Chapter 7
A week had passed. Loki and the rest still hadn’t returned, and still no one had heard a word about Wanda. It pained you deeply, but you had begun to give up on the notion that she would be found alive and well. It seemed like wishful thinking at this point.
You noticed that the people around you had also begun to sink to that level. No one really had any hope, but they prayed she’d be found regardless.
Cordelia had noticed a change in you as well. One night she had given you a few drawings she had done at Guinevere’s to try and cheer you up. One was of you, her, and your Father with ‘my family’ written atop it. The other was of you, her, and Loki with hearts scribbled all over it, all three figures holding hands. She had made sure to make an extra of that drawing, insisting you give it to Loki when you saw him next. She missed him terribly. You had simply smiled and promised you would, thanking her for her efforts. He would enjoy the gift.
You hadn’t told Cordelia what was going on, just that a friend of yours needed help and Loki was out helping them as best he could. You assured her he would be back soon, but even you were doubtful of that. Even if he returned, you were unsure if he would come bearing good news. It didn’t seem likely.
You had been right. Another week had passed, and you had been working out in the garden with Natasha. You glanced up to the tree line in the distance and saw some figures emerging. Your heart raced with excitement, but that was before you noticed that some of the figures were holding others that appeared to be limping. One of which had long, black hair. Your heart sank.
“Nat…” you spoke softly. She turned up to look at you before following your gaze. She dropped the tool that was in her hand and stood quickly, yelling,
“Someone get the medics!!” She ran out to the group, you trailing quickly behind her. As you reached the group, you noticed all of them were roughed up, with some being much worse than others. Thor was helping Loki along, who had red, vein-like marks covering his skin, among other scrapes, bruises, and cuts. Every single one of the group had cuts and bruises, as well as blood smeared all over them. You ran quickly to Loki, fear flowing through you.
“What happened?!” You asked, a sob catching in your throat as you leaned in to give Loki more support. He gave you a pained, but gentle smile.
“I’ll be alright, don’t fret now,” he said hoarsely, gently raising his hand to caress your cheek with the back of his finger. Had he not been so weak and pained, you’d have been thrilled at the gesture. Instead, you gave him a pointed and concerned look as Thor spoke up.
“We found her,” he said grimly. You shot your gaze to him.
“What? You- you found her?? Where is she?” You asked frantically. You nearly dropped your grip on Loki at the news.
“She’s still out there, somewhere. She… isn’t the same…”
“What do you mean… she isn’t the same?” Natasha asked cautiously, supporting Gamora with an arm around her side and Gamora’s wrapped around her neck.
“She… well, she…” Thor sputtered, trying to find the right words. Loki rolled his eyes as Quill spit out,
“She attacked us with magic.”
You furrowed your brow. That couldn’t be right. Wanda wasn’t a magic user. Well, to your knowledge. But there still wasn’t any reason for her to hurt the Guardians or the Princes. She was always a sweet and understanding girl.
“She was attacking with red magic. Chaos magic. Practically unheard of, but it exists,” Rocket added.
“Wanda isn’t a magic user. Are you sure it was her?” Natasha asked.
“We’re positive. She nearly took me out,” Loki added weakly.
You shook your head, beginning to walk Loki forward.
“Alright, this is a discussion for another time, we need to get you to the medical wing,” you said, watching as the medics began to arrive. You saw following them was the Queen, looking frantic.
“Are my boys alright?” She asked quickly. They both smiled at their mother, who only placed a hand to her mouth upon seeing their appearance.
“We’ll be alright, Mother. Loki needs medical attention, however. He got hit the hardest,” Thor said. She quickly nodded and took your place supporting her son. You gave Loki one final, sad look, tears lining your eyes. He reassured you with his own tired eyes and gave you the faintest, weakest smile before turning and limping forward.
It took everything in you not to break down. Wanda was alive, but now a powerful, and dangerous, magic user. She had attacked the group and injured Loki rather seriously. You shook your head and placed it in your hand. You felt a hand on your shoulder. Looking over, you saw Natasha, looking just as miserable as you.
“What are we going to do?” You asked quietly, tears starting to fall.
Unfortunately, Natasha didn’t, or rather couldn’t, give you an answer.
