The Art of War

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Trust

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved."

-George MacDonald

"You aren't fooling me Loki, I know you still care about the girl." Hel remarked, she was seated on the edge of his desk, her blatant disrespect likely an attempt to rile him to action. Did she not realize how many years he managed to keep his temper before finally betraying his obnoxious brother? Hel would need decades to break him with this sort of petty behavior. It was still more agreeable than Thor's roughhousing had been. He didn't glance up from his parchment as he offered a response.

"Perhaps you believe so, though I would think you would have more confidence in my desire to retain the seat that is mine by right." Loki retorted as he signed off another parchment with a flourish. Not that the irony of putting his name down as 'Odinson' wasn't lost on him each and every time. "Do you think it would have been wise to kill the girl? For one, she's hardly some threat to you, and secondly your own position will be short lived if my brother rises in arms and claims to want the throne again. If Jane is abused too often the oaf will undoubtedly challenge me."

"Then an accident for him isn't out of the question," Hel answered with a careless shrug at Loki's remarks. "The realm can hardly argue your claim if he dies. All the realms would fall apart if there was a struggle for succession after that."

"While I hold no love for Thor, I would consider the speed of your involvement, his death would clearly be pointed at us if it were to occur so shortly after we were engaged." Loki remarked. He was well aware she likely had plans to have him be next on her list and he had to be wary else he fail to out-step her. Lifting the quill he wiped it clean and placed it away, shifting the chair back so he could stand. Holding out the pile of parchments he needed to deliver toward Hel. "Do at least one thing and hold these, darling."

The usual term of endearment dripped with sarcasm but Hel only looked amused as she accepted the pile and moved so he could get his desk in order. A week worth of being there and she was already accustomed to his schedule. She waited for him to get it prepared, watching him put on gloves as she soured. "I don't know why you listen to those ancient relics, the councilmen could tolerate you actually holding my hand."

"Your bones you mean?" Loki retorted with a smirk, accepting the pile of papers back as she all but threw them against his chest. "No Hel, I agree with them that it looks better for all involved to not have to show people such disagreeable sights."

"You always did have too much of a desire for physical appearances." Hel stated, running aforementioned bony claws through the white part of her hair to push it away from her eye socket. "I wonder if you would be nearly so caring for your little tramp if I scarred her up neatly."

"Hel, it does sound as if you are jealous." Loki remarked with his smile growing a little. Pausing at another room to drop off the letters in a basket and then heading with her toward the dining hall. "Here I didn't realize your little plan was in part because you still yearned after me despite all the years that passed since our falling out."

"Yearned?" Hel spoke the word as a laugh. "No Loki, that ended a long time ago. When we were still children. The only thing I want from you now is the crown, taking the girl from you is a wonderful side prize. Scarring her would have a certain poetic justice given you left me after the accident. Vengeance wasn't my reason for coming here but I'll be all too happy to partake. It'll be all too sweet to see you suffer even beyond your loss of the throne. You might sit there Loki – but you'll always be my puppet if you don't want your little secret known."

Loki didn't reply, he couldn't say anything without possibly tipping his hand. What was the phrase? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? He supposed she was just living up to her namesake but given it'd been several hundred years she simply could let it go.

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The crowded side road was well used though all the shops within the winding walls and stairways were probably unknown to all but those that frequented the area. Sif was rarely down this far from the palace and she wasn't exactly sure where her destination would be. Another mysterious letter had arrived and this one left her all the more curious. This time she'd been given an address and it was signed with the same wisp of smoke as before. The place was a business somewhere on this block – an old soothsayer's from what she'd managed to piece together before coming over. This was starting to seem more like a wild goose chase but as none of the rest of her fellow warriors would continue to look into Loki's clear betrayal she herself would have to take up the mantle of proving him the villain he was.

She pushed her way into the building when she finally got one of the locals to point out the doorway for her. This part of the market was often suspected of less than reputable dealings so she knew she had to approach anything she learned here with a grain of salt. Her mysterious benefactor could be just as wicked as Loki ever was. Sif had never given much credit to this sort of magic but she knew there were many older members of the court that still held it in high regard. If the right things were said by a respected soothsayer then it could be one of few options when it came to getting the current King denounced.

The aroma of incense was nearly overwhelming when she stepped beyond the hanging tapestry that functioned as a door – there was a small layer of smoke curled along the ceiling from the wisps of burning sticks along nearly the entirety of the shelf next to the entrance. Sif had to take a moment to settle herself against the onslaught of sensory information – feeling a bit nauseous but pushing her way forward to an unmanned counter. Some soothsayer if they couldn't even tell when she was going to be getting a customer.

"Hello there dear," an older woman exited the back, covered in thick clothes and chains with large gems that seemed almost to be holding her down in the hunched position she used as she stepped forward from the back room. "What brings the Lady Sif to my doorstep? Don't give me that look, I can't know everything – being a seer is an art not an exact science. Now come to the back, all the smoke can't be good for your little one."

Sif blinked in surprise at the reply the woman gave, staring after her frail disappearing back a long few seconds as she thought about what was being said. It hadn't yet been announced publicly that Sif was pregnant – and certainly the woman seemed to know what she was thinking. So she supposed she should give her a little more credit. Sif walked beyond a second curtain to a back room without all the incense and with a small table where they could each sit across from each other. The back other than the cleared center had shelves covering the walls with all manner of various ingredients that were likely used in the woman's magic.

"Sit. What is your question?" The woman asked, picking up a circular mirror and shuffling with it to the table to sit opposite the female warrior. "Please consider what you wish to ask, for the answer you get will reflect on that."

