Part I
The prison cell of Asgard was a bit more irritating than Areena had expected, but she didn't care. No, that was a lie. She did care. The white was really getting on her nerves. And the fact that all of the books were covered in white was not making in any better. Eventually, the guards handed her pure white clothes which Areena tried to turn yellow but couldn't since they put those Norns dammed cuffs on her. Loki sighed as he watched her fight back the guards easily. Even without her Seidr or powers, Areena was a smooth attacker and it took about 15 guards to finally cuff her. As a punishment, they took away her bed and promised to torture Loki if he tried to help her. Loki felt the pangs of guilt eat him up as he watched Areena tiredly smile at him before laying down on the floor.
"I'm going to kill Odin." Areena said with a tired but angry voice.
"Please do, I will help." Loki reassured Areena and she smiled. Loki caught up on the last 1500 years thanks to Areena, who was kept with Loki because she was considered 'dangerous' like him.
"He locked up the princess of Auraheim. How dare he?! Not to mention, he locked up the prince of Jotunheim!" Areena said angrily before shutting her eyes and letting out a deep exhale to calm herself.
"I am quite the useless prince. I can barely walk properly, why does he see me as a threat?" Loki questioned as he remembered crawling to his bed
"I'll make him fear you. Get up. We shall practice. You are healed for the month" Areena said before getting up and cracking her knuckles. Loki stared at her in awe. Surely she didn't think she could utilize someone as useless as Loki? Loki had no self-confidence, Areena understood that in the week he was with her. He flinched when she raised her voice, so she always stayed quiet. She made sure to be gentle towards him. Even though she knew every single one of Loki's secrets, he still couldn't trust her. But Areena didn't care.
"Are you out of your mind?" Loki asked as he got up
"Maybe? Maybe not? I don't know, I don't care. My plan is coming together, I just need to find a way to send my letter to Prince Thor. But before I find out how to do that, we have to prepare you" Areena said in an optimistic way. Her words stung Loki. Even though he knew was going to escape, it felt so surreal to hear the words from Areena's mouth.
"Okay, let's get this over with. Although I will warn you, I am quite like a sack of bones currently" Loki said as he waved a hand along his body and Areena chuckled.
"Let's teach you basics first. You are a Jotun. Had you gotten the chances to grow properly, you'd be twice as tall as me. This cell has a spell that's keeping you from turning Jotun, but I'll deal with that later. For now, let's teach you the basics of fighting "Areena said before rolling up her sleeves.
She showed Loki how to duck hits, where to hit, where to turn, where to stop and how to kill. Of course Loki only managed to master the typical punch before collapsing on his bed. Areena was barely fazed and she just laughed before digging into Loki's books as Loki fell asleep.
The two days were a mess. Areena was persistent on teaching Loki something before he fell asleep. One of the guards caught onto their training and dragged Loki out of the room. Areena almost died from worrying. Loki returned the next morning. He was beaten black and blue and he was unconscious. Areena gasped at the sight of him being thrown into the cell before kicking the guard square in the face. He stumbled and hit his head on the edge of the table. He died. And Areena laughed before spitting at him. She expected to be treated like Loki, but instead, another guard just slapped her and left with the body.
"You're brutal" Loki groaned as he turned to lay on his back
"I'm sorry, Loki. I should've been more careful with your training. What did they do?" Areena asked as she helped Loki onto his bed.
"Broke my fingers for the umpteenth time, kicked me and punched me. Nothing special though." Loki said with a shrug before wincing at the pain in his chest. Yesterday's beating was nothing compared to what he usually felt-he wasn't even raped! He smiled but Areena's face went from horror to concern to anger.
"I'm going to destroy them. But I'll need your help. We'll have to find a better time to practice, rest now. We'll train again soon. Just rest for now." Areena said as she tucked Loki into bed.
"But--" Loki protested hut Areena shushed him
"No buts. I'm the godess of strategy, let me do the planning" Areena smiled before walking off to the table. Loki felt that familiar tug of hope in his chest as he closed his eyes
The next few weeks(months) were a blur. Areena managed to find a time at night to practice. The time being 3:00 AM. It was efficient. They could practice for about 2 hours before some guard would come in to check them. It was incredibly annoying for Loki and Areena, but they had to deal with it. The lights were always turned off and Areena would have to rely on her advanced eyesight to teach Loki without losing an eye. Eventually, the guards took of her cuffs after she behaved well for a whole month, and Areena used magic to light up the room. She also started teaching Loki magic. And the Norns must've also declared him the God of magic because he was a natural.
Areena soon realized Loki was better at Seidr than her. So that's what she used on him. She taught as much Seidr as possible, while also teaching him hand to hand combat. The guards still put cuffs on Areena so she wouldn't be able to conjure weapon, but other than that she had her powers back. They were dumb, they couldn't restrict part of her magic. It was either all of it or none of it, but they didn't need to know that. Loki was a damn fast learner. And withing the two three months of her stay, Loki was already strategic enough to be a powerful Aesir, although not as strong. They barely got meals, and while Areena could survive a week without food, the more Seidr Loki practiced the weaker he got. So Areena often times found herself forcing him to eat her meal.
