Chapter Six: Rhonwen:
Darcy never realized just how much could change in just two weeks, how easy it could be to form routines and habits. It was so easy, to the point of being scary actually. In the two weeks since Clint's arrival, Darcy had found herself settling into a routine revolved around her friendship with both him and Loki.
She had found, to her surprise, that she enjoyed Clint's company. He was funny, crazy, and just plain fun to be around. He was quick witted, always ready to hand out some snarky remark that made her giggle. When he was not making an annoyance of himself in the lab, he was teaching Darcy how to shoot an arrow, or giving her basic combat training.
Of course things were not all sunshine and rainbows. Loki and Clint didn't along for obvious reasons, which made it hard on Darcy as she was friends with both of them. Ok, well she was friends with Clint and knew she was seriously crushing hard core on Loki; she wanted to kick herself in the ass for that one. What kind of idiot crushes on the god of mischief? Really?!
Darcy ran a hand over her face, trying to dislodge the thought of Loki as more than a friend from her brain. She had hoped that the tedious punching of computer keys she was doing for Jane would have been enough to distract her, instead it gave her ample time to dream up scenario after scenario involving her, Loki, and the lack of clothing. It was becoming rather annoying, and she fervently wished for something to distract her.
Said distraction came about not a few minutes later in the form of a loud commotion out by the front of the building. She sighed and stood, practically running for the door in order to make sure that Loki and Clint were not trying to kill each other….again. Sadly something that happened almost on a daily basis.
She had been expecting another standoff, Clint crouched and ready to pounce with a knife in his hand and Loki standing arrogantly by, goading the other man with insults. What she found instead just made her head hurt. Really, could her life get any weirder?
Darcy blinked as she looked past the three men poised for battle, and to the strange woman before them. It was obvious that she was anything but human. Oh, she was humanoid, two arms, two legs, and a single head with the normal number of eyes, nose and mouth. But she was otherworldly, with her unnaturally white skin and green eyes that seemed to glow. It didn't help that the woman had pointed ears, like fucking Lord of the Rings elves pointed ears. Or that she had markings covering her entire face.
At first Darcy had believed them to be some sort of makeup, but the closer she looked she realized they were natural, like the spots on a wild cat. Dark green lines ran down the sides of her nose, up and through her eyebrows, which curled up giving her an almost owlish appearance. Darcy envied the natural sheen of her skin, it was something she had only ever been able to achieve with shimmer powder.
She stood with authority, looking over the three men in front of her, her eyes soon settling on Thor.
"I am Rhonwen of Briarwood…" Before Rhonwen could say another word, Loki grabbed a hold of her arm and swung her around until he had her pinned against the building wall. Darcy watched nervously, waiting for all hell to break loose, but Rhonwen remained calm. She simply looked to Loki, her eyes staring unblinkingly into his.
"I have been sent by Odin and Frigga to protect you from my cousin, Liadain." Not once did Rhonwen's voice waver, something that Darcy knew hers would be if she had been in the woman's position.
"A Weaver? Why would you wish to help us?" Loki spit out his words as though they burned his tongue, and pressed his arm just a little bit tighter against the woman's neck.
"Not all Weavers are like Liadain, we are a peaceful race mostly. My cousin plans on using you to rule Midgard, this is something that my people can not allow." Rhonwen remained passive, never once moving to defend herself. She knew that it could have been a deception; still Darcy stepped forward to put a hand on Loki's arm, lowering it from the Weaver's neck.
"It's alright, Loki. Come on, let's get inside and talk." They might have been a ways from the town itself, but not so far away that people couldn't see. It would be best to take any kind of altercation inside and away from prying eyes.
"You trust too easily, Darcy. What if she is lying, what if it was a trick? We know too little of the Weavers, she could be sent by Liadain as another lure." Though he allowed Darcy to lower his arm, he kept his sights on Rhonwen. He wasn't used to second guessing things around him, of being the one worrying about another's loyalty.
"You still retain your powers over lies, so think Loki, does it sound like she was lying to you?" Darcy let out a sigh when Loki shook his head and stepped away. She knew he was still weary, the fact was she was herself, but at the moment Rhonwen was the only other lead besides the book they had.
"Thank you." Rhonwen nodded her head towards Darcy, though she continued to look into Loki's eyes.
"Ah, yeah, you're welcome. Um, why don't you come inside and you can fill us in on what your evil cousin is up to, yeah?" Darcy didn't wait for an answer, just turned on the spot and headed back inside the lab where she quickly filled up cups of coffee and glasses of water. By the time she was done everyone was seated at the kitchen table. Well as much as they could be. She handed the glasses out, and not finding an empty chair, seated herself on the floor between Loki and Clint.
