Warnings: injury, hurt/comfort, minor violence
"I must apologise, lady Cinderella. It must have completely slipped my mind!" Thor said, barely slowing in his training to stop and talk to his uninvited guest. Swinging Mjolnir around with far more force than necessary and beheading the training dummies with ease - in fact, it was more obliterating them than beheading them since only fragments of their sad little skulls remained - he said, "My brother has taken a trip to Alfheim. He asked me to pass along the message that he would be gone for a few days but I appear to have forgotten."
Cinderella narrowed her eyes at the prince, clearly sceptical. "Why would he go to Alfheim? And where is Y/N?"
Holding out his hand to call Mjolnir back to him, Thor crossed the courtyard and stood towering over Cinderella. Even if she believed him incapable of harming her, his stature was intimidating and she shuddered in his shadow. Her entire body tightening, her muscles coiling and ready to flee at any moment, Cinderella looked the closest to panicking that Thor had ever seen her. It was obvious that she didn't dare consider the possibility of overpowering him, especially not when he was armed with Mjolnir.
Thor chuckled and patted Cinderella heartily on the shoulder, the light sound at complete odds with the dangerous look in his eyes. "I have never known my brother's mind, my lady. His intentions are his own but I did hear from lady Sif that the elves have recently fashioned a new range of the most beautiful fabrics in all the realms. I would not be surprised to hear that he has gone to sample their creations and bring back a selection for your wedding gown."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Oh dear! I appear to have ruined the surprise. No harm in telling you the rest now, I suppose. My father was to announce it this evening at dinner before the court. With unrest growing in the kingdom, the council decided that a wedding would be good for the morale of the people. You and Loki are to marry as soon as he returns at the end of the week."
"I... Um..."
Thor felt a certain amount of satisfaction at having apparently broken Cinderella, and only felt a tiny stab of guilt over the fact that everything he had said was a lie. No such decision had been made, although it was on the table as an option in the near future. Instead of a marriage, the council were actually planning numerous executions for the week's end. The rebels that had been captured the night of the ball, having now spent months in the jails were to receive their sentences at last. It was hoped, foolishly, that it would dissuade others from joining the cause.
The prince knew that it was too late to for that, and that an attack was imminent, but couldn't get the council to believe him. Even with proof that Cinderella was not of Vanaheim - found after Hogun had spent endless hours searching through the royal archives and discovered no mention of a Vanir lady named Cinderella in ten thousand years of history - they would not believe that she was involved in any kind of plot. The common folk of the kingdom believed her to be a princess, after all she had the beauty and demeanour of a royal, and they all still laboured under the misguided illusion that Loki truly wished to marry her.
It was beyond frustrating, especially since Thor knew that you were the one Loki truly wished to marry, a union he personally thought that the kingdom would accept just as readily given your heroics, but he knew better than to push the subject and risk the truth coming out too early. Cinderella had to remain unsuspecting of his true motives for keeping her busy over the coming days and the court could stay blind to the reality of the situation since their involvement would undoubtedly mess up preparations anyway.
So, Thor continued to nod along with the council's decisions, bite his tongue and begin moving the pieces into place just as he and Loki had discussed. Or rather, Loki had discussed and Thor had listened. Either way, the older prince was to make sure that the castle was prepared for an attack whether they knew it was coming or not.
He just hoped that this frankly ridiculous plan of Loki's didn't get them all killed before the truth was finally revealed.
***
Loki woke you before dawn.
He shook you out of your dreams and pulled you to your feet without a word. The illusion was back in place, although if you looked hard enough you could see small details of his true self. His skin appeared paler than it had before, replacing the golden hue that it had held the day before. The dark blue eyes of the guard were beginning to lighten, small flecks of his own gorgeous emerald irises bleeding through. Perhaps most obvious, though, was in his hair. The light brown strands that had been visible beneath his helmet were now clearly tinted raven black.
