Rough Revelations

'Answer my question first,' Nevaeh said. 'Who else was here?'

'My mother. We weren't able to fix your hand,' Loki said quietly.

'Are you kidding me? Your mom, A.K.A The Queen of Asgard, came over while I was napping in your bed like a 10 year old?' she said fumingly and stood up.

Loki raised his hands in caution. 'Why don't we take a seat and talk for a while? Things tend to go awry when you are – active.'

Nevaeh stared at him dangerously. 'It's bad enough that you lied to me since we met, and now your mother saw me as some damsel in distress rather than the devastatingly dangerous witch that I obviously am!'

'I think my mother knows more than she is letting on,' Loki said more to himself than to her. 'Look, I know we've been at odds since you arrived here, but I want to clear everything. I do not want to poison your mind further with confusions. So, ask away.'

Nevaeh wondered for a moment, figuring he should start at the beginning. 'You told me Odin was the King, and that the princes fight over the throne. Was that all a lie? I see no fighting! You are the King!'

'I am now,' Loki said. 'Thor is the first born. I came later.' He told her how, as the years passed by, Loki had felt inferior to Thor by telling a few stories of their childhood. She listened patiently, her cheeks cupped in her hands as Loki paced in front of his bed. He soon retold the events of the coronation day.

'So Thor ended up being banished from Asgard? By your father?' asked Nevaeh.

'Yes, father took away his powers as well. He is living a mortal life on Midgard now,' Loki said, sighing and looking sad.

Nevaeh glanced suspiciously at Loki. 'But he is coming back, right? I mean, he is your brother! Their first born! I think your father just wanted to teach him a lesson, hence the banishment. He should've done that to you,' Nevaeh said smugly, eyeing him up and down.

Loki shook his head. 'Thor is not coming back.'

'Loki, he is your brother. Don't you want him back?' asked Nevaeh.

'I love Thor, but I love Asgard more. And if he returns then he will throw Asgard into a wreck,' said Loki, 'besides, father has banished him and he is now in Odin-sleep, so there is no hope left.'

'But you are the King, now. You can bring him back!' Nevaeh said.

Loki felt like saying, gee, Nevaeh, thank you for pointing that out. I would've never thought of it if it weren't for you! But he resisted the urge knowing it wasn't going to earn him any points. 'Politics is very complicated. I won't bore you with the details.'

'What exactly is an Odin-sleep?'

Loki promptly explained it to her, how Odin needed time to heal in order to wake up someday, a little proud that he could answer at least some of her questions without getting busted for the rest of his lies.

'Odin sleep is like some mystical coma, is it?'

'More or less,' Loki nodded.

'Then why do you need to kill your harmless, little father who is in a mystical coma? He isn't bothering you! Not getting in your way or anything! Yet – you did what you did – and I saw what I saw' Nevaeh said.

'First of all, how did I not sense you if you were indeed there?' Loki said in confusion. 'Secondly, how do you know Odin's little?' Loki laughed, but instantly stopped after watching her perplexed expression. He figured she was using the word 'little' to imply harmlessness. He nobly straightened his face, clearing his throat.

'You just have no shame, do you?' she said, eyeing him bitterly. 'How can you even laugh at a moment like this? Do you have any idea how much you hurt me? No, you know what? Forget about me! I saw you plan your father's murder! How –why? Please tell me I misunderstood that situation.'

'You understood the situation clearly,' Loki said coldly.

'I don't believe that,' she shook her head. 'Keeping aside all your lies, I still feel like I know you. You aren't capable of killing your own father.'

'You have no idea what I am capable of,' Loki said. 'And please, I do not want to argue over my capabilities right now. We can get to it later. Please, continue the questions.'

Nevaeh wanted to press the topic, but she'd so many questions that it was getting difficult to stick to one. 'Is that when you became King? After Thor was banished and your father went into his coma?'

Loki nodded in response.

Nevaeh buried her face in her hands. 'I don't understand.'

'What's there not to understand? I am explaining everything quite impeccably,' Loki said in annoyance, till she looked at him again with misty eyes.

'I am not talking about the events that happened in your life. I'm saying I don't understand you!' she yelled, getting up from the bed. 'Face it, Loki. You have it all. A loving mother, a father and a brother, and yet, your arrogant and greedy self wants more! Greedy, ambitious, focused; that's who you are. So I ask you, Loki, why – did – you – come – with – me? Why didn't you send me home through the bi-frost? Why did you offered to show me the way? Why did you accompany me for an unnecessarily long journey through the forest all the while pretending to be a normal guy?' she asked, looking at Loki as he frowned at her questions.

