Hello all!

SO, SURPRISE, here's a nice (very) early update. I added this chapter in, so I'm still fine with the timeline, I'm pretty sure. I just got bored today, and thought I'd give you a Valentine's surprise. 

THE CRIMSON PEAK TRAILER THOUGH. W.ow. I don't like horor, but love gothic, and I am SO excited to see it. 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, and happy (slightly) belated birthday, Tom Hiddleston! (Both February birthdays. WHOO)

~Music~

The Destroyer (Thor soundtrack) (Part 1)

Severus and Lily (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2) (Part 2)

The Resurrection Stone (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2) (Part 3)

~Edit~ Me

Additionally, I have a teaser trailer for Kidnapped up. It's on the side-----> 

(You can thank Crimson Peak for it.)

One late afternoon, Thea walks down the path towards the training courtyard. She is wearing some of the basic armor that Sif had lent her, which feels foreign compared to the dresses she has worn lately. Her hair has grown long, to the small of her back, and it falls in small waves. Loki had finally given her back full control of her dagger, and it hangs at her belt, her fingers brushing it from time to time.

The courtyard is filled with a bustling group of warriors practicing their skills. Lances and shields and swords clash with the brightness of the flashing protective shields as the men- and a few women- test their wits against each other.

Thea has two weapons: her dagger and her sword. She lays her sword against one of the intricately carved walls of the courtyard, deciding to use it later.

As it turns out, Fandral offers to work with her first. He is not quite as adept with the dagger as, say, Loki, or even Thea, but he is much bigger than the girl, and unusually, faster. It's a pretty evenly matched battle, although Thea's sickness has made her slightly weaker, perhaps contributing to the reason why she loses.

Fandral, however, is just as merry as ever, "Splendid job, Thea," he says with a grin, sheathing his own dagger, "Your skills have grown since I have last seen you." He claps her on the shoulder and then meanders off, towards Volstagg and Sif. Around this time, two figures walk up on the balcony overlooking the courtyard: Thor and Loki.

Not noticing them, and probably not caring even if she did, Thea spends about half an hour flinging her dagger at various targets next to some bur bushes and getting more and more frustrated- aim has never been her specialty.

"You're doing it wrong."

Thea turns around to see a girl around her age, but that's where the similarities end. She is tall and athletic, while Thea is short and thin. This girl's eyes are so dark, they are nearly black, and she has a stunning, heart-shaped face with exotic cheekbones and arching eyebrows. Her raven hair falls down to her waist and blows in the wind in small, intricate strands.  She is holding a bow and arrow, and a knife hangs at her side.

With a small jolt, Thea recognizes her as Fjodr's daughter.

Thea does not care to be reprimanded, especially someone no older than she. And as Thea does not consider herself pretty in any way, the girl's startling beauty puts her off even more.

"Who are you?" Thea demands.

"Saissa," she says in her high, velvet voice, "I don't even need to ask who you are. You're the mortal girl."

"What do you want?" Thea snaps.

Saissa gestures towards the target, "You're throwing your dagger wrong. If you throw like you're throwing a ball, you're going to miss every time."

Thea curls her lip, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"Let me show you the proper way," says Saissa. Taking the ivory knife from her belt, she flicks it towards the target- much to Thea's chagrin, it hits the bulls-eye.

Saissa turns back to Thea, her hair whipping behind her, "See?"

"Fantastic," says Thea dryly.

"All right, let's see you do it," Saissa re-fastens her knife to her belt, crosses her arms, and then lifts her head imperiously, "Even if you are a mortal, you should do better than some, from what I have heard."

Thea glances backwards and spots Thor and Loki above them. Thor's arms are crossed, and he's watching Fandral and Sif fight in a corner, but Loki is watching her. He's smirking, which only makes Thea more annoyed.

"Fine," Thea says, then throws the dagger towards the target, trying to imitate Saissa's flick. But she misses, and the dagger hits only the very outer rim of the circle. Inwardly, she groans.

Saissa purses her lips, "You're being slow and stupid, like every other mortal. Here, watch m-"

"I don't need to see you!" Thea snaps, wrenching her dagger from the target, "You're showing off enough!"

"You're rude," snipes Saissa, "Just because you're not good at something and because you're not pretty."

