Chapter Eight

"You have disobeyed me, Princess. And for this, you will be sorry," my father thundered, his eyes full of hate. I was back on Asgard, in the hall where I had been married to Loki. This time however, I was being held roughly, by each arm, by two guards. Loki was on his knees at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the throne. His hands were bound behind him, and he was cut and bruised. He looked down at the ground, his dark hair matted and bloody.

"Loki," I whispered, confused at what was happening. I tried to break free from the guards in vain. As soon as I said his name he looked up at me. He was afraid, more afraid than I could ever imagine him looking.

"Oh, no, Princess. You and Loki have disobeyed my orders. I am your King. I think you have forgotten that fact." My father was loud, so loud in fact, that the hall shook with his voice. I was desperate to break free, but the harder I fought, the harder the guards held me. "He will die in front of you, and then you will marry another Jotun prince of my choosing. This is your punishment for fleeing."

A guard next to Loki kicked him hard in the gut causing him to whimper.

"Loki!" I screamed and he looked up at me, not scared anymore, just sad. "Father, please, no! I am begging you!" I screamed, but Odin shook his head with a smile and waved at the guard who unsheathed his sword. "No!" I managed to pull away from the guards for a moment. They must have been distracted by my scream, but as soon as I was able to get free, a strong hand grabbed my hair and banged my head against the marble wall next to me. My mouth was bleeding and my head was pounding with intense pain.

I looked up at my father who only smiled back down at me. It was a cruel smile that brought tears to my already brimming eyes. My mother stood behind him, but instead of cruel she looked sad.

My father nodded to the guard who nodded at his king. Moments later, the guard thrust the sword through Loki's back and it came out his front. He didn't make a sound as he looked down at his chest and saw the end of the sword protruding from it. He looked up at me and I fell to my knees and cried as I saw the light go out of his once bright eyes. When his body went limp, the guard yanked the sword out of him and let him fall in a heap on the ground.

I was suddenly free, and my only thought was to get to him. I fell at his side and cradled his head in my hands. I felt the warm blood soak through my dress, which I now realized was my wedding dress, and cover my arms.

"Loki!" I screamed in vain as I turned his head so that I could see it. I looked up at my father and shook my head in astonishment that he had done this. He only shook his head and turned to walk out of the room. I could not look at him for another moment. "Loki," I cried, my heart full of pain. "Loki!" I beat on his chest to try to wake him, but he only lay there limp and unmoving.

"I'm here." I heard a soft voice in my ear. I opened my eyes and found that I was in the hotel room with Loki. He was above the covers with a blue blanket covering him, and I was under the heavy quilt and comforter that adorned the large bed.

I relaxed a bit when I saw him, free from cuts and bruises, and most importantly, alive. I was crying and shaking, but I managed to cup his face with my hand and close my eyes. I then opened them to see him staring at me, like he was afraid I might break. Suddenly, I kissed him, because I wanted to know that he was real. He kissed me back, lightly at first and then deeper, so that by the time he pulled away I was out of breath.

"He killed you," I told him. I ignored how easy it was to transition between kissing him and talking, I was just so relieved that he was here. He readjusted himself so that he could put his arm around me while I told him of the dream. "They beat you in front of me, and then Father-" I stopped for a moment to gather myself. "Father had you killed. You died staring at me." I snuggled up closer to him and his hand went to my head, and played with my hair. I rested my head on his shoulder and wiped my eyes. "You gave me visions when you were teaching me about Earth. Is it possible that Father is having someone give me dreams even if he doesn't know where we are?" I wanted an explanation of why this had happened; why my already confused mind needed to be tortured further.

"He's your father, so maybe he's got a connection to you that even I cannot protect you from. I know, however, that he cannot find you. I promise." He kissed the side of my head as I breathed raggedly. I was trying to calm myself, but it wasn't working. "Hey, breathe," he whispered into my hair. I breathed slowly and he cooed, "there's a good girl."

We sat there like that for what felt like hours, and I became so tired, but unwilling to go back to the dream. Loki sat up with me the entire time, playing with my blonde curls and rubbing his thumb over the top of my hand that he was holding.

