Chapter 6

Loki stood in front of a mirror in his washroom attached to his cell, staring at his reflection as he finished washing up. For a prisoner, the washroom was quite nice, and he had been able to take a long bath to soak his aching healing body. He looked over his wounds, touching the large one on his ribs, pondering how it had healed quite miraculously over the last day, thanks to Astrid and her unique talents.

Astrid.

The thought of her name, the most captivating woman he had ever been in the presence of, made him feel... well, feel. She was a princess, sure, but something about her reminded him of the witch tribe his mother came from. He had been around plenty of royalty, most of whom acted as though their power put them above everyone else. But despite her commanding presence when she entered a room, she wasn't this way at all, no demeaning or belittling, the need to assert any dominance rendered pointless by the power she simply emanated. She was truly unique, and he'd be lying if he didn't admit his initial attraction to her was starting to be replaced with something deeper and more complicated.

He didn't like it when things got complicated.

He put on a clean pair of knee length trousers and a soft tunic, then laid in his bed and pondered the events over the last day, starting with the accident. His memory around it was foggy, the pain from whatever had been in his body made it hard to recall what exactly had happened. After she had stabbed the needle into his arm, he could only remember being lost in a dark world, aimlessly wandering for what felt like days, until he heard her voice.

Her deep, smoky, alluring voice.

When she had performed the spell, it was as though she was guiding him through his memories, towards a way out. But when they came to his childhood, then the baby in the ice cold, he had been overwhelmed with an uncontrollable anger and torment that had shattered the memory around him until he awoke. He couldn't explain it, but whatever she had done to wake him had brought out a vicious side of him he had only known in battle.

The baby in the cold... what even was that?

He didn't dare think on it too long, as it seemed like something he couldn't quite face, not yet. His mind had buried it for a reason, so his thoughts went to the interaction with the Elven princess after he awoke. Her supple body, those mesmerizing eyes, and soft groans. The insatiable lust coupled with his deep anger had overwhelmed him, so he acted on impulse.

Admittedly it was a side of himself he never even tried to control. It made him feel powerful.

Did he regret his actions? Taking advantage of her in such a vulnerable state? Alas, regret was not a feeling Loki had in his wheelhouse. His plan for seducing the dark elf princess seemed to be working, that was what mattered, because it was the only chance he had of escape.

Although he had been forceful with her, she seemed to almost want it, even enjoyed it for a moment, seemingly as much as he had. He also couldn't deny that when he was around her, he felt more alive. Whatever power was coursing through her that made her eyes glow, that gave her the ferocity she possessed, he had felt it through his entire body when he was connected to her. First, he got a taste of it when she was in his memories connected to him through the spell, and again even more when he touched her. It electrified him.

He wanted more. He wanted all of it.

Was this deep insatiable desire love? It suddenly struck him that, for someone like him, it was probably the closest he was ever going to get to being in love.

Which of course, would make his plan much more problematic, but he felt determined. What if they could leave this god forsaken wasteland together? The thought was comforting, but hollow. Whenever he tried to convince himself he could get her to Asgard somehow undetected by Odin, maybe hide her with the witches in Vedel, he knew deep down it would be a fool's errand. It felt strange to admit that the idea of betraying her was becoming more and more troubling to him.

Betrayal, that was definitely in Loki's wheelhouse.

His thoughts were interrupted by the doorway to his cell opening, the guards were coming to take him to the healing room once more. He smirked to himself.

And the dance goes on…

~oOo~

When Astrid walked into the healer room, cleaned up after her bout of sickness and fully dressed in her grey healing robes, hair pulled into a tight braid, she immediately dismissed everyone, who just looked around uncomfortably at each other. She was on edge, which she was sure they sensed, then repeated herself with a commanding tone she inherited from her father, causing them to immediately scramble out. She didn't need potential spying eyes in her healing room, not today.

She was dreading another stressful interaction after seeing her father less than an hour before. As soon as the last dark elf left, she went straight to her table of potions, turning her back to Loki, who was once again strapped down to the healing table. She thought he would speak as he normally wouldn't shut up, but he remained silent. She opened one of the small bottles with a white smoky substance and breathed it in deeply. It was a calming potion she had made to put soldiers at ease when they were in pain but needed to remain conscious for surgery. It worked instantly, helping her feel more centered and cleared her head of all the anxious thoughts racing through her mind. She took another deep breath, then turned to face him.

"Hello, Astrid, you are looking ravishing as always." he said somewhat flirtatiously, trying to get under her skin a little. She laughed in a way that made him on edge.

"Nothing turns off the charm for you does it, silver tongue?" She walked over to the table and stood behind him, looking down at his face, then studying his body. She began to caress his wounds, his body flinching slightly at the coldness of her fingers. Although he welcomed her touch, the way she did it made him uneasy. "Always charming, even when you're strapped down to this table, completely helpless..." her voice trailed off a bit, which made him even more uneasy. "I need something from you." She said, adopting a more commanding tone, "I need to know how you got your wounds, so I can understand why my lab exploded when I gave you that potion."

"I've already told you everything I remem-"

"But before we get into all of that," she interrupted as though he hadn't spoken, "I want to make something clear." She stood straight and held up a vile with what looked like hot yellow liquid inside and shook it next to his eyes, as though to taunt him. She then held his eyelid open so he couldn't blink and smirked slightly. "This is going to hurt."

Before he could object, she put one drop in each eye, and Loki could hear the sizzle sound as they sunk in, which was quickly followed by excruciating pain. It felt like acid was gradually seeping down his entire body, through his veins. He cried out and writhed on the table only for a moment, until he suddenly started to lose all control over his muscles and go limp, unable to make a sound even though he was still in terrible pain. As he continued to lose control of his body, she stood there observing, a sinister look on her face. She slowly began to pace around him, until she was facing him so he could see her as she spoke.

