Your Hand To Hold

Chapter Seventeen: Caged Bird

             "Take her to the dungeons as well," Odin had ordered, the words repeating in my head as everything began to play in slow motion until it had become a blur.

   I could vaguely remember Frigga begging Odin to confine me to my room as he had done before instead, while he had knowingly told the Einherjar to put me not only in one of the smaller cells but to make sure to choose one well within Loki's sight. This detail did not escape Thor's attention as my eyes widened in terror, and I, too, began to beg to not be confined to a cage as the closest things I had to a mother and brother fought against the guards blocking their path. Just as Loki had, I kicked and fought down the halls, breaking free several times only to be caught again as Frigga, closely following behind, begged the guards not to hurt me.

   As the stone and enchanted glass chambers began to appear, all supposedly empty, I could feel my heart rate increase further. As I was carried past the first of Loki's windows, I could see him following us; on his face was a look of concern as he called out to me. Despite her cries for mercy, the Einherjar cruelly lifted me in front of Frigga and made her watch as I was thrown roughly into my cell before the glass was quickly restored, locking me in. I rose, racing toward it as she and Loki waved their arms, calling out as a shock of energy flung me back with the force of a bolt of lightning; pain erupting through my body, my arms feeling as if they had been doused in boiling water.

   Landing hard, I whimpered for only a moment before I was on my feet once more, ignoring the scent of singed flesh as I searched desperately for a way out. I could hear the beating of my heart growing steadily louder and faster in my ears. My chest became heavy as if I was being squeezed from behind, my vision blurred just as it had that day in my room before I had left for Midgard. I tried to focus; tried to find Frigga's voice in the chaos my heart created as the spinning room forced me to reach out for something, anything, to hold onto as my eyelids became heavier and heavier, the ground closer and closer.

   Something cold touched my cheek, slowly allowing me to relax against its firm, unyielding embrace. I heard a strange, almost sickening thwack as my vision worsened, my hand coming in and out of focus as it sprawled out in front of me on the floor. How had I gotten to the floor? Wavering in and out of consciousness, I could see Frigga racing into the cell somehow, figures floating behind her close by. Her hand was warm upon my pulsing face, her lips moving, blue eyes shimmering as the lights flickered out...

          When I awoke, I had been laid upon a cot, and several small amenities that offered some comfort had been placed strategically around the cell to make it feel larger than it was. I rose, the soft amber glow of the enchanted glass on either side of me the only light as I explored the room. Two small tables had been placed on opposite sides of the room. One round with a small chair upon which a bowl of mixed berries and grapes, as well as a plate with two of the freshest, crustiest pieces of rundstykker I had ever seen, a full ramekin of butter beside it. The other square, slightly larger, yet lower to the ground and adorned with fresh art supplies, and several books to read; one of which was the book of sonnets that I had cherished since it had been found within Loki's tunics while I had thought him lost to me.

   There was a large marble basin with an additional pewter one on a smaller stand beside it and several towels next to a strange staggering within the wall that when touched opened to reveal an area with a washroom and changing area where already four outfits had been placed for me, all of similar styles to the one I had on. I stepped away from there, touching the side of the wall once more and watching in wonder as the wall sealed itself shut flawlessly once more. Sitting back down on my cot once more, I leaned my back against the cool stone wall, my head resting against the little lip of wall on the right side of my cell just before the glass began, and stared out into the empty walkway. From here, I could just make out the edge of Loki's cell, fully illuminated, his boots up on a black cushioned footstool. I lifted my hand to tap on the glass, the sting of my freshly healed skin reminding me why that would have been a poor idea.