Carmen looked down at the babe cradled in her arms, and felt a swell of happiness as she'd never known before fill her heart. He was perfect and tiny, with a soft fluff of black hair and skin light as brown sugar. She hugged his warmth to her chest and sighed, joy shining from her face. Her beautiful little son was with her, and all was right in the world.
That was, before he appeared.
Baring his teeth in a cruel, snarling smile, the king emerged from the dark mists like a ghost, his form swirling and insubstantial before he solidified. His skin was cold and blue, his eyes red as fiery rubies as he took on the Jotun form she had only heard of.
She clutched her precious baby close to her chest and ran as fast as her legs would take her, but it felt like she was pushing through mud. Every limb moved with agonizing slowness. Loki, on the other hand, shot after her with the speed of a striking cobra, quickly gaining on her pathetic attempt at escape. His frosty arms stretched towards her, their cold chill permeating the air. Then, as the chill reached the child she was trying so desperately to shield, the true horror began.
Her baby's skin, softer than silk and warm as a summer's day, began to match that of his father. Slowly at first, then all at once, until she held a growling demon as cold and unyielding as his father. Still she ran, despite the tears streaming down her face, despite the fact that she was almost as afraid of the thing she was protecting as the thing she was running from.
Before she knew what had happened, the king's hands were on their son's ankles and the child was wrenched out of her arms.
"No!" Carmen screamed, spinning around to face the monster. She was not expecting what she saw. The baby was gone, replaced by a grown man almost identical to Loki, right down to the predatory grin.
So she ran. The twin devils nipped at her heels, their icy breath sending a shudder of goose bumps down her body, but she did not stop for fear of what they would do to her. She ran in the dark until, without warning, her pursuers were gone and she was surrounded by light.
When she jolted awake, her body was on edge and filled with fear. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. What if he was mad at her, what if he had sent for her but she wasn't awake to hear him, what if…stop. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the pillow, breathing in and out slowly as she told herself to calm down. If he was angry, she would know about it. If he had wanted her, he would've come and gotten her. Everything was okay.
As she went to the bathroom to take care of her morning routine, her mind wandered to the dream she had. Remembering her dreams had always been like grasping at puffs of smoke for her, but this one stuck out as jarring and terrifying in its potential to be real. This wasn't a ghost or a bogeyman; she had a real monster right next door.
She wasn't surprised to find that Loki had given her a well-stocked closet. With a resigned sigh, she slipped into a long, red silk gown. It hardly mattered what she wore, as she would likely be taking it off when night fell. Come to think of it…she didn't even know what time it was. Her room didn't have any windows, and her natural rhythms were so messed up that her body didn't even have a suggestion.
Carmen walked back out to her bedroom, picking up an apple from the tray of breakfast foods a servant had thoughtfully brought her. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw the time on the clock. It was two? She didn't know whether to be excited or scared.
Her eyes darted around the room, looking for something to do. There was a small bookshelf, but nothing caught her interest, and she wasn't very well going to sit there all day and just think. Loki wouldn't expect her to remain in the room by herself all the time, right? It would be perfectly fine to go hang out with the girls for a few hours. As long as she didn't go anywhere forbidden like the training fields, she'd be fine.
Apple still in hand, she pushed open the door and gave a cautious look down the hall. No guards. Huh. Maybe…she bit her lip, a glimmer of curiosity growing inside of her. This could be her chance, to finally explore the palace and see all the things Loki kept hidden from her. The opportunity was so tantalizing and more within reach that it had ever been – which was when she realized it was a setup. He was testing her, and she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't have gone anyway; she was pretty smart, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe that she could trick the king. He would find out if she went anywhere she wasn't supposed to.
With a soft sigh, she shut the door behind her and headed down the hall to the harem's rooms, which luckily were not too far away. The guard at the door didn't question her, but they seemed to shift as she went inside. A few girls were napping, so she stepped quietly as she went through the bedroom, stopping to toss her apple core – then oofed as she ran into someone much shorter at the door.
"Watch where you're – oh my gosh, Carmen?" Eloise's eyes were wide with shock, though she quickly recovered and went back to her usual sharpness. "Did he get bored of you already?"
Carmen didn't respond, sliding past the other girl to sit down on the arm of the couch. Responding to Eloise only encouraged her, and Carmen had never liked starting fights. She laughed as Amala pulled her down onto the couch, kicking her long slim legs in the air. A few moments later she pulled herself up into a sitting position, a smile still lingering on her face. "Nice braids," she complimented, gesturing towards the intricate swirls Amala had arranged in Zahira's dark brown hair.
