A Helping Hand

Once we had gotten to the hotel room, I plopped on top of the bed facedown. The room felt like it was whirling around me, and there was no way to really stop it either. I attempted to get rid of the headache I had with some Advil but that failed to work. It seemed that there was a chance that dull, continuous feeling would stay. Oh well.

Loki brought in our small bags; we only needed a few things while traveling— we weren't planning on staying too long.

"I'll be next door if you two need anything," Bill said to us from the door. "I think we'll give the museum a day, maybe go first thing in the morning. Or I could go tonight and we can see—."

"No, that'll be all, William," Loki cut him off. I moved my head to peek at Loki crossing over to the door. He held it open for a little while with the intentions of closing it and shutting Bill away. I was okay with that after Bill ignored our presence for the majority of the flight. "Alexandra needs to rest, and we all had a long flight and train ride. We should all rest—I do not want to hear any more of the Brísingamen for now."

"Yes, but—."

"No," was all Loki said before he closed the door on him. I flopped my body over on the bed, crossing my arms over my chest as Loki took a seat down next to me at its edge. His large hand landed on my stomach, moving my shirt up before rubbing my exposed skin. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his flesh touching mine, and turned my face to the side with a sigh escaping me.

I smiled. "I like that."

"Then I'll continue to do it," he replied. We remained silent for a while after that. No thoughts really passed through my mind the more he massaged my stomach. The pain in my head only subsided just a little, but that was fine by me. Let it subside. "How do you feel?" he asked after a moment.

I cracked my eye open, glancing over at him. "How do you think?"

"I'd imagine you would feel either relieved or like a thousand knives are stabbing you in your chest repeatedly."

I chuckled, "More like the second one."

"No relief that this is all going to be over soon?"

"Absolutely none." I couldn't express it enough, it seemed. I didn't want to lose this life, I didn't want to lose him at all, I didn't want to lose my family and I certainly did not want to… this wasn't something I liked to think about, or even like to think about now. I was so close to losing everything, that it… it was unbelievable to tell you the truth. "But let's talk about something else, shall we? I'm tired of all this me dying, Brísingamen, shit as much as you are, Loki."

He questioned, looking away from me, "And what, my dear, would you like to talk about?"

"Anything. I feel like you have more than a few stories up your sleeve."

"Perhaps," Loki said, his hand leaving my stomach for just a moment as he pulled his shoes off his feet. Without any warning, he shifted my body so that it was lying down vertically on the bed before he lay down next to me. His arms encircled my waist and moving it toward him. My body molded into his with my head lying down on top of his chest, my nose nuzzling in the crook of his neck. Instinctively, my eyes closed. If he was using magic on me, it was working—the dull, continuous ache in my head was slowly coming down. "I feel like you have a few stories of your own though."

"Perhaps, but I doubt they're as interesting."

"Try me," Loki stated. My eyes opened to see that he was wearing a crooked grin. How could I say no to a grin like that?

"Okay, let's see," I couldn't at all say no to a grin like that. I picked up my head and started to him, "One time, when I was younger, I was in preschool and they had to call my parents because I was being really destructive with the ants outside. I hated bugs, still do, but I was like stomping on all of the ant hills to try and kill them all."

Loki didn't seem amused with that one. "How old were you?"

"I was… I was around three, probably."

"And they were concerned about a three year old, stomping on ant hills?"

"I don't know I guess it was really disturbing to them," I said. I never understood why exactly they called my parents, I obviously didn't know any better or if that was wrong to do. But… I don't know. His reaction to my story made me think that was the wrong story to tell, or the most random story—there was nothing that really prompted that one. It was the first thing that came to mind.

Loki sighed deeply. "Hmm, how about this? How about you tell me why you are so obsessed with Elvis? That's his name, right?"

I laughed loudly, "I don't know, he's the king! My father used to listen to him all the time. I mean…" I trailed off, thinking about this for a moment. My father really did start the whole Elvis Presley obsession that I did have, but I would never give him credit for me liking him. I shifted next to him, turning my body more toward him so I could look directly in his eyes. His green eyes held something different when they looked into mine. They were… I couldn't describe what they were. I took the hand that was on my hips, curling my fingers into his before placing them both on his chest. My stories weren't interesting. I don't know why we were pretending that they were, and half of them he knew already.

"I think I should turn in early tonight," I said, changing the subject. I wasn't really interested in talking about myself, or really talking about him. I just wanted to lay my head down and sleep some more—which was funny because a lot of what I had been doing was sleeping. "We have a long day tomorrow, and I…" I feel awkward was what I wanted to say. And how he held me felt awkward, too. And I think he knew how awkward this was. These last couple of days were not going to be easy for us, we knew that, but… I don't know… I thought that in the face of death, we would still be able to carry on with how we were before.