"Do you want to run that by me again?" demands Thea, concentrating on the first half of Saissa's taunts, because the last half pangs her.

Saissa shrugs, "You're pathetic at throwing. I suppose you aren't any better at anything else-"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," growls Thea.

The Asgardian girl continues as if Thea had never spoken, "I honestly don't know what the big fuss about you is, that I've heard from Fandral and Osric. Just because you've lost your entire family doesn't mean anything- most of us have in some form or another-mercy, look at your hair. It's like a bush. You stick out like a sore thumb anywhere you go, I expect. And didn't you kill your own sister? In my opinion-"

But nobody gets to hear Saissa's opinion, because Thea lunges, kicking out at the girl so ferociously, Saissa has the wind knocked out of her. Saissa recovers and slashes her knife towards Thea, but Thea blocks it with her dagger and pushes her away from her forcefully.

From above, both Thor and Loki are now watching. When Thea's eyes dilate and turn red, Thor puts his hand to his forehead and sighs. He stands and begins to hurry down the stairway to the courtyard, while Loki, leaning against the balcony, calls, "What's the fuss, brother?"

Thor is watching still, his frown deepening.The two girls are going at it,  "You know very well, Loki!"

Loki is just smiling, "Let her be, Thor. Isn't fighting with the other children something typical of someone her age? And it's just getting good!"

Thor just shakes his head. "You're just happy that Thea is fighting Saissa. For all the wrong reasons!"

Saissa manages to slap Thea across the cheek with the blunt of her knife, drawing a few drops of blood, but angering Thea- who cries out- even more. Saissa is strong though, like all the Asgardians, and she is hard to push away. It is easy to see that Saissa is winning. Thea is not as strong as her.

In her anger, Thea looks down to see the tips of her fingers illuminating. Before she knows what she is doing, she grabs Saissa's face.

Saissa screams, her face burning.

"You WITCH!" screeches Saissa, kicking Thea backwards onto the ground. Before Thea can recover, Saissa begins to pummel Thea's face with her fists. Thea bites back a scream, but then cannot help it as, a well-placed blow to her nose causes blood to leak down.

"All right," hisses Loki, whose amused expression has hardened, "That's enough."

"Are you sure, brother?" asks Thor lightly, although his eyes are worried, "Children should work out their differences."

Loki sets his jaw and grasps the edge of the balcony with white knuckles. Thor begins to walk down the balcony quickly.

Meanwhile, the sounds of the din have escalated, as Thea manages to twist around and stagger to her feet. She lunges at Saissa, who grabs Thea and slams her into the trunk of the tree over and over.

Thea screams.

"THEA!" Loki's face has whitened, and he and Thor begin to hurry down the balcony.

Thea turns to Loki's loud voice automatically, her hair falling and her face dripping with bood, which gives Saissa enough time to get a stronger grip.

Saissa pushes Thea so hard, the smaller girl stumbles, then falls right beside the bur bushes. But her hair catches the prickles, and Thea screams as, when she tries to sit up, the burs seize her and yank her back painfully.

Apparently not able to have enough, Saissa takes a piece of the wooden spear from next to the girls and, ripping off a slice, jams it into the sensitive skin above Thea's collarbone.

Thea howls.

"Serves you right," sobs Saissa, yanking out the stick and pushing her raven hair out of her face, trembling from anger, "You ugly girl from Midgard!"

"What's happened?" demands a dark haired man with exotic eyes- Fjodr. He seizes her and holds the crying girl close to him, "Saissa, who's done this to you?"

"Papa, she...she was going to kill me! Oh, it hurts, it hurts!"

From above the courtyard, Loki rolls his eyes and begins to run down the balcony.

Thor's voice echoes through the courtyard, which is filled with warriors stopping their work to see what's going on, "Fjodr, I assure you that Thea was not going to kill Saissa, but nonetheless, I apologize for her actions."

Fjodr, upon seeing Thor, immediately inclines his head, "Of course, sir. But, you see, my daughter-"

"Your daughter was bullying Thea, it was no hard thing to see," says Thor dangerously.

Loki reaches the ground and, sweeping past Saissa, Fjodr, and Thor, he falls to his knees in front of Thea, who is trying to tear her hair from the branches. She tries to cower back from him, sobbing, but Loki grabs her arms and pulls her up, carefully helping her free the brambles from her hair.