"What information can you give us regarding your cousin?" Clint leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on Rhonwen. He had seen some strange things in his time with SHIELD, but not once had he thought he would be confronted with an elf.
Besides the face markings, Rhonwen was the picture of what he imagined elves would look like. She wasn't tall by any means, possibly a few inches shorter than him, and curved, not stick thin. She looked regal in her floor length green dress; it fluttered around her frame as though moved by a personal breeze.
The collar around her neck looked familiar to Clint, at least the pendant that hung from the silver and jade piece. A circle containing a figure of a tree, its roots spreading out below to cover the bottom of the pendant; the Tree of Life.
Rhonwen was silent for a moment, her gaze going from Clint to Thor and Jane, then to Darcy before settling on Loki.
"Among my people Liadain is known as the Devourer of Men. She is unseelie, unlike most of our race. She hadn't always been, but eventually darkness took over her. From then on she only wanted one thing, to rule all living things." Rhonwen's eyes seemed to bore into Loki's, like she was looking past him and right into his heart.
"I'm afraid to ask, but why is she called the Devourer of Men?" Darcy squirmed a bit from her place on the floor. Devourer of Men wasn't a title one would give to someone you would invite round for drinks on a Saturday night.
Loki looked down towards the woman at his feet, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Without thinking too much on it, he placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly leaned her against his legs.
"Liadain would take mortal lovers, when she grew tired of them she would kill them." Rhonwen leaned forward, her eyes slipping to Darcy before turning back to Loki.
"She has now set her sights on you. I promise you, she will stop at nothing to possess you, to have you as her own. Believe me, this is something you do not want." She set herself back in her chair, hands resting in her lap.
"Hey, I think death is probably worth it if it means wild sex with an elf. Not sure there could be a more pleasurable death. It beats the hell out of getting shot." Clint laughed; he always said he would prefer dying in bed. He had made the suggestion to Nat often enough, though she claimed she would kill him before he ever got the chance to even imagine himself in her bed.
Rhonwen's head whipped around, her eyes glaring into Clint's harshly, effectively shutting him up.
"There is never any pleasure for the men, only pain and death. She does not care for her lovers; at best she treats them as pets, at worst nothing more than instruments of her own pleasure. I have witnessed the death of one such mortal man myself. The day before she had him killed, she had tied him to a tree. He was unclothed, his body marred by scars and fresh cuts. It was obvious that he had not eaten in a long while. I don't doubt for a moment that she shall treat Loki the same." Rhonwen turned back to Loki, ignoring the looks of disgust from the others.
"You need to get any thoughts of accepting Liadain's offer out of your head. You will never be able to control her, she is far too powerful. It had taken all of us, all of us opposed to her to aid Odin in removing her from Midgard." Rhonwen watched calmly as Loki, in his anger, shot up from his chair, the mortal woman pushed to the side as he did so.
"Calm yourself, I did not look any further than what I had to, in order to find the information I needed. I had to know what your plans were, and I knew you wouldn't have willingly told me." She knew she took a risk by revealing her actions, but the situation was too dire to treat others with kid gloves.
"Loki, you weren't actually planning that, were you?" Darcy looked up towards Loki, her head now resting on Clint's legs. She knew he had been tempted, but surely he wasn't that stupid?
"It is none of your business what I am planning to do." Turning on the spot, Loki headed off towards the roof.
"Do not worry, Mortal Darcy, he has had thoughts yes, he is wavering back and forth, but ultimately I doubt he will." Rhonwen gave a small smile, the first one since she arrived, to Darcy. The girl's eyes looked wet, though Rhonwen knew the girl would never allow a tear to fall.
"So what, you're saying that Loki is redeemed now?" Clint looked like he wanted to laugh; a couple of weeks on Earth and Loki was somehow the good guy. Yeah right.
"No, but then again he probably won't ever fully be. He is chaos, and no one can really control chaos. If they think they do, it's nothing more than an illusion." Rhonwen sighed. It was sad how little Loki was truly understood. Not even his own father knew what he was, what he could be.
"I apologize, but I am growing weary. Where might I take my rest?" She suddenly felt the need to escape the mortals, unused to dealing with others besides her sister in the past thousand years.
"We could set you up a bed in the lab if you wish." Jane's voice was quiet as she spoke for the first time since the Weaver had shown up. She really wasn't sure what to make of any of it; Rhonwen, Loki, Liadain, whatever the hell that was going on between her friend and the god of mischief. It was all just a little too much for her.