Sif frowned a little – couldn't any of this be more direct. She was regretting having followed this lead at all but she could hardly back out now – she was already here. The older woman must have been studied – she was at least as old as Odin had been judging by the many wrinkles along her face, the gray of her hair. She couldn't just come out and say 'did Loki kill Odin?' as it would start trouble – particularly if it was brought back to her. She couldn't trust this woman to keep silent. No, she was wise enough to know not to be quite that direct. Instead she considered a moment, she wanted something that could possibly tie Loki back.

"I want to know what the cause of Odin's death was." Sif answered, it seemed direct enough without putting any one person in the crossfire.

"I thought the crown said the Odinsleep had finally taken him." The woman remarked curiously, and when she didn't get a reply from Sif at all looked down at her mirror. "If you insist then."

"Unwind the strands, allow us to see, beyond the veil no matter what be, gather here what is unknown, let the truth within be shown." The woman muttered, which didn't make Sif feel any better – surely some sort of simple rhyme didn't actually make a spell. Loki and his mother did more than enough magic without ever uttering a word. Was it just for theatrics? She was becoming less and less convinced any of this was a good idea.

"I see his highness but it is muffled...there is fire, a lot of fire, everywhere around him, it is consuming him..." The old woman remarked as she started at the mirror. "There is a figure within it, thin, with long limbs...I cannot make out a specific identity. They are grinning – I see grinning teeth but nothing else of them stands out beyond the flames that cover them. They are...lifting a crown..."

The woman sat back, staring at Sif in surprise, as if not certain herself how to take whatever she alone had seen in the mirror between them on the table. The ladies earlier assurance was now shaken, her old voice cracking from her personal disturbance. "Was his highness murdered?"

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Jane leaned on the only wall of her cell that wouldn't electrocute her for touching it, seated on her bed and scowling. Why was it she wouldn't be surprised if Loki had agreed to shove her down here for so long just to keep her out of whatever other plans he had involving that zombie witch that wanted to marry him? She grit her teeth and her fists tightened around the pillow she was holding – that uppity little bitch – she certainly had lost any guilt about possibly pushing the blame of Odin's death onto Hel during the few short interactions the pair had exchanged.

Sure, she still didn't know what she wanted to do about Loki, and was a little depressed that he had lied to her from the start – and yet she didn't feel nearly as betrayed as she should. The thing that bothered her most wasn't even his murder of his father – it was his involvement between Jane's relationship with Thor. His willingness to offer up something as sinister as a creepy date rape love potion to Sif. Certainly he was right that it wouldn't have worked if Sif hadn't administered it – but that didn't resolve him of any part of it.

She would still be with Thor and out of this mess if he hadn't gotten involved. He'd even stated the whole reason that he'd started this was to use her and toss her away once his plan had been achieved. So at what point exactly had he started to feel differently? He'd never mentioned that once, and they hadn't exactly had any time to talk about it.

Another sigh escaped her lips and she threw the pillow back to the top of the bed before pushing herself up to start pacing. She didn't know if this was even true – if he hadn't tricked her again. He could have seriously put her in the dungeon and think of her as just a way to produce him children. She turned agitatedly at one end of the cell and began to stalk back toward the other. What the hell was she supposed to do?

She couldn't turn Loki in without implicating herself, and even if she wasn't involved she wasn't sure she'd want to. He was turning out to be a good leader, more so than she would have guessed before all this began. Truly, he had prepared himself in his youth to run the nation in a way Thor had openly admitted dozens of times as having failed to do. The whole of Asgard would not do as well under Thor's rule. She couldn't let some petty anger – and she was still livid – get in the way of doing what she thought was best now for all involved.

"I hate you Loki." She muttered, clicking her tongue as she turned to start another line across the floor. It'd only been hours – how on earth did they expect him to withstand a lifetime of this? She was already at her wits end with no desire to do much of anything and her mind too busy to let her rest. She had cried, screamed, electrocuted herself on the wall, and now was pacing like a cat – she supposed it wouldn't be long before she began to cry again.

Then there was even getting passed right now to have some other decision for later. She was in the dungeon and from here she could do nothing to help Loki if Hel did something to betray him sooner than either of them could expect. Certainly she knew Loki must understand the zombie more than Jane could but that didn't make her feel better. Even if Hel looked horrible Jane didn't know how to deal with Loki playing the part of 'being with her' without seemingly any problem at all. Jane didn't like one bit the way he came to Hel's defense, sure she knew he had said this was part of the plan but that wasn't going to suddenly make her welcome such treatment.

She took a deep breath to try and steady herself, the tightness in her chest she recognized clearly and she really didn't want to start up the water works again. Why was it despite the fact that Loki had lied to her over and over she still wanted to trust him even now? Sure knew she cared about him but this was on a different level than her feelings for any other men...the fact that he might not make it out of this alive shook her to her core. Whatever he'd done to her she knew he cared now, and that for this moment was something to cling to – she wasn't sure if it would be enough. At this moment however she had to trust that he would accomplish what he claimed he would – the alternative was too much to bare.

End Chapter

Moving the plots along. Sorry this Chapter needed to be a bit shorter, we start our move any hour now – really just depends on when the other folks contact us to go get the keys – but it certainly has me excited. Glad I got to post another chapter before the insanity of moving stuff begins though.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

As always, thanks so much for the words and kindness to give me a little time writing to me. I love it. Though, I wouldn't recommend you taking off work to read it – I feel greatly complimented that you said you did so. Hel is a bitch, but she'll get hers as the story progresses : )