Vanaheim

"Does your cruelty not know limits, brother?" Thor opened Loki's bedroom door with a loud bang and stormed in with a firm step, his boots clanking against the floor tiles as he approached the younger prince.

Inside was Loki, his back turned to him. He bit his bottom lip while his left hand rested on his cheek, a blank expression in his gaze. He looked outside his big balcony; his eyes not focused on anything in particular but the overall landscape of the Golden City.

"How could you do such a thing?" Thor's enraged expression switched to one of sorrow, recalling the state in which he had found Sarthi's bruised body.

This time, Loki had prepared an answer, having had enough time to reflect on his actions, he was more than willing to speak his truth.

"She was going to kill me, Thor". He turned in his heels to look at his brother, his voice stern and brows furrowed.

"She wasn't going to kill you, she wouldn't do such a thing, have you seen her?"

"She pulled a knife to my throat". Loki's voice had turned severe, in an effort to keep his composure. He'd make his point valid no matter what it took.

"You set a trap on her, for Norns' sake, obviously she'd be scared!" Thor shouted, his eyes turning dark at his brother's claims.

Loki's stare faltered for a second and blinked a couple times at the sudden realisation. He could recall setting the trap the second night of Sumarr celebrations. He remembered heading to the forest, joined by a couple of Dahl's men whom he had managed to drag along with him. They had walked a couple miles when he spotted a small clearing in the forest, his vision blurry and his knees wobbling. Only the Norns' knew just how many gallons of mead he had ingested before coming up with the brilliant idea of setting a trap to catch whatever animal that came across it. "It'll be fun!" He said, overcome by inebriation, a wicked smile on his lips. His words came out slurred and his usual pompous movements were not as graceful anymore. "You can keep it in the camp, as a trophy! Consider it a gift, from your all considerate and generous majesty, prince Loki".

With a petulant flick of his wrist, a green sparkle surrounded the tree presiding the forest's clearing and a sack materialized, hanging from the strongest branch. The Mischief was done, and much to his liking, Dahl's men nodded fervently at the magic. Going back to the memory of that night, he wondered if they were as enthusiastic as he felt in his drunken state, or if they were just scared of what he'd do if they refused to agree with him.

"What were you thinking? Setting a trap for what exactly, Loki?" Thor's insistent tone snapped him out from his train of thought. "How couldn't you recognize her, she literally looks after our horses, you've had to see her a thousand times!"

"she attempted against my life".

"SHE IS A CHILD, LOKI!" Thor's deep voice resonated around the room in a desperate scream, his palms open at his sides in a sign of defeat. The echo ran straight into Loki's ears, just like it did when Odin shouted at him, and his eyes twitched in discomfort, trying his best to not flinch at his brother's accusation.

"You tortured her! She passed out!" Thor cupped his face in his hands in frustration, his voice coming out in a muffled whisper. "I have to agree with Odin on this one brother". He stood upright and walked a few steps to where Loki stood.

"I've seen you breaking things; I've seen you making things disappear; I've seen you enchant legions of enemies like the fiercest sorcerer; hell, I've seen you drive the worst people to the verge of madness; but this, brother, this is unacceptable". He was now so close to Loki his voice had turned into a whisper.

"I played my part in your tricks and Mischiefs when we were kids, and every time Allfather told us off, I was by your side, you know it well: I've defended you, I've looked after you, Loki".

The God of Mischief rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh at the choice of words, taking the gesture as a chance to look away from his brother's face. In truth, he couldn't bear the closeness, the words were too uncomfortable to take in at such distance.

"You love talking like Odin Allfather, don't you? You just love replicating his sermon" Loki retorted with a scowl, feigning grandiloquence as he spoke. "Does it make you feel important? Does it make you feel like you could be like him one day?" He snarled mockingly; his tone filled with sarcasm.

"I am prince just as much as you are!" he growled, drawing a finger to his chest. "If my life is being threatened by someone, I'm fit to do with that person as I please!" He bared his teeth this time, his anger slipping through the words.

"You know it doesn't work like that, Loki"

"WELL IT SHOULD!" He balled his fists at his sides; no longer trying to contain his rage, unable to keep his cool any longer. "She made a mistake trying to take me down and she paid for it! What is there to explain? What would you have done if someone tried to slit your throat?"

"You wouldn't have acted in such a way if you'd recognized her" Thor's piercing blue eyes shoot daggers into Loki's skull, making the younger brother look away from him once more.

