Lokasenna

Chapter Eight

      Artemis felt powerless.

      As the guards threw her in her own cell, she realized she was defeated, worthless, and no longer a match for Loki and his ruling power. With his attempted attack on her with none other than Gungnir itself, Artemis knew that Loki had somehow revealed that he was no longer Odin.

Nevertheless, her plan had now gone haywire with her unexpected imprisonment. However, she did ponder over the possibility of something obstructing her original plan before she arrived, as well as the fact that there was a higher likelihood of some completely new conflict happening because Asgard was so foreign to her.

Yet she sat in her cell and did nothing.

Honestly, she was tired and worn from her injuries and the stress of trying to deter Loki from the throne, which wasn't working at the moment. She hadn't seen Thor yet, either. She wondered why he had not come to pay her a visit.

Artemis looked around the strange cell. She had been placed in the first cubicle on the left of the staircase, which had an advantage of two force-fielded panes instead of one because it was situated on the corner. She was surprised at how much the cell had been furnished as if it were a miniature living room, having a small chair and two tables, as well as an adequately comfortable bed with silk sheets. Littered on the floor were multiple volumes of literature, with some books left open with visible annotations while some remained marked for later reading. On one of the tables, there was a bowl, and upon her further investigation, she noted that within it were clusters of red berries. She reached into the bowl and picked a single berry. When she held it to the light, she could see that it had a visibly opaque center with a filling of juice that had now slightly escaped the skin and stained her hand a blood red. Its round shape reminded her almost of a cranberry, except it was darker and much juicier on the inside. Artemis was puzzled at this unique fruit, and it seemed to be extremely delicious. She held it to her lips, almost breaking the skin before she heard something.

"Stop! Do not partake of that fruit," she heard a bellowing voice warn.

She looked around the corner, the berry in her hand. She was surprised when she discovered that Thor, the god of thunder himself, was in a lowly cell across the row and to the far left.

"The berry is known as Rowan," Thor continued. "Someone has poisoned the berry with a substance known to be lethal, named Eitr."

With that, she immediately dropped the berry in the bowl. "Who would poison these berries?"

Thor sighed. "I believe that while he was in his cell, Loki was attempting to... commit an act of suicide."

Artemis looked pained as she looked around at the lavish furnishings. This was Loki's holding cell after his crimes. Based off of the fact that the space was clean except for the scattered books on the floor, it seemed that his insanity had been kept under control, but after she finally noticed the markings on the wall from where he had scraped due to his rage and mourning, it was apparent that his time spent here only increased his madness. The atmosphere in her cell seemed to grow heavy as she realized his pain. It was almost as if it was happening before her, tangible and real.

"It was because of your mother," she concluded as she approached the force field to face Thor. "Your father told me everything."

"How do you know of my father?" Thor inquired.

"How did you end up here?" Artemis asked instead, requiring her question to be answered.

"I am to take Loki's place."

"What?" Artemis was confused. "Who allowed you to do this?"

"My father," Thor answered. "The man who you haven't told me of your relations yet."

"Your father is not in Asgard, much less on the throne, Thor," Artemis revealed. "Loki has fooled you into thinking that Odin is still reigning."

Surprisingly, Thor's eyes softened instead of fusing into a fiery rage. "Loki is on the throne?"

Artemis was confused. "You condone his reign? He banished your own father!"

Thor seemed to shake out of it. "You are right, fair maiden. Loki has yet committed another crime." He scratched his ear. "How do you know of this? Where is he now?"

"I found him on a street corner in New York. He begged me to take the throne from Loki, he said it would only bring darkness," Artemis explained with a hushed whisper, trying not to alert the stationed guards. "It seemed as though he was predicting something like the end of the world."

"Ragnarök," Thor concluded. "Odin believes his reign will lead to Ragnarök."

"I know how much you care for your brother, but he does not belong on the throne of Asgard unless you would like it to no longer exist," Artemis warned. "We need to get him off."

"Agreed, fair maiden. But first, we need to escape from these cells," Thor said quietly.

"Right. Also, my name is Artemis," she included, smiling slightly.

Thor nodded. "Very well, Lady Artemis." He paused for a moment. "I feel as if I must apologize for my... accidental injury to your head," he stated. "I did not know that Mjölnir would strike you."

"Oh, that was you?" She sighed. "Well, I suppose you are forgiven, granted that you had no intentions to kill me. Deal?"

Familiar with the earthly expression, Thor smiled. "Deal."

"Once we figure out how to get out of these cells," Artemis said, "We need to have a constructive plan. I already had something in mind, but now I'm thinking something else."

"And what would that be?" Thor crossed his muscular arms.

Artemis picked up the bowl. "Perhaps Loki likes berries."

Thor's eyes widened and he pressed his hand to the clear barrier. "We cannot kill my brother again," he pleaded. "As much as he desires the throne, the realization that he was never destined to rule will set in eventually."

"But what if it never does? Thor, we have to consider these possibilities, even though they're wild and somewhat insane. But with Loki, he is extremely desperate to rule, and he may never stop."

"I know Loki well," Thor replied. "He is able to cease his pressures. But it will require a great force to slow him."

Artemis thought hard for a moment. Looking at the berries, she shook her head, knowing that simply killing Loki would not put an end to this. It wouldn't be right. But then, it struck her.

"How much of the poison Eitr does an Asgardian need to be killed?"