You hoped that these little changes were only visible to you because you were specifically searching for them but feared that one of Erlend's men might notice. If they realised who he was, they would kill him on sight regardless of Brynjar's orders. You were grateful for the early morning darkness as it would help him maintain his disguise.
Perhaps most troubling, though, was the fact that you knew Loki had to be seriously hurt to be unable to hold the illusion perfectly in place. Reasoning with him would do no good, you knew that, but it didn't stop you from trying nonetheless. Tying your hair up into a messy bun as you pushed fought off the call of sleep, you said, "Loki, you must stay here."
"I must do nothing of the kind," he said angrily. His illusion was solidifying again and, whilst you were glad to see his most recognisable features fading away, you feared that doubling his magic use this way would only make his condition worse. Leaving no room for argument, Loki said, "We will stick with to the plan that I devised yesterday. I will play my part as we discussed and you shall play yours. Do you understand?"
"Of course, my prince."
"Y/N, wait," Loki said, grabbing your hand as you stormed passed. Letting his magic drop so you could see the apology on his face, as swollen and bruised as yours, the purples and blues even more pronounced against his pale skin, he gently pulled you back to him. He didn't want to be presumptuous so didn't draw you into a hug but hardly bothered to hide his relief when you wrapped your arms carefully around his neck.
Pressing his cheek against yours, his fingers digging in to your bag as he held you tightly, scared to let go, Loki whispered, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice."
"No, you shouldn't have," you agreed. Allowing yourself one moment of peace, you closed your eyes and melting into his arms, revelling in the safety and feeling of home that his touch always seemed to provide. The anger you felt faded away and concern for the prince once again took a hold of you. "I'm just worried about you, Loki."
"And I for you, Y/N. I am simply trying to protect you."
"I don't need protecting."
Loki laughed, a wonderfully warm sound that wrapped around you like the softest of blankets. Leaning backwards, he brushed the hair from your face and smiled at your adorable attempt to look fierce. He placed a gentle kiss on the worst of the cuts beneath your eye, the sharp sting of pain masked by the buzz of his magic.
His fingers still splayed on your back, trapping you against his chest, Loki looked down at you with an intensity that made your legs shake. "My darling, you most certainly need protecting if only from your own recklessness."
"You'd have me some docile woman that followed your orders and allowed you to traipse into the jaws of death without backup?"
"Of course not, my love. I'd have you no other way than you already are. You are the strongest, bravest woman I have ever known and to see you change would be a travesty. You are all I could ever need or want in a partner but, for the privilege of having such an equal, I must return the favour. So, when you decide to do something tremendously reckless it is my duty to at least point out the disaster that awaits."
"And if I decide to follow that path anyway?"
"Then I shall stick to you like a shadow and be by your side when it all goes to Hel. For as long as we both shall live."
"Loki, I..."
The prince shook his head, brushed his lips against yours and, even though it appeared to physically pain him, turned away from you. The now familiar green flash filled the room as he summoned his illusion, using it as armour to hide the emotions that had been threatening to overcome him. "This is a conversation for another time, my dear. We must proceed with the plan before the day gets any lighter."
"This was a stupid plan," you said, gently running your fingers along your bruised jaw. "Next time, I get to choose how we try to escape and inevitably end up getting beaten to a pulp."
"I admit, it wasn't the most well considered plan of mine."
"That's for sure."
"You still trust me, though?"
You nodded, biting the inside of your lip in an attempt to push back the absolute mess of emotions you were feeling. Thankfully, if it could at all be considered so, you had to focus on the task at hand. You couldn't let yourself be distracted so pushed the feelings as far down as they would go, directing your attention on the part you had to play.
The both of you hovered by the door, peering out the smallest crack between the panels to judge your moment. Wordlessly agreeing that now was the time to act, you slipped outside and parted ways. You sent a final glance in Loki's direction, longing and hopeful that this wouldn't end in disaster, before sneaking over to the grand hall and waiting for the signal.