"Oh come on, I can't keep track of every damn person employed in Valaskjalf, for Norns' sake. Not even Odin can do that!" He scoffed at the end, showing off his carelessness while he turned his back to the older sibling, not knowing where to hide, still unable to keep the eye contact.

"I know her" Thor chimed in. "She's actually in charge of many tasks in the training fields, and in the Beasts Wing in the outdoor grounds. She has a team of workers at her orders, you know. She's in a powerful position". He paused for a moment and walked towards the balcony. "Every time we're gifted exotic creatures; the faraway animals we bring to Asgard from other Realms: She's the one examining them, taking care of them. She's also the one taming our colts into war horses, you owe her more than you think." He turned back to look at Loki, who was now looking at the balcony from inside the room, taking in his words quietly.

"Sleipnir would've grown into a wild, uncontrollable beast if it wasn't for her, yet you dare to insult her work as if it's nothing to keep in mind".

Loki's ears perked up at the mention of his six-legged friend. Sleipnir had accompanied him in many quests since he was young. A special creature to say the least, the jet-black stallion's body even reflected the slightest spark of indigo when the sun hit his coat. A majestic creature, worthy of a prince.

Loki was trapped. There was no other word to describe his situation but irretrievably trapped in the consequences of his violent outrage. As Thor continued to put out one fact after another, the bitter truth was becoming harder and harder to swallow: it was no use pretending that he had feared for his life or felt threatened by that girl.

He remembered her eyes tightly shut as she grabbed the knife, a good grip, he would add. Despite that thick layer of bravery she portrayed, he could still feel the uneasiness with which she had attempted to stab him. And then, there was the fear: utter, unadulterated fear that pooled in her big round eyes the moment he grabbed her wrist to make her let go of said knife. The terror written all across her face when her limbs got restrained; and the desperation with which she had pleaded, when he tossed her inside the cell could only be compared to what he'd seen in sentenced prisoners in public executions.

He sighed in exhaustion, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was trapped. He would never admit it out loud in front of his brother, let alone Odin; but he had nowhere to run; either physically or verbally, there was no other way of getting out of here.

"I wish it hadn't come to this". He heard Thor say as his footsteps approached the door. He kept still were he stood, stretching his arms, and lacing his hands in the back of his head in one last futile attempt to show some kind of feigned carefreeness.

"Father has already arranged for your punishment, for your offence against Sarthi". Thor's voice resonated in the carved walls of his chambers as he walked out.

He let out another sigh, this time out of distress. He went over his brother's condescending words again, growling as he recalled what he had said.

"You wouldn't have acted in such a way if you'd recognized her".

Shame on him, silver-tongued Loki, unable to get away with the mess he'd made. Unable to come up with an excuse good enough to cover up the fact that he didn't knew who this damn girl was.

He began to feel the seidr run through his veins, mixed in with the blood that was now uncontrollably boiling throughout his body. Before he could stop it, a green bolt of energy shoot out of his fists, making his bed tumble over, cracking the gold-plated headboard in the process.

***

The healers had done an astonishing job in mending Sarthi's sore muscles. It was kind of a shock when she got out of the stretcher feeling confident enough to start walking straight away. She recalled Johann's troubled expression, almost leaning over her, expecting her to trip and fall at any second. Poor guy had not moved from that chair next to her for the whole time she spent resting in that room.

"Are you sure you don't need any help? You can lean on me to go down the stairs, this floor is pretty high, remember?"

"I'll be fine" She simply muttered, taking a first step down with her bare feet. The gown the healers had put her in was long for her stature, she held it bunched up to her knees as she leaned on the handrail with her free hand.

The walk back to her tiny house was slow yet steady. Eager to test her overall physical state, Sarthi stretched her arms and legs between floors as they both walked downstairs. Once they reached the palace's grounds, she wriggled her toes at the feeling of the grass field grazing her soles and she breathed in the breeze that carried the settling twilight.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you? We still have a walk uphill until we reach your house" She heard Johann say at her side "You've only been resting for a day and a half, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine Johann, Norns!" She let out an exasperated sigh. "The sooner I move the better! I couldn't take one more day laying down knowing I'm good enough to go back to work, you know that".

It was obvious that Sarthi loved her job, maybe a little too much if you were to ask her team. She would be the one working overtime to fix an unpicked rein or a damaged stirrup, sometimes even staying late into the night. Truth be told, she still had her left hand wrapped up in a bandage from when the cell's closing burned it, she knew that would leave a scar. She could also feel her arms had turned a little sensitive to sharp movements, and the joints in her legs shot pangs of sharp pain the moment they started walking uphill.

