This chapter is Rated M for violence.
Songs for this chapter: "Agent of Chaos" by Hans Zimmer and "Legacy" by Brian Tyler
Chapter 27
"We have reached the time for sentencing." Jane's illusion said.
Heimdall and Volstagg flanked the unguarded sides of Valfreyja and Freyr respectively. Jane and Loki flew down to their illusions and cloaked Huginn and Muninn while they flew down to meet them. Jane and Loki returned to their true forms and uncloaked the ravens. They stepped in for their illusions and continued as if they had been there all along. Only Faradei and Gersemi could tell any of this magic transpired.
"Freyr Njordson, for your crime of rape, I hereby sentence you to eternal death." Jane said.
She and Loki turned around to the ceremony table and each grabbed a handle the Casket of Ancient Winters, causing it to uncloak. They could not shield their skin against such a powerful relic and by the time they faced the crowd again, both were in Jötunn form. Some screams came from the Æsir and Hela's squeal of laughter rang out across the Hall.
Jane held up her hand to silence the noise, which worked amazingly better in Jötunn form than Æsir. Once it was silent again, she spoke.
"Eternal death is often thought a myth, a concept the Jötnar invented to instill fear." Jane said. "Today though, you all will see it is real."
She used magic to separate all of Freyr's atoms. Volstagg and Hogun released him once there was little left to hold. Jane and Loki harnessed the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters, reversing the polarity so that its icy vortex pulled in the dropar of Freyr. Once it was done and Freyr was trapped inside as millions of pieces, Jane took the casket fully into her possession and Loki faded back to Æsir.
Jane faced the stunned crowd and spoke to them with earnest.
"Odin stole many relics from the nine realms. He sought to amass his power by holding the other realms under his thumb." Jane called out to the crowd. "Yggdrasil has changed. No longer will those empowered take what is not theirs. No longer will our populations wonder if justice will be served if they are raped. I return this relic to the people of Jötunheim as a gesture of good faith to all of the realms. We will have peace in Yggdrasil once again and we will stand united."
After Nál climbed the throne stairs to accept the Casket, Jane turned her attention Valfreyja.
"Valfreyja Njordóttir, in light of Hnoss Oðsdóttir's testimony, you are being sentenced for your crimes of second degree regicide on two counts, plotting regicide on one count, multiple counts of treason, two counts of high treason, unauthorized use of dark magic, multiple counts of coercion, and two counts of coercion through extortion. For the combined severity of your crimes, I hereby sentence you to death by regal execution. In accordance with the Baldr Act, you are permitted two Asgardian minutes to make your peace before your execution. Your allotted time begins now."
"You should be an illusion not in flesh form for these two minutes, Jane." Loki thought to her.
"I cannot call mjölnir to me as an illusion and I need it for the execution." Jane thought back.
"But I can call mjölnir to me and then give it to you." Loki thought.
"Fine," Jane agreed.
She was beginning to duplicate herself just as Valfreyja released a massively powerful wave of Vanir Light. It engulfed the entirety of Iðavollr Hall, reaching all the way to the rafters, and causing everyone to fall to the ground, paralyzed. Everyone except Hnoss, who had learned how to block her mother's attacks; Faradei, Gersemi, and Níðhöggr, who could not be affected by Vanir Light; and Hela, who had intuitively thrown up a shield of dark magic at the moment of the attack.
"Loki!" Hela cried, racing forward to the throne where his body lay.
Valfreyja turned to meet her, grabbing Sif's double sided sword as she did. Sif boiled with anger and frustration as Valfreyja wielded both edges of her sword. Loki stared in utter terror from the foot of the throne, unable to do anything to help Hela. Both he and Jane could feel mjölnir soaring closer, but they would not be able to catch it when it arrived.
Valfreyja swung the blade at Hela while shouting, "Go back to Hel!"
