Chapter 6

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. The repetitive sound of the soft clunking of metal was what brought Rebecca back around to the living. Her mind frowned in thought, a deep thought. If she could hear, then she was awake, more so, alive. But she had had no dream. Oh was where she was now a dream world, or even reality. Would she just in fact open her eyes to see her bedroom greeting her back on earth? This was just all one big dream; A horrible, nightmare of a dream.

Rebeeca's breathing had began to increase, so Loki had stopped tossing the cup in his hands, and just lay on his side watching her. He knew that she might not take the news well, but she never expected her to actually collapse. He'd managed to catch her before she fell to the floor, holding her dead weight in his arms as he gently laid her down on the bed. He admitted that he was concerned, very concerned at her sudden unconsciousness, but deep down inside him, he had to try very hard to bury down his desires. She was young, far too young for him, but even so, he was intoxicated by her. Carefully he had rested her down on the bed, her hand falling limply over the side as her chest rose and fell with her unsteady breathing. Even now, as he lay there watching her chest steadily rise and fall, he couldn't stop his hand reaching across and touching her pale, cold cheek. Her skin was so soft to touch, so pure, that he felt a pang of guilt for having hurt her so many times; he was sure that her skin would bruise he'd strangled her so tightly before. The blood red of her parted lips looked so inviting for him to just reach out and claim as she lay there so vulnerable and unprotected to him. "No", he muttered to himself, rolling back over to the other side of the bed, shaking that thought out of his head. He mustn't grow attached, he thought to himself, beginning to toss the cup in his hand again. There was no possible way that she could be an Asgardian, no possible way. But yet, there she was, living proof.

The memories were all starting to come back to her now as she let her mind adjust to the darkness inside it. Loki had said those three words, words which even now she had on repeat inside her head; "You're an Asgardian". Those alien words, no matter how hard she now tried to tell herself they weren't true, deep down inside her, she almost felt different, like Loki had just opened the door. She let out a little moan as she tried to open her heavy eyes, feeling like they were made of lead; she'd had quite enough of passing out. "You've been out for quite a while", the velvety voice of Loki practically whispered into her ear, making her heart race. She loved but hated when he talked like that; surely he knew what affect it had on her. "Sorry", Rebecca muttered, as she rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to her waking up. Turning her head to the side, she saw the young prince lying on his side next to her on top of the bed in the cell, tossing a cup in his hand up into the air. She could see the faint smirk on his lips as his green eyes locked onto hers, making her heart flutter. "Stop it", she said, already seeing all the mischief and humour in his eyes. "Your wish is my command then, sleeping beauty", he chuckled, returning his eyes back up to the ceiling as he resumed his cup tossing.

Rebecca sighed, dropping her head back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling, letting everything run through her mind. It was a considerable about of time before she broke the stale silence between them, asking the question that preyed silently on both of their minds. "How?", she asked to the air as her eyes strayed to the tossing cup, its tossing and falling rhythm matching her breathing. It froze, staying hung in the air much to Rebecca's curiosity as Loki sighed, biting his lip in thought. "Do you remember anything about your mother? Any small detail at all?", he asked quietly, almost hearing the cogs tick around in his brain. Rebecca thought, tracing her mind back, almost like falling from the clouds, watching her life pass her by quickly in reverse. There was one thing she remembered, but never thought about; the harsh voice of a woman, almost shouting at something from afar, and a warm embrace; the hug and comfort of a mother's love. The very thought of it brought a tear to her eye, picturing herself being left, abandoned by the very person who had brought her into this world, loved her, and made her who she was. "Why are you crying?", Loki's soft voice asked, bringing her back. She'd completely forgotten that she was crying, and quite violently now, feeling her whole body shake and tremble at the memory which she thought had been locked away now exploded in a flare of colours in her mind. "Loki!", Rebecca cried, seeing everything for the first time in her mind, scaring her. "Rebecca, I'm here. I'm here!", Loki reassured her, flicking the hovering cup aside, grabbing her around the shoulders and staring into her petrified face. "I-I can't, I can't see- I-I. P-please, make it stop", Rebecca cried as sights and visions she had never seen before seemed to grow in her mind, taking her away from where she was. She'd sat up now and was frantically looking from left to right, as if trying to shove the images out of her eyes. "Loki, help!", she cried terrified, her whole body shaking in fright. Loki quickly turned around to look out of the cell window, but even then, the guards didn't know Rebecca was there, as the magic on the ring she wore still hid her from them, but even so, they would still be able to hear her cries. Her breathing was erratic now, her eyes darting around everywhere, her whole body trembling as she struggled to breath. He didn't know what to do, he was no doctor, and he could only use his magic to heal actually wounds, not the psychological scars that were now burning inside Rebecca's mind. "Loki!", she screamed, her voice filled with terror and pain as all the colour drained from her face. There was only one thing he could do to possibly save her from her own mind; go into her mind himself. Bracing himself, he placed his hands on her tear stained cheeks, his fingers pressed against her temples, and in a surge of magic and pain, entered into her mind screaming.

