Shadows and Lies

Chapter 13

"If you think I'm actually going to spend a day celebrating Odin then you've lost your mind!" Loki yelled as Thor dragged him back to his room and closed the door quickly.
"Be quiet!" Thor hissed in annoyance as he put loki back on his bed and shackled his ankle again.
"Why? Don't want your friends to know I'm throwing a fit?" He asked sarcastically "I'm not doing this! I tried, I really did. I wanted to try and work out a way to fix myself but this is too much.  there is no way I am ever going to go to any even that actually honors that man!" Loki was fuming and thor knew he wasn't going to be able to convince Loki that this was actually a really good idea. If Loki could do this then it would just get easier from there.
"Just- just lower your voice okay!?" Thor snapped. If someone heard Loki saying how much he hated Odin and that he'd never agree to do what the council decided then they might call it off and go back to demanding he be executed; they were on very thin ice and loki was taking a pickaxe to it. "You don't have to participate in anything, you don't even have to talk to people. You can sit in a corner and sulk all night for all I care, you just have to be there so the council can see that you're capable of being with a group of people without being hostile. You don't have to talk to anyone or even look at anyone, bring a book and sit in a corner, I don't care. Just be there" Thor told him hurriedly.
"I don't care. I'm not a dog and you're not my trainer, I'm not going to be present for a celebration for Odin" Loki said Odin's name like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "You know as well as I do that they only came up with that solution in order to mock and humiliate me. Making me celebrate my father, who messed me up beyond repair!" Loki was still enraged and Thor was just trying to calm him down.
"Loki, please, all you have to do is be there, I won't talk to you, I'll tell the guards to leave you alone, you just have to be there. I know it's hard-" look cut him off
"It's not hard, it's impossible!" Loki snapped "I can't do it and you know it! And the council knows it and that's why they made these conditions! They intentionally set me up for failure so they can demand to torture and execute me!" He knew the council owned the game and they rigged the boards so loki couldn't possibly win, and he was furious at Thor for not seeing that.
"You don't have to fail, I know you, if you want something you'll find a way to get it. If you put effort in you can do this, you're the most determined person I know, just get it in your head that this has to be done" he said matter-of-factly. Loki didn't seem pleased or calmed at all. "Okay, calm down. It's not for two more weeks, you'll have time to think about it with a clear head. And you're still not in good shape, if you still can't walk on your own by the time of the memorial then you don't have to attend, Alright?" Thor knew that if he gave loki the possibility of a way out that he'd simmer down. He was right, loki calmed slightly, but his ears were still bright red and his jaw was still tight.
"I can guarantee that I won't be able to walk in two weeks" Even if he was fine, he'd pretend he wasn't to get out of going. Thor knew that, Thor knew Loki probably wasn't going to cooperate with this, but he hoped he was wrong, he hoped loki came to his senses and realized that it would be worth it to attend like the council demanded.
"You know you'll have to tell the public I'm here right? Your little secret will be out" Loki told him.
"I know" Thor nodded.
"They'll try to kill me if I'm there" Loki added.
"I know. It won't be a warm welcome for you, but I'll make sure you're not murdered" Thor assured him, though loki wasn't actually worried about his safety, he was just trying to find a reason not to go through with this. "Just take some time too cool off, you have two weeks to get mentally ready for it" Thor added before he left the room.
=*****=
About a week past. Loki actually wished he'd stop healing, but Katarina told him that he was actually healing really well, which annoyed him because he wanted to avoid going to Odin's memorial.
After about a week Loki started to feel worse about it, he wasn't sleeping well, constantly thinking about the councilmen hovering over him and watching him like hawks, waiting for him to mess up so they can attack. He knew he wouldn't be left alone, he'd probably be locked in chains and have guards on him the whole time, making sure he wasn't able to get a single moment of privacy.
He was sitting on his bed, trying to sleep, but every time he moved he felt the chain tug at his ankle, reminding him that he was just a prisoner in his own home. He hated it, he hated that he couldn't walk more than twenty feet from his bed, he hated that guards were constantly right outside his door.
He didn't remember falling asleep, but he knew he did sleep because he suddenly woke up to a loud ponding on his door.
"What..." he thought maybe he was just crazy, it was the middle of the night and there was no reason for anyone to be at his door. He sat up, annoyed that he'd woken up.
loki jumped when he heard the pounding again.
"What?!" He shouted at his door. He had finally gotten to sleep and was pretty mad that he was awake again.
The guards stormed into the room aggressively.
"Who's here?" One of Them asked, starting to search the room. Loki looked around confused.
"No one, I'm alone. You've been Outside my door all night how could I have snuck someone in here?" Loki asked in exasperation. Of course no one was there, the guards had stirring and grumbling about being in chains, so they stormed in accusing him.
"We heard talking!" The guard yelled, grabbing Loki by his shirt and yanking him up to his feet. Loki was confused and disoriented and winced when the guard forced him up.
"Wh- Hey! I haven't done anything!" He yelled defensively. He was asleep, finally getting some rest after a week on feeling like he hadn't slept at all, and he certainly hadn't been talking to anyone, so he was pretty mad that they woke him up to accuse him of nonsense.
The guard pushed Loki back.
"Get on your knees" he ordered. Loki looked baffled and slightly amused.
"Excuse me?" He almost laughed. The guard Kicked in the back of Loki's knee and he crashed to the ground. Pain shot up his bad leg and he fell forward, barely catching himself on his hands.
"Who's here? Who are you talking to? We've heard you several times now" the guard hissed at him, pulling Loki's head back and putting a knife to his throat. Loki couldn't help feel panic.
"I don't have anyone here." Loki said more calmly, even though he could feel the guards knife digging into his throat.
"Then who were you talking too?" He felt the knife cutting his neck, warm blood started to slowly drip down his neck. Loki knew the guard would kill him.
"No one. I have no idea what you're talking about. I've been asleep" Loki said quickly "Thor has spent years keeping me alive, making sure I wasn't killed when I was found. Do you really want to have to explain my dead body in the morning?" He knew that if the guard killed him Thor would go crazy, but Thor being angry wouldn't really do loki much good after he was dead, so loki wanted to avoid actually dying.
Loki felt the knife on his neck for a few more seconds, then finally the guard pulled it away and let go of Loki.
"Maybe I can't kill you. But someone else will" the guard hissed at him before pushing him forward on his face and standing up.
Loki pulled himself up, holding his ribs that were now aching from the fall.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, facing the guards and feeling His heart still pounding.
"The king announced your presence here. People aren't exactly happy about it. it'll be a miracle if you aren't murdered by the end of the week" and with that the guards stomped out of the room.
Loki stayed on the ground for a minute, holding a hand to his neck that was still bleeding a bit. He was a bit shaken. He was used to having his life threatened, it happened a lot, but he wasn't used to the people who were threatening him standing right outside his door "guarding" him.