Chapter Five - Truth Always Disappoints
Loki was reaching his wits end. "Hold still!" he ordered.
"Ow! Stop pushing," Maysa cried, unaware — or not caring — how much of a racket she made.
"Try to relax."
"It hurts," she insisted with a whine. Her lip trembled and eyes leaked pitiful tears.
Loki said with increasing agitation, "Don't be childish. Of course it hurts."
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Maysa accused, continuing to struggle in his hold.
It was at that very moment that the door to the chamber opened and his mother rushed in, her expression urgent. She looked first toward the bed, which was empty, then to the study table where the couple sat.
Frigga demanded, "What is going on in here?!"
When Maysa pulled away, hurrying over to show the queen the bleeding wounds on her face, hands and arms, Loki gazed down at the crimson smears on his hands. Most of the blood was Maysa's. He'd suffered only a few bad scratches himself while freeing her.
Loki rushed to explain, his tone snippy, "She fell in a rose bush."
Sari had left them washcloths and a bowl of warm water, which Loki used to clean himself up.
"Some of the thorns went deep," Frigga said, continuing her examination.
"I was attempting to get them out," Loki insisted.
Thor strolled in, chuckling at the scene. "That is not what it sounded like from the corridor."
Loki saw his brother's scandalous, teasing look and narrowed his eyes in warning. He considered turning Thor into something ugly, small and weak — perhaps a snail.
Maysa continued to whimper, eliciting great sympathy from Frigga.
Sari returned with a healer, as Loki had requested. The women chose to pull the patient back to the table. Since Maysa appeared to be in good hands, and he had yet to shed his aggravation, Loki decided to leave.
His brother followed into the corridor to inquire, "Other than the rose bush, how was your night?"
Loki complained, "I'm exhausted and not in the mood for an interrogation."
He barged into his own dark rooms, heading for the bedchamber. He tossed aside the storybook to sit in the bedside chair and yank off his boots.
Thor carried in the burning candle from the entry. "That bad?"
"Yes!" Loki snapped, but followed with a contradictory, "no," and finally admitted, "I don't know."
He leaned back, rubbing at his tired eyes and let his form relax into the cushions. Various aches and pains registered throughout his body, a reminder that the effects of the vampire blood lessened each day.
With an air of caution, Thor inquired, "Is her accident your fault?"
"Does it matter?" Loki wanted the luxury of blaming Maysa, but he had foolishly left her perched by the rose bushes.
"Her wounds will be easily treated," Thor assured him, "and I'm sure she'll forgive you."
Loki nodded, his mind dwelling on those moments at the fence when she'd looked at him with such wonder and acceptance. Her gentle touch and voiced admiration had stirred up something so powerful inside that it had, and still, disturbed him.
Igus walked in with a goblet of cool liquid, placing it directly into Loki's hand. "To help fend off the headache." He turned down the covers and collected his master's scuffed boots to be cleaned before departing again.
Loki took a swallow of the elixir, staring into the darkness beyond the bed so he didn't have to meet Thor's gaze. "She's sweet," he determined, then realized that he'd actually voiced those words out loud.
Thor sat on the edge of the bed, looking thoughtful "You almost make it sound like a bad thing."
Loki fidgeted, failing to find a position in the chair that didn't agitate some sore spot. "Why did they choose her? I am not sweet. I do not forgive so easily."
"I assume that's the point. Do you think less of Maysa for these traits?"
"She is a vulnerable and sentimental creature, easily won over by anyone who gives her a little attention."
"Was that a yes?"
Loki took another drink then put down the goblet before climbing to his feet. "Go away. I'm tired," he grumbled.
"We will discuss this later," Thor promised, taking the candle with him as he moved for the door.
Loki called after him with a growl, "No, we won't."
Two days later, Maysa found Loki in a back corner of the palace library, sitting amid stacks of thick books, old scrolls and other papers. As she stepped up beside him, she noticed that her misplaced book of Asgardian law lay open on the tabletop.
The prince blinked and turned his head just far enough to catch a glimpse of her, revealing both his frown and the natural blue had returned to his eyes.
