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Let see if we can break more records this time! You guys amazed me last time! And tell me if I made a mistake. I'm human. I mess up. A lot!
Me no own Marvel, Thor or Asgard. Cuz if I did… it wouldn't be PG. And I'd have to meet Tom himself…. Then I'd faint. And be ashamed of what I wrote. Because… that's just how shy I am. Yup. Oh, I'm on twitter if you guys want to find me. Just… sayin… *hides - *
Also, guys, since you are reading a yaoi story, go to my deviant art page (same screenname) and check out the journal I have there. It's self explanatory, but I could really use some help supporting this petition against the NC anti-gay marriage amendment.
At this point, Loki's room seemed to be the safest place in the entire palace. The library visit had ended with Loki being accosted by various guards and young sorcerers asking for his blessing in the upcoming tournament. He honestly didn't think that many people would care about him enough to enter the tournament. He was never that popular when they were in school together, and he always felt like an outcast. Few people talked to him and even less considered him a go-to friend.
The recent days had practically swamped him with requests of blessings- and he had to put on the good prince face and give each one of them a blessing for the upcoming battles. He honestly didn't even care if they all died tomorrow of the plague. Their devotion was adorable, but Loki highly doubted they wanted anything more from him than a quick lay and the honor that came with his position. He supposed that most of them hadn't heard that Thor was entering the tournament and assumed that he wouldn't be volleying for Loki's hand.
His room was thankfully quiet at this time of day. The guards were posted outside, and he could rest without anyone asking for him for a few hours at least. He'd told the guards that he didn't want to be disturbed until dinner. They usually respected his requests, unless Odin, Frigga or Thor came to his door.
Rumors were circulating that the Frost Giants were still trying to enter the competitions, citing that it was an act against the Nine realms if everyone wasn't allowed to enter an Asgardian tournament. Odin was handling it well if there were such claims, and Loki hadn't been told of them. Thor would certainly have something to say if they tried to claim the young prince's hand.
Thor had been so tolerant of overzealous suitors. Loki was getting extremely tired of having to deal with the fools. Given, royal duties were tiresome at times, he was still exhausted from his ordeal. Thankfully, his scar was fading quickly. It still left a deep impression on his forearm, and Loki's memories wouldn't give up on reminding him of how badly it hurt. He still flinched visibly when he thought of the glinting steel slicing through his arm.
Thor tried to spend as much time as he was allowed to with his brother. The guards had to be present during each minute they spent in each other's company. Under the rules of the tournament, the prize had to remain a virgin. Even though they were brothers, Thor couldn't be trusted with Loki alone. He was still classified as a suitor, and had to be fairly treated as such. Loki hated the monitoring, but was silently glad that he wasn't swarmed every moment of the day by suitors hoping to win favor by singing him ballads or reciting poetry. It was all rather boring to him when things resorted to classicism as a means of wooing. The allure factors only lasted a good five minutes before becoming corny. Most of the lines were reused and sometimes abused in hastily made songs and poems, and most of the shows of strength were quickly transformed into barbaric wrestling matches. Yesterday, someone had lost an ear at a match, and Loki was only standing a short distance away. The blood made his already tired and nauseous body dizzy enough to lose his lunch.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Enter." Loki responded to the beating of light knuckles against the heavy wood. Odin and Frigga quickly entered the room. His dear mother looked distressed, as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment. Odin held a stern and diplomatic look on his façade, which worried Loki all that much more. Odin only had such a grimace when something troubling had occurred.
"Loki, my dear son, we must speak." Odin said as he took a seat in Loki's desk chair. Frigga sat on his bed and remained disturbingly quiet for a few minutes.
"What do we need to talk about?" Loki inquired as he shut his book after folding a crease in the page. Odin sighed heavily, raising a hand to his forehead and rubbing his eyes with frustration.
"Loki… the Frost Giants have insisted that they be allowed to compete for your hand. We… We wanted to know how you felt about them entering." Odin asked, trying to keep his voice level. It was obvious that since Loki was the prize in this tournament, the decision fell to him who could enter and who couldn't. All he had to risk was his reputation in the nine realms as a selfish child if he refused someone's offer of fighting for him. It was always a heavy hearted decision: self protection or building bridges?
"Why would they even question if they were allowed to enter? After the stunt they pulled here? They stole me from my home for Vahalla sakes!" Loki seethed. Odin nodded at the outburst, not expecting his typically calm youngest son to be so venomous. The world serpent might have had less venom in its entire yearly production than Loki did at this moment.
"If you don't want them to enter, we won't let them. But they are already verbose about our treaties. They threaten war if they aren't allowed to enter." Odin added in. Loki silenced himself, but continued to make sharp and erratic movements against the air in his room. Frigga hated to see him so unhappy, but he had every right to be angry. Loki flopped back down in his little pillowed corner, knocking some books over in the process.
"I… I take it there's no right answer, is there?" Loki sighed. Odin begruddedly knodded. Loki threw his head back in irritation, rubbing his hands over his face to interrupt some of the tension that had gathered there.