Hela ducked out of the way just as a flash of green light cast by Faradei hit Sif's sword, causing it to fall from Valfreyja's grasp. Its momentum was carrying it towards Loki, and Jane desperately tried to unravel the blade's dropar with her mind, but she was too depleted of energy and Sif's blade was too strongly imbued with Æsir radiation. Just as it pierced part of Loki's leather armor, the blade stopped in midair and began to emit red tentacle-like lights. It reminded Jane of the aether.
"Who is doing that? What is that?" Jane thought to Loki.
"It is Hela." Nál thought to her, still linked through their tribal telepathy. "Did either of you know she had dark magic?"
Loki cleared his mind, not wanting his affirmative answer to be read by his tribe. Hela's mother had possessed dark magic. Jane felt him go blank and knew he had answers. She needed to stay linked to her tribe though and the conversation would have to wait. He unlinked from his tribe, but stayed in Jane's mind.
"What's happening? All I can see is Loki and I am too weak to cast an illusion." Jane thought.
"Hnoss is approaching the stairs and Faradei is trying to hold Gersemi back." Gerðr thought.
"We must stop them! If they kill her, I'll have to try them for regicide." Jane thought.
Hela's voice interrupted them.
"You have no idea what you did just, Valfreyja." Hela said as she tossed Sif's sword aside using dark magic. "But let me assure you, there is a special place in Niflheim for you."
"Move out of my way." Hnoss said to Hela, approaching her and Valfreyja.
"Hnoss, stop and think. You only need detain her long enough for the Vanir Light to wear off from Queen Jane." Faradei said with urgency, Gersemi held tightly in his grasp.
"Silence!" Hnoss yelled. Her voice was unhinged.
Hnoss pried Heimdall's sword from his paralyzed grip and wielded its heavy helm with difficulty. She was not a warrior. Jane could feel mjölnir's presence, but it was not coming to her. She assumed it was heading for Loki until he thought to her, "Is mjölnir coming for you?"
Before Jane could ask who it would be going to, she heard the thud of the hammer being caught followed by shocked thoughts from the tribe members who could see the action.
"I won't let you become your mother, Hnoss." Hela said. She swung mjölnir upwards into Valfreyja just as Valfreyja said the spell, "Dýr."
With this spell, all those Valfreyja had turned into animals became them, recovering from the Vanir Light attack as a side effect. The hall became utter chaos. Hnoss became a chicken, Hofuð clattering on the limestone floor beside her. Otta became a boar and a score of Vanir turned into various domesticated animals. Valfreyja turned into a falcon and began to escape.
"Níðhöggr!" Hela called. "Stop her!"
The dragon looked once more at his still paralyzed owner before shaking his body to reveal his massive wingspan. He flapped his wings and soared upwards to meet Valfreyja in her falcon form, then spun to throw her to the floor. Her wing broke when she landed and Gersemi began to approach her, finally slipping through Faradei's grip in the chaos. He called for her, but she only heard Valfreyja's fluttering falcon heartbeat. As she lifted the sword her sister had dropped, a boar tore past her and rammed into Valfreyja with his tusks, over and over.
"Otta, stop! You will die!" Gersemi called, running once she recovered from her shock.
The paralyzation from the Vanir Light wore off in that moment and Iðavollr Hall came to life again. Sif stood quickly. She was the closest to where Otta attacked Valfreyja, but he was so viciously relentless that Sif did not dare approach. Instead she intercepted Gersemi, who had slowed her run in seeing that Otta was going for the kill.
The two watched as blood gushed from Valfreyja's falcon form, splattering everywhere until her body went limp. Everyone reverted to their non-animal form, the spell broken by Valfreyja's death.
Gersemi knelt by Otta, who was soaked in Valfreyja's blood. She looked at her mother. Blood pooled around her midsection, which was ripped apart, her organs spilling out. No magic could heal the damage. Hnoss passed by Sif to kneel beside Gersemi, giving her a hug.
"It is over." Gersemi said. "It is finally over."
Otta groaned and the sisters looked at him. With Valfreyja dead, the magic keeping him youthful was undone. He was almost three hundred years old and his mortal body could not take the sudden aging process.
