Chapter 17: Masked
The warrior, he decided. Loki closed his eyes, remembering her image, constructing every detail. He had not spoken to the other two prisoners, but he had watched them plenty. He was fully confident that he could fool Arianna - at least long enough to gain some critical information. He built her illusion piece by piece, folding himself inside and pulling it smoothly over his own limbs. This was a much better illusion than in the past, closer to actual shapeshifting. It had managed to pass her notice several times already in the past few days.
He lay on the bed beside her with a sigh, and then poked her in the nose. "Arianna. Wake up, already."
Arianna groaned and pulled away from his hand. "Noo...mmmm…" She reached out and patted the empty bed on the other side of her. "Where...sssimon?"
Loki chuckled in Chandra's throaty voice. "They hauled him off once he woke up. That's the price of being valuable, I suppose."
"Hmmmm." Arianna turned around, her eyes fluttering open for half a second. But instead of opening her eyes completely, she reached out and pulled herself right into Loki's now-much-more-bodacious chest, sighing happily as she snuggled in.
It took all his willpower not to push her away in shock, but even so he stiffened slightly. He covered his reaction by squeezing her close instead, eliciting a sleepy giggle from Arianna.
"I'mm sorry, Chandra…" she mumbled. "We'll get back to where we belong. You'll see Naomi soon."
Loki's eyes narrowed, but when he spoke, his - or rather, her - voice was filled with worry. "How? Simon hasn't really gotten anywhere. They won't let him near anything that would help us, obviously."
Finally, Arianna opened her eyes and moved up a little higher, looking him face-to-face. "As long as we can get out, we'll find a way somehow or another." Laying on her back, she took a deep breath, sighing. For a moment, her eyes widened.
"What's wrong?" he asked doubtfully. She hadn't somehow seen through it already, had she?
But Arianna simply turned back with a smile. "Nothing wrong, no." She pointed to the mistletoe above her head. "I was just surprised to see that there."
Loki stared doubtfully up at the little green plant. "What...is that?"
"A gift," Arianna replied nonchalantly. "Something living in this place besides me." With a sigh, she turned back to her friend, still half-entwined in an embrace. "How close are you two to getting us out of here?"
Loki winced. "Well…" Arianna's face fell, and he hurriedly continued. "Thor and I get along well enough, but he simply doesn't care enough to convince the king of our innocence," he huffed.
"Thor?" she asked. Right, she had never met him. "Is that another prince?"
"Another?" Loki had never once visited the others, satisfied with the reports and his own scrying alone.
Arianna nodded. "Yes, there's a prince who visits me often. He's convinced I'm plotting something, since he doesn't understand how my magic works."
Loki felt his hackles rise, but chuckled and replied, "Well, can you blame him?"
"I know, I know," she sighed. "But I need to earn his trust."
"You're not...going to tell him everything, are you?" His voice was strained with worry, but inside his anticipation was rising.
"Why not?" she asked innocently. "I'll do anything if it gets us out. This timesick is only going to get worse."
On the outside, Loki painted his face with worry and doubt, but this new information had him aching to know more. "Yes, but how much time will it take?"
Arianna shrugged. "However long it will take." She stared up at the ceiling again, lost in thought.
Loki watched her for a moment. Logically, he knew that "Chandra"'s visiting time would be up soon, but he didn't want to leave quite yet. There must be something else he could squeeze out of her right now, he reasoned. However…
Just in case, he sent a message to a guard at the end of the hall. 'Come report that the visiting time is up," he told him. But it would take a moment for the guard to realize what was going on, and a little longer still to make the report. Until then..
He sighed and laid down next to Arianna, staring up at the ceiling with her. He felt her hand bump against his thigh, and after a moment, realized her intention and threaded his fingers through hers.
Her hand was warm. And even though he knew from past experiences that it was rough from a lifetime of work, it still somehow felt soft. In the silence, it seemed her warmth was seeping up his arm, stirring that softness in his chest again. He decided he did not care for that feeling.
Thankfully, the knock came soon after, jolting them both upright from their place on the bed.
"Visiting time is up," called the guard through the door.
Arianna clung sadly to her friend, but didn't speak.
Loki extracted himself with an expression of regret. "I'm glad we even got this much," he replied gently. The guards marched into the room, clapped the manacles on him, and led him out. Just before they stepped out, Arianna called something after him. Something he couldn't understand.
In a last-ditch effort, he acted as though he was being pulled out the door before he could react, the heavy door swinging shut behind him.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone