As Loki was led into his cell- the one that would be his room until his sentencing- he couldn't help but smirk at the satisfaction of a plan brought to fruition. He had escaped Thanos, lost him the Mind Stone, delayed his plans for at least half a decade and annoyed the crap out of the Titan. And to do that while under the influence of not just one, but two Infinity Gems? It was truly no paltry feat... not that anyone would ever know.

But whatever, it wasn't like he cared. One way or another Thanos would never be able to touch him again. Loki would either be in this cell, same time overmorrow, destined to remain there for the rest of his near-immortal life... or he'd be dead, both options that would be preferable to falling back into the hands of the Mad Titan after his 'failure'. But he wouldn't have to worry about that.

Loki stretched gracefully when the vexing manacles and muzzle- muzzle!- were taken off, relishing in the subsequent series of pops from his spine. Loki leaned back on his cot, observing the room around his cell. He was somewhat flattered by the fact that they had seven guards on duty and two vaulted doors, as well as the magical barrier around his cell. He was not flattered, however, at how lax the guards were. Three were engaging in small talk, two were playing cards, one was lost in thought, and the last...was asleep. Loki grimaced. Fine! If they didn't think he needed to be feared, he'd make them regret it.

"By the Norns!" he declared, keeping up the appearance that all was not quite so right in his head, as he had heard the mortals say. "This is practically a luxury suite!" Loki batted his eyelashes at the nearest guard, biting the inside of his cheek to contain his giggles when the guard shifted uncomfortably. Honestly, most Aesir wouldn't last a day on the worlds outside Yggdrasil. he knew he almost didn't-

He- slowly, curiously- reached out with a tendril of seidr and touched the barrier. He instantly recoiled, hissing in pain. He tried again, and this time, braced for it, while also shaping some into a grid. He scanned for a weak spot, and pressed again on the spot. It hurt, but not as badly. And really, it was nothing compared to what he'd endured at the hands of Thanos. Gently, he continued repeating the pressure, and slowly but surely- aha!

Loki smirked as a small hole was poked through the barrier, just enough to pass a message. But then, Loki hesitated. He wanted to talk to his mother, he truly did, but what would he say? "Hey, Amma, guess what? I'm alive, and I tried to kill Thor, but don't worry, it was only three times! And I also tried to invade Ter-Midgard! But it's all ok, because I loved you enough to send this message!"? 

Loki sighed, casting a glamour just next to the barrier. He made sure it was stable, then collapsed onto his bed, pulling the rough covers over him.

He let out a shaky sign, tears pricking at his eyes. He hadn't had any time to rest, he was so tired, he was hungry, mostly because Thanos didn't deem him necessary to feed, and he hadn't time to eat on Terra. He was just...overwhelmed. His nerves were rubbed raw and he just wanted a moment to breath. He wanted to see Sigyn, his children, but they were lost to him.

Sigyn, wonderful Sigyn, had probably been moved from her imprisonment on Alfheim to Loki's province, but he wasn't allowed to visit either now, Fenrir was still shackled, a sword through his muzzle, Hel, his beautiful darling daughter, was trapped in Helheim, Jormungandr was hidden somewhere on Terra, Sleipnir was still chained by his grandfather's enchanted bridle, Vali still hunted for Fenrir, and Nari, oh, his precious Nari was safe with his big sister.

But there was a 50/50 chance he'd be meeting Hel and Nari tomorrow. And that alone was enough to make him smile. Loki glanced at his bed and sighed. He'd better get some rest.

--

Loki woke to an alarm, one he had set for 5 AM. Allowing himself to be bleary, he slowly stretched, sitting up. He stood, running a hand across the back wall of his cell. Near the end of the wall, his hand dipped through the wall and he smirked. He stepped through into a well lit bathroom with a large bath on one wall and a vanity on the other. He brushed quickly, then stripped and turned on the faucet for warm water.

