Chapter Eleven - A Matter Most Important

A/N: Oh my gosh you guys, big doings in this chapter. This chapter starts from Ilmr's perspective and switches to Loki's after the double page break. The lyrics in this chapter are from one of my favorite songs, Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You". So favorite and appropriate for this that I may use it at least once more in future chapters.

Animedemon1234: I'm glad you're enjoying it! I am constantly reading and re-reading and editing so I'm glad it's paying off!

Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh I could drink a case of you, darling
Still I'd be on my feet

It had been several months since his nameday, and Loki had been more attentive and affectionate -in private- than he had before. She wasn't sure whether it was her gift, or the fact that he seemed to have given himself permission to be outwardly affectionate that day and had enjoyed it.

He offered her his arm as always when they walked anywhere together, but now he placed his hand over hers from time to time. He would pull out her chair and brush his fingers against her shoulder as he went to seat himself next to her. If the company and linens allowed, he would rest a hand on her thigh, though that was usually when Fandral joined their table after Odin and Frigga had taken their leave.

In private, he would brush a finger here, place a hand there, stood closer than necessity called for, both alone and in public. More than that, though, was his tone. There was a softness to his tone when he spoke to her now that was not there otherwise, not even with his mother.

Ilmr had a difficult time indeed remaining clear-headed, and more often than not she failed. More often than not, the part of her that kept her focused was quiet or ignored. The panic subsided and instead of the familiar pit in her stomach and clawing at her throat, she felt a rush in her veins; had to keep herself composed for reasons that had more to do with keeping the flush from her cheeks than anything else.

No matter that it seemed like both of them were losing sight of keeping clear heads, Ilmr decided. It would be more believable if they were well taken with one another; it would make no difference in his assent to the crown and her promotion to Commander.

And it had a most desirable effect: many women of the court seemed to think that theirs was a most rare affection, that Ilmr somehow coaxed Odin's second-son out of his dark exterior and softened his hard edges and sharp words. There was little for the women of the court to do, and so Ilmr found her name spoken among many of the gossiping peers, heard Loki's name not a few times, and sighing over the general circumstance of their courtship.

There was no doubt such bored interest and adoration helped, given the nature of her conversations with Frigga, of late.

"I have heard your name often these past few months, my dear." Frigga sipped her tea as she watched Ilmr for a reaction.

She laughed. "I have as well, my Qu-Frigga." It was not a fortnight past that the Queen had requested Ilmr use her name, rather than her title. It took some getting used to. "Certainly, since Loki's nameday not three months ago, I think I have heard my name spoken almost as often as it was in Vanaheim, though for different reasons."

"Folk have certainly worked themselves into a tizzy over you -and my son. I can see why, he has been most attentive. It makes me glad to see. You see, I had always feared Thor would meet and marry far before his brother, if Loki ever did. He was so …closed, so cold."

Ilmr knew where this particular conversation was headed; it was one she and Loki had barely a week prior. "He is a most thoughtful suitor. Though it may irk many, I find myself quite fond of his mischief and his talent for sorcery."

Frigga waved the attending servant away for more tea. Turning back to Ilmr, she smiled conspiratorially. "Now that we have a moment." She shifted forward in her seat slightly. "While you bring out a side to Loki I have not seen the like of, I do still know my son. I believe he intends to request our blessing for a betrothal very soon."

It was true. Loki had broached the subject carefully when he spoke of it earlier that week.

"Are you content?" Loki had draped himself across her settee and let his arm hang down to brush his hand through Fenrir's fur.

She peeked over her privacy screen. They had returned from the clearing not a half hour prior and now that she had bathed, she hurried to dress for dinner. "In Asgard? Yes, I find myself quite content here."

"No, I mean with me. It has been nearly half a year since we truly began courting. Are you quite content with me?"

