Eight hours later, Nancy woke to the bright whiteness again. She blinked, groaned, and tossed her arm over her eyes. Well, at least she'd gotten to sleep. And she did feel quite refreshed. Especially after her endless days and nights without sleep. With a yawn, Nancy sat up and looked around the room. It was empty.

She squinted as she glanced around, checking for any shimmers or waves, where the light would be disturbed by Loki's invisibility. For he had indeed used invisibility on numerous occasions. She knew that for a fact. Although she hadn't seen him in her cell before she fell asleep, she knew he was still there. How else would he have known she had awakened again?

Satisfied that Loki was nowhere around, Nancy slipped between the cot and the wall. She was absolutely starving. It had been days since she'd last had an apple, and she could feel her body weakening. Even with her eight hours of sleep, she was still so weak. Her bones were stiff, her muscles ached, and her head throbbed continuously.

She glanced around once more, just to make sure that he wasn't there, and then pulled one of her socks from her boots. She'd spaced out her morsels of meat as long as she could. Only three hard, cold, somewhat-fuzzy scraps were left. Without giving it too much thought – because if she thought about it too much, she'd be too grossed out to eat – Nancy popped one of the pieces in her mouth and began to chew. It tasted horrible and definitely rotten, but at least it was something. She gagged once, but then forced herself to swallow. Food was food, and she was starving.

"Trying to avoid favors? Tsk, tsk, pet." Loki appeared outside the barrier and shook his head. He stared her down. How could she think keeping things hidden from him was a good idea? After all they had been through together, this was how she repaid him?

"Loki!" Nancy nearly choked on her second bite of meat. She swallowed and shoved the boots away from her, quickly cowering back into the corner. "I didn't know when you were coming back. I was hungry. Please... forgive me."

Loki narrowed his eyes at her, hoping she understood his disdain. Loki sighed. This could, however, be the perfect opportunity to get her to answer some of his constant ponderings. "Explain to me, pet, why you conspire to disobey me." They had discussed this disobedience before. Did she think he would allow her death?

Nancy's voice was hardly more than a frightened whisper. "You forget me. You forget my needs. I don't wanna die."

She curled her knees to her chest and cowered as close to the wall as she possibly could. No power in all the universe could get her to even look at him. She knew she'd broken some severe law. Even though she'd rightfully earned the meat before, she was never privileged to save any of it. Nor to eat it at the present moment. Two disobedient acts. And she would be punished.

"I would not allow your death, Nancy." There were plenty of other, better things he could have called her. But, a name was a name, no matter how unfitting, and it was only right to call her by her own name when he was cross with her. Honestly, how could she think such a thing of him? He eyed the boot from whence the meat had come. "You will give back what is left."

Nancy moved automatically, as if she was back at the academy and one of her superiors had given her a direct order. She quickly dumped the remaining scraps onto the floor and tossed the boots aside. With the same frightened demeanor, she curled back into the corner again.

He flicked a wrist, and every scrap of the cold, leftover meat vanished. Then he turned his attention to the girl in the corner. "Why do you insist on disobeying me?"

"I wasn't trying to, sir. Honest. I was desperate. I'm starving, eating rotten meat out of a sock. Please, have mercy. I won't do it again."

"How am I to believe you?"

Nancy shook her head and let a sob escape her lips. What answer could she give to his question? There was nothing she could do to gain his trust. Everything she tried, failed. She was weak and cowardly and broken. Even her very existence was in opposition to him. With wide, frightened eyes, she finally looked up at him. "Are you going to hurt me for what I've done?"

"I may request a more difficult favor, but you are fortunate your antics have amused me." He could leave her no room to think he would be lenient. And, she had amused him. Meat in a sock. Who would have thought of that? He stood straighter and turned to his serious voice. "Answer my question."

She shrugged. "I have no answer to give. I don't know how to make you believe me. I can't convince you. My words... mean nothing. My pleas… are in vain. I'll… I'll have to act better, I suppose."