"Shh, shh, shh," says Loki quietly as Thea gasps and chokes, thick hot blood running from her nose and down her chin, dripping down onto her chest. "Oh God, you look awful. Let me, sh, calm down, Thea."

He reaches forward and pinches her nose gently, trying to stop the flow of the blood. She whimpers and tries to pull away, but he puts his hand on her shoulder.

She yelps and twists in agony; he has touched the spot where the stick had pierced her. Loki snatches his hand away and curses as he looks at her. There is still a small splinter wedged in the moist, bloody skin.

"You're going to need to lie down," murmurs Loki, pinching her nose again and this time taking her hand. "I want you to go to your room until I get there myself."

"L-Loki," she sobs, clinging to his fingers. Loki notices that her hand is shaking violently.

"Shh," he whispers, pulling her chin up so that she's looking at him. "Shh."

She gags, coughing up a few drops of blood. Loki gestures to Sif, who had pushed her way through the crowd. "Take her to her room, and then leave her. I will be up momentarily."

Sif and Loki help Thea to her feet, and Loki watches as Sif pulls Thea away.

"...Thea will be dealt with for her rashness, and I should hope you do the same for your antagonistic girl. But Thea will be punished; you have my word."

Loki looks up quickly at Thor's words.

"Punished?" he snarls, "Thea didn't do a single thing!"

"Loki," says Thor heavily, but Fjodr intervenes.

"She started the whole thing, that little monster of yours!"

Loki has crossed the courtyard in a second, "Don't you ever call her that, Fjodr!"

"That's what she is!" shouts Saissa, her boldness not diminishing even though Loki's eyes are wild with fury. "She is a monster, and she's ugly and vile and a witch, and you take her back to earth where she belongs, you-"

Loki whirls and slaps Saissa as hard as he can across her face.

Saissa screams and stumbles to the ground, sobbing.

"Loki!" exclaims Thor, shocked.

Fjodr grabs his daughter and pulls her up, shouting curses at Loki.

"All right, ENOUGH!" bellows Thor, grabbing both men by the shoulders and pushing them apart, "Both girls were in the wrong, we can affirm this, but Loki, how dare you strike Saissa like that!"

Loki is breathing heavily, "She deserved it, that little-."

Loki calls Saissa something not particularly nice. 

Fjodr shouts and lunges, but can't get past Thor's brawn.

"STOP IT!" Thor's face is contorted with fury and worry, "This entire scene was uncalled for! Fjodr take Saissa away and teach her not to go near Thea again! As for you, Loki! You have just given me proof that Thea is the only person to whom your hatred does not extend. Do not ever strike a young girl like this again!"

Loki snarls, glaring at Saissa, who whimpers, her boldness gone completely.

"Both of you!" shouts Thor, "Go!"

*

Thea sits and sobs in her room.. Klaka whines from his bed, but does not get up as Thea collapses onto the floor.

"What happened to you?"

Thea whirls and sees Videl standing at the edge of the door.

His eyes widen as he sees the blood stains on her, and the red dripping down her face in streams. He pulls back slightly, and Thea sees his fangs falling over his lips.

Thea is petrified as she looks up at him. For several long seconds, the two just stare at each other, both breathing heavily, but for very different reasons.

Then, Videl is gone, slamming the door so loudly, Thea feels her ears ring.

*

Loki finds her still on the floor. Her nose has started to bleed again, and she is in agony. The splinter is driving into her skin so that she can hardly move her neck, and she coughs, spitting up blood and then crying out.

"I met Videl in the hall," says Loki, kicking Klaka out of the room before striding to the washroom beside the room. He emerges with several towels. "Did he harm you?"

Thea can't speak without gagging, so she shakes her head instead. She is starting to panic, as many do when blood is dripping grotesquely down into their mouths and over their skin.

"Come here," says Loki, kneeling down. He reaches forward and pinches her nose again, wrapping his arm around her, "You're a mess, darling."

Thea sobs, causing blood to spurt from her nose even more.