'That has nothing to do with any of this. I needed to escape and you were a lovely distraction,' Loki said.

'Answer my question, Loki. Why come with me? What were you looking for on Earth? Did you sense that I was something different? Did you somehow know that I had Grace? Were you planning on stealing it? What – did – you – needed – from –me?' she bellowed as a tear drop fell from her eye.

Loki felt humiliated by these accusations. When he had first met Nevaeh, he had accompanied her purely on the basis of his curiosity over her and for the actual fact that he needed to get away from the palace after his horrendous revelation. The sight of Nevaeh making these baseless accusations was making Loki's blood boil.

'You listen to me! There was no ulterior motive when it came to you!' Loki said angrily.

Nevaeh shook her head. 'I don't believe you! You were the King of Asgard and you suddenly figured that you should spend a little time with a lost Earthling! You wanted something! What was it?' she asked desperately, staring at him through tearful eyes.

Loki didn't know how he could convince her. 'Something – had – happened in the palace and I – needed to get away. I went into the wild, when I ran into you. That is it,' Loki said firmly, but Nevaeh wasn't buying it.

'What had happened?'

'Not important.' Loki would rather throw her off his balcony than tell her the truth about his parentage.

'Loki, I am not staying any longer if you don't spill it! What happened that was so devastating that you – the King – had to leave your own palace?' she asked testily.

'You know what happened on coronation day. I told you.' Loki was curt.

'What does that have to do with you leaving your palace? I am asking you what happened that very day when we met! Not some past trauma—'Nevaeh's voice faltered under his knowing gaze. She blinked at him. 'Are you saying that I – I arrived on that same day? On coronation day?'

Loki nodded. She blinked for several more seconds.

'That was the same night you became the King of Asgard?'

Loki nodded again.

'That makes even less sense! You just became the King! Yet, you left the palace! Why?' Nevaeh asked with utter confusion.

'I was – I was feeling sad, all right!' Loki snapped, turning around.

Nevaeh laughed with disbelief. 'You started everything that ruined Thor's coronation day! You brought those monsters in Asgard! That's exactly what you wanted! You had nothing to run away from!'

'Nevaeh, I tell you nothing but the truth right now.' Loki whispered.

'So, you basically dreamed about ruling since you were a kid and when you finally get the throne, you come home with me?' she asked disbelievingly.

Loki nodded, as if it were not odd at all.

'I don't believe you are still lying to me.' Nevaeh turned away from him.

'What are you doing?' Loki asked frowningly as he watched Nevaeh head towards the door.

'I am going home. I can't stand here and listen to your lies anymore!' she yelled, storming away.

'You cannot leave! We haven't fixed your hand yet!' bellowed Loki.

Nevaeh scoffed whipping around. 'You are still pretending to care about my hand? Seriously? I have seen you plotting the murder of the man who raised you! You have sworn off your own brother! And yet, here you stand, begging me to let you heal my hand,' Nevaeh said shrewdly, looking back at him after reaching half way to his door. 'Drop the act, Loki. Nobody cares anymore,' she said and turned around again to walk towards the door.

'I care, and I never beg,' Loki spat. He clicked his fingers, his chest immediately glowing a hint of green, which he quickly hid by the wave of a hand.

Nevaeh was a mere two steps away from the door when suddenly a thin green light came swooshing her way. She went right through it, only to have her knees hit by Loki's bed.

She looked around wildly. 'What the hell was that? What did you do?'

'Sit down, Nevaeh. We are not done yet,' Loki said, politely gesturing her to take a seat on the bed.

Nevaeh blinked rapidly at him several times, before raising her arms in an I-give-up manner. She again started walking towards his door in order to escape this hellhole, when again, within the blink of an eye, a glowing light whooshed past her and she went through it.

Nevaeh tumbled on Loki's bed, falling face-first on his lavish mattress. She could've sworn she heard Loki chuckle a little. She fumingly straightened herself. Nevaeh stood up straight. She felt like screaming till her lungs give out. She stared at Loki through wide unblinking eyes.

'Was that – teleportation?' she asked in a slightly shaken voice.

Loki's grin was wiped clean from his face. He stared at her, lost for words; he hadn't really thought this through...