"Thank you, but I wish to be outside. I have a need to be as close to the Earth as possible. It has been many, many years since I have been here, and my blood is calling out for it." She could feel it in her very bones, the desire to once again connect with her mother planet.
"Um, I wouldn't suggest out in the desert, we are a ways from the town, but people do still drive by. I guess you could sleep on the roof." Jane pointed towards the direction Loki had taken off to.
"That would be perfect, thank you." Rhonwen bowed to each in the room before heading out to the roof, and towards Loki.
Rhonwen stepped out onto the roof to find Loki sitting on the edge, his shoulders hunched and his face in his hands. The moment he heard her though, he stood, his shoulders straightening as he stretched to his fullest height.
"You can't hide from me, if I can so easily reach into your mind and see your thoughts, I can do anything." Rhonwen's laugh was breathy, like an echo on the wind.
"What are you?" Loki sneered as he looked back at her. He had read the book Darcy bought him, listened to what his mother had said, but he had never imagined a being powerful enough to peer into his mind without his knowledge.
"I am a Weaver, as I have said. One of the original races of Midgard, banished alongside of my brethren to the furthest corners of the nine realms." Rhonwen smiled slightly, moving to stand beside him. She could feel the powers radiating from him, even though they had been bound. She understood then why her cousin wanted him, why she would do everything in her power to have him. He was powerful, strong, enigmatic, and uncommonly handsome to the point of being beautiful.
"Ah, yes, Odin's banishment. This is something I do not understand. You say that on the whole, your people are a peaceful, harmless race. Why, when Odin refuses to interfere in the affairs of other races, would he banish an entire race from their home planet?" He knew Odin could be hypocritical, and suspected it in this case, but he still didn't understand the why of it.
"You know better than anyone that Odin does what he wants. He only uses that excuse when it suits him. Besides, we were the ones that asked for his help in the first place. Liadain was becoming too strong, her forces at the time too large.
"Our laws had been such that interfering with mortals was a crime, unless it had been necessary in order to protect their race. Liadain had gotten it into her head that she was above them, that she had a right to rule as their queen." Rhonwen remembered the battle before the banishment, the memory as fresh in her mind as though it had happened only a month ago. Many died on both sides before Odin had been able to place the banishment. The only comforting thought was the fact that Liadain had lost more followers then they had that day.
"Are you not above them? You have powers that they can only dream about?" Loki took a step away from the edge of the roof, his hand sweeping out around him.
"We are no better or worse than the mortals. We do not have the right to rule them just because they do not have the same powers as we do. Liadain refused to understand this. We contacted Odin when she began going too far, knowing that he had the power to banish her and protect Midgard." Granted, they had never imagined that his prejudice and fear of their race would lead to an ultimatum; the banishment of the entirety of the Weavers, or to be left to their own devices.
"Why didn't you just kill her?"
"We should have, but you could say that sentiment got in the way." Rhonwen gave a rather ironic smile to Loki. One that made his teeth clench.
"She is still our cousin, and we do love her. It was foolishness on our part, hoping that a bit of a time out would eventually allow her to see the error of her ways, but love can do that to a person. I don't see any other way now, but to destroy her, even if she doesn't get her hands on you, she will find some other way."
They are both silent for a moment, contemplating the complexities of sentiment, love and mercy. It wasn't long before Loki turned back towards Rhonwen, a strange expression on his face.
"Odin is afraid of you, why?" Loki was shocked when Rhonwen just laughed, having expected her to become angry.
"As he should be. My sister and I would never do anything to harm him or Asgard, but as Weavers we do have the power to. We are able to reach places that he could never hope to. Only a few in Asgard could match us, your mother being one of them, but she too has her limits." She smiled at him, not having to say that he too counted as a match to the Weavers. The mere fact that Liadain was after him was enough evidence.
"Dreams, you can enter dreams, control them, even read minds, but what else? What is it about you that scares them so?" Loki pressed on, taking the few steps closer to Rhonwen, expecting her to back away. Though, she remained in place.
"We don't just control dreams…in one's dreams anything is possible. Liadain has been careful with you; she is reaching out, trying to coax you to her side. If she wanted to, she could force things upon you. She could whisper orders to you that once you woke you would believe were your own. Through your dreams she could control you, and those connected to you.
"When we enter someone's dreams, someone's mind we enter a kind of world. When I went into your mind to ascertain your intentions I was also able to reach into the minds of all those connected to you in some manner. Odin, your mother, Thor, and Darcy. They are like threads in a tapestry, I can follow one and soon I can see the whole picture. I can also manipulate those threads, pulling at them, rethreading them in new patterns. In other words, I can unmake and remake you, and you would never know the difference.
