Chapter 7: Procrastination, Catching Up, Searching, and Forced Vacations
I promised a few weeks ago that the upcoming chapters would have Riverrun and Asgard, and I lied at the time. When I started writing the last two chapters, those parts simply didn't fit. This chapter will have four parts instead: a Loki alone scene, a Riverrun scene, an Asgard scene, and a Loki/Sansa scene. I feel bad for letting my readers down, so here's all the stuff that I promised!
Loki carefully chose his target. He was crouched in the audience chamber for the small council. Squinting, Loki set up his weapon; it took all of his concentration to align his weapon perfectly with the target. Aiming, he finally let loose his missile.
The golden lion's head stud rolled down the floor, smashing into a dozen small spun-glass goblets. The solid-gold stud knocked over every single glass and they shattered with small, tinkly chimes. Loki whooped in triumph. It had taken him a good hour to figure out how to get the golden ornament to roll correctly; it was covered with tiny fissures and crevices to better simulate a true lion's man, and that made it roll rather unevenly. Loki went over to the shattered pins, stepping unconcernedly on the broken glass. He picked up the lion's stud and frowned. There was still a bit of Tommen-dust covering one of the lion's ruby eyes. Loki wiped it clean on his shirt and examined it more closely. Holding it up to the light, Loki marveled at the artisanship that had gone into that one grape-sized bit of gold. If all of the Red Keep's jewelry was this fine, he could sell them and made a fine profit to get the Iron Banks of Bravos their money.
A knock on the door startled Loki out of his trance. A servant entered the chamber and set two covered dishes on the table, along with a decanter of Arbor gold. The wench also wiped down the table and set it for two people. Bowing, the girl left as quickly as she'd come.
Loki frowned, more in confusion than in anger. Why had he ordered any food? He hadn't needed much sustenance today, and he couldn't remember why he'd bothered a servant at all for food. Oh, right, I was going to invite Sansa to come down to dinner. Uncovering the dishes, Loki remembered that he'd ordered all of Sansa's favourite foods: fresh-baked trout crusted in almond crumbs, hot breads with fresh butter, a plate of fruit for her to sample from at her leisure, and even a little plate of lemoncakes. A few hours ago, it had seemed like it would be the easiest thing in the world to have Sansa come down and talk with him. A few apologies would be exchanged, and their relationship could resume as normal. Now, Loki was not so sure.
He had sent two servants to see to Sansa's needs, but she had locked herself in her old bedchamber in Maegor's Holdfast. When one of the servants had tried to knock on the door and talk to her, Sansa had smashed a candelabrum against the door and had screamed for them to leave her alone. Loki had ordered the servants to leave her alone for two hours, but when they had checked on her again, she had cried herself to sleep. Loki had spent the next few hours trying to hide the growing seed of fear taking root in his stomach. I really upset her. It would take a lot of work to make Sansa happy again. Loki sat down on the Hand's carved chair at the head of the table and began to think.
He had to convince Sansa that it was all for the better; Tommen would have died eventually. He was a Lannister heir, and if Loki's rule would be secure, most, if not all of the Lannisters, would have to die. Loki had decided long ago that Joffrey and Tommen would have to die and it would happen whether or not they were still children.
Maybe she's angry with how I did it. Blasting Tommen to ash in the middle of Maegor's Holdfast had been a little extreme, surely. Loki had done it purely to injure Cersei and to show everyone that Tommen was properly dead, but he had done it rather harshly. Sansa has a kind heart, and brutality reminds her of Joffrey. Loki knew the boy had suffered as he died, and Sansa knew it too. I ought to have been gentler. A quick dagger to the heart, a soft pillow, a cup of painless poison, an overdose of sleeping potion to allow Tommen to drift peacefully into death. The body would still have been available to show that the boy had truly died, and Sansa would have probably been comforted to know that Tommen had died as quickly and as painlessly as possible. I'll apologize for my dramatic cruelty and promise her that in the future the young and innocent shall not suffer if they need to die. However, Loki was still going to make Joffrey suffer when he was executed, and Sansa could deal with it. First, though, Loki would apologize to Sansa for his cruelty.
With a plan of action, Loki summoned two of Sansa's old bedmaids from the armorsmith's mansion. Loki produced a key out of thin air and gave it to one of them. "Fetch Lady Sansa and tell her that she is to join me for dinner. Be gentle if she resists, but make her come." The girls departed, and Loki settled back into his chair and allowed himself to smile. Everything would be all right.
Catelyn Stark saw her son's banners from her high window tower in Riverrun. She couldn't possibly imagine what she was going to say to him. Sansa and Loki's letters were still clutched in Catelyn's hand; her relief over her eldest daughter's fate had moved her to tears. Arya was still missing, but they had to take this one-step at a time...
