Throughout the day (meetings and theories again), Loki contemplated Nancy's request to do something. Together. He could very well tell her what he wanted them to do together, but she'd only retreat into herself and avoid him with a well-timed excuse. So if he wanted to do something with her, it would have to be something else. Still thinking on it, he returned to his chambers at a reasonable hour, early for once.
Nancy sat on the edge of his bed, her papers scattered around her. Her hair was swept over one shoulder and braided, held in place with a beautiful green, silk ribbon. Thankfully, the maids had brought her a new dress that morning. It was the same shade of green as the other and retained the four slits between the panels, but this dress was slightly different. A thick golden belt served as a corset, ornately decorated with a snake engraved in the Asgardian style. In the center of the belt sat a trinity-knot inlaid with emeralds. Gold and emeralds framed the top of the dress as well.
She glanced up from the tome she was reading when the large, golden doors opened. "Hello, master. Are you done with your business for the day?"
"I am." He stood tall, confident, twirling a small golden cuff bracelet in one hand. Contemplating if he really wanted to do this. He could leash her, but she would draw back into herself if he did that. If she wanted out of the room, she would have to wear something to the effect of this. He wouldn't bear any arguments.
Nancy moved her book off to the side and rubbed at her eyes. They stung from the constant strain of trying to read without her glasses. Had she been anywhere else, she would have simply given up the task of trying to read. But this was Asgard. And these books were thousands of years old. She had to try. She owed it to herself and the citizens of Earth. She had to learn the stories and legends these books held, so that maybe she could pass on the knowledge one day.
As she lowered her hand from her face, Nancy noticed the gleaming bracelet in his hand. "What's that for? Some sort of monitor or something?" She'd seen similar objects during her years working with S.H.I.E.L.D. They had special bracelets that could keep agents on probation from being able to access computers or technology. Monitors that could watch their every move. Involuntarily, Nancy's hand rose to her eyes again.
The eye drops from her satchel suddenly landed on the bed beside her. Loki looked away, toward the bracelet, and twirled it again. "I will tell all in a moment." He nodded to the drops with passive alacrity. "I refuse to allow my precious pets to endure pain. End yours."
Nancy gave a sad smile and picked up the drops, turning the bottle over in her hand. She looked up toward her captor again. "The drops won't do much good without my contacts. My eyes hurt because I can't see." She set the drops down on the bed again and stood to move her papers to the dining table. "At least, not very well." she continued, "And I was trying to read."
"You said yourself you cannot read my volumes. But if you insist upon seeing, these contacts are far better than those horrendous glasses." Loki rolled his eyes to emphasize the point. Whoever invented glasses had no idea how they would hide beautifully colored eyes.
Nancy giggled and turned back toward him, studying his features. How strange he was. Words that were so simple and ordinary to her were foreign to him, leading to his exaggeration in pronunciation of them. As if he wanted to draw attention to how alien the items were on Asgard. Asgardians were gods. They had no need in glasses or contacts. They were perfectly healthy, able to regenerate a thousand times faster than the average human. Their life spans consisted of thousands of years. Yet humans only received a mere hundred… if they were lucky.
How deep the comparison ran, between Nancy and a dog. Like humans' canine companions, she would only last a few short years, while Loki would live for far longer. Like a beloved household pet, she would be missed at first, then recalled with the fleeting fondness of an old, fading memory. At the thought of her, a smile would rise to Loki's lips, ever so slightly… and then he would return to whatever task he'd been busy with, letting the memory recede back into the recesses of his mind.
How handsome he looked, as Nancy watched him. His beauty would not fade. Not for thousands of years. He would remain strong and brave and so vastly intelligent. Regal and royal and charming. After he became bored with his obsession, he'd turn from her. Turn to other things that pleased him. Asgardian women far more beautiful than herself. She would never see him again after that. He'd place her back in her cage, like a doll on a shelf. Because he was immortal. The king of the great realm of Asgard. And she was only Nancy McAllister of Earth. A name among the rest.
Nancy snapped out of her daze and attempted to mask her gloom with a smile. But her pain was evident on her face. Tears glistened behind her eyes. "Where are my contacts?" Her hand rose to her eyes again, this time to conceal the tears that threatened to spill over. "You took my satchel."