Loki understood, sort of. "Are you uncomfortable… with this?"

"Loki… I—."

"Alex," he started, his hand loosening in mine, "it would have been a lot easier if we hadn't gotten—."

"It would have."

"—but that is what happened, you realize that as much as I do, and this is something we cannot change."

"I know we can't change anything, and I wouldn't," I said quickly. I moved away from his hold, untangling his arms from my body, sitting up. My head hung over as I leaned forward, my eyes squinting as the pain behind my eyes came back; my throat was also becoming dry from the lack of water. I didn't want to continue the conversation; I just needed to get out of it, out of this room. We were trying, really we were, but it was not going to change anything. "I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed, Loki."

I got up from the bed to walk to the bathroom. I didn't even bring shampoo or conditioner. I figured wherever we would go they would have the complimentary ones. Loki's green eyes were on me until I closed the door of the bathroom. My hand stayed curled around the doorknob, my head bowed as I stared it down. The tight feeling in my chest was unmistakable, along with the lump in my throat beginning to form.

My eyes closed tightly as my hand fell from the door. I blindly stripped my clothes off. I left them on the floor, ignoring how my eyes were tearing up, and went into the shower. It took a moment for the hot water to hit my body, but it was fine to deal with the cold. I allowed my head to dip back as it hit against my chest. For a brief moment, I had forgotten. Shower sometimes made that happen. They made me forget about the outside world.

I was so much in my own world that I hadn't heard the door open softly. My head did tilt toward the curtain once I faintly heard a zipper of someone's pants going down, but soon the distinct sound of the curtain shifting pulled at my attention. My eyes opened and I turned around to see Loki staring down at me. My mouth opened to say something, but I didn't—I couldn't. Instead I took a deep breath, and moved to the side, at the edge of the circle of droplets that the showerhead made, to give Loki room.

He took a step forward, turning to look at me and placed his hands on my hips, moving more under the water so we could share it. I placed my head on top of his chest, allowing my arms to wrap around his waist. I bit down on my lower lip as I leaned my head up so that just my chin was leaning against him and as I closed my eyes, I felt his lips tentatively place a kiss on my forehead.

All the doubt I had suddenly vanished. I was ready to give this man my life tomorrow, if need be.

He sat in the corner of the room, watching her chest rise up and fall down as she took even and cautious breaths. His hand found his mouth and his finger began to trace his tightly pursed lips. He saw the blue in her eyes; it was a familiar blue as well. He couldn't get it out of his mind. The closer they would get, the more she looked like her. Loki had a difficult time looking at her, knowing full well of her fate—and his.

He looked away from her, staring blankly at the door to their room. There had to be a way around this. There just had to be. He could not sit there and watch her deteriorate like this. He could see her disappearing, slipping through his fingers. If Alexandra was going to die as herself, this would be fine—well, it would go along a lot better than how it was going. He would be more at peace with her death. But… because that wasn't the case, he knew how destructive this was all going to be eventually.

A soft knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Loki snapped out of his head and rose from his seat to go to it.

It was almost immediate. As he opened the door, Bill stormed in loudly calling his name, "Loki—."

"Shh," Loki hushed him. "Can you not see that Alexandra finally had gone to rest?" One good thing about this was that Loki would finally be rid of this oaf. Bill stopped in the middle of the room, glancing over at Alex's sleeping body. Loki blinked several times, shaking his head. "You must have something good to say to be walking into our room like this at this hour."

"I do, but I—."

"Outside then," Loki said. He held the door open, letting Bill leave before him. Once the door had shut behind him, Loki glared over at Bill. "This cannot go on," he stated, not giving Bill a chance to speak. "Alexandra is no longer going to be Alexandra once the necklace is on her. Amora is taking over and she does not even realize what is happening." Bill leaned against the railing that overlooked the hotel's courtyard. Loki closed his eyes, feeling his chest become tight at the very thought. Alexandra, his Alexandra, did not even know what was happening. He knew it since the day before they left Atlantic City. Amora had a hold on Alex, a hold so strong that he couldn't believe.

Bill swallowed thickly. "Did something else happen? Like the bathroom?"

"No, nothing like that." Loki waved him off, joining him at the railing. "Her eyes… they are no longer her eyes." Bill stared at him confused, his brow furrowed. Loki didn't pay him any mind though. "I do not know if you noticed, but I have. The change was not exactly subtle. Once the necklace is near, once she has that in her view, expect Alexandra to no longer be in control of her motions."

"She's in there though," Bill commented. "Spirit, she's there. I noticed the eyes; I'm not a complete idiot like you think me to be. But… I've been around her."

"I've been around her longer."

