The Tear of Celeste

Chapter 39: Taken🗡️🩸

You both get pulled out of the trunk, unable to fight it as you get dragged along the ground, still tangled up in the chains.

You try to take note of your surroundings and the men that have kidnapped you but don't find anything helpful. It looks like an abandoned factory/warehouse space. A place where, you realize with a cold chill down your spine, no one can hear you scream.

The men dump you in the middle of the floor and start to untangle the two of you. They are very careful to do it in a way that still leaves Loki tied up, and not giving you enough freedom before they tie you up with normal rope.

You and Loki get tied to separate chairs, and your stomach drops as you feel like you know what comes next.

Someone puts a hand over your mouth before you can say anything, and you watch in horror as one of the men pulls out another chair to sit in front of Loki. The man is sitting on the chair the wrong way, resting his arms on the backrest as he gives Loki a smirk. "Sorry about the rough invitation, but I thought it best to talk in a more private place, and I had a feeling you would not come willingly."

Loki looks at him coldly. "Do you have any idea who I am?" He says in such a dark voice that it is almost a growl.

"Of course I do," the man said, gesturing to Loki's chains, "it's why I went through all the trouble of getting those, I'd rather not get stabbed while striking a deal with you."

Loki pauses at that, wearing an expression somewhere between surprise and disgust. "A deal? What could you possibly offer me?" He rolled his eyes, giving a bored aura that you can tell is fake.

"Well from what I understand, we very much believe the same thing," the man said, gesturing to Loki. "That humans' natural state is to crave subjugation, that humanity can not be trusted with its own freedom," he said, gesturing toward a window so high up that you have no hope of reaching it, "that humans are slaughtering each other in a mad scramble for power when they would do much better serving a true ruler."

From the way he is speaking, and the tightening of Loki's eyes, you have a feeling his words were carefully selected to reflect something Loki had said in his past. Probably doing the New York incident.

"All we wish for is to unite the world under one ruler!" The man said, gesturing to himself and the others around you. "We just want it to be the right ruler."

"Is that referring to me?" Loki asks, raising an eyebrow and giving a sarcastic smirk. "Because if not I still don't see where this whole 'deal' thing comes in, and if you are, I don't think it's very smart to keep your future king in chains," he said, gesturing with his face down at himself, "so I suggest you either free me or state your point."

The man holds up his hand. "Now now, I don't know if I can trust you to make the right choice yet!" He said with a grin. "And who knows, if you join our side you very well might get to be the man on top, but you still have to join us first, and I have to believe you."

Loki looked at him coldly. His eyes flicker to you so quickly even you had trouble catching it before he looked back at the man and said. "Name your terms so I can think about it," he said with a sarcastic grin.

"Well," the man said with an easy smile, "all we would need from you right now is The Tear of Celeste!" He said, getting up. "It was ours to begin with, so if you return what is rightfully ours, we will help you get what is rightfully yours, your birthright to be a king."

"Ah," Loki said, shifting in his seat, "well, that does sound a bit complicated, you see the others don't trust me that much," he said, tilting his head left and right in a thoughtful way, "but I do think I can make it work, but not while in chains."