Ilmr kept from furrowing her brow. It did not matter, either way. The agreement was that he would be King with her to aid in getting him to the position, and in return, she would be made Commander, replacing Cuyler within the first few years of his rule so as not to seem suspicious. That is, she realized, it did not matter because she was content with him. "I am." She came around the screen, kneeling down in front of him with her back to him as he shooed Fenrir away so that he could pull tight the top laces on her bodice. "And are you with me?"

It hadn't crossed her mind to ask, but she was not especially worried; if there had been another woman in Asgard capable of getting Loki to the throne in the same way, he would have already been courting her.

He was silent as he pulled and knotted the laces. When he finished he slid his hands forward from her shoulders to rest her back between his legs. He nuzzled the spot behind her ear before speaking low, the tone one she had not heard before - soft and almost comforting, she supposed.

"Very much so." He took a quiet breath before continuing. Whatever was on his mind, it was delicate, or rather, he seemed to think she would react like a terrified, cornered creature. "I ask because I wish to present you to my parents as my betrothed."

The panic that had been dormant for many weeks threatened to return. She swallowed the feeling before it could take hold. "When?"

"In a fortnight. I must prepare and I wanted you to know in advance."

"Prepare?" She had not hidden her panic as well as she had thought; at least, not well enough to deceive the God of Lies. That he this useless reaction to the unfamiliarity with the custom into consideration eased her panic further.

"I must prepare what to say to my father. Until recently, I think he believed the courtship no more than a passing interest." She heard a smile creep into his voice. "And I believe there is typically a bauble involved, at this next stage."

She had not thought of that before and it became suddenly more real than any conversation, any planning, they had before. It was true that it was an acceptable means to the ends they both sought. More than acceptable, even. It was also true that it was not the position she thought she would ever find herself in and even half a year after they had set their plan into motion, it was an adjustment.

Ilmr smiled at Frigga, raising her tea to her lips, smiling shyly over the rim. "Do you truly think so?"

Frigga nodded. "Most certainly. I have seen him visiting with a smithee of some notoriety." She grasped Ilmr's hand; in her excitement, the Queen's hand shook the slightest bit. "I was not wrong, when we planned his nameday banquet, to say that we would be planning for nuptials within the year."

Ilmr squeezed her hand. Now that she had had several days to think on it, she was not as panicked, and given the mother she would gain it pleased her greatly. She was almost happy, when she truly thought of it. It was a strange notion.


Loki's nameday. That was the day she was no longer a maiden. That was what had changed, she decided. After that, he was far more affectionate; she would use the word loving if she thought it suited. It didn't. Not quite. After that day, it seemed he decided beyond a shadow of a doubt that he felt -and would allow himself to show, at least to her- some sort of fondness for her that put truth into their arrangement.

She awaited his arrival to escort her to his parent's chambers once again, this time without the promise of tea with his mother, but to present her for the blessing of a betrothal. He had an eye for finer things, she had to admit, given the ring -bauble, he had called it- that he presented to her the night previous before he took his leave of her for his own chambers.

A finely wrought, delicate gold band coiled around her finger thrice before turning into a snakes head, tilted skyward. Into it's open mouth was set a beautifully cut emerald. Where there should have been eyes, the snake had tiny, glittering opals. There was something engraved along the underside of the ring that lay against her finger that she could not read and he would not divulge.

He had requested she wear the same gown as she had on his nameday, and so she stood by her door awaiting his arrival and fiddling with her newly acquired jewelry. When he finally did knock, she made herself wait several moments before opening the door so that he would not think she had been standing just on the other side.

His wide smile and proffered arm was all she received as a greeting, and it nearly made her blush. She took his arm.

Ilmr wasn't sure how it had happened; she had spent most of her life self-assured and calmly confident. Now, in little more than half a year, she felt nearly dizzy, felt panic and that same strange, warm feeling rush through her veins. She wasn't sure where her composure had gone; where the veil, the mask, had gone. But this new fluster and unease and uncertainty was unwelcome and made her whisper to Anleifr in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep, like she hadn't done since those first few years after he died and she was uncertain and scared and hadn't yet completely found her purpose or mask.