Hnoss reached her hand to his face and said, "Thank you."
With the last of his energy, Otta shook his head slightly and said, "Lead them well."
Hnoss nodded, a tear streaming down her face, and Otta died. Sif knelt next to both girls and Gersemi turned into her body as she cried. Faradei approached them, combing his fingers through his daughter's hair to comfort her and pulling Hnoss against him in a hug.
Loki and Jane stood, assessing each other's wellbeing quickly before surveying the damage of the Hall. Jane knew she needed to calm the crowd and move them to the wedding feast while the High Council convened to discuss Vanaheim's future. As she finally unlinked her mind from her tribe, Hela rushed past her into Loki's arms. They embraced one another tightly.
"I thought you were going to die, father." Hela whispered, still shaken up.
Father? Jane thought, forgetting Loki still was inside her mind.
With Hela against his chest, Loki met Jane's eyes and thought, "It's a long story."
"Another time." Jane thought back to him. Hela's eerie familiarity now made perfect sense.
Loki turned his attention back to his daughter, pulling her face between his hands to look her in the eyes. "You saved me, thank you."
"It was nothing. I could never let you die." Hela said.
"It was amazing. You were amazing, daughter." Loki said and kissed her on the forehead before pulling her back into his embrace.
Jane stepped forward on the throne podium, calling mjölnir to her outstretched hand. It flew immediately from Hela's grasp. With the weapon in her hand, everyone in Iðavollr Hall quieted and looked to her.
"I apologize for the rouse put on today. I knew that the Njord children would never have come to their much needed trials willingly, and as you have seen, Valfreyja was skilled in elusion." Jane began. "While the primary purpose of today was justice, the wedding ceremony between Loki Laufeyson and me was real, and traditional wedding festivities will take place for those interested in attending. Heimdall and Volstagg will see you to the feast hall next door. For those wishing to leave the realm, the Bifröst will reopen in an hour's time. All High Council members, Princess Hnoss, Princess Gersemi, Lady Sif, and Skaði Laufeydóttir, follow me to the Council Room in Glaðsheimr for an emergency High Council meeting. Fáfnir, you may bring Níðhöggr. All other family and small council members will be escorted by Æsir or Jötunn guards to the feast hall. Thank you."
Jane picked up the royal scepter from the floor, sheathed her ceremonial sword, and headed for Glaðsheimr.
"I like your wife." Hela grinned at Loki. "See you after."
Loki laughed and gave her hand a squeeze before she followed Jane to Glaðsheimr.
After Hela walked away, Hogun approached him.
"We need to preserve Valfryeja's body for the undertaking." Hogun said.
Loki nodded and they walked to where Sif and Faradei knelt with Hnoss and Gersemi. Skaði had come over to comfort them as well. This is why Jane permitted those two into the High Council meeting. Loki realized.
Sif looked up at Hogun and Loki as they arrived and then said to the others, "Come, we must go to Glaðsheimr now."
As the Vanir girls stood, Loki assured them, "I will preserve your mother's body for her undertaking."
"There's no need." Gersemi said without emotion.
"Truly, do not bother." Hnoss said.
"One day you will be grateful." Loki said, somewhat shocked that such kind and wise words were coming out of his mouth and were not in jest. Sif and Skaði both gave him a surprised look. Have I unwittingly matured? Loki wondered as they ushered Valfreyja's daughters away.
Hogun explained to Loki the differences in preservation for Vanir bodies versus Æsir, and then Loki knelt over Valfreyja's corpse while Hogun watched his work. Magic flowed from Loki's hands over her until her wounds appeared closed.
"It is finished." Hogun said. "Let us set her body aside until I can remove it later when I return to Vanaheim."
Once they finished with that, Hogun left to find Volstagg in the feast hall and Loki went back to where Valfreyja's body had been. He conjured a bucket to store the dropar in and cleaned the blood and guts off the floor with magic.
"What the hell happened?" Darcy asked, approaching with Fandral just as Loki was finishing up.
