5Lost In An Abyss Of Dark And Light
By malifcbfan1899 and SaintClaire
..
..
The utter silence of the trip down the corridor was unnerving Sif. She led the small party down the corridor, and though the guard's boots made a heavy stomping noise it was Loki's noiseless gait that had her on edge. Despite the fact that he had manacles around his legs, his wrists, and his neck, the links of chain didn't so much as clink together. His feet made no noise whatsoever on the marble floor, and with every foot further down the corridor Sif's blood pressure rose a little higher.
The prison was silent when they arrived. Prisoners stood pressed up against the walls of their cells, watching in awe as the Prince of Asgard was marched past in chains, to the maximum security section of the dungeon. The magic and wards encasing it were as old as the rocks surrounding them, no-one had ever escaped. No-one ever would.
Though no-one, in all of Sif's knowledge, had ever been quite able to match Loki's standards in both mischief, magic, and cunning. These prisons hadn't seen Loki pit himself against them yet. She wasn't sure what to hope for, that Loki would escape and vanish among the nine realms, or that he would wither over the centuries, locked between grids of gold and walls of white. Both had their merits.
The party halted in front of the strongest cell in the lowest floor. Frigga herself, at Odin's demand had strengthened the wards and magical barriers that made it. The whole 15 square feet was designed to keep from being penetrated or altered by the Dark Prince's magic.
Stepping forward, hating herself, she opened the cell, the wall of golden links fading into non existence. Loki was marched into the cell by the rest of the squad, they stripped him of his heavy chains and retreated, as he stood there expressionless, gazing at something far in the distance.
Finally, after removing the chains and triple checking that the cell was free of anything it should not hold, the guards stepped out, and the golden barrier winked back into existence.
Sif suddenly had the need to suppress a dry sob, as she watched Loki trapped like a freak in a cage, held for Allfather's expense.
She watched as the last of the guards left the dungeons. When the man's eyes met hers, she nodded dismissively at him.
She would stay for a little while, if only to watch. It didn't feel right to just leave, as if they had always been each other's mortal enemies, as if she should celebrate yet another defeat of evil.
Evil.
She still couldn't quite link the word to him. It didn't quite fit, wasn't quite true.
Loki seemed so small, all alone in the empty white room that was now and would be his prison until the end of his life. He looked almost like the boy she had met all those years ago, running after his big brother, trying to prove himself just as brave or skillful as Thor.
She missed that boy dearly.
She remembered their last talk before he had fallen into the abyss. She remembered the bright mischievous shine in those green eyes, blurred by the darkness of his greed for power and jealousy of his brother.
How long had that boy been lost? Why hadn't she noticed?
Could he be brought back?
His voice startled her back to the present.
"What do you want?"
Her eyes met his.
"What makes you think I want something?"
"You wouldn't be here if you didn't." he replied, coming to stand at the edge of the cell, just behind the wall that separated them. "If you have something to say, please, do share."
The mocking curl of his tongue around the words he threw into the air angered her further.
She made a step forward, not letting herself be intimidated by the emeralds that were his cold eyes.
"I was wondering how it had come to this." This little bit of honesty couldn't hurt, could it? "To us being enemies."
She expected a sarcastic answer about him always having been neglected in Thor's favour. She expected a speech he had given to Odin, about ruling being his birthright.
She did not expect him to laugh.
"Enemies?" he asked in what was almost a teasing tone. "I'm not your enemy, Sif."
She frowned.
"You've made your choices." she said coldly. "If you insist on sticking to them, we cannot be anything but enemies."
He grinned. It was a dangerous grin, filled with an animal edge that made him a predator. She was the predator, in this game between them. She refused to be prey.
"I went against Odin's commands. It's not like you haven't done the same."
His words sent shivers down her spine. Yes, she had gone against Odin's commands. But, it had been just once. Alongside Thor.
Alongside Loki.
"I didn't try to take the All-Father's power for myself." she protested, despising the defensiveness in her tone. Predators did not have to defend themselves. "When I went against his commands, it was because I was trying to protect Thor. To protect you."