"I think I love you," I said groggily. I was thinking it at first, but it didn't stay in my mind as I had meant for it too. The clouds in my mind cleared for a moment when I said this, like it was letting me know that it was true. He stopped playing with my hair, turned my head around to face him and kissed me.

"Never doubt that I love you," he whispered. "No matter what happens, never doubt that.

I woke up the next day and knew that it was later than I usually awakened. The light from outside was very bright and harsh even through the thick navy curtains that hung from the windows. I turned around to face the windows and saw Loki laying there, staring at the ceiling. Last night, though horrifying, had been a moment of clarity for me, and that was almost all I could think about. Upon feeling me turn around, Loki turned to face me and smiled in my direction.

"Hello there," he said as he pulled a piece of hair from my eyes and laid it with the rest of my hair.

"Hi," was all I said back to him. I was drowsy and my head hurt a little from all the crying last night.

"How did you sleep?" He rested the back of his hand on my cheek affectionately.

"Very well, at least though the latter half of the night." I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply the clean, cool air of the hotel room. This was the most peace that I had felt since the coronation, and I wanted to enjoy it.

"I have to go meet a friend today." He looked as if he needed to get up, but every fiber of him wanted to stay here.

"Who?" I asked. I was puzzled at who he would be going to meet.

"A friend that I studied with. I've a few questions to ask him about your dreams." He stood up, walked drowsily to the closet, and took out a pair of slacks, a button up shirt and navy sweater.

I sat up quickly when I heard of his plans. "A friend from Asgard? Loki, that's insane. If your friend betrays you, Odin can come here very quickly to take you." Worry did not begin to explain my feelings in that moment. It was a pity that the peace from just moments ago could not have lasted for longer.

"Ella, I promise, he will not call Odin. He himself, was cast out by the Allfather. He surely won't be helping him." He went to the washroom to change clothing and when he returned he looked rather dashing.

"You can imagine, in light of the night that I've just had, why I am extremely worried about this." My right hand went instinctively to the rings on my left hand, and spun them around my finger.

Loki, upon seeing this, walked the short distance between us and took hold of my hands. "You are not to worry about me. Do you understand?" I nodded and he smiled. "There's a good girl. Besides, I won't be gone long. When I get back, we'll go to dinner. How does that sound?"

When I nodded, he kissed me on the forehead, and went to the door, leaving me standing by the bed alone. I laughed when he looked back and made a funny face before he went out into the hall and shut the door behind him.

It was eight 'o clock that night and I was beyond worried. Loki was always punctual, and though he never had given me a time he would be back, he insinuated that it would have been much sooner than now.

"Loki," I said into my cell phone, while I paced the space between the bed and the small table in the corner of the room. "I'm not trying to bother you or anything, but I'm worried. Please, just give me a call when you can to let me know you're okay." I stopped pacing when I got to the end of the sentence, "Please, Loki," I finished, and then threw the phone onto the bed which I had meticulously made about two hours ago when I was bored to tears. As soon as the phone was out of my hands, I started playing with the rings on my left hand, which I had noticed had become quite the habit over the course of the day.

I stopped in my tracks when I heard a light knocking from the room door. I knew that it wasn't Loki, he wouldn't have knocked on the door before coming in. I had told Thor that I was too tired to go to dinner when he had knocked a hour earlier, and I avoided his inquires of where Loki was, so there was only one other person I could think of who would be at the door.

"Hey," Jane said when I opened the door. I wordlessly turned around and walked to the bed area and resumed my pacing. Jane followed and sat at the table. "What's wrong?" She seemed alarmed at my behavior and I sighed, knowing that if I were to talk to anyone about this, it should be her. Thor will jump to conclusions much too quickly, and I was not emotionally ready for that just yet.

"Loki went to see a friend a little after noon today, and he's still not back. I've called and left a message, but he won't answer or call me back." I was still pacing and playing with my rings.

"He's probably just having fun, Ella," Jane said, and it sounded like she thought I was being terribly controlling.

