Chapter 7.
Lorien walked back to his Chambers, her heart light at having slept so close to her sister and she felt gratitude toward her Master for finding the little girl and saving her. She walked at a fast pace, her emerald skirts whispering along the marble floors and she heard his voice. He was angry, his voice tense and she stopped as she listened around the corner.
"These laws must be changed, they are barbaric Thor." He said, the blonde Prince shaking his head as they spoke.
"The have been this way for longer than I have been alive, how am I to rescind such traditions after so long? Loki, you need to stop looking at yours like a person and more like... like a way to satisfy needs. These girls are told to expect to be used as such, and I was told they accept their lives as they are." Thor reasoned, and Loki placed as he flexed his hands into fists.
"I may be a Jotun half breed, but I am not that much of a beast!" He said, running a hand over his hair and composing himself. "Do you know what happens to the children these unfortunate women bear? Why do we not see a gaggle of bastard children running about? What of the families they are stolen from?"
"I have never given those matters much thought, it is best not to." Thor said, crossing his arms and Loki balked at him.
"You never once wondered what happened to the four you sired?"
"I never knew about them, only that the girl was taken somewhere and then returned to me after a time. I do have five of these girls myself." He replied and Lorien nearly gasped at the thought of the Older Prince using so many girls to fulfill his needs. Loki gestured, his hands open and his fingers splayed.
"They are taken from their breast as soon as they are weaned from their mothers, sold off as well to wealthy families and they never know who their parents are. How could you be so obtuse?"
"Then have yours sterilized, it will prevent you having to sell hers off. Some of the Lords insist it is done, and they say it keeps the girls from bleeding once a month an you have the benefit of enjoying them more." Thor said with a shrug and Lorien covered her mouth to keep from crying out. Would Loki have her sterilized, was he that heartless? Would he sell her children, despite their heritage and she never see them grow? Her heart pounded in her chest and she heard his next words, they calming the fear that ran through her.
"I will not do any such thing. Thor, think on this a moment, they slaughtered her whole family and left a child alone in the woods to starve and be eaten by carrion. The bodies of the men left to rot in a field, all so that they could get one attractive girl. That was the price of your pleasure." Loki hissed, pointing at Thor and his voice lowered. "I hope you think on that the next time you force one of those girls into your bed. Do you even know their names?"
"They never told me them, they said I could give them names." He replied and Loki balked at him.
"It seems the Midgardians you prized yourself on befriending failed to teach you of their more civilized ways." Loki said, walking away from them. "Mine is named Lorien, and her sister is Inge. Their mother gave them those names on their birth!"
Lorien hid behind a statue, hearing Thor walk her way and she watched the back of his head pass. She covered her mouth, the fabric of her skirts rustling and she looked down at the gold embroidery that accented them. He turned a corner, vanishing from sight and she hurried on her way to Loki's Chambers. She did not know what was waiting for her now that he was angry, but she had learned something about him.
That he would not rape her or hurt her.
He wanted to free her.
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She had nearly finished all her chores when the little girl bounced in. Her blue dress filled with ruffles and pleats, she giggling as she saw her older sister sweeping. Lorien smiled, her eyes going wide at the fine doll she carried and she held it up to show it to her older sister.
"Look what the Queen gave me! Isn't she pretty?" Inge said, Lorien taking the doll from her and nodding numbly. She had dreamed herself of owning such a lovely doll, the fine porcelain and silk thing in her hands a dream for any child her sister's age.
"Very pretty. Did you thank Her Majesty for this fine gift?" She asked, giving her back the toy and the girl nodded.
"I did, I kissed her cheek and she smiled and hugged me. Queen Frigga is so nice, and she smells like flowers." The girl observed, a chuckle from the open door bringing them both to attention. Lord Brom standing in it, his hands behind his back as his eyes shot between the girls. He took a step forward, Lorien guiding Inge behind her and she shuddered at the look he was giving her. She pulled her sleeve up, showing him the cuff and she used it at a shield.
