"...and you're going to love all the Christmas movies! And eggnog!" Maisy couldn't stop herself from blabbering about all of her favorite parts of Christmas as the two princes of Asgard and Linn as they all made their way down the Rainbow Bridge. It was so weird to her that they had never experienced Christmas and she hoped Tony Stark liked to go all out for the holidays because she would if he didn't.
They were riding horses, with Linn and Maisy on a gentle mare, Thor on his war horse (named Hross), and Loki on Horsley. They were going slowly since this was only Maisy's second time riding a horse on the Bridge and she was being extra careful.
"What's eggnog?" Linn asked.
"A delicious holiday drink!" Thor answered excitedly, "I tried some before I left!"
"Okay."
"Oh. My. Gosh!" Maisy looked over her shoulder at Linn, "We are so making Christmas cookies! I'll ask my dad to send me my granny's recipe! And then I can finally prove to Loki that food cooked with love tastes better."
"What?" Thor asked in confusion.
"Don't bother, it is a ridiculous notion the Midgardians have concocted."
"It's not ridiculous!" Linn piped up, "It's real!"
"Oh Norns, here we go again!" Loki rolled his eyes.
Luckily, they were close to the Bifrost so he only had to listen to Maisy and Linn try and convince Thor of their cooking theory for a little while. They stopped, dismounted, and greeted Heimdall. He nodded solemnly to them.
"Mister Dall, sir?" Linn said.
"Heimdall."
"Right, Mister Heimdall, sir?"
"Yes, child?"
"You have the most beautiful eyes I ever saw in me life."
Heimdall blinked in surprise and Thor laughed heartily, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
"Thank you, Linnea."
"Call me Linn!" The lady's maid winked and walked into the golden dome.
"To Midgard!" Thor declared, following the girl. Everyone went into the room except Loki, who hung back. Maisy turned to look at him curiously.
"You coming?"
"I will follow shortly. Thor will ensure you get to the Avengers safely and I will not be far behind," Loki said.
"You aren't skipping out on us, are you?" Maisy asked suspiciously. She walked back over to him and set her bag down, "Because unless you have a really good excuse for why you're hanging back I'm going to stay right here and maybe drag you into the Bifrost."
"I need to ensure Horsley and the others get back to the stables. And I must have a private word with Heimdall."
"Loki," Maisy took his hand and searched his face, not seeing any mischief, "This isn't about last night, is it? You aren't waiting for me to leave so you can turn around and kill someone, right?"
"It's like you don't even trust me not to kill people," Loki teased, pulling her into a hug. He was delighted when she reached up, took his face in her hands, and kissed him. Apparently it didn't take her that long to get Egil out of her mind enough to kiss her husband.
"You'd better behave yourself or else I'll tell the Avengers - or my dad - that we've slept together. See how they react to that!"
"They aren't idiots, we're married after all," Loki laughed, "I think they've figured that one out on their own."
"Fine, then I'll tell them that… uh… you mind controlled me into marrying you and this is all a hoax that I'm trying to get free of because I just want to go home!"
"Alright, alright! I'll behave myself, I swear it!"
"Good," she gave him another kiss and turned to go, "Don't be too long, okay?"
"Why would I take my time in trying to get back to you?"
"Flatterer."
"And proud."
Maisy laughed and joined Thor and Linn in the dome. She watched Loki even as she was being sucked away and she could have sworn that he grinned sinisterly right as she was transported. She just hoped he wasn't up to anything too foolish.
Muspelheim was not a good place for a Frost Giant, but with enough spells Loki could handle it. He still moved as quickly as he was able, though, and made his way to a group of fire goblins, greeting them cheerfully. The fire goblins, as he was expecting, freaked out and carried him off to meet Surtur. From what Maisy and Blaze had told him, Loki didn't need to worry about the fire giant killing him. He wanted him as king of Asgard for whatever reason and he couldn't be king if he was dead.
"Lord Surtur!" Loki grinned, falling into a mocking bow as the fire goblins set him down in front of the massive throne. Surtur's face was basically just a flaming skull with a huge eyebrow, but it still looked suspicious of Loki.
"Trickster," he nodded, "What brings you to my realm?"
"Normally I would dance around the subject to trick you into getting what I want, but you seem a reasonable man - err, giant. Let me get straight to the point," Loki looked over head and spotted what he'd heard rumors off. A cage attached to the ceiling where Surtur put people that he couldn't decide if he wanted to kill or not. And Loki could just make out the form of a person inside.
