In The Shadows | Loki

I'D RATHER NOT BE THE NEXT SNOW WHITE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH

 "No."
        Iðunn freezes, surprise twisting her expression from a soft, comforting smile to one of a frown. I toss the apple back to her, and she catches it. 
        "You think I haven't seen this damn story? We literally have a cautionary tale on earth about taking food from people we don't know, specifically apples, and you think I'm just going to eat a weird golden apple because you say it'll make me an Asgardian god? Absolutely not. I'm not that stupid." Iðunn just watches me for a moment, not saying a word once I'm done. Her eyes go from me to the apple that was now in her hands.
        "This... this is a first." She admits slowly, glancing towards her hut. "I will talk to Odin now, I suppose. Tell him what you've decided." She doesn't move though, still watching me. "Are you sure?" She asks again after a long moment. I nod, knowing that I did not want whatever Odin was trying to sell me. 
        "I'd rather not be the next Snow White, thank you very much." I inform her. Iðunn nods again, turning and walking back into her small hut. She's gone for over half an hour, and I end up pacing the length of the small island a few times before settling down at the base of the tree. I'm contemplating taking a nap when the door of the small hut opens again, and Odin steps out. He scans the island until he spots me, and for a second I wonder what he's going to do. I wasn't sure if he was going to kick me out of this place or scream at me for not doing what he wanted. I wasn't sure what to expect. 
        I wasn't expecting him to walk over and sit down next to me. 
        He settles down next to me with a sigh, his back against the trunk of the tree. 
        "So. You don't want immortality?" Odin asks, not looking at me. I could already tell this was going to be a fun conversation. 
        "I don't trust that these weird, golden apples, and, don't take this the wrong way, I don't trust you." I pause, before adding, "actually, take that any way you would like." Odin arches an eyebrow at that, turning a little to look at me. 
        "You don't like me."
        "No." I answer honestly. "Everything that I have seen of you has been cruel and temperamental. Towards your own children, no less." There's a long silence at that. 
        "I love my sons." Odin replies. "It may not seem like I do, and I may be harsh, but I love them both." It's my turn to be skeptical. "When the truth came out about Loki, about his birth, everything went wrong. I made mistakes, every parent does."
        "Frigga was a part of that mistake too, but she did everything she could to still be Loki's mother. From what I understand, you stopped being a father the second the truth came out, and became nothing but a king." I shoot back. 
        "I made mistakes. I still do, but I'm trying to do something. To fix something."
        "And I'm the thing that needs fixing?" I counter. "Really?"
        "You have been a positive influence in Loki's life. You've shown him love when others have failed to, and you gave him a second chance. You have... you have given him everything he needed when I failed to do the same." I watch as Odin gets to his feet and reaches up, plucking another apple from the tree. "This is for you and my son. I want him to live a good life, and you have become a part of that." He holds out the apple towards me. "Please. Take a bite. For Loki." 

Loki~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        Mother smiles when I walk into the healing rooms, despite the fact that I'm being flanked by two of Odin's guards. She's talking to the head healer and the healers apprentices. They were all around one of the soul forges, looking over the image of someone. 
        "Loki, how are you my son?" My mother asks, dismissing the guards with a wave. They only go as far as the door, but there wasn't much I could do about that. 
        "As good as I can be, I suppose." I walk up to her side, looking down at the soul form. "Is this.."
        "Ophelia, yes." Mother confirms. "We've been trying just about everything we can to get Ophelia her abilities back, but it has been a struggle." With a wave of her hand, she brings up a different form, this one bursting with swirling colors. "This was her the last time she was here. I'm just... I don't know if there is anything I can do."
        "Nothing?" I ask. This was the what I had held out hope for, that our magic would be more powerful than their science. 
        "Short of taking her body back in time, no." My mother shakes her head. "And, unfortunately, out of all the treasures in your father's vault, the time stone is not one of them." She waves her hand again, shutting the soul forge down. "I will keep looking, though. We all will continue to look." 
        "Thank you." I nod my thanks to the healers as well, and the apprentices look shocked, though the head healer keeps her face carefully neutral, nodding back once. My mother dismisses them, and they disappear through the double doors just as Thor and the other warriors are coming up the hallway from the training grounds. I should have known I wouldn't be lucky enough for him to not spot me, and sure enough, he spots mother and myself ad heads straight our direction. I sigh, and Mother chuckles, putting a comforting hand on my arm.
        "Mother! Brother, how is it going with Ophelia's abilities?" He asks, walking inside the healing rooms. 
        "It's going." I reply, surveying the still sweaty group. "Where's Ophelia?" Thor frowns.
        "I thought she was back with you. Did she not come back?" Thor asks, eyebrows furrowing. I straighten at that, looking the group over. 
        "She went to the training grounds with you this morning. Odin put guards everywhere. She has to be with you." I reiterate. Thor glances to his warriors. 
        "When father took her away, I thought he brought her back here." Thor replies, just as confused as I am about the situation. The second he reveals that Odin took her somewhere, fear shoots through me.
        "Odin took her? Took her where?" I ask, taking a step closer to him. "Where did he take her, Thor?" 
        "I don't know." 
        Then I feel it.
        Something in my stomach churns, despite the fact that I hadn't eaten yet that morning. Then it cramps, pain shooting through my entire abdomen. I let out a gasp as the pain reaches my throat, and it constricts tighter and tighter until I feel like I can't breathe. I keep gasping for air as the tightening and the pain refuses to let up. 
        I hear Thor shout my name, then my mother as my knees hit the floor. 
        The pain intensifies, ripping through me like a blazing fire. The edges of my vision darken as I continue to fail to get air, and the shouting around me crescendos. The pain becomes the worst I had ever felt in my life.
        It's a relief when I black out.