"This means that you may not touch me Sir, this is the mark of my Master and he will act on his threat if you put a hand on my body." She said, her bravery amusing the Lord, his eyes falling on her and he stood still. He turned to leave, pausing and in a sudden movement, he struck her and she fell to the ground. She gasped, the little girl behind her screaming and she pulled at Lorien.
"Wretch! You think a trinket from your whoring will stop me?" He said and pulled her off the floor by both arms. He turned his attention to the terrified child, his eyes filled with hate. "Leave you little sow! I am taking my liberties with this Slave!"
"Lorien!" Inge shouted, her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head to clear the stars that dotted her vision. The man grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to the Bed Chamber and she reached out for the doorframe. She clutched to it, screaming and his hands came out and wrenched them free. He pulled her in, her feet kicking and she screamed again as he grabbed her wrist and crushed it in his grip.
"Let go of me!" She screamed, Lord Brom throwing her back on the bed and she slapped amd kicked at him. "Inge! Get help!"
Another blow crashed into Lorien's cheek, her head wrenching to the side and he held her wrists with one hand as she squeezed her thighs together. She kicked at him, barking his shin and he punched her in the stomach for fighting back. He gripped her chin in his jaw, his face inches from hers and she tried to get her hands free.
"Hold still." He hissed, releasing her face and he held up a finger. "It does not matter how much you fight, I will have you by your cunt. I should warn you, you will not take pleasure in it but I will."
"No!" She screamed, twisting her body and she felt him flip her skirts up her legs. She crossed them, fighting to keep him away from her and he flipped her onto her stomach. She clawed at the bed covers, her hair in his fist before she could crawl across it and he opened his pants. She could feel his hand trying to position her and she screamed again. Her hips moving to avoid what was coming.
"Brace yourself you bitch." He hissed onto her ear, and she screamed. She closed her eyes, but the penetration never came. She shook, twisting back as her hair was released and she saw Loki standing behind the man with a knife to his throat and he stood as still as a statue. His trousers remained around his ankles, and Lorien covered her legs as fast as she could with her skirts. Inge stood in the door, clutching her doll and she whimpered.
"I warned you, did I not? How dare you touch what is mine, did she show you my cuff?" He asked, the knife pressing into his throat and drawing a thin line of blood.
"She did. I thought..." he started and Loki cut him off, Lorien slipping from the bed and wrapping her arms around himself. She watched in horror, her eyes wide and Loki grinned sadistically at the man he held.
"Did she say it was my mark of ownership on her?" He asked, his voice calm and even. The Ambassador swallowed, sweat forming on his brow and he whimpered.
"She did... she is a Pleasure Slave, nothing but a place to put your cock!" He screamed, his hands closing and Loki growled in his ear as he pulled the man back by his forehead. He hissed, laying the knife along his cheek and Lorien covered Inge's eyes.
"She may be property, but she has rights to say that she does not want you. I ordered her to tell anyone that they are not to touch her, and you did not listen to either me or her." Loki said and he lowered the knife from Brom's cheek. "What did I say that I would do if I caught you touching her?"
"If you do it, Asgard will loose the support of my King. You would cost Odin everything, trade alliances would crumble if word reached certain ears that his Jotun Bastard was allowed to attack off his leash." Brom said, his eyes following the knife. Lorien whimpered, and Loki saw the bruising on her cheeks and jaw. He leaned close to the man, releasing him and walked to face him. Brom pulled his trousers back up, covering himself and Loki flipped the knife in his hand.
"He is a Prince!" Inge shouted, glaring at the man and she waved a finger at him. "You hurt Lorien! You are a bad man!"
"I do like your Sister." Loki said to Lorien, she struggling to control the fiery tempered child. She looked scared, her eyes darting back and forth between the persons in the room. He opened his Chamber door, a Guard standing outside and Loki gestured the man in. He entered, the two girls watching him pass and he escorted the Ambassador to the door, leading the man away.