"What's the matter, my dear prince? Feeling a sudden loss of control?" she said as he continued to twitch slightly, until his body went completely limp. His inability to move just made the pain more unbearable, like he was burning on the inside with no way to cope. She glared at him menacingly; even though he couldn't look directly at her, he could feel the heat of her gaze.

"The next time you think of forcing yourself on me, I want you to remember this feeling." she continued with a deep authoritative tone, "You may be a god, but you forget that you are not the only one with power here." She walked over to him, then leaned in closely, almost whispering into his ear. "At this point you should feel your organs starting to fail, as the potion continues to shut down your body. Eventually, your lungs will collapse, and you will suffocate in one of slowest and most excruciating ways possible. All the while, being completely powerless to stop it." She then held up another vile, this time with a lilac substance, and slowly put 2 more drops into his eyes as she continued to speak. "Then again, even if I wanted to, I'm not allowed to kill you. But I think we both know that there are worse fates than death."

The drops felt cool, and Loki could almost immediately feel control over his muscles again as the remedy potion took effect. Although the pain was subsiding, it was replaced by an extremely uncomfortable tingling sensation which became stronger whenever he moved. He gasped and coughed as he regained control over his lungs, still somewhat restricted by the straps holding him down. Never had he felt such pain and helplessness, and it was not an experience he ever cared to have again. She had overpowered him in a way no one else ever had, and even though he felt angry, he couldn't help but also be somewhat impressed.

She stood back and leaned on her potions table, crossing her arms as he slowly regained control over his body.

"Do we understand each other, Loki?" Astrid eventually asked. He coughed a bit before being able to respond, still struggling to breathe.

"I b-believe so, y-yes." he said, his voice raspy. She seemed quite satisfied with that response.

"Good. Because in order to find out what I need to know, we need to be able to trust each other." She walked back over to him and in a surprising gesture of good faith began undoing the straps on the table. "We may have gotten off to a rocky start, but I think we can move past that, don't you agree?"

He wasn't quite sure how to respond, and just looked at her suspiciously as he slowly sat up, still feeling that uncomfortable stinging sensation when he moved.

"I suppose I do." he said cautiously. She handed him a cup of water, but he wouldn't take it, which made her laugh.

"It's just water, I promise." she said with a smirk, taking a small sip. "That potion will leave most people quite parched." She said handing it to him once more. He was admittedly thirstier than he could ever remember being, but still sniffed it before chugging it down quickly, spilling a little as he did. "I would like to make a deal." He almost choked on his water.

"A deal? After you almost slowly poisoned me to death?" he said, his confusion deepening. "I still can't even move my legs-"

"Oh, don't be such a baby, I had it under control the whole time." Astrid replied dismissively.

"Thats not really any comfort is it, my blood felt like it was on fire!" He snapped at her, wanting to stand but choosing to remain sitting on the table in case his legs gave way when he stood. She just kept leaning on the table across from him, arms crossed, with an accusatory look that said it all.

"You know why I had to do that, so don't act like you didn't deserve it." she said, referring to their previous encounter. He knew she was right, so he kept his mouth shut, but smirked a little at the memory of it. "Now, do you want to hear my proposal or not?" He stared at her stubbornly for a moment, then nodded. "Right then, it's quite simple. You need to tell me everything you remember about the battle, and what weapon my father's men used that almost killed you."

"You know I can't remember anything."

"Well, it's in your mind somewhere, and if you let me, I may be able to find it." she said, determined. He laughed in disbelief.

"Are you mad? What makes you think I would let you try any sort of spell after last time?" he responded.

Astrid knew he wouldn't make it easy, so decided to take a slightly less argumentative approach. She stood and started to saunter over to him, with a seductive look on her face that made him sit up tall.

"I was able to get you out of deep sleep, wasn't I? And who knows, you could have been stuck there forever if I hadn't performed that spell." He had to admit she had a point with that one, but his thoughts were flustered as she got closer and closer, until she was standing between his legs, one hand on his thigh and the other on his chest, gazing up at him with a pleading look in her eyes. "Besides, we could always do this the hard way where I strap you back down, drug you until you fall asleep, and then give it a go." She traced a finger up his arm, looking down and then back up at him flirtatiously. "But that would just make things so much more difficult for both of us, wouldn't you agree?"

He swallowed hard, trying to focus and not be distracted by the warmth of her body so close to his. Her eyes were even more mesmerizing up close, her lips soft and inviting.

"I see your point. But you've failed to mention what's in it for me in this deal." he said, impressed with himself for resisting her charm. She let out a small chuckle.

"Always looking out for number one." she replied, her demeanor hardening as she stood back and crossed her arms, relinquishing her warm caress. "I can make life much easier for you during your remaining time in captivity, and I'll make sure my father doesn't kill you once he's used you for what he wants." she stated. He was intrigued, but not completely sold on it.

"What makes you think you can do that? From what I understand your father has quite the unpredictable temper."

"My father can be very amenable if you convince him that something is in his best interest." she said confidently. "So, I guess you'll just have to trust I can do that." She held out her hand to shake on it, knowing fully well Loki had a valid point. Her father was a very difficult man to sway, and unpredictable, but she had a feeling once she found out his secrets that wouldn't be a problem. She just needed Loki to trust her and let her figure out the rest.

He stared at her for a moment, before a smirk came across his face. He shook her hand, and felt his stomach flutter a little when she smiled.