"Thanks," Amala nodded. "And her hair is crazy curly, so it took me twice as long. But…hold on, why are you even here?"
"Oh, thanks," she said dryly. "Glad to know how loved I am."
"Oh shut it, you, you know what I mean. Why'd he even make you move out if you just come right back?"
Carmen sighed and ran her fingers through her silky hair. "Well I'm going back later tonight, but…I don't know. There's not much to do in that room, so I thought I'd come hang out with you ladies."
Eloise laughed, her voice grating and high. Even those who weren't paying attention to their conversation paused what they were doing to look over in annoyance. Not even her friends could stand her girlish cackle. "So he did get bored with you!"
"No, he just has things to do during the day. He is a king, after all." She spoke slowly, as if explaining to a small child. Amala snorted.
The petite blonde sniffed as she sauntered back over to her circle of friends, who were playing cards on the floor. "I know who's going over the Rainbow Bridge," she said in a sing-song voice.
"I know who can stop being such a bitch!" Zahira suddenly piped up in her accented English. Her dark eyes were filled with fire as she glared across the room at Eloise. "All you do is hurt people, and not just Carmen either; you need to stop."
"Zahira, it's fine," Carmen murmured, reaching out to touch her shoulder. While she did appreciate Zahira's attempt stick up for her (and everyone else Eloise was awful to), the younger girl was just no match for the much older and more experienced Eloise. "Don't start anything." Looking imploringly over at Eloise, she added, "Don't get in a fight with a high-schooler; me and you can hate each other as much as you want, but don't bring her into it."
"Okay, mom," Eloise sneered, causing her friends to snicker. "Are you going to send me to my room too?"
God, sometimes she just wanted to punch that girl, but she stayed cool. The king was much more scathing and clever than that; it wasn't hard to ignore Eloise compared to him. Zahira hadn't even met Loki yet, so she hadn't had the slightest taste of what real venom was. "Just play your game, El."
"I don't know how you put with her," Zahira fumed, crossing her arms. "I want to rip her face off."
"Yeah, me too," Carmen agreed, a slight smile on her face. "But he doesn't want us to fight, physically, at least. One girl scratched another a few weeks ago, and he tossed her home…after spending some quality time with her."
Amala shuddered. "I remember that. Michelle, wasn't it? He had a guard bring her back around here as a warning before he got rid of her and she was, well, let's just say she barely looked human."
Carmen nodded in agreement. "He doesn't like anyone but him hurting us. Lucille, sweetie, what's wrong?"
The pale, frail girl had started to sob, leaning on Hayden's shoulder. Hayden gave her a tight hug, leaning her head with its fiery curls on Lucille's. "She's scared," the redhead murmured. "She cried all night when you left us."
Carmen's heart ached for both of them. Lucille had been delicate and fragile since she first came to Asgard, and sweet Hayden was the one who always held and comforted her. Looking at them, and at Zahira, whose eyes were hollow at hearing their conversation despite her earlier blaze, she felt a determination gathering inside of her. She would do whatever it took to get them sent safely back home. It might take time, but she would do it.
She patted the couch cushion and the two girls climbed up in between her and Amala. "It's okay to cry," she murmured. "Everyone here does, as I'm sure you've noticed. I cry, Amala cries…there's a lot to cry about. But if that's all you do, you let him win. You don't want to let him win."
"But hasn't he already?" Zahira said dully. She was all fire and boldness with the other girls, but when it came to Loki, she withdrew. She was 17, while Hayden and Lucille were 16 and 14, respectively; she wasn't quite as innocent as the other two were, but she was a far cry from what the older girls were who'd been with Loki.
"No." Carmen reached over and squeezed the Saudi girl's hand. "He only wins when you turn into a girl like Eloise, or when he makes you think there's no hope. As long as you keep your mind sharp, strong, and, most importantly, your own, it doesn't matter if he calls himself a king; you're the queen of yourself."
Amala shifted uncomfortably, giving Carmen a cautionary look. "You know what he'd do to you if he heard you say that."
"We're the only ones who can hear it; everyone else is busy. You're not going to tell on me, are you?"
"No, but…you shouldn't talk like that. Especially around them, they'll pick up on it." Speaking more towards the younger girls, Amala added, "As much as you should try to stay your own person, you have to be flexible. Don't forget that, or he'll snap you like a twig."
Carmen pursed her lips, not quite agreeing with her friend. "You can bend for him, if that's what it takes to stay alive – I know I let him get his way even when I'd rather not to save my own skin – but you can't let him mold you. You have to be more like one of those flexible rulers and less like a ball of play dough."