Loki smiled. He liked the gentle timbre of her laugh, and made a mental note to make her laugh more often so he might hear it. Yet, the tears he could do without. What had her thoughts landed on that made her weep? He wished he could banish the thought, but as he could not... With little thought, a sound much like a feline's purr resounded from his throat. A white cat streaked through the slightly ajar door and launched itself into his arms. He caught it easily.
The sound that he made surprised her. She'd never heard a person make that noise before. The sudden cat in his arms surprised her even more. Nancy hesitantly stepped closer. "Aren't you afraid of getting hairs on your armor?" His perfect, shining golden armor. Armor that was polished so well it reflected all light, like a mirror.
He chuckled. She would never believe the answer he would give her. Magic. "This is Crea." He leaned down to the cat's ear and whispered a simple phrase. Crea leapt from Loki's arms and began jumping from shelf to shelf, going higher with each bound.
Nancy could only watch in stunned amazement as the white cat made its way up to the top of the bookshelf. "You have a trained cat. You have successfully done what no human ever could."
"I am not human." He watched Crea deftly find her way to the top shelf. She wiggled her entire body inside his pet's satchel and exited seconds later. She started back down the shelves.
Oh, how very right he was. He was not human. He would never be human. And that was what made them so different. No matter how alike they seemed at times, no matter how much she loved him… he would never, ever be human. And she would never, ever be Asgardian.
Nancy stooped down and held her hand out to the creature. "Come here, Crea. Bring them here."
Crea passed her and returned to Loki instead. She rubbed up against his legs, purring the whole time. The contacts case still securely in her mouth. He reached down to retrieve her and slid the case from her with ease. She rubbed against him again. He tossed a look to Nancy and answered with apologetic sarcasm. "I fear she only answers to me."
Nancy caught the tone in his voice. How he mocked her. Reminded her yet again that she was only his pet. That she and the cat ranked the same. Of course the cat wouldn't listen to her. What right did she have to order the cat to do anything? She was its equal. Equal to a housecat.
She lifted her chin to combat her bitterness and held her hand out to him. "May I have them now?"
Loki held the case out of Nancy's grasp. Not hard, as he towered over her. He reached with his other hand to pet Crea, who had successfully perched on his shoulder. "Ask nicely," he commanded.
"May I have my contacts, master?" It took everything within her not to spit the words at him. To act polite and respectful to this horrid, cruel man.
"Better." He lowered his hand so she could take them from him.
Nancy took them from him and marched to the washroom to rinse them off. As she entered the room, she saw her reflection in the mirror. The same tears that had threatened to run. Deftly, Nancy grabbed a rag and dipped it in the pitcher of water, hoping the coolness of the water on her eyes would cause the redness to go away. She would not cry. Not in front of him. It wasn't his fault anyway. He could not help what he was any more than she could help her own heritage. They were simply two separate species. She was on another planet and she was the alien. She did not belong here and she never would. She simply had to accept that. Soon, she placed the lenses in her eyes and returned to the main chamber.
As she made her way back out into the main room, Nancy could only gasp at the beauty. Now that everything was clear, she could see every detail. Every engraving and etching. The delicate gold and green trim. How the sun shone so brightly through the curtains, as they sparkled in the light. How regal everything seemed. So beautiful, as if she stood in the center of a grand painting. So surreal, as if it was all a dream.
"Are you quite well now?" Loki removed Crea from his shoulder and stroked her fur one more time before he settled her on the ground. "Find Calder." Crea scurried off to do as commanded.
He felt horrid for making her cry, but her place was not yet equal to his own. She must learn, still, the ways of palace life. She didn't truly want him, not if she couldn't stand him at his worst. One day, he would show his worst, and she would no doubt take the brunt of his anger. He did not want her to want him. He wanted her to see the monster everyone else saw. Perhaps then, he could banish these feelings inside him.
"Yes. Much better." Nancy stepped closer and glanced down to the bracelet in his hand. "Now, what's with that thing?"