Maysa asked with care, "Is this where you've been hiding?"
"Were you really looking?"
"No," the elf admitted, wary of his cross expression. "I figured you were angry with me." She presumed that he found her unworldly and ridiculous after her drunken antics.
"I thought the same of you, I suppose."
She gestured to his collection of reading material. "Research?"
Loki held out his hand, uncurling his fingers to reveal small clay tokens resting in his palm. He spoke with wounded anger. "Our parents have been manipulating us."
Maysa didn't understand. She took one of the rounded pieces, recognizing it as identical to the ones used at the tavern for Avaritim, the strategy game Loki had taught her how to play.
"Explain what you mean."
Loki set the tokens on the tabletop then moved the books resting in the adjacent chair so Maysa could sit with him.
"We don't have any power over this marriage at all," he said as Maysa settled. "All the references say the same. Only Odin or Antus can void the agreement or any part of it."
"Yes, but my father is angry. He threatened to end the alliance."
"That is what he wants you to believe. His suggestion that you could go home with him and end this betrothal was a ruse. He knows you dislike conflict. You also don't get to make many of your own decisions. He must have suspected that you'd look for a way to make the situation work, especially if the choice was then your own."
Maysa didn't like being analyzed, but there was truth in what he was saying about her, which lent credibility to his theory.
"But, you seemed upset when my father wanted me to go home. I thought you'd had a change of heart."
"I did. Antus pulled just the right strings to get a reaction from me… and I can say with some certainty that my parents told him exactly what to do."
"Which was what?"
Loki looked down, too unsettled to meet her gaze while confessing, "I don't like being told I'm not good enough or having anything taken away that has been promised."
She contemplated her words before asking, "Is that why you came for me in the Nightmare Realm?"
"Not at first, but I convinced myself of it with every effort I made to find and retrieve you."
Maysa struggled to manage the opposing emotions in her core, but must have been masking her upset better than she thought because he didn't seem to notice.
Loki picked up some papers, placing the stack between them. "I've read the entire agreement. Zanjira receives very little from this alliance compared to what Asgard is getting. I need to know why your father agreed to these terms."
"I am not certain that he'll answer a summons from you," Maysa said.
"All the more reason for us to visit your family's keep."
Loki stood, collecting the documents and slipping them back into their holder. He also handed her the law book, softly apologizing for taking it without her permission.
The queen cornered the couple in the family wing, insisting that she needed to discuss the wedding arrangements with them soon. "You must have some ideas," Frigga pressed.
"We do," Loki said with a cheeky air. "We want to ride horses… outside... in the fresh air and sunshine."
"I meant about the wedding."
"We've no thoughts on that at all," he declared and led Maysa away in the direction of the stables.
When they stepped out of the palace, Loki stopped, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to allow the midday sun to bathe and warm his features. "I have missed this," he uttered and breathed deeply of the fragrant summer air.
They decided not to try to leave Asgard through the bifrost because the gatekeeper was likely to think they were running away and detain them. Instead, Loki cast a spell to conceal them from Heimdall's all-seeing gaze and they rode Sundancer into the forest to find a particular portal that would get them into Alfheim.
Once at their destination, Loki climbed out of the saddle and helped Maysa down. Then he delivered a firm strike to the horse's rump, sending him trotting off in the general direction of the castle.
"Why aren't we taking Sundancer with us?"
"I have a different idea for our means of travel."
They stepped through the shimmering wall of energy and into the highlands of Alfheim's western province near a sparkling, blue-green lake.
"We're many miles from Zanjira," Maysa told Loki when she recognized the location. She stepped back toward the portal, expecting an immediate return trip.
Loki looked confident in his choice and headed away through the trees and vegetation. "Let us get out into the grass," he called back to her. "I need some room."
Maysa felt puzzled, but hurried to follow before she lost sight of him.
At the treeline, he told her to wait, and then continued for several long strides before coming to a measured halt.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Just watch." He closed his eyes and steeled his frame, taking in a bolstering breath before transforming into a large, black and green dragon.