Loki hadn't told you exactly what to expect but you were fairly confident that him summoning over fifty clones and surrounding Erlend and his men by their dwindling fire was probably it. They drew their swords and began attacking the illusions, unable to discern reality from fiction. Arrows were fired and met the wrong targets as the rebels brought one another down. Loki summoned his daggers and fought the soldiers nearest him before turning on the others.
Even though you had known which Loki was the real one to begin with you soon lost track of where the prince was and knew that now was your time to act. You pushed your muscles as far as you could, feeling them tear and snap as you battled against the blockade that trapped the people of Aumrauth within the grand hall.
"Loreda?" you called out as you finally made some headway with the door.
"Y/N? We are ready!"
With the strength of ten hungry bilgesnipes, the villagers managed to push the doors open with remarkable ease and immediately ran past you and into the battle with Erlend's remaining men. You collapsed on the steps of the hall, watching with something unnervingly like excitement as the villagers beat the rebel soldiers to the ground. You knew you shouldn't be glad about seeing Erlend and his men get what they deserved but couldn't deny the twisted pleasure you felt from it nonetheless.
After what they'd wanted to do to you? They deserved nothing less.
"Let me help you," a friendly voice said, their careful touch on your shoulder causing your eyes to jerk open. "It's alright. I'm the village healer."
"I'm fine," you protested, pushing yourself onto your feet only to promptly collapse into the poor man's arms. He raised his eyebrows at you and you sighed in response, letting him prop you up against the door once again. "Just mask the pain. I don't need you to waste your powers healing me when my friend needs the help more."
The healer - Erik, you seemed to recall - didn't seem convinced but did as you asked anyway. He grabbed a few nearby plants, seemingly at random but you suspected that there had to be some method to his decisions, and then crushed the herbs and leaves in his hands. He closed his eyes and the air warmed around you, the noise in the background faded away to nothing as the healer encompassed you in a bubble of peace. The plants in his hand suddenly began to burn and you breathed in the fumes, the effect almost instantaneous.
Ripping a strip of fabric from the bottom of his shirt, the healer made a small pouch around the smoking herbs and handed it to you. "The healing magic will linger for a hours. I am sorry that I can make nothing more permanent on such short notice."
"This is just fine, thank you." You felt better than you had in days. Even though you knew the effects wouldn't last, the improvement in your mood was enough to make you confident about a positive ending to all of this for the first time since Cinderella had arrived at the palace. "Will you help my companion, also?"
Erik nodded, scurrying around the fray towards where Loki was leaning against a ruined building, struggling to breathe. The healer immediately sensed the magic in Loki and judging by the shock on his face recognised him as the prince too. However, he didn't say anything. He simply began searching for another set of herbs and pulled together a small pouch for Loki to take too.
Holding out his hands, Erik motioned for Loki to take them and the strangest thing seemed to happen when he did. The green glow of Loki's magic and the golden yellow of the healer began to interact. The gold slowly faded away as the green grew stronger, Erik allowing Loki to pull on his strength like a drip.
Before Loki restored his full power, he broke the link. He'd already taken too much from the healer and couldn't risk taking any more. Not when Erik clearly hadn't eaten properly in over a week and had over exerted himself by making two healing pouches for you both in such a short time. Not needing words to communicate how thankful Loki was, the prince made certain that Erik was comfortable and called a nearby villager over to keep an eye on the healer.
"Come, my love. We cannot stay here any longer."
"But Ander and the twins..."
"They remained in the hall as they were told and will be safe. Only a handful of Erlend's men got away and now Aumrauth will know to defend itself. They will be ready should they return. But we cannot stick around to help any further. I promise that the children will be okay."
You wanted to stay behind and check on them, to see them once more before you left, but knew it was too dangerous a risk to take. You couldn't risk Erlend getting word to Brynjar that you had escaped and were on your way back to the palace to put a halt to their plan. No. You hated it but Loki was right. You couldn't stay here any longer.
