Loki's Daughter

The Cold Blade

"Stop it!"

"It has to be cleaned."

"It hurts. Let me up!"

"Stop squirming and it won't hurt as much. Sit still, Hela."

"Ouch! Daddy!"

"Sit still!"

Hela winced as Loki's voice raised slightly. She pouted and squirmed awkwardly as she felt the cold cloth touch her back again.

Loki had brought her to a lovely house. It was made of brick and filled with Victorian furniture. It was much nicer and more pleasant than Zeph's home. It felt safe. A fire roared at the hearth a few feet away from where they sat on the couch.

"Ow! Quit it!" Hela wriggled around as the cloth carefully ran over a wound made on her back. She was lying on her stomach, her belly pressed against Loki's legs. The back of her shirt was drawn up enough to see the wounds inflicted.

Nari and Vali had been waiting when they got to the house. Loki had been quick to send them up to their rooms when he brought Hela in, though. They had only resisted for a moment.

Loki did his best to hold her down as he tried to clean the wounds. It was rather difficult to do with the child wriggling like a worm. His eyes narrowed and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her side against his stomach. "Dammit, sit still, Hela!"

Hela cringed. "That's a bad word," she said slowly.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I know. And that's why you won't repeat it, understand? Now, sit still so I can finish cleaning these." His voice softened and he gently stroked her hair, relaxing her.

Sighing, Hela did her best to sit still while Loki worked. It was hard, despite her father's best efforts at being gentle on the harsh wounds. But eventually, Loki took her shoulder and carefully pulled her up into a sitting position once he'd bandaged the marks.

Hela stared up at him intently. The fire crackled and spat beside them. The orange light reflected on Loki's white skin and green eyes. He stared at her for a moment.

"Now," he said softly, "Would you like to tell me why you were down in that dungeon in the first place?"

"I wanted to bust you out. We all did," she replied softly. Her back still hurt, but the sharp pain had turned into a dull ache at the moment. "We got Heimdall to tell us where you were being kept."

Loki frowned a little. His hand reached out to push a strand of her hair away from her face. Hela closed her eyes at his cold hand, glad of the comforting gesture.

"Hela, do you have any idea how dangerous that was? The very idea of it? You understand that you broke the law?"

She looked down. Of course, Hela hadn't thought of that. "I couldn't help it. I wanted you out again."

"And did it not occur to you that even if you did manage to free me, I would be captured again and put back in prison?" Loki cocked a brow in a way that said she was possibly in trouble. But at the moment, it was hard to tell.

Tears welled in Hela's eyes again. "I didn't think about that," she whispered.

Loki's eyes softened slightly and he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before pulling her to him. Hela wrapped her arms around him. "I know you didn't, Hela. Calm down. Shh..."

For a moment, the two were silent. Hela clung tightly to her father and stared blankly at the wall. Emotions of fear and relief both rushed through her small frame and she felt herself hold tightly to Loki's shirt.