Unbroken

chapter 67

Loki would've jumped out of his skin if he wasn't frozen with shock and terror. Why was Laufey out here? Loki didn't think laufey would be allowed to wander around alone, and there were no guards around for Loki to call.
"Leave me alone" Loki said, his voice actually came out pretty strong.
"You don't give me orders boy" Laufey said, taking a step closer to Loki. Loki's hand automatically went to his belt where his daggers were. Laufey smirked and laughed.
"You're armed I see. Let me guess, Thor taught you how to fight?" Laufey said mockingly. Loki wished he could say no, but Thor had been the one to teach him everything he knew about combat. "It doesn't matter who taught me" loki said "the point is that I know how to defend myself, and I will" he added, though a small part of him was arguing the point that he had never been able to beat Thor in a fight, apparently because he subconsciously let himself loose, he hoped that Laufey wouldn't attack him, he didn't want to test his focus with Laufey. "No you won't" Laufey said "you're the same lost creature you were on Jotunhiem" Laufey said, taking another step toward Loki. He was expecting loki to back away, but loki stayed where he was, so now Loki and laufey were at a normal distance for a conversation.
"No I'm not" Loki said, he wanted to give a better comeback, but at the moment he couldn't think of anything to say.
Laufey's eyes shifted down, landing on Loki's hands at his sides.
"You're terrified" Laufey said "you've learned to speak, but you never were able to stop your hands from trembling" Laufey said with a sneer, looking satisfied at his discovery. "I don't care. That doesn't mean anything" Loki said back.
"It means you're still afraid of me" Laufey retorted.
"And who cares if I am?" Loki said. For half a second laufey looked taken aback, he was expecting Loki deny the accusation, but he didn't. Laufey quickly recomposed himself though
"You do" Laufey said "Because I still have you enslaved. I can still do whatever I want to you and you'll just lay there and take it. You won't fight, you aren't any stronger than you were a year ago, you just bathe more often now. I still own you mentally, and you know it, and it drives you crazy" Laufey said. Loki felt his heart rate increasing, he was mad that Laufey was right. He was angry with himself because his hands shook, he wanted to be free from Laufey but he knew that Laufey would always terrify him. "What's wrong? Did you suddenly feel the urge to stop arguing?" Laufey mocked, he knew Loki wouldn't say anything back. "Thought so" Laufey said with a satisfied grin as he stepped back and turned away from Loki.
Loki felt a rage build up inside him. Laufey had come here only to mock, only to make a point, was that why he was on Asgard at all? Did he just want to prove that he still had Loki under his thumb.
Loki felt a title wave of urges, he simultaneously wanted to lunge after Laufey and stab him, and he also wanted to keep absolutely quiet and let laufey walk away. But he didn't want to be under laufey's thumb anymore, he wouldn't let Laufey continue to control him. So with a rush of adrenaline Loki spoke up.
"You're wrong" loki said with a definitive tone. His hands were shaking so badly now he had to hold them behind his back, but he didn't care.
"What?" Laufey said, turning around and stepping toward loki again.
"I said you're wrong. You don't own me, I am different, I am stronger, and I will defend myself" loki said. He felt his heart pounding in his chest so hard that he was sure Laufey could hear it.
Laufey was chillingly quiet for a minute, just standing there looking down at Loki.
Then the thing Loki was dreading happened. It was dark and Loki had no warning, he couldn't see Laufey's fist tightening, and then all of a sudden Laufey raised his fist and struck Loki hard across his face. Pain shot through Loki's face and he and tripped and fell to the ground. "Let's test that" Laufey growled, coming over to kick Loki in the stomach. Loki was in shock and his brain was still catching up, but Laufey always went for the stomach so Loki was able to dodge the attack and get back to his feet, and before he had time to think or call for help, he was in a one on one fight with the man the was most afraid of. "You think you can fight me?!" Laufey bellowed as he punched Loki again. They were near the stream so Loki fell on his back in the muddy ground, but when Laufey tried to attack again Loki used his arrogance against him; laufey kicked Loki in the stomach, then when he went to kick him again Loki was able to grab his ankle and twist hard. Laufey lost his footing and tumbled to the ground, now at least they were both on the same level. Laufey didn't let that stop him though, he landed next to Loki and elbowed him hard in the chest, then got to his hands and knees and punched Loki in the face again.
"You're pathetic!" Laufey shouted, punching Loki's face once again. Loki felt his nose break, but he wasn't going to surrender to Laufey. He ignored his pain and fought back.
Though Laufey did more damage, Loki still kept Laufey working hard to fight back. Loki was cleverer and more creative than laufey and he was able to defend and attack. They brawled in the mud for long minutes, each of them throwing punches and attacks and hurting each other whenever they could. Loki didn't hold back but neither did laufey, It wasn't an easy fight, Laufey thought it would take him no time to crush Loki, but Loki challenged Laufey in a Way he never thought possible, this made him angry, but it didn't stop Loki from fighting back hard.
"Give up and maybe I won't kill you!" Laufey shouted at him as he threw a kick that snapped Lokis ribs, Loki stumbled to the ground once again, both from the pain and from the force of the kick, but he wouldn't surrender, he wouldn't let laufey win this fight.
"No" Loki said with a ragged voice. "Fine, then I'll end it here and now" Laufey said as he charged down on loki and locked his hands around Loki's neck. Loki felt another rush of adrenaline. He fought and writhed and tried to force laufey off of him, but laufey's grip just got tighter around Lokis throat. Loki clawed at laufey's hands but nothing worked. Loki could no longer breathe, laufey was squeezing the life out of him and Loki knew it. He was seeing spots, he was almost about to resign to his fate and accept his death, but then he remembered the last time he was strangled. that time it was Thor, and he did it to prove that loki needed to stop being crippled by fear, he couldn't hold back. Loki's mind started racing, desperately thinking for anything that he could do. then he was struck with an idea.
"You- still- wrong" loki choked out, his hand sinking into the mud and feeling around for something that would work. Laufey wasn't paying attention to Lokis hand, he leaned down so that their noses were almost touching.
"About what?" Laufey spat. Loki was still feeling around through the mud.
"About me" loki wheezed, he just needed to stall for a moment longer, he'd find one that was big enough, he just kept searching through the mud with his hand.
"How so?" Laufey hissed "you're weak, Pathetic, unable to win against me, you're exactly the same as you always were" he spat. Loki shook his head, he was about to speak again but he didn't have to now. He finally found one. His hand touched a stone that was big enough to do the job but still able to fit in Loki's hand. "No, I'm not the same" loki gasped.
"How?" Laufey demanded.
Lokis fingers locked around the stone and he took a strained breath, he needed to conjure every ounce of strength he had in him. He looked Laufey in the eye and summoned all his strength. "Because I'm no longer afraid to win" and before Laufey could respond, Loki ripped his hand with the stone out of the mud and crashed it against laufey's head as hard as he could, cracking Laufey's skull and knocking him unconscious.