Grabbing enough supplies to tide you over for a day, you and Loki left the villagers of Aumrauth to clean up the mess that you'd made. The forest path was eerily quiet as you walked through. You'd hoped to take a horse to ride back to Asgard's capital but Erlend and his men had taken the last of them when they'd fled the battle. Even Gyllir was nowhere to be found. You hoped that he had made his way back to the palace and wasn't just aimlessly walking around the forest - as it felt like you and Loki were doing.
By the time that the sun had reached its high point, you were both beginning to lag. The magic of Erik's herbs was wearing off and the aches and pains were returning with a vengeance. Even with the magic borrowed from the healer to boost the effects, the injuries seemed to be taking a greater toll on Loki than you'd have expected.
When you stopped for a short break, unable to command your legs to move another step further, you began to worry (more than already) as Loki turned his nose away at the food you offered.
"I know it doesn't look much but it's better than the mouldy bread," you tried. That didn't get a response of any kind so you crouched down in front of him and asked, "Are you alright, Loki?"
Normally the prince would have waved your concerns away, tried to alleviate your worry with a snarky comment or some kind of joke. So when he shook his head and let the illusion drop you knew something was dreadfully wrong. Slowly lifting the edge of his shirt, he revealed a terrible wound in his side. You couldn't tell how much blood he'd lost but it was a lot. Dangerously so.
"How did this happen?" you asked, pulling the shirt over his head and tearing it into strips. With the few medical supplies you had you attempted to clean the wound but made no difference; it was just too bad to try and treat with this little. Still, you used the torn up shirt to make a wrap around him and shook your head in despair. "You're a fool, Loki."
"I know," he moaned, in so much pain that he didn't even bother to argue when you handed over your own healing pouch in the hopes that what little magic that remained might help improve his healing. "Erlend is to blame. He saw my illusion faltered before he fled and didn't hesitate."
"Please don't move."
"Try and stop me."
You did. In this state, it was hardly a challenge to keep Loki down. All it took was a gentle hand to his chest and he stayed put. Digging through your bag, you pulled out a new shirt and slipped it over Loki's head. "Try not to breathe too deeply," you said, scrunching your nose at the smell. "I took it off one of Erlend's men after he'd been... Uh, dealt with. I don't think he washed often."
"Why are you dressing me in a dead man's clothes, Y/N?"
Tapping the design on his shoulder, a bizarre set of runes that you'd seen embroidered on to every one of the rebels' shirts, you said, "If we are wearing their uniform, we're less likely to be shot at. Plus I figured that if you were already wearing their clothes then you wouldn't have to waste your energy holding that part of the illusion..."
Loki pulled you to him and placed a surprisingly firm kiss on your lips, catching you completely unaware. You quickly relaxed though, returning his kiss with equal passion. You felt heady, riding a wave of absolutely bliss as he ran his hands over your body, wondering why you'd ever stopped loving him. Well, you knew the answer to that. You never had. Even when you'd hated him, you'd still loved him with every fibre of your being.
All too soon he broke away, sliding you out of his lap and insisting that you change your outfit too. You turned your back to him and switched your shirt for that from another dead man, trying hard not to dwell on that fact for too long. The shirt was too big for you by far but you tucked it into your trousers with the hope no one would notice. In a way you were grateful that the fabric didn't hang too tightly as you weren't sure you could have taken such pressure against your battered skin.
Helping Loki to his feet, you were relieved to hear that he had targeted his magic around the wound and it was beginning to heal, however slowly, already. Of course, it meant that you and the prince made slower progress through the forest than you'd have hoped but did give you a reason to stay close by his side in case he suddenly needed someone to lean on.
"Loki, can I ask you something?"
The prince looked up from where he had stopped to collect a few new herbs and flowers to make another (better) healing potion since Erik's had now completely lost their effectiveness. He stared blankly in your direction, the cautious lines around his eyes and the practically imperceptible frown the only signs that he knew what you were going to ask and feared facing such a question. Still, despite that, he nodded for you to continue.
