She left.
He had never watched her leave. He never really paid her that much attention. He was usually asleep when she came or went, and he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of watching her.
Why would it be satisfying?
You saw the way she blushed. She'd be very satisfied indeed.
This time he watched, though. She didn't deactivate one of the fields and step out, or use some hidden panel (though Loki thought if there was a hidden panel, surely he would have noticed it at this point). No, she left through quite a different means.
She just…vanished.
Just like that, she was gone. He didn't think she'd ever been there in the first place.
Loki threw himself back on his bed, his head swimming a bit too much for things to make sense. He wasn't sure what was happening or what had just happened. Was he truly so lonely that he was starting to find a mere servant to be fascinating?
No, no, of course not.
It was…fun. To taunt her, to watch her turn red and leave. It was fun, wasn't it? Was it fun? Certainly, it must be fun to humiliate someone that was starting to hold so much power over him. And she did hold power over him, didn't she? She had sat by when he had been screaming in the night, she heard him calling out the names of his tormentors, or…worse, calling out for names to help him.
And who would he call for? Thor, more than likely. But he had no time to think about Thor. No, rather he would not think about Thor.
Thinking about Thor is totally unnecessary.
Not to mention it would cause even more confusion for him. Did he miss him? Did he hate him?
Thoughts for another day.
And what of Frigga? Where had she gone? Loki suspected more and more that Odin was beginning to grow suspicious. Come to think of it, he had noticed a guard or two patrolling the hallway while he sat and read in silence. Had they come to spy on him?
Then why would Frigga risk sending her pesky servant to clean up after his messes?
Unless that servant wanted to be there. Would Frigga stop her from coming? Was she just coming on her own now? And why? He was increasingly suspicious of that girl's motives and whether or not she was telling Frigga the whole truth.
And…speaking of that girl, vanishing like that…was she a witch?
A thought nagged at the edge of Loki's mind.
It made sense.
Has Frigga been teaching this girl magic? Is caring for me the price she must pay for it?
Cleaning up after Loki was admittedly a very demanding job. But it was also a very dangerous job. Odin would likely not hesitate to exile or even kill someone for helping him.
After all, my birthright is to die, isn't it?
Isn't it?
Gods, he didn't care anymore. He didn't want to care. He wanted to leave, to die, whatever got him out of this prison.
Perhaps he could make a bargain.
"Hello, Darling," Loki purred the next time the servant showed up. He hadn't bothered counting the days. He thought it had been days. He wasn't sure. He hadn't slept in a while.
She only smiled curtly.
Oh, dear, have my actions condemned me to the cold shoulder? Just when she was starting to open up to me, too, he thought, though with a twinge of sarcasm.
"Would you like me to read to you today?"
She looked up from yet another piece of broken furniture.
"No thank you, My Prince."
She speaks!
Loki noticed with barely concealed arrogance that the phrase My Prince sent a blush across her temples. Gods, he didn't think he could resist teasing her.
"You can call me 'My King' if it makes you feel more comfortable."
She didn't bother replying, though Loki was not surprised.
"I do hope you can forgive me for my behavior the last time we met." He walked over towards her. "I simply couldn't help myself."
She still refused to reply.
This won't work unless you start talking back, woman.
"Is that a no?"
He bent to his knees in front of her and pushed her chin up with one finger. This time she met his eyes without flinching.
Oh, so we're being brave again, are we?
Loki started breathing heavily when she wouldn't reply. He stood abruptly and paced to the corner of his cell.
Gods, why can't this woman ever cooperate with anything I do? I thought she couldn't resist taunting me? What could she possibly want? I need her to speak. I need her to cooperate.
Loki felt a faint surge of panic rising in his throat.
"Speak, damn it!"
She flinched, and Loki froze, surprised at himself.
She twisted her lips.
"What would my…What would you have me to say?"
Loki no longer found satisfaction in her embarrassment. She was not fascinating. She was not a companion for him. She would listen to him now. She would speak. They would conspire. And she would be his tool. That's all.
He crossed over to her again and grabbed her arm to pull her to her feet. He led her towards his bed and motioned for her to sit, and then took a seat next to her. He made sure to leave a bit of distance between them.
"I will ask again," he almost whispered, "why are you here?"
She furrowed her eyebrows slightly.
"I don't want to hear that it is because of 'Your Queen.' I don't think she knows how often you come. I don't think that she knows you're here right now. And," he continued, "I think she's the one who's taught you those wonderful little magic tricks you perform every night. Am I wrong?"
