Caged Bird

7

Jane's second visit into the cell once again includes the guards. This time, though, she is prepared for the shock of being some place different once she enters the cell. She steps forward and is in the illusion of Svartalfheim. Loki rises when she enters and gives a slight bow as he gestures to the rock.

"That's sweet, but you don't have to get up. I'm just Jane, nothing special here."

"Ah, Just Jane, but you are my guest, and therefore I will extend the courtesy."

"Well thanks." She sits next to him, "So...have you been eating?"

"No more than before."

"Come on, Loki, you can't let yourself starve."

"And why not?"

She furrows her brow, "You really don't have any reason not to die horribly slowly as your body breaks down with you still living in it?"

"Not really."

"Come on, whatever it took to not be dead on this godforsaken rock had to be pretty intense. You can't make me believe you're just going to be all like, 'whoop, death, sounds fine!' after that."

He almost laughs before returning to a more serious expression, "You are right in that it was no easy feat. And quite painful. But I wasted that effort. I will die here, alone, having accomplished nothing toward my goals. So why not? Death is death, no matter where, when, or how it comes."

"That's super dark."

"Yes."

"So tell me how you really feel about death. I mean, I'm coming up on 70 here in a few months. I've only got maybe two decades left, if I'm lucky. I'll get to it long before you will. Why should I not be absolutely terrified?"

He watches her, wary that this is some sort of trick question to tease out some wish for execution or not, but she seems earnest and she has never done so before, so he sighs and answers her, "I cannot tell you. I have thought myself dead many times these past few decades and every time, there is great fear there. But my deaths were never to be quick, or painless, or a rest after a long life. My own death? I dread it, for it will not be one I can choose. While I may have your 'one inch', I will not go to a good death and they will strip everything else from me. If I am to be executed as a traitor, they will even take my name."

"Wait, how can they do that? It's your name, it's not something tangible."

"It will never be spoken again, not even in tribute. The wicked do not deserve such things."

"No wonder you're melodramatic- this whole realm is."

He raises an eyebrow, "You do not have such things in Midgard?"

"Look, there are some countries that are backwards that torture people and do horrible things and are upfront about it. But the country I'm from, which, granted, has its own screwed up ideas? If you commit treason bad enough for the death penalty, we just kill you with lethal drugs or an electric chair or a firing squad. That's it. And there's a trial before it where a jury has to find you guilty without any reasonable doubt and a judge decides on the sentence. It's all pretty straightforward."

"And they do not remove you entirely from existence, in name, in deed, everything?"

"No. That would be impossible. People have families that need to be able to talk about them after they're gone, even if they did bad things. Maybe especially if they did bad things."

"Hm."

There is a lull in the conversation and she breaks it with another question, "So...last time. You never answered. Why Svartalfheim?"

"I still do not wish to answer."

"Got it. Are you ever going to answer?"

"Possibly. Possibly not."

She checks her watch, "Oop, sorry, shorter time today. Thor wants to take me for yet another walk in the gardens. He says the time together will make up for all the time he's been leaving me behind for meetings with Odin to go over king stuff."

"Is Odin preparing to crown him?"

"I don't know. I think he's more preparing to drop dead. Guy's really super old. Either way, I've got to go appease the boyfriend. Pretend everything's fine when I want to strangle him."

"Ah. Yes. Well good luck not strangling Thor. I have wanted to do so myself on numerous occasions."

She stands and he rises with her, walking with her to the edge of the illusion, "Hey. Thanks for letting me into your head a little. I'll be back."

Loki bows as she steps out of the cell, "You are welcome, Miss Jane." He returns to his cot-now-stone and sits, staring out at the open plains. With a little movement of his wrist, he watches the skiff blast through the tunnel from Asgard and, in a moment. moves himself to on the deck. He hears him asking the same question he asked Thor then- is he ready to lose her? And then there is the pummelling. But in his version, Thor does not hesitate before fist meets face and the impact is dizzying, even in illusion.