Clandestine {Loki Fanfic}

Four

After a few days Megan had settled a little in Loki's presence. Being the king, he had servants to do everything for him, Megan was just there to clean up after him, make sure he kept his appointments, and get anything he needed. Just over a week into her position she noticed that more and more he was finding excuses for her to stay later, making it impossible for her to go out in the evening before her curfew. Megan guessed that he was lonely, but rather than admit it he would have a handmaiden whose purpose was to keep him company. He even insisted on debriefing about his day with her over a drink some nights, although Megan rarely spoke. She got the impression he would have done the same with a cat or other domesticated animal if he could make them sit still long enough.

On this particular evening when Megan's work was done she hoped to get out and see some of the other servants, she had stayed at home every night for five days straight now. As though he was watching her get ready, Loki knocked softly on her door.

"Do you need something, my king?"

"Ah, yes. I was wondering if you'd join me for a drink?"

"Oh. I was going to go out for a little while, but I can stay."

As he closed the door she sighed. She knew this was a ploy to isolate her, to wear her down and break her. It was a pattern he repeated with every handmaiden he had.

"I want to know about you, Megan. About your life, your life before. On Midgard."

"Oh, ok. There's not much to tell," still mind, otherwise he'll know you're lying, "I was an admin assistant for a logistics company. Boring, really."

"Do you have friends?"

"Back on Earth? Yes. A few."

"Family? Boyfriend?"

"With all due respect, my king, why do you want to know about me? I'm just a servant, offered a chance to escape to an exotic realm to be a handmaiden to a warrior. There's nothing fancy or mysterious about me." She looked down at her hands.

"But there is, Megan. Something about you intrigues me. You are not Fandral's usual type and I wonder why he would choose you." As he spoke Megan could see a long snake slithering across the floor toward her. She knew it was an illusion, the first of Loki's she had been certain of, and it had a distinct green glow around it. The 'tell' she got when someone was using telepathic powers, illusions, magic, varied from one person to another. Obviously this green glow was how she would see Loki. She did not move or pay any attention to it, and she saw Loki stiffen from the corner of her eye, he had clearly been hoping for more of a reaction. "Are you not afraid of snakes?" He asked, frowning.

"I'm not." She said as the snake slithered under the couch and presumably disappeared.

"Well then I wonder," Loki said thoughtfully. "If you'd been warned about my illusions. Or if it's something else, something you're not telling me. Are you afraid of me, Megan?"

"I... I am, my king. Yes."

"You need only be if you betray me. I do not rule by fear, I rule by respect. So, out of respect you will answer my question. Boyfriend? Family?"

"Family, yes. Two younger brothers. No boyfriend."

Loki sat back and crossed one ankle over his other knee, stroking his chin and regarding Megan with a curious frown. "You do not trust me."

Why would I? "Should I? I mean no disrespect, but trust and respect are earned, not given freely. In my realm at least."

"And that's turned out so well for you, hasn't it." Megan bit down on her tongue to stop from saying something he would make her regret. She kept his gaze but said nothing. "So you think, even though I am the King of Asgard, I should somehow earn the respect and trust of a handmaiden?"

"At the risk of being somehow punished, yes. I do. May I speak freely for a moment, my king?"

"You may. You may even call me Loki if that helps me gain your trust."

"No one actually knows what happened to Odin, so they can only assume that you are in some way responsible for his disappearance, and that you did not ascend the throne honestly. Some sort of deception was involved, wasn't it? Or did you just kill him? Either way, that's not the way to rule by respect. Everyone in Asgard fears you, they are afraid that you will kill them if they speak out of turn, and that you do not have their interests at heart. You only serve yourself."

"You clearly do not share that fear." he hissed through clenched teeth. Megan's brain told her to backtrack a little but her mouth kept going, and she shrugged before continuing.

"I'm just answering your questions, Loki." She met his gaze evenly and knew she had overstepped the mark, but it was too late.

Before Megan could blink he was in front of her, pulling her to her feet with a hand on her throat and making himself tower over her again. She could barely breathe, but was grateful for the tiny amount of air he was allowing through, knowing he could crush her throat easily with his fingers.

"Answer me this, then, maiden." he seethed. "Why can I not see your mind? Why is it blank? Because you are blocking, or because you are not who you say?"

"I... neither..." Megan gasped.

"Answer me!" he almost screamed. "How did you know the snake was not real?"

"Loki... my king... please," He released her throat and allowed her body to crumple ungracefully to the floor, as though he had removed her skeleton temporarily, and she gasped for breath.

"I am waiting, Megan, and I do not like waiting."

"I am sorry, my king. I do not know the how or why, but the snake... I could just see that it was an illusion, like it didn't belong. I am human, from human parents, I am a regular, boring, woman from Earth. I do not have an answer." Megan could feel tears stinging her eyes and willed them away, the mental exertion from that, the oxygen deprivation and her no-longer-calm mind was almost too much. She could barely keep her face off the floor and found it impossible to look at him, taking in long drawn out breaths to try to get her brain working again.