She suspected, though, that it had much to do with Loki. Ever since his apology all those months ago and his subsequent kindness and courting, she had felt like this, this unsettled, excited but nervous sense that followed her everywhere. It was as if he had pulled her composure out of her with every kiss, lapped it up as it rolled off of her skin with every touch of his tongue, driven out of her with every thrust of his hips.

They were standing before Frigga and Odin and Ilmr wondered when she and Loki had walked the distance to their chambers.

Loki bowed low and Ilmr too genuflected. "Mother, Father, I wish to speak to you of a matter most important to me and near to my heart."

Odin nodded in greeting. "And what is this matter?" He was imposing, and a fair and just ruler; the longer she was in Asgard, Ilmr felt he was often too cold to his second-son as a father, and his blatant favoritism for Thor ate away at her.

"I wish to formally introduce Ilmr Egildottier of Vanaheim as my betrothed, both to you and to the realm. Our courtship-"

"Your courtship has lasted barely half a year, I think you are-"

"Let him speak." Frigga cut in. The words were quiet but brooked no room for argument.

"I am King of this realm, you would do well to remember it."

Frigga had been the one to teach Loki how to glare. "You would do well to remember that he is your son. And you will let him speak." She and Sif may have been warriors in the service of Asgard, but Frigga was truly Asgard's first shield maiden, though she wielded a different sort of sword entirely.

Odin grumbled, but waved his hand in Loki's direction.

With a short nod of his head, Loki continued. "Our courtship, though it has not been particularly long, has been no shorter than many others in Asgard. I confess I find myself different because of Ilmr's presence in my life and it is a good difference - surely you have noticed; I hear my name and hers spoken among the peers and commoners with such frequency, all speaking of the light brought to Asgard's dark prince."

Frigga was smiling again, though she stood to perfect attention, as if reminding her husband that though most of Asgard would bow to him, she was his wife and would not do so. And given how frequently she glanced to the hand Ilmr had curled in the crook Loki's arm, she had likely spotted Ilmr's adornment and would request a closer look once the audience had ended.

Odin glared at both of them. He spoke to Ilmr. "And you, my lady of Vanaheim, what say you?"

"I wish nothing more than to receive your blessing, Allfather. While few may see it, I know you are aware of its existence: that kind, generous nature of Loki, the warmth and sensitivity. I am privileged to see his true nature and it would be a shame to deny him -and myself- the happiness of one another. I, too, find myself better for his courting and I would be loathe to return to my life before, the loneliness and lovelessness."

She hadn't meant to say that. She had realized, somewhere inside of her, that the warm, unsettled, excited feeling she found fluttering through her more often than not, was likely love. But she hadn't spoken it to herself and now she had said it without thinking in front of not just Loki but his mother, his father: the Allfather.

Odin blinked several times in his surprise. The hand Loki had over her hand on his arm gripped tight to her. Frigga looked as though the sun itself shone out of her.

Looking to his son, Odin graced Loki with a challenging look, a smile on his face that seemed to say his next words were merely to relish the failure he was sure Loki would reap. "And what of you? Are you loathe to return to loneliness and lovenessness, as the lady puts it?"

Loki bristled at his father's words, visibly straightening. And then he brought Ilmr's hand to his lips, replacing it on his arm before bothering to even glance to his father. "Yes. To echo, the lady," he spat the title back at Odin, "I do not wish to return to the loneliness and lovelessness that I lived with before."

There was silence after that, Frigga beamed wider, which seemed impossible but it was true. Odin stared with anger at his son for passing a test he was apparently supposed to fail. It made Ilmr wonder if he would refuse them out of spite.

Loki had no patience for his father's behavior. And apparently neither did Frigga, who cleared her throat and gave her husband a withering look.

"Perhaps you should set me to three trials to prove myself?" That was likely not something he had decided in advance to say.

Ilmr put her free hand over his on her arm but made no other motion to calm him.

