HI! Exams are almost over, but until then, you'll have to do with this ;)
Hope you ENJOY it!
Chapter 35
Everybody stared at Loki who had just appeared out of thin air. The young king grinned, but couldn't fully hide the blush on his cheeks.
"I absolutely did not have a crush on Sif!" he assured the others, but no one seemed to care any more. Suddenly Arya realised her king had just joined them. She instantly got to her feet and bowed.
"Lo… My king!" she stuttered. "My apologies, I didn't mean to laugh with…"
Loki made a short gesture with his hand. "Sit down, Arya…" he said more rudely then he meant.
The young warrior swallowed and quickly obeyed. The others didn't seem to be as scared as her. Didn't they realise they'd just made fun of their king!
"Loki!" Thor eventually managed.
Loki smiled. "You don't say!" he said sarcastically.
"What are you doing here?" Sif asked harshly.
Loki pulled up his eyebrows. "Oh, come on, do you seriously think Fandral is capable of making fire?"
Fandral wanted to defend himself, until he realised what Loki was saying.
"You've been here all this time?" he asked. Loki smiled shortly.
"You burned my beautiful façade!" Fandral shouted.
Thor shook his head. "Wait…" he said, not really following.
"Am I going to fast, brother?" Loki asked nonchalantly, but Thor ignored him.
"You mean to say that you've been with us ever since we left Asgard…"
"Yes…" Loki slowly answered.
"You left Asgard without a king and without any proper warrior to defend it…"
Loki nodded. "That's about it!" he said grinning widely. Everybody stared at him in disbelief.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!" Thor suddenly roared.
Loki sighed, but that only made Thor more angry. "WHY! WHY IN ODIN'S NAME WOULD YOU DO THAT!"
Loki smiled. His light grey eyes flickered for a moment.
"Isn't that obvious, brother… I am bored!" he simply said.
"Bored?" Volstagg asked.
"To death!" Loki confirmed.
"You don't have a Captain!" Sif joined in angrily. "No one to leave in charge!"
"Wrong!" Loki shouted. "I left Jane in charge!"
If possible everybody got even more quiet.
"You what?" Thor asked in an angry whisper which send shivers down everyone's spine. Yet Loki didn't seem that impressed.
"Thor! If I'm going too fast for your little brains, you just have to ask!" Loki said sarcastically.
Thor turned red. He needed all his willpower not to throw Mjölnir towards Loki's playful grin.
"You. Left. Jane. In charge. Of. Asgard?" the God of Thunder asked, spitting out every word. Loki didn't move a muscle.
"Doubting your beloved wife?" he asked.
Sif interrupted. "You can't just leave her to be Queen!"
"Indeed!" Volstagg joined in. "Jane can't possibly rule a kingdom!"
Now even Hogun opened his mouth. "You left the care of the nine realms in the hands of a mortal!"
"A mother!" Loki interrupted. Silence fell. Loki looked from one person to the other, making sure he had everyone's attention.
"I left Asgard and the other realms in the hands of a mother!" he repeated. "I am not making the mistake of leaving an Asgardian lunatic in charge, again. A mother understands sacrifice, but also care towards others better than anyone else! Jane will never use her power for bad purposes, like the Captain did."
Loki didn't notice Arya getting really uncomfortable.
"Exactly!" Sif answered. "Because she doesn't understand what kind of power she's dealing with!"
Loki grinned. "On the contrary, a scientist knows power when she sees it, but understands the dangers it brings…"
No one seemed to be able to say something more, except of course…
"I think she can do it…"
All eyes turned to Fandral. Yet he didn't seem impressed and nonchalantly pulled up his shoulders.
"Loki has a point, right?" he continued. "When the Allfather had to leave he also left Queen Frigga in charge. I must say that a mother is an extraordinary leader…"
Thor couldn't help to beam with proud. Not only was Fandral praising his mother, he was also comparing Jane with Frigga. Nevertheless, he still wasn't convinced. His mother had had years and years of experience. Jane had never ruled alongside a king, let alone been in charge herself. And on top of that, she was a mortal! Would the Asgardians be prepared to take orders from her?
"Lord Fandral is right!" Arya suddenly joined in. "Lady Jane is more than capable of being a leader, but not only because she is a mother. She told me, some time ago, she used to lead research back on Midgard. She even had some kind of errr… servants…. Interns, I believe she called them. Nevertheless, I am sure she is the best choice. Jane is brave, just and kind. Exactly what Asgard needs, especially in times like this."
Everybody turned quiet and stared at the young warrior. Even Loki had to admit he was impressed. Maybe he needed to ask Arya's counsel more often. After all, she stood closer to the common people of Asgard. She knew better than anyone else what was required.
"Indeed LORD Fandral is right! Everybody listen to LORD Fandral!" Fandral suddenly exclaimed, making everybody roll their eyes, not that it bothered him…
Loki put on his most innocent smile possible and looked from one person to the next, but everybody was waiting for Thor's judgement.
The God of Thunder sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't suppose asking Heimdall to send you back is going to help?" he asked.
"Not a chance!" Loki answered enthusiastically.
Thor shared a look with his friends. What could he do?