"What is it?" Surtur asked, looking up as well.
"I have quarrel with Egil Belison. Does he still live?"
"Well," Surtur shrugged, an odd gesture for the king of a hellish place like this, "He could be alive still. He gets one meal a day and some water. I'm not sure if he's eating and drinking it or not though. I don't care, honestly."
"Your favored lieutenant and you care not if he lives or dies?" Loki smirked, showing all his teeth, "He must have done something truly offensive."
"How is your wife?" Surtur replied, seeming genuinely curious.
"She suffers from nightmares of him," Loki pointed upward, "And I thought, perhaps, it was time I exacted my revenge. With your permission, of course."
"I see," Surtur scratched his chin and studied the cage above them. He took a long time before he answered, "When you are king of Asgard, boy, be sure to be wary of those closest to you. They are capable of more horrendous things than you might think. I would never condone what he did to Maisy Sichore. It sickens me think of what he might have done had she kept refusing him."
"So, that's a yes?"
"You have my permission to do whatever you like with Egil Belison," Surtur stood and opened the cage, taking out the occupant and dropping him in a heap at Loki's feet. The body groaned and pushed itself to its knees. The ratty, long hair dangled in his face and his sunken eyes glared with such a hatred that it would have frightened a lesser man.
"Egil," Loki bent over to look at his foe, "You're looking... I don't want to say well, but considering you've been stuck in that cage for nearly two months I think you look pretty good."
"What are you doing here, Trickster?" Egil hissed, his voice a rasp, "Where is Maisy? Is she safe?"
"She's fine. I won't say where, even though you wouldn't be able to do anything with that information," a knife appeared in Loki's hand and he twirled it over his knuckles expertly, "To answer your first question, I'm here to put an end to you once and for all."
"Ha!" Egil laughed, "I should have known you'd try. But you should know it will only make her hate you. She might think she dislikes me, but she will never approve of murder or execution."
"Dislikes you?" Loki pointed the knife at Egil's nose, "That's putting it mildly, don't you think?"
"She is just a Midgardian. She doesn't know what she wants or what is best for her."
"And they say I hate those of earth. Honestly, you must loathe them to think so little of them," Loki flicked the knife across the other man's face, leaving a long, red gash, "Maisy won't know of this visit."
"Then how will you ever soothe her dreams?" Egil chuckled. Loki wondered if the man had found a way to give Maisy the nightmares, "She can't stop fretting over me unless she knows I'm dead."
"This excursion was not for her peace of mind," Loki flicked the knife again and Egil hissed in pain as one of his ears dropped to the ground, "It was for mine."
He kicked Egil back onto the floor and stepped on his chest. There was a loud crack that sounded like the joyful noise of ribs breaking. Loki aimed his knife and then dropped his dagger into Egil's heart, causing him to scream in pain.
"She'll never love you like she loved me, Loki," the dying man wheezed, hands clasping the knife handle, "She'll never love you at all!"
"So sure are we?" Loki conjured another dagger and dropped it in the man's stomach, like some sick game of darts, "Who do you think is the one who comforts her when she wakes screaming after a dream of you? Who do you think cared for her when she fell sick this winter? Who do you think she spends her nights with? Because it is not you, Belison. And it never will be."
A final dagger and this one went straight through the eye and into the brain. Egil groaned one last time and then stopped writhing. After all he'd done he was finally dead.
Loki collected his knives and made them disappear. Then he looked to Surtur and bowed more respectfully this time. Surtur nodded and then put Egil's body back in the cage, sending a blast of fire to crisp up what was left of him.
"His bones can stay there and scare the next prisoner," the fire giant said, "Tell Maisy hello and that the position I offered her is still available should she change her mind about Asgard."
Loki nodded, wondering when Surtur had offered Maisy a job.
"Thank you for your help. I shall be on my way."
"Until Ragnarok then," Surtur smiled and bowed his head a little. Loki ignored the comment and made his way back to the surface. Once there, he raised his face to the sky.
"Heimdall, take me to the Christmas party!"
A note from the author: TA-DA! Ding dong the wicked witch is dead! *throws confetti* I hope it was satisfactory!
Thank you so much for reading!
Special thanks to my reviewers of the last chapter:
CheetahLover: Tell your wolves that they are welcome to whatever is left of Egil. ;)
Lwolf: Thanks for reviewing! :)
Until either next Thursday or whenever I can post sooner! Ta-ta!