Loki looked up at them, realizing everyone else had cleared out of Iðavollr Hall.
"Oh, the usual. Jane and I got married, she performed two trials and invented an actual punishment for eternal death, and then Valfreyja's boar lover plowed her to death." Loki shrugged, standing up.
"Pun intended?" Darcy smirked.
"Always," Loki grinned. He looked at her seriously and asked, "You're okay? You're not hurt? Jane will kill me if you are hurt."
"Jane would kill me if I was hurt." Darcy rolled her eyes.
"Hang on, Jane came up with a real punishment for eternal death?" Fandral asked.
"Jane is epic." Darcy shrugged. "What's eternal death? Tell me while we walk to the food. I'm craving some wedding cake."
"What is 'cake'?" Loki asked, picking up the bucket and starting to lead them towards the feast hall.
"Oh my god, seriously?" Darcy exclaimed. "I guess Jane wasn't lying when she said Asgard doesn't do cake."
"Jane rarely lies." Loki said. He stopped outside the feast hall doors, realizing he was carrying a bucket of carnage still. "Go on ahead. I think I am a guest of honor anyway. I should probably wait for my bride."
"Okay," Darcy said, turning to Fandral, "Come on protector, help me find something similar to cake."
After they entered the feast hall, Loki went to the royal quarters. He set the bucket down in a parlor that Jane had turned into a lab and found some test tubes. Jane would be annoyed if they did not test Valfreyja's blood to see what components of magic she had inside of her, especially when she had been in falcon form. He filled ten tubes and stored them in a temperature monitored container, sealing it with Æsir radiation once he closed it. Now that he and Jane were bound by marriage, their Æsir radiation would act as a mutual lock and key, enabling either to access the other's seals. Everything except the door to Hliðskjálf, which was bound strictly to the ruler of Asgard. He would have to shapeshift into Jane in order to enter there, like he had when pretending to be Odin. Even then, he could not access the actual High Seat and Gullbrú, which made it more or less useless. Loki had no plans to shapeshift into Jane though.
He left the parlor-turned-laboratory and went to their bedroom to prepare the chamber as a surprise for Jane later that evening. While both of them had slept in the royal bed before, they never had done so together. The bed chambers were slightly messy with leftovers of the preparations for the ceremony. As he began to tidy up, there was a noise from the dressing chambers. He pulled his dagger out and approached the door cautiously. As he pushed it open, he heard a female squeal from inside. He peered into the room to find Jane's old maid, Abigæl hurrying towards the secret passageway.
"Stop!" he commanded. She stopped and turned slowly with her head down. Loki sheathed his dagger and asked her, "What are you doing here?"
"Queen Jane told me to stay until the ordeal was over." She said.
"It is over." Loki said. "Head to the feast hall for the wedding festivities. I will be there soon. Don't tell anyone you saw me though."
"I will not, my lord. Sorry, wait, are you king now?" Abigæl replied.
"Yes,"
"Sorry, your majesty. I will not tell anyone I saw you." She stammered out and hurried past him through the royal quarters and presumably off to the feast hall.
Loki returned to the bed chambers and finished putting away everything, resorting to magic to expedite the task. Once it was clean, he examined the space to determine the best approach for his plan. Most Asgardian wedding nights involved flowers and perfumes and oils, but that was not what Jane would want or even enjoy. Instead he first consumed some orka to regain some of his strength, quickly blocking out his tribe's telepathy once it kicked in. Once he was alone with his thoughts again, he used magic to spread a sheet of ice over the room so it resembled a chamber in Utgard. He layered snow on top of the ice in varying heights to give some elevation to the chamber. Then in a controlled manner, he blanketed clusters of purple lúpínu over parts of the snow, careful not to overdo it. He stood back to inspect his work and nodded in approval. The doors were frozen shut, so he transported himself back to Iðavollr Hall to wait for the High Council meeting to finish.