"All right then…" he finally said, even though Thor knew that whatever his opinion had been, Loki would have ignored it.
Sif sighed. "So he's staying?" she asked harshly.
"I missed you too Sif…" Loki answered, but the female warrior wasn't amused. She pointed at Loki.
"I am supposed to take order from him now?" she asked Thor. Her friend wanted to answer, but Loki was first.
"You have to follow my orders at all times, my lady Sif, that's one of the perks of being king!" the young king answered.
Sif opened her mouth to argue, but Thor threw her a meaningful look and she decided to keep silent. Yet, the dark look in her eyes said enough.
"You didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun on your own, did you?" Loki continued, pretending not to notice Sif's angry stares. The young king grinned widely.
"And besides, you are just worthless without me!"
-xxx-
The night grew darker, but no one seemed to be able to catch some sleep. At one point, Loki had decided to give up trying and go for a walk. Of course he couldn't exactly go far and he didn't feel like turning himself invisible just to have a late-night stroll, so the young king sank down on a boulder, just outside their camp.
Loki supposed he had lots to be worried about, but strangely enough his head seemed to be at peace. No anxious thoughts, no fears, no stress… In fact, Loki was quite satisfied with the situation. Finally he didn't have to endure endless speeches, disappointing news and boring days locked up inside his throne room. The excitement about the mission, mixed with the boost of adrenaline made him feel better than ever. How great it was to be outside again!
A familiar shadow fell over the young king's body. Thor was standing right next to him.
"Problems?" he asked. Loki shook his head, trying to make it clear he wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately, Thor didn't understand the hint. And set down next to his brother.
"So how long have you been with us exactly?" Thor asked after a short silence.
Loki sighed. "I travelled along with the Bifröst. Heimdall noticed, but luckily he kept his opinion for himself this time."
"So … Did you tell anyone you were going? The Lords, maybe? They couldn't possibly have agreed with this?"
A wide grin appeared on Loki's face. "I left an illusion. A quite strong one, actually. He could move, talk... He stayed long enough to tell the Lords what to do, all very subtle of course, and to freak Jane out."
Thor had to admit he was impressed. He didn't know much about magic, but he understood that this kind of magic was strong. His mother had been right. Loki was a remarkable and powerful sorcerer indeed.
"And when exactly did your illusion… eerrr… leave?" Thor asked.
"Around the time Arya and Sif got back. It's pretty tiring you know, especially if I want to keep up a second illusion as well."
"Did you find something?" Thor continued. "I mean when we split up? Or did you go with someone else?"
Loki turned silent. "I went with Arya" he eventually declared. "Just in case something would go wrong…"
"Which happened…" Thor added. Loki scowled.
"I wasn't exactly around when hell broke loose. I mean, Sif was there! I didn't think they would get in trouble like that. I went down in the hole, just like Sif, but being invisible has it's advantages. I got way further than Sif did."
"What did you discover?" Thor asked. A flash of fear darkened Loki's eyes, but it happened so quickly that Thor decided it must have been a shadow.
"I'm not quite sure…" Loki finally said. "What I did see, and what Sif also discovered is that these bandits have built an entire complex down there, almost a town on its own."
Thor nodded. "Yes, she said that. The perfect hideout!"
Loki nodded in agreement. "They've got everything they need. Weapons by dozens, food from the villages, water from the river… I believe I found the… main building, the headquarters… I sneaked in and I followed a conversation between two bandits. They were talking about the prisoners too. The thing is… I think…"
Loki hesitated. Fear was building up inside him, but the young king refused to give in. He hadn't even been inside the room!
"What?" Thor asked.
"I think…" Loki repeated. "I recognised the voice of one of them…"
Thor turned silent. "Who do you think it was?"
Loki shook his head. "I don't know… I didn't see them…"
"Did you find any prisoners?" Thor asked, knowing that was the most important right now, but his brother shook his head again.
"No, I didn't even follow the whole conversation, because suddenly every bandit raced to the exits. Arya was under attack, so I had to go back… I fought off some of them, down the hole where Sif was climbing to give her a chance. And I slowed Arya's fall when she fell into the pit. Otherwise she would be a pancake right now…"
Thor smiled. Loki was saving lives again. Just like the old days…
"Maybe you should tell them that. Sif might start trusting you again…"
Loki smirked. "Telling Sif I rescued her? You must want me dead, brother!"
Thor smiled and got to his feet. "No, brother… that doesn't work on you…"
Loki grinned widely.
"Try to get some sleep…" Thor eventually added before walking back towards the fire.
Loki rubbed his eyes. He really was tired! The young king took a deep breath. Now that Thor was finally gone, he let his fear go its way. A cold shiver ran over his spine while Loki tried to calm down. In his head echoed the cold and terrifying voice he'd heard while eavesdropping. In fact, Loki hadn't been completely honest with his brother. He knew better than anyone who that voice had belonged to.
The young king closed his eyes. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea coming here… After all, Loki had followed the bandits conversation better than Thor believed. A conversation about prisoners and fighters, about stealing and payment, but above all… about Loki.
I know it's not much, but more will come! :)
Please review and thank you for reading so far :)
Rumple x