"This morning in the barn, what you said... Did you mean it?"
"I said a lot of things," he replied carefully, returning his concentration (or at least pretending to) to the collection of plants. He crushed the leaves and flowers in his hands, squeezing them tightly in his palms, then began searching for a special kind of rock, apparently useful for channelling and amplifying magic. "To which are you referring?"
"You said you'd be by side when life goes to Hel. For as long as we both shall live."
"Your memory is rather excellent," he whispered, the dull stone in his hand suddenly shimmering with the most beautiful tones of orange and red. He ground the already crushed plants into the dirt with the stone, perhaps a little more intensely than was actually necessary, before drawing a series of healing rune in the ground.
The connection to nature cemented strong, Loki drew on the power that existed naturally in the forest and channelled it into the stone. It flashed bright green as the link with him burst into existence, the sudden flow of magic making the prince gasp for air. He held a hand up as you rushed to his side, needing a moment before getting up of his own strength and standing tall as if nothing had happened.
Sensing your concern, Loki said, "I'm fine, my love. The stone will act as a magical talisman and aid my healing. The wound should be of little worry now."
"That's good to hear," you said a little stiffly. It was clear that it was still a conversation for another time so you pushed it aside and matter-of-factly laid out the course to follow. There was a shorter route through the region, unfortunately filled with many ravines and small valleys dangerously known for ambushes. However, you were running short on time and had little other choice. "We should get moving. If we don't stop for the night we might be able to reach the palace by morning."
Loki nodded and you continued on your path, until the silence weighed too heavily for the prince to hold his tongue any longer. "Yes," he stated, so bluntly that you weren't initially sure to what he was referring. "I meant it. If you'll have me, I intend to make you my queen and remain at your side until death tears us apart."
"Loki, I..."
The prince pulled you to his chest and held a hand over your mouth, whispering in your ear, "Did you hear that?"
You shook your head, heartbeat racing. Silently moving his hand from your mouth, he told you to stay put while he investigated. Loki got less than ten steps away when another twig snapped. You definitely heard it that time and when you looked up at the steep sides of land either side of your path you could feel your heartbeat in your throat.
For the second time this trip, you found yourself surrounded by a group of armed mercenaries. They were dressed differently to Erlend and his men, lacking the bright marks on their shoulders that had clearly identified them as rebels to other factions. Those facing you now had their faces covered by thick scarves and were wearing a myriad of old, tattered clothes - the kind worn by simple thieves, people that roamed between towns and villages stealing from wealthy travellers to get by.
At your side, Loki simply sighed at the fact you had managed to once again be caught in the middle of a group of bandits. What else could he do? This journey had quite clearly been cursed and as far as he was concerned - having already been beaten within an inch of his life and facing the loss of all he loved if you didn't reach the palace in time to stop Brynjar and his men - there was really little else that could turn against his favour now.
The bandits surrounding you eyed you with extreme interest, although you quickly realised it wasn't the same kind of hunger that Erlend's men had possessed. No, this was genuine interest and it took you only a moment to realise why. Despite all the terrible things that had happened over the last few weeks, a huge smile crossed your face as a gentle chuckle passed your lips.
"Care to share the joke, my darling?" Loki asked, almost too tired to care either way.
One of the bandits jumped down from ledge above, swinging off a low hanging tree branch to slow their descent from the higher ground. Walking over to you, casting Loki no more than a perfunctory glance to check he wasn't armed, their smile was clear even with the scarf covering over half their face. They said nothing as they wrapped you in their arms, burying their face in your neck and holding you so tightly that you feared you would snap in two.
When you finally pulled apart you simply blinked at one another, an entire conversation passing wordlessly between you both. Lifting your shaking hands you unwrapped the dirty strip of fabric from around their face and, even knowing who you'd see, still let out a sob of relief at the oh so familiar face.
"Y/N, you really should have let me kill her at the ball. It really would have saved us an awful lot of trouble."