Don't fret dear chapter 4
It had started out like any other morning actually… inmates were noisy, the two groups throwing threats at the other, saying they were going to kill each other. The guards were escorting more inmates in, although there was a large terrifying one in a mask, although Syndra hadn't seen him coming in the slightest… her eyes were locked with the illustrious blue of Loki's and she couldn't contain the excited flutter in her chest. He had called her his friend, his one and only friend. although midget had been tossed around there a few times, but that was ok with her.
However, Loki's eyes would stray from her to glance at the newcomers ever so slightly. She knew he was taking in their level of threat accordingly. He had stood and had begun to watch as each of the men in cuffs passed by him. She stood and turned to her wall to begin working on her second painting, she understood that he needed to observe everything and everyone that came in or happened. It was just who he was, being such an intellectual mind, he needed to know. That's why he had asked her the questions and that was why he was always reading.
He was a brilliant mind with seemingly no purpose other than to prove to his father that he was good enough. She understood his need, although her need was different from his it was still the need to prove someone wrong. She wanted Odin to see her as an ally of Asgard, rather than the filth that had snuck in from Jotunheim. She glanced over at Loki and smiled softly, he was walking in circles with a book in hand; or better yet, his illusion was. She had found out that she could see through his illusions the other day when he had argued with his mother. He had come to the conclusion that she hadn't been able to learn the spells from his was because she could barely even see them.
It was plausible reasoning, seeing as she could see through them she would have to adjust her eyes to allow them to be seen; rather than just looking right through them. He, however, was not even holding a book, he was standing at the very front of his cell, staring at the newcomers, still assessing the danger level. She turned back to her painting and used careful strokes to define the cheekbones, then soft pink to accentuate the curve of the lips that were pursed in a thoughtful manner. She then grabbed the small brush, and began filling in the eyes with a soft blue, darkening around the edges of the eyes to define them better. She then grabbed a larger brush and dipped it in her black paint, she then began paint long hair that fell over the shoulders of the man in the painting.
A snort was heard from behind her and Syndra turned to face the person that was staring into her cell. "You think you have a chance, don't you?" her voice came out softly, but Syndra heard her loud and clear. She was only an illusion, but she was a powerful enough one that Syndra didn't have to adjust her eyes all that much to really see. Her illusions weren't as powerful as Frigga's, they weren't even close, because Syndra had still needed to adjust her eyes a bit. "Lady Sigyn." She greeted softly and Sigyn frowned at her. "I must admit you captured his imagery perfectly." Sigyn said with a small smile. "You don't love him, do you?" Sigyn asked, and Syndra shook her head.
"No milady, I do not. He is a favored friend though, seeing as I have no others." Syndra said and Sigyn smiled at her softly. "I see that…" she whispered as she brushed Syndra's hair behind her ear. "I very much love that man, so please… I don't want to lose him. I would much rather not have to let go of my husband." She whispered and Syndra could see the fear and sadness in Sigyn's blue eyes. Syndra smiled at her brightly, which caused Sigyn to be taken aback. "I would never have a chance with him, I'm nowhere near what he classifies as beautiful. You are what he classifies as beautiful, and you shouldn't have to worry about anything else but the fact that you are what he thinks of when he thinks of the word beautiful." Syndra said ato kill yound Sigyn frowned, but then nodded and offered a smile.
"I wasn't worried about my looks; I was worried about the intellectual mind you hold." She said before she vanished from sight. Syndra blinked and furrowed her eyes, but then sighed and turned back to her painting of Loki. When she turned to look over at Loki he was standing there with his brow raised in an amused manner. "Hmm… my hair has never looked that well-groomed, it has always had some sort of curl at the ends." He muttered, but then smirked. "Everything else could use a little work, I mean… no imagery could ever quite portray me exactly, but I would have to admit that this is fairly close." He said and she laughed, softly.
But it seemed that the moment wasn't meant to be so light hearted. The inmates began screaming, however, this wasn't in anger… these screams were screams of fear. He glanced over at Syndra and her whole form was frozen with fear as the larger man used another inmate to burst through his cell wall. Syndra stared at the beast as it strolled towards her cell. Her heart began to race, her limbs began to tremble with her fear, and her fear was caught in her throat. It touched her barrier, then reared back to smash the barrier. After the first hit she'd cowered against the back wall in fear. "Princess" it muttered and she screamed as it continued to try to break into her cell.
"Leave her alone!" Loki snarled and the creature stepped away from her cell. Loki didn't look angry or defensive of the sort, but he didn't look intimidating. The creature then stepped away from her cell and made his way over to Loki's cell and turned to look him in the face. It began saying something to him in a language he didn't understand, but Syndra crawled over to the front of her cell and began stammering something in the same language the creature had just spoken in. Her voice sounded terrified, whatever she had been saying.
