Winter Souls

Forgiven

You see, what had happened was...When my roomie and I are on vacation we don't live together so it's hard to get the chapters out as fast as when we're sleeping like 10 feet away from each other. Mad apologies, lovelies. Thank you for your patience; I hope it was worth it :)

Mother, I need to tell her. I know I should but I am…frightened. I have gotten so close to Elsa in such a short amount of time and I do not want to let her go. I really like her Mother. She is strong, kind, brave, persistent, beautiful. Any man would be a fool not to like her. I would even tolerate her childish sister if it meant that I could stay with her. But that child is the reason I am here and the reason for the problem. I must tell Elsa tonight about the sickness. I can no longer ignore the signs that have been placed in front of me. I must tell her. Even if that means that she no longer wants me. She is a good queen and deserves to know who or what threatens her kingdom. I have suspicions about something even more sinister but I don’t want to believe it. I cannot fathom that Odin would commit such an act but, well, that still needs more work. For now, I need to confess about the town’s sickness. Well, I must go now. I will talk with you soon.

Your Son,

Loki

I take a deep breath and lean back in my chair. This is going to be difficult. I don’t even know where to begin in explaining to Elsa about the town’s sickness. The implications of the sickness revealed something darker brewing and it connected to Odin. For the entire time I’ve been here, I’ve wanted nothing more than to fight Odin and prove that what he did was wrong. But now, after what I’ve discovered…I hope my suspicions aren’t right. I stand and stretch, my muscles protesting from sitting so long. I stand by the window, gazing at the activity below and trying to prepare my words. This was not going to be an easy or lighthearted discussion. This revealed some of my…darkest secrets. No use in wasting any more time, I think. I call for a servant and ask him to go to Elsa; I need to speak with her. The servant agrees with a bow and walks off. I cross my arms, trying to stay calm, but my heart is pounding.

“Loki? Did you need something?” Elsa asks, breaking me from my thoughts. My heart beats faster and I uncross my arms. Only to clasp them behind my back.

“I have something to tell you and I am not sure how you will take it,” I say honestly. Elsa’s brow furrows and she steps farther into my room. She is wearing a beautiful magenta dress that, as always, fits her perfectly. I really don’t want her to leave…

“Sounds serious. What’s wrong?” Elsa sits down softly on my bed and I’m tempted to sit next to her. No, I need to create distance so it provides her the chance to leave if she wants. I take a deep breath and face her.

“You asked how I knew the sickness of the town and it’s cure-”

“Loki, there’s no need to worry about it. The sickness has a cure and that’s all that matters. I shouldn’t have pressed-”

“Elsa please.” Her eyes widen and she stops. My mouth is dry and I feel cold, which is unusual.

“The sickness. I know how to cure it because I created it,” I say. Silence fills the room. Elsa hasn’t moved, she just stares at me. Maybe it’s better to get everything out in the open and then let her react, I think.

“A long time ago, when I was in Asgard, I created an illness. My father…Odin was fighting a long time enemy and he was losing. I was not good on the battlefield at the time but I wanted to help. A part of me still wanted to find favor in his eyes so I used my talents and created a weapon. A biological weapon. I created the sickness that you saw in the townspeople and unleashed it against Odin’s enemies. In three days, there was no one left,” I explain. Maybe that was a little more than I should have shared, I think, cringing slightly. Elsa puts a hand to her face and I quickly turn away. I do not want to see the horror and revulsion on her face. I already feel enough of that towards myself. Images of what my creation did to people flash through my mind. I had not expected the illness to spread beyond the army but it did. The images of women and children, cold and lifeless at my hands would never be erased from my mind.