章節 12: Scales
That night, Loki was broken out of his intense research by a hesitant knocking on his door.
"What is it?" he called. If it was yet another celebration for his brother's success in battle, he was not interested.
"It's about your prisoner, your Highness," came the nervous voice of the messenger.
'His' prisoner, huh? He rather liked the sound of that. "Enter."
The young man opened the door with a slow creak, bowed awkwardly, and waited for acknowledgement.
"Well, speak," he said, trying to keep his tone encouraging. "What about her?"
The words came out all in a tumble. "Well, she has this snake in her cell now, and so naturally we were suspicious, but she claims it's from you, and I mean, you did visit earlier, and it is a snake, so-" He stiffened at Loki's drawn eyebrows. "Um, we just wanted to confirm it with you…"
"I see." The messenger shifted uncomfortably, and he gave him a smile to send him on his way. "Thank you. I'll head there now."
"Of course, your Highness," he replied, bowing out of the room.
When Loki stalked down the hall to her holding cell, he was greeted by the sight of two guards arguing while Arianna sat on the floor, the snake curled up blissfully in her lap.
As soon as the guards heard his steps, they both jerked to attention, bowing stiffly. "Your Highness!"
"Yes, yes, I am here," he sighed. "Did you truly need to call me just for this?"
"Just being cautious, your Highness!"
"The snake is indeed my doing. You're both dismissed," he sighed, shooing them off.
He turned back to Arianna, crossing his arms, but she was just watching the two guards walk away.
"You're not usually that terse with them, are you?" she asked, her bright eyes turning back to him.
She was right, unfortunately, not that he was about to admit it. This woman had an annoying knack to lower his pretenses. Loki waved his hand dismissively. "They're just guards. And I'm not in the best of moods today." He found himself watching the snake, still curled up on her lap.
"Oh? Why's that?" Arianna tipped her head to the side, but she grinned boldly up at him.
"Nothing to do with you," he replied airily.
"Yes, well, as a prince, I'm sure you have much to do," she replied amiably. "Are you here to take the little one back?"
"Little one?" The snake had started moving up her arm, heading determinedly for her neck.
"I don't know its name." Arianna slipped a hand between her neck and its coils to keep it from constricting her. "It's very friendly, so I figured it was yours."
"It doesn't have a name." Loki's eyes were fixed on the snake's little black eyes. You little brown-noser, he thought. It flicked its tongue out inquisitively towards him. But right now, it felt mocking. He was sorely tempted to command it to start squeezing her throat…
"Don't get me wrong, prince, I'd love to have a companion, but I wouldn't want to keep it in a place like this," Arianna said. Was her gaze a little pointed just then?
"Oh? Are you saying we're treating you poorly here?" He leaned in with a small smile, enjoying her growing ire.
"Just being held against my will without evidence is poor treatment," she shot back, but then her tone softened. "No, I was thinking that this environment is probably ill-suited for a snake. And I wouldn't want to make its short life even worse in a cage like this."
"It still sounds like you're complaining, prisoner." His tone was hard, but a smirk pulled at his lips. "Would you rather be put back in a bare cage?" he asked.
"No. I'd rather know about my friends' cages." She leveled her gaze on his, burning with a sudden force. "Are they being treated well?"
"They are. They took the test as well." While it was true they had been moved to the same kind of cells, it was not because they took the Test of True Self. The blond one had negotiated with their scientists for weeks, and was now offering his skills as a sign of good faith. The dark-haired woman had apparently caught Thor's eye, sharing his love for battle and women. But Loki had intentionally kept Arianna separate from the two of them.
Arianna's eyes widened in shock for a moment. "Can't I see them?" she asked hopefully, but he was already shaking his head with a smile that said, shouldn't you know better?
"We can't risk you three colluding. There are far too many unknowns." He narrowed his eyes. "Especially you."
"Me?" Her surprise didn't seem forced, but he didn't trust it regardless. "Why me?"
Loki leaned in closer to the barrier. "You may be acting perfectly amiable, but you have secrets hiding under your skin, don't you?"
She met his gaze evenly. "Well, you don't have to skin me to find them."
He chuckled. "On the contrary, I find that often the best way to learn about something is by taking it apart."
"I'm not a thing," she retorted, "And even in that case, you can't use something once it's been taken apart."
"Is that an invitation to 'use' you?" he asked gleefully.
"N-" she stuttered, turning red, but then paused, tilting her head. "Fine. If it frees us, then fine." Despite her words, she still glared up at him.
Loki was shocked. He had expected more of a fight. More embarrassment, at least. Well, she was bright red. Even so, a grin spread across his face. But before he could say anything else, Arianna stood to finally meet him face-to-face. She was short enough that even with the raised floor of the cell, she only just reached his height equally.
"If you can find a use for me, prince, then go ahead." She set her jaw defiantly, the black snake still coiling around her shoulders.
How badly Loki wished he could grab her chin, and make that defiance melt away with the assurance that she had no control. He wanted to break her.
"Oh, I'm sure I can think of many uses for you," he promised, and stretched out his arm. With a snap of his fingers, the snake vanished from her shoulders and onto his arm, where it immediately tensed up in confusion and fear. "But," he added, "you'll need to wait first. There are rules and regulations one must follow, after all."
Arianna groaned in frustration, but he just walked away with a grin, enjoying the feeling of her helpless vexation.
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