Loki got stronger and so did Areena's plan as the fourth month started. The guards were so incredibly dumb to allow Areena to have her powers back. The plan was set. She would mind control on the guards and make him send her letter to Thor. Thor would take down the guards. He would then send Lady Sif and they would escape. The plan was perfect, every chance of mistake was covered. They just had to be careful. As the fourth month rolled around, Loki got restless.
"Are you sure we can do this? I don't know Areena, I'm really scared" Loki said as he paced up and down the small cell. Areena smiled as she stopped writing her letter to Thor.
"Calm down, Astrid" Areena said with a chuckle and Loki abruptly turned around
"Who's that? Why are you calling me that name? Are they evil?" Loki asked almost a hundred questions at once and Areena laughed
"Calm down, Astrid was my sister. She was always nervous like you. Odin killed her. Actually, now that I think about it, I shouldn't have made that reference. Sorry" Areena said as her face went dark and Loki went back to pacing.
"Who is Prince Thor? Is he any good? Is he nice? I don't know Areena is he--" Loki couldn't finish before Areena threw a book at him
"Prince Thor is a good friend of mine. I was supposed to marry him, but he helped me escape the wedding. He was banished to Midgard and I convinced Odin to bring him back. He is a strong man and has good morals. I know it's hard for you, but please just trust me when I say that Thor is good" Areena said with a reassuring smile but Loki was still scared. He learnt not to trust anyone, and the only reason he trusted Areena was because she was the only normal person he had ever met. Why would he trust Thor if he already had Areena?
"I'm being childish, I know. But I've never trusted anyone other than you. I'm just anxious" Loki said before sitting down on his bed and rubbing his hands across his face. Areena got up and sat down beside him.
"It's not childish, I wouldn't even trust myself if I was in your place, but I need you to trust me once more. When we escape, I'll take you to Midgard. They have incredible mind healers, plus I have a couple of friends there who would love to meet you" Areena patted Loki's back before getting back up.
"Now stop pacing and start practing what I taught you. We will escape, period." Areena said confidently before returning to the desk.
The fifth month rolled around and the plan was set in motion. Areena and Loki woke up early in the morning, specifically 4:00 AM. Loki twitched nervously as he watched the morning guard come in at 6:00 AM but thanks to the illusions Areena taught him, he looked completely fine to the naked eye. He watched anxiously as Areena got close to guard.
She brought her hand close to the side of his head and twisted her fingers a bit. As she did, a yellow light flowed from the tip of her hand and to the guards forehead. For a split second, Areena's eyes glowed a bright yellow before returning to their normal color. Areena whispered softly into the guards ear as she continued to twist her fingers. The guards brown eyes turned into yellow and Areena smirked. She slowly slipped him the letter she wrote and he hid it in his armour before walking away like nothing happened. But his eyes were yellow. Loki's heart almost raced out of his chest as he saw the guard completely exit the room. Loki let out aoud sigh of relief and Areena ran up to hug him. She squealed as she held him and Loki laughed.
"We are going to leave, finally!" Areena exclaimed but Loki still couldn't trust the plan fully. Of course he couldn't, he had been lied to his whole life. If the torture say they're going to end the session soon, they would instead prolong the session. But Loki felt safe as he watched Areena pace up and down the cell like him. Except she wasn't nervous, she was just nervous.
An hour went by. Then another. Then another. Loki was a second away from crying and even Areena was getting nervous. Finally, the guard from before walked in along with a brunette girl dressed in armour.
"Sif!" Areena exclaimed as she ran over to Sif and hugged her.
"Woah! Slow down, I'm going to choke!" Sif said with a laugh and Areena felt tears form in her eyes. She was done being held captive and eating shitty porridge.
"Loki, get up! We can finally leave!" Areena exclaimed as she grabbed Loki's hands and pulled him up. Sif and Loki stared at each other in confusion and Areena slapped her forehead
"I forgot to introduce you two! Loki, this is Prince Thor's friend, Lady Sif. Sif, this is Loki, my friend" Areena proudly called Loki her friend and Loki smiled
"He is Jotun?" Sif asked seeming very confused
"Yes" Areena answered with a shrug. Sif eyed him for a minute
"Well, he certainly doesn't look the part. Come, we have to leave. The guards are down for now, but the spell won't last more than 30 minutes." Sif said as she tugged onto Areena's arm. But Loki didn't move.
"WAIT! I-I-I'm scared" Loki explained quietly. He had only ever been to two other places. He was terrified of what was outside. He wanted to leave but something was telling him to stay.
"Loki, this is our only chance. It's now or never." Areena said with a determined face
"Okay, but promise you'll protect me" Loki said in a cowardly way and Sif realized just how horribly they treated Loki
"I promise!" Areena said with a big smile before the three of them made their way out of the cell