He sank into the bath, allowing his muscles to relax. He lay languorously, eyelids fluttering shut in absolute bliss. It had been so long since he had gotten a proper bath. The most he'd had for the last two years was a two minute washdown with cold water, rye-bleach soap, and a rough rag. This? This was luxury.

Loki didn't know how he didn't appreciate this more when he had it, because Norns Almighty, there was nothing in the world that he wished for more than being able to go back in time and be with his family, even for a day. To not have to worry about the threat of Thanos, to be able to talk and warn them before this stupid geas was put in place, to be able to walk freely umong Asgard and her citizens, oh, what he would give.

But he did not have that choice, nor did he have that ability. So the point was moot. Loki rose, cascades of steam billowing off the water. He dried himself off with a fluffy towel, his mind alert and whirring. He dressed in his ceremonial armour, one that had no actual protectorial value.

Loki felt the absence of his daggers keenly as he walked out into his cell.

Senses outstretched, Loki sank onto the floor in padmasana, hands resting on his knees. He closed his eyes, channeling his consciousness inwards and focusing on his soul. His identity, to be precise. His astral form started picking up the tattered remains of his identity and painstakingly answering the riddles and collecting artifacts from different portions of his mind to re-weave it. The fabric of his identity was only a pile of tattered strings and ripped fabric, a stark contrast to the fifteen-sixteenths-complete it had once been. His whole identity had been shattered when he found out he was a Jotunn, and then Thanos came and arranged it to his liking. He had not been able to fix himself from what Thanos had woven, so, while he was lying in a hole after the Hulk smashed him, he tore it apart completely.

Loki didn't know who he was. And he was trying to find out.

Loki was startled from his meditation by a pointed, slightly embarrassed cough. Loki opened his eyes disdainfully, his expression changing when he saw the crest of two entwined serpents on the clasp of the guard's cloak. "You're one of my followers. A seidmann?"

The guard glanced around, and when he noticed no one was paying attention to him, he nodded. "You have a geas on you, my prince."

Loki smiled. "Susceptive to seidr, are you?"

"Yes, your highness."

Loki sighed. "Yes. Three. Two placed on me and one placed by myself. I'm afraid I cannot tell you more than that."

The guard nodded. "I expected as much, your highness." Loki grimaced.

"Please, no formalities. I am just Loki."

The guard nodded again, this time a slight frown furrowing his features. "My prince- er, Loki, forgive my boldness, but something in your aura is...off."

Loki inclined his head in agreement, phantom plain flitting across his face. "My identity has been shattered. It was then rebuilt by the same being who placed the geas on me, but the way he wanted. I've had to rip it apart, and I've only just started rebuilding."

The guard was pale with horror and anger as he finished speaking. "And King Odin has not sensed this? There is rumour that you are to be executed!"

Loki snorted. "I hope so. Even lifetime imprisonment would be better than returning to the hands of-" Here, the name Loki spoke- the name we know is Thanos- turned to gibberish, a sickly purple glow over his mouth. Loki looked mildly annoyed, and the guard grimaced in sympathy. "What is your name, Serpent?"

"Einar, Prince Loki." Suddenly, hope bloomed on Einar's face. "When did your identity break, my pri-, I mean, Loki?" Einar asked.

"Just before I was granted the regency."

Einar's piercing eyes met Loki's. "So you did not want to attack Jotunheim."

Loki choked. "Norns, no! Do they really think that? I would never! One of my coven is a Jotunn!"

The guard sighed in relief. "I must tell the others; they would want to know this. How much can I tell, my prince?"

Loki considered that for a moment, before speaking. "All of it. But please do not share it with Sigyn, and tell the others as much. That is a conversation that must happen in person, and please tell her that."

"Of course, my prince. The other Serpents will be so relieved!"

Loki smiled. "I'm sure."

Another guard walked up, and Loki's smile fell when he noticed the chains he held in his arms. Judging from the runes on them, they would not be fun to wear. Einar and the guard exchanged a few words in the prison-tongue, one that Einar probably knew Loki had learned, and used for Loki's benefit.