She chose to ignore it. The sooner she started working again, the better for everyone. Besides, she didn't want to make Johann more worried that he already was. Even if he lived in a permanent state of anxiousness (or at least that's what he looked like) the kid had already invested enough time in her wellbeing.

Johann, on the other side, could not stop looking from the corner of his eyes every couple of minutes as they walked side by side in silence towards Sarthi's home. He felt the need to keep an eye on her in case she fell or tripped over something, anything. He would not forgive himself if he let that happen, Sarthi had suffered enough already. By the time they got to her house, it seemed like he had been staring at her for two days straight.

It was almost as if he had now memorized every single one of her face's features, in every possible angle: Her tiny nose, with that almost unnoticeable bump in the bridge; her long, thick lashes that grazed the very top of her cheeks when her eyes were closed; her soft jawline, that contrasted with her elegant cheekbones; her pouty lips… More than once he had caught himself gawking at her sleeping figure, looking at her chest going up and down with every breath; the way her long auburn hair looked splayed on the pillow; her eyeballs moving under her lids, or her brow twitching occasionally. Sarthi was beautiful.

"Johann I'll be fine, go home". Her sudden voice startled him, pulling him out of his thoughts. They were already by the doorstep. He wished he was brave enough to offer staying with her for the night, just to check on her for a little longer, but he knew she wouldn't let him. She was stubborn, and by the looks of it, she had always cherished her alone-time.

He opened his mouth to speak, the question still lingering on his tongue for a moment, eager to come out. He inhaled for a second, preventing any words to form on his lips, before blurting out a shy "Good night" while scratching the back of his head, his other hand finding his pocket for comfort. He was not brave enough, and he hated himself for it.

Johann made a startled sound when he felt Sarthi's arms wrap around his middle for a brief moment. A hug. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling as he hugged her back, stroking her hair with a shaky hand. He thought about the lingering question for one last second before he felt her draw back to open the door.

"See you tomorrow then". She said with a smile, making the gash on her lip stand out. He would've killed the prince for that gash alone, he thought. Prince Loki would pay for ruining those lovely lips.

***

The night had been rough, there was no way of denying it. Sarthi missed the warmth of that energy bubble in the healing room. She had felt so well rested and peaceful laying down, covered in that golden glow, that laying down on her bed after, had been significantly underwhelming. In fact, her whole house was underwhelming if compared to where she'd stayed the past days. She recalled being able to mentally fit at least a fourth of it just inside the room she was staying in the healing wing.

She didn't need anything more though. This tiny house that crowned the hill behind Valaskjalf's main building was all she had known since she was born; she didn't covet a luxurious place: all her memories lived here; all her life could be stored inside these four humble walls.

But she craved the company. Since her mother left, she had grown used to the quietness and tranquillity that now reigned in the house, but she missed the chatting at the porch, the laughing, and the gossiping. It was true that she could do all that during the day, after all, it wasn't like she worked by herself, her colleagues were always nice to her, and she enjoyed being around them. It was going back home to an empty room what made her sigh in boredom. She despised the solitude, yet this tiny house, despite its size, was so full of it.

She slipped out of bed the morning after, in an unnaturally grumpy mood. Her muscles still felt a little stiff and sore, and she let out a light grunt when her arms couldn't stretch as far as she wanted to. Slipping her boots on was also a little hard; pulling the laces made a newfound stiffness appear in her lower back that made her sit on the floor, instead of her cosy armchair. Doing her hair required her to keep her arms up for too long as well, so this time her braids were looking a little less tidy than usual.

Today's breakfast consisted of a little piece of toast and half a cup of warm brew. She couldn't even bring herself to drink the whole thing, given the anxiety she felt knowing today was going to be the day.

Today she would have to face him again. She would have to look at him in the eyes and lash out commands to the prince just like she would do with any other worker. Just that he was not every other worker. He was a prince that had been stripped from his title, so that she could boss him around, as payback for what he'd done.

Sarthi didn't like to think of herself as a victim. True, she had been tortured, and her body could still feel the consequences of being strangled to almost collapsing on itself. But as puzzling as it could sound to Odin, or Johann, all she desired was to forget it happened. If she could forget the feeling of the ropes tightening on her body every time she took a breath too deep, or the deranged look on the prince's face as he watched her writhe on the floor; everything would be so much easier if she could erase that from her memory.

But she could not get the images out of her brain. They had been engraved in her mind since it happened, she had seen it in her sleep last night when she'd slept at home for the first time since the incident.

That's it. Incident. That's how she'd call it.

