Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

74. Ravir

Daphne jolts as the golden woman abruptly grabs Daphne's hand, stopping Daphne from touching her. There's a sudden breath of fresh air as Daphne's shaken out of her trance. The mist clears out of her head. She gasps loudly, eyes blown wide as her mind returns to her completely. The weight of the memory prison spell lifting off her shoulders. She's free.

Daphne stares at the golden lady in front of her in fear, but immediately averts her gaze upon realizing the woman is naked. She's covered in jewelry and it only barely covers her private parts. What just happened? What did she just do to her?! She looks down at herself and frowns when she sees she's wearing a white dress with an open back. Similar to the one she wore at the Halloween party.
"I had hoped you would fight me more than you did," the golden woman says, letting go of Daphne just as harshly as she had grabbed on.
"What?" Daphne rubs on the wrist the lady just held and stares at her in disbelief.
"You gave in. Immediately." The lady shakes her head and turns around. Gold dust falls down her shoulders and Daphne realizes just what she is. She's like Nuveth. But gold. She gasps quietly at her own naivety. She'd nearly touched her. She would've turned to gold!

"How was I supposed to know what you were doing to me?" She tries to defend herself. The golden sorceress scoffs.
"It is not a matter of knowing, Zephyr." Daphne shudders at the mention of the word. "These kind of spells are supposed to catch you off guard." The gold moves away from Daphne, who stays frozen in place. "This is about recognizing what is being done to you. That what is happening is not reality."
"Is this real?" Daphne asks quietly as she looks around the white space around her.
"What do you think, child?" The gold cocks an eyebrow at her.
"I'm not sure..."
"I am in your head." The gold nods and twirls once, her metallic dust covering the floor below her. She suddenly bursts forward towards Daphne, who yelps, but freezes. She halts right before Daphne, gently touching Daphne's nose with her own before pulling back again with a mischievous smile on her face. "But the rule still applies."
"I figured," Daphne mumbles. She bites her cheek and studies the gold woman. "Do you know Nuveth?" She asks quietly. The gold laughs once.
"Nuveth is my brother, Zephyr." Daphne's mouth opens slightly in surprise.
"He mentioned you when he..."
"Visited you?" The gold laughs softly, but her posture weakens. "We are twins," she says simply. "Both cursed to the same fate."
"The metal?" Daphne's faint reaction makes the gold chuckle.
"We learned to use it to our advantage."

Daphne purses her lips, still unsure to what extent she should trust the gold.
"What is your name?"
"I go by Ravir." Daphne blinks a few times as her mind connects the puzzle pieces.
"The sorceress who told Thor to practice his lightning strikes on earth?" This time the sorceress laughs out loud.
"I did not tell him that. All I did was inform him he is capable of far more than he thinks. I did not tell him to go to Midgard, and striking you with his powers was not something I intended him to do."
"So, you know what happened?"
"The one who made you allowed me to enter his mind to explain a vision to him. I may or may not have snooped around his memories a little bit."
"The one who..." Daphne's voice dies to silence. Loki. There's a beat as Daphne gathers the courage to speak. "What am I?" Ravir cocks her head.

"Did my brother not tell you?"
"He told me the name."
"I told him to tell you what you are."
"He didn't." Daphne scoffs. What a stupid conversation. Couldn't Ravir just give her the answers she needs?

"Oh, Zephyr," Ravir sighs, gold dust floating in the air as she shakes her head. She moves back to Daphne again, who presses her lips on top of each other. "He told me he did what I asked. I have not seen him much since then." Daphne closes her eyes when Ravir caresses Daphne's cheek with her golden hand. Daphne doesn't move, afraid she might lose her balance and initiate physical contact with Ravir. "He's enjoying his freedom, you see?"
"Freedom?" Daphne barely moves the muscles in her face. She doesn't dare with the gold still touching her.
"He was imprisoned for a long time. Freed only recently. Going to you was the first thing he did after 1200 years. Upon my request, of course."
"He mentioned you felt guilty."
"I feel guilty no more. I am here now to speak with you myself." A gold finger traces Daphne's cheekbones and curls around her hair, twirling it.
"Then speak."
"Hm?"
"Explain to me what a Zephyr is." She pauses before she stutters. "A-and tell me if the spell he put on me is really gone."