The creature jerked its head towards Loki and spat on the floor, shaking his head towards Loki. Syndra screamed something at him in the language and Loki could feel the emotion in her voice, it was such a mix or terror, worry, and anger that it had caught him off guard. The creature sneered and reared his fist back to slam it into Loki's wall, but Syndra stood up straight and screamed half of her sentence in one language, but the last half in English. The creature backed away from him and walked over to Syndra.
She looked up at him and he bowed respectfully. He then stood from his one knee and walked past Loki, muttering something that sounded oddly like a threat when he stopped to stand in front of him once more. "I would recommend taking the stairs to the left." Loki said, his voice showing nothing that the creature could make out to be something else. Loki then turned and crouched beside her wall, placing a hand on the wall, which she placed hers there as well.
I'm ok... I promise..." She whispered and he nodded. "I was just making sure… I'm sorry it had taken me so long to figure out what to do…" he said but she stared at him with trembling eyes. "He was going to kill you…" she stammered and he frowned. "I figured he was going to try." Loki said then placed his hands on the wall between them. "Now… I need you to listen…" he said, seeing as even though she was still freaking out even though she said she was fine. She placed her hands over his and he nodded. "Now close your eyes and just listen, alright?" he said and she nodded once more.
Thor arrived not long after and began trying to get the prisoners back in their cells, but they refused and Thor had to use excessive force. Loki had managed to keep her attentions, and her mind clear. "Now, keep listening to the sound of my voice alright? Now I understand you are scared, but just take a deep breath. And don't fret dear, even when your heart begins to race, don't fret… don't panic… just remember what I'm saying here." He said and her lips continued to tremble. "Do not fret. You are safe right here, right beside me." He said and her sniffled began to slow. "Now do me a favor and push all thoughts of that creature out of your mind." He said and she took a deep breath.
"Now tell me who you are, tell me who I am, and show me something I have taught you." Loki said and she slowly opened her eyes. "I am Syndra of Svartalfheim and Jotunheim, you are Loki of Asgard and Jotunheim…." She whispered and he nodded. "Good, now show me…" he began but Thor walked into her cell and crouched beside her. "Thor." Loki greeted. "Loki." Thor greeted back, in the same tone of irritation. "You're alright now..." He said and her eyes trembled just the same as her fingers and her lips.
She began saying something in that different language and Thor shook his head. "They aren't here for you... They're here for the Aether..." He said and she sat on her feet, placing her hands together and she began praying. Loki could barely understand what she was saying, but Thor knew exactly what she was saying. Thor was patting her on the head, but the tears just kept coming. Loki frowned and placed his hand against the wall between them. She just continued to pray and this made him hurt. He understood her fear, or maybe he didn't… but he wanted to.
"Loki, watch her until I return." Thor said and Loki nodded. "Trust me brother, you will have no worries when it comes to me taking care of her." Loki bit out, but then knocked on the barrier once more. Thor watched Loki in confusion, but once he had begun to speak to Syndra, Thor knew she was in good hands. "Don't fret dear, you're supposed to remember my words. Think of my voice. And do as I say. Who are you, who am I, where are we, and show me something I've taught you." Loki said and Thor listened carefully as Syndra whispered all the answers to his questions, and then it had begun to snow in the room. The snow swirled around her hands and a gentle blue rose of ice was formed in her grasp.
"Very good, dear. Now come sit here and speak with me." He said and she crawled over to him. Loki glanced over to Thor, who offered an approving look then ran to try and destroy the thing that had come through here. "So, you are the daughter of this… Melekith?" he asked, opting for the polite description of the elven man. "That monster is in no way my father. He may be the father of my mother, but he is in no way related to me!" She hissed and he offered a sympathetic smile. "Forgive me love I didn't mean to offend." He said and she jerked her head up at him. "I'm sorry...I... I'm just panicking right now." She whispered and he nodded. "Come then, sit and show me what you've learned." He said and she began showing him the illusory spells he'd taught her.
It had been hours before anyone had come down to them, and by that time, Syndra had fallen asleep against the barrier between them. Loki had his back to the barrier and was flipping through his book. He had been reading for hours now, and was actually pleasantly surprised to see Syndra sleeping so well behind him. He glanced back before him to see the image of his wife sitting there. "Is she well?" sigyn asked and he shook his head. "Not so much… she's terrified." Loki said and Sigyn frowned.
