It sorta looks like she’s got Li’l Starfish Squeaker tucked under her arm in the first panel, but she probably had to leave it behind in order to travel light and unencumbered. I suspect she or perhaps Natasha will return to rescue it.♥
I did use the word “demand,” not “ransom”. I also have to disagree with your reading of the secondary definition you provided. A person’s feeling of being involuntarily controlled by an outside influence does not imply that someone or something is actively, intentionally holding them hostage, and I would argue precisely the inverse. We speak of (someone) being “hostage to another” (their charms, their beauty, etc.), or “hostage to a drug,” to describe when a person feels as if they’re being controlled by an external agent or source, but where what’s really going on is that they’ve lost and/or surrendered control of themselves to an outside influence. You can’t keep someone in thrall to your charms through the force of your own will; someone can be in thrall to your charms without you intending or wanting them to be; and you can be hostage to outside influences that are incapable of agency or intent, as with addictive substances or compulsive habits.♥
I hate to quibble*, but they’re keeping Sophie prisoner, not holding her hostage. Hostage implies that the hostage-takers are making demands for their release. All hostages are prisoners, but not all prisoners are hostages.
Spice is the plural of spouse. ;^D