***

When she arrived at the stables, Johann was already sitting down at the front door, Strudel in his lap, eating from his hand. She did no efforts to hide the excitement on her face the moment she saw the little bear, happy and healthy.

"Hello baby" she cooed, not caring if she sounded cheesy. She sat next to Johann and gestured him to hand her Strudel over. Much like she would do with a puppy or a cat, she grabbed the littler ball of fur from under his front legs and held it in her arms. She let out a giggle when the cub went in to lick her nose, and she patted her head in return.

"I wish work was this easy every day" She sighed.

"Well, then stop wishing and start living" Johann's voice turned a little cocky in the end. "Because someone's coming up to do all the job for you". She felt the boy nudge her side, making her look up from the bear in her lap. From afar they spotted a small group of people walking outside the palace and towards them, the closer they got, the better Sarthi could tell them apart. Two guards escorted the God of Mischief, one at each side, and who appeared to be Thor walked beside them, no armours; or capes; or weapons, just regular (although regal) clothes, that contrasted with the handcuffs that bint the prince's wrists.

"Hello lady Sarthi. Johann". Thor's deep, yet gentle voice greeted them, a brief smile on his lips.

"Here's your rough diamond" He said, signalling towards the handcuffed prince. Sarthi understood he was trying to crack a joke to relax the atmosphere, given the way they were handling him over. "You might be asking yourself why we are doing things this way. You see, Allfather headed at dawn with a small entourage to Vanaheim, and my dear brother here tried to talk Heimdall into letting him sneak out through the Bifrost soon after my father had left. Good thing he was aware of our little… situation here". His condescending tone was mixed with a hint of humour that he tried to mask poorly, every time he peeked at his brother while speaking, she could sense the derision in his tone. "So I came over to make sure he made it safe to you and didn't get lost on the way here". He finished with a cackle that Johann mimicked at her side.

The prince, on the other hand, looked anything but pleased with the treatment he was receiving. The had not looked up at Sarthi not even once, all the times he lifted his eyes was to throw looks at his brother, glaring with visible resentment while he listened in silence.

"So, Odin has given me strict instructions for you". Thor clasped his hands together and shut his eyes closed for a moment, as if trying to memorize what he had to say. "No magic allowed: no tricks, no illusions, no blowing things up, no cloning himself to do things faster, no transforming into animals to camouflage himself, none of that". He took a deep breath after numbering the string of things Loki's powers allowed him to do. Sarthi tried to take in everything, though each ability sounded more unbelievable than the previous one. "If he gets mouthy, which, knowing him, he will, tell me; if he gets rude, tell me; if he bribes you with anything, listen, anything at all, do not trust him, and tell me… Oh! and if he pulls out daggers… you know what to do." He finished with a smirk.

She liked Thor; he had always been very nice to her. She would spot him from time to time, giving speeches to the trainees or fighting in the fields, and was used to have casual conversations when handling him over his horses. He was keen on learning how she looked after them; what she fed them to keep them strong and how often they had check-ups. In all honesty, speaking to Thor never felt any different from talking to a colleague, she felt so comfortable around the prince it was almost as if she forgot she was talking to one sometimes.

"I'll leave you now, then." Thor interrupted her train of thought. "With Allfather gone, there are matters that need my attention". He signalled the guards to unlock the handcuffs in Loki's wrists and he gave her a charming smile as a goodbye before they walked back to the palace. That left the prince at the front door of the stable, an uncomfortable silence coating the air.

If looks could kill, the God of Mischief would've been dead by now, considering the hateful glare Johann was giving in his direction. And then, there was Sarthi. She had busied herself with looking at Thor while he was there, but now that he was gone, she had no option but to put the tiny bear cub aside, preparing herself for the moment she had been avoiding.

She stood up from her seating position, not that it did anything, the prince still towered several feet over her. She forced herself to make a stern look, her brows furrowed, her scowl severe. She tried to recall times when she had been properly mad at someone, channelling that same energy and redirecting it towards the royal standing in front of her.

Not a prince anymore. She said to herself as she forced her eyes to meet Loki's. He truly looked pissed, looking straight back at her from under his eyebrows. His frown matched hers, the blue in his eyes almost invisible due to the way he'd narrowed them. She kept still for a moment, feeling her breath steadying the more she looked into his eyes. She could feel Johann's glare shifting from her to the God every couple of seconds, as if both of them waited for her to break the ever-lasting silence. She was in charge, after all.

"Okay then". She finally blurted, her eyes still fixated on the God's, her brow twitching for a second. "Let's get to work".