"About this, we agree." He shook his head again. He had to stop showing leniency. He had to punish her. And he had brought the perfect thing. Loki inclined his head to look at the mouse of a girl he now toyed with. "How shall I punish you for this?"

Nancy visibly flinched and curled tighter, looking away from him again. "The most logical approach would be to withhold meat from me for some time, since it's what I stole." she began, hoping to convince him not to flog her again. Of course… there was always the muzzle. And it would be a fit punishment. How else to keep a thief from stealing food? Knowing Loki's temper, he could do just about anything he wanted to her. And she could do absolutely nothing to fight him. "But you're judge here."

He smirked. An amiable answer, but she wasn't about to get off that easily. She had to learn obedience. One way or another. "I was going to allow you something, but now you have lost the opportunity."

Tears flowed down her cheeks and splashed onto the filthy jeans covering her knees. "Perhaps I can do something to earn it back? Anything you ask, I'll do it. No arguments or struggle." She chanced a glance to him again. "I will obey you."

Loki let his ire eke out in his words and his actions. He slowly produced her satchel and toyed with the clasp. "I've not looked inside yet. Shall we?"

Nancy's eyes widened as she watched him toy with her prized possession. She slowly stood and looked down at him. "There's not much in there." she breathed, hoping to persuade him of its insignificance.

"Your concern says otherwise." He opened the flap and began to pull out the contents. Surely something had caused her overreaction. He moved through them as slowly as he dared, savoring each moment of this.

Nancy moved closer and knelt down near the steps to the barrier, watching his every move. Her satchel was her life. Everything important to her was in that satchel. Wherever she went, it went to. Not to mention the fact that it was hers. Loki's prodding, curious fingers working over her prized possessions was a clear invasion of her privacy. Everything she owned was in that bag. Who was he to dig through her life without a care?

He easily discarded a case of Midgardian contacts (some sort of eyewear he believed), and a pen. He took the time to flip open her notebook and peruse the pages. A very detailed list of how her head worked. He smiled. He had always wanted a glimpse into her beautiful mind. "Interesting," he mused.

"A murder case I just worked." Nancy explained, "If you'll read the notations, you'll see that those symbols aren't mine. The killer left them at each of the scenes. I merely copied them down to study later. Their significance to the killer. Their meaning to secret organizations, that sort of thing."

"Mm. Yes. I will send a message to your former superiors. He will be apprehended." He set it down to look at later.

"I already caught the guy."

Interesting. Nancy tilted her head to study him. Was that… care? Care in justice? He would not send a message to her superiors to tell them that she had been kidnapped. No… he would have told her if he had. To gloat in their confusion. But he would send a message so that a criminal would be captured? Perhaps she did see something of a king in him after all. A kind light in the darkness he stalked in. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips… only to be brought down again by his next selection.

Loki dug back into the satchel and pulled out a small, oblong object. "And what is this?"

Nancy's eyes widened momentarily as she watched her flash-drive glitter in the light of the torches. "A piece of tech equipment. Nothing more." Her words sounded unconvincing, even to her own ears.

If she could burst through the barrier and rip it from his hands, she would. All of her information about him was stored on that drive. Recordings of his voice that had been broken up and analyzed. Descriptions of his gestures during every one of their encounters. Maps and charts of different places she'd traveled in her search of him. Articles by experts on the possibility of the realm of Asgard. Photographs ripped from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases before they collapsed. Everything that had been posted on her walls – and so much more – was all stored on that drive. …And there it was, sitting in the palm of his hand. She was stunned more by the sheer embarrassment of the whole ordeal than of her own treachery. Once he saw what was on that drive, surely he'd laugh at her and hold it over her head for the rest of her life. She sighed and hung her head, waiting for him to question her further.

He saved that object, as well. Judging by her nonchalant behavior, it was far more important than she let on. Next came a small leather pouch. A wallet, Loki believed. He flipped it open, only to be greeted by a host of pictures. Family, perhaps? He pulled out one of a slim, pretty girl. Oh, yes, he could use this. "And who is this? A sister, perhaps?"