The bewildered Maysa made a slow, anxious approach as Loki stretched. He made a low rumble in his throat that reminded her of a cat purring, and then chuffed and gave his wings a good shake before lying down on his stomach and resting his spiked head at her feet.
"You are full of surprises." Maysa touched the scales along his snout.
When Loki lifted his claw to point behind his head, Maysa got the gist of what he wanted. She went around and carefully climbed up his scales, forced to hike up her skirts some so she could settle into the nook where his head met the neck.
Though she was able to hold on to some of his spikes, she still begged, "Don't try anything tricky. I'm still learning to ride horses, remember?"
With a flurry of batting wings and a rush of heavy air on her face and shoulders that both terrified and thrilled her, they went airborne, gaining speed and distance from the land below. Maysa clung to him with her legs, feeling his flexing muscles with each powerful wing stroke.
The amazing flight over grasslands, forests and mountains ended much too quickly as she soon gazed down upon the farmlands of the Zanjira Sovereignty and caught sight of her family's keep in the distance.
Loki gradually descended from the clouds, skimming the treetops. They cleared the wall of the keep, making an abrupt landing in the courtyard, which upset various, wandering animals and sent wailing servants running indoors.
"Oh dear. Better put me down," Maysa said with some desperation, as she knew what was coming.
The first of her father's soldiers rushed into the courtyard wielding bows and longspears as Loki flattened out and Maysa jumped to the ground.
"Wait!" Maysa screamed, waving her arms as she moved to stand between them and the dragon. "Prince Loki is a shapeshifter. I forbid you to harm him."
The frightened men gaped and fidgeted, but lowered their weapons as Loki shed the dragon form and strolled up next to Maysa.
Loki looked amused. "My apologies for the scare."
The captain of the guard acknowledged him with a respectful bow and waved his men off.
Two of Maysa's brothers rushed out of the doorway from the kitchens in their play clothes, casting their gazes about in search. "Maysa," said the ten-year old Aric, "did you see it? The servants were screaming about a dragon."
Raes, who was four, exclaimed with disappointment, "I don't see a dragon anywhere!"
Loki chuckled. "That was me. Just a bit of shapeshifting." He strolled up to them, holding out his hand. "I'm Loki."
Aric shook, introducing himself and Raes.
Raes shied away from the offered hand though. He hid behind his brother and uttered, "What happened to his ears?"
Maysa grinned as Loki laughed.
"He's not an elf," Aric explained. "He is Asgardian. Don't be rude."
"No offense taken," Loki promised.
Lady Silva entered the courtyard, followed by the rest of her children. She hugged Maysa and greeted Loki before rattling off the names and ages of the nine girls and three boys gathered around them.
"Thirteen children, my lady," Loki said, his eyes wide. "What a tremendous accomplishment. You must be so proud."
"I am," she affirmed, "but also weary and cross. The heat has everyone in a poor mood today."
"Is Father home?" Maysa asked. "Loki has some important matters to discuss with him."
"Not yet. I expect him about supper time. Will you be able to stay?"
Maysa looked to Loki, hoping he'd agree.
"Certainly," he said, noting the glance.
The little ones took this to mean that Loki and Maysa were free to play with them. So, they dragged them away for games, races and other such amusements that lasted through the afternoon. Though Maysa apologized numerous times, Loki seemed to enjoy all the attention and chance to be out of doors.
Finally, Loki broke away from the bunch to join Maysa under the tree where she'd been reading since abandoning the games earlier. He groaned as he settled, looking weary from the heat and uttered, "uh oh," as the children noticed his absence and enthusiastically converged on their spot.
"Let Loki rest," Maysa demanded, stopping the brood in their tracks. Only Aon, the eighteen-month old, continued forward to plop onto Loki's lap, leaning against him while he sucked his tiny fingers.
"That one missed his second nap of the day," Maysa told Loki. She reached for Aon, saying, "I can take him."
"No, no," Loki insisted, curling his arm around the babe. "He's fine."
"We want to plaaaaaay," five-year old Riva whined and the others agreed.
"Pleeeeease?!" six little elves begged in chorus with round, pitiful eyes and their hands clasped in front of them as if threatening prayer. Almost every freckled face had turned pink from so much sun.