"Calm down," Loki murmurs to her as he holds her like this, her blood staining his hands as he tries to stay the blood. Thea breathes heavily through her mouth, her eyes still wide. Loki looks at her, still gently putting pressure on her nose, "Shh, everything will be fine."

Finally, finally, ten minutes later, the flow of the blood has stopped. However, Loki is more worried about the splinter in her collarbone, but had to stop her nose bleed first.

He picks her up and sets her on the bed. He pushes her down, and when she hesitates, he says softly, "Lie down."

She does so, but reluctantly, trying to stop whimpering from pain.

Loki walks over to the large cabinet next to the washroom and pulls it open, rummaging through drawers. Moments later, he finds what he is looking for: a needle and silver tweezers.

Walking back over to the bed, Loki picks up a bowl of water and rinses his hands, trying to ignore Thea's gasps. He puts the needle and tweezers into the bowl and then, taking a wet towel, slathers some soap on it and then sits down at the edge of the bed.

He turns her face away from him and puts the towel on the inflamed area. She draws in a hissed breath. "Ow...ow...!"

Loki moves some of her hair from her face and then takes off the towel. He takes the needle from the bowl; unfortunately, she turns around just in time to see him and stammers, shaking her head from side to side on the mattress, "N-no, no!"

"I'm sorry," says Loki, turning her face again. "But I don't have a choice."

"P-please," she gasps, closing her eyes tightly. "N-no."

"Hold onto my arm," says Loki softly, leaning down over her collarbone and looking at the inflamed skin. "And don't think about it."

"H-how c-can I not no, LOKI, oww-w-w!"

She lets out a small scream as Loki pricks her skin with the needle, digging the sharp tip around the splinter, trying to get up the layer of skin. She begins to kick fiercely.

"You need to stay still," says Loki firmly, pulling up so that her movements do not jar the needle in the wrong place, "Stop kicking. Stop it right now, Thea. Hold onto my arm, and take a deep breath."

"I c-can't-"

"If I hear you say 'can't' one more time," says Loki in a dangerous voice, "You will see how cruel I can be. Now stay still, and don't make me say it again."

He digs the needle back into her skin without warning her.

"Loki!" she shrieks, but she doesn't kick. Instead, she clutches the sheets, then his arm, sobbing.

Loki attempts to ignore her again, but her pained cries are not easy to ignore. After a few minutes of Thea trying and failing to hold back her strangled, choked cries of pain, and of her clutching his arm, and of Loki muttering that he is almost done, he finally pulls back.

Thea gasps, her chest moving up and down.

Loki stands and throws the bloody needle onto the table. He then picks up the tweezers. "I need to lift the splinter out," he tells her, his voice much more gentle now, "You need to stay very still, all right kitten?"

She nods, her eyes still tightly shut, remaining as still as a statue.

"That's my brave girl," says Loki, sitting back down next to her.

Within seconds, Loki has the splinter out of her skin. He pours more water on it, and then holds a towel to the open wound, to stop the bleeding. "There," he says, "It's done. Sit up now."

Thea sits up, shaking, and Loki lets her lean against him, her shoulders shaking as he applies pressure to her collarbone.

"I'm sorry I was harsh to you," murmurs Loki, stroking her tangled hair, "But I needed to get you to calm down."

Thea doesn't reply, but nods, and Loki takes this to mean that she's all right.

"Good," says Loki, "Now when this stops bleeding, I need you to go into the washroom and change. You have blood all over your clothes. I need to go speak to my beloved brother, and I'll be back in a bit. I promise. It's almost night, so I'll bring dinner. Do you want anything in particular, little one?"

She shakes her head.

*

An hour later, Thea is sitting at the edge of her silken sheets, at the foot of her bed, yanking the last bur from her hair. She is wearing a white nightgown, soft around her small frame.

Her fingers are dotted with blood from the spikes, and her face is tear-streaked from pain and humiliation. She grabs the brush from the corner of the bed and attempts to straighten the mess of her hair, but gives up a few minutes later, dissolving into cries once again.

She doesn't react as someone takes the brush from her side and sits down on the bed, although one of his legs touches the floor. Turning to face the back of her head, he begins to untangle her hair with his fingers.

"Stop crying, kitten," he says, "Stop now, it's all right. Look. I brought you some cakes."

She wipes her eyes with her fist, glancing at the basket of food he had brought with him, "Did you...did you see what happened?"

