Cat and mouse (part 1) Revised version!

Chapter 20

My feet pounded on the stairs as I ran up them and I cursed whoever had been occupying the elevator. Sweat ran down my neck as I rounded the 10th floor and pushed my feet to go one more level.
"Wait!" I yelled as I barreled out the door to the roof.
Four pairs of eyes turned to look at me.
Fury crossed his arms, clearly unpleased I'd showed up
after he'd suspended me a few days prior, he'd probably fire me completely but I wasn't going to let an opportunity to save my brother pass me up.
"Lady Anna!" Thor cheered as I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath.
"What is she doing here?" Loki asked surprised.
I ignored him and walked up to Thor wiping sweaty baby hairs out of my face.
"You can really save my brother?"
"I can."
"Then we have a deal." I said sticking my hand out for him to shake.
"Excellent!" Thor beamed taking my hand and crushing it in his grip.
Loki eyed me, clearly confused at what was happening.
"Heimdell bring us home!" Thor shouted at the overcast sky.
I glanced at Fury who watched me with unease but nodded at me in silent approval.
There was a crack of thunder and a dome of radiant colors surrounded us. Wind howled in my ears as I felt myself being pulled and stretched into oblivion.
The weightlessness that surrounded me gave away and my knees collided with hard marble.
I gasped in a breath and closed my eyes to fight away the rolling nausea that hit me.
"Are you alright?" Thor asked helping me stand and holding my arm in case I keeled over.
"It will pass in a moment." He promised.
I shook my head and the spinning ebbed away.
"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on!" Loki snapped looking between us.
"Lady Anna is here to speak in your defense." He said turning away from his brother and looking out across a rainbow bridge.
"You think they'll listen to her?" Loki sneered sending a nasty look my way.
"It's worth a shot." Thor said going to a ginormous man with a golden sword and talking to him in hushed tones.
Loki was still bound in chains but his face was considerably less bruised then the other day.
"I thought I told you to stay away from me." He growled stepped in front of me when I went to walk after Thor.
I pursed my lips. Just because I was here for him doesn't mean I had to talk to him.
"Go home, I don't need your help."
"I'm not doing it for you" I threw at him, unable to keep my mouth shut when he was so infuriating.
He glared at me and Thor rejoined us ending the argument.
"Come! Father awaits!"
We exited the golden dome and started walking across the colorful bridge the spanned over a restless looking sea.
"Oh my god." I whispered in awe as I looked up at kingdom of Asgard.
Thor smiled at me.
"It's beautiful isn't it."
"I've never seen anything like this before!"
It radiated golden light and the sheer beauty of it took my breath away.
"Trust me, it's not so beautiful when you know it's been built upon bodies." Loki chimed in ruining it.
I was about to ask him what the hell that was supposed to mean but Thor spoke first.
"We will have a meeting with Odin, and then gods willing, we'll have some insight on what to do next." He said sounding confident.
::;

"Who is this you've brought back?" Odin boomed from his throne looking down at me with a look similar to the ones Loki had given me countless times.
Like father, like son.
"Lady Anna, Father. She is a friend of Loki's from midguard, she is here to speak on behalf of Loki's repentance."
Loki snorted at the word friend.
"Repentance?" Odin laughed eyeing his second son.
"Loki do you repent?" He asked.
Loki didn't respond but the rage in his eyes was answer enough for his father.
"This human woman, the council will not take her word, She has no title that would ensure anyone take her seriously." He said waving his hand at me dismissively.
"She has reason to believe that Loki was not on his own in the destruction of the New York-"
"Enough, you will send her back to midguard. I will not have a human in our courts."
So this is where Loki got his inflated sense of self and hatred for lesser beings.
I wasn't going to let this pompous king get in the way of my brothers life, not when his pompous son was the one to take it.
"Hey!" I yelled up at him.
The king turned his eye to me and Thor flinched a little at my tone towards his father.
"This human, any human really, were the ones to suffer at Loki's lunatic, murdering, monumentally huge fuck up."
"As if he needs reminding." Loki snapped at me under his breath.
"The point is.." I said raising my voice so it echoed in the hall around us. "How can you decide his sentence when you don't have anyone that was actually involved in his crimes."
Odin pursed his lips at me.
"You are naive to think that he has not brought destruction on his home as well."
"Oh I'm sure he has." I said returning the glare that Loki was giving me full force.
"But us midguardians were the ones to suffer the product of something you raised, we had to suffer at the hands of your mistake!"
"Shut your mouth you little-"
Thor shoved Loki in warning and he grumbled but closed his mouth.
"How dare you come into my home, into my realm and speak like you know." He boomed standing and making his way down the golden steps towards me.
"If you suffered so greatly, then why are you here girl?"
To save my brother
"You don't blame the dog when it bites someone after it's been taught that's its purpose, You blame the owner." I said trying to keep my voice strong under the king's powerful gaze.
It was a bold thing to say, the meaning clear and I wasn't so sure his father was willing to admit his sons hostility had to come from somewhere, Loki had all but admitted to me war was just the way of the world where he was from but would the king be able to recognize the fault in it?
Odin stopped in front of me and cast his eyes to his oldest son.
"You think she can sway the council?"
"I think she has a chance." Thor said nodding.
"Very well. The sentencing is in two days time. Have your defense ready by then."
He turned to me then, his watery blue eye tired.
"If you can save my son, I will be indebted to you." He whispered.
Surprise lined my features as he made his way up the steps and back onto his throne.
This was all so surreal, two weeks ago I was trying to get Loki to confess so I could see to his punishment, now I was trying to save him from it.
Not one life but two depended on me.
"Come, you did well." Thor said once he'd led us out of the throne room, Loki trailing behind like a chained pit-Bull.
"I will show you to your chambers, you must be tired."  He said kindly.
His steps were so large he'd cleared half the hallway leaving Loki and I behind.
I quickened my steps to catch up but Loki grabbed my arm making the chains ring out in the quiet hall as he shoved me behind a large decorative ornament away from the eyes of the few servants that were dusting.
"You'll watch your tongue if you want to keep it." He growled at me shoving me into the wall to hide us better.
"Get off me." I snapped hating the way this was all to familiar to me now.
Being forced into close proximity with him, his breath blowing across my face.
"You have no idea what is at stake, you should not have come here."
"What are you talking about?" I snapped but gasped a little when his hands slid to my hips, his fingers splaying out along the contours of my waist and pulled me against him at the middle.
He cocked his head to the side looking down the hall and I realized he wanted the servants to think we were having a secret tryst rather than a conversation.
He didn't want anyone to know he was talking to me, he'd rather they thought we'd hidden in the shadows to mess around..but why?
"You need to go home." He warned turning back to me.
"I can't." I hissed trying to push him away not wanting to be a pawn in his stupid game.
He shoved me harder into the wall.
"It's not safe here-"
"Anna? Loki?" Thor called from somewhere down the hall.
Loki growled but let me go, sliding back into the hallway and resuming his walk as if he hadn't just ominously warned me I was in danger.