Unbroken

Chapter 61

Loki left the meeting and made it to the gardens as soon as possible, he wanted to get out of the palace so he could breathe some fresh air.
He got to the gardens and saw Trinity sitting by the center pool and he went over to her. She was sketching something in a book but looked up at him when he approached.
"What's wrong?" She asked, standing up and seeing the look of worry on his face.
"Laufey is coming" loki said "In a week. And I know he's going to make them send me back, he's going to use some kind of threat and I won't be able to stay here" he said, doing his best to stay calm about it, but every time he thought about Laufey coming here, to his home, he felt dread infecting his mind. Trinity was confused and it was obvious, so Loki explained everything that had happened, giving as much detail as he possibly could.
Trinity didn't know what to say, she knew Laufey had been acting to get Loki back, but she didn't think he'd be coming here personally.
"Loki... I don't- how? Why? I thought the king was refusing to let him come" she said, Loki rubbed his forehead and dropped down onto one of the benches my the pool.
"I don't know. I don't-" he swallowed hard, feeling his panic rising "I don't know what to do" he said as he looked up at Trinity. She felt terrible, but she couldn't think of an answer to this problem, there wasn't any way to make this easy.
"It'll be-" Loki cut her off.
"Fine?" Loki said, by now everyone knew that 'fine' meant really not fine at all.
"Loki, I know laufey coming here is... difficult to say the least. But you're not really in danger, there's hundreds of guards in the palace, do you have any idea how difficult it would be for Laufey to kidnap you right in front of the king?" She asked, sitting down next to him and putting a hand on his back. Loki sighed a bit and leaned his head on his fists.
"It's just that- why does this have to happen? Laufey made me... well you know how I was when I was first brought here, and I was finally starting to be... somewhat normal, I can at least speak in full sentences now. I was starting to think that maybe the only time I'd ever have to see laufey again was in my nightmares, but no, now he's coming here for a visit, and I know exactly how it'll end" he said, he managed to not stutter, but there was a hint of shakiness in his voice.
"Loki, Laufey isn't all powerful" Trinity said after a short pause.
"You don't know him. I grew up with his torture, and.... even though I can live normally, he can still get inside my head, he's still there, and I'm starting to think he'll never be gone" Loki said, turning his head to face her, and there was fear behind his eyes.
"You won't be alone. And you probably won't even have to face him, he's coming to speak with the king, you won't be forced to face him" she said, trying to sound sure, but she was actually just as terrified as Loki was. She didn't know what Laufey could do, but she had seen Loki when he was first brought here. He was skinny and looked dead, he was covered in blood and injures, and he still had the scars to prove it.
"He want to take me back, and he doesn't give up. He won't accept no as an answer. Odin told me that he wasn't going to even let Laufey in this realm and Laufey was able to Manipulate his way in, he'll find a way to make Odin hand me back over and-" Trinity cut him off.
"Stop" she said curtly "just stop. You have every right to be afraid of Laufey, but you can't be afraid of the king turning you over,  he wouldn't do that. These people care about you, we all care about you, you need to be able to count on that. No one is going to let Laufey take you without a fight. Don't think so little of your family" she told him, she felt terrible for him, but he needed to remember that he's not alone anymore, he has people on his side. Loki was quiet for a long time, he didn't know what to do, he knew he wouldn't be able to fight Laufey if the situation presented itself, and all he could think about was being sent back.
"Loki" Trinity said after a log silence "I love you. And this is difficult and terrifying, but it'll pass. Maybe it'll pass with battle, but it will pass, and there is no universe where this ends with you as laufey's slave again" she told him, trying to sound more confident than she was.
"I know.... I love you too, and I know in my head that you're right but- I wish someone could convince my heart... I can't get rid of the fear and the dread no matter how many times I tell myself that I'm safe here" he said. Then took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"I'm going to go back inside... I'll see you later" he said, then kissed her shortly before standing up and going back to the palace.
=*****=.
Over the next several days the tension in the palace rose exponentially, there weren't any more counsel meetings, at least none that Loki was invited too, but he noticed that there were a lot more guards around. Loki knew that Laufey was coming soon, and he had become a lot more cautious even inside the palace. He didn't know what day laufey was coming, but he was sure to have weapons on him at all times, and he felt a tiny bit safer when he realized that there were twice as many guards outside his room than there normally are.
"Loki" Loki jumped when he heard Thor say his name. Loki was in the lounge trying to get his mind off things by reading, but he was pretty sure he'd just been reading the same page over and over again.
"What is it?" Loki asked as he put down the book and stood up.
"Sorry I startled you. I was wondering if you wanted to go for a ride with me and the warriors? You've been under a lot of stress so getting out might do you some good" thor said. Loki didn't really feel like going out, and he certainly didn't feel like being around a bunch of people.
"I don't really feel like it now" Loki said.
"Come on, you've been reading that same page for the past hour, come with us and get your mind off things" Thor said, really wanting loki to come along. Loki was quiet for a minute and then closed the book.
"Alright, I guess it can't hurt" he said. Thor looked relieved for some reason.
"Perfect, I'll meet you by the stables" he said as he left the room. Loki grabbed the book and returned it to the library before heading to the stables. Once he was there he saw Thor, Sif, and the warriors three. They all got on their horses and Loki once again took Sleipnir, then they all headed out. Thor turned out to be right, Loki did end up feeling a lot better. He was glad to be out of the palace, but he still couldn't totally relax.
They had been out for a while and Sif noticed that Loki was relatively calm. He seemed a bit tense, but he wasn't freaking out. Sif rode up ahead of Loki and caught up to Thor.
"You haven't told him yet, have you?" She asked. Thor looked back a bit to make sure Loki couldn't hear them.
"No, I haven't" he said quietly.
"Thor you need to tell him, if we go back and he finds out himself he will panic like you've never seen" Sif said.
"Relax, I'm going to tell him, I just wanted to get him out of the palace first. He'll take it a lot better if we're far away" Thor said defensively.
"What are you two whispering about?" Fandral asked as he rode up beside them. He saw them talking closely and quietly and decided to be nosy as always.
"Thor hasn't told Loki yet" Sif said.
"Told Loki what?" Fandral asked. Sif looked surprised that Fandral didn't know what they were talking about.
"You don't know?" She asked, and when Fandral gave her a blank look she checked to make sure loki was out of earshot "Laufey is coming tonight"