So, did you tell him yet?
No. He hasn't come back since the last time we encountered.
Well, you know you can call him, right? He's probably watching your every move on the security camera.
Was not this your own room?
Yes, but why the sudden change of subject?
If there is a camera in here, it means that he could have been watching your every move while you lived here. Every. Single. Move.
They probably just installed the camera since you've been there. He couldn't of…
In denial, Eternal?
Silence.
I gave a little laugh and sat back on the bed. It has been a few days since our consciousnesses clashed within my mind, and the connection between us has been growing stronger ever since. We've only recently have been able to communicate regularly through telekinesis again. She seems to be back to her normal mortal self, despite the advances she has given the last time…
I furrowed my eyebrows. Something still isn't right…
What?
The door opened, and in came the man Fury.
"Ah, Loki. And how are we today?"
"Is it really day?" I asked. "It feels more like nighttime. Are you sure it is day?"
"As sure as the sun is shining."
"I see."
"So, the Captain informs me of the conversation you both had."
It took him long enough.
Shhhh.
"Ah," I said. "Has he?'
"Yes, and he has the slight inclination that you're lying about Child being alive. Is this true?"
Don't tell him.
Why not?
Because he'll try to do some drastic things to try to separate me from you – or you from me, at any cost. Even if it means killing you.
He should know that if he kills me, he kills you also.
Yep, he does…
"Is what true?"
Fury frowned. "Don't play games with me Loki. I don't have time for it. Now I want a straight forward answer: Is Child alive?" Fury's stare almost bore through my face.
Almost. "No. She is not." I had to put on a presentation. A lie cannot go so far without facial expression. I looked past his face and clenched my hands. "She drowned."
Fury nodded. "That's all I needed to know." He walked out of the room.
It wasn't one of your best performances, but A for effort.
Oh? And you could have done better?
…Let me think about that one.
The door opened again, and I groaned.
"She is not here, how many times do I have to repeat-," I stopped. It wasn't Fury. It was the Captain.
"Ah, Captain. To what do I owe to this splendid surprise?" I asked.
And…. there goes your blood pressure.
The Captain said nothing. He just sat down on the floor, several feet away from where I was. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. He stared at me the entire time, expressionless, except for a downward twitch at his mouth every ten seconds or so. I stared back as coldly as possible.
What is he doing?
I'm not sure…
He finally opened his mouth to speak, and I felt Amara freeze.
"Child," he said.
"Child is-"
"No she isn't. I know she isn't gone. And if you're not going to tell me, then I'm going to have to speak to her myself." He rose and turned toward the corner of the room. He then raised his hand and pressed his finger into the wall.
"There is no camera anymore, no one can hear us."
"Child-"
"She isn't dead!" His voice was seasoned with sorrow and depression. The room filled back with silence.
"That was not what I was about to say."
He looked up.
Do we really have to tell him of your existence? It seems like a waste.
Yes, we do.
I sighed. "Amara…is not dead. She is, in fact, very alive."
The Captain looked at me skeptically. "Are you playing with me?"
"As soon as I lie to you, you don't believe me. Now I tell you the truth, and you question my answer. You are so human."
"But…how? Where is she?"
I tapped my forehead.
"She's…in your mind?"
"Do you really need me to spell it out for you? Or would you like me to write it down?"
The Captain smiled slightly. "Funny, you almost sounded like Child right there…"
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yes, her sarcasm seems to be rubbing off on me."
Payback for the vocabulary boost.
I made a face of disgust.
"Can you prove it?" The captain said quietly. He was looking down on the ground. "Can you prove that she is still alive, in your head?"
"Why do you need proof? What is so special about this girl? Why do you even want her to be here, to be your toy?"
Hey!
The Captain grimaced. "I need proof because I want to be certain that she is alive. She is no toy, if anything, I am hers. I need her back because I can't lose the person that I love," The Captain took a breath. "Not again."
I froze. I knew that Amara and this Captain were together, but not like this.But then again, they did almost…
I shook the thought out of my head.
"How do you suppose I prove it to you?"
"I don't know. Something that she would only know, a memory or something."
Amara?
I'm thinking…..Oh!
"She said something about…fondue?"
The Captain laughed. "Of course, it would be that."
"I don't understand…"
"I used to tell her the story of a…woman, and a conversation we had. I thought fondue meant- err, something else than what it really meant." He chuckled to himself. "Child had laughed at me because she had lost her memory, and even she knew what it meant."
"So you told the girl you love of a past lover?" I asked.
"I…I didn't think about it like that."
"No, I know you did not."
"But she never seemed to mind…"
"No, the girl who loved you back would not have stripped you of the thing that she thought made you happy. Amara is too kind to do such a thing. Too kind…"
The Captain nodded, acquiescing to what I said. More quiet silence.
"Is…" the Captain started. "Is there any way we can, err, separate you both?"
"I have already been contemplating this question. I have tried to conjure the spell for such a notion, and the results were…not good. Disastrous."
"Ah…Loki?"
"What?"
"Was that, was the result of one of the spells you tried…was it that other you? Laurence?"
I sighed. "…Yes. Yes it was."