"Wow, you're really reassuring me," Hayden smiled wryly. "I'm kind of hoping he forgets I exist."
"I just wish he hadn't picked me," Lucille sniffed, finally finished sobbing. "I wish I could go back home."
The girls nodded sadly, and let out a collective sigh. That was something that they could all agree upon, but that none of them had an answer to. Amala, who'd never been able to stand silences, suggested brightly, "Why don't we play blackjack? Hey, Jaime, toss me the cards. Thanks."
They passed the rest of the day in the usual way. After several rounds of blackjack (Zahira came out on top, but Carmen and Hayden weren't far behind), they lazily switched in and out of the handful of activities they could do. Amala taught them how to do the braid in Zahira's hair, Lucille in a rare moment captured the whole room's attention with an angelic reproduction of a popular Midgardian song, Hayden and Carmen participated in a chess duel while the others gossiped, Zahira showed off some sultry Saudi Arabian dance moves, and they all tried their best to come up with a name for Carmen's baby.
"I still say Agrajeeta if it's a boy," Zahira argued. "It was my cousin's name; it means first champion."
Hayden laughed and tossed a pillow at her face. "Her baby's not Saudi like you are! Try to think of some normal names!"
"What, like Fandral or Volstagg?" Carmen grinned. "Honestly, I doubt my input will matter much." She couldn't see Loki taking her suggestions on what to name his child. Thinking about him reminded her that she had somewhere to be. "Crap. Does anyone know what time it is?"
"Seven," Amala quickly responded. "Oh! Carmen, you need to go."
"Yeah," she sighed, not overly thrilled to be leaving her friends again. She gave each of them a warm hug before rising and heading out. "I'll be back; try not to have too much fun without me."
She darted back to her rooms, relaxing when she saw they were empty. A small part of her had been worried that the king would be there, but she should've known better; he usually waited until later. As she headed towards her closet, she didn't notice the dark shadow behind her door - but her head snapped back around when she heard the door close with a soft click. Eyes sharp, she glanced around her room, nerves creeping up on her. A few moments of looking revealed nothing out of the ordinary, so she uneasily went about her business. She stepped out of her gown and put it aside for the servants to take care of, then slipped into a sheer gold nightgown. The material made her feel as if her skin was going to slip out of it any moment, the airiness and softness of it flowing gently down her curves.
Without warning she felt frigid hands, harder than any glacier, grasped her hips, and she couldn't help but flinch, breathing in sharply. Her nightgown might as well have been gossamer for all the good it did against his arctic chill. His voice was frosty as he leaned down and whispered into her ear. "So you thought that you could deceive me."
Blinking the surprise and fear that remained off of her face, she slowly turned her head to see Loki standing behind, a cold, unreadable expression on his pale face. "I didn't try to trick you, your Grace," she said cautiously. He was in one of his dangerous moods, she could tell, where he shifted between more emotions than she could name and, worst of all, kept it all veiled so she didn't know what to expect.
"Are you foolish enough to believe that you could leave this room without my knowledge?" Even after all this time, the smooth venom in his voice made her want to shudder, but she wouldn't give him that pleasure.
"You never told me I had to stay here," she said with determination, and her eyes even dared to have a little cheek in them as they flickered up towards his. "And…I could have gone somewhere forbidden, but I didn't. That should count for something."
"Where you went was forbidden as well," he glared, flipping her around so they were facing one another. "Are you too stupid to know that when I give you a command, it is in your best interests to follow?"
"You never gave me a command." She expected the stinging slap that followed as soon as the words left her mouth, but she knew better than to duck and avoid it. That would only make him angrier.
With an amazing delicacy, he ghosted the tip of his finger around the side of her face. "You speak with more boldness than befits your station, my dear." That time, Carmen did shudder. "My dear" sounded like a dark threat when it came from his lips.
She knew what he wanted. He wanted to subjugate her, to punish her for her insolence at disobeying an order he hadn't even given. She would give it to him, then; it wouldn't mean as much if she handed it over without truly meaning it. It was a far better alternative than him forcing her into actually believing that she deserved the pain and humiliation he was about to give her. "Then you had better remind me what my station is." The words tasted sour on her lips, even as she said them in the playfully seductive tone that men loved.
"Oh I intend to," the king said in a low voice, tracing his finger down the center of her body and stopping on the swell where her child grew. "And you will remember your place in the future…or you will see what I do to those who disappoint me."