The bright whiteness of a desert sun was what greeted Loki as he opened his eyes, a cold wind blowing through his ears. As he looked around, almost like a fog, the area around him began to clear. The tarmac of the road stretched out beneath his feet, the vast desert sky and landscape stretching for miles around in equal distance. The vivid blue of the sky clashed horribly with the dirt of the sandy desert, making his eyes hurt just looking at it. He knew entering peoples minds hurt, but this was torture. The sun was baking him through to his cold core, just as much as the unnatural freezing wind chilled him on the spot. Spinning around, he saw Rebecca withering on the floor, her eyes scrunched tight as she wept, curled up in the centre of the road. There was little he could do to comfort her in this vision state, as this was her mind he was in; she would need to be strong on her own. "Shhh, don't cry", a gentle, angelic voice whispered behind him, startling Loki as he span around to confront it. A woman, tall and slender, wearing what looked like a blood red dressed stained more in blood stood in the centre of the road, her back turned to him. Her black hair blew in the cold, unnatural wind, just revealing part of her side profile to him, but just enough to make his heart stop. It was Rebecca. He shook his head in disbelief; it can't be her he thought, looking at the woman again. The same features, the red lips, the sharp dark eyes standing out against her pale skin. It was her alright, but a slightly older Rebecca judging by the bags under her eyes and the faint scar marks on her neck. The sight unnerved Loki as he felt a cold shiver run down his spine looking at her. That's when her eyes looked straight at him, unblinking, causing him to freeze on the spot. He had seen that same haunting look in her eyes before, he himself had felt it; anger, hatred, betrayal, brokenness.

She had turned slightly as her eyes remained locked on Loki's, revealing the bundle of golden material in her hands, placed in which was a small child. "Shhh, don't cry", she cooed softly to the baby as it cried quietly in her arms, its small arms flailing around, longing for its mothers touch. Eventually, she tore her eyes away from Loki's as he remained frozen on the spot, not daring to move. She gently placed the bundle down onto the floor at the roadside, the baby crying gently away inside. That was when Loki saw the bloodied dagger concealed in her hands, her shoulders trembling as she pulled it out, and in her shaking hand, traced the blade through her fingers as she looked down into the face of the innocent child. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry", she whispered as she lifted the knife up, right above the child. "NO!", Loki screamed, stretching out his hand trying to stop her. She seemed to freeze, her hand hovering as she turned her head to his direction. Loki knew he couldn't exist; he was just a shadow inside Rebecca's memories, but yet, this older Rebecca had heard him. Now she turned to face him, her face set in stone, an image of hatred and anger burning in her eyes. He saw her pain, her fear, everything he had felt when he had learnt a truth that had destroyed him. He knew that maybe, this was the chance he had to try and ease Rebecca's pain, speak to her, to end this vision.

"Please. Stop this", he said calmly, walking carefully towards her. She looked at him blankly, trying to process what Loki was saying to her, all the while spinning the blade around on her finger. "Rebecca", he said to her, stopping before he got to close, becoming distinctly aware of the wind increasing around him, growing colder as Rebecca's poor crying grew louder behind him. Then her eyes erupted in a blaze of fire, a fiery red as something snapped inside her. "Liar! You lied to me!", she screamed at him, now pointing the blade at him. Loki suddenly felt afraid as she leered closer to him in her maddened rage, the cries of the child and Rebecca almost becoming one, chilling him to the core. "W-what?", Loki spluttered, surprised and confused, looking around behind him just in case she was addressing someone else. "You lied to me Loki!", she spat in rage, now advancing towards him. Loki began to back away, very afraid of the woman. He wasn't supposed to be able to communicate with visions, but now somehow he realised that he was in too deep, as now she was talking directly to him. Just then, Loki heard the deafening crack of the Bifrost erupting behind him, the gust of wind causing the woman to fall down. Shielding his eyes, Loki looked through the dissipating light to see several Asgardian soldiers, all armed and young Odin. "Seize her!", Odin ordered, as the guards rushed forward, swords drawn. Swiftly, the guards descended upon her, but despite her dazed state, she was able to fend them off with just her small dagger, killing three of them and heavily injuring another. As the Bifrost erupted again, announcing the arrival of more guards, the elder Rebecca knew there was nothing else left to do, but run. Casting a fleeting glance at the bundle that contained the child, she turned and ran, straight towards Loki. Instantly, he threw up his hands in an attempt to cast a magic shield to protect himself from her advancement, but she ran straight through it. A sudden rush of coldness filled him as he felt her run straight through him before his world erupted into one of blackness, a whisper echoing in his head. "Save her".

Authors Note : Finally! Thank you everyone for your patience. This update has been long overdue, and I manage to convince myself to write this in just under four hours (after spending most of it deleting and rewriting everything). I hope you all like it. Please do leave your thoughts and comments. :) Thank you