Loki's Daughter

Already Gone, Yet Still Here

The prisoner was gone by the next day. Hela watched him go from the vents. At first, the man was silent. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept all night and kept his eyes cast downward. Then he began to argue with her uncle.

"Thor, why didn't you tell me?" he hissed. Thor sighed and shook his head in reply. "All this time! Here, of all places, all this time!" the prisoner raged. He didn't fight as they walked down the hall, but he ranted the whole way.

"It was the safest place I could think of, Loki." Loki? What an interesting name.

"Of all the places on this pathetic planet, you choose here to take her," the man, Loki, ranted on. He seemed positively livid at the moment, and it frightened Hela. What could have possibly made him so angry so suddenly? Had it been her from yesterday?

"Where else was I suppose to take her?" Thor sounded like he wanted to put the subject to rest quickly. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly and he stared straight ahead as he walked with Loki. Hela was finding it difficult to keep up, especially in the vents.

"You shouldn't have taken her in the first place," he spat. Thor heaved a long sigh and shook his head at the man.

"It was the safest place I could think of," he repeated.

Loki was silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. His eyes were still cast downward, and for a moment he looked vulnerable. It was the same look Hela saw yesterday when Steve carried her away. It happened at the very mention of her name.

"All these years..." Loki whispered. He raised his head to look at Thor. "You've kept her here all there years. I thought she was lost to me-"

"Loki, you know she cannot see you. She wasn't suppose to see you yesterday, you were not to know of her being here. It was a mistake."

Hela frowned and struggled to keep up with the men's long strides. They had to be talking about her. What she didn't understand was why.

"So what, you expect me to forget about this?" Loki growled, " You expect me to just forget about seeing her?"

"She will, and I think it best that you do too. She doesn't even know who you are, Loki. Do not ruin her." After that, Loki fell silent. He didn't seem to have anything else to say, so he simply stared at the ground, hands cuffed behind him.

Finally, the two made it outside and turned to each other. Hela had to stop at the last vent and stare at them, eyes glued to the prisoner. He held his head high and chin up. It reminded her of herself when she was attempting to be brave. Her uncle looked up to the sky and shouted something, and in a flash of light the two were gone.

Hela sat in the vent for the longest time, pondering over what they said. Who was Loki? What did he have to do with her uncle? And how did it involve her?

Hela felt the silence wrap around her and scowled. She needed to get out of the vents. Quietly, she crawled until she found her escape and jumped down from the vent. The hallway was empty, so she was once again alone. Frowning, she made her way to her room.

The familiar forest colors greeted Hela as she walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She ran and grabbed a sketchbook, meanwhile her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't get the man's shocked look out of her head. He'd looked so stunned, and even hurt. Why?

It wasn't until she paid closer attention did she realize that the drawing was of the man in the cell. It was a good drawing, every detail laid out onto the parchment. Narrow features, emerald eyes, pale face, raven hair; It was all there.

Hela growled and threw the paper to the side. She fell back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her uncle had said that she would forget about this. So why wasn't she? She closed her eyes and let herself drift off, finding nothing else to do.

"She looks like you," a woman whispered. She turned to a young man clad in green, gold, and black. She was lying in a bed, breathing deeply. She looked tired, beautiful pools of dark eyes reflecting drowsiness. Hair that seemed the color of snow was plastered to her face, but all she seemed to care about was a little bundle of blankets in her arms.

The man was right at her side, his knee on the bed to hold him up. He was staring at the child in the bundle.

The child's face was narrow, and though her skin was pink at the moment, it seemed to be getting paler. Short black hair covered the child's head. Her eyes were shut and she was sleeping peacefully.

"She's beautiful," the man replied. He smiled sweetly at the woman and planted a kiss on her forehead. Gently, he did the same to the infant.

 The woman smiled at her beloved. The look in her eyes was enough to tell her that she was the happiest woman on the face of the planet. The man smiled back at her, the same look in his eye.

The woman let out a tired sigh and the man chuckled. "Here, I'll take her, you sleep." The new mom seemed reluctant to give her baby away, even to the father, but she finally rose enough to give the child away. The man carefully cradled the infant, looking a tad awkward at first. The woman giggled, unable to hide the amused look in her eye.

"Hold her head up," she instructed, and soon the new father had the baby wrapped securely in his arms. The infant's tiny fingers found their way to his thumb and quickly wrapped themselves around it. The mother smiled before leaning back and closing her eyes, the smile still present on her flawless features.

The man carefully sat down and looked at the baby. She was so tiny, even for babies. He wondered what her powers would be, if she'd even have any. What would she look like? What would she like to do? Who would she be?

The infant's eyes fluttered open and looked up at her father. Emerald met emerald eyes the two locked gazes. Slowly, the man looked at his daughter's fingers around his thumb and smiled. The baby smiled back, letting out a soft melody of giggles.

Hela woke up with a jolt. She didn't know what that was about, infact she didn't remember much of the dream. It was all a blur. She shook her head and sat up. Steve was standing over her, shaking her arm gently.

"Hel? Wake up, Fury needs to talk to you." Hela rubbed her eyes and frowned. Fury needed to talk to her? That was never a good thing. She nodded sleepily.

"Okay." Quickly, the girl climbed off the bed and hurried down the hall, leaving the super soldier behind. Her nerves were a wreck. What did they need from her? Was it about Loki? Had she done something else now?

She quietly opened the door to see Director Fury sitting at a desk calmly. She took a breath and walked in, standing at full height. Granted, it wasn't very tall, but she tried anyway. "Yes, sir?" she asked, putting her hands behind her back.

"Hela," the man greeted as she walked closer. "I want you to tell me what that man told you yesterday."

Hela frowned. She didn't see why this was important. "The man didn't tell me much. He mostly just yelled at me to get out, he didn't really want to have a conversation." Hela made sure to leave out his name. The less they thought she knew, the better.

"Did he talk about his family?" he asked. The girl's eyebrows furrowed together and she shook her head in reply. Fury seemed to be studying her as if to see if she was lying.

"I told you, he just yelled a lot. If you don't believe me, watch the cameras!" Hela snapped. She quickly saw her mistake and looked down. She hadn't meant to snap, she was just aggravated. She didn't know anything about Loki other than the fact that he was a grouchy man from her uncle's home, why did he keep questioning her?

Fury let out a sigh and nodded. "I'll hold you to that. Get out."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Hela all but stomped out of the room. She walked back to her bedroom and sat down. Her eyes caught the sight of the picture and she frowned. Who was the strange prisoner man?

Hi everyone! I'd like to thank you all for your nice feedback and support, I appreciate it a lot. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!