"And you aren't? Thor said that creature was going to kill you." Sigyn said, but Loki just shrugged. "I diverted his attention from her long enough for her to gather her wits once more. She said something that made him leave the both of us alone." He said and Sigyn nodded. "Thor said she screamed for him to leave you alone the first time, but Thor says that the creature said you were a disrespectful worm that should die. Thor then told me that she continued to scream at him that you were her friend and that he should leave you alone." Sigyn said with a frown, but then she offered a small smile.
"Thor explained to me that what had gotten him to go away was that she had told him she would kill him if he didn't back off, but then Thor also said that she had to scream something else at the creature. I am quite interested in what exactly she could have said to get him to leave you alone…" Sigyn said and Loki quirked a brow. "What I want to know is how Thor knows her language." Loki said and he heard Syndra moving behind him. "Don't worry, she can't see me." Sigyn said and Loki chuckled. "I told him that Loki would protect me better than he could, so be had better not touch him." Syndra said and Loki stared at her wide eyed.
"He said that you better take care of me or he'll kill you the next time he sees you, Loki." Syndra said with a yawn as she turned around to look Sigyn's illusion in the eyes. The woman seemed surprised, she hadn't thought Syndra could see through her illusions. Loki chuckled at the look on his wife's face. "I had a similar look, I'd suppose. It is strange how she can see through our illusions, isn't it?" Loki asked and Sigyn stared at him in surprise.
"It's her eyes. They were trained to see heat signatures, and once her irises broke, she can no longer see heat signatures very well, but her eyes can still pick out what is real and what is unreal." Loki explained and Sigyn nodded. "That is interesting indeed." She whispered, but then stood. "Well I have to go, I have things to attend to on the outside. Not in Asgard." She said and vanished. Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes before he looked at her. "I swear that woman wants to kill me sometimes." He sighed and Syndra tilted her head at him.
"Funny I feel the same about her. I think she wants me dead over a painting." Syndra said and pointed at the one on the wall of Loki. "Uh huh? So I'm not the only one who gets that feeling? Good to know, I think." He sighed and Syndra smiled at him softly. "She thinks my intellectual mind will woo you." Syndra said in an amused tone as she began making up her bed. Loki just watched her in silence, which made her cheeks heat up slightly. Perhaps his silence meant that what Sigyn thought was true. Syndra shook her head and rolled her eyes. He was married and the thought of destroying his marriage because she thought he was nice and attractive to boot, was extremely selfish and disgusting.
"The woman is smart but her intelligence is put into question at times. She tries to help but usually making things worse. I wouldn't be surprised if one day she tried to cast a sedation spell on someone and ended up disintegrating them." He sighed with a shake of the head. "That's a terrifying thought." Syndra said and he nodded. "You have no idea." He sighed and she released a small laugh, but then her eyes went wide and she turned to him swiftly.
"Oh, no!" she squealed and he jumped up and looked at her, worry evident in his eyes. "What? What is it?" he asked in a panicky tone and she stared at him in fear. "What if she tries to sedate me and disintegrates me!?" she squealed and he released a laugh. "I don't think it would be an accident if she disintegrated you." He chuckled and her eyes widened and she buried her face in her hands. "I suppose it wouldn't be an accident then… I think she would just say it was… I swear that woman is jealous over nothing, isn't she?" Syndra asked and Loki stared at her for a moment.
"You ask in a tone that states you think she doesn't have anything to be jealous of, but at the same time your tone states that you have an idea that you might get something out of me on whether or not she does have something to be jealous over." Loki said with an amused glance and Syndra shook her head. "Not at all." She said but he laughed and shook his head. "Just get some sleep woman. We've had a rough day." He sighed and she nodded as she slipped into her bed.
They went to sleep and had woke the next morning to absolute silence. She had watched Loki carefully, seeing as she could tell something was upsetting him. The aura in the atmosphere was enough to make a grown woman want to break down and cry. The air was so thick with sadness it hurt her. He was pacing back and forth, his eyes glazed over in thought. This feeling lingered for days and she couldn't tell if were coming solely off of Loki, or from someone else.
Three days had passed before guards had returned to the dungeon, but they didn't return with food or anything of the sort. They came with news that made chills run down Syndra's entire body. She saw what they didn't see… she heard what they didn't hear, and she felt the agony of the words they would most likely never feel in the same way as he did. She had tried so hard to contain her tears but she was unable to contain them. It wasn't completely because of what they had said, although those words had pained her so deeply… it was the way he had reacted to those words… his reaction killed her inside and she just wanted to comfort him… tell him it was going to be ok, but she didn't know how… not after these words.
"Lady Frigga was lost…"
Before those words, her pain had always been classified as a nine. After those words and after watching his reaction to those words… she classified this pain as the one and only ten she would hope to ever have to classify pain as…