Chapter Text
Loki opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. He looked out the window and realized the moon was still high in the sky. What had pulled him from his sleep? He lay there and listened for whatever had roused him but heard nothing out of the ordinary.
What was that?
There was a slight shuffle and what sounded like fabric as it slid against something. He looked toward the door that led to the adjoining room and he realized it was open the slightest bit. That was odd. No one was supposed to be in there.
There it was again. That shifting, sliding sound.
Loki swept his eyes around the room, thankful for the moonlight that filtered in through the window, and took an inventory of the room. Nightstand, table and chair, armoire… and then a shadow seemed to… move. Slowly, keeping his eyes on the corner where he saw the movement, he slipped his hand toward the bedside table, reaching for the dagger that he always kept within arm’s reach. Before he could make contact with the cold metal that had saved his life more times than he could count, there was movement again, and a woman seemed to just melt out of the shadows.
Katherine.
Her pale skin appeared to glow in the moonlight and was in stark contrast to the night dress she wore, which looked as if it had been made of the shadows she had materialized from. It hung from her shoulders by thin straps and swirled around her knees as she moved further into the room. Her steps were hesitant as she crossed her arms over her chest and surveyed the room. She paused at the foot of his bed, head tilted to the side as if she was considering something. “Loki?”
He flipped back the covers at the sound of her voice, which startled her. “No. Don’t go,” Loki pleaded as he got to his feet. “I’ve missed you.” That was an understatement of the highest degree. He knew when he left Midgard that it would be hard to be away from her, but what he hadn’t counted on was how difficult having their connection severed would be. He could still sense that she was alive, which was the only thing that kept him sane, but not being able to feel her while they were separated was grueling.
Loki approached her slowly, as she still looked like she might bolt at any moment. He gently cupped her elbows and huffed out a relieved sigh. “How did you get here?”
“I don’t know,” Kit said, confusion evident on her face when she finally met his gaze. “I must be dreaming.”
“Well, it’s a dream come true for me,” Loki said with a small smile, “and one I pray never ends.”
Kit’s expression turned guarded and then… she was gone.
Loki’s eyes snapped open, and he was once again staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. He shot up into a sitting position and frantically searched the room. There was no one, though his palms were still warm from holding Kit and the scent of vanilla hung in the air. What the hell had that been? It had been too real to be a dream. Or was he going mad?
***
The screech of seldom used hinges was overly loud in the narrow corridor. Loki took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before he strode forward, his footsteps echoing along the stone walls. He hadn’t been down here since he’d thrown the man in the cell days ago, with orders that he should be fed and clothed but otherwise ignored.
Torture was more complicated than most people assumed. Yes, you could go the pain and screaming route, but there was also a mental aspect that, if done correctly, could be just as useful. Solitary confinement was an excellent starting point, in Loki’s opinion, since there was little to occupy a person’s attention or distract them from their predicament. After only a few days, the stress from the lack of control over their surroundings could begin to manifest itself in anxiety, lack of sleep, and difficulties in concentration. Which made them ripe for the picking.
Loki halted in front of the only occupied cell and studied Nick as he lay huddled under a blanket on the small bed. The click of the lock being disengaged was quickly followed by an ear-splitting screech as he opened, then closed, the metal door. He waited silently in the cramped space for a reaction from Nick, but none came. He let out an irritated sigh as he conjured a chair and sat. “I know you’re not asleep.”
The man’s movements stilled for a split second before his breathing took on a harsh tone, as if he were forcing air between clenched teeth. “Come now, don’t be shy,” Loki taunted. “You had plenty you wanted to say the last time we spoke.” Again, there was no response. “What happened, Nick?” he asked as a depraved smile crept across his face. “Cat got your tongue?”
“You!” Nick shouted as he exploded off the bed. “What have you done with my Kitty - “
Loki surged to his feet and stopped the man’s forward motion with a backhand that knocked him to the ground. “Never call her that again,” he said vehemently. “You’re not even worthy enough to speak her name.”
“She’s mine,” Nick growled as he pushed himself to his knees, his lips broken and bloody, “and you took her from me!”
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong,” Loki said, his expression cold. “I took nothing she didn’t freely give.”
“You lie! You have her under some kind of spell. I saw it! My Kitty - ”
Loki took a perverse satisfaction in the crack that sounded when he struck Nick again and sent him sprawling. If it took breaking the man’s jaw to stop him from referring to Katherine as such, then so be it. He watched uncaringly as Nick rolled to his side and spit out a mouthful of blood and what looked like a tooth. “Tell me. How long were you planning to keep Katherine - ”
“Forever!”
With that one word, the rage that had been simmering just under the surface since the moment Loki had felt Katherine’s pain and fear, abruptly boiled over and he lashed out with a swift but brutal kick to the man’s middle. “As I was saying… How long were you planning to keep Katherine tied to that chair?” When he didn’t respond, Loki buried the toe of his boot into the man’s side. “Answer me!”
“As… long… as it… took,” Nick gasped out.
“As long as it took, for what?”
“For you… to see.”
“And just what, did you want me to see?”
“That you had lost…”
“Is that so?” Loki curled his fingers into a fist and Nick let out a pained gasp as he was gripped by unseen hands and dragged across the floor. His pathetic protests and screams of agony as his injured body was tied to the chair in the same position Kit had been in fell on deaf ears. “Let’s see how long it takes for you to see that it is you that has lost. Shall we?”
***
Loki leaned against the fence, one foot propped on the bottom rail, and watched his Stable Master examine one of the horses. It was his favorite mare, Roskva, who was currently pregnant. “She looks healthy,” he called out.