The other guard opened his cage, and Loki stepped forwards, grimacing. Einar intervened, taking the chains from the guard even as he blanched from its magic suppressors. Einar gave Loki an apologetic look, before locking the cuffs around his neck and wrists.

Loki made no outward sign of his discomfort except for a slightly choked exhale. He felt blind with his seidr bound like this. His seidr rumbled in discontent at its diminished capacity to protect him, and Loki rushed to soothe it. The last time that happened, he had attacked Jotunheim. Another set of cuffs went around his ankles, and he snorted. Overkill, he thought privately.

Einar took the lead chain, and Loki appreciated his foresight. He much preferred being led by one of his Serpents than a nameless guard, one that probably followed Thor. Loki tested his reserves, a slight frown marring his features. A good one-fourth of his reserves were still usable. Did Odin know, or was it an accident?

Loki glanced up from his reverie to see the gilded door to the throne room. Loki took a deep breath, mask firmly in place, then allowed the guards to open the gates. Loki glided into the throne room, the picture of control and grace.

"Hello, mother, have I made you proud?" Loki asked his mother in their code. I'm sorry, are you okay?

"Please don't make this worse," said Frigga. Loki frowned, playing along when he noticed the tell-tale shimmer of Odin's red magic on Frigga's body— an illusion, and not a very good one at that.

"Define 'worse'," He deadpanned.

"Enough! I want to speak to the prisoner alone!" Odin demanded. Loki snorted. 'The prisoner', now, is it?

Loki continued walking, chuckling when he reached the dais.

"I really don't see what all the fuss is about," Loki drawled.

"Do you truly not feel the gravity of your crimes? Wherever you go, there is war, ruin, and death."

Loki shrugged as best he could with the chains clasped around him. "I went down to Te-Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent god, just like you." Loki was somewhat hurt by the fact that nobody seemed to realise what he had done, what he was saying, was not at all in character.

"We are not gods. We are born, we live, we die, just as humans do!"

"Give or take five thousand years." Loki smiled, knowing he had the upper hand in more than one way.

"All this, because Loki desires a throne." Ah, resorting to insults, are we, Odin?

"It is my birthright!" Loki 'snarled', maintaining his ruse.

"Your birthright was to die!" Loki's breath caught, but he remained impassive, only letting his hurt paint itself on the inside. "As a child, cast out onto a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me."

Loki stilled, mind racing for a way to continue to stoke Odin's anger. He allowed the pause to lengthen, before speaking. "If I am for the axe, then for mercy's sake, just swing it. It's not that I don't love our little talks, it's just, I don't love them."

"Frigga is the only reason you are still alive, and you will never see her again. There is something you are not telling me, and until such time as you do, you will remain on Midgard, in the custody of Thor's shield brothers, your magic bound, with the very cuffs you are wearing."

Loki blanched. He couldn't go with the mortals, they hadn't the power, nor the wards to keep either his mind or his body from falling into Thanos' hands. Loki laughed, and if there was a slightly terrified tinge to it, well, no one had to know. "Do you really think those puny mortals could hold me? Loki, the God of Chaos, Mischief and Fire? Honestly, you must gave gotten more senile in your old age than befits a King of Asgard."

Odin, however, remained impassive. "That may be so, Loki, but that is your sentence." Odin nodded at the guards to take him away, but Loki resisted.

"And what of Thor? You would make that witless oaf king while I rot in chains?"

"Thor must strive to undo the damage you have done, bring order to the Nine Realms, and then yes, he will be King."

--

Unknown to Loki, as he slept that night, more enchantments were layered onto the cuff around his wrists. The head of the guard's face twisted in depraved satisfaction as his prince was rendered virtually defenceless. 

If looks could kill, the cowardly seidmadr he had bullied into helping him would have burned him alive with the intensity of the heat in his eyes.

"I will not help you when you need me most, brother," the seidmadr swore to the guard, whose eyebrow had raised in contempt. "You will beg for my help when your crops wither, your courage falters, and your vault empties. I will come to your aid. But when your sword fails you, I will walk away in disgust!"