Chapter 13: The Price of Trust
Loki decided to make his prisoner wait another two days before returning to see her again. He wanted her to be desperate. As much as she might seem like an open book, he was sure she was hiding secrets. She had to be. No one would ever be that unguarded with their captor otherwise. He found himself scrying her as his days went on. She was much more sedate now, often lying listlessly on the bed or the hard floor. She would be ready when he came back
This time, Loki didn't bother with an illusion, telling himself that it was because he didn't need to waste his seidr on a mere prisoner.
As expected, as soon he came into view, Arianna ran eagerly up to the barrier with a grin. "Prince! How lovely to see you."
"You seem awfully pleased," he chuckled. "You must be lonely indeed."
"Well, of course I am," she replied, "but I still enjoy your visits." Her smile was as guileless as ever. "How may I help you today, your Highness?"
Loki held up a muff-shaped manacle. "I need to confirm that your magic is locked away. I'll be conducting a very thorough inspection today," he said with a devilish smile.
But the woman didn't flinch. "Alright," she replied, "but just so you know in advance, that thing will cover some of it," she said, showing him the backs of her hands.
Loki paused before he opened the barrier. "Is that a veiled threat?" he teased.
"Not at all!" she cried defensively. At his grin, though, her expression transformed as well. "Why, do you doubt your ability to defend against me?" she shot back. "I'm no warrior, prince. And that would be the stupidest thing I could do right now."
"You're right, but it would be awfully entertaining, wouldn't it?" he chuckled. "Regardless, you will be wearing this. Or you shall forfeit your chance."
Arianna's eyes widened. "No, no, I never argued against that. It's just that…" Her cheeks turned a little pink. "The binding marks are on my whole body…"
Loki couldn't help the glee that rose inside of him at this new development. "What, are you afraid I'll take advantage of the situation?" he purred.
Arianna turned even redder, but managed to keep her composure. "As if a prince like you would ever be interested in a prisoner," she shot back. "No, that's not what I was thinking at all."
"Hmmm? Are you sure?" She was off-balance, yes, but not enough. Loki wanted to push her just a little more, see her tumble into the labyrinth he had prepared. He eyed her up and down, but she just crossed her arms.
"Oh, please, your Highness. Let's just get this over with," she sighed.
Ahh, his teasing was having the opposite effect. "Very well," he sighed in disappointment, finally opening the barrier and stepping in. "Let's begin."
Arianna held out her arms for the manacle, and he slipped her hands in one by one. She sat on the bed, looking wonderfully nervous, while Loki settled into a chair across from her. He swore he could almost hear her heart thumping in the space between them. "So tell me," he began, "where do I look to see this binding?"
"Well," she began, "It's difficult to explain without being able to gesture, but it's more than what you saw the other day. It's rather like….my limbs are chained, with locks on each hand and a master lock on my back. You would have seen the bindings around my ankles, maybe even running up my legs. They go up my arms as well. And since it's such a big spell, every inch of it is filled with writing."
"I see," he mused, standing up to walk closer. Arianna looked up at him, obviously trying to quell her discomfort, which of course only made him enjoy it more. Well. He may as well have fun while he was at it. "Lie down," he commanded.
She did, with less hesitation than he was expecting. "I feel like I'm the patient rather than the healer, now," she joked.
"Ohh, I'm no healer," he replied with a wicked grin. "I'm more suited to dealing the damage."
"I'm not surprised to hear that," she replied evenly. "But you know, knowing how a wound is made is the first step to healing it."
"Hmm." Loki ignored her, focusing his seidr into his gaze. Again, her skin began to glow with living magic. He sifted through the patterns that emerged, trying to find one that stood out. She said a friend had helped her. Most likely this friend had written the spell. He leaned in closer to her leg, grasping at the spells that appeared and disappeared as he adjusted his focus. At last, he caught a thread of something else. It was deeper, and tinged with magic of a different color from the rest. As he isolated it, he could already tell that the work of the binding was far more complex than the others. Within the shape - wrapped around her ankle, then running up her leg like she said - were tiny lines of runes and symbols. But most noticeably, Loki could see the runes changing before his eyes as he watched. Tiny, subtle changes, and most likely in consistent places. The spell was adjusting to every second. To what, he had no idea. And he was determined to find out.
Loki followed the thread of the spell up her leg. It slipped under the hem of her shift once it reached her thigh, and he absentmindedly lifted it higher, completely forgetting that what he was studying was on a living person. But when his fingers brushed her hip, she stiffened, breaking him out of his concentration.
His eyes flicked to her face, which was delightfully red as she watched him with trepidation. "It, um, moves to my back at my hip," Arianna stammered. "I, I need to sit up. I can show you if my hands were free…" she trailed off.
Loki broke into a wide grin. "Why, that's far too risky for me. Hold still, prisoner. This is simply the price of trust."
