It was nearing midnight, but Athelia wasn't surprised to see Loki still awake - propped up by a pillow on his bed as his tired eyes scanned the pages of yet another Midgardian book. She wasn't sure if he had noticed her arrival, but she didn't seem to care either. She sat there in the darkened corner across the hall with the bottle of his spirits in her hand and the thought of breaking through to him on her mind.
Athelia knew it wasn't a perfect plan, but if the brennivin proved to do anything but give her the hiccups, it seemed to clear her mind and allow her to think about things in a way her fervent mind typically wouldn't - leaving her to realize that she would never get through to Loki by just demanding that he tell her what she wanted to know, or by forcing herself into his mind.
She had to let him invite her in, and the only way that was going to happen was if she proved to be more than just someone who threatened to rip his throat out every single time they spoke to one another. And to start, she stood up and closed her eyes, only opening them when she was staring at him from within the walls of his cell.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked her, not bothering to look up.
Athelia only shrugged and took a seat at his desk. "What are you reading?" She asked him, unable to decipher the scripted title penned across the cover. "Another Midgardian adventure?"
"Not quite," he said, slowly licking his finger before flipping the page. "You might like this one, though." Her eyes widened with intrigue. "It's about two young lovers who kill themselves simply because their families won't let them be together."
Athelia's nose wrinkled at the thought of it. "Sounds more like a horror story."
"Precisely why I thought you would enjoy it." His thin lips slowly curled up on one side, and after realizing she wasn't going anywhere, he placed a slip of paper between the pages and set it on the night side. "So," he said, clapping his hands together as he sat up. "To what do I owe the pleasure."
She hadn't thought this part through. Quite honestly, she had half expected to have a dagger held to her throat by now, so instead of responding, she set the half-empty bottle of brennivin on his desk and smiled as another hiccup squeaked out of her.
Loki could do nothing but smirk at her. "You found the key?"
"No thanks to you," she said, twisting the cap off and extending her arm out, offering it to him. She had been done with it for a while now, as the effects only lasted a matter of minutes, and the short-lived freedom from her mind just wasn't worth the singing of her esophagus. "I figure it would do you more good than me."
Loki stood from the bed and crossed the room, stopping short in front of her and taking the bottle from the desk. He held it to his nose and inhaled deeply, a memory playing on the corners of his lips. "I'm surprised you're still standing."
Athelia leaned back in his chair and watched as he screwed the cap back on. "Sadly, it didn't have the effect I had hoped it would," she said, disappointment apparent in her voice. "I suppose I am damned to a sober existence on this planet."
"Pity," he muttered, setting it back down. "However, will you survive such a privileged life?"
Her head tilted, and she watched as he made his way back towards his bed, and an airy bit of laughter filled the room as he grabbed his book and returned to the position she had found him in. She watched him as he continued to ignore her presence. She waited, knowing he couldn't ignore her for much longer, and a smile grew as she noticed his green eyes scanning the same passage over and over again.
"Read it to me," she insisted, catching him off guard.
He looked up at her, his eyes full of confusion and surprise. "I beg your pardon?"
"The book. Read it to me," Athelia said again, but instead of obliging, he closed the book and set it on his lap. "Unless you would like me to leave. If that is to be the case, then all you have to do is ask."
Loki's gaze fell to the book in his hand, and his slender fingers tapped at the old red hardcover. He was contemplating his options, and she found it rather difficult to decipher the look on his face. Unlike his brother, Loki was well versed in the art of body language, and she knew he was doing his best to keep up an emotionless front, making it difficult to figure out which way she needed to sway him.
Athelia knew it wouldn't happen overnight, but she had hoped she could make even a little headway before she made he way back to her chambers, so when he cleared his throat and tried to make himself comfortable, she had thought she had gotten the headstart she needed. But instead of spouting off whatever monologue he had been reading, he closed the book and shook his.
"I'm not reading you a story."
Her eyes widened in surprise. He was so close to saying yes. "What? Why not?"
She stood up, her long silk gown falling to her feet, and she walked towards him, causing Loki to jump to his feet. "Because you're not a child, and I'm not your father."
Athelia narrowed her eyes, but it didn't take long for her to understand that it must have been an Asgardian customer for parents to read to their offspring. "Well then - can I read it?" She asked, holding her hand out. "Just a passage. I promise I will give it back."
"Believe me, there's no part of me that believes you will enjoy Shakespeare," he told her, but it didn't stop her from taking it from him anyway. Her small hands held the book perfectly, and Loki watched as she took it upon herself to sit at the edge of the edge and run her finger over the gold embellishments of the book. "What are you doing?"
She looked up at him as she pushed herself further up the bed and made herself comfortable. "Athelia?"
"What?" She snapped at him. "I'm bored."
"Well, I'm sure there are better ways you can cure yourself of that. Preferably ones that do not include getting comfortable in my bed. You do realize the guards could come by at any moment and see you here?"
Athelia chuckled. "What are they going to do, Loki? Arrest you? Lock you away for the rest of your life? Put you in solitude?" She mocked. "So sit down, and try to enjoy what little company you get down here in this pitiful cell."
