Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 47

Loki fought against his nervous tic of picking at his hands while he waited for his mother's verdict on Morgan's condition. He couldn't stand the thought that she might not recover. "Mother?" He finally prompted when she hadn't spoken for too long. His worry was getting the best of him, or he'd never interrupt her while she was working.

Frigga blinked, her concentration and magic broken. "She will recover," she reassured Loki gently. "But we must work quickly and carefully to help her do so,"

"Anything," Loki agreed quickly. He would give and do anything to make sure Morgan was alright. It was his fault that she was in a magic coma, that he had taken her protections, that he had left her alone to be harmed. He had to help her now, now that she was back, now that he could help her.

Frigga nodded, then looked to Amora. "Send a raven to Thor and inform him that Lady Morgana has been found and is here on Asgard, would you dear?" She asked Amora, though with the collar around Amora's neck, she had to obey the royal family.

"Would it be too much to ask to get that thing removed from Amora?" Loki asked once Amora had left the room to do as she was told.

Frigga looked sad as she shook her head. "It is not my decision," she reminded Loki. "And that is what allowed her to teleport directly to Morgana without any of us knowing where she was,"

"Yes. But it's degrading. She is not an animal that deserves to be collared like that," Loki said, heated over his friend's unjust punishment.

Frigga was preparing for whatever she was going to do to help Morgan as she spoke. "II know, darling. But she is not in the dungeons or dead and that was your father's price for that mercy."

Loki sighed, but knew he couldn't argue with that point. He was also out of the dungeons only on the Allfather's mercy and had to be careful himself.

He pulled a chair up next to Morgan's bed to sit beside her while Frigga spoke with Amora. Guilt was eating away at him as he held Morgan's too cold hand. She had drained herself much too far to keep herself alive. Now, he had to help her stay that way.

Frigga returned to her place at Morgan's side, settling in for a long session of healing. "I'll need your help with this, darling, and we must work carefully,"

"What do I need to do?" Loki asked immediately. He didn't care how dangerous, or how much care he'd have to give. He'd do anything to help Morgan.

"She's drained every drop of magic she had. She doesn't have enough left to create more magic. She will die if that magic does not replenish," Frigga explained to him, keeping her voice calm and gentle. She didn't want to panic Loki, but they would have to get to work soon. It wasn't immediately urgent, but they only had so much time to work.

Loki paled. Frigga had just told him that Morgan would be ok. "Mother, please, I can't lose her," Loki sounded more like a small boy as he begged his mama for help instead of the man he was.

"We won't lose her. It isn't difficult to recharge her magic ourself. We just need to feed her magic with our own, to jumpstart her magic production and she'll create her own again on her own," she explained.

Loki nodded along to the explanation. He understood then. If they fed her drops of magic slowly, then her own magic would recharge. It was delicate work. He and Frigga each took one of Morgan's hands and glowed softly with their magic as they slowly fed her drop after drop of power.

They worked for hours until Morgan's magic sparked. She stirred enough that Frigga could feed her potions to help her recover before she fell back to sleep. She wasn't awake enough to be aware of anything. She hadn't even opened her eyes before she settled back to sleep. "She'll be alright with rest," Frigga said when Morgan was back to sleep.

Even Frigga swayed in exhaustion. She'd used far too much of her own power to help Morgan, especially when she'd spent so much time and power scrying for the girl to find her. Loki noticed immediately, always cognizant of his mother and always doting on her. He swept her up into his arms bridal style, despite her protests. She may be his queen, and his mother, and he obeyed her, but he wouldn't let her come to harm either. "You need to rest too, Mother," he told her gently and lovingly. She murmured a protest that Morgan needed her, but Morgan was stable and recovering well, so Frigga's argument was invalid. "She is fine now, Mother. You saved her, but you need to rest now." Loki said, his voice full of love, even seeing his normally formidable mother so exhausted. He didn't mind carrying her. He loved her and would care for her, just as she'd always cared for him.

Frigga relented to his care and laid her head on her son's shoulder. Loki smiled fondly and teleported them to her chambers, so no one would see the queen so weak. She didn't even like her son seeing her that way. He helped her into bed and made sure she was well tucked in.

Frigga gave him a warm smile. "She'll be fine, darling," she reassured him before she closed her eyes to succumb to sleep.

Loki bent to press a kiss to her forehead. "Thank you. Sleep well, Mother," he bid her fondly before he left her to rest.

He returned to Morgan's private room in the healing room to watch over her while she rested.

He stopped short when he arrived there.

Thor was in the room sitting next to Morgan's bed with her hand in his. He was watching over her and Loki could see the brotherly love in Thor's eyes. He was dreading this, dreading meeting Thor again after everything he'd done.

There was no choice and no putting it off.

He took a step into the room. He was terrified of Thor's reaction and moreso of his rejection, but he took that step anyway. He had amends to make to everyone, including Thor.

"Hello, Brother," he greeted Thor softly and waited with bated breath for his brother's reaction.