As soon as he materialized in the Iðavollr Hall, one of the feast hall doors flew open and Fandral, Darcy, and Iðunn spilled out in a breakneck pace. Iðunn had a platter of her orchard's apples in hand and Fandral gripped so tightly onto Darcy's arm that Loki assumed he had broken her bone already. Fandral's attention was not on Darcy though, as he was screaming at Iðunn.
"Why would you bring these here?" Fandral yelled.
Loki had only seen him this furious once before, and that was 1,033 years ago. He approached their group with a walk of authority and they all looked up at him.
"Andskotinn," Both Fandral and Iðunn cursed in Æsir under their breath as they saw it was Loki.
"What's happened?" Loki asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Your majesty, I did not bring these apples here." Iðunn said with a bow before adding, "One of the Vanir must have brought them. Odin was always generous in his gifts to Valfreyja. I am removing them now as to avoid further incident."
"What incident?" Loki asked, looking all three in the eye.
Iðunn and Fandral both wore hesitant expressions, but Darcy looked at him with terrified eyes. It was then he noticed the apple in her hand; it was missing a chunk exactly the size of her mouth.
"Andskotinn," Loki cursed as he breathed out a long sigh. "How did this happen?"
"I thought…there wasn't any cake and I thought it was just candy." Darcy stammered out, clearly aware now that she should not have eaten the golden apple. "I didn't know, I promise. On Earth they wrap up chocolate in gold foil. I thought it was the Asgard version of that."
Loki let out a laugh, unable to stop himself. The matter was not laughable. Jane would never forgive Fandral for this, and if Darcy only had a bite of the apple and not the entire thing, she would die from radiation poisoning.
"That's all you have eaten?" Loki asked, nodding to the apple in her hand.
"Yes, here." She said, holding out the remainder of the apple to Loki.
"Keep it." Loki said, closing her fingers around the fruit. "You're probably going to need it."
"Your majesty?" Iðunn said.
Loki looked at her sharply. "Lady Iðunn, go to your orchard and return the stray fruit to its rightful place. Search the feast hall for any remaining apples when you are finished. Fandral and I will deal with the mortal."
Iðunn bowed to him and hurried away, grateful to have no further dealings on this matter with the new king.
"How long ago did you eat it?" Loki asked Darcy once Iðunn was out of earshot.
"Just like a minute ago." Darcy said.
"We have been here for a minute, Darcy." Loki said, his patience wearing thin. "How long ago?"
"Nine minutes, your grace." Fandral said.
"Too late then," Loki said to no one in particular. The radiation took hold of the body after five minutes. He looked at Fandral, "Drop the formalities, Fandral. Did you try to remove it?"
"She is mortal." Fandral replied. "It may have killed her if I tried. I do not know how their frail bodies truly work."
Loki nodded. He did not know how mortal bodies worked either. There was now only one option. He looked to Darcy and smiled, placing his hands on her shoulder.
"Darcy, which one of us do you want to be bound to?" he asked her.
"What?" she replied, looking between Loki and Fandral with confusion.
"These apples elongate an Æsir lifeforce by 4,500 years. For mortals who consume them, it converts them to Æsir. The process requires consuming an entire apple. If you do not finish the process of becoming Æsir at this point, you will die." Loki said plainly. "As we already established earlier tonight, if you die, Jane will kill us. To finish the process, you require an Æsir sponsor. So, which one of us do you wish be bound to?"
"Define 'bound to'," Darcy said.
"I will do it. She was under my care." Fandral said.
"Define 'bound to'." Darcy repeated.
"It just means that I can feel your lifeforce. It means nothing more than that." Fandral said.
"Imagine it as if he is your surrogate." Loki said, nodding.
"But, what if I don't want to be bound to either of you?" Darcy asked.
"Then you should not have taken a bite of the apple, Darcy." Loki said. His eyes blazed with anger at the girl's foolish decision and resulting stubbornness, causing Darcy to recoil in fear.
"Fine. I choose Fandral." Darcy said, staring at Loki with fearful hatred. "At least he didn't invade my planet with an alien army."
"Fine." Loki said. "Eat the rest of the apple."
