Chapter 9: Mysterious Magics
This time, Loki visited Arianna while completely cloaked. But even invisible, she responded to his presence, looking up as soon as he neared the barrier. "Prince? Is that you?"
The invisibility melted away like water shedding, and Loki crossed his arms. "How exactly do you do that?"
"I smelled you coming," she joked with a grin, but he didn't smile back. "It's just like before. Invisibility is simply a complex form of an illusion, is it not?"
"It is, but why should you know that? That's awfully high-level magic for a simple healer, isn't it?" he drawled, raising an eyebrow.
But Arianna was unfazed. "I can't perform it myself. But I studied it nonetheless." Unconsciously, she rubbed her arm, drawing into herself slightly
This did not pass the prince's notice, and a small grin broke onto his face. "It seems that your studies were not to your liking."
Arianna sighed. "Of course not. It was for the sake of a war. Learning for the sake of killing is…"
"Still learning, nonetheless," he interrupted.
"Well," she met his gaze evenly. "You're quite right. But the fact is that I can do very little magic myself. Knowledge is nothing to ability and power. Like you have."
He leaned back and laughed. "You flatter me. But it will get you nowhere."
She shot back a wry grin of her own. "On the contrary, I think it might. Isn't it better to make your captor laugh?"
"Hmmm~" he replied playfully. "But do you really want to be scorned as a fool?"
"Is it foolish to be honest?"
Yes, he thought, but did not say it out loud. "Not in your situation. So, be honest with me." He leaned forward, and she did as well, their faces a mere foot apart - apart from the hair-thin barrier between them. "What kinds of magic can you perform?"
Arianna met his gaze squarely. "On my own? Nothing, anymore." Her eyes were brimming with honesty - far too much honesty for Loki's liking.
"You don't seriously expect me to believe that," he scoffed, crossing his arms.
His irritation waned a little when she shook her head. "No, I don't. But the reason why is a long story. It's easier to show than tell, but…"
He nodded. She's smart enough to know that's not happening, though she's plenty foolish in other ways. But he had caught onto a glimmering thread now, and he was determined to follow it to its source. "Tell me everything then," he purred. "As a sign of trust," he added with a snakelike grin. Once again he conjured himself a chair to lounge in, steepling his fingers in anticipation. Arianna stayed on the floor, and satisfaction swelled inside him as he looked down at her, as if she was sitting at his feet.
"I cannot use fluid magic," Arianna stated simply.
Loki's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Where I'm from, innate magic users are almost always born with channels to certain kinds of magic. Your magic is fluid magic - it is free to become whatever you need it to be. And you control it intuitively, right?"
Loki kept his face in a neutral mask of disinterest. But inside he was burning to hear more.
She continued. "Once, I could use healing magic intuitively. But now, it's all locked away."
Loki leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing as he studied her face. Despite how she phrased it, she looked neither resentful nor guilty. At least on the surface, he told himself. This was a crack he could surely use to pull her apart, and clearly see what lay behind those clear green eyes. And he knew exactly what to ask to get the reaction he needed.
"Who locked away your magic?"
"I did." Her eyes blazed. But in the next moment, her eyes darkened with loneliness as she looked away. "Well. With a friend."
Loki suddenly wished he could force her chin up himself, wanting to see more clearly the emotions roiling behind her eyes. Just slightly, the corner of his mouth twitched. "Is this person...truly a friend?" he asked, and watched with delight as her face crinkled in pain. He knew he should be asking a better question, a more relevant one, but this one, he reasoned, would give him a personal weakness.
But to his surprise, she flicked her eyes back to his pointed gaze. "He's important to me."
A lover? As far as he was concerned, though, it was a crack to slip his fingers into. Loki leaned in even deeper, eyes glittering darkly. "What happened to him?"
"We were separated the day we locked my magic away," she replied. Her eyes fell, just a little, but he could see the desperation hiding in her expression. "I've been looking for him ever since."
Despite himself, Loki couldn't stop a grin from spreading across his face.
Arianna raised her eyebrows. "Giving up on pretense, prince?" Despite her light tone, her expression was sober as she leaned on her hand. Already she looked so delightfully worn down. "If that's what you like to hear, why, I could tell you stories for days."
"Perhaps." Loki felt his glee rising. Letting her see how much he enjoyed this was somehow far more satisfying than masking it.
"Well, prince," she sighed. "What else do you want to know about me? I'll tell you anything."
"Anything?" He raised his eyebrows. "That's quite the promise. Are you hoping for something in return?"
To his surprise, Arianna quirked up an eyebrow with a small smile of her own. "How magnanimous of you to offer, your Highness."
"I haven't offered a thing," he shot back coldly, but she smiled blithely on.
"I can explain better if I can show you." She traced her finger along the back of her hand. "Unless you happen to have a focus-filtered adderstone," she chuckled dryly.
Loki had no idea what that was, but he grinned confidently. "Not to use on a mere prisoner," he chuckled derisively. But inside he was burning. With anger, yes, that a mere prisoner might have such obscure knowledge, but mostly with hunger. This girl had things he wanted.
"Do you have a technique to see magic remnants?" she asked suddenly.
"Naturally," he scoffed derisively. "You glow like any other magic user."
"Focus it." Arianna pulled up her skirt hem to reveal her leg.
Loki started at the sight, but smoothly brushed away his surprise with derision. "You truly are a fool if you think-"
But she's shaking her head. "If you focus, you might be able to see it."
Loki's hunger overwhelmed his feigned disinterest, and he leaned in as close as possible to the barrier. Narrowing his eyes, he funneled more and more seidr into his gaze until the glow of magic on her skin started resolving itself into shapes. There were unfamiliar runes, connecting lines, all drawn in what must be her own hand. He realized he was looking at layers and layers of spells written into her skin, kept alive by...he didn't know what. In all his years studying the most arcane, obscure magics he could get his hands on, Loki had never seen something like this. And he was determined to get every last speck of knowledge he could from this woman, this prisoner so conveniently dropped into his lap like destiny had ordained it.
But he could not show it. Loki scoffed and leaned back. "I saw the remnants of binding spells," he said dismissively, but he drilled his gaze into her. Say nothing now, his glittering eyes said, but tell me everything later. "So it's true, you cannot work magic. But that says nothing about your trustworthiness."
Arianna glowered at the floor as she drew her hem back down. "Isn't it enough to prove that I cannot harm anyone here?" she muttered, but her eyes flicked up to his for just a second with understanding. "What else could I possibly tell you, your Highness?"
"I told you, didn't I?" he grinned, though now his eyes were filled with something darker than before. "I want everything."
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Arianna_Griffith Thank you, kind commenter! It gave me the motivation to come back. I will keep writing, I hope everyone enjoys!
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