"Of course I did," says Loki. "And Thor wants you to stay in your room for the rest of the day."

"Oh," she says miserably, wincing slightly as Loki pulls through a knot in her hair, "I guess you agree with Thor."

"I do agree with Thor."

This actually hadn't been what Thea was expecting, and she makes a face at the wall in front of her.

"But I agree with you more."

This is surprising too. "What?"

"You shouldn't be expected to put up with that sort of taunting without snapping." There's a smile in his voice now, "Particularly because it is you."

Thea takes one of the free strands from her hair and looks at it forlornly, "My hair does look like a bush."

Loki shakes his head, amused, still picking through the stubborn strands. "What it is is frightfully matted from those burs. Now hold still."

"I... know," says Thea in a high pitched voice, telling Loki that she is trying very hard not to cry anymore.

As Loki untangles the last knot from her hair, Thea says, "I'm never gonna fit in anywhere, am I?"

Loki raises his eyebrows and picks up the brush. As he begins to run it through her hair, he says, "I rather doubt that you will 'fit in', as you say, completely."

Mostly though, Loki is just glad that Thea is carrying on a normal conversation with him. Her wound hasn't bled again, and neither has her nose. She looks paler than normal, but at least not in pain.

Thea bites her lip, pulling her legs up to her chest. "Oh."

"The chances of children your age going through the same experiences as you are slim to none, Thea."

"How about Jack?"

"Perhaps a bit, kitten, but not quite to the extent as you."

"And Peter?"

"Why are you so determined to find someone like you?" asks Loki. "Is it not all right to be just unique?"

"I don't want to be unique," pouts Thea, "I just want to fit in and have...have a family." She says the last bit in a tiny voice.

Loki sighs, twisting some of her hair around his finger and running the brush through it, "Thea..."

She is focusing on one spot on the wall, "I just...Bryce...my brother died when I was...when I was twelve... and then Mom and Daddy...and now...now...now Le..." She stops, as her voice is trembling.

"Thea, I know, I know," he says softly, "And Saissa was wrong. Your family leaving you behind does mean something. The spoiled brat thinks she can say whatever she wants."

Thea opens her mouth and then shuts it, not trusting herself to speak.

Loki is still brushing her hair, even though it is nearly completely smoothed out, "You have people who love you very much, Thea. Kyle and Max would sacrifice their lives for you, as would Tony and his band of miscreant 'heroes of Earth'. And what of Jack? That boy thinks of you as a goddess. And Thor, try as you might to retaliate, cares about you."

"Wh...what about you?" Thea clears her thick throat.

There's a brief silence, and then Loki says, "I don't think it's necessary that I answer that question."

He's still brushing her hair.

"Do I really have to stay in my room all evening?" she asks.

"I don't want you opening your wound again. Don't try to appeal to my better nature."

"What better nature?" She asks, some of the old spunk back in her voice.

Loki chuckles, "That's better."

She leans forward, shaking her shoulders and attempting to free her hair from Loki. Running through it one last time with the brush, he lets go and stands up, "Here. Eat something."

"I'm not hungry."

"Yes you are," says Loki, tossing her an apple, which she catches reluctantly. "Eat it."

"Don't tell me what to do."

He shakes his head and then leans down in front of her, "And darling, you are beautiful. All right?" When he taps her chin up, she can't help but giggle.

*

Loki stays with her the rest of the evening, only leaving to change into a nightshirt and return. They eat in there, and Loki begins to teach her the Asgardian letters from a book on her nightstand. He magically arranges the words so that they are at least in English, and helps her spell through them.

Thea doesn't want to go to sleep, not from fright, but because she simply isn't tired. Loki allows her to stay awake until the darkness in the city diminishes as the midnight lights are put out, but then he finally makes her close her eyes and attempt to sleep.

*

Thea is standing on a slab of stone. Her arms are tied behind her, and her mouth gagged. She is bleeding and looking towards someone standing at the edge of the room, her eyes begging for Loki to rescue her.

Someone is laughing and standing next to her. It is a man with a face hidden in a cloak, but he is powerfully built.

Thea screams as a wave of pain hits her and she stumbles back. The hidden man laughs again, cruelly. Then, his hood slips away.