"You know Thor will have something to say about this." Frigga added in.
"I suppose we have to approve." Loki relented. Odin sighed, trying to hide his personal anger with the Frost Giants in view of better overall relations. In the end, it was all business. Personal feelings had to be set aside in the interest of peace and better relations.
"Let's just let Thor handle them in the arena. He's been practically dying to break a hole through them after the initial incident." Frigga stated. Loki smirked at the idea. Thor had been restless for the past few days. He must have been edgy as could be when so many people entered the tournament, and this would only please the future king. He could finally teach the Frost Giants why they should never steal his 'toys'- as Loki jested to him in private. Thor was overly possessive of his friends and his things. He knew this would be dealt with as usual- all hammer and no negotiations.
"Let him get this edginess out. He'll be more tolerable if he's sated his lust to beat the life out of something." Loki joked, knowing that the guards wouldn't allow anyone to die in a tournament.
Dinner time came around, and Loki had to force his eyes away from the pages of his trusted magic book to attend to the feast. His presence would be sorely missed from the leering eyes and proclamations of every suitor in the damnable hall. He wasn't thrilled about the situation. He loved to take at least one meal away from the world each day. Not to say he hated the noise… but he hated the constant drunken ramblings and the roar of the hall usually made him dizzy with interference. He couldn't hear his own thoughts in his head amongst the noise the echoed through the hall.
Unfortunately, Loki couldn't help but notice that three familiar, large blue forms stood at the back of the hall. He did his best to act his part: regal, formal, and a perfect example of Asgardian heritage. He could have sworn he felt the sweat rising on his skin as his throat dried and his head ached.
He took his seat beside Frigga and Odin, noting that Thor was allowed to sit with his friends. He must have been forced to by the tournament regulations. Not that Thor minded. He liked his friends, and all save Sif had entered. Hogun most likely did it when the chance of winning a tournament came up. He never had much concern for Loki aside from his friend's brother. Then again, the man was hard to read. He could have had ulterior motives and Loki wouldn't have been able to pry it out of him.
The feast went well, aside from a fight or two. But that was considered a calm feast at a tournament gathering. When day slipped to night, Loki excused himself from his suitors calls to get some fresh air on the balcony. The day had turned to the magnificent twilight that bathed the sky in the brilliant colors of dusk. The blues and purples that painted the sky made Loki's shoulders give up their Atlas hold on his back. He felt like he could breathe for the first time in an hour. It was quiet on the balcony, despite the fact that only a velvet drape blocked the party inside from his silenced space.
Loki pretended he didn't notice Thor slip out from behind the closed curtain. The birds that flew overhead acted as a better distraction than staring at the ground. He let Thor's presence, which seemed to radiate the most wonderful heat just by standing there, take its rightful place beside him. Thor knew better than to disturb Loki when he was enjoying his sunset. He had grown accustomed to the way Loki enjoyed the world, and knew better than to distract him from such a sight with the interruption of talk. They stood there for a few minutes, quietly enjoying the lights until the twilight faded into an early night. Loki finally lowered his gaze to regain his eyesight, and turned to Thor.
"So, I take it you heard?" Loki began. Thor nodded.
"They won't win. I'm surprised they even showed up." Thor replied, frustration creeping into his stance.
"You'll beat them. You always do. Are you concerned they will try something before the tournament?" Loki asked, gently placing a hand over Thor's. They were positioned so that anyone coming out would only see the two brothers talking.
"Can you answer a question for me?" Thor asked, his resolve tiring as Loki smiled at him.
"You know I can." Loki joked back.
"How did they even find out? We weren't suppose to send word to Jotenheim about the tournament… at least, that's what father said a few days ago." Thor sighed.
"They must have heard from another realm. They have other delegates, and most likely one of them heard from the courts of the other seven realms. It doesn't matter, they are here now. And you can exact a bit of revenge on them for what they did to me…" Loki said as he glance backwards before placing a kiss on Thor's cheek. Thor smiled and blushed, knowing that if Loki was caught showing favoritism, he'd be punished. Thor would most likely be thrown out of the tournament for 'corruption' or whatever the other competitors could think up to make a bad situation for Thor. He was a clear threat to them, and getting him barred for any reason would give them a decent chance at winning.
"Will you be cheering for me?" Thor smirked to Loki, keeping his words quiet as he could.
"As much as I can…" Loki said as Thor lifted the trickster's hand and kissed it gently. He knew that wouldn't be against the rules.
Odin's final announcement of good fortune in the first round tomorrow boomed out into the hall, interrupting the happy couple's time together. They quickly slipped back into the room, with many eyes following them. Kind glances chased Loki, and crude glares bit at Thor's back as he took his seat again. As Odin's speech drew to an end, the warriors dispersed and Loki scurried back to his room again. He needed the early rest, because tomorrow would be a hellish day.
Thanks for reading! Please review! I want to break my review record again!