Chapter Four

We spent three long days in my room, reading and talking quietly, but we were worried. When would my father let us out? Loki was losing his mind. He hated being coped up, but he didn't say anything. He constantly kept his composure, for me mostly.

Ava brought our meals into the room silently and as always I leapt up when she entered the room; and of course, as always, the door would not open for me.

"It's not going to work, My Lady. The Allfather has had a Master of Magic seal the room to you and your- Loki." She stopped when she almost said brother.

"A Master of Magic? Who is more of a master than Loki?" I asked her, prying for information. She, as she had done for three days, ignored my inquires. "Please, Ava. We can't stay in here any longer."

"The Allfather wishes for you and your husband to stay in this room until he deems it necessary for you to leave." She curtsied, and left the room without another word.

I groaned and laid down on the bed beside Loki who looked up from the large leather bound book he had been reading for the last few hours.

"Who is more of a master than you?" I asked him and he shrugged and sighed.

"Not trying to sound overly confident, but I don't think there is one." He threw the book on the floor and closed his eyes."I only know of a few that have, even close to my abilities, but none that have exceeded them."

"What are you doing?" I asked him, knowing he was up to something.

"Thinking," he simply stated without opening his eyes.

I stared at him and sighed, then I shielded the room from any person who might want to listen or look in.

Loki made a face and then smiled, "You've shielded the room. I am so proud." His eyes were still closed and I was growing annoyed.

"I learned from the best. Now, tell me what you are thinking about," I demanded from him.

"Where did my meek little sister go?" He finally opened his eyes and smiled at me.

"She died a week ago. I am now your assertive wife," I snapped and wanted to take it back the moment it left my mouth.

He looked startled for a moment at actually hearing the words out loud but he pushed it away. I think we were way past getting upset over mere words describing our situation.

"We've got to get out of Asgard," he whispered as he pushed his own shield over the room.

"What?" I gasped and sat up closer to him, "That's suicide, Loki, and you know it."

He shook his head and sat up. "No. No, it's not. We can leave the realm. We can hide. And if anyone knows how to hide, it's me. I can shield us, and provide for us." He grabbed my hand and leaned forward.

"Where would we go, Loki? Jotunheim?" I said the place as if it was impossible and he shook his head.

"They would never have us there. I've been to Earth, Ella. It can be a new home for us. Odin would never go there. It's much too large for him to find us, especially if we shield ourselves. That's where Thor was banished to. He could help us Ella." he spoke like this was our one and only option, and as he spoke, it made more and more sense to me. Loki grabbed my hand. "He is going to own us here," he continued. "You will have two children; one for Asgard and one for Jotunheim, even if he forces you to. I cannot let that happen. I will die protecting you, even from myself." He stopped talking and I shook my head.

"I'm scared, Loki," I breathed. "He will kill us if he finds us or even finds that we are talking of escape."

He put his hand on the side of my face and wiped away my tears, something that he was being forced to do too often these days. "He won't. I will protect us. As I've told you, you've nothing to be frightened of."

Another two days were spent in my room, and again, three times a day, Ava came in, spoke to us as little as possible, gave us our meals and left. This time however, Loki had a plan, a plan that I was not happy with, but if it kept Loki and I safe, then I would do it and then take a scalding bath afterwards.

"She's coming," Loki whispered, and I pulled away from him a little. But he held fast to my arm.

"I don't think I can do this," I whispered and he shook his head vigorously. He pulled me closer to his face and whispered, "Ella, you can do anything." He looked into my eyes, and more importantly my pride had been so wounded in the last couple of weeks that I didn't even know if it existed anymore.

"Fine," I whispered before I could change my mind.

We were sitting on the bed, him with a white shirt and blue pants and me still in my nightgown. Right before I heard the door open, Loki kissed me, and kept kissing me. I put my hand on the side of his face, and acted like I was totally into it, instead of screaming on the inside. But as it continued a felt myself ease into it, and relax. I began to enjoy it, and it scared me much more than my father ever could. He seemed to feel it as well, and he continued kissing me until Ava froze at the front door, and then calmly closed the door.

"Oh!" I cried pulling away from him. "Ava," I called, and got up and walked quickly to her side.

"I cannot tell you who sealed you in this room," she said. "But it seems you aren't as miserable as you were yesterday." She smiled a bit and I shook my head.

"Hush, Ava." I demanded and her smile was forced down.

"Ella, you are learning to love him. It will make things much easier for you," she whispered, smiled and left after she turned around and slyly smiled at me again. As soon as I heard her footsteps disappear down the hallway I jumped with excitement.

"I think she believed it," I whispered and ran and jumped on the bed. He smiled and opened his arms for an embrace. I ignored the fact that we had just kissed rather deeply, and that I had conflicted feelings about it.

Loki had concluded that Ava must be my father's spy. He would not allow us away from each other before we conceded to do his bidding. We had to, Loki thought, display such actions of two people who were in love, in order for my father to decide to let us out of my room. Loki believed that Ava would now report his findings to either my father or my mother, and if we kept it up, maybe my father would let us out just long enough for us to find a secret bridge to Earth, and our freedom.

I was half asleep when the door opened later that night, and Ava came in with our dinner.

"My Lord," she said to Loki who was reclined on the bed with me cuddled up next to him, reading a book. I was too emotionally and mentally tired to move, so I let her think that I was asleep.

"Ava," he said politely as always, looking at her as she carried the tray of food farther into the room.

"Should I wake her for dinner? She must keep her strength. Sickness will not make the Allfather happy," Ava asked after I heard the metal tray being placed on the table next to the bed.

