Amelie Stark - Sacrifice
Amelie Stark - Sacrifice
Navigating through the maze-like mansion was a draining experience. The man who had grabbed me was now pulling me along by the same arm that Tony had held me captive with, and the pain had gone beyond numbness to excruciating agony. Despite him being only slightly shorter than me, his arms seemed too short for his height, forcing me to bend at an odd angle as I ran alongside him.
We turned down a brightly lit hallway, lined with ornate mirrors and shimmering details, the same as the rest of the building, before coming to a brief stop in front of a set of large metal doors. The man fumbled with the handles before pushing one open and dragging me through.
As we kept running, an interior courtyard appeared before us. The space was eerily quiet and still, with only a handful of doors and windows giving us brief glimpses into the grand mansion that loomed around us. The emptiness seemed to swallow all sound, save for the faint echoes of our footsteps and gasping breaths bouncing off the walls. My joints screamed in protest, begging for a moment's rest from the relentless sprint.
As we reached the opposite side, a guard stood watch at a smaller, single door, his hand tightly gripping the handle. My captor quickly whispered something in his ear before he fumbled with the lock and swung it open. The deafening sound of the doors slamming open on the other side startled us all, the man holding onto me letting out a small yelp. I was dragged inside, but not before catching a fleeting glimpse of a tall figure with dark hair standing ready. His intense gaze locked onto mine for a split second, causing a lump to form in my throat as I silently pleaded for Loki to run, before he disappeared from view.
I stumbled into the dark room, barely able to keep my balance as the man pushed me forward. The room was dimly lit, shadows dancing along the walls as the only source of light came from a single small window, mostly shrouded by an old curtain. The air was thick with tension, and I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears; every nerve in my body on high alert. The man who had been dragging me released his grip, and I fell to the ground, crumpling in a heap at his feet.
I slowly pulled myself up slightly, wincing as my bones protested the movement, before looking around. Where the rest of the building was ornate and gaudy, with light practically reverberating through the halls, this room was bleak. The space was bare, and the floorboards felt worn under my hands and knees. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. We were in a long hallway, seemingly endless, with no turnings or doors in sight.
My captor grunted as he leaned forward on his thighs, gulping in air before spitting to the side.
The logical side of my mind urged me to get up and defend myself, or at least attempt an escape under the cover of darkness. If Loki was still nearby, this man wouldn't stand a chance against him.
But a louder, more deafening voice in my head, a voice that sounded heartbreakingly like Tony's, reminded me of the futility of it all. Loki had already expended an immense amount of magic and he must have been drained. While he was much better, he was not at his full strength again yet, and what lurked in this section of the structure was anyone's guess.
A blood-curdling scream pierced the stillness, echoing off the stone walls of the courtyard and sending an icy chill down my spine. Both of our eyes snapped to the door. It definitely wasn’t Loki’s voice, but for some reason that didn’t comfort me. An uneasy dread settled in my stomach.
The scream continued for several seconds, growing louder and more tortured before suddenly cutting off with a sickening snap. It was low and wrong, like a sound from a nightmare.
We both stood still, unsure of who should be more frightened between the two of us.
I hesitated for a moment, fearing the unknown that lay behind that door. And yet, the scream still fresh in my ears, I couldn't simply leave the poor soul in such torment without knowing what had happened.
Gathering my courage, I glanced at the man who had captured me and noticed a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. It was a small window of opportunity.
With a surge of adrenaline, I sprinted towards the door, praying that my captor wouldn't follow suit. As I reached it, I heard the man's footsteps closing in behind me, but I was already reaching for the handle.
I pulled the door open with force, momentarily blinded by the sudden shift in lighting that forced me to squint and shield my eyes with my hand. The intensity of the brightness was almost painful, with tiny particles seemingly dancing around me.
Specs of dust twirled in the air, filling the courtyard, and the smell of burning filled my senses. I blinked a couple of times, my eyes frantically darting around as I looked for Loki.
He was stood with his back to me, his spine ramrod straight. I stumbled forward, my legs heavy with exhaustion, and moved closer to him. As I approached, I saw his head was tilted down, his gaze fixed on the floor. Two small, charred orbs were on the ground infront of him, the dirt below them scorched and bloodied.
With a nauseating jolt, suddenly the scene clicked into place. The two orbs were eyes, burnt and disfigured almost beyond recognition. The look of fear from their last torturous moments etched permanently into them. The dust around me became ash, settling heavily into my hair and on my skin, burning my eyes as I blinked them desperately. The air was thick with death’s putrid scent, invading my nostrils and making me retch.
The scream, the agonizing scream, had been the guard’s. The guard who Loki had obliterated into nothingness, with his remains now clogging the air and assaulting my senses. I gasped, regretting it immediately as great gulps of ash clawed at my throat, making me gag at the thought of how much of the man’s body I was inhaling. It surrounded me; choked me with waves of revulsion. An inescapable nightmare that clawed at my senses and threatened to consume me whole.
My legs trembled and my hand flew to my mouth as I choked out a sob, falling to my knees. Where my kneecaps should have scraped on the path, they met the pilling ash, cushioning the drop while coating me in yet more death.
Hearing my cry, Loki spun, his eyes wide. I couldn’t hold back the tears now, they streamed down my cheeks and dropped to my arms, leaving grey streaks where they mixed with the dust on my skin.
Loki hesitated only a second before moving forward, crouching down slowly infront of me. “I’m sorry.” He whispered.