"Yes." Nancy sighed, quickly tiring of his infiltration into her personal life, "Anita." She lifted her head and gazed into his eyes, sincerely begging him. "Please don't hurt her. She has a husband and a little baby girl. She has a life. You already have me, Loki. Leave my sister out of this."

"She is quite beautiful. Quite beautiful indeed." He held the picture closer to his face, studying each line in the beautiful woman's face. He could see the resemblance.

Nancy glanced down and picked at her fingernails. "Yes. I know." Of course Loki would study her sister more closely than he'd ever study her. Nancy was nothing to him. No more than a plaything. He'd said so himself. Now that he knew she had a sister more beautiful than herself, he would surely go after her instead. And with his streak of forgetfulness, Nancy would simply wither away and slip into oblivion. Another tear found its way down her cheek.

Loki noted her discomfort. Of course she would be jealous of this sister. Because she didn't realize how utterly ravishing he found her. He kept his face serious and looked up at her. "Perhaps she would be a more obedient pet."

Nancy gave a bitter laugh and swiped at her tears. "Good luck. She's an attorney. She was born to argue and fight. I'm the tame one."

"Mm. Perhaps." Loki kept the photo, putting it inside a hidden pocket on his armor. He would make use of it later. He picked up the satchel again and dumped it upside-down. Everything that was left spilled onto the floor with a thud and a crash. He surveyed the trinkets. "I had expected more."

"Sorry to disappoint you. But there isn't much to me." She glanced down at the pile of items on the floor. Her contacts and drops, her notepads and pens. Scrap papers and old gum wrappers. A discarded cardboard wrapper from a to-go coffee. A random button and a few pieces of change. Her wallet, a booklet of word-searches, and a metal tin of mints. This was Agent Nancy McAllister. Everything she ever was lay scattered on the floor. A pile of papers and a few odds and ends. This was all she was. All there was to her. A pile of useless things. Nancy stifled a sob and looked away.

"And what is this face, pet?"

"Realization." Nancy sobbed, lifting a hand to blot at her nose. "Everything I ever worked for, everything I ever was… was in that bag." She let her eyes slide closed and leaned back against the wall behind her. "It all means nothing."

Loki kept his smile under wraps, sealing it back inside before she could open her eyes. He stepped forward, through the barrier. He could no longer stand having the thing between them. "And why is that?"

"Because I never achieved anything!" Nancy snapped, "All my struggle, and here I am, in a cage on another planet. I'm a dog!" She sobbed audibly. "I'm your dog."

"I have met dogs." He knelt in front of her and used two fingers to lift her chin. He wanted her to look at him when he foreshadowed her worth. He wanted to see the look on her face. In her eyes. "Never mistake yourself for one of them."

She sniffled and moved closer to him, seeking some form of affection to soothe away her pain. He was so cruel… yet could be so kind. She sought the kind man within him with every fiber of her being. "Then what am I?" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head near his neck. "If you don't see me as a dog, then what am I to you?"

With a heavy sigh, Loki gently pried her arms from his shoulders. One long limb at a time. "It is not good to cling when I am so cross with you." One never knew what he might find himself doing.

"Then don't be cross with me." Nancy whispered, "Please... just one hug. I need it. It's one of those things humans need sometimes."

"And perhaps you shall have one when you learn to obey." He stood. This was punishment, not the time for her to discover how utterly attached she would ultimately be to him. This was breaking her so he could reshape her into something even more beautiful.

"I want to obey you. I do. I'm trying to. But… things just get in the way. Please have patience with me, Loki. I'm trying."

"I have been lenient thus far. Do not try my patience."

She nodded understandingly, then looked up at him again. "One more thing, before you go, does my punishment include taking away apples, too?" Perhaps, while he was still there, she could get real food for once, instead of having to survive off of rotten scraps.

"We shall see." He headed for the barrier. He hadn't considered taking away her apple. He would consider it thoroughly before making a rash decision. "I will return."

"Goodnight, Loki." Nancy called after him, "I hope you sleep well." And she meant it, too.