Hey everyone, I hope you had a good Fourth of July! Or just a great Tuesday if you don't celebrate the holiday haha. Also if anyone was wondering "Strotmite" is a word I made up because I wanted to use livestock in the story but I assumed Asgard wouldn't have the same animals as us. So "Strotmite" can essentially be translated to cow, and I'll be sure to gloss any non-canon words I create in the future. Anyways, here's the next chapter and thanks for reading!

ARIS

I laughed.

I laughed and laughed and laughed.

Certainly, I had expected to expose him, had expected to embarrass and ruin him. But this? I wouldn't have thought it would come to this in my wildest dreams! He had done my job for me, and better than I ever could've expected!

"Gaze upon your king!" I repeated, but this time amusement instead of conviction ran through my voice. "Your king, powerless! Your king, a fool! A laughingstock! Gaze upon your king!"

As if brought about by my words, a beam of white light fell upon Loki. Although all heads had now turned towards the suspect royal, I looked upwards, sending thanks to the invisible spaceship I knew hovered above. If nothing else, Iri had impeccable timing.

And a flare for the dramatic.

Loki, reduced to nothing but a pathetic excuse of a ruler, had clearly had enough. Although the crowd hadn't dared to actually laugh at him, it was clear they had no inclination to obey him. Despite my exposed state, no one had made a move to strike me down. At this point, the fight wasn't about me, and Loki understood this. He may have fallen for my trap, but he was no fool. Power laid in the hands of those who held the public's favor. He turned towards the crowd, reigning in his anger enough to focus. A valiant effort, but I was faster. As he zoned in on the man who had objected to his order first, I leapt from my perch. My cloak billowed up behind me but the hood stayed firmly pulled down over my face. As green light started to wrap around Loki's hands I landed in the crowd, the townsmen rushing out of my way as I plowed a path towards the intended victim. As I raced past a fallen guard I quickly snatched his sword from his fingertips without slowing. The man was now in view, a terrified look painted on his face. It would have been helpful had he made an attempt to dodge the oncoming attack, but he was clearly paralyzed with fear coming face to face with the King.

I, most certainly, not.

I reached the man at the same time as Loki's magic. The citizen surely would've been incinerated if I had not raised the blade to deflect the attack. I was unsure about how his sorcery functioned, as I had never had to face a magic-wielder in Skali. An old-fashioned town used old-fashioned weapons. I had been hoping the blade would absorb the magic, but instead, it reflected it back at its origin. Loki caught it easily, building up more power, and I prepared for an oncoming attack.

I was alerted to the presence behind me by a warning shout from the crowd. I dove out of the way just as a gilded sword came swinging down in the space where I had been standing, surely intending to slice me in half. Yes, Dagson clearly shared Loki's thirst for blood. I rolled to the side, already beginning my escape plan. Exposing the king's masquerade had been all well and good, but there were far too many opponents in the square. I knew my limits, and although I was skilled with a sword, secrecy and espionage were my forte. I wasn't looking to lose a limb because I had underestimated my adversaries. Still, I thought a display of crowd-pleasing swordsmanship could be managed.

Not to mention it would show Loki exactly who he was dealing with.

I wanted the fight on my terms, however, and I wanted an easy out. Judging by the level of blind rage in Dagson and Hamingsson's eyes, it wouldn't be a difficult task to lure them away from their advantage. I was sure the fallen guards would soon start to stir, as Iri would never release a maelstrom of deadly fire.

"Stabbing me in the back, are you?" I chuckled, stepping backward as Dagson charged at me. "I don't blame you. You're not the only one too afraid to face me." In response, Dagson let out a wordless scream of fury and raced towards me, his armor slowing him down to the pace of a lumbering Strotmite. Just as he reached me I slipped out of the way, holding the sword low to the ground as he tripped over it. He came crashing to the ground with a mighty roar. Dagson was a lord, and a poor one at that. He was no warrior.

I couldn't say the same for Hamingsson, who had ridden around the crowd and was coming up from my left. He was on horseback, giving him a clear advantage. Why not change that? I smiled, seeing my means of escape. I loitered in the same spot, bouncing on the balls of my feet as if preparing for Hamingsson's arrival, waiting to engage. His armor was lighter, made for effectiveness and not opulence like Dagson's golden suit. Consequently, the captain was upon me in a matter of seconds. His sword already unsheathed, he swung it down in an unforgiving arc. I parried easily enough, but out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Loki's gaze narrowing on me.

Move now, my instincts told me, and I did. We were standing on the edge of the crowd, most of the civilians cleared out of the way. They had formed a ring around us, serving as spectators to the macabre dance we were locked in. I blocked several more attacks without thinking, letting Hamingsson push me towards the low-hanging ledge of a shop situated on the side of the road.

"Out of the way, Gaerhialm!" Loki roared, releasing a flood of magic towards me. The blast was too wide to be reflected by the slender sword I was using, not to mention the weapon was currently engaged in fending off Hamingsson. Instead, I reached up and grabbed the ledge, easily swinging up and onto the roof. Hamingsson's sword swung through thin air and Loki's magic blasted a hole through the shop wall. I winced. So much for champion of the commoners; I was causing the destruction of their stores. They would surely blame Loki for such things, but I still felt the weight of the guilt.

At least the destruction had provided information. Metal reflected Loki's magic, wood could be destroyed. I noticed that the green light had fizzled out after smashing a three-foot wide hole through the wall, so clearly, his power didn't have infinite range. It would take awhile for him to generate enough energy to hit me from this distance, so I was safe on the roof for now.

Or so I thought.

"Clever, clever," someone drawled behind me and I whirled around, facing a figure hidden within the folds of a brown cloak. I cocked my head.

"The brother. I'd forgotten about you."

"Oh," Thor whined in mock hurt, "you wound me!" I looked for the telltale glint of silver at his waist or in his hands, but Mjolnir was nowhere to be found. In fact, the prince seemed to wear no weapon at all. Curious indeed.

He lunged for me suddenly and I darted out of the way. Unlike Dagson, who had put his very heart and soul into his attack and had fallen flat on his face after failing, Thor fought with intelligence and control. The lunge had been a test to scope out my reflexes, which I had revealed to be more than ample.

"Fast, too," he commented. The sounds of the crowd below faded as we circled each other. Finally, I thought.

A worthy opponent.