The Second Visit
"Why did you send that woman here?" asked Loki, without hiding his discomfort. "Is she a replacement? You won't visit me anymore?"
"Oh, Loki, son. Of course not. I will always find a way to come to you. Not in person, as you know… but here I am." – said Frigga, coming closer to Loki. He didn't face her. His eyes were fixed in the white wall across his cell.
"So what?"
"You spend too much time by yourself. I can't always come here… your father doesn't know I come here in secret which means I can't be by your side all the time. So I thought it would be a good idea to get someone to keep you company."
"I don't need company" – he stated resentful.
"Everybody needs company, my son." – She walked towards him. She wanted to put her hands on his shoulder but she couldn't. If she did, she would slowly vanish.
"But doesn't she count as a visitor, Mother? I thought Fa—Odin had made it very clear that…"
"Don't worry." Frigga interrupted him. "You see, she's not a proper visitor. I asked your father that, since I couldn't come here to check on you, I wanted someone I could trust to do it for me. I wanted to be sure that you would be alright."
"Did the King agreed on that?" – Loki asked.
"A King can't always deny what his queen asks." – She smiled. "I told your Father that she was only coming here to bring your meals, books and even my correspondences to you. She's not allowed to stay longer. She will only stay here until you finish your meals or your letters to me."
Loki sighed.
"Please, promise you won't mistreat her. Do it for me."
" Are you asking me to become friends with your servant?"
"No. I'm only asking you to treat her nice. She's a good woman, I'm sure you'll get along well… if you try".
Loki laughed in disbelief. "Honestly, Mother, I don't think anything good will result of this."
"My son, I shall go now. I'll come back tomorrow. I promise. And please, think of what I've asked you".
"Mother! Before you go, answer me… why her?"
"Son… if you give her a chance you may find that you two share a lot in common." – She smiled gently and then vanished in the thin air.
Loki was lying on his bed again, eyes closed, when he sensed her mother's servant presence.
"Oh, here you are". He said without even opening his eyes or moving.
"Good morning, milord" – she said respectful. "I brought your breakfast."
"I'm not hungry. Go away."
"I-I'm sorry, milord. But I don't have permission to go back if you don't finish your breakfast."
"So you will rotten over there waiting, just as me." – he said, sarcastically. He wasn't hungry and he also didn't want to talk to that woman. "What a stupid idea, Mother!" – he thought. He stayed in his bed and gave no attention to the girl. It took no more than two minutes for Loki to fall asleep.
Loki woke up for the second time that morning. He opened his eyes and kept staring at the ceiling for a moment. Suddenly something caught his attention. "No way. Is it possible that…?" – He looked at the glass wall where the servant was standing before. And there she was.
He stood up and went towards the glass wall. She was sitting on the floor, her back leaned on the glass window. She was reading a book. Loki observed that the tray with his breakfast was on her lap, untouched.
"Didn't I tell you to go away?" – He asked in a severe tone.
The woman was so distracted by her reading that she didn't hear Loki approaching. So, when she heard his voice behind her, she moved in surprise and almost dropped the tray.
"E-excuse-me, milord."
"Why are you still here?"
"I've told you, milord, I'm not allowed to go back until you finish your meals." – She lowered her eyes to the floor, as if excusing herself for being an inconvenient.
Loki shook his head and let it out a sigh. "My breakfast" – he said.
"Oh. I'll call the guards, milord." – said the woman. Another couple of minutes passed by until Loki could grab his tray. He put it on the table and started eating. Once in a while he would give a discrete look at the servant. She was, again, immersed in her book, waiting for Loki to finish his breakfast.
"What are you reading, servant?" he asked, standing up.
"The Chronicles of a Merciless Son" – she answered with a smile – "It's about a man who wants to take revenge on his father, whom let him behind to die and…" – she suddenly stopped talking. Saying the plot out loud made her, somehow, think of Loki and his complicated relationship with the All-Father. She didn't face Loki.
"…And? It seems a good story." – Loki said. Of course he had also related himself to the plot. He saw the woman was feeling uncomfortable, probably feeling guilty to bring a delicate subject up. "Does he get his revenge?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"Yes" – she was still avoiding looking at him.
"So there was a happy ending" – he said with a cynical smile.
"Not really. He got his revenge in the middle of the book which means that the story hasn't come to an end yet. A lot of things can still happen. Just like in real life, I doubt that a story of revenge will ever have a happy ending. Milord" – She added quickly.
Loki was staring at her. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking by now.
"And what do you know about revenge, servant?" - He finally asked, with a cold look.
"Not much, milord, since I was unable to get mine" – she answered with a sad tone.
Loki was taken aback by her reply. He raised an eyebrow. "Your revenge?" – He laughed. - "And who deserves your revenge, if you don't mind me asking? – Loki was having fun. "Imagine that, a servant seeking for revenge", he thought.
She finally looked at him, with a serious face. "My father".
Loki faced her with a genuine expression of surprise. He immediately remembered his mother's words "you may find that you two share a lot in common."
"That's getting really interesting". He pulled out a chair and sat down. "Tell me your story, servant".