"This is what Odin fears, if we had the inclination we could enter his mind and through him work our way through Asgard, rewriting, rethreading anything and everything to suit us." Never had any of their race tried such a thing, not even Liadain. Still, it didn't stop those such as Odin from fearing that one day they would.
"Then why does she need me? If she can do all of that, why is she after me?" Loki felt unease settle into the pit of his stomach. To think that Liadain could reach others through his mind simply because he knew them, it was a disquieting thought.
"Because we do have limits as well. She needs to be able to break the banishment Odin has placed on Midgard; she needs you to get to him. You also control other kinds of powers that we don't have. Powers that would come in handy if one was trying to rule all of the nine realms." The Weavers were powerful, yes, but not one had the ability to pass between realms, or as strong an influence over illusion as Loki did.
"And what, dear Weaver, would happen if I ignored you and went ahead and joined Liadain?" A part of Loki wanted to know, to know if he could over power Liadain and gain the throne he so desperately wanted.
"Then, Dearest Prince, you would end up nothing more than a slave. She would chain you to her side, use you up for her pleasure and leave you nothing but a husk for her to control. She will rethread your mind until you can no longer remember your own name, and everything you care about in this world will met a very ugly end. For my cousin does not share." Rhonwen reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, her fingers softly caressing the pale flesh.
"But we both know you won't give in. There is something here you want more than power, something that has the potential to become more important than all the thrones in the nine realms. And that something would end up torn apart if you did, her blood would be on your hands." She smiled at him and let her hand slip down to her side. Loki just stood there watching her as she turned to look out over the town. He shook himself and turned to look out as well.
"You have no idea what it is I want." Loki could feel his heart beat fiercely against his ribcage as Rhonwen laughed. If he had his powers she would have been not but ashes.
"You forget, I have seen inside of your mind, and your heart. I know what it is that you desire Prince. And I know that very soon you will do whatever it takes to protect it. And it will be necessary, once Liadain knows about her, she will go after her.
"I assure you she will not survive if she does. It does not bear thinking about what she will do to her. Remember that Prince, the next time you think about connecting yourself with my cousin."
Darcy watched Loki and their visitor from the doorway that led out onto the roof, her head resting against the doorframe. She couldn't hear what the two were saying, but she watched intently as they spoke. Darcy felt her stomach jump and fall to her feet as Rhonwen reached up and placed her hand lovingly against Loki's cheek. She really was an idiot. To think Loki would have ever even entertained the idea of her. Of course he would be attracted to the strangely beautiful woman, a woman that had more power in her pinky nail than Darcy ever would have; a woman that was not a mortal.
Deciding that her time was better spent elsewhere, Darcy turned around to walk back down to the lab. She hadn't taken but a few steps before she encountered Clint resting his back against the wall.
Darcy quickly wiped at her eyes hoping that none of her tears escaped. How long had he been standing there, watching her?
"I have to go and check on Loki and our visitor. Not sure I really trust that woman, and I really don't trust Loki." Clint had expected Darcy to snap at him, as she normally did when he expressed his hatred for Loki; instead she just nodded her head and pointed him toward the roof. Realizing that something wasn't right, he grabbed her arm, pulling her against his chest.
"Hey, are you ok? You look like someone just ran over your cat." Actually she looked like someone had ran over her, but Clint didn't think that was a wise choice of words.
"I'm fine, just feeling a bit sorry for myself, having all these amazing people around me is making me feel kind of inferior." Ok, so it wasn't so much Loki, Thor, or even Jane and Clint. It was Rhonwen, a woman that appeared perfect for the man she had the misfortune to crush on, but she really didn't want to hear Clint's thoughts on it.
"You are being silly, you know that? Having magical powers, being able to kick the fuck out of someone, or being a geek like Jane, those things don't make a person special; it is what is in a person's heart that does. And let me tell you, I've never met anyone more special than you, Darcy Lewis." Clint leaned down, pressing a kiss on her forehead. He hadn't been lying, he might not understand what she saw in Loki, but any person that could forgive and befriend someone like him had the best heart in the universe.
"Now, I'll see you later, yeah? I really need to talk to our new guest." Clint ran his thumb under her right eye, catching just the beginning of a tear, before releasing Darcy and watching as she descended down into the lab.
Once she had closed the bottom door, Clint turned to continue his way towards the roof, only to be confronted with Loki, who looked anything but happy.
Loki glared at Barton, his eyes flickering to where he had just seen Darcy leave. It took everything in him, to keep from pounding the Archer into the ground. Gritting his teeth Loki moved past Clint and further into the lab without a word.