Darcy stepped away from them both to finish the strange apple, which tasted succulent. Loki placed his helmet on Fandral's head and let out a weary sigh. Once Darcy finished the fruit, Fandral approached her.
"I don't feel well." She admitted, starting to sway.
"Take my hands." Fandral said softly.
Darcy took his hands, quickly steadying herself in his grasp.
"Close your eyes." Fandral said.
Darcy closed her eyes and Fandral did the same. Loki watched as the helmet controlled Fandral's lifeforce, moving it from his skin into Darcy's to heal her radiation sickness. Loki worried the High Council would adjourn any time now and wished they had moved somewhere more private to do this.
"How are you feeling?" Fandral asked Darcy after a few minutes, still in a calm voice. Like Fandral, Loki had been taught that any emotions introduced during this part of the process would affect the personality of the mortal being converted. It was critical to remain controlled and calm when you were a sponsor.
"Better," Darcy said and took a long, deep breath, as if breathing for the first time. She opened her eyes and looked at Fandral intensely as she said, "I feel strong."
Fandral smiled at her warmly and she embraced him.
"Okay, well done, everyone." Loki said after their hug continued for several moments. He reached for his helmet and pulled it from Fandral's head. "There are guidelines to follow for both of you."
Darcy pulled away from Fandral and looked questioningly at Loki.
"Yes, guidelines," Loki repeated. "The first one being that we do not mention this to Jane until it becomes absolutely necessary. I would like to actually enjoy my wedding night."
"I can agree to that." Darcy said. "What else?"
Loki looked at her very seriously and said, "When you return to Midgard, have Heimdall send you directly to Tony Stark's tower in New York. Once there, you need to convince Dr. Bruce Banner to take a sample of your blood and compare it to a sample of Steve Rogers' blood. Can you remember all of this?"
"I'm a human, not an idiot." Darcy said.
"You could have fooled me." Loki said. "And you no longer are Human, Darcy. Try to keep up."
"Why Captain America's blood?" Darcy asked, ignoring his rudeness.
"Let's just say I've been to Midgard before and made some German friends who may have produced a serum from one of Iðunn's apples." Loki said.
Darcy and Fandral both eyed him, but Loki just shrugged.
"You might also want to dump your boyfriend." Loki added in a casual tone to Darcy.
"Why?" Darcy asked defensively.
Loki shrugged, starting to walk away as he said, "If you like watching people you love die, then by all means stay with him. But you have 4,500 years left to live now, and you might want someone who will be around longer than…what was his name? Ian! That's right. Ian."
Darcy stared at the back of his head, unable to stop the tears from forming and falling from her eyes. Fandral put his arm around her to comfort her. Then Loki turned to face them both.
"When Lady Sif gets out of the High Council meeting, you should seek her help. Fandral will likely want to spend the evening with Skaði." Loki said. "Now, return to the feast hall before anyone realizes you have been gone this long."
Fandral ushered Darcy back to the feast hall doors, glaring at Loki as he did. Loki just shook his head with an expression of disappointment.
"Is he always like this? Did my best friend marry an asshole?" Darcy whispered to Fandral, unaware that Loki could hear her. Her body had not adjusted to its new Æsir sensory systems yet.
"He is only this way when he is truly upset," Fandral replied as they disappeared into the feast hall.
Loki cleared his mind once they were gone so Jane would not be able to read it later and sat on a chair in Iðavollr Hall to wait for the High Council to adjourn. Jane would notice soon that her friend was no longer Human and he would have to take the blame to protect Fandral. He just hoped that it would happen tomorrow and not tonight.
Jane was the last to leave Glaðsheimr. The High Council had agreed Faradei would help Hnoss prepare to assume her duties as Queen of Vanaheim. He had volunteered for the job, expressing his indebtedness to Hnoss for her courage in saving his daughter's life.
The two Vanir girls were still quite shaken up by everything and Faradei had escorted them directly to the Bifröst to take them home. Several other Vanir joined them, and many of the Vanir had already left. A decent amount of them remained for the festivities, though, glad to be rid of Freyr and Valfreyja and happy to celebrate the new hope for their realm.
