It took a few days for Loki to get over the unsettling nature of the ceremony, and longer to get over his body's aching need for Thor. Thor was being more distant than ever, a clear sign that Loki had been very close to breaking his resolve. Thor's curtness in the hall belied his underlying desire to take Loki then and there. For Loki's safety Thor must stay away until his body is ready.
"You're doing very well." Frigga said.
"I hardly find that comforting." Loki said as sweat dripped down his brow.
"Patience Loki."
"You're enjoying this." Loki said.
"Yes I am."
"Who knew Asgard's Queen was diabolical?"
"It's loosing shape. You need to focus." Frigga said. Loki has spent the last two hours concentrating on creating the illusion of a squirrel in the palm of his hands. It doesn't move yet. It is more like a still projection. Right now he is learning to project details and maintain them. Frigga picked the animal because of all the little tufts of fur, the swirling shape of the tail, and the tiny little bones of the hands.
"How can I focus when all I can think about day and night is bending over and letting your son breed me like a mule?"
"Loki! Such talk. That was very ungentlemanly."
"So was the orgy in the main hall."
"Yes well, the untamed magic powers of the shadow world do not concern themselves with what society finds proper or dignified. Sufficed to say, everyone is glad that events like that one only come round every few centuries. Your squirrel is getting away from you." Frigga noted how the whole image was blurred.
"Thor seemed very comfortable with it."
"Thor's seen it before, and unfortunately my poor son has seen things on the battlefield far more horrific than that."
"I suppose."
"Loki, if you manage to learn half of the things I want to teach you, you'll be capable of far more powerful, and darker things than that."
"Why would I want to learn such things? Why would I need to?"
"To defend against an enemy, but also to sow the seeds of their destruction long before they become a threat. Learning magic is not all unicorns and rainbows Loki."
"I figured that out the other night." Loki huffed and dropped his hands as the image completely faded out. "I'm exhausted."
"Exercising your magic is just as arduous as exercising your muscles. And on that note it is time for you to go to weapons training."
"Ugh." Loki flopped back against the cushions.
XxXxXxXxXx
Loki opened the letter from Sigyn and settled on the sofa of his chambers next to the fire and drank down a mug of hot chocolate.
Dear Loki,
I am mated! I wanted you to be the first to know. I met him at the bakery where I've been apprenticing. He's an officer in the army. He's a second son and like me he has a fancy title and nothing to show for it. He is the sweetest thing. He woos me. I've never been wooed before. He doesn't look at me like I'm some breeding cow. I love him! And I know he's good for me because Mildred approves, and she never approves of anyone. Yesterday she gave me my very first compliment on my sourdough bread loaves. It only took three years.
His name is Edwin Braege, he has golden hair, brown eyes, and these big alpha muscles that I just want wrapped around me all the time. He comes into the shop every morning on his way to armory and always buys a fresh hot roll. Sometimes I stuff it with meat and cheese for him, when I have it around. I feel valued, and I feel a stronger sense of self than I ever did milling about the castle. The life of a noble woman feels so empty now. I am glad I escaped. You need to come down to the lower quadrant sometime and reconnect with the people. If you spend too much time with those people you will either turn into them or lose your sanity. I think of all the people in Asgard, it is the merchants and tradesmen that live the happiest lives. There is no intrigue here, and while people may speak of politics in a larger sense, they are not directly involved and it provides so much clarity.
Omegas like us cannot go on letting the nobles treat us the way they do. I think we need to find a way that any and all future omega auctions should have a nice military officer there to buy them and outbid the nobles somehow. I am amazed at how chivalrous and kind our warriors are off the battlefield. From afar them seem like these great blood thirty brutes, but to the regular folk, they are the gentlest of men. Honestly I think Asgard would benefit if the entire noble class had a big deep drink of arsenic.
The wedding is in three months. If you want the details, you'll have to come visit.
Sincerely,
Your personal omega bitch
Loki chuckled at the last. Three years since she started her apprenticeship in the bakery, and that was shortly after that weird ceremony at the palace. Nearly five years now. He's about halfway to the end of waiting. Yes, he'll paid his charge a visit. They can compare notes on how much both has changed.
XxXxXxXx
Loki picked out a nice black stallion from the stables and rode him down into the city. With his throwing daggers tucked into his clothes and his new found talent for turning inanimate objects into snakes, Loki no longer required an armed escort to feel safe. He no longer felt meek or at the mercy of the alphas around him, and he had his friends to thank for that. He rode past the parts of the city that were considered nice but solidly middle class and noticed something disturbing. There were beggars everywhere. It was not like this even a month ago. Had there been some natural disaster in the country to which neither he nor the King was aware?