"He doesn't have Earth friends, Jane. He has Asgardian friends who live on Earth. Those Asgardian friends are tied to their king, to whom they are bound to report back as well. If his friend betrayed him and told my father of his arrival, Loki could be back on Asgard, this moment, being tortured." I paced faster and felt sheer panic as I progressed through my speech.

"You need to calm down," Jane said as she stood up and walked to where I was pacing. She took me by the shoulders and made me stop. Her eyes bore into mine and I softened.

"I told him I loved him," I said as I closed my eyes. I felt her hand tighten on my shoulder in understanding.

"He's fine. You would feel that he's in trouble, wouldn't you?" she asked, and I knew that it was true. I could not, however, shake this feeling of sadness and dread. "Maybe you should sit down." She pushed me lightly onto the edge of the bed and sat next to me like a mother would sit down beside her upset child.

I sat there in a daze, remembering the fear from the night that we were attacked on Earth by the Asgardian agent. This fear was much worse, because I didn't know what had happened.

I curled up in a ball on the bed and Jane sat in the corner waiting with me. My phone was on the loudest setting you could have it on the table beside me, and I listened carefully for footsteps in the hallway, or any scratching at the door.

It was ten by the time the door opened and Loki appeared in the room. An overwhelming sense of relief washed over me, and I walked over to hug him. I crashed into him like a wave, and he stepped back from my momentum, but he held onto me tightly. I was not embarrassed that Jane saw this piece of affection.

"I'm sorry I didn't call back," he apologized, but didn't offer any explantation of why he couldn't. His only action was a quick glance at Jane.

"I'll let you two talk. I'm glad you are okay," Jane said when she saw Loki's glance. She smiled at me and nodded to Loki. He nodded back and watched her leave.

"What happened?" I asked him as soon as she left. He kissed my cheek and let me go. I sat back on the bed and watched him take his pullover off.

"I went to visit my friend, and his advice was not encouraging." He said this like he was given some sort of death sentence.

"What did he say?" I asked. I had known this man since I was born, and I knew at this moment he was more angry than I had ever seen him. He was trying his best to hide it from me, though. "Loki," I said after he didn't answer me. "What did he say?"

"He said that Odin is sending you the dreams, and no shield that I can concoct can save you from them." He said this slowly and thickly, like it was poison in his mouth. His eyes though, were not angry. They were guilty, so full with guilt that my heart hurt for him. "He says that I should take you back, beg the Allfather for forgiveness, and take my punishment."

"That is out of the question, Loki. He will kill you, and that is not acceptable at all. I can deal with the dreams. I know they are coming now, they won't hit me so hard next time," I pleaded with him because I was so afraid that doubt was seeping into his mind.

Then, suddenly, he punched the wall in frustration. I jumped at the sheer force with which he hit the wall, and his back shuttered with a ragged breath. He pulled his hand away from the wall and revealed a large hole. I moved quickly to where he was standing and took his bleeding hand into my own.

I pulled him to the washroom without a word and turned the faucet on. Once the water had gotten to a lukewarm temperature, I moved his hand underneath it. He watched me as I washed away the bits of drywall that were stuck into the cuts and the blood that covered his hand. Loki could have easily mended it himself with magic, or I could have for that matter, but it felt good tending to him, and I think he felt the same love that came from my care.

Once the water had washed away any remnants from the outburst, I softly dried his hand off with a crisp white towel. I smiled when I watched the cuts heal before my eyes, and I knew that he was just showing off now.

"You can't protect me from everything, Loki. No matter how hard you try, it's simply not possible. I do love the fact that you try so hard." I looked at him seriously, and I saw that every bit of anger had drained from him, it had now been replaced with defeat. "Don't look defeated. He can't hurt me with dreams, silly."

He shook his head. We then sat on the bed until two 'o clock in the morning, watching television and laughing despite their terrible nature. Contentment seemed to seep into his words for a moment, but as soon as the lights went out he wrapped his arms around me, as if to protect me from a monster that was lurking in the closet.

I woke up with a pounding head, and my vision was blurry. I was slumped forward and the only thing I could see almost clearly was the trail of blood coming from my mouth, staining the white fabric of my dress. I felt pain from every fiber of my being, but mostly I felt fear.