The words lingered between them. Sif didn't remember if she had ever managed to leave Loki speechless. There had been dozens of times the parts were reversed, of course. Loki wasn't called Silvertongue for nothing.
"I'm sorry that I failed." She was surprised that she truly meant those words. If she had just paid more attention, if she hadn't chosen to see the worst in Loki... It could all have gone differently. "I'm sorry that we now stand here as enemies."
"You are not my enemy, Sif." He had told her that just a few moments ago, but in different words. Knowing Loki, it surely had some kind of secret meaning, but she couldn't fathom it. "You just don't know it yet."
"What is that supposed to mean?" she snapped, failing to restrain herself.
She could guess what he was aiming at and it made her twice as angry. He knew her. He knew what she valued above everything else. Her duty. How dare he suggest she would betray everything she believed in, everything she had spent her life fighting for?
"Maybe I'll tell you." he smirked secretively, making her relax and tense even more at the same time. If he wasn't implying she wasn't loyal to Asgard, what was he trying to say? "If you do something for me in return."
"I won't play games with you, Loki." she forced herself to sound cold and collected. She had learned from the best, after all. She couldn't let him throw her off balance again.
"And here I thought we were having fun." His sarcasm was ignored, but he continued to speak. "It is no difficult task. Even a pesky mortal such as Thor's could do it."
Sif stiffened at the mention of Thor's mortal. She had nothing personal against the girl, but Thor's obsession with her was unhealthy. She was weak and short-lasting. Definitely not Queen of the Nine Realms material.
"Jealous, are we?"
"No." she snapped again, just giving him more reasons to laugh at her.
"It's alright, I happen to dislike the girl too." She knew he had never even met the girl; it was the fake honesty that would easily fool any stranger – and even some who knew him – that worried her. "Anyway, come to visit me again tonight."
He had caught her off guard yet again.
"Why?"
"You asked me what I meant by saying you didn't know you weren't my enemy."
There was a spark in his eyes that she didn't trust, as if he had just won this round of the game. What had she done wrong? "I will explain it to you if you come here tonight. That's all I'm asking."
It was a tempting offer – for a moment, at least.
"No." He would not lure her into his trap, whatever it was – she would not let him. He knew her, but she knew him too – as much as anyone could know the god of lies. "I will not engage myself with your mind games."
She would lose. While she was a match for any man in strength or a fight she would not win a battle of wits against Loki.
"Suit yourself." he shrugged his shoulders, but there was no disappointment in his features, no sign of a failed plan. "But, before you leave, let me fill you in on a little secret." He drew close the barrier, bending to put his face only inches from hers. His next words came out on only the softest of exhales, his tone hard and gentle at the same time. "You already have."
The mocking certainty in his voice, the eagerness of someone being right, it sent her over the edge. She would not listen to his poisonous lies any longer. She had stood through enough.
She could hear him chuckle as she left the dungeon. Her feet carried her swiftly to a place as far away from him as possible. It was only when she felt the breeze on her skin did she realize she was standing on the beginning of Bifröst. She could see Heimdall standing guard in the distance, but she wasn't in the mood for speaking to the Watcher.
Biting her lip, she forced herself to calm down. Loki had not won; she had. She hadn't given in to his temptations. She had refused his offer.
So, why did it feel as if the game was not over yet?
Why did she feel she was losing?
...
AN - Hello fellow people! As mentioned in the summary, this piece was co-written by myself and the wonderful malifcbfan1899. I urge that you go check out her pieces when you have finished. This story is a compilation of our work, with malifcbfan1899 writing Sif's point of view as she turns to the dark side, and mine while Sif sticks with the light. We will each post our respective chapters at the same time, each dealing with the same scene but our different points of view. Chapters will be labelled clearly, let us know if you have any trouble following. Hopefully (if we can stick to our schedule) we intend to update roughly once a week. I hope you all know the true worth of this promise from authors though. No guarantee. Happy to take suggestions of something you would like to here about, but no promises it will make it into our story. Reviews make both our day's, so send any and all thoughts in.
Lots of love,
Me
