The Witch He Found

Chapter 20

I'm sat on the bed in some pyjamas I found, giving up on trying to sleep. Tony had at least got the foresight to put some clothes in the wardrobes for us both, shame he didn't put a TV in this room. 

Loki had only knocked the door once all evening so he could use the bathroom and take a shower. I had taken the opportunity to get some food and take it back to the bedroom. Once he had finished in the bathroom he just walked straight out. I could hear the sound of the TV in the living room so I looked over to the clock on the nightstand.

2am. I wonder if Loki is having trouble sleeping to?

Getting off the bed I move to the door and open it quietly, peaking my head out I can see the faint glow of the TV down the hall. Walking slowly toward the living room I poke my head around the wall and see Loki sat there, his back is to me but I can see his elbows are resting on his knees, his head in his hands. 

I go back to the bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind me. I get back into bed and lie down, attempting to sleep again. 

A few minutes later I hear a quiet knock on the door before it opens. 

"Kathy? Are you awake?" His voice is gruff, it makes me turn my head to look at him, he's partially hidden by the door but I can see his face. 

"Is it alright if I come?" I nod and he comes in, shutting the door behind him, walking to the other side of the bed I feel him lift the blanket, the bed dipping as he gets in it. 

I keep my back to him but I stare into the darkness as he starts talking quietly. 

"I'm sorry for my behaviour. I know I don't have an excuse for it but I want you to know that while you were passed out I was worried about you. On the third day when you still hadn't woken up, I felt useless, I didn't know what to do. I realised that I care for you, more than I first thought." 

He paused and I could hear him taking a breath "It's been a long time since I cared about someone else and it scares me, I've only known you for a little over a month. I didn't want to care, to have a weakness. After you woke up I thought that distancing myself from you was the better option but I realise I was wrong. All it's done is made me feel worse."

I turn over and face him, he moves onto his side and looks in my eyes. I can see the vulnerability behind them again, showing me the truth to his words. 

"Natasha came and spoke to me earlier after our fight, she told me that you have had a rough life and that I needed to start considering other peoples feelings. That you've learnt to close yourself off to the possibility of relationships. I didn't understand how that could be for someone so young but then I remembered what you told me about your family. You said it was a long time ago, you've also told me you're immortal. How long ago was that?"

I swallow a lump in my throat, memories playing in my mind. 

"I don't know the exact dates, I couldn't even tell you accurately how old I truly am. I was 25 when I found out about my powers. We lived in a small home in England, outside of the city. my family were just humble farmers." A bittersweet smile reaches my face.

"My father had gone into town for the day to get supplies. My mother and younger sister were in the house while I was tending to flower beds at the front of the house. There were these men. They forced their way into our home, tried to take my sister, my mother was too weak to fight back but I wasn't. I managed to get my sister behind me, I did everything I could to protect them. The men, they didn't care what they did. One of them had stabbed me" 

I rub a section on my chest, a phantom pain suddenly showing itself. "The next thing I knew they were dead on our floor, a purple glow was surrounding me. I couldn't understand what had happened but I could feel it, the power surging through my veins. My mother was screaming at me, hugging my sister into her side, calling me a witch and a heathen. She made me leave before my father came home. I found out later that she buried the men behind the house, with my sisters help. Told my father they had killed me for protecting my sister." 

A tear rolls down your cheek as I continue. 

"I was scared and alone to begin with. Fighting for scraps of food around the towns. Then I saw my sister one day in town, I begged her to help me, she told me I wasn't her family and she wanted nothing to do with a witch. After that I became angry, I killed people for money, for food. Taking what I wanted. I realised after a long time that people feared me. I went away then, found an empty house in the countryside, far away from anyone. Over time I learnt to control my powers better. Around 30 years had passed until I made it back to my home town and saw the people there being hurt by men, the same types of men that ruined my life. I slaughtered them all. People were still scared of me but I left the rest of the town in piece. After I got back to my house I decided, day that I needed to stop letting my past control who I was."

I pause, trying to work out dates in my head

"That was around 500 years ago. I met others like me over time, we helped each other, taught each other. For the most part though I kept to myself I didn't consider anyone else family until the Avengers decided they wanted me on their team."

I end in a barely audible whisper. Loki pulls me close and holds me as I cry quietly, it had been hard to go through those memories again. 

"I am sorry you had to go through that Love, I wont let anyone put you through that sort of pain again" He holds onto me and rubs my back until the tears stop, he pushes me away slightly to look into my eyes. 

"You are a beautiful, smart, fierce woman. Anyone would be lucky to have you on their side. You've had me captivated me from the first time you held a dagger to my throat." I laugh slightly at the faraway look in his eyes. 

"You weren't saying that when it happened, Lo" He raises an eyebrow at the nickname but he continues anyway. 

"Of course not, I had to keep at least some of my pride intact." We both laugh a little at his dramatics. Settling down we smile at each other and he strokes my hair away from my face. "Come now, go to sleep. It's late and we both need to rest" 

"Will you stay with me?" He looks at me for a minute before nodding, we curl into each other once more, soon drifting off to sleep.