"What?" I breathed as my vision returned and I saw that I was bound to a gold chair that felt out of place in such a dismal place. I was never allowed to go to the prison, forgotten in the depths of Asgard, but this is what I had always imagined it would look and feel like. It felt like all the joy had been taken from the world and the loneliness that was present here was almost overpowering. It was cold and forbidding of hope.

I was wearing an Asgardian dress. It was my wedding gown that I remember tossing to the side with no regard after my wedding. Now there was thick blood running down the front of it; some dried, some fresh. It was cut in several places, and I inferred that I had been beaten.

"Good, you are awake. I was beginning to think that we were too rough with you," said a familiar dark voice from the other side of the large dark room made of stone. It stunk of stagnant water and mold. I could hear the drips of water coming from the ceiling. I tried to focus on the voice to keep from passing out, but it just echoed across the cavern and made my head dizzy.

"How are you feeling, Princess?" The voice was my father's. I saw his stocky figure appear in front of me. I refused to say anything, knowing it was my best bet at making it through this, but it was almost as slim as the wing of a butterfly.

"Still not speaking, eh, Princess? We can change that. I few more hours and you will be begging for death." He said this softly into my ear, but it felt like a knife to my brain. I could take anything he dished out; pain had never been a big deal to me, but I shuttered at the thought of what else he might have in store to punish me with. I closed my eyes and breathed through the punches from the guard who accompanied my father.. It lasted six or seven blows, and when it was over, I let the blood run thickly from my mouth. My head was down, but my eyes were looking up and staring into my father's.

"Plan B," he said simply. As soon as he spoke the words, two guards dragged a weak but fighting Loki into the dungeon. "We will see how strong your will really is, little princess."

"Loki," I whispered quietly, my eyes wide with terror. His hands were bound behind him, and he was beaten severally. When they stopped dragging him, they forced him to his knees only ten feet away from me. He looked like he was having a difficult time keeping his balance, and his head hung low. "No," I whispered, louder this time. Loki lifted his head towards me. He looked guilty and full of sadness.

"So she does speak!" My father's triumphant voice echoed through the room. He held his arms outstretched. "Let's see how much you can say, shall we?"

He waved to the guards, who upon his signal, starting beating Loki mercilessly. I stayed quiet and tried to stifle the cries that were fighting to burst out of my throat. Occasionally, Loki would be able to look up to me and shake his head, as if to urge me not to say anything.

"You have fled like a bird from a nest. You belong here to do my bidding," Odin hissed through gritted teeth. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. "Do you see what your disobedience has done?"

"This can't be real," I thought. "It can't be. It must be a dream, a dream my father has sent to me. Loki is fine, he's next to me." These words, however, did nothing to calm my fears.

"I want to know where you are! Tell me where you are!" the Allfather thundered. His face turned red, and his one eye looked furiousl. His muscles were clenched with fury, far more fury than any one man should be capable of having.

Terrified, I kept my silence, and as I did, Odin grew even more irate. "Fine then, I will make you speak." He nodded again to the guards. They cut Loki's binds, and rolled the sleeves of Loki's dress uniform up to his elbows. Then another guard pulled out a small knife from his sleeve and slowly and deliberately cut deep into the underside of Loki's arms. He bled furiously, and the fear and pain in his eyes could only be matched by my own. I had heard of this happening; bleeding someone dry to kill them. I thought it was just a scary story to tell at parties, not something that really happened.

"Please father, don't do this," I pleaded with Odin, but he shook his head with contempt.

"The only way to save him is to tell me where you are. I will be lenient. I will not kill you, but you must do as I tell you. You have an obligation." He said this almost calmly. "You can still save him. Just tell me where you are!"

I didn't say anything as I watched the blood flow out of Loki. I tried to break free, but the binds were tight. Loki's eyes never left mine. They were strong and unwavering, as if he was willing me to stay strong.

"As you wish," Odin said and the binds that held me disappeared. I fell next to Loki, and ignored the blood that was everywhere. He slumped over onto me out of exhaustion and blood loss while I tried in vain to stop the bleeding.