Odin raised his eyebrows, and Ilmr watched Frigga struggle to keep silent. The trials were reserved for the punishment of criminals. "You would consent to such a thing?"

Loki did not hesitate. "Yes."

Odin nodded thoughtfully, his gaze fixed on his second-son, bearing down on him. Loki remained unmoved. "I grant you my blessing on your betrothal."

Ilmr felt Loki's hand relax between hers on his arm; he made no other motion of relief, save to incline his head. "My thanks, father." The word nearly sounded like a profanity. He looked to his mother and gave her a small smile. "I believe this means you and Ilmr will be taking tea together more often than you do now."

Unable to help it, Frigga glided over to them, holding Loki's face in her hands for a moment before kissing his forehead and then just as quickly moving on to Ilmr. She received the same treatment before Frigga stepped back. "Dinner tonight will be a very special occasion indeed."

Ilmr's ears picked up the slightest whisper from the Queen as Loki led her from the room. You speak of coldness and cruelty, but it finds it's best home in you at times, husband.


Ilmr received more well wishes in the days and weeks that followed the announcement of their betrothal than she had for her most successful campaign. It was an entirely new experience.

As was the further change in herself and in Loki that she noticed. It had been a slip of the tongue in front of his family, in front of him. She hadn't even known she would have said such a word: lovelessness. She had known love in the familial form, in Anleifr, but not from a suitor. It was the only word she had for the strange sensation she felt often and most noticeably in his presence. It was good, to have a name for it.

She was betrothed to one of the more dangerous beings in the realm, she reminded herself, and she loved him.

It was terrifying. It was not something she felt she could turn from regardless.


She had said it without thinking, which was the most important part. It had been something floating around in her head, not something calculated. It had filled him with an uncomfortable and somewhat unwelcome sensation of warmth and the distinct feeling of laughter bubbling up inside of him.

He had admitted to the same to Frigga and Odin, because in all honesty, despite his loathing to do so, he didn't know what else to call the feeling; that warmth and laughter; the sense of relief he felt at inscribing an enchantment onto the ring he presented that would protect her, even from iron: the item she now had no reason to take off again. The ease he felt in her presence and the lack of irritation he felt even after spending lengthy amounts of time with her.

The feeling of utter rage when it seemed that Odin would deny him his desire to have her. No matter their agreement, he knew that it was as much about convenience now as true affection for her as it was for him. He was not entirely sure it would get in the way of either of their plans; he was nearly convinced it would be more beneficial than if they had merely decided to tolerate one another.

It had been nearly a month since the announcement of the betrothal and even he was still receiving felicitations. He knew Ilmr would receive them until such time as it became appropriate to congratulate her on their nuptials; the peers and commoners seemed to adore her. She was quiet grace and surety of self, even if she had expressed to him the thought that she was more uncertain of herself now than she had ever been in her life.

The battle in Nidavelir also did much to improve her standing among her fellow warriors and it seemed now the only one typically willing to antagonize her was the Commander himself. The others seemed to respect her choices in the war and her unwavering, uncomplaining acceptance of whatever Cuyler asked of her.

Loki found it hard to think of a reason, spite aside, for Odin to think Thor would be the better choice on the throne, given Loki's intellect and political savvy and Ilmr's steady winning over of the Asgardian people.

"…Brother?" Thor was smiling wide, amused.

"Yes?" Loki adopted an annoyed expression. Thor had taken quite a liking to Fenrir and would visit him often.

"I asked whether you and the Lady Ilmr had chosen a date for your nuptials."

"Three months from now. She and mother need time to get things in order."

He laughed. "So soon!" He quirked an eyebrow, all mischief. "Are you trying to cover something up?"

Loki paled at the thought. The idea of a child was one of the more undesirable thoughts he could imagine. Ilmr had shared a similar worry when he had first bedded her on his nameday and they were both careful to ensure that it was not something that occurred.