He is not a man. His face is disfigured terribly, with a rectangular jaw and sharp teeth and red eyes.

It is Thanos.

Thanos, still laughing, takes out a dagger and walks to Thea. Loki begins to run, but he can't go fast enough.

The girl screams as the knife goes in her side and she slides down, her face blank as life is taken from her.

"THEA!"

Loki's scream is drawn out and terrible, and it will not end.

...It will not end...

...It will not end...

Thea's empty eyes stare at him.

...She's dead...

...He couldn't save her...

The blood drips down her body. Thanos is still laughing.

...He couldn't save her...

*

Gasping, Loki jerks up in the darkness. He is panting, his body covered in a layer of sweat, his black hair matted around his face.

Shoulders heaving, he looks down next to him. Thea is lying there, curled up, her face peaceful. Her breaths come quietly as she sleeps.

Staggering to his feet, Loki walks across the room and into the washroom. He peels off his shirt and the leans against the side of the washtub, taking deep breaths. He closes his eyes tightly, trying to unsee what he has just seen in his stream of unconsciousness.

"Loki?"

He whirls around. Thea is leaning against the door frame, looking at him curiously, and not the least a little frightened. Her face is illuminated by the moonlight, as is his own.

"What is it Thea-a?" He almost makes it, with that gruff tone of his, but the last syllable shakes.

She swallows, "Did you have a bad dream?"

For a moment, it doesn't look like he is going to answer. But then he does.

"Yes."

"What was it about?" she asks, somewhat timidly.

He looks at her, his black hair hanging over his bare shoulders. Then, he sighs.

"It was about you, Thea."

She blinks. "Oh."

He walks past her, back into the bedroom, and leans against one of the four posts of the bed. He puts his hands to his face taking a deep breath. "I couldn't save you," he whispers in a choked voice, "I couldn't. I was too slow."

Thea looks at the ground, not sure what to do. But then, when he sees Loki's shoulders shaking slightly, she takes a deep breath of her own.

Loki looks up as he feels small arms wrap around his bare chest. Glancing down, he sees Thea burying her head in his chest, then looking up at him with an expression of innocence on her face.

Loki closes his eyes and sighs, bending down so that their heads are touching. A single tear trickles from his eye and down onto her cheek. Wrapping his arms around her small shoulders, he feels them shake. "What are y-you crying for?" he laughs softly.

"I don't kn-now," she whispers, still holding onto him. As he looks down at her hugging his bare chest, he realizes that she has just beat another one of her fears.

"We're a m-mess," chokes Loki in a strangled voice, squeezing her tightly and kissing her head. His tears mix with her hair. "I c-can't be this way."

She keeps hugging him, and does so until finally, both of their tears stop, Loki walks back to the bathroom to retrieve his shirt, and the two of them lie back down.

Thea rests her face on her arm, still sniffing. Then, she sits up. Loki watches, and then smiles as she reaches forward and somewhat timidly wipes the still-glittering tears from Loki's face with her small, cold fingers.

"I'm all right," he whispers, smiling. "I'm supposed to be the strong one, remember?"

Thea tilts her head, then lies back down next to him, burying her face in the soft pillow. As she pulls the blankets over her shoulders, she says in a small voice, "We can be strong for each other."

Loki doesn't know what to say to this, so he just reaches forward and wraps his arm around her. She rests her head on his arm, yawns, and then closes her eyes. Loki kisses her forehead and then closes his eyes too.

They both fall back asleep quickly, the moon casting a soft light on them, almost like a night light, promising away the haunts that pierce both of their dreams in very different ways.

----

I absolutely LOVED writing this chapter. Do you have a favorite part? If so, please comment!

I know a lot of the chapters have been Loki-Thea centered, and I'm doing it on purpose. One, because it fits the story. Two, because they'll be seperated for a long time at the end of the book, and maybe, maybe not in Kidnapped. SO.

The chapter title is a reference to For Whom the Bell Tolls.

* In Loki's dream sequence, it might change to Surtur not Thanos, depending on what MCU does with their characters. 

(Like the new Spider-Man. THRILLED he's gonna be finally in MCU, but I DEMAND Andrew Garfield!)

Please VOTE and COMMENT! :D <3