Peace or Paranoia

Loki dove into research once again, making constant trips between the library and his study. It was tempting to forgo the walk and simply teleport, but he knew that the fresh air would help clear his head. Eventually it would lead to a breakthrough, just like so many other times before. And of course, it had the added benefit of making him appear extremely busy with important duties.

Lately, though, there was a third motivation - taking a detour in the guise of a guard or scholar to pass by Arianna's cell, and watch her deal with his "gift".

But three days passed and the plant looked as green as ever. On the fourth, it looked like it might have sprouted fresh leaves. It should be dying by now, and yet she looked perfectly content. By the fifth day, the curiosity was gnawing away his concentration, and he finally stalked down to her holding cell in the middle of the day.

He heard her before he saw her. As much as the guards talked about her singing, he had yet to hear it for himself. Even through the muffled barrier, her voice was clear and strong. As he came closer, he realized she was singing in Allspeak, rather than her mystery language - apparently making up the words as she went.

Arianna was facing the false window at the back of her cell, completely absorbed in her music. Though he was tempted to listen to her lyrics, Loki's impatience won and he rapped on the barrier, sending a loud echo of the knock into the cell.

The woman jumped out of her chair, taking a defensive stance for a moment before relaxing at the sight of Loki. 'Not a warrior', she had claimed. But that was not why he was here.

"You seem to be enjoying my gift," he said in a flat tone.

Arianna smiled as usual, but this time he could see a tiny sparkle of mischief in her expression. "I am. I'm told that mistletoe is a symbol of peace for Asgardians. Strange, considering its toxicity."

"What's strange is that it's still alive," he retorted.

Her smile widened. "I told you I could keep it alive with the right resources."

"You don't have the right resources," he shot back. "The plant is a parasite."

"And yet, it lives." Despite her plain words, Arianna's eyes sparked with challenge. Don't you want to see for yourself?

Loki narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, teleporting mid-stride to appear inside the cell, directly in front of Arianna. She tensed for a moment, and he thought she might actually attack, until she blinked a few times and stumbled out of the way. An automatic response, then.

Still, it was a shame she didn't. He would have enjoyed an excuse to beat her down. Loki moved past her to examine the plant, awkwardly stuck in the soil.

It was indeed just as healthy as when he'd cut it, if not more so. But when he tugged on it, the cutting came out of the dirt wholesale, with no roots to speak of.

He rounded on Arianna, who had taken a seat a few feet away. "Explain this." He held the mistletoe before her.

Without replying, she simply reached out, wrapped her hand around his to hold the plant, and sent a tiny jolt of something into her fingers.

In a second Loki had her pinned to the ground with arm arm twisted behind her back. His fingers were still thrumming with the strange magic that had shot from her. It felt wild, and alien, but extremely precise.

"What," he growled, "did you just do to me?"

"Nothing." He pressed harder into her back and she winced in pain. But she didn't struggle. "I used a spell on the plant. I wanted to show you what the spell looked like when it activated, I just, didn't think about the fact that you would probably be able to feel it."

"You said you couldn't use magic." He yanked her arm even further, and tears started to bead up in the corners of her eyes.

"I said I couldn't use fluid magic," she cried. "That was a prewritten cantrip. It only uses a thimbleful of magic."

"You could still kill with a thimbleful of magic," he growled, pulling her head up by her hair.

"I can't do anything without a skinspell written for it! And I don't have any offensive spells!" Her voice was climbing with desperation, but he didn't loosen his grip. "I'm not so self-destructive to attack or hurt anyone here!" she cried. "I just want to go home…" Tears began to pool in her eyes, but she stubbornly blinked them away.

Loki realized he was enjoying this. She looked so beautifully pathetic there, on the ground…

But in the next moment, her eyes hardened. "If I wanted to hurt you, prince, I would have already."

Normally, a comment like that would have pushed him over the ege. She was right, and he hated it. But if he let his rage consume him, he would never get the upper hand back. And this woman was stubborn. If he hurt her now, she would never give him what he wanted.

Slowly, he eased up on her back, standing over her. Arianna peeled herself off the ground, groaning as she stretched her arm. She turned around cautiously, but didn't get up from the floor, instead looking up at him with her eyes still damp with tears.

Yes...Loki did feel powerful again, like this.