Unlike Loki

Chapter 46

(Anna)

He seemed distant. 

He almost acted like I wasn't there. Like I was just some girl he was eating dinner with. Maybe it had to do with what had happened the last time I saw him. Or maybe I was finally seeing the real Loki. I couldn't even concentrate on the magnificent food because of the thoughts that were running through my head. I robotically put food in my mouth and chewed, not really tasting. 

This whole thing was starting to feel awkward. 

We finished dinner in silence, the eating untensils making loud sounds as they were placed on the fine china. I cleared my thought, trying to possibly knock Loki out of whatever daze he was in, but he remained silent. 

"Why'd you let me out?" I asked softly. 

Without looking up he said,"Would you rather I had left you there?"

I swallowed. "No...I just--" I paused to think of how I wanted to ask this. "Why did you bring me here in the first place? Why break me out?" I looked down at my lap. 

"Because I wanted to get back at SHIELD, take something from them that they valued. And that ended up being you. So finders keepers, I suppose." He picked at his nails, still not looking at me. 

"But now what?" This was the million dollar question. 

"I'm not entirely sure." There. He looks up, finally letting me see his beautiful, ice blue eyes, making my heart involuntarily flutter. "I want you to be trained as soon as possible. I just have to decide by whom." He went back to picking his nails. 

"Trained?" I asked, trying to keep my breathing steady. 

"Yes. You are going to be a warrior, Anna," My ears tickled when he said my name. "whether you like it or not, you belong to me know, that means you work for me as well."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "But a warrior? What for? Don't you have a whole army of warriors?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, but none of them are ultimately as powerful as you. You are going to lead my armies to Midgard."

"To take it over?" 

"In due time. Taking down SHIELD comes first." He'd moved on to picking at his nails on his other hand. 

"And the rest of Asgard is okay with this?" I ventured.

He shot his head up to look at me, eyes wide and angry. "Who cares? I am the King and I do what I want. If I want to take revenge and make my kingdom larger, than so be it. It's time non-Asgardians start taking me seriously." 

"So this is a temper-tantrum? Another one, really?" I said angrily. I couldn't understand why he couldn't just leave it alone. 

He shot up from his seat, and flipped the table over, letting the plates and cups shatter on the hard floor below. I didn't move from my seat, expecting his outburst, "Yes, doing that proves me wrong." I said flatly. I didn't know where this sudden burst of confidence came from. Maybe because I was tired of Loki's bullshit and his bipolar problems. He kept switching from being brave, charming, distant, angry, and over-aggressive. It was ridiculous. It was like dealing with a child. 

I think he expected me to react to his outburst, and stood there fuming for a few seconds. But when I did nothing but cross my arms and raise my eyebrows, he finally spoke, "You," he pointed at me. "know nothing about what I've been through. What they've put me through." He held his arms out wide as if to encompass the whole universe. "You have absolutely no idea." he whispered angrily. 

"No. I don't." I stood up, and he put his arms down. "But I know what it feels like to hate, to want revenge, to be wronged." I stepped close to him and instinctively brushed a loose strand of hair behind his ear. I heard him take in the slightest gasp of breath. "And I also know that taking revenge does nothing but tear your wounds open even more, making your heart hurt to it's deepest core. And it doesn't end when you get your revenge. Revenge is a vicious cycle, Loki." I saw his eyes flash angrily for a moment, obviously not used to being called by his first name only. "Because those you hurt come to take revenge on you and your loved ones. It's never ending. It's a losing battle."

I pretended not to see the tears begin to well in his eyes.