"I'm trying to say, Alex is conscious… you have to give her more credit. She is not letting this… this Amora take her down just yet."

"Because she does not know about it." Loki turned around, crossing his arms over his chest. "This has been going on longer than you think, before we even came to you again. I've… I've had my suspicions. I kept a watchful eye on her and saw the signs. I chose to ignore them because she was still there. But… Amora has her now. Amora had her then. She forced us to come to you sooner. She forced us out of where Alexandra lived, she forced us from where you live, all to come here." Loki gestured around him, unaware of how loud his voice was getting. Bill only watched him, chewing his gum and thinking about what he was saying.

Loki took a deep breath, pausing, thinking for just a moment as well. Alex often said how she wasn't in control of her actions at times, especially on that night—the night they left. Alexandra wasn't the type to murder someone, and once it happened, she was traumatized. That night in Bill's, where she was locked inside the bathroom, screaming. Loki did not know what truly happened, but he had a feeling. He opened the door, and she couldn't recall anything. When they both went on the ferris wheel, Loki saw the quick change in her eyes—how their hazel color turned blue before rapidly turning back—that familiar blue, Amora's blue.

Now that they were in Hólmavik, the blue seemed to be there to stay. Her eyes progressively changed. She didn't see the change; something was blocking her from doing so. And now he was going to be forced to watch Alexandra go to the necklace, her movements toward it not going to be her own. She would be trapped inside her body, thinking that she was doing all of this at the will of the Brísingamen, when she was doing this at the will of Amora.

Loki shook his head again, rubbing his temples in stress. The Brísingamen no longer mattered to him as much. Alexandra mattered. "You know this," he started, "the moment the necklace is around her neck, she must speak a name. And whoever is behind that name is whom the power of the necklace is going to go to. Amora wants to ensure that it is her name. Unless—."

"Unless we do something about it," Bill finished.

"Precisely."

Bill sighed. "I shouldn't be helping you, you know."

"If you do not, there would be far worse consequences."

"Yeah, I know. You said that a number of times. But still—I have worked with SHIELD." Loki didn't flinch at the name; he didn't make any move. In fact, at the name SHIELD, he scoffed, turning away and leaning against the railing. His eyes stared at the running water of the fountain as Bill went on, "They called me in once New York happened. They wanted to know more about you, more about Asgard. And I helped them, and you know, they kept me under their radar since then."

Bill did not necessarily hid the fact that the worked with SHIELD. Loki found the documents in his desk ages ago. He did not bring it to Alex's attention because Bill seemed more afraid of him than anything else. "You do not think I already know that? You do not think I spotted Fury's number on your mortal cellular device?"

He went on as if he didn't hear what Loki said, "This… you… are not what I expected. When I first encountered you, I knew it was you." Ah, so Loki was right. Bill knew who he was then. What would a Midgardian say if they were proven right? That they should have put money on it? "I remember looking at photos of you, seeing you for what you were then. You are not… what you were."

Loki's face contorted, puzzled. He glanced over at Bill, noticing how his face softened. "You are only going for the Brísingamen for her, not for the power."

Loki questioned, "Why would I not want the power? Because that is why I started this quest—it was for power."

"But you found someone that changes that. I see it, I see how you look at her, and I see how she looks at you. You may not want me to see it, but I do… that's why I haven't dialed SHIELD yet. Because, trust me, you do not frighten me. I could do that any time."

"I do not see where you are going with this."

"Then you are blind," Bill laughed. "You are doing this because you know what would happen to her if you would leave her to your Enchantress. She would have been chopped liver by now—that's why I want to help you." Bill paused, allowing Loki some time to argue with him. But… he didn't have anything to counter it. He knew Bill was right. "Alex will still be Alex until the very end. As long as she believes that story of the Brísingamen being what controls her movements and her being weak because of that, she'll be fine."

Loki doubted it, but he decided to let the old man think that. "Why have you called me out here, William?" He finally asked, running a hand through his dark hair. "You said you had good news, and you have yet to tell it. Does it have to do with finding a way around this?"

"It does," Bill replied. Loki watched his hand dip into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. "It took me a while—all of the books I have read and all of the experts on the necklace, which isn't many, could not seem to agree on one set loophole. But this one seems solid." Loki took it out of his hand carefully, even though he wanted to snatch it. He was desperate for something for who knew how long. He opened it up, reading what Bill wrote in his messy handwriting. "I have to admit, I didn't think I was going to. But it seems that I have found this at the nick of time."

Loki muttered, "So it seems… is this guaranteed to work?"

"Uh… well… it might not. I haven't found anything where this was practiced."

"Wonderful," Loki scowled, folding the paper. He looked away from him, frustrated.

Bill, though, seemed more optimistic. "It's still something. So what if it's not guaranteed? We should still try it."