Jane noticed Loki right away, sitting on a random chair near the feast hall doors. Hela sat beside him and they were immersed in conversation.
"Husband?" Jane said to him as she approached.
"Wife!" Loki replied with a smile, standing to kiss her on the lips.
"We should probably go join our party." Jane said.
"I will see you inside." Hela said with a smile and small bow as she stood to enter the feast hall.
"Heimdall will likely announce us." Loki said to Jane, kissing her again. "So, I waited for you."
"Very thoughtful of you." Jane smirked.
"You know me." Loki grinned. Jane noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yes, everything is fine." Loki replied. "I even stored some vials of Valfreyja's blood for you to study."
Jane grinned at this and kissed him before saying, "You do love me after all."
Loki laughed and offered her his arm, "Shall we?"
Jane linked her arm into his and they walked into the feast hall. Within moments of the door closing behind them, the crowd quieted and all turned to face them.
"Everyone, I am pleased to present the newlyweds, their majesties Queen Jane and King Loki. Please join me in toasting to their prosperity." Heimdall called out in a voice that seemed more jovial than his usual tone.
"Hear, hear!" the crowd called. All of them raised their glasses, Jane having organized for the Jötnar to receive cups that could contain orka so they could participate in any toasts.
Loki grabbed Jane's hand and lifted their arms high into the air together. This was tradition, but he knew she would not know it since it was not in any books as official protocol. The Æsir cheered wildly at this, clearly well on their ways to drunkenness.
"Thank you!" Jane called to crowd. "Now, let us enjoy the festivities!"
"May the dancing begin!" Loki shouted.
Jane looked at him and said quietly, "Dancing?"
"Dancing," Loki nodded with a smirk before leaning down to kiss her. He whispered to her, "Don't worry, I'll lead."
Loki pulled her through the crowd towards the center of the room. Their progress went slowly as everyone wanted to congratulate them as they passed. Finally they reached the center and people cleared out of their way to create a makeshift dancefloor. Then someone started up the music and Loki began to lead Jane in the traditional first dance.
At first he led quite well, but as the dance continued Jane noticed he started to use more magic to move them both along. She laughed, which caused Loki to laugh as he continued to push them through the song.
"I hope we are only doing this one song, for your sake." Jane said.
"Yes, well, it is tradition for the bride to dance with anyone who wishes to dance." Loki teased.
"Oh no, the tradition is for whomever the ruler of Asgard marries to dance with anyone who wishes to dance." Jane said. "So, good luck."
"You are so well prepared for this wedding." Loki laughed.
"A lot of work went into today." Jane said.
"And did it turn out as you hoped?" Loki asked her before pushing her into a spin. Jane let her gown fly out in the momentum to catch the light before returning to Loki's hold.
"The High Council reached a favorable decision for Vanaheim's future. Plus Surtur no longer feels he can trifle with me. So, I've gained his respect, which is huge after what Odin did to him." Jane said.
Loki rolled his eyes at Jane's evasion.
"But Alvíss still seems unconvinced." Jane frowned.
"Leave him to me." Loki said.
"Oh?"
"Oh." Loki said and then dipped Jane. He leaned close to her and said, "Truly though, did it turn out as you hoped?"
"It isn't over yet." Jane smirked and moved her face towards Loki's to kiss him.
After they kissed for a few moments, Loki pulled her back upright and pressed his forehead to hers. They breathed each other in, forgetting they were in the center of a massive crowd until the music came to a close and cheers erupted into the air.
"I think we need to bow now to signal everyone else can join in." Loki said.
"Then can we go make sure tonight turns out as I hoped?" Jane asked.
Loki chuckled and then parted from her so they could bow to the crowd. He turned them to face all four sides before ushering her off the makeshift dancefloor just as a new song started up. They pressed through the crowd, manners and tradition going out the window as they headed for the exit with the singular need to consummate their marriage for the remainder of the night.
