Chapter 1:
"I knew it was only a matter of time till you came to me." Loki's voice filled the throne room as consul member Sora approached him. His helmeted figure cut a threatening silhouette as he sat in what was now his throne.
Sora's breathing was shallow and quickened as she made her way across the room to the man that she had once considered her friend and lover. She dared not show him anything but humbleness in this moment as she reached the bottom dais of the throne. Sora bowed to him in respect, all the while hoping that she would be able to save them all from his destructive path. Her pale blue eyes met his mischievous green ones and she immediately felt something cold begin to grow in her chest. He was not the Loki she knew anymore.
"Your majesty, I'm here to seek an audience with you," She told him, her voice strong and even.
Loki gave her request some thought and then nodded to the guards at the door to leave them alone. Once they had gone, he descended the steps of his throne to meet her on the lower dais. He could see that his close proximity was beginning to intimidate her and he couldn't help but feel pleased by his new power over her. Sora was his consul now and like his father before him, he was the master of her puppet strings. This was a power more seductive than the one he felt when he would lie in his bed beside her as an equal.
He regarded her with a sympathetic gaze fitting of the morose occasion. Still something in his eyes seemed separate and distant. "What is it you wanted to speak with me about, Sora?"
Sora loved Loki but she knew he was a liar. It could be that everything he was saying at the moment, every emotion he was conveying was a lie. Yet underneath his masks, Loki had a deep reservoir of feeling within him which he concealed with lies and trickery. He felt things far deeper than most; love, anger, jealousy, sadness. But he did not wish to show anyone his true self, not to his family… not even to her whom he claimed to love above all else.
Sora avoided his eyes now, unable to bring herself to look in them.
"Loki, as you know, a great darkness has cast a shadow over Asgard. With Allfather in the Odin-Sleep, the burden now falls on you to make peace with the Frost Giants…"
Loki quietly circled behind her as she spoke. Her practiced words fell from her pretty mouth like a true politician and he was waiting for her to come to her point.
Sora didn't turn to follow him even though his predatory movements were highly unnerving to her. Instead, she stood her ground not wishing to show him any disrespect.
"… Even though your Council sues for peace with Jotunhiem, we must prepare for the worst. It seems that Laufey has been driven past negotiations. As much as you know I depose the idea, we must be ready to go to war. Therefore I ask that you allow Thor to return to spearhead the army as he did during your father's reign."
Loki said nothing as he stood behind her. He was not surprised with her request, yet the idea still angered him. After all they had been through together Sora was supposed to be his biggest supporter and yet she was advising him in this manner? She was supposed to be on his side and yet her support clearly lay elsewhere.
But in the big scheme of things that was no matter. He had greater designs for Asgard than she ever dreamed of and unlike her he had the power and drive to make his vision real. So he would pretend to indulge her in her silly pacifistic ideas of peace and unity while he did what was necessary to save them. Sora made the peace and prosperity of Asgard her life's work yet she had never been willing to do what must be done to create that change. After he destroyed Jotunhiem and restored peace to Asgard she would see that he was right all along. He knew that in the end he could make her bend to him. Whether it be by her will or his power, she would stand beside him.
A smirk spread across his face as he reached out and ran a finger down her one of her delicate shoulder blades, pulling away only when he reached the scoop of her raw silk tunic. Sora shivered in fear at his touch, unsure as to why he was acting this way. Even though she could not see the lustful hunger in his eyes as he stared at her, she felt the heat of his breath on the back of her neck and his lingering presence as he continued to stand behind her. He had touched her many times before, but she had never felt threatened by it. Not like she did now. This was no affectionate caress, it was bordering more on predatory.
"Loki," she spoke, her eyes wide and fixed on the gilded floor in front of her. Her voice was not quite so strong anymore. Her body was stiff and her breathing was shallow as she tried to compose herself. "Please talk to me."
"I thought we were talking." He said as he calmly rounded in front of her. His green eyes pinned her to the spot where she was standing. His intense gaze briefly flickered over her and then a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. She could see the wheels of his mind turning in his head as he studied her.
She got the distinct impression that he was sizing up his competition. Loki was an extremely formidable opponent in the political arena. He was just as talented with words as she was, if not more so. He was smart, quick, crafty, and relentless. Even now, through his silence, she recognized that she was already losing ground to him. Still she had to continue to try and fight this. This could be the last chance anyone had with reasoning with him.
"I know I should not mention it-" She began to try to appeal to him again but then Loki cut her off.
"Yes you shouldn't," he agreed, giving her a warning glance.
"But I must," she continued. Loki saw a flash of defiance in her eyes, revealing where her loyalties lied and he briefly wondered if she cared for him at all anymore or if her morals had completely blinded her to the fact that it was him she was standing against now. "Thor is your brother, surely you can find a way to allow him to return."
"I love my brother more than anyone can know but I cannot break my father's oath. It is the law," he replied sternly.
He was standing only a foot away from her now, his clear green eyes looking down into hers. Sora could not tell if the sorrow they conveyed was real or not. His eyes always showed so much and yet they revealed so little when he was lying. They were the color of what Loki thought to be his mothers' eyes but now he recognized that they resembled the icy seas of his true homeland- of those demons that were his people.
"Laws can be unjust Loki. It is our duty to change them if we find them thus." She countered, hoping that he would not fight her reasoning. Sora did not want to fight him but if forced, she would stand between him and Asgard if she had to.