Ser Desmond knocked on the door to her bedchamber. "King Robb is coming, my lady." he averted his eyes as he spoke. "I expect that he will want to pass judgment on you in person."
Catelyn tucked the letters into a pocket of her gown and stood up. "Take me to my son and king." she said.
Ser Desmond escorted her down the steps. When they reached the yard, Catelyn noticed that there were no Frey banners and a new banner, six seashells on a yellow field. Catelyn paused and considered this. What has happened here...?
Odin's voice boomed across the throne room. "I want him found! Do you hear me? Find him!"
Thor stood in his designated spot below Odin's throne, trying not to cringe as Odin tongue-lashed Loki's guards. Loki had been missing for days now, and Odin's fury grew as each message came detailing his escape. Loki had fled, taking all of his magical weaponry with nary a hint of where he was going to go. The Nine Realms were outraged about the Asgardian prince's disappearance; he posed a serious threat to anyone in his way. Thor hardly cared about what the other realms' opinions were. He was deathly afraid for Earth and his human love, Jane Foster. Loki had promised to get revenge with her that night on the Bifrost...
"Assemble an elite squadron! I want ten of our best trackers and warriors for each team. They are going to scour the Nine Realms and beyond, and they are to make reports every two days. If they find Loki, they are to bring him back alive for Asgardian justice."
Thor felt sorry for Loki; wherever he was, he would be found and would really learn the meaning of punishment. However, Thor's pity was soon tempered with fear and rage. If Loki had hurt Jane Foster and her friends on Earth...Thor would formally request a few swings at him when he came back.
Later that night, the twenty teams were assembled. Nine would be given permission to search the Nine Realms, one would secretly search Earth, and the other ten would go beyond the known stars to find the wayward prince. Odin gave them his blessing as they swore to use their lives to protect the Asgardian crown. Thor watched this in grim silence and retreated to his chambers after the squadrons left.
An hour after Thor had settled in his rooms, a knock came at his door. Thor opened the door and was surprised to see his mother Frigga. Her eyes were red from tears, but she composed herself and sat Thor down at his table. "What do you think about your father's decision today, my son?" She asked.
Thor coughed. "I wholeheartedly agree with him! Loki betrayed our trust and faith in his rehabilitation and is now probably wreaking havoc on some innocent planet! I think that-"
Frigga held up her hand, cutting Thor off. "So you think that rehabilitation means torture and humiliation?"
"Well, he did attack Earth-"
"In a fit of madness." Frigga scowled down at her son, and Thor quailed under his mother's unusually fierce gaze. "Loki had been hurting for some time, Thor, did you ever think of that?" She did not give him a chance to answer. "His revelation over his true parentage shocked him down to his soul, and he assumed that he had to destroy his birth planet to gain his father's true love and respect. Yet, instead of consoling him and guiding him through that difficult time, your father decides to imprison and torture him for his crimes!" Frigga huffed, and Thor saw how much she was trying to stay in control. "The guards report that Loki's mind snapped under the punishments, and he escapes at the first opportunity he gets! Can you blame him for wanting to escape that?"
Thor's voice came out a whisper. "No, I didn't, mother..."
Frigga's next words cut like a whip. "If Odin's bounty hunters find him, Loki will never, ever, be part of his family again. He will hate us forever; that is, if his mind doesn't snap for good this time. He was obviously sound of mind enough to escape."
"What would you have me do?" Thor's voice was all anguish.
Frigga threw her hands in the air. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Convince Odin to call off his teams! Odin's won't listen to me, so you have to try. Tell him to let Loki be in peace for a time; he needs to rest and reflect on his own."
Thor jumped out of his seat. "Thank you, Mother, for your opinion. Even if Father doesn't value your words, I do." He kissed his mother's hand and departed from the room.
With a solid door separating Robb and Catelyn from the rest of the castle, they could finally talk truthfully.
"She's a...lovely girl, Robb." Catelyn finally said after several moments of awkward silence. "But what convinced you to break your treaty with the Freys?"
Robb seemed to find it hard to speak. "I..soiled her honor after Bran and Rickons' deaths, and I married her to keep her honor intact. I..." he noticed that his mother was smiling. "Why are you so happy? I lost our pact with the Freys, my brothers are dead, and this new threat attacked King's Landing! We don't even know whether or not he will make a move against us next!"
"But he won't." Catelyn produced the two letters from her pocket. "We've already received a letter from his unknown man, and he's proposed an alliance between the North and the South."
Robb swallowed. "Give me his letter." He scanned it quickly. " ...I acknowledge the wrongs done to you by House Lannister...I propose an alliance between our peoples...The North can remain a free and independent nation, with the exception of this alliance...all prisoners will be returned to you...King in the North...a marriage pact..." He looked up. "A marriage pact? With whom?"