Loki slowly nodded his head. He said, "That we should. I will… I will try and do this tomorrow morning." Even though it seemed impossible. The instructions for the incantation seemed as though it would require a lot of magic, a lot of magic that Loki knew he didn't have. "You should get some rest," Loki said, folding the paper into one of his pockets on his jeans. "We all have an important day tomorrow."

"Yeah, we do. Goodnight." Bill ducked out quickly as if he knew what Loki was about to do, or rather that he was about to do something. Loki tilted his head downward, staring thoughtfully at the floor until he heard Bill's door shut.

Once the door shut, Loki knew exactly what he had to do—though he knew he would not like it.

He wasn't sure if he was right, but he knew he could not be wrong. Loki only had a little bit of magic within him, and it was enough magic to get him through the passage way—after that, Loki was not sure if he would look the same or, feel the same. He knelt down at the lake he remembered passing during the cab ride to the hotel. He looked at his reflection in the water, seeing his mortal features. He knew by the time he would do this they would melt away, he would not have them for the time being.

Loki brought a single finger to the water, watching the small ringlets form around it as he pulled it away. He closed his eyes, bringing his hand out. There were passageways to Asgard, to any realm, really, that were outside of the great watchman's eye. It was how he had gotten around for centuries, and he wasn't going to use them unless it was an emergency. Actually, before he left, he was told to use them if he did feel like there was an emergency. This was surely one.

He hoped that she would be there on the other side, waiting for him. He hoped that she would give him the help that he needed. But…once she would look at him, once her eyes would see how his body would change, he knew that…help might not be the case.

But it was worth a try… Alexandra was worth a try.

He pulled out a small knife from his pocket, murmuring the incantation that would allow the portal to open. He felt the pale skin slip off of his bones, felt the face he had on melt as the power ran through his hand to support the knife he held. Once the blade made contact with his palm, he pulled on it harshly, seething. As the air hit around his wound, he balled his hand, kept his eyes closed tightly. The blood from his cut dripped into the water, the strings of red separating and twisting from one another. He finished, taking a deep breath and faintly hearing the portal form.

His now red eyes opened, looking down at the swirling blue and black colors chasing each other and bouncing off one another. His cracked, dark lips came together before he stood up before the portal. Taking a step toward it, Loki, in his now Jötun form, allowed himself to fall into it.

The fall was quick, but he had enough time to summon the Asgardian that he wanted to see—needed to see. He fell onto Asgardian land on his feet, crouching down with his head not daring to look up. He stuffed his warm hands into the pockets of his Midgardian clothing, clothing he knew that wasn't suitable for the area he was in. Their thin, simple material was slowly deteriorating against his blue skin.

His ears perked once he heard a small, feminine voice come out from behind a tree. "Loki?"

He slowly picked up his, looking up to see where the voice came from. His shoulders slumped as his mouth fell open, watching the Asgardian woman walk slowly toward him. She did not dress regally, nor did she dress simple. No matter what, however, she still managed to be radiant enough to tell him, and whoever would come across her, that she was the Queen of Asgard.

Her eyes did not look at him ashamed, nor did they seem frightened of him. He swallowed worriedly, unsure of what to say or do. He hadn't seen her since he was imprisoned—not in this way. Odin did not allow it. They did find a way around it, of course, but she wasn't really there.

Finally, he said, his voice breaking, "Mother."

She gave him a small smile. "I have been watching you."

Hi everyone! It's good to be really back now! Sorry for the late update, I honestly got really caught up in a ton of personal issues and finals week came and it was just all a mess. But I made it out alive! Woohoo, and I'm a senior in college now. Thank God. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I felt we needed a bit more of an explanation about what's going to happen in these next coming chapters-I made a resolution to not be as ambiguous as I usually am in writing.

Sadly, this story is going to end soon. And I'm not really that happy about that. I'm not sure as of right now how many chapters are left because I keep combining and cutting out, but I think the number is actually shorter than what I planned.

Well, good news. This story turns out to be my most popular. The amount of reviews on it are more than any I have posted on here. This is amazing, and I love you all who made this happen. I cannot express what your support does to little people like me! Thank you!

The updates won't have a long wait. I'm trying to get into the hang of writing again, both fanfiction and more original works. If you haven't yet and like Pirates of the Caribbean, I started a new story called The Pirate and The Commodore! The update for that is coming soon as well, and that story is definitely going to be a fun time! I have also posted my first short story on Wattpad called Melting, so if you want to check that out the link is in my profile. Thank you for everything and I'll see you soon!

Review reply:

Jo: Hello! Thank you! And I agree, they definitely do! And the sequel is more than just possible, it's definitely happening :) Hope you enjoy the new chapter!