"Promise you'll love me forever."

"I promise, Loki. You are my all."

She was so close, her figure shrouded in darkness. She stepped into the light a bit more as he grew closer to her, and he could make out the soft waves of her dark brown hair and the olive complexion that he had grown to love so well. It was the skin of their daughter…

He stepped a bit closer, hands outstretched towards her. She was clad in a white nightgown, innocence incarnate as she stood before him.

It was another second before Loki was close enough to touch her. Then, without warning, she disappeared into mist.

The one thing he had truly been able to make out on her face though, was a glowing blue aura around her once silver eyes.

Loki's eyes opened, taking in the vast cell he was in. It was a brightly lit thing, and he was surprised he had fallen asleep in the uncomfortable position he found himself in. He was propped against the wall of the cell, long legs stretched out in front of him. If he looked a little farther away, he could see the surrounding room through the glass walls of the cell he was in.

What was this strange fascination with his captors and glass cages? Loki sat with his head against the wall of the prison he had dwelled in for the past year. It had been far too long since he had seen the sun, far too long since he had felt anything that wasn't darkness, but his mind was too broken to care.

His children were shades in the depths of his memory at this point, blotted out by the rage that had consumed him when his spell hadn't worked. They had been taken away from him, of course, when the guards had come for him. Aric and the little girl that looked so much like her were somewhere safe with Frigga. That had been all Loki could deduce before insanity had claimed him once more.

She was supposed to have come back to him… or at the very least he was supposed to have found her… Instead the spell had backfired and now here he sat in a gilded cage until Odin decided what to do with him for his latest indiscretion; a sentence that was taking entirely too long to be decided upon.

He was angry. That was all he could feel. For days he had often sat where he was now, spiraling in an out of sanity. There had been times in the beginning of his imprisonment when he would swear he could hear her voice, a soft giggle, a whisper of his name… But those times were long gone, and now all that peered back at him was a future of bleak prospects. The only interaction he had with anyone was that of the guard that would bring him food at certain points during the day.

Then it hit him. He opened his eyes to slits as an aura he knew quite well brushed against him like a wave. It was not the one he wanted, but it was one he knew nonetheless. He closed his eyes again.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of the Mighty Thor visiting me in all his glory?" he said snidely, lips curling around the words as he spoke. He reopened his eyes as Thor's aura approached.

"I've no time for your games, Loki," a booming voice came from the shadows of the arches that led to the tunnel. It had been far longer than Loki cared to remember since he had taken those same steps down here. The long and scraggy strands of black hair that fell over his shoulders was only one testament to the long amount of time he had spent in the depths of the dungeons.

"Then why do you bother to see me?" he shot back, sitting as elegantly as he could manage propped against the wall of his prison. He put on a fake smile, arrogantly tilting his chin upward as the large figure of his brother came into sharper focus. "Especially now after these many months?"

Thor pressed his lips together in a fine line, looking down at the ground. Something was in the God of Thunder's right hand, stowed away behind his cape. "My men were attacked today, bringing… bringing someone back to Asgard."

Loki rolled his eyes, looking down at the long pale fingers of his left hand. A golden wedding band still sat on his ring finger, dull by now, but a weight there nonetheless. "Your foolish mortal, you mean?" he said, cutting his eyes back to Thor. The brute had a confused expression knitting his brow together. Loki smiled again, and he knew it was an uncomforting one. "Just because I am without freedom does not mean I do not still see what I wish to, Thor."

"Your children grow daily," Thor said quietly. "Do you not see them?"

Loki quirked an eyebrow up before looking down again. He ignored Thor once more, changing the subject quickly. He didn't want to speak of his children.

"Why do you seek my aid, Brother?" When Thor didn't answer, Loki continued. The God of Mischief did not miss a beat, sharp green gaze cutting into Thor's like a knife. His mind may have been frayed, but he was not going to let anything get past him. His brother was slipping, farther than Loki had ever seen before. The once arrogant man was now tamed. There had been a time when Loki would have been pleased to see Thor in such a dejected state.

Now he found it downright hilarious.

"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help," Loki said, head falling back to rest on the cell wall. He closed his eyes again, knowing that dark bags under them would be all too prominent.

"I came to you to bargain with you," Thor said quietly. "There has been a development."

Loki shook his head, shrugging. "And what would that mean to me? I am not part of your petty politics, nor do I care who sits on the throne of the nine realms."

"It's about Anja as well."

Loki's eyes snapped open at that again, and he looked back at Thor. "Do not attempt to mess with my mind, Thor. It never worked when we were children and it won't work now."

Thor rolled his eyes at that before pulling forth the thing that he had kept concealed behind is back. Loki had to fight hard to keep his jaw from dropping. A long, slender arrow of silver was looking back at him, a bit of blood smeared down the shaft and covering the ivory tip.

"As I said, my men were attacked today, Loki. I want answers. You were the one who tried to bring her back with the dark magic-"

Loki shook his head. "You are not fit to speak of her."

"And you are not fit to be her children's father," Thor replied, fighting to contain the roar in his chest. "I came here to ask you for help. Is there any chance your spell could have worked?" Thor's jaw clenched as he looked down at the smaller man. Loki hadn't moved an inch in his cell, and he simply stared back at Thor.

Loki opened one eye, rolling it to look up at Thor. "What spell?" he said, knowing full well what Thor was talking about, but asking nonetheless.

This time Thor actually roared as he spoke, fist banging against the glass containment. "The dark magic you used in an attempt to resurrect her, Loki. The Necromancy spell that is of the most forbidden dark magic."

Loki chuckled, but it was cut off rather abruptly as silver eyes crossed through his vision. How he wished the spell had worked…

Anja was gone. She wasn't coming back. "No," he replied evenly, glaring back at Thor. A spark in the back of his mind that he associated with hope kindled, but he choked it out swiftly as logic returned to him. The arrow was still in his line of sight and he swallowed.

That was her arrow…

Thor nodded evenly at that, dropping the subject. "I am in need of assistance," he said, stowing the arrow back and away from Loki's sight. Loki didn't answer, merely listening to Thor. "I wish to protect… Jane."

"The mortal," Loki said quietly. Thor nodded and Loki sneered. "What is in it for me?" he said quietly.

Thor looked back at Loki unwaveringly. "A breath of fresh air, change of scenery. I have petitioned Odin to allow you to see your children should you be helpful to us."

"And then you will send me back down here, another stolen relic to the House of Odin that has outlived its usefulness? I think not," Loki said quietly. But the arrow was still in his thoughts, the dream he had had just moments before Thor had walked in sitting in the back of his mind.

Thor swallowed his anger. "I will grant you freedom then," Thor said quietly.

Loki's mouth went through a variety of motions, ranging from a sneer to a fine line and finally resting into a sardonic smile. "And if I go against you when you let me out?" he pressed.

Thor didn't speak for a moment before his blue eyes settled into a hard expression. "Then you should know that when you betray me, I will kill you."

Death, something he had been contemplating quite a bit on lately…

"When do we start?" Loki said finally. No fear was in the statement, simple mockery seeping from his emerald gaze.

*Waves hand awkwardly* That was a sneak peek of my tentative plans for the next story with these two. :D Also, I have started a tumblr for Anja and you can find the link to follow her on my profile. This little snippet will be going up on the blog as well and I'm working on getting an RP going for her. If anyone knows of a Loki that wants to RP, let me know!

~Sirius