The Brightest Star

Chapter 35 - The Visit

(Kára's POV):
I sat in my room, trying to focus on the book in my hand, but finding it extremely difficult to keep my thoughts drifting from Loki. Frigga promised me that she would teach me how to speak with him while he was in his cell, but she would not have a free moment until after dark when her ladies in waiting went to bed. She told me that I would not be able to manifest physically, but at the very least I would be able to appear to him as a projection.

Eventually I gave up on my venture of reading and chose to try to get some sleep instead. However my mind would not shut off, resulting in me only tossing and turning for hours. There came a knock on my door as the sun was setting, causing me to jerk awake and scan my room, disoriented. The knock came again louder this time.

"Lady Kára, are you in there?" Thor asked through the door, causing me to climb out of bed to answer it.

"Do you need something, Thor?" I replied as I swung the door open, not particularly wanting to see anyone at the current moment.

"Well we have just returned from Vanaheim and everyone is downstairs celebrating the victory," Thor explained, although not seeming overly enthusiastic about the festivities himself. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me, you look like you could use some cheering up."

"Thanks, Thor, but I think that I will stay here and try to get some rest, it has been a long and trying day."

"Kára, if you need anything, my door is always open to you. I know that my father is forcing me to participate in the revels so I figured I should extend the invitation to you."

"Truly, Thor, I am fine here. But you should go have fun, you surely deserve it, I mean that battle was rather short lived."

"Very well, have a good night, Lady Kára," Thor smiled sadly, placing his massive hand on my shoulder for a moment before walking down the hallway and out of sight.

I sighed, closing the door beside him and leaning up against it. It was nice that Thor had thought to stop by to see how I was doing, but I did not feel like being out in public at this moment, when I would now be regarded as the fiancée of the criminalized Loki. I could tell from the looks on people's faces the night before that the people of Asgard had not come to forgive Loki for his crimes and I was sure that the majority of them were grateful to hear he had been locked up.

Knowing that rest was out of the question, I once again turned to reading for the next few hours. My eyes scanned the pages while absorbing none of the information, my mind focused solely on Loki. I needed to figure out how to get him out of my head, it was not healthy to be so distracted. However, I knew that that was a lost cause, the separation seeming to make me more desperate to spend time with him.

Hours later, there was another knock on my door, this one far softer. I leapt from my spot to answer it, finding the Queen of Asgard waiting to be let into my bedchambers. I smiled moving out of the way so she could come in, "Frigga, it is wonderful to see you, I have been going crazy all day."

"I apologize for not being free to come earlier, my dear," she replied with her kind motherly smile as she walked into my chambers. "I suppose we should get right to it then, I would not want to keep you waiting any longer."

"Thank you for doing this Frigga, you do not know how much this means to me."

"Oh, I believe me I do. I have already visited him once today and all he could ask about was how you were handling it and if you were going to visit later. He would not even tell me what he wanted for his cell so I simply brought him the staples of a room in addition to a handful of books that he might find interesting, let me know if there is anything else that he requests of you."

"Of course, you are an incredible woman, Frigga, and Loki is lucky to have you."

She placed her hand on my shoulder, "and he is lucky to have a woman like you to keep him sane. Now, shall we begin?"

I followed Frigga's instruction, focusing my energy down in the dungeons, using a visual that she shared with me from her own memories. The translucent yellow wall of the cell that faced the outside was able to inhibit the use of magic so it required a great deal of energy to bypass but once inside it was far easier to maintain the projection of myself that I was able to create.

After one or two failed attempts, I heard a soft voice ask my name, causing me to open my eyes with a relieved smile on my face. Loki was sitting on his bed, tossing the book that he had been flicking through to the side. He rose from his bed, a dazzling mixture of hope, love, and comfort present in his eyes.

"Hey Loki," I almost whispered, too afraid to move towards him.

"I do not suppose that you are physically here?" He questioned, a sense of disappointment in his voice.

I shook my head, "I am sorry, Loki, this was the best that I could do."

"It is enough for me. I have missed you terribly and it has only been a day, how have you been holding up?"

"I should be asking that of you, you are the one cooped up in this cell. Although I suppose it is not all that bad considering Frigga has been making sure that you are comfortable."

"Yes, but I still am unable to spend the day with you," he replied, reaching out to touch me, but stopped, fearing that my projection would dissolve upon the slightest touch.

"You should not sound so ungrateful, Loki, she is truly doing all in her power to make you comfortable under your circumstances. Besides, now that I know how to come visit you, I can spend my days here, keeping you company."

"And that is all I need," he assured me, giving me a small smile.

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(A/N): The first performance of Betrayal is happening as we speak and I am so excited for them! Also how do I fund a run of Hamlet on Broadway starring Tom? Because that is all I want to see in life (besides him as Loki, of course). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little chapter!