The creak of the door didn't wake her. Nor did the shaft of bright light. It wasn't until someone gently shook her shoulder that Aura stirred. It took her a long time to lift her stiff eyelids. Then she startled at the figure knelt by her.
"It's Peggy," a familiar British accent assured.
Aura calmed, sinking back into the frigid bed.
"Do you think you can do another interview today?"
"Uh-huh," came her weak reply. She tried pushing herself up, but the inky cold had sucked her strength away.
"We're wasting time, Agent Carter." A new, harsh male voice.
The Asgardian winced and curled into herself even further.
Peggy helped her into a sitting position, speaking with a calm demeanor. "Aura, I would like you to meet Colonel—"
"Just, the Colonel," the man replied. "I don't need you to become familiar with me."
Aura squinted. Everything was a giant blur. She tried speaking, but only a strained whine came from her throat. It seemed the cold took more than her strength away.
Agent Carter thinned her bright red lips. Looked toward the Colonel. "We need to warm her up before she can properly respond to your questions."
The Colonel's broad frame left the doorway. "Bring A-001 now. I will not coddle prisoners."
Peggy sighed. "Be brave," she whispered as she helped the young woman to her feet. Catching her when she instantly collapsed. "Can you feel anything?"
Aura shook her head, which immediately went limp when it finished with its movements.
"It's okay. I'll assist you. But I also must warn you. The Colonel has little patience, and he'll most likely drill you with questions you won't know the answer to. Accuse you of being things you're not. Let him carry out his business, and he'll leave."
The Asgardian attempted having some control over her limbs, but she had none. She absolutely couldn't feel anything. Couldn't even feel pain. She didn't know if she was actually alive or simply a waning consciousness in an already dead body. But she tried for the Agent Carter woman.
Peggy limped her into the interrogation room and sat her down in the metal chair bolted to the floor. However, she stayed by her side instead of moving to the opposite of the table.
"H-how long?" Aura strained, slumped over in the chair.
"Four days since I last saw you."
"…four?"
"Yes. Have they not been allowing you out of your room twice a day for restroom privileges? Or feeding you during the designated times?"
"I don't, I don't know."
Agent Carter looked to her superior.
The Colonel crossed his arms. "Why should I care if she's able to keep track of the days or not? It seems she has her voice back, so we'll begin." He picked up the only other chair, twisted it around, and planted himself on it backwards. Watching the girl intently. "Hit the button, Carter."
Peggy's brows lifted slightly, but she did as she was told to keep the man calm.
The whir of the tape recorder filled the silence.
Aura perked up slightly. However, her eyelids and body remained heavy. Everything remained numb. Her mind barely functioned, but she promised herself to do her best. She didn't want the nice Peggy to get in trouble with this stone-faced man.
The Colonel pressed his fingers together. "You said in your first interview you're from a place called Asgard. You're not the first alien we've encountered, but you're the first…Asgardian? Tell me what Asgard is like."
She barely nodded. "Big. Flat. The w-waters run off in great falls. Palace…in the center, tall and gold."
"Palace? So you have a royal monarch who rules?"
More faint nodding. "Odin."
The Colonel leaned forward. "Tell me more about this Odin."
"Tall. One eyed. Father, husband."
His upper lip curled in disdain. "Those aren't the answers I'm looking for. Tell me about his ruling style. Tell me about the military he presides over."
"I do not, I do not know."
"If you're from this place, then you have to know. How big are the forces?"
She fell into a coughing fit, and it took her some time before she could recover. "Many soldiers."
He ran his hands over his face. Volume starting to rise. "That's not good enough. Tell me how big the forces are. Is your Odin quick to war? Is he not?"
"I don't know."
"You have to know!" The Colonel slammed his fist down onto the table, not caring that Agent Carter placed an arm in front of the prisoner to intervene. "You were in the palace, right? You have to know."
Aura startled. But she was too numb to do anything correct about it. In her unintentional flailing, she fell off the chair and onto the cement floor. Tears forming. Actual tears welling in her eyes.
Peggy moved to help her while addressing the Colonel. "Don't you—"
"Agent Carter, stand down," the man roared as he rounded the table. He picked the Asgardian up by a handful of hair. Ignoring his militia underling. "What are you? Some kind of spy? An information agent sent here to learn about us and send back your findings to this Odin? Why aren't you telling me what you know?"
Aura's chin quivered while she struggled against the man's grasp. There wasn't much she could do with her hands still in the strange cuffs in front of her. Her scalp feeling like it was about to rip off at any moment. There. There was the pain. She was thawing out. "P-please. You must…you must believe me."
