Liars and Loyalty Part 29 1/2

            Andromeda slammed the door behind her and dashed over to Loki, who stared at her, eying her frightened expression with alarm. She ran over to him and grasped his hands as she panted and began telling him what had happened in a rapid voice, quite forgetting to remove his muzzle.

            “Oh, Loki!” She gasped. “He knows! He’s going to tell everyone! He tried to… and I… Oh, he’s probably furious! But what will father say? Oh, what if he-”                                  

            Becoming flustered at the outpour of words from his niece’s mouth and his own lack of ability to speak, he rested a finger on her lips, silencing her. He raised her hands to his muzzle himself and looked at her significantly. She got the hint.

            “Oh… Of course… Sorry,” she stuttered.

            Having unlocked it, the muzzle fell into her hands and Loki put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her. She gazed into his stunning green eyes and held her tongue while he spoke.

            “Kjære,” he began, rubbing her arms soothingly. “Calm yourself. Tell me. What has happened?”

            Tears welled up in her blue eyes and her lower lip quivered.

            “Oh, Loki!” She whimpered. “Caenr saw me. He followed me here! He tried to force me to marry him by threatening to tell my father about us! He even knows I have magic!”

            Loki’s eyes began to widen in panic. He firmly but also gently held the girl’s face in both hands.

            “Where has he gone now?”

            “To find the king…” She answered. It was unclear to Loki whether she spoke of her father or Caenr’s. Pulling him into a tight, frightened embrace, she buried her crying eyes into his leather clad shoulder. “I don’t want to lose you, Loki! I’m frightened! Please! Tell me what to do!”

            Loki held his niece in his arms and stroked her hair, his mind was tumbling through thought after thought. He had to think quickly. He hadn’t counted on being discovered. He had known that it might happen, but he had hoped that it wouldn’t, at least, not yet. His face turned grim. He knew what needed to be done, but he needed Andromeda for it to work.

            Bending down a bit, he rested his raven head against the young girl’s hair and soothed her as he spoke into her ear.

            “Hush, blomst,” he cooed. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone take you away from me. I shall never let anyone take you away from me.”

            She sniffled like a little child and looked up at him, her large eyes filled with tears. “But what can we do? You are a prisoner here, Loki; as am I, for the time being. What will we do?”

            He looked into her eyes gravely and took her face in his hands once more. “I know what we must do. But you must trust me, blomst. You may not understand what we are doing, but you must trust me and do as you are told. Do you understand?”

            She nodded vigorously. Then, she paused and looked into his eyes, her eyebrows lifting with concern. “What must I do?”

            “Take my hands,” he commanded. She did. “And repeat after me…”

            She swallowed and hesitated a moment before looking up at him. “You are going to have me cast a spell, aren’t you?”

            He nodded.

           “What kind of a spell will I be casting?” She asked worriedly.

          He looked into her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

          “Yes.”

          “Then you don’t have to worry. Just say what I say, understand?”

          “Yes, Loki.”

          “Alright,” he paused, taking a breath and looking into her eyes. “Repeat after me: Jeg forener min kraft med din…”

          “J-Jeg forener min kraft med din…” She repeated falteringly, recognizing only a few of the words.

          “...la den styrke deg.”

            “...la den styrke deg.”

            “La min kraft flyte gjennom mine hender over til dine,” he began.

            “La min kraft flyte gjennom mine hender over til dine,” she followed.

          “Good, pet,” he nodded to her. “Again. All of it. You can remember it.”

         “Jeg forener min kraft med din, la den styrke deg. La min kraft flyte gjennom mine hender over til dine,” she said, somehow managing to find all the words.

          The moment her lips completed the words, Loki saw her face pale and her eyes begin to flutter closed as she expended a great deal of energy in order to maintain the link of the spell. She slipped into a semi-conscious state and she wavered on her feet, but Loki’s hands helped to steady her.

          Loki felt a surge of heat and power rush through his veins as the girl’s power was lent to him. Eager and yet careful, he whispered the words that he had longed to say for so many years.

          "Fri meg fra denne trolldom! Løs mine bond! La min kraft komme tilbake til meg!” He shouted, triumphantly.

          He grinned and began to laugh softly in sheer delight as he felt the restricting spell that had been cast on him so long ago fall away along with the manacle on his wrist. His strength and magical abilities from his past returned to him in a rush and filled him up with the wonderful, bursting, warm feeling of power. He threw his head back and closed his eyes, laughing as it all came back to him.

          The power-draining spell was completely broken. He no longer required the young girl's power to feed his own and he broke the link between them by letting go of her hands.

            Instantly, she fell forward in a faint and he caught her in his arms, sweeping her up off her feet.

            "Good girl," he cooed, brushing a piece of hair from her unconscious face. “My dear Andromeda, you have freed me.”

            His celebration was short-lived as the two guards from just outside the door burst in. They had been woken up by the sound of Loki’s laughter and their faces were ones of horror as they looked at the prince who was no longer a prisoner as he held no one other than the princess, unconscious, in his arms. The guard on the left, who happened to be of the highest rank, took a brave step forward and met Loki’s slightly power crazed eyes.

            “Release the princess now,” he commanded boldly.

            Loki looked down at the still unconscious face of the girl in his arms, then gazed up at the two men with narrowed eyes and a slightly maniacal grin.

            “No,” he answered.

            “In the name of the king of Asgard,” the guard repeated boldly, “I command you to release the crown princess.”

            “And I command you, in the wretched name of your king,” he began with a snarl, “to get out of my way!”

            The brave guard stepped forward and unsheathed his sword, brandishing it at Loki. Without having to even say a single spell aloud, Loki made a rather deadly looking knife appear in mid air and sent it whizzing into the chest of the guard, killing him. The other, younger guard drew his weapon as well and looked down at his dead comrade in horror and fear, but then swallowed and stepped forward bravely.

            “R-Release the princess!” The man stammered.

            Loki didn’t even respond, but looked the man over with an amused and slightly regretful expression, before killing him off as well. Stepping over their bodies, Loki exited the room which had been his prison for too long and strode out into the hallway. Feeling the magical barrier that Caenr had made with his heightened magical senses, he merely had to recall the spell in his mind before it too fell away. Then, he set out to leave the palace altogether.