"Loki, stay with me, please," I willed him and I pressed the hem of my dress on his wounds, but the blood just seeped through the fabric mixing with my own. "What do I do?" I felt my eyes well with tears from fear and frustration at my failed attempts to save him.

"I've lost too much blood," he mumbled. His eyes were drooping, and he was growing cold.

"No," I begged him. "No, I can try to heal you." I put my hands over his cuts and tried my best to heal him, but nothing happened.

"Magic doesn't work down here, love." Loki chuckled a bit and winced from the pain. My cries had became desperate and agonizing as I realized there was nothing I could do for him but stay with him.

"Please, don't leave me. You are all I have left." I cupped his face in my hand and he rested his forehead on mine.

"I love you, Ella, wife and friend of Loki. I could not have asked for a better life than the short one I had with you." His words were almost indistinguishable, but I understood them and each and every one of them pierced my heart like the knife that had caused his death.

"I love you, too." I cried and kissed him lightly, a kiss that he reciprocated. We stayed like that for a moment longer until the light disappeared from Loki's eyes and his body completely slumped onto my side.

I woke up crying in a dark room, lit only by a dim light from outside and the clock from the bedside table that read 1:04 a.m.

"Hey," Loki said. He was sitting up beside me, awake and ready. He pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. I curled up in his arms and cried furiously into his chest. He just sat there and let me cry while stroking my head.

It had been a week since Loki's friend had given him the news that he couldn't shield me from the dreams. I had done my best to hide them from Loki, but tonight I was unable to. They were getting more and more real every night, to the point where I was afraid to go to sleep.

"Shh, it's okay," he whispered into my ear. This had been the worst one yet; I could still feel his blood covering me, I could still see his cold, lifeless eyes. I had tried so desperately to hide this from him; he felt guilty enough about it already. "You've got to show them to me," he said.

"What?" I asked him, alarmed he would even ask such a thing. I pulled away from his chest a little so that I could look at his face.

"I have to know what he's saying, what he's doing. If he wants to know something, I need to know what it is." He put his hand on the side of my face and touched his forehead to mine.

I did not want to live through that again, and I surely did not want him to see himself die. "You know," I started, "I wasn't sure that I loved you before now." I said it quickly because the thought came to me quickly and without warning.

He tilted his head to one side and my breathing calmed. A sudden peace fell over me like a fog. When I spoke, I didn't think, I just said what I was feeling. "I loved you, obviously, but not like a wife. But as I've been having these dreams of you dying for a week I get so upset. I have realized that I can't lose you, Loki, because I love you. I never want to be away from you, and I never want to hurt you or cause you any pain at all. I would rather die than see you hurt. That is why I can't show you the dream, because it will hurt you."

He seemed relieved at my confession that I was still wondering at. "I have known this since we arrived on Earth and especially since the night of the attack at Jane's lab. The dream in the car, your quiet looks, and the way you act when Thor talks about his disdain for our new situation; this all told me that you were confused about your feelings, maybe even a little ashamed. Are you quite sure that you've decided to love me?"

"I've actually never been more sure of anything in my life. I don't think that was a decision that I had to make. It's just there, in my heart." I knew that every word I said was true, because that foggy feeling that had taken a hold of my head for the past couple weeks was gone. I could think clearly, and all I wanted to think about was him.

"You've got to trust me then. I need to see the dream, Ella. Please, show it to me." He took ahold of my hands and I conceded.

I pulled my hands away and hesitantly put them on either side of his head and took a deep breath.

"Focus, Ella, on the dream." He put his hand on my leg and closed his eyes, clearly focusing on receiving the dream.

Suddenly I was tied to the chair and my father was yelling at me once again. I could feel the blows from the guards and a sensation on my leg, which I knew was Loki's reaction to it all. The dream played out like I remembered. I screamed at the same parts and I cried when he died in my arms.

When the dream was over, I let go of Loki's head like it was burning my hands. He took me and pulled me closer. I saw tears running down his face, not a common feature for him.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, clearly grief stricken. We stayed like that for a long time. He sat there, with me curled up beside him, while both of us tried to forget what we just saw.