I shook my head, my eyes scrunching closed as I tried to push the scene from my head. If I kept my eyes closed long enough, I could change it. I was certain.
A steady groaning was getting louder and louder as I realised Loki was trying to talk to me.
“...Amelie please. You can hate me, that’s fine. It’s fine. I hate me. You can hate me too, please just let me get you out of here. Please.”
The begging in his voice was like a knife, cutting at my already broken body as the groaning got louder. Somewhere in the back of mind, I registered the sound was me. I was rocking back and forth, a low wordless cry reverberating through my entire body.
“Amelie. Please. Please listen to me. Please let me get you away from here. You can kill me if you want, I’ll let you do it. Please.”
I sobbed, squeezing my eyes even tighter shut. This couldn’t be real.
I’d lost my uncle. I had no idea if any of the other Avengers were still alive. I couldn’t cope with losing the Loki I knew in my heart. The one who drank tea next to me. The one who carried me to bed when I fell asleep in the lounge. The one who knew how I liked my coffee, and that I preferred champagne over prosecco. He knew how to make me laugh. Knew to get me snacks even if I said I didn’t want any. He knew my very soul.
“Amelie. Sweetheart. Please.”
I felt his hand rest on my arm and I yanked it back, falling backwards as I bawled. “NO!” Desperately I shuffled backward, not even sure where I was trying to escape to.
Loki’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, moving his arm toward me. His hand was open, almost begging. “Amelie. I would never hurt you.”
“No. No no no no….” The path scratched at my hands as my movements made gaps in the ash, the grazes leaving small smears of blood that mixed into the blackened embers.
“Amelie please. I won’t hurt you. I swear it. I swear on my life. On my death. You are my everything. I would spend eternity in Hel before I hurt you. I would let cities burn and realms fall.”
“Please. I can’t… I can’t take this… Please don’t.”
“You are my life. Before you, my life was nothing but war and loss. You are my light.”
I shuffled back, hugging my knees to my chest as if they might keep my heart from ripping itself to pieces. My sobs racked my entire body, emanating from so deep inside that I could barely breathe.
His voice was strained and quiet, pleading me to understand. “I will let you carve my heart from my chest, if that will begin to atone for my wrongs. I would even tear it out to present it to you myself. I told you once that I am a villain. I always have been. But in you I saw a life for myself where I could learn to live. Where I could do nothing more than spend my days by your side and still be in eternal bliss.”
“Loki…” I choked. “Please don’t…”
“I love you, Amelie.”
My heart shattered. I gasped for air as the sobs shook my body, tears and ash blurring my vision. In an instant, my world was shifted beyond repair, leaving behind only memories that now held no meaning. Is this what love was? Life-defining and soul-crushing? As beautiful as it were cataclysmic?
“Let me get you away from here. Please.” Loki’s hand ghosted across my cheek and my body leant into his touch without hesitation, even as I choked on my horror and confusion.
Suddenly, his hand went stiff as he pulled back from me. My eyes flew open to see that the man had emerged from the darkened room behind us, and a syringe was now sticking out of Loki’s neck.
“NO!” My shout echoed off the walls, my heart pounding in my ears.
The mans face had stretched into a gruesome smile. “Think of what we’ll do, with a God on our side. Stark and Fury were useful, but they were still human.”
Loki fell backward, his hand flying to his neck as he ripped the syringe out. I lunged forwards, kneeling at his side in an instant. “Oh God, Loki!? I’m sorry!! I’m sorry! I’m here!”
The man’s fist tangled in my hair, and I yelped in pain as he wrenched me to my feet. “You have been far more trouble then you’re worth. They said I couldn’t kill you yet, but I don’t even know if they’re still alive.”
The glint of a knife reflected in my eyes before the cold steel pressed into my throat. Already, I could feel a slight trickle of blood. I clenched my eyes shut.
A strange gargled sound made me open them hesitantly.
The man’s eyes were wide, his mouth agape as blood began to pool at the corners of his lips. He coughed, splattering blood over my face as his eyes rolled back in an attempt to look over his shoulder.
Loki was behind him, one hand on his head in an attempt to keep his own body upright. The over gripped the hilt of his dagger, buried into the side of the man who had been about to kill me.
As his lifeless body crumpled to the ground, so did Loki, his dagger clanging on the stones of the path as his back hit the dirt with a thud.
“LOKI!” I crawled back to his side, petting uselessly at his hair. “Loki forgive me, I’m so sorry!”
He shook his head, a lopsided grin on his lips. “No, Amelie, you have nothing to apologise for.”
“We’ll find Bruce! He’ll be able to stop the serum!”
“Amelie, darling, we both know that’s not going to happen.”
Fresh tears streamed down my face. I was amazed I had any left to give. “I can’t lose you too. I can’t watch you lose yourself.”
“You won’t.”
I laughed slightly, the sound high-pitched and hysteric. “I’m not leaving you.”
“I meant every word I said, Amelie. You brought light back into my life. I wish I could have known you from the beginning of time, have loved you through all of our realities.”
Panic bubbled in my chest. “Don’t. Don’t start saying goodbye.”
“I’ve been dosed darling. It’ll kick-in soon. A person like me is far too dangerous if they’re inclined to be. I should know.”
“Loki…”
“I love you, Amelie. Thank you for saving me, over and over again. For saving my soul.”
Suddenly Loki pushed me backwards, rolling to grab his own dagger from the floor.
“LOKI NO!”
Within a second, the dagger was imbedded in his chest, and my world crumbled.