"No, certainly not." He shot Thor a look as he watched his brother feed Fenrir yet another slice of meat reserved for treats. "I am not so masterful of my magic because I can only perform slight of hand. There would be no such potential …problem unless we wished it so."

Thor scowled, seemingly dissatisfied with that answer. "Would that you did, I would much enjoy being an uncle."

"I can see that; you are fixing to fatten and spoil my hound. I shudder to think of the bad habits you would impose upon a child."

Several sharp knocks sounded and Thor threw his brother a confused expression. Ilmr did not knock and if she did, it was not like that. Without waiting for an answer, Sif forced the door open.

Loki furrowed his brow. Whatever it was, it was not good.

"You will want to see this." She bit the words out. Whatever it was, it upset her enough that she had gone to fetch Loki. He was under no illusion that just because she was close with Ilmr that the goodwill extended to him.

When they arrived at the entrance to the arena, Sif held out her hand to stop he and Thor. Ilmr was alone in the arena, save for Cuyler, who was standing nearly on her feet. From a distance it was impossible to hear his words but it was easy to tell they were not pleasant; between the loathing present on his face and the totally impassive, blank expression on Ilmr's, it was clear it was most a malicious exchange.

Loki circled the air around he and his companions and waited as the conversation amplified for them.

"…ow you are in league with the bastard son of Odin, you seek to supplant me and act as though it were not your plan all along."

"I seek your position, yes, and someday I will have it. But I would replace you because of my superior skill, not because I usurped." Her voice was utterly flat and emotionless.

"A filthy, half-breed, discarded mongrel," There was that word again. Loki's frown deepened. Sif was seething beside him and it appeared as though Thor was itching to call Mjolnir to him. "Like yourself will not hold this position. It would be best if you crept back into the dingy, nameless place from whence you-"

"Commander!" Loki's voice cut through the air, his tone so harsh that even from their distance, he could see Cuyler pale as he turned his head towards his small audience.

Because it would further shake him, Loki left a duplicate in his place by Thor and Sif and appeared on Cuyler's other side.

"I suggest" Cuyler jumped, hearing Loki's voice behind him and seeing the duplicate vanish. "Quite strongly, that you apologize."

The Commander sneered. "When you can best me, I will."

Ilmr was the only one Loki knew of faster than himself, and he took pleasure in the alarm on Cuyler's face when he found himself lifted off his feet by Loki's crushing grip around his throat. "You have a choice, Commander. You can apologize and treat her with respect henceforth or I will snap your neck."

"Not with an audience you won't." Cuyler managed to gasp, referencing Thor and Sif.

Loki laughed. He felt Cuyler tremble at the mirthless sound. "They heard what I did, there will be no resistance from them. She is a dear friend to the Lady Sif and my brother. So Commander, I ask you again." He let his voice take on all the rage and menace he felt; Cuyler looked ready to faint from terror.

He saw Ilmr shudder at the sound out of the corner of his eye. He ignored Cuyler, for the time being, letting him dangle just off the ground and turned his attention to her. It seemed suddenly immensely important that he reassure her. "I'm sorry to frighten you." His voice was soft now, and in his free hand took one of hers and kissed the back of it. "This will not happen again."

He watched her relax. She squeezed his hand before stepping back and away to where Thor and Sif were stationed.

"I would prefer to apologize." Cuyler's strained words reminded him that he still had the Commander off the ground, if only slightly.

"I am sorry, Commander, but it appears she does not wish to hear it." Loki gave him a predatory grin. "I suggest you respect that decision." He set the Commander back on his feet, giving his shoulder a pat. "I also suggest this be the only incident of its kind. There will be no choice for you, next time."

He left the Commander standing in the arena catching his breath. Sif caught his eye as he approached, but did not speak.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

She shook her head, for once seeming to think that holding her tongue was prudent. "Thank you."


"How long has this been going on?" He did not bother with preamble.

She turned her head from where she lay in her bath to see him. "Since we returned from Nidavelir successful."

Loki fumed. "And you didn't once think to tell me?"

