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friendly. I had a feeling that honesty and cynicism would go farther with him.
    “So go. You don’t have to ask me for permission,” Ludlow laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound.
    “There’s no bathroom in here. I’m not gonna squat on the ground,” I said, genuinely disgusted by the idea.
    “Then hold it.” Ludlow started to shut the slot, but I put my hand out. He pushed hard, but I stopped it easily. If it came down to it, I could totally overpower the hobgoblin.
    “Can’t you get a guard or something to take me the bathroom?” I asked.
    “I am the guard,” Ludlow snapped, sounding huffy.
    “Oh really?” I smirked at him, realizing this might be far easier than I thought.
    “Don’t underestimate me, Princess,” Ludlow growled. “I eat girls like you for breakfast.”
    “So you’re a cannibal?” I wrinkled my nose.
    “Ludlow, are you harassing the poor girl?” A voice came from out of sight of the slot. Ludlow moved to the side, and I saw Loki swaggering towards us.
    “She’s harassing me ,” Ludlow complained.
    “Yes, talking to a beautiful Princess – what a rough lot you have in life,” Loki said dryly, and Matt snorted behind me.
    Ludlow muttered something, but Loki held up his hand, silencing him. He was too close to the door for me to see his face. The slot was at Ludlow’s eye level, which was about at Loki’s waist.
    “What seems to be the problem?” Loki asked.
    “I need to go to the bathroom.” I leaned in closer to the slot, peering up at him. I wanted to catch his eye, but they stayed out of my vision.
    “And I told her to go inside the cell,” Ludlow said with pride in his voice.
    “Oh come now. She’s not a common mänks. We can’t leave her in squalor!” Loki chastised the troll, sounding genuinely displeased. “Open the door. Let her out.”
    “But, sir, I’m not to let her out until the King calls for her.” Ludlow looked up at him nervously.
    “You think the King would want her treated this way?” Loki asked, and the hobgoblin wrung his hands. “You can explain to the Majesty that this is all my fault, if it comes to it.”
    Ludlow nodded his reluctant compliance. He slid the slot shut, and I let him this time. I stood up and listened to the sounds of the bolts and locks clicking and turning.
    “I don’t like this,” Matt said, throwing his disapproval into the ring.
    “We don’t have much of a choice,” I whispered. “I got us into this, and I’ll get us out.”
    The door opened a bit, and I stood back, expecting it to open farther. I thought Loki would step in, I would use persuasion, and we would be off. But he and Ludlow remained hidden outside.
    “Well?” Ludlow asked. “I’m not holding this door open all day.”
    Ludlow had left the door open a few inches, barely enough room for me to slide my body through. I squeezed my way out, and as soon as I had, Ludlow slammed the door shut. I stared down at him, already busying himself with locking it up.
    “The bathroom is this way,” Loki said.
    He gestured down the hall. It had the same dank bricks as the cell I’d been in. The floors were dirt, and torches on the wall lit the way.
    “Thanks.” I smiled at Loki and caught his eyes easily. They were really quite beautiful, a dark golden color, but I pushed that thought from my mind.
    Concentrating as hard as I could, I started chanting, Let them go. Let us go. Open the cell and let us go . It took a few seconds before I saw any response, but the one I got wasn’t at all what I was expecting.
    A bemused smile crossed his lips, and his eyes sparkled with wicked pleasure.
    “I bet you don’t even have to go to the bathroom, do you?” Loki smirked at me.
    “I – what?” I fumbled, startled that nothing happened.
    “I told you we shouldn’t let her out!” Ludlow shouted, defending his position.
    “Relax, Ludlow,” Loki said but kept his eyes on me. “She’s fine. Harmless.”
    I redoubled my efforts, thinking I hadn’t tried