Aswren winced as she touched bandages on her middle and legs. The gauze was pulled taut over her skin, and the metallic tang of blood still hung in her mind from the battle on the icy planet.
She sighed and leaned over to splash water on her face.
Walking over to the window sill she stilled, glancing out over the softly lit kingdom with a small smile. The surrounding galaxies seemed so much brighter from this realm than her own, standing out in glittering sheets against the blackness of space. As much as she could go on for hours about Alfheim's untamed natural beauty, the canopy made some areas black on the clearest summer night. And this time tomorrow, she would be back in that world, surrounded by green instead of gold, left with her own thoughts that always came back to who she loved most.
A soft knock came from her door. "Come in."
The dark Prince entered quietly, making sure the door made no noise when it closed behind him. Aswren immediately turned to meet her intruder, melting into a gentle smile when she noticed his presence.
"Loki." She chirped, hopping down from the window sill and striding over to him.
The sheer fabric of her nightgown swished softly against the ground when she walked, held to her shoulders by bands of golden thread. His tongue turned to cotton inside his mouth as he gazed down at her unmarred shoulders, the smooth curve of her neck, up to a childish face that was kind and vulnerable.
"Loki. Is your father all right?"
"My what?" He squeaked out, swallowing his guilt, and trying to bring life into his voice.
"I heard about his collapse when I came back from taking father to his room."
"It's nothing to worry about—the Odin Sleep. We were all taken by surprise, that's all." His trained eyes watched the relief in her shoulders when he reassured her with a steady voice.
He continued. "I can see you're doing much better."
"As much I can. Father and I had a long talk when he came to see me. He told me about…" She licked her lips, finding herself suddenly short of breath.
"About you and me. That the Allfather and Freyr have arranged for us to be married."
"That doesn't sound so bad, I mean, I figured you and I would one day… anyway." Loki fought for words, his silver tongue failed him and left him hoping she would speak for him.
"I mean that's why they introduced us."
Loki felt the nausea creeping up the back of his throat at the memory of the Allfather's words, how he had spat them in the direction of the man he swore to be his son.
"Will you marry me?" He said suddenly.
"…what?"
"I mean that no matter what Odin says, what he and your father have decided, I want to ask you. What do you want, Aswren?"
"I-I do, of course I want to marry you. But don't you understand what their coercion means? They've betrayed us, made us a political tool—"
"—Aswren, stop. Please, I don't want to think about that. I can't. Think about that. Will you marry me?" He repeated in earnest.
"…Yes. Yes, I will. I would marry you in an instant, no matter what decisions our fathers made. I love you."
That was it. As swift as a knife severs ties, the guilt embedded itself in his gut, burning as he considered her eyes, so full of love. His mind raced in a panic, and before the sentimental smile could leave her mouth he froze her in time with a clench of his fist.
The whispers of green magic crept from his hands, down her legs and up into the pools of her collarbone. The imaginary fingers slithered up the expanses of her neck, drawing patterns across unblemished cheeks.
He gnawed on his lip as he watched her eyelids slide closed, face going slack as the rest of her body seemed to fall into dead weight. Without warning, a light exploded from inside her chest and her head reared back to the heavens, screaming in a pitch too broken to be heard over the whisper of sorcery.
She gasped and gulped for air, gnashing her teeth at the green streams that tried to consume her. Blue eyes looked at him finally, wet with their own water, and pleaded for help.
His stoic mouth stayed firm to keep the tears at bay, not moving to chant hushed words of comfort. He was forced to look away when her arms went limp, and ceased to clutch his frock.
The green light that coiled around her made a home for itself inside the center of her chest, tucking her soul inside a dark place and leaving blue orbs lifeless, without a master. In its place, Loki used his sorcery to forge a puppet, replacing her spirit with an ethereal machine that would obey and respond to his touch.
Hot tears betrayed him as he watched the blue light of her soul fade to black, replaced by his own creation. He tried to convince himself justified, believing that in times of war desperate measures must be taken to ensure victory. To protect his flower and preserve a fragment of her innocence, he stole her body so that she would not have to witness the crimes he was about to commit. The puppet would obey and move her body as her soul was taken from command and sent into protection within the confines of her own mind.
As the green ribbons of his magic dissolved back into air, her soulless eyes stared at him readily, awaiting orders. Their blank look was more than he could take, and with a wave of his hand she seemed to switch off, falling from his arms onto the marble floor. He clenched his jaw as he stared down at her unconscious body, barely holding down a wretch of disgust. He had asked her to marry him while her soul was still intact, that much honor he could muster. The announcement of their engagement would overrule Freyr's call for her extradition, and the puppet would ensure she stayed by his side as they fought this war.
She was his now, in every way he didn't want.