The Soldier

how it felt like to remember

„What is he doing here?", Tessa stumbled back, hitting Tony's shoulder who was observing her attentively.

She seemed to be panicking, already looking for another way out, Tony standing in front of the door.

„Oh, Tessa, my loyal mortal. Pleasing to see you again, how are you?", Loki said, a smile so cruel on his face Tessa almost bought it.

It reminded her on the first time he saw him smile like that, a crowd of kneeling people in front of him, every head lowered except hers.

Tessa remembered what it was like to kneel in that crowd. How she had taken a decision before he even asked her to.

She couldn't restrain herself from looking him over for a moment, scanning if they hurt him, but he looked alright.

More threathening and somehow taller than she remembered, she could not explain how a prisoner could look that proud with bonds around his wrists and feet. There was something about him that made Tessa think 'king' more than any time she had seen him before.

She needed to find out, what it was.

But for now, she had an assignment to fulfill, immediately taking another couple of steps back, almost hiding behind Tony now.

„Why... why did you bring him here?", she managed, making her voice sound like she was close to crying.

A good actress was lost on her, she thought for a second, before starting to shiver because of the sudden coldness. That made it even easier to tremble, only intensifying her afraid behaviour. Tony would buy that.

„Are you not happy to see me? Did you not miss me, Tessa? We had such a marvellous time together.", he mocked, looking at her, ice in his eyes.

Tony stared at Tessa, who was visibly shaken by now, she breathed faster, shaking her head and turned away from Loki in a seeming attempt to forget what she saw now. Or back when she was his hostage.

„You seem a bit sad because we switched places. I can change that, mortal, just come over here and we can go farther from where we left. We had so much fun, do you not remember? Back when you were such an obedient, little soldier."

He really made this easy, Tessa found herself afraid for real.

The imagination of really being Loki's hostage was not a pleasing one, it actually made her shiver out of fear rather than the coldness. Being a hostage was not an unknown experience for her and she carefully let out the feelings bound to that long suppressed memory.

For a change, she was the one controlling them. And she could actually use them to their advantage.

„Stop it.", Tessa sobbed, trying to leave the room, but the door was locked.

„Oh yes, all the times you begged me to stop... you asked nicer back then, I remember every single time you did that. How your hope vanished, piece after piece after piece and how in the end nothing was left that could keep you from giving up entirely.", Loki raised his voice, basically spitting the words in Tony's and Tessa's direction, who flinched repeatedly, before trying to open the locked door again.

He was playing that rather good. God of Lies, God of Mischief – and somewhere she read he was quite into theatre and acting too.

Not a surprise really, and for some reason Tessa thought about a younger Loki... if he had been raised on Midgard, Tessa was pretty sure he would have been a theatre kid. 'Midgard? I call Earth Midgard now? What the hell?'