"I am ordered to take you to your Chambers, you attempted to steal property belonging to a Prince of the Realm, and you will face the judgment of King Odin." The Guard said, Ambassador Brom sneering at the man. He walked with the Guard, glaring at the girls before leaving and he wiped the blood from his neck.
"Slave whore, I will have both you and the little wretch." He hissed at Lorien, her arms tightening around her sister and she shivered at the look in his eye.
"You have nothing to say to her." Loki said and the men left the rooms, leaving the two girls and the Prince alone. He turned to Lorien, his eyes on her and he gestured her forward. "I must ask your older sister some questions, they are not for your ears Inge. Go and wait in the sitting room, and she will be out to play with you soon."
"Yes My Prince." The girl said, looking up at him and she motioned him close to her. He frowned, crouching down to her height and she hugged him around his neck. He froze a moment, and he returned the embrace.
"May I ask what this is for?" He asked the child and she giggled, the doll hanging by an arm down his back.
"For helping my sister. He hit her hard and made her fall down." Inge said and Loki looke up at Lorien, her nod confirming what he was told. He took in a long breath to clear his thoughts, she trembling as he waited for the little girl to leave the room. She slipped away from him, and she walked to the door, reaching up for the handle to close it on her toes.
"Did he?" He asked, unable to finish his statement and she shook her head. She was staying strong, and he had to commend her for being so brave.
"No, he only struck me Sir." She said and he nodded, he smoothed his hair under his hand and he stared at her. She looked away, her eyes fixing on the floor and she shivered in fear.
"He will not come near you again, if he does they will not find what I leave of him." He said and he walked to her, his hands caressing her cheeks and the bruises fading from them under the glow of his magic. "He knows better than to touch what is mine now, and I will remember your obedience."
"Yes Sir." She said, backing from him slowly, her eyes fixed on him and she saw his hand close on the air. He looked at her for a moment longer, something of tenderness and longing in his eyes but fading all too fast.
"I will hope that he is dismissed from his position and sent back to Vanenheim, but it being Odin, I doubt that this will come to pass. Go and see your sister, and finish the tasks I left for you." He said, taking a step back and she hurried through the door. Inge sat on the Lounge with her doll, and she stood up and they both watched Loki leave.
Lorien felt a strange confusion at his actions, as if she could not quite understand his motives. He had a mercurial temperament to be sure, one moment being kind and caring toward her, the next, turning cold and indifferent. He almost treated her as if she were nothing more than a bit of irritating furniture, something that served a purpose but could still be gotten rid of if he so chose.
"Inge, sleep in the Chambers that Her Majesty has prepared for you tonight." She said, the girl looking up at her with wide eyes. She bit her little lip, and she worried at it.
"Are you mad at me?" She asked and Lorien shook her head quickly. She hugged her sister, comforting her and she smoothed her hair back.
"I need to speak to The Prince on a matter that is very important, I believe that he is attempting to free all the Slaves of Asgard." She said and Inge looked at her in shock. "You must not tell a single person though, for it could mean trouble for him and I could be sold to a crueler Master. Do you promise to not breathe a word of this?"
"I promise Lorien." She said, and Inge hugged her again. "I hope he can free you, then we can share everything the Queen gives me."
"That would be wonderful Inge, but always be polite and mind your manners. Make mother smile on you from Valhalla, and make father proud." She warned, her face serious as she spoke. The little girl smiled at her, and she laughed at her sister.
"I promise to do all that too." Inge said and Lorien opened the door for the girl, she skipping down the hall and back toward Frigga's chambers. Lorien watched her until she turned the corner, leaning against the door after closing it and she returned to her sweeping. She finished her tasks and put everything away, washing her hands and setting the table in his chambers for his supper and she sat and waited by the cold hearth for him to return.