This time, as he lifted her hem higher, he let himself enjoy her embarrassment and shame as she squirmed uncomfortably on the bed. Without the visible glow of her magic, he could see she was covered in scars, even some that might have resulted in the loss of a limb without quick healing. She must have been a very coveted resource indeed, to have survived so much. Loki refocused his gaze and sought out the spell again, following it up her thigh and over her hip. He heard her breath a small sigh of relief when he did not move her underwear to inspect the spell as it ran underneath, and smiled a little to himself. Perhaps he should have, after all. Not that it would make a difference, since he had no idea what the symbols meant, but he was enjoying himself immensely.
"Sit up, and turn around," he commanded, and she did so with a whirl. She must be grateful that her face was no longer within view. Not that it made much of a difference.
Loki pulled the shift even higher, examining her back. The two strains came together, heading for some locus still partially obscured on the center of her back. He sighed in annoyance, and pulled it higher, tugging it over her shoulders and head. Stiffly, but silently, she pulled it completely off, clutching it to her chest. As he moved her long red hair aside, he could practically feel her thrumming with tension, every single muscle in her back taught. Her distress was enjoyable, yes, but he needed to focus on the spell before him.
If he thought it was complex before, now it was even more so. Lines of runes wove through each other in a tangle of connections that still somehow held a sense of consistency. Even without understanding the symbols, he could see the patterns in the spell - clusters that bloomed into strands that wove into new leaves of text, mazes of connections all leading across and into each other all at once, and rings that pulsed in complex rhythms throughout. He had never seen anything like it. It was...beautiful.
As he binked and leaned back a little, a shape resolved itself in the patterns. A hand, in the very center. Loki reached out and put his own there, and she jumped at his touch.
"...So you found the master lock," Arianna said quietly. "Your hand is cold."
But he didn't move. "How do you unlock it?" he asked.
She didn't reply at first.
"Well?" he prodded impatiently. "Now is hardly the time to refuse to answer."
Arianna shook her head. "I'm just trying to find the best way to phrase it. I suppose…" She trailed off again, and Loki realized his hand was still on her warm back. With a start, he took it away, relieved she couldn't see his expression slip.
"Love."
"Excuse me?" he scoffed. "Such a...that is not…" He found himself struggling for words in his incredulity.
"Help me put my shift back on and I can explain," she replied, looking over her shoulder. "I can't have a conversation like this."
Loki let out an irritated sigh and shoved the shift back down over her shoulders. When she turned around, her closeness made him realize he'd sat on the bed. He stood to regain some distance, and pulled up his chair to hear her explanation with crossed arms.
Arianna lifted her muffed hands uselessly as she tried to gesture. "The requirements are complex. It requires mutual care for each others' well-being, a deep understanding of each other, and most of all, mutual trust. So, love."
He raised his eyebrows skeptically. "This sounds like a Midgardian fairy tale." But she didn't seem to be lying… He leaned in, a frown now knitting his brows together. "That can't be it."
"They're not easy requirements to fulfill," she added. "Even Simon and Chandra can't do it consistently."
"Hmmm." He lifted his chin. So those two aren't that close, after all.
Arianna spoke up. "No, that's not it. We do trust each other. But the requirements make you feel vulnerable. And, well, when it's needed the most is usually when it's the hardest to do that. It requires...certainty."
"It's like a contract, then," Loki mused. "That is far more plausible than what you said at first."
She shrugged. "It's still true. And yes, if you want to think about it that way. Regardless, isn't that enough proof?" she asked, a tinge of desperation coloring her voice.
"Yes, very well," he sighed. "You have proven yourself harmless once again." Loki stood to leave, but Arianna stopped him.
"Then….I have a request."
He turned around. "You are in no position to request anything."
"I just…" Her gaze turned to his, pleading. "I just want a plant."
"A...plant." he replied doubtfully.
"Yes," she continued, leaning forward. "I want something that's alive in here besides me. As much as you want me to be mad, your Highness, I'll be useless if I do actually go mad."
Though seeing her binding was interesting, it was ultimately useless without an understanding of the symbols. Loki was hardly in the mood to grant her anything at all. But then his mind lit upon an idea. "Very well, on one condition."
Arianna tilted her head. "Which is?"
"You must be able to keep it alive yourself."
Her eyebrows rose in disbelief. "I'm an herbalist. As long as you provide me the right soil, sunshine, and water, of course I can keep it alive."
"Good." He grinned and turned to leave. "I'll have it sent later today," he said, waving behind him as the barrier opened for him. He kept up his light-hearted facade until he reached his room. Once inside, he glared at the research piled on top of his desk. He would have to start from zero, again. With a frustrated cry, he whipped his hand through the air, sending out a burst of seidr that sent the books tumbling to the floor. He didn't bother picking them up, instead stalking to his bedroom in silence.
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