Catelyn showed him the second letter. "Sansa is safe in his man's care. He rescued her from Stannis and wishes to marry her for the alliance."
"This...Loki..." said Robb, tasting the unfamiliar name, "wants to marry my sister? How does she feel about this?"
"Sansa wrote a letter as well. She is enamored with Loki and finds him a good and just ruler. She says that he is a much better ruler than the previous ones, and is kind and gentle with her. She is happily awaiting marriage and looks forward to seeing us soon."
Robb stood up from his chair and made towards the door. "I need to discuss this with my council," he announced. "But, I think we will seriously consider this alliance, as it will put an end to this horrible war. Oh! How is the Kingslayer?"
Catelyn shrugged. "Fine. Sitting in his cell, as ever."
Robb nodded. "I suppose we shall have to decide what to do with him, now that House Lannister is finished."
Catelyn watched her son leave, joy washing out the stone and tears from every crevice of her heart.
Loki paced up and down the length of the room, anxiety growing and growing until it threatened to consume his entire being. He coughed anxiously and waited impatiently for Sansa to come. He fixed the collar of his shirt in a beaten-silver mirror and nervously shifted from one foot to another. Suddenly, Sansa was in the room. Loki nearly jumped; she had come in quite silently. The girl was clothed in a blue silken gown trimmed with black thread. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her mouth was set in a soft frown. Loki moved towards her and smiled.
"Why did you insist on this farce?" She stayed in the doorway, neither flinching away nor coming towards him.
Loki held back a sigh. "I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior. It was wrong of me to kill Tommen under such circumstances, and I apologize for causing you emotion distress, my sweet."
Sansa's frown deepened. "Is that all you have to say after you murdered an innocent child?"
"I'm going to be very blunt with you, Sansa: Tommen was marked for death. He was a Lannister heir, and he needed to die in order to secure my throne. I am only sorry for the way I caused his death, since it upset you. That's the entire apology you're going to get from me!"
Sansa laughed. It wasn't her normal sweet laugh; it was dark and angry. "And what, are you going to promise me that you'll never do it again? I've seen you kill dozens of men, Loki, and you love it! You love hurting people and you love seeing them die painfully! Do you think that you will just stop because I cried? You're a horrible liar, Loki! You're just made of lies! Did you lie to me before, when you said that you were tortured? That your family cast you out? Were those lies to get me on your side?"
It took all of Loki's strength not to slap her. He settled for striding across the room and putting his face close to hers, dropping his voice to a deep, menacing pitch. "You told me that Joffrey's cruelty had matured you, but you're still the same stupid little girl! You prance around and whine for your prince to come sweep you off your feet! When are you going to grow up and face reality? Things aren't going to be sunshine and rainbows; people will die, and many of them will be innocent! This is how life is and there aren't any white knights or honorable men to save you! When will you realize this? Your father died because he tried to cling onto the hope that men were good, and if you keep this up, you're going to get hurt someday!"
"I am already hurt! I thought you were different! You're just like the Lannisters; you lie and cheat and you hurt innocent people! Is it wrong to want a good place where people can be safe and happy? My brother is trying to achieve that-why can't you?"
Loki turned away from her. "You still cling to the belief that your brother is the most noble man in the world? Maybe you need to visit him and see what he's been up to..."
Sansa huffed. "What are you talking about?"
Loki turned back towards her. "I'm sending you back to Riverrun and your family until you learn to grow up! Maybe you need to see what sort of wrongs your brother has been committing, and you'll see how wrong you are about him! You're going to stay here until Joffrey is executed, and you're going to play the part of the happy little queen. Once that's over, we're going to say that you're going to visit your family, as you miss them. You are going to think things over and when you're ready to face reality, you can come back here and we can get this marriage finished. We're going to go through this marriage, as this alliance needs to be sealed."
Sansa couldn't speak through her rage. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, and Loki could hear her screams of anger and frustration echoing down the hall. Loki grabbed the metal lion's head from the table and squeezed it in his palm, using his magic to super-heat the metal. He watched the gold drip between his fingers, burning his hand and sizzling on the floor.
Yowch, this took a dark turn. I promise you, this chapter and the next one are the most angsty, and after that, we'll get back to business!
This story's only got about half a dozen chapters left, plus an epilogue. I'll tie up the storylines, and we'll get a glimpse of what's going to be the concern in the sequel. Once this is done, I'll take a little break and get a head start on the sequel during Christmas break, with the first chapter hopefully posted somewhere in January.
Keep reading, my awesome fans! Don't forget to drop me a review; they all matter!
