Sacrifice | Loki

Collateral Damage

A/n: If you have ready my one shot, this may look familiar...

When a riot broke out in the dungeons the next afternoon, I found myself hurrying down and calling out for Loki's conscience hopefully.

'Loki are you ok?' I asked, the shouting growing louder with every second.

When there was no answer, I huffed and imagined his cell which allowed me to appear beside the god of mischief. His eyes were slightly wide, and sparkled with a sort of interest as though he had seen something entertaining.

"Loki what did you do?" I sighed, rubbing my temples.

"It wasn't me," he protested, "but, I can't say it wasn't admirable. I had hoped you would come, I gave some sort of beast direction to head upstairs."

"Loki," I warned, backing away from him slowly while shaking my head in disbelief.

"Anna-"

I felt out for Thor's mind, praying that he would allow me access easily. Fortunately, his conscious was unguarded, allowing me to speak freely.

'One of the prisoners made it out already' I conveyed before retreating from the god's mind and returning to my own.

Loki stared at me as though he was a cornered animal, caged and full of conscious fear. After I had taken a shaky breath, my eyes shot daggers at the god, piercing through him. He lowered his gaze in slight shame right before I teleported to the throne room, hoping to find Jane nearby. My heart raced as the rest of my body flew through the halls, my feet falling lightly against the floor. Loki was well aware of my anger towards him, and it was strong enough to keep him out of my conscience which left me alone with my fear.

"Thor!" I called out, seeing him burst through a door just around the next corner.

The sight before me made my knees tremble and nearly give out. I rushed forward to kneel beside Frigga's fallen body as Thor chased her killers: Malekith and his Kursed follower.

"My queen," I breathed, ripping the hem of my shirt to apply pressure to the wound in an attempt to stem the profuse bleeding.

Her eyes were slowly drained of their life at the same pace her blood left her body.

"Loki, he truly loves you," she smiled up at me, reaching for my face with her bloody palm for only a moment before dropping it back to her side.

The last drop of life dripped from her eyes in a small tear, leaving the body of the queen in my shuddering arms. I sat beside her in silence, eyes closed and head bowed in respect until Odin appeared in the doorway.

"She's gone," I croaked, staring up at him helplessly as he stared at his wife's body in shock.

When Thor returned, he fell to his knees beside me and mourned with me. We were soon joined by the Allfather, who knelt down and took Frigga's cold hand into his own before bowing his head. It was only shortly after that I felt Loki's mind prod at my own, curiosity ingrained in his very conscious. Knowing this would be the worst way for him to find out, I forced my walls up and locked the trickster out of my mind.

Finally, Thor and I nodded at each other before standing in unison, allowing the king to carry his wife for what would likely be the final time. Odin parted ways, but Thor and I stumbled through the corridors together for a while longer before stopping to stand on a nearby balcony. When I shot a glance towards him in the harsh early evening light, I noticed dampness beneath his eyes and sighed. We made eye contact, and I could not think of any words of comfort so instead I embraced him silently. His large arms wrapped around my thin frame, holding me flush against him so that I could feel his body quiver in sorrow.

We stood together until it got dark, and Jane tentatively stepped onto the balcony. I rubbed Thor's back comfortingly before releasing him and smiling sympathetically towards the brunette. After giving the god a small squeeze, I released him and gently guided him to Jane. Once the couple were reunited, I managed a halfhearted smile before my numb legs carried me to the throne room where I would discuss matters with the Allfather.

"Allfather," I said tentatively, curtsying robotically in respect.

"What?" he snapped, his single eye piercing through me.

"Loki must be told," I started quietly.

"I will not risk the safety or mental state of my guards to inform him. Unless you will tell him yourself, that is all I have to say in the matter. My wife is dead and that monster will find out sooner or later!" Odin shouted, his temper flaring.

He was in despair, but that did not make a single word he had just spoken anywhere near alright. Perhaps I was being rash, but so was the king. I marched up the steps to his throne and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. The guards had all been dismissed and it was just the two of us in the throne room.

"You may be the king and you may be grieving but Loki is still your son!" I shouted.

"He is not my son," Odin mumbled, refusing to meet my hardened gaze.

"He became your son the moment you saved him from dying alone in Jotunheim. He was abandoned once and already feels betrayed, there is no need for you to be the one who breaks him fully. He deserves to be treated as well as Thor and he deserves to know that the closest thing he's ever had to a mother, is dead," I said through gritted teeth.

"Then tell him. Visit him in his cage if you wish it to be so. You will have to be the one to deal with what the news will do to him."

"Of course," I stated, releasing my hold on him before jogging down to the dungeon.

As usual, Loki was laying on his bed, reading. The man on guard quietly watched me teleport inside the shield protected cell before going down the hall a ways in order to allow us privacy.

"Hello Loki," I stated, my voice glum.

"What is it you want, Anastasia?"

"I didn't wish to be the one to inform you about what happened-"

"Then why did you come?"

"Because Odin would not send guards and I believe you deserve to know. Frigga is dead," I blurted

Loki's face fell and he put down the book before standing up suddenly.

"How?" was all he could get out.

"She was murdered by Malekith and the monster who resided in the cell down the hall," I said softly, trying as best I could to not put any blame on the god as I was sure he was already suffering enough.

Loki's figure shook with something I could only take as a mixture of both anger and despair. He sat back down on the bed with a thump. I knew just being in the cell with him at the moment was dangerous, but he did not deserve to be alone through this. Quietly, I sat down next to him, not a word spoken. It was nearly half an hour later when he decided to speak.

"It's my fault," he murmured.

And that was when he broke down completely. Objects around us slammed against the cell wall as he screamed deafeningly before breaking into deep sobs that wracked his entire body. I put a gentle hand on his shoulder silently as he wailed at the loss of the only mother he had ever known. To my surprise, Loki hugged me tightly before whispering two words into my ear between sobs.

"Thank you."