"Why don't we go inside?" Maysa offered. "Perhaps the cooks will let us have some sweet cream."
This worked to distract them. Aric led the stampede to the kitchens with Maysa and Loki strolling behind with Aon.
"Stifling," Loki said, in reference to the choking heat inside the keep and kitchen especially. "How do you all manage?"
"We don't really have a choice," Maysa said. "Ice is hard to get in the summer. Cooling charms are expensive and reserved for food storage." She gave a soft shrug. "We're mostly used to it."
The children were sent to the dining room where they climbed into their seats around the massive table. Shortly, the cooks delivered freshly poured bowls of sweet cream, which Loki froze into a treat that delighted them.
"I'll return," Loki promised and then proceeded to walk through the keep, shutting windows and doors and casting cooling spells.
Lady Silva and the eldest girls soon joined their party, sharing in the frozen cream.
"Thank you," Lady Silva said when Loki sauntered in with a satisfied smile.
"Can Loki stay with us?" Riva asked her mother, causing everyone to look up from their bowls.
"Well…" Silva said, "that's not really for us to decide."
"Maysa is going to marry him," Danna, the fourteen-year old, declared. "They will have to visit us from Asgard sometimes."
Maysa and Loki were quiet as the children rambled on about the advantages of having an older brother who was a wizard. Even Aon, his face smeared and dripping with cream, beamed at Loki when he pulled up a chair to sit next to Maysa.
"Thank you," Maysa whispered.
"You are welcome."
"It might not be smart to indulge them so much."
Loki gave a slow, contemplative nod. "Of course. No good deed goes unpunished."
She couldn't tell for sure, but Maysa assumed he was kidding.
Lady Silva insisted the youngest children complete their lessons before supper. So, Loki volunteered to join the older children in tutoring. He was testing the three-year old twins, Malae and Magali, on the names of animals using a set of old, and somewhat battered, picture cards when he felt inspired to make the game a little more interactive. He laid the cards out on the ground picture-up so the girls could see all of them.
"Choose one card," he told them, "and if you tell me the correct name, I will turn myself into that animal."
The twins thought this was a tremendously fun idea.
"You have to take fair turns," he added, "or I won't change."
The innocent game started with a turtle, but the girls grew too fidgety with excitement and drew everyone's attention by the time Loki had transitioned through a squirrel, owl and rabbit.
"Be a dragon!" Raes cried, abandoning his own studies to hurry over.
Loki shook his head. "Not inside."
"Choose a card," Malae ordered her brother, looking cross that he was ruining the game.
The clan gathered around as Raes chose his card and held it up for them all to see. "Lion!"
"Gentle lion," Maysa suggested, leveling Loki with a warning look that made the older girls giggle.
His tone hinted at teasing as Loki responded, "Yes dear." He held her gaze while shifting into an especially lazy lion.
"Can we touch him?" Raes asked his mother.
"Well… we really shouldn't be petting wild animals."
"But it's Loki," Aric argued. "We won't ever get to touch a real lion."
The debate continued until a servant stepped into the room and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of a large cat stretched out on the rug. With her panicked cry, Loki changed back, pushing up to his feet and offering her a sheepish grin.
Lady Silva asked the woman, "What is it?"
"Supper is ready, but the sovereign has not arrived home."
"Go ahead and serve the food. Who knows how late Antus could be." Lady Silva stood, requesting that the children put away their things and get washed up.
The meal was meager and barely adequate compared to the feasts served in Asgard's palace. Since the oldest of those gathered were allowed to serve themselves, Loki ate only enough to be polite and shared what was left on his plate with the twins.
After supper, while Maysa went to assist with the children's bathing, Loki took another walk through the keep, noting details that had missed his attention before, such as faded tapestries, worn linens, frayed rugs and chipped dinnerware. He decided the family was burdened financially, which meant the sovereignty as a whole was struggling.
Loki stood up the stairs from the entry when the sovereign arrived home.
"The sun is down. Why is everything closed up?" the stern Antus inquired of the servants. Then he quieted, having probably detected the chill in the air. His next uncertain question was, "Did a charm misfire?"