Loki opened his purse and tossed out every coin he had on him to the women and children he passed. Thor is a generous and attentive king. How is it that the people of Asgard have come to suffer? When he reached his destination and handed off the one coin he'd held back to a young boy to watch his horse for him while he went into Sigyn's home.
"Oh goodness! You're here!" Sigyn gave Loki a great big hug and pulled him into her house. It was a modest little townhouse sandwiched in between others in the heart of the city. It had two bedrooms, one of which she had been renting out to a young beta woman. But now with her impending wedding and her new husband moving in, she'd need the room for her first child. Sigyn fretted about evicting the lady.
Loki looked around her modest little house. It was far grander than the shack in which he'd been raised.
"You've done well for yourself. I am proud of you."
"Thank you. It is only because of you that I am here and not shackled to some nobleman's bed or out there with them."
"What is happening in the city? Where have all these people come from?"
"From what I can tell, they are coming from everywhere, all throughout the rural areas that ring the city."
"You mean the farm lands owned by the nobles?"
"Yes. But if these peasants aren't farming the land, who is growing crops for Asgard?"
"I don't know, but food prices are going up. Mildred tacked on an extra half-copper per loaf of bread yesterday because of the cost of flour. Rent prices are sky high because of all the influx of people. I could charge double for the room I have upstairs to the girl that's been living there but she could never afford it. The people outside can't either.
"Why are all the nobles pushing peasants off their farmlands? It can't just be to artificially inflate the cost of food. Thor would get wind of that and punish those responsible."
"I don't understand it either."
"Well, it is a mystery I'll have to solve later and I am being a terrible guest. Tell me about your wedding."
XxXxXxXx
Loki watched Thor as the Captain of the Guard gave his King the Crime Report. Petty thefts had increased tenfold in the city. Thor had bags under his eyes. The burdens of the crown were weighing on him.
"The people of Asgard have lost their way. Remind them what honor is. Increase the punishment for petty thefts from 10 lashes to 100."
"Yes my king." The Captain bowed, and left. Loki bristled at Thor decision. He didn't have all the information and none of his advisors have stepped forward to explain the situation in full. Loki bit his tongue until it bled.
Lord Behur approached the King next. "My King, as you know the time of the national census draws near. With the census we hope to shed light on why our people are suffering in such dire straits. I suspect that part of the problem is lack of affordable housing. As you know, there are many from your father's generation that still have many long healthy years ahead of them, but also the new generation has reached child bearing age and it is creating a shortage. I would ask your Majesty for permission, should I be proven correct, to transform a portion of my farming land into tenant land. There nice new homes at affordable prices will be made available to young couples trying to build a family."
"Your proposal has merit Lord Behur. I will await the results of the census and remember your inquiry."
"Thank you sire." He said, and slinked away. Loki's fingernails were cutting into his palm; his grip was so tight with anger. He understood now, where the masses of beggars came from, and why. Loki waited patiently until the end of court. When Thor dismissed everyone, Loki whispered to him.
"My King, I must speak with you regarding your people."
"Loki, you should have spoken sooner. I could have addressed it before the court."
"No my King. I have concerns which must be addressed in private."
"Loki this is most irregular. If you are trying to get me alone to…"
"No Thor. Your people are on the brink. Please listen to me." Loki pleaded. Thor's lips set into a thin line, but he nodded and bid Loki to follow him to his study.
"Tell me what is so pressing yet secretive that you could not address it with me in public."
"I am sorry. I know this is a breach of protocol. The census, may I ask, what questions are on it?"
"It ascertains the ages and genders of my people as well as where they live and their station."
"So it asks people their current address, but what of the beggars?"
"It simply lists them as beggars."
"Does the census ask them their previous address or why they were forced from their old homes?"
"No."
"It should."
"Loki, what is it that you suspect?"
"I think your nobles have manufactured the very problem that calls for the solution they have presented to you. They created the crisis in the city by charging their farm tenants too much rent and then evicting them, to make it appear that there is a housing shortage when there isn't one. Farmland is precious in Asgard and getting building permits for new homes is next to impossible. The nobles that are rent out homes are far wealthier than the nobles that oversee farmland."
"Loki, that is a very serious accusation." Thor said.
"When was the last time you left the palace to walk amongst your people?" Loki asked. Thor's frown deepened.
"I can't remember. Time is my most precious commodity these days."
"I don't wonder why that is. The people that surround you at court are breeding sedition among the commoners. Your people are starving Thor. Add the question to the census and do not tell the nobles. Threaten the census takers with torture and death to keep silent. You must."
"But any and all citizens of Asgard can seek an audience with their King. How is it that no peasants have come before me to complain about their former masters?"
"Thor, you cannot be that gullible. You know why, and if the census proves that I am right, you must consider what punishment you will dole out to those that are responsible. If something does not change soon, the people will turn against you, and you will have a revolution on your hands."
"And if you are wrong?"
"I'm not."