Clint watched Loki go and shook his head, there was nothing he wanted to do more than shoot an arrow straight through him, but Fury had told him to play nice. Sometimes he really hated Fury.
When Clint reached the roof he found Rhonwen standing at the edge where he had caught both Loki and Darcy many times. Her hair and dress seemed to dance in the wind, twisting around her to some silent song. She turned around and gave him a smile before he was very far out of the door way, and he silently cursed. He sort of understood what Darcy was feeling; he was used to being able to sneak around without anyone hearing him. Apparently elves had very good hearing.
"And what may I help you with Assassin?" Rhonwen smiled as Clint shrugged his shoulders and came to stand beside her. The mortals had changed much throughout the years, and yet they remained the same. Warriors, rulers, bloodshed, power plays, she wasn't sure mortals would ever grow out of such things.
"Couldn't you just read my mind to find out?" He needed to know just how much of a danger she posed, what she was capable of. He wasn't yet sure that she hadn't been sent by Liadain and not Odin.
"I could, but I won't. I only did so with Loki because I needed to understand him in a way he would not have allowed me otherwise."
"And do you?" Clint watched as the Weaver gave a sad little smile.
"Yes, more than he knows himself actually." More than anyone really knew him, Rhonwen thought. In time there would be one other, but she doubted there would be anyone else after that.
"I'm not sure what to make of you being able to do that. Read minds and all, what is to stop you from reading any of the rest of ours?" It was a scary thought, to know that your thoughts were not your own, that the one place you could always count on to be completely private could be read like a book.
"Nothing, oh don't look so shocked. I don't plan on lying to you. Had I wanted to I could have read all of your minds. You would have never known, but I won't. Not unless it becomes necessary." Rhonwen allowed a small laugh at Clint's shocked face, she was sure he wasn't use to being told the truth.
"You do realize that my job is to neutralize any threat to our world?" As though to make his point, Clint placed his hand on the gun strapped to his hip, not that he thought it would actually do him any good against the woman.
"Yes, I know, but to kill me would be a great mistake. I mean no harm to your world or any other; I only mean to fix a mistake from long ago." Rhonwen's eyes took on a faraway look as she gazed back out across the town.
"And what mistake is that?"
"Not killing Liadain when I had the chance. She is a danger to all realms, and I should not have let my love for her get in the way." She turned back to Clint, her whole body facing him.
"What is to say that you would not allow your feelings towards her get in your way again?" He understood the problems that emotions caused. Only once had his capitulating to his emotions turned out to be the correct choice, all others had caused deaths and the ruin of lives.
"Because I have seen what she plans to do, through Loki's mind, the phantoms of the dreams she has sent him. I will not allow her to do that. I was born here on Earth, I was sister to your race once, and I will not see them destroyed because I did not have the courage to stop a monster." Rhonwen placed a hand on Clint's chest, his heart beating steadily against her palm.
"I promise you that I mean you no harm." She slid her hand down from his chest and rested it over his hand that was still curled around his gun.
"What about Loki? Will he?" Clint allowed Rhonwen to pry his fingers away from his weapon, his hand tingling from where she had touched him.
"No, I don't believe he will." Rhonwen looked towards the door that led back down inside the lab.
"Not now."
Author's Note: Ok, don't ask me why, but I love to create drama with a bit of a love triangle between Loki/Darcy/Clint, even when there really is no love triangle. Ya know, even though I created Rhonwen many years ago, she is a pain in the ass to write.
Just to help out a bit on what Rhonwen looks like, the markings on her face are supposed to look like the ones on Bowie in the 86 film, Labyrinth where he played the Goblin King. Though Rhonwen's are all in various shades of green.
Also the necklace that she wears is real and can be seen on my Tumblr, username Gypsy Rhia.
Now, before I get anyone saying that I'm going to turn this into a "Oh poor Loki, he is just a misunderstood baby." Know this, I'm not saying that he is misunderstood and just needs some loving and he will become good. Like Rhonwen said, he is chaos and she really didn't ever think he would ever be fully redeemed. My take on Loki here is based off of a conversation I have had with my father many times about the role of villains such as Loki and the Joker in their universes. You'll see more what I mean later on from both Rhonwen and Darcy. In this story Loki is neither good nor evil, yet he is both.
Next chapter: More Loki/Rhonwen interaction, Clint sticks his foot in it, a Thor/Darcy heart to heart, a Loki/Darcy confrontation, and Clint realizes he is a pathetic puppy.
Ok, this is the last chapter I will be posting until next weekend. Maybe by then I will also have the other six chapters finished and another story in the works.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