Loki stepped into view, continuing down the staircase.
"Oh," Antus said, managing to look even grumpier.
The nervous servants hurried off.
"Welcome home," Loki said, being pleasant.
"Is Maysa with you?"
"Yes. She's helping bathe the little ones."
Antus gave a stiff nod. He gestured to an adjacent door. "Let us talk in my study."
Loki followed him into the room, choosing to stand, though he was offered a seat.
The sovereign appeared weary from hours of travel. It took visible effort for him to move behind his heavy wooden desk and sink into the chair. Tension strained his angular features as he admitted, "They said you'd show up here eventually."
Loki assumed 'they' was in reference to his parents.
"Tell me what you want, your majesty?"
Loki used a pointed, yet controlled tone. "Break the alliance agreement with Odin."
Antus straightened, gaining strength with a perceived offense. "You find my daughter lacking in some manner?"
"No. It is your methods, your schemes, that I find insulting."
"A taste of your own medicine?" Antus asked. "No, I will not. You are an arrogant, pampered and frivolous prince, Loki. Perhaps one of my girls would have caught your eye at some high-society function, but probably for nothing more than a scandalous affair. This way, by the agreed terms, you will marry my daughter, honor those vows and provide her with children… or forfeit your freedom."
Loki chose to ignore the blatant attack on his character, but the stern reminder of what was being forced on him fueled his anger.
"I've read the agreement! Why put so much effort and resources into this deal when you get so little out of it? I look around your home and see that you clearly can't afford the terms to which you have agreed."
"Don't presume—!"
Loki slammed his fist on the desktop, leaning over to look Antus directly in the eyes. "Just answer the question. What do you get that makes this all worth it?"
Antus glared back, his jaw clenching. His response proved eerily calm in comparison to the rage in his eyes. "You. I get you."
Loki staggered back a step, his mind reeling with shock and so much more. Afraid he might stumble, he chose to sit down in the available chair and just breathe.
Their anger deflated some in the long moments of silence that followed.
"I'm dying," the elf admitted, turning his gaze away in shame. "In searching for a miracle, I lost most of the treasury and the respect of the nobles. Less than a year and I'll be gone. My eldest son, Aric, is too young to rule. Zanjira will likely be invaded by its neighbors, easily conquered and divided."
Heat and pressure built up in Loki's chest as he assimilated this information. He'd learned enough to know that a conquered kingdom generally meant death for the ruling family.
"Lady Silva knows this?"
"Some — probably more than I realize."
"Why didn't you just tell me from the beginning?"
"You think you would have cared about my family and our small sovereignty? I'm not a complete fool."
"You are looking for a steward to rule until Aric is of age. Why not one of Alfheim's other noblemen or even Thor? He thrives off such chivalry."
"Thor is a good man and strong warrior, but like me, he sees good in people that isn't always there. Elves aren't always honorable, Loki. I put too much trust in others over the years to the detriment of Zanjira."
In a roundabout way, Antus had complimented his nature for suspicion, yet Loki felt worse. "You really want a scoundrel to rule your people?"
"You are royal-born, a powerful wizard and gifted strategist. You can teach Aric how to build up and protect Zanjira."
Loki heard these desperate accolades, but his heart steeled because no matter how hard Antus tried to justify his actions, the agreement bound him and Maysa to a future that would be forever shadowed with resentment.
"You must end the agreement, Sovereign."
"I can't."
"Trust us to do what is best for ourselves."
Antus rose from his chair. "Take Maysa back to Asgard… or leave her here if you wish," he said. "Either way, she will meet you at the wedding altar come fall or join you in prison."
Instantly enraged, Loki pushed from the chair and strode from the office, continuing through the entry and out the front doors to scowl at unfamiliar stars that couldn't console him like those back home often did. The evening heat encompassed his frame, further stoking the burn of his upset.
Would it be such a crime to kill a dying man? Loki pondered, but his turbulent mind turned to Maysa in the next moment, then Silva and the children. He knew he couldn't purposely hurt them, whether it was to murder Antus or allow the demise of their legacy.