He threw her back to the ground. "No, I don't. Humor me, though. Tell me why I should believe you."
She moved to her hands and knees, keeping her head down in the lowest form of submission the palace taught her. The waterfall of tears leaking down her cheeks and pattering against the floor. "I-I was but a servant in the palace. I knew n-nothing. Know nothing."
"Am I supposed to believe you? How do I know this isn't all a ruse?" The Colonel reached back a large hand, ready to strike, but somebody caught it. His widened steel eyes looked up.
Agent Peggy Carter had a hold on his fist. Her expression equally as stern. "Treating her this way will not make her answer you with what you want to hear."
The broad-shouldered man snarled. "And you believe her, don't you? Just because she's a little girl."
"I do believe her, yes. But not because she's a little girl. In fact, I'm sure she's at an age you and I cannot even comprehend. I believe her because the signs of the truth are all there. Look at her mentality. That's how she's been since she's got here. There's video evidence to prove it. Look at the scars on her arm; she's been treated like a burden animal. Under her jumpsuit, there are more. I've seen them myself because I helped her put it on."
He remained silent.
Peggy grabbed a hold of his thumb and slightly bent it back. "I do not care if you're my superior. You are not a human being if you continue treating her this way. And if you do, I will consider you a threat because we don't know the full extent of her powers. Pushed too far, she might explode like an atom bomb, and frankly, I don't think the death of hundreds, possibly thousands of people on your hands, do you? Sir."
The Colonel looked off to the side. His jaw setting and unsetting. "Release me. I'll let you finish the interview, and you can play me the results later. I'll go check on Stark."
Agent Carter subtly smirked as she let the man go. Typical British sarcasm hanging off every word she spoke next. "Sir, have I ever told you how great you are with making decisions?"
"Don't," he held up a hand, pushing himself to his feet, "patronize me." Without acknowledging the Asgardian further, he straightened his green military jacket and left the room.
The door's slam echoed through the room and hall.
Peggy knelt and gently took one of the other woman's arms.
Aura instinctively flinched. A new round of tears flowing. She waited. Waited to be beaten for not providing what was asked of her. Waited to be thrashed for speaking out of line. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll be better next time. I swear my life to you."
"It's okay. Calm yourself. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just going to help you back in the chair now. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be on the floor."
She dared lifting her head. "You think," her eyes darted around. "You think I'm pretty?"
Agent Carter nodded. "Of course." Once she got Aura in the chair, she took her place across the table. "Have you looked at yourself? You're elegantly long and thing, but you're not too tall. Most girls would dream to have a figure like yours."
Her brows knitted, and she looked down at herself. "It's because I've hardly ever eaten. The palace never allotted me much food, and the tradition stuck when I came here. But that might also be because I'm half light elf."
Agent Carter's expression blanked. She glanced at the tape, which was still recording. "Come again?"
"I'm…half light elf?"
She offered a smile. "Well, that would also explain your cute, little pointed ears. And what about your hair? Is that because you're an elf?"
Aura relaxed. She didn't have total feeling back in her body, but she could tell she had been tense. Agent Carter was trying to make her feel at ease. Although, she couldn't help being embarrassed by being called pretty and cute. No one had ever told her those things before. Well. Almost no one.
Before she could lose herself in the thoughts of her beloved, she focused on the other woman's question. Looked down at the ends of her hair falling to her waist. At the top, it was platinum blonde, but by the middle of her hair, it faded into orange. And finally, the orange faded into brilliant red. "No. Well, the lightest part of it is. I'm not sure which one of my parents was a light elf. I only know because Queen Frigga told me so, and she's a light elf, so she would know. I think the orange and red are from my fire abilities."
"I know you said you were but a servant, but you mention Frigga with her official title, as opposed to when you mention Odin without his official title. Were you close to her in any kind of way?"
Aura allowed a small smile. "She had her handmaidens raise me. Even if I technically wasn't allowed to serve under her, she tried to keep an eye out on me."
Agent Carter's expression warmed. "Queen Frigga sounds very nice. I do have one question regarding Odin. Is he the one who encourages having servants?"
Suddenly quieting, she lowered her gaze. Nodded.
Peggy searched the young woman for a few moments then patted her arm. "Okay. I think that's enough for today. I apologize for the Colonel. I honestly tried to keep him from coming here because I knew he would be like that, but he never listens to what I have to say."
The Asgardian attempted a shrug of one shoulder. The volume of her voice dropped considerably. "It's okay."
"No it's not. That type of behavior should not be tolerated, no matter who it's directed at. But don't worry. We women will stick together."
Aura looked up, nodding. Followed the other back to her bitter solitary.