"He is no harm to me, Loki, he is harm to himself. With each day that passes, he grows more antagonistic and creates a rift between himself and his warriors. Every day, the rift between myself and them gets smaller."

"He is harm to you. Don't labor under the illusion for one moment that he would not cause you harm. Did he not send you into Nidavelir knowing full well of your weakness, of the fact that the trolls would carry iron? That is the only reason he chose you for that campaign, so that your blood would be on someone else's hands."

"I know that; don't think I don't. I accepted anyway, because a Commander does not shy away from a thing because it might be dangerous. He may have set me up, but it was for success, rather than the failure he incorrectly anticipated."

"You will not always be so lucky."

"No, likely not."

Loki growled, gripping the side of the tub as he leaned down. "Do you not see the-"

She was laughing. Giggling, actually.

"I don't see how this is funny."

"Your -your -nostrils." She was pointing and laughing, now, holding her stomach with her free hand. "I never -never noticed -they flare when you're angry!"

He grit his teeth. He was in no mood. "I still do not see how it's humorous."

She composed herself, shaking her head, placing her hands over his on the rim of the bath. "It's not funny, it's actually rather endearing."

He needed her to focus. "Ilmr. Do you understand? I must know if he does such a thing again."

"Truly, Loki, it's fine, he will grow bored of it."

"It has been seven months."

"And he'll give up soon, surely now, after today." She persisted, as if it were some trifling thing.

He didn't mean to shout, but before he realized he was, it was too late. And nearly in her face. "I will have no harm come to you!"

A quiet 'Oh' was all he heard, though he wished she still did not understand, and then she removed one of her hands, moving it to his face. When she spoke, it was the velvet; he knew she knew he could not resist, not any longer. "Join me. I am exhausted to the point of giggling fits, and the warm water will help calm you, too."

He scowled but couldn't -and didn't- deny the draw.


There were many things that they did not say to one another. The date of their nuptials was a month away and neither had spoken a word to the other of what they claimed in the presence of the Allfather: that without one another, they would be loveless.

That suited Loki, as he wasn't sure he would admit it, especially not when it seemed she knew it regardless.

What did not suit him was one of the other things she did not say to him: she did not lay claim to any abuses by Cuyler. Loki knew the Commander was still punishing her for the accident of her birth, but he also knew he could not attend each drill session; partly because she would be furious, and partly because he had other things that had to take precedence, often.

He had been forced to rely on Sif and while it was an uneasy truce, it was one that nonetheless earned him a small part of Sif's trust, if only for Ilmr's sake. After several weeks of Sif's reports and Loki's subsequent 'discussions' with the Commander, the verbal abuse and requisite extra drills ended.

He had thought.

The doors to his chambers were thrown open and Ilmr stormed in. He was going to comment on her lack of discretion, and then he saw her face.

She tilted it up to him, a haughty expression on her face between the fury etched there. There was a large bruise on her cheek, her lip was split and oozing blood still, and blood trickling down from her hairline.

"He told me to send his regards." She sounded furious. "What does that mean?"

This should not have been. The fact that Loki would kill him for it notwithstanding, there should not have been a mark on her. "Where is your ring?"

"I take it off for drilling so nothing happens to it. What did Cuyler mean?"

He ignored her again. If he didn't he would storm out before properly seeing to her. "What happened?"

"He waited until I had finished my extra drills and then lit into me quite literally." She smiled slightly and Loki wiped away blood that split down her chin as her grin further split her lip. "He looks as least as bad as I do, a morning of training and then some no matter."

Loki sat her down on his couch and proceeded to clean her up. "Who saw you?"

"I walked through the barracks on my way here. So all of the others he commands that happened to be around. Word will spread soon enough."

"He will be dead before evening, so it matters not."

She pushed his hands away. "Loki, you cannot-"

"-No, you cannot take that ring off again. Not once. Do you understand?"

She let out a breath of a laugh. "I don't, no."

"It will not break, not under any circumstances you are likely to ever encounter. Do not take it off again."