Loki tensed, his hands clenching at his sides. He had no idea what to do with her or himself as their short turns together always tended to end in threats, and this time - this time, she was on his side of the wall, where his magic was still very much awake and lively. Magic that could easily turn her into a bargaining chip for his freedom.
Though he knew there had to be an angle. There always was.
He may not have known much about his brother's future wife, but he did know the woman was far more dangerous than anyone he had ever met and certainly not daft enough to appear before him in nothing but a sheer slip of robe without reason.
"What game are you playing?" He finally asked her, leaning forward and bracing the edge of the bed with his hand. He bent down, eye level with the future queen, and all she did was smile as she flipped another page, her blue eyes scanning each and every word as quickly as he would had he been the one holding the book. "Athelia, answer me."
The book slammed between her hands and slid back against the wall, the fabric of her dress exposing her thigh as she searched his face. "There is no game Loki," she lied to him. "You are alone down here, all by yourself - and I am alone up there, surrounded by dozens."
"Am I supposed to pity you?"
"No one pity's a queen."
His head dropped for a moment, but when he looked back up at her, his smirk had returned. "But you are not a queen, Athelia, and if you continue to test my patience, you never will be. So I suggest you get out of my bed, out of my cell, and stay away."
She set the book to the side and pushed herself forward, steadying on her knees, so she was at eye level with the prisoner. "You can't honestly tell me that's really what you want, Loki?" She said to him, her hand gently resting on his chin as she pushed through the block.
Loki stared down at her, his eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what she was doing. "Has anyone ever told you that you were a monster?" He said, his hands coming to her waist, taking her by surprise. His face inched closer to hers, and for a moment, Athelia was paralyzed as he pushed long strands of her white behind her ear with one hand and pulled a dagger to her throat with the other. "I believe your fun and games are over, my Queen."
She bit down on her bottom lip, refusing to pull her gaze away from his green eyes, and smirked as she summoned here's father's dagger in her hand and held up between them.
"If you're going to do it," she whispered, "do it right."
Loki was the first to look away, intrigued by her words and her willingness to hand over a death sentence. Though instead of taking the blade from her hand, he gripped her wrist tightly.
Her eyes snapped shut as her body was struck by a euphoric chill and Loki pulled away as he watched the color drain from his hands, revealing the bluish tint of his true form.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, blackness had taken over, but she was still able to still the mortified expression on Loki's face as he slowly backed away from her, watching in horror as his fingers slowly returned to the pale shade of his facade.
He was a frost giant. Of course.
"Seems as though I'm not the only monster hiding behind a pretty face," she said, as she closed her eyes once again and let the fictitious blue that most men admired return.
If only her skin was as quick.
"What did you just do to me?"
Athelia shook her head and ran her finger over the glowing vibes that dug deep into her flesh. "Nothing," she told me.
"I wouldn't call that nothing."
"My binds absorb magic," she explained, rolling her freshly burnt wrists out in front of him. A flame ignited in the palms of her hands, and she let it flicker as the bracelets glowed again, trying to suck it dry. "They can sense when my magic is too strong."
"Are you trying to tell me that my simple illusions are more powerful than world-destroying magic you possess?"
She shook her head. "You, no," she told him. "Whatever was left inside of you, maybe." Athelia couldn't bring herself to look at him and sat back down on the edge of the bed, unsure why she suddenly felt so small. "These binds are the only thing keeping me from losing control of myself and my power. Every time I even come close, they squeeze tighter, burning the energy before it could complete its manifestation."
"Looks painful," he carelessly quipped.
"They burn by the power of dragon's breath," she quoted the maker. "As hot as seven suns."
Loki nodded knowingly. "That's why you left the dragon alive."
"And why your touch dulled the pain for the first time in over a thousand years."
Loki looked down at his hands. "What?"
"You are a frost giant, Loki. Your touch is the complete opposite of the seven suns that hold me tight." She gave him a weak smile and stood up. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I never said I was ashamed."
"Then why do you hide?"
Loki couldn't bring himself to answer her, but instead, for the first time since he had met her, he took out upon her and stepped forward.
Athelia watched him carefully, admiring the way he didn't flinch or tremble. She knew deep down there was indeed a part of him that feared her, but it wasn't enough to keep from grabbing gold of her and slipping his fingers around the binds.
Her head fell back as she inhaled deeply. She couldn't get enough of it, and Loki couldn't get enough of the power that flooded through him as he filled her with a euphoria that he had never known existed.
But, then just like that, it was gone. Athelia pulled away from his touch, leaving him confused as he stared down at their hands. He had almost forgotten what he had truly looked like and quickly found himself angered as he stared at the black burns he had left on her wrists.
"I'm sorry," his voice echoed through the cell. Athelia gave him a reassuring smile and looked down, admiring the black handprints for as long as they lingered, but she smiled as they both watched the marks fade away. "What are you really, Athelia?"
She hesitated for a moment, not knowing if she could tell him the truth without him pulling away from her entirely, so she went with the one thing she truly knew she was.
"A monster."
"Monsters don't wear crowns, Athelia."
She laughed gently, running her fingers over the fading red scars on Loki's hands. "They do when they take them."
11/8/21 - Grammarly Check. Edits & Updates.