"No, she's not been sleeping well. I think it's best if we let her sleep awhile longer. I will make sure she eats when she wakes," Loki said with reassurance.

"It will get cold, my Lord." she implored.

I felt his arms move, and I heard the deep thud of the heavy book being set on the bedside table.

"Ava, surely a Master of Magic can figure out a way to heat up some food," Loki chuckled. He had a way to make you believe anything he said. I believe, had he not been such a polite, gentle creature, he would make quite the villainous liar.

There was a silence, and I felt the air soften.

"May I ask you a question, Ava?" Loki asked quietly. I knew that she had nodded because he continued with his question. "Did the servants- did they know about me?"

I knew now what his quiet looks and bits of silence were. He was trying to figure something that even he was having trouble figuring out.

"My mother is your mother's chambermaid, my Lord. She witnessed you being brought to the queen after the battle. She was sworn to secrecy, but she told me. She was to watch the new prince, and the fair princess, for signs of friendship. We all saw though, that you two became...the best of friends." There was hesitancy in her voice.

"You were never afraid? I am a monster, but you have never seemed frightened of me," he said gently. His hands were absentmindedly and softly playing with my hair.

"Never. I've heard the stories of the Frost Giants, but you never seemed like the stories my father had told me of them. I was sworn to look after the Princess. I would never have allowed you to be around her alone, had I been afraid you would hurt her." She said this with the utmost of confidence.

"If I may be so bold, my Lord, may I ask you a question now?" There was a pause and she continued. "You love her. Don't you?" She said it as if she already knew of its truth.

"More than I've ever loved anything," he said with conviction. The statement did not help my already conflicted mind concerning him.

There was another telling silence.

"You will never let anything happen to her, yes?" she asked. The moment it came from her mouth I realized that she knew everything we had done was a lie.

Loki knew too. "Upon my life, Ava, I will never let anything happen to her."

"Very well," she said, and moments later I heard the door shut gently. I was still much too tired to move, but my mind was reeling. Ava knew, and I was unsure if she would tell my father of our deception, but I didn't think she would. I didn't know however if she would help us deceive the Allfather.

The next morning I woke up to an invitation to breakfast with my father, and only my father.

"I'm not going, Loki," I said as I shrugged away his attempt to persuade me. He ignored my shrugs and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Ella, you must go. If our lie is to be believed, you must not act angry with him," he implored. His eye's seemed to bore into mine while he pleaded.

"We don't know if he was even told the lie. Ava might have kept it to herself, because she, herself, didn't believe it," I said to dissuade him, but he kept a hold on my shoulders. He looked down at the floor for a moment and sighed.

"Ella, please, just trust me. Go and lie to him. He will believe it, and we will be free. I would not let you go if I thought there was any chance that he would hurt you, or take you away from me." He patted my cheek and I sighed, unable to deny his logic.

There was no more protest, and an hour later I found myself walking quickly down the hall with a guard. As I passed other guards I felt their eyes dart to me and then away with what I could only imagine were looks of pure guilt. The servants stopped when they saw me, but with one harsh look from the guard who was escorting me, they scattered.

I entered the eating hall, and saw my father sitting at the large table alone, except for the huge plates of food that adorned the table. He stood up when I entered, with a jubilant smile on his face. "My dear Princess!" he roared, and advanced on me quickly. After he enveloped me in a hug and waved the guard off, he pulled my chair out for me.

"How are you, daughter?" he asked after he sat down, and took a sip of juice.

"I'm fine, father," I said as I mustered all my power to smile. What I really wanted to do was scream at him: "How do you think I am doing?" but I held my tongue, knowing what Loki would say to me.

He smiled back and put his hand on top of my hand that was on the table top. I wanted so desperately to pull my hand back, but again I forced a smile.

"And how is Loki?" he asked, surprising me by asking about him. Why did he care?

"Bored." I said choosing to be truthful.

"How can he be bored?" My father asked it with a small smile. He took a huge bite of his breakfast and I tried not to be completely disgusted by both his words and his eating habits.

"There is only so much time you can spend in one room father. Loki has always had an active mind, and the closeness of quarters is only frustrating him." I said as I took a small bite of my breakfast, and wondered if this was what Loki was eating.

"We can probably arrange something; maybe a walk." He took another huge bite. "Your mother misses you."

"And I her." I answered knowing this was the only acceptable answer. I took a drink of juice and pushed down the nausea that was suddenly present.

"Ava says that you two have learned to make the best of your situation." He was making my efforts to quell my nausea that much more futile with his words.

"Yes, father." I lied. This was the purpose of the breakfast, to make him believe that my heart had changed towards Loki, and it had, I was afraid, but not so much right now that I would proudly tell a stranger that he was my husband. It would come, maybe, but right now I was still trying to forget our childhood together.

The breakfast went on much the same way. He seemed triumphant, and he was trustful of Loki and my lie.

He agreed to let us take a walk later tonight, and I was dismissed to my room, to which I practically ran too.

As soon as the guard let me into the room Loki advanced quickly.

"What did he say?" he asked. He took me into a quick hug and then pushed me back to look at me as I spoke.

I pushed a shield around the room, and upon feeling it, Loki pushed his shield around too. I don't think he fully trusted mine, but wouldn't say as much in fear my feelings would be hurt.

"He is letting us take a walk tonight," I said with a huge smile. He smiled just as wide and hugged me tightly.

"I told you that you could do it. We've got to do it tonight, Ella. Escape." He pulled away and started pacing the floor.

He was making me dizzy, and I was emotionally exhausted from the breakfast, so I retreated to my bed and shut my eyes. This plan was moving so quickly, but I knew that soon we would be free.