-
You went to visit Loki in the infirmary on many occasions. Apparently he was to stay there for the time being while the medics tried to get him over whatever magic was coursing through him. Every time you had gone to visit, he had been asleep, which made perfect sense. He had to be exhausted from fighting against Wanda’s magic.
The worst part, however, was that he didn’t seem to be getting any better. None of the group did. Gamora, Drax, and the one they called ‘Mantis’ had all been hit rather hard, while the others took smaller hits. Quill also spent a lot of time in the infirmary, sitting next to Gamora and talking to her or singing softly to her while she slept. You figured she must be rather important to him.
Occasionally you had run into Thor as the days went on. He was still rather weak himself, despite not getting hit as hard as the rest of the group. He was actually the one who has encouraged you to visit Loki. He said it’d be good for him, even if he couldn’t consciously acknowledge your presence. “He’ll still know,” he would say. So you did. You visited every day before leaving to pick up Cordelia, who was very concerned for her friend. Every day she begged to come with you to visit him, and every day you promised the same thing: you would bring her to visit when he was feeling better. You hoped that would be sooner rather than later. You missed him. You did leave Cordelia’s drawing on the table beside his bed however, in case he woke while you were absent. You had folded it up and written his name on it, hoping no one else would pry at what was inside.
After a week had passed and the treatment of the medics continued to fail, the Queen finally brought in someone that she prayed could help.
You were sitting next to Loki, holding his hand gently, when you heard voices approaching. You recognized the voice of the Queen, but the other was one you couldn’t place. Turning to view the entrance of the infirmary, you saw a man walking in with the Queen, a red cloak flowing behind him as he walked.
“Ah,” The Queen said, addressing your presence. “Hello my dear. Please, meet Doctor Strange. He’s a medic, but he’s also a sorcerer. I think he’ll be able to cure our ailed. Doctor, this is one of our help. She’s rather close with my sons.”
You stood and gave the stranger a curtsy.
“A pleasure.”
“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. I’ll be happy to help, though it may take a bit. I’ve never worked against chaos magic before,” He said, addressing the both of you.
“We’ll take anything we can. I just need my sons to be alright,” The Queen said, a slight tremble in her voice.
“I’ll need you both to vacate, as well as any guests or unneeded personnel. Unfortunately what I’ll be doing will work best without any distractions or accidental obstructions,” the sorcerer said. You gazed once more at Loki before giving the doctor a nod and walking out of the infirmary. You heard the Queen give the doctor a thank you before quickly walking behind you, calling out your name. You turned as she left the infirmary, letting the door close gently.
“I just wanted to grant you thanks.”
“There’s nothing to be thankful for, my Queen,” You said gently. She scoffed.
“Of course there is. You’ve been a great blessing in my son’s life. Both of my sons, actually. You’ve brought them great joy, and for that, I am eternally grateful to you.”
She took your arm gently in hers and began to walk you down the hall.
“See, Loki never really had much of a friend before. The entirety of the Kingdom always saw him as lesser, and he began to delve into that. He became what they thought of him. Though, I suspect that you already knew.”
“Yes, my Queen. He had mentioned it previous.”
“You’ve brought my boy back,” she said, stopping in her tracks and turning to face you, taking your hands in hers. “He’s been happier than I’ve seen him in many a year. I had almost forgotten what this side of him was like. And, I’ll admit, I never truly knew just how unhappy he had been until he once again began displaying happiness. After he met you. You’ve saved my son.”
You felt your cheeks heat up slightly. Did you really make him that much happier?
“I’m sure there are other things at play, my Queen, but regardless, you need not thank me. He is my friend, my dearest in fact. You say I saved him, but it is in fact him who has saved me. He has given me new life, and a companionship I never saw myself having again. I will always be there to support him, and so long as I live, he will never again know loneliness.”
The Queen gave you a warm smile and pulled you into an embrace.
“You are noble and kind. I see why my son cares so deeply for you.”
She pulled away and looked you in the eyes, almost as if reading your soul.
“I care for him as well,” You said gently. She narrowed her eyes and smirked softly.
“I can see that. How deep that care goes, I wonder…”
Your eyes widened as she patted your cheek gently, before letting go of you completely and continuing her walk down the hall alone.
