~The Bond between Father and Daughter~

~Chapter 12~

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"Here! Turn here!" Loki followed Eiherhein's frantic voice, and turned yet another sharp corner. He didn't know how long they'd been running. All he knew was that he was exhausted, and his legs were aching from walking so fast, and Sprite was beginning to grow heavy. Finally, Eiherhein was leading him into a room, one as dim and cool as the rest of the castle. He wasted no time in placing Sprite carefully onto the bed, and covering her with a heavy sheet and blanket. "Where does he keep the herbs?" Eiherhein pointed to the second cabinet lining the cracked wall. "Over there. Top shelf." Loki rushed across the room, opened the doors, and threw them open. He grabbed at familiar herbs from his mother's private garden, ones she used when he and Thor were ill. Thor. He hadn't even bothered thinking about him in the past minutes. Or Jane. Were they all right? There would be time to worry about that later, he told himself. Right now, they would want him to focus on his daughter. He mashed the herbs into warm water until they were dust, and crossed the room to where his daughter lay. "You must drink. You must get stronger." Her lips parted as he put the bowl to her lips. She swallowed obediently, groping for her father's arm, and clutching it tightly. When she finished, he put the bowl to the side, and then turned back to Eiherhein. "Where are the medical supplies?" "First cabinet, bottom shelf." Loki raced back again, and then grabbed blindly at salves, healing elixirs, and wraps, and racing again to the bed near the corner. "Press against her side. No matter how hard she resists. And stop when I tell you to." Eiherhein nodded, positioned himself, and looked to Loki. "Press." Immediately, Sprite was drawn out of her dreamless short nap, and screamed at the top of her lungs. She thrashed around, her magic sparking from her hands. "Sprite, my sweet star, you're all right." She pushed away Eiherhein's hands, sweat beading her forehead. "S-stop... hurts..." "You're almost there." "Well?" "Need to keep pressing." Eiherhein obeyed, flinching inwardly as the small girl shrieked loudly, her eyes rolling back into her head. "It hurts, Dad, it hurts so badly..." "I know, baby, I know." He threw a bloody cloth aside, and pressed a hand to her feverish head. "Do you remember the story of the ship that I used to tell you?" Sprite struggled to recall the old story her father would always repeat to her in his soft voice on nights when she couldn't fall asleep. "Ship... cursed... devil gave an order... to- to- break it..." "Good." She let out another yell as her father pressed more salve to her wounds, and Eiherhein went on pressing. "All right, stop!" Eiherhein obliged, releasing her, breathing heavily. Sprite let out small gasps for air, her eyes closing. Loki closed his eyes, clasped his hands in front of his face as if in prayer, letting out a breath. After a moment's silence, he looked to Sprite, and stroked her hair as she whimpered quietly. "Shhhh." She lay back against the pillow, exhausted. Eiherhein looked up at Loki grimly. "You should go and meet Malekith." Loki suddenly felt as if he'd swallowed something slimy. Facing the monster who put his daughter through all this and slaughtered his mother like an animal was the last thing he wanted to do, especially when his little one was in such a state. But he had no choice. 40 minutes had blown by faster than he thought, and he couldn't allow Malekith to simply roam the halls haughtily without proper punishment. "I can stay here with her. Make sure no one comes in or out." Loki nodded. "Fine." He was wary of the elf boy still, but knew he had no choice. He leaned down towards his child, and pressed a kiss to her soaked forehead. "I'll be back, my love. I won't be gone long. I love you so much, my little girl." He kissed her once more, squeezed her arm, and turned away. He threw the doors open, preparing for the cooler air to hit him.
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