turn to Loki as well. You walk closer to him, and talk to him as quiet as possible.
"Why have you done all of this, Loki ?"
Tears form in your eyes as you notice he's not looking back in your eyes. It's as if you're not even there.
"Why don't you tell mother how you sent the Destroyer to kill our friends, to kill Nanna, and to kill me ?" Thor starts talking. You walk up to Frigga and watch the brothers argue.
"What ?" Frigga asks full disbelief.
"Well, I must have been enforcing father's last command", Loki innocently speaks.
"You're a talented liar brother, always have been."
"It's good to have you back", Loki says, clearly lying. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim."
Loki then blasts Thor through the wall with his scepter. With Thor out of the room, you again walk up to Loki.
"Please, brother. Why are you doing this ?"
He ignores you and rushes out of the room, but you're not leaving until you get an answer out of him.
"Loki, stop !"

When the two of you are alone, he finally stops walking. He turns around and looks at you.
"Why are you doing this ?" You ask again.
"When father will wake up, I will have proven myself a worthy son, Nanna, don't you get it ? I will have saved his life, and I will be true heir to the throne."
"Loki, please. You don't have to prove yourself. You're already a worthy son, really. Odin loves you the way you are, and even though you now know that you're Laufey's son, father still loves you. He took care of you all these years together with mother. Frigga also still loves you. You're their son. Thor still loves you, and so do I. You are our brother, Loki. Why don't you stop this and let things be as they should be, with Thor as our future king. Nothing changes. We all love you, but please, stop this now."
You stare at him, and notice that he's taking your hand.
"I love you too, Nanna. You are my sister. But I can't stop this. Not anymore."
"Why not ?"
"Because I shall be good enough. I shall prove myself a worthy son."
And with that he leaves. Your heart breaks into a million pieces. You don't follow him this time. You stare at him as he walks down the stairs. When you can't see him anymore, you rush up to Frigga's and Odin's room again. You look at Frigga as you set foot in their room. She sits down next to Odin's bed, defeated.
"What is happening, Nanna ?" She asks you. You notice that she's having tears in her eyes.
"I tried talking to him, mother, I really did."
"He has never listened to anyone but you, but I'm afraid that this time, he didn't listen to you either, did he ?"
You shake your head and come closer to Frigga. You sit down next to her, and place your hand on hers.
"He went away. He did tell me why he is doing this before he left, and I almost convinced him to stop, but in the end I couldn't."
Frigga smiles weakly at you and looks at you.
"Don't worry, Nanna. You did what you could."
You two remain quiet for a little while, both not being sure what to say or do now.
"Is it true that Loki sent the Destroyer to kill you ?"
You nod, but the moment you see Frigga's expression, you try to make Loki seem less harsh for some reason.
"I know he never wanted to kill us. He has explained everything to me. The only thing he wants is to be worthy enough. He wants to deserve our love."
Suddenly, Odin opens his eyes. Frigga is the first to notice. He immediately gets out of his bed like nothing has ever happened.
"I have to stop them", is all he says before he leaves his room. You want to follow him, yet Frigga stops you.
"We have to let him."

After what feels like hours, Thor and Odin return. You first run up to Odin and hug him, and then turn to Thor and hug him as well. You look behind them, but no one else is coming anymore.
"Where is Loki ?"
Odin doesn't reply. He shares a quick glance with Thor, and then Thor takes your arm and guides you out of the room.
"Thor, please, what are you doing ?"
He leads you to your room, and he still hasn't said a word.
"You need to rest, sister. You have fought beautifully today on Midgard, but now all you need is-"
"Thor, please tell me where Loki is !" You interrupt him. By the look on his face, you know that what he's about to say isn't good news.
"The Bifrost is destroyed, Nanna. Both Loki and I almost fell, but Odin came. He tried to help both of us, but-"
He pauses his sentence, not being sure if you are able to handle the next words that are about to come out of his mouth.
"Tell me what happened, Thor."
"He fell."
And those two words hit you like a brick. The pain that you are suddenly feeling in your chest is unbearable. Loki had made his mistakes, for sure, but he was your brother. You always saw a good side in every person, something that not many people could.
"I'm sorry, Nanna. I tried to save him. I know you had a special bond with him. I know you loved him. We all did."
He holds out his arms and pulls you into a hug, but you're not crying. You can't cry, even though you've just heard the news about your brother. You feel empty. Too empty to even let a tear slide down your cheek.