The man raised his hand in acknowledgement and gave the horse a treat from his pocket before he slowly made his way across the paddock. “Aye, she is, Your Highness.”
“So, what’s the trouble?”
“Well, she’s not as young as she used to be.”
“None of us are, Birger,” Loki said with a smile. “What’s really bothering you?”
“To tell you the truth Sir, I don’t really know,” he confessed, a bit sheepishly. “I just have a bad feeling about her this time around.”
Loki watched Roskva graze as he took a moment to ponder what the old man had said. Birger had a special affinity for horses, so if he was worried about something, even if he couldn’t put his finger on it, Loki didn’t want to take his concern lightly. “What do you suggest we do?”
“Nothing at the moment, other than to keep a close eye on her,” Birger said with a sigh. “She’s never had a problem before, and she’s past the time I’d normally be worried about her losing the foal. I just have a feeling this could be, or should be, her last.”
“Your Highness!”
Loki turned to see a young boy expertly weaving his way through the crowd of people that attended to the various shops and animals in this area of the castle grounds.
“Your Highness,” the boy said again as he reached Loki’s side. He took a couple of hurried breaths before he was able to continue. “Prince Thor approaches.”
“Good lad,” Loki said as he flipped him a coin. “Now go tell Elda we’ll need another place at dinner.” He watched to make sure the boy would do his bidding before he turned to address his Stable Master. “I trust your judgment, Birger. I don’t want to lose Roskva or the foal because we were negligent with their care. Do whatever needs to be done and keep me updated.”
“Aye, my Prince,” Birger said with a bow.
“Now I need to find out what I’ve done to have brought my brother down on my head,” Loki mumbled as he walked away, the old man’s chuckle in his ears.
It wasn’t long before Loki found Thor seated in one of the guest chairs in his study. “To what do I owe this honor?” he asked as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
Thor made no move to get up, merely looked over his shoulder. “Can’t a man visit his brother?” he asked with a warm smile.
“He can,” Loki agreed as he made his way around the desk and took his seat. “Though it is a little suspicious when that brother is a full day’s ride from the palace, and he could have sent someone in his stead. Unless he has an ulterior motive.”
“I just came to check on you.”
Loki laughed dryly. “That excuse isn’t helping your case.”
Before Thor could say any more, there was a knock and a maid opened the door. “Dinner is served,” she said with a curtsy.
Loki nodded and the girl retreated as the men stood.
“You know,” Thor said as they made their way to the dining hall. “I was surprised when Father gifted you this place, that you weren’t offended. It was in terrible shape since the relocation of the palace, but I see that you’ve done right by it. It’s beginning to have the polish and luster of its former glory.”
“Thank you,” Loki said, warmed by Thor’s sincere compliment. “I will admit, at first, I felt as if it was either an insult or a challenge, and either way I wasn’t going to let it best me. But now, it feels as much like home as my rooms at the palace.”
“Is that why you called it Örugg Höfn?” Thor asked.
“Something like that.”
Loki hadn’t expected company, so dinner was a simple meal of roasted fowl and vegetables. He waited a few minutes after they had begun to eat to bring them back to their original conversation. “So tell me, why are you really here?”
“Father is holding a feast for some of the Jarls,” Thor answered, “and your attendance is required.”
Since travel was harder in the winter for the outlying towns and villages, Sumarsólstöður marked the beginning of the year’s feasts and festivals. “Ah yes. Tis the season to share the wealth I suppose.”
Thor must have mistaken Loki’s flippant remark to mean he disagreed with the many celebrations. “It’s a good thing, lest Odin is seen as tightfisted. The Jarls helped make Asgard the prosperous place it is today, and they deserve the recognition and accolades that brings.”
“No, no. I agree. It had merely slipped my mind,” Loki admitted. “So, when am I to show my face at this illustrious affair?”
“Two days hence.”
“Cutting it close, wouldn’t you say?” Loki’s surprise quickly melted into understanding. “Ah, now I see. The real reason for this little visit is to make sure that not only was the summons received, but that I would travel back with you, and therefore make it on time. Clever brother, very clever.”
Thor didn’t try to refute the claim. “Look, you’ve been home a week and, outside of the brief time where you unceremoniously dropped off the orb, no one has seen or heard from you.”
Loki’s only response was a sigh. He knew his brother was right, but he needed the solace that being at his own home could bring him. At the palace, there would have been questions, rumors, and quiet glances that would do nothing but irritate and anger him. Here, at Safe Harbor, the only constraints put on him were the ones required to make his lands and people prosperous and happy.
“And I’m worried about Mother.”
Loki tossed his fork down in exasperation. “Don’t try to manipulate me with Mother.”
“I’m serious.” Thor said earnestly. “She’s been almost distraught since I returned with news of Katherine’s injuries and amnesia. She barely comes out of her rooms, and when she does, she seems preoccupied. I’ve never seen her like this.”
“Has she seen a healer?”
“She says she doesn’t need healing but won’t explain any further.”
“What does Father say about it?”
“Nothing,” Thor sighed, “but I think it’s one of the reasons he decided to invite the Jarls. He knows Mother would never let him down and is hoping that planning the feast will help pull her out of whatever melancholy has her in its grasp.”
Loki wasn’t so sure Odin’s plan was the answer to what troubled his mother. It sounded more like she was overly worried about Kit for some reason. Unfortunately, while he hadn’t planned on refusing his father’s summons, this new information made him anxious to return to the palace if for nothing else but to see to his mother’s wellbeing. “Very well. We’ll leave in the morning.”