She narrowed her eyes at him. One of the things he most appreciated about her was her discerning nature. One of the things he despised at times such as this was her discerning nature. A less canny woman would not have bothered to notice or ask, too cowed to do so. Not Ilmr.

"Why?"

He did not want to tell her. To do so would reveal how much he did think of her, and he was worried it would give her reason to be reckless. After a time, he relented. "It will keep you safe. Please."

She regarded him with great scrutiny before finally assenting. With conditions. "Provided you tell me exactly what Cuyler meant, then yes, I will not take it off again for any reason."

An exasperated sigh escaped him. He took her by the shoulders and she winced. His face darkened and he stepped back from her. "I must see all of you. Now."

"Loki, it is no worse than what you can already see."

"Why do you insist on protecting him?" He was steadily growing more furious.

She knit her brow. "I do not protect him, I protect myself."

He understood in a rush of anger and hurt, though he did not want to. One of his most and least favorite things about Ilmr was her ability to make him feel anything aside from his rage and mischief. "I have been having ...words with him, after your drills if I discover he has been less than gentlemanly towards you."

And suddenly, so suddenly it made him think she had been spending a bit too much time around him; she was indignant. "I asked you months ago not to interfere, that while you meant well it would only fuel him." She motioned to her face. "Do you not believe me now?" She pushed off the couch. "You may be more intelligent, more clever than all of Asgard, but you are no less impetuous for it. This is not the first time I have had a Commander like Cuyler. I know you wish to protect me and believe me I appreciate it. But I also need you to trust me."

She was heading for the door. He took her arm gently; he didn't know what injury had been laid there. "Where do you go now?"

Shaking out of his hold, she granted him an impatient look. "The healing rooms."

And then she was gone.


By the time he found Cuyler, the man was walking away from the throne room, face stony. It seemed as though the Allfather had found him first.

The Commander sneered at Loki when he noticed him. "You got my message, then?"

In response, Loki slammed him into the wall adjacent, smiling at the crack he heard as Cuyler's head connected with the smooth stone. Nose to nose with him, Loki ground his words out through his teeth. "If you touch her again, I will pound a dent into this stone the shape of your head, and I will not stop until the only thing that remains of your skull is a pulpy, gelatinous mass."

The Commander laughed. "You will be the death of her."

Loki slammed him back into the wall harder, smiling with deep satisfaction when he crumpled, unconscious, to the floor. It was only because of Ilmr's request that he didn't kill the Commander where he lay. Loki went in search of his father.

"I understand he keeps his title." The rage in his voice was evident enough that Odin stepped away from his councilors rather than tell Loki to dismiss himself.

"Yes."

"Did you see her?" While Odin was trying to keep his voice down and the conversation private, Loki had no such plans.

"Mind your tone."

"Did you see her?"

"Yes."

"And yet he remains Commander."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Do not think he has not received punishment, though it may not be the kind you would wish it to be. He has been forewarned that any other such incidents will result in the stripping of his titles, ranks, and stipend. For now, he has been warned and will be punished accordingly."

"And what is 'accordingly'?" Loki was fast losing patience. "Do you forget she is a Princess of Vanaheim? Princess-consort, as my betrothed?"

"Do not question me." Odin's shout silenced the chamber as instantly as if he had struck Gungnir on the floor. "I understand you are upset, and I regret that it happened at all. But I must nonetheless be fair and just. No others were there to see it, and I daresay that woman of yours gave as good as she got, by the look of the Commander. And so, I must be fair. I will punish him and send him away with a warning. I have heard enough from Lady Sif to think that this was not at the Lady Ilmr's provocation." Odin laid a hand on Loki's shoulder. "But, I will mandate two guards to be present at all times so that she is not alone with him again."

Loki furrowed his brow. He had not thought that Odin would do more than dismiss his concerns. "Truly?"

"I can see that she means a great deal to you."

Odin said no more and left Loki staring after him as he returned to his councilors.