Loki held it up to the light. He had almost forgotten about it. One simple instrument, a means to an end. He might as well get on with it. "Come here."
Nancy stepped just close enough to do as commanded. But she was still so unsure of his motives. There was something to the bracelet. He would not give her jewelry for no reason. Even the collar had a purpose. Yes, part of that was her own humiliation. But, aside from that, it was a tracker. The bracelet would not be for that, she was sure. So… what would it do?
He waited until she was close enough for his purposes, then decided to see how well she obeyed. He was on a roll today, jerking tears from her endlessly. He might as well press on in that vein. "Your wrist, pet. Hold it up for me."
She looked down at the bracelet one more time, contemplating his request. He was going to put it on her, one way or another. She could either comply and remain in right standings with him, or refuse and incur his wrath. Hesitantly, Nancy lifted her wrist. "Remember, no shock collars or shock bracelets please."
Well, it was almost complete obedience. He slid the thing onto her wrist. "Shock? Oh, no, nothing that terrible. Unless you attempt to remove it. No, this only ensures you do not stray."
"And how will it ensure that?" She slid her finger under the clasp and tugged ever so slightly. The tip of her finger received the smallest zap, as if she'd touched a doorknob after walking across a carpet. She yelped and lifted her finger to her lips, tending her mild wound.
"If you do so happen to stray to a... certain distance of measure, it will ensure you do not move and summon me to your location."
"A paralysis bracelet? Fascinating!" Nancy turned her wrist over, looking for any sign of electrical engineering on the metal. "How does it work? Energy pulses? Injection?"
"I shan't tell you. Though you may surmise to your heart's content." Loki grinned, sure she would never figure out the mechanism.
"Aw. Darn." Nancy smiled and looked up at him, studying his face once again. He looked so much better when he smiled. When he allowed the light in his heart and his eyes to shine forth. "Can we go now?"
Loki glanced behind himself, to the open door. "You are so eager, pet. So eager for everything. I only wonder, why is this? Your insatiable propensity to jump in before you've thought things through entirely."
She shrugged. It was a fitting definition of her character. She didn't often think things through. And that's what got her in trouble. But she couldn't help herself, no matter how hard she tried. "I prefer to plan as I go." she explained, "To see where life takes me. Although, I tend to adapt quickly, and that helps. And… I'm sick of being stuck in one room. I'm going stir crazy."
He didn't understand the expression. How did one go 'stir crazy'? He shrugged it off, as it wasn't important. He would simply research it at a later date. He didn't understand half her expressions, but context usually helped. He focused his attention on his plans for the afternoon. "Speak to no one and maintain your submissive behavior."
"Yes, sir." She nodded her acknowledgment, "But, may I speak to you?"
"As long as we are alone and no one else demands my immediate attention, you may."
"But there are guards everywhere. Does that still count as being alone?" Nancy crossed her arms. "And why can't I talk to you around people? It's not like I'm one of your servants."
"So many questions!" She contained boundless energy, didn't she? Oh, the things he could do with such a one. The things he wanted to do. He sighed, exasperated. "One is never truly alone in my palace. Guards are fixtures."
"I get that. I'm used to guards and soldiers." She went to the door and peeked out, studying the stone hallways. The hallways she'd only seen in darkness before. How different they would look during the day. "Come on, there's an entire palace out there. An Asgardian palace! I wanna see it. I wanna see all of Asgard." Nancy turned and smiled at him. "I wanna see where you grew up."
"You will maintain your decorum and cease this endless childlike energy that exudes from you." He grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving before he did. There will still things to get across to her, and he needed her to listen. He tried not to squeeze so hard that it bruised. That would be unfortunate, black and blue marring her perfect porcelain skin. "You will not run, nor shout, nor throw yourself at every pretty decoration you see. Do I make myself abundantly clear?"
How insulting. She wasn't five. She was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D for goodness sake. Of course she knew how to handle herself. Nancy took a breath to regain her composure. "Yes, sir. Crystal clear."
"Very well." He stepped out of the door and straightened his shoulders. This afternoon could prove interesting. Or exhausting. "I suppose we will begin our walk in the kitchens. Follow me."