As usual, no reply. Loki sighed. He was tempted to ask her what it would take to make her speak, but he doubted that would help. She would reply only when she was comfortable doing so.
"Truthfully," he added nonetheless, "I think that in my absence, you have earned great sway with my…with the Queen."
She sucked in a breath. He was right. But she still made no answer. Loki was beyond frustrated with her taciturnity. He tried being dramatic, he had tried eliciting sympathy. He'd been seductive, but that had only driven her further away. He was admittedly stumped with how to approach this girl.
She had answered him civilly once. Only once. But that was when he apparently looked confused and hurt.
It was, apparently, the only time he'd been "real" to her.
Then perhaps he should just come out with the truth.
"Listen to me. You can't like this," he motioned to the mess around him, "It can't be remotely enjoyable to you. Yes?"
She looked up, ready to make a reply about her duties, but he held a finger to her lips. Gently this time.
"You come in here, I berate you, manipulate you, try to seduce you…and you insult me coyly in return. Great fun for the two of us."
Except now you won't even look at me.
He paused a moment.
"You are here right now, are you not?"
She nodded.
Why had she not come in person to my cell that night?
"So, surely, you and I would both be pleased if this all ended swiftly. Our other option is to spend the next three-thousand or so years in this…thrilling battle of wits."
She raised an eyebrow but made no reply. Loki was unsure of what she was thinking.
"There is, however, a simple solution. Stop coming. When and if the Queen asks you about it," he was unsure of Frigga's feelings for him at the moment, "I want you to tell her what I want, and I want you to use whatever power you seem to have to get her to do one thing."
She looked intrigued.
"Yes, Loki?"
Loki's eyes widened slightly.
"Pardon?"
She blushed. He was not expecting her to use his name so casually. He was technically still a Prince. She had called him Prince repeatedly. Did his "seduction" really get to her that much?
He wondered faintly if he was blushing, too.
"Excuse me, I just thought if we were to spend three-thousand years together we should be on a first-name basis."
You just don't want to call me "My Prince" anymore.
Loki hadn't replied. He was hesitant about finishing his request now, and he wasn't quite sure why.
"Are you quite all right? You've gone blue in the face."
"You're…confusing." He didn't mean to say that. But those were the words that came out of his lips. Why had those words come out of his lips?
"How has a humble servant such as I managed to confuse his majesty?"
Loki was tempted to take offense, but he noted the way the left side of her lip turned up into a defiant smile and he faltered.
At least she seems to be back to normal, now.
Gods, he almost wanted to keep talking with her. What a concept.
"I'm never sure if you're trying to deliberately insult me, or you're just very frightened; neither do I understand any of the comments you made the last time you came to visit me."
She fidgeted in her seat.
Loki felt himself moving a fraction of an inch closer to her.
What the Hel do you think you're doing?
Manipulation and seduction wouldn't get what he wanted.
What did I want again?
Maybe kindness would.
But at the moment, he couldn't remember what he wanted.
"Speak…please."
Her eyes widened in confusion.
"Would you blame me if I was afraid? I have every right to be. This isn't exactly the safest job in all of the realms."
Loki smiled a bit despite himself. Her attitude made a little more sense in that frame.
"No…I suppose not. But why would try to be kind to me, then? Why would you…" He thought about the night she had laid her hand on his forehead, but he trailed off.
"You know…" She started, and Loki was surprised by how relaxed her voice had become. It was quite different from her monotone drawls on duty and the Queen. It was soft. Gentle. In a way, it reminded him of his mother's.
He only caught the last of her sentence.
"…was raised in the palace."
He cocked an eyebrow, wishing for her to proceed.
"My mother waited on yours," Loki's brow furrowed, "And my father was a guard. You were much older than me by the time I was born. I still…watched you quite a bit." She blushed and her eyes drifted to the corner of the room.
Loki wondered if that's why she had claimed so readily to know him.
She saw his face and immediately rushed in with "That's not why I said I know you, though!"
Loki would have continued his questions, but he heard clomping footsteps from down the hallway. Loki cast an illusion over her so she could remain unseen. He grabbed a book and propped his feet up on the bed. He smirked as the guard passed by.
As the servant returned to sight, Loki caught her mumbling, "I could have done that myself."
It was quite amusing, really.
"You need to leave now. It might not be…"
Safe. What do I care about her safety?
"Yes, right," she replied. "But you never told me what you wanted."
Loki looked up at her.
"It can wait another day. Go now."
