A Beautiful and Twisted Mind (Loki Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

A/N: I'm mainly adding this chapter too because the last one was short and I really sort of love this chapter just because of Loki and Ali's banter. 

I stopped walking. Loki got aggravated and turned to look at me. “Alia, come on. I’m actually listening to Odin for this. The least you could do is calm down and follow me. My oaf of a brother will handle this. Just come along.” It wasn’t exactly encouragement but Loki was trying. That was something for him. “Let’s go” I said and started walking again. We entered a huge room with a round table. Thor, Odin, Sif and the Warriors Three were all sitting around it. Loki and Thor shared a look and he sat beside him. I sat in between Loki and Odin. Odin explained the situation and asked Loki to explain the attack in the dungeon. “And how do we know we can trust him?” asked Fandral.

“We can’t” Volstagg chimed in. There was chatter coming from every angle and all of it made Loki boil in anger. “Enough! You trust what Loki says because Herco made it clear he had plans to attack Alia. We will protect her and we will get to the bottom of this. Are we clear?” Odin asked. Everyone went quiet. “Lady Winter, are you alright?” Thor asked. I shrugged. “I don’t know” I whispered.

Loki touched my hand under the table. “My only question is why Loki is out of his cage” Fandral said. Loki flinched away from my hand. Thor put his fist on the table. “Lady Winter trusts him to help her with her powers and he is being well monitored. This is not the point and I will hear no more of this” Thor had never seemed so angry. The quietness returned. I’ve never seen Loki so uncomfortable.

“You are all dismissed. Keep an eye out. If Herco returns, you bring him to me” Odin said. Sif and the Warriors all nodded at me and disappeared. Thor stood and held his hand out to his brother. “Hello brother” Thor greeted. Loki stood and took Thor’s hand. “Thank you Thor.” Loki couldn’t look him in the eye. “You do not need to thank me. Lady Alia, you know where to find me.” Thor left the room with one final gesture of his hand. That left me, Loki, and Odin. “You also know where to find me. Alia, don’t make me regret this. Loki… same to you”

I was sitting in my room in a big chair by the door. Loki was standing and resting against the wall. “Are you alright?” he asked. “Do you care?” I retorted. Loki shrugged. “Fair question” he said. I rolled my eyes and stood. “And I believe the answer to both is the same.”

I turned away from him but he caught my arm. “Then you’re alright?” I bit my lip awkwardly. “I guess it’s not then” I said softly and shook free from his grip. “Do you want to speak about it or do you want to get your mind off it? I can help you with your powers?” I found myself agitated. “Why are you being nice?!” I screamed. Loki leaned off the wall. “Isn’t that why you freed me? To help you?” I threw a pillow at him. “Oh screw off. You don’t want to help me and I don’t think I can take another one of your mood swings."

“My mood swings?! I offer to help you and you throw things at me and scream. If this is how it’s going to be, I request my cell back. At least there I am not getting attacked”

“You’re such a child”

“Coming from the one who has the fuse of an infant”

“You’re being an asshole again”

“And what about you?”

 I couldn’t take it anymore and shut my eyes and screamed in frustration. “Ah!” I heard Loki yelp. I opened my eyes. I had thrown a small statue from an end table and chucked it at Loki… with my mind. “I think your powers are more than we understand” Loki said with a sarcastic smile on his face. I chuckled. “You think? Sorry I… threw that at you” I said. Loki picked up the pieces and they were put back together in a flash of green. “Sorry I angered you so much that your brain had the desire to harm me” Loki couldn’t hide the amusement in his voice.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. Loki seemed thoughtful. “I shall accompany you to the kitchen. After, we can explore the possibility of you throwing things at other people” he said. I looked at him questioningly. “What? Thor would never see it coming.” I shoved him playfully. “Hey Loki… I hate you” I said laughing. “I hate you too.” I looked at him and he was smiling. I got off the bed and Loki’s hand swiped past me. My hair fell from the braid it was in. I went to say something but Loki was already walking out of the room.

I rushed to his side and we walked silently to the kitchen. It was empty apart from one woman cleaning something like a large stove. I hesitated. “She doesn’t bite. Well she might. I don’t know. That’s a personal thing.” I laughed and shook my head at Loki. The woman turned around. “Looking for something dear?” she asked. “I just wanted a snack. I’m afraid I missed breakfast” I said. She smiled kindly. She scrambled around and muttered something. She came to me and presented two apples and something that seemed like mortal graham crackers. I raised an eyebrow. “Sometimes we keep Midgardian food in the pantries for when we get peckish for something different” she said with a wink. I smiled at her. She noticed Loki and stepped back a bit. “If you need anything else, you can always come to me. I’m Lara” she said. A normal name. That was a nice change. “I’m Alia.” She smiled and shooed us away from the kitchen.

Me and Loki sat on a balcony and I offered him an apple. He was hesitant but bit into it. Juice dribbled down his chin and I felt a pang in my stomach. Why was that attractive? He wiped it away and made a face. I shook my head and looked down. “How do you know about Midgardian food?” Loki asked. “I have fake memories Loki. Krutos made me think I had a life on that planet. I remember food I had ‘eaten’, people I ‘met’, and things I ‘experienced’. And none of it even came back to me until I knew the truth. Now it’s all a jumble of good and bad things and it hurts... It hurts because I have been alone my entire life but now I’m mourning for fake memories. This is the most ridiculous and painful thing I could imagine”

It felt good to finally say all of that. But Loki was quiet. “I’m sorry, I…” Loki stopped me. “No. I’m sorry. I couldn’t imagine how that feels. All the things that have happened to me were real. While that’s not entirely good, it’s not all bad. I remember playing with my brother and the Warriors as children. I remember fighting with them on their side. I remember flirting with women. I had a life. It is Odin who fed me lies and made me vengeful. Then it was the Tesseract. But… at least my memories are real. I truly apologize Alia”

We locked eyes and sat the food aside. I grabbed Loki’s hands. “You’re the first person to ever really speak to me. I know how people see you. I know how you see yourself. But I am in your debt. That’s the other reason I asked for your freedom” I told him. Loki pulled away. “Alia…”

“Lady Winter!” Volstagg’s voice was booming from down the hall. “Hello Volstagg” I greeted, trying to hide my aggitation. “Forgive me for imposing but I see you are eating” he said, eyeing the food between me and Loki. I laughed and handed him the rest of the crackers. “Many thanks! If you ever need anything, I am around. Also, Sif told me to tell you she wishes to see you tomorrow in the training area.” I was confused but nodded. Volstagg stared Loki down a moment. “I know I’m handsome Volstagg  but please, staring is rude” Loki said arrogantly. I stifled a laugh. Volstagg then vanished down the hall. “You think you’re so witty” I said. Loki winked in response. My face heated up but I kept it down. I looked at Loki sideways and he was grinning. “Wanna see something interesting?” he asked, extending his hand. I cocked my head but took his hand. Then we were running through the castle.

A/N: arghh I want Loki in my life. I'm concerned that this story isn't going so well and I'm not sure if I'll keep posting it. Feedback is welcome.