𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐃

Chapter Twenty One

Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. You, you, you, you, you. Your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault. Murder, murderer, murderer, murderer, murderer, murderer! Murderer! Murderer! Murderer! MURDERER! MURDERER!

Those were the words replaying in Ivy's head over and over again, circling in a chain of guilt and anxiety until it got louder, and louder, then she couldn't hear her own heavy breathing anymore. She stumbled down the hallway to her room, hyperventilating, tears streaming down her cheeks and refusing to stop. She could feel her heart surging painfully in her chest. Her hands were trembling, her whole body was trembling, and she couldn't stop.

As soon as the King and Queen of Noyre had seen their son, the Queen turned to Ivy; she immediately knew she was the killer of her son. She started shouting repulsive obscenities at Ivy, and the only thing her mind told her to do was to run away. So she ran into the castle and ran through the halls, trying to get to her room, attempting to get away from everyone so that she could wallow in her own guilt.

Ivy didn't dare look at Odin or Frigga as she fled, she knew their expressions would be laced with denial. They didn't want to believe that Ivy had done what she had. They didn't want to believe that she was a murderer. They didn't want to believe that she was powerful enough to do something like that, especially to an outer-worldly being who was just as powerful as Asgardians.

As bad as it sounds, Loki was the last thing on her mind as she stumbled through the halls, hardly able to put one leg in front of the other. Ivy bumped into a cold door. She reached for the handle, her hand fumbling around it, before finally grabbing hold of it. Inside the room was a bedroom. She didn't know who's, but there was a balcony, and Ivy suddenly earned for fresh air.

She staggered towards the balcony door, her hyperventilation's refusing to calm down. She grappled for the handle and surprisingly opened it on the first go. She tripped over her own feet and fell out onto the balcony, the cold night air sending an icy chill down her spine as it splashed her face. Ivy's face contorted into confusion. It was raining, water droplets falling onto her face, causing her to blink so that she could see. She gripped onto the banister with all her might as not to fall over the railing. Suddenly, lighting struck onto one of the hills just outside of the city. The crackle of the bolt deafened her ears and they started ringing. With Ivy's reduced awareness due to the anxiety and now her inability to hear, she slipped on the wet balcony floor, falling back, and she hit her head on the banister.

She let out a soft, "Ow," as she slowly got up. Now she really needed water. She tilted her head back as she faced the room and let the cool water droplets fall into her mouth. She stuck her tongue out, her mind blurred from hitting her head and letting all of her worries fall behind her and over the banister. Suddenly, she was falling. Falling over the banister. Falling hard. Falling, falling, falling, until she hit the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy's eyes fluttered open. A blinding white light pained her eyes and she squinted them, trying to focus. She tried to bring her hand up to her face to rub her eyes, they were extraordinarily heavy, but she couldn't. Suddenly, a surge of pain waved all over her body, causing her to groan in discomfort. She tried to sit up and fully take in her surroundings, but regretted it immediately.

"Woah, take it easy!" A worried voice exclaimed from Ivy's right. She slowly moved her head over to see who it was. Her face immediately formed a relieved smile when she saw it was Loki. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, bandages covering some of the more serious ones. He had his arm in a cast and a book lying on his lap. His usually neatly slicked back hair was instead ruffled and hang in loose curls. He had his signature smirk on his lips as he and Ivy stared at each other.