“I will fetch you as soon as I hear from Doctor Strange,” she called out to you before turning a corner.
You stood alone for a moment, the silence deafening. How could she know…? Did she know? She was a very wise and calculating woman, you were sure it wouldn’t be hard to figure out. Heavens, Natasha constantly teased you of it. But that only left one question: if the Queen knew, did he?
-
You were making your way to the infirmary, walking with anticipation pounding in your chest. The Queen had informed you a few days ago that the sorcerer’s magic cure had worked. However, they all were still exhausted. Loki, having been hit the hardest, was still sleeping. Gamora had woken the next day, as well as Drax, but we’re still rather drained.
Every day you went to see Loki, hoping he’d be awake when you arrived, but every day passed with disappointment. So, making do with what you could, you sat next to him and spoke to him quietly. You always hoped for an answer, but never really expected one.
Today, things had changed.
You walked, or rather sulked, to the infirmary, fully expecting Loki to be asleep and still, just like every other time you’d gone to see him. Instead, the sight you saw made you freeze in your place, eyes watering and going wide.
He didn’t seem to notice you. He was sitting up, Cordelia’s drawing in his hands and smiling faintly as he gazed upon it. You watched as he gently grazed his fingers over the paper. He was still weak, his fingers shaky, but he was improving.
You swallowed your emotion as best you could and put on a smile, walking slowly towards his bed.
“She really wanted you to have that. She missed you greatly while you were away,” you spoke softly. His eyes and face snapped up and gazed upon you, eagerness evident in his look. “She made me one too. I’ll admit its grandness, but it doesn’t quite compare to having you here in the flesh.”
A small smile danced on his lips as his brows knit together. He gently spoke your name, his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. The sound made the tears start to well up again. You swallowed the lump that was forming in your throat and quickly unfurrowed your brows.
“How are you feeling?” You asked, silently cursing the break in your voice. You wanted to be strong. It was harder than you thought it’d be. You took a seat next to his bed, the chair there becoming a rather permanent feature due to your reoccurring presence.
“Better,” he responded, reaching his hand out gently toward you. You felt your breath catch slightly as you took his hand in yours. It amazed you, and, frankly, scared you, how cold his hand seemed to be. You weren’t sure if it was simply him or a symptom. He let out a small breath, almost a sigh, as your hand clasped his. “Much better.”
You gave him a soft smile, your brows fighting not to knit together and your tears threatening to fall. You could see them pooling, your vision growing slightly blurry.
Loki gazed at you, concerned.
“Darling, what is it?” He asked. His voice was so strained, it sounded almost as if it pained him to speak. You dropped your gaze and paused before speaking. The lump in your throat was returning.
“Everything, Loki,” you whispered. “It’s everything. I’m relieved you’re alright, but for a long time I didn’t know that you would be. Wanda is gone. She’s out there, but not who she used to be. I miss her terribly. My heart has been through so much pain in the past weeks…”
You heard Loki groan, which caused your gaze to snap back to him. He was straining to sit up straighter. You began to scold him, but he simply placed a hand up, silencing you. Upon relaxing once more, he placed a hand on your cheek, pulling you closer to him.
“I apologize deeply for putting you through so much hurt. I never intended it.”
You stared at him, dumbfounded. “Why are you apologizing? You couldn’t have prevented this.”
He let out a slight sigh and a sad smile.
“Regardless, I wounded you, which I’d never wanted to do. Ever.”
You didn’t know what to say. He was so sincere. So distraught inside that he’d inadvertently hurt you. You felt your stomach flutter a bit as he gently caressed your cheek with his thumb.
You finally smiled gently and placed your hand over his.
“I thought I might lose you. I can’t bear not having you around. I’ve grown a bit too fond of you,” you chuckled. He laughed a bit as well, though a hint of a blush seemed as though it was creeping onto his face. You couldn’t tell if that was something you’d imagined or not. “As long as you’re here, I’ll always be alright.”
His smile grew slightly, his face enlightened with an emotion you couldn’t quite place. His eyes trailed all over your face, as if committing it to his memory. His cold thumb grazed gently over your skin.
“Likewise, darling.”