Seeing as Linn was not truly a member of Loki and Maisy's family, she needed to get permission from her father before she could go galavanting across the realms. She'd forgotten to tell him when she'd gone to earth for that Christmas holiday thing, and when she'd returned he hadn't even noticed she'd been gone for a few weeks.
She really hadn't spent that much time with him since meeting Maisy and she didn't feel bad about it in the least. Her dad loved her to be sure, and she loved him, but he got drunk too often and forgot about her. In the time since Maisy had come to Asgard, Linn only stopped by her father's small one-room apartment when she was bringing him her wages.
She hadn't told him that she'd become a lady's maid or that her new position meant her salary doubled. Perhaps she should have felt bad that she was still giving him the same amount that she'd made working in the laundry room, but part of her knew that if she gave him any more it would all be spent on mead. Plus, it was quite nice to have some spending cash and to know she had something saved up for the future.
It was no surprise to Linn when her father didn't open the door when she knocked. He was, more than likely, snoring away the day with a half empty bottle in his hand. She would have been embarrassed that Maisy and Bjorn were accompanying her to ask her father's permission to leave, but she'd met Mr. Sichore and he was almost as bad. And Bjorn's parents were both dead so he probably didn't care that Linn's dad was a deadbeat.
"Dad, open up," Linn knocked again, louder, "He's prolly sleeping again."
"Should we come back later?" Maisy asked, nervously tucking her hands into her shirt sleeves, "I don't want to pester him."
"Nah, if he's asleep that means he's either late for work or he got fired again and needs to start looking for a new job. He'll fank me in the long run," Linn grabbed the spare key from where it hid on top of the door frame, unlocked the apartment door, and barged in, making as much noise as she was able.
Her dad snorted a little.
"The building's on fire, wake up!" Linn hollered and then grabbed a plate and a spoon and started banging them together, "Up, up, up!"
"Linn!" Maisy hissed, shocked.
"Asgard is under attack! You've been drafted! Your realm needs you!"
"Maybe you shouldn't…"
"Your daughter fell off the top of the palace! She's splatted all over the sidewalk! We need you to come clean her up!"
Nothing from her father. Linn sighed and decided to bring out the big guns.
"The tavern is giving out free mead!"
Her dad, who had darker pink skin than Linn and deep magenta hair, sat bolt upright and Linn rolled her eyes. Maisy looked like she wasn't sure whether she should laugh or not. Bjorn was just staring and Linn's father as he groggily looked around the room.
"Linnea?" The Krylorian man said, furrowing his brow, "What are you doing here? It's not payday."
"No, but I brought some people I want you to meet," Linn pointed at Maisy and Bjorn, "Dis is the princess of Asgard. And dis is my boyfriend."
"Oh."
"Hi, um, I'm Maisy," she offered her hand and Linn's dad shook it.
"Yer Highness," he said, "I'm Palmer. I would have been up and dressed if my beloved brat had told me you was coming. Sorry bout dat."
"It's alright, sir."
"And you is Linnea's boyfriend, is you?"
"Yes sir," Bjorn nodded, "I work in the palace too."
"Dat's nice. I'd give you the protective dad speech, but Linnea's gotta make her own decisions. So if ya break her heart… good job giving a life lesson."
"Uh…"
"So why'd you bring dese two to meet me? You interrupted my nap."
"I want to ask your permission for somefing, Dad."
"Marriage already? Sure, if you want to."
"No, Dad," Linn snapped and Bjorn blushed heavily.
"Den what?"
"I want to go live on Midgard for a bit. Is dat okay?"
"The place your mom is from? Terra?"
"Yes."
"Why would you want to go there?"
"I work for Maisy, see, and she and the prince are moving to Terra. I wanna come too if you let me."
"Don't be surprised if they hate you there. You look different and they don't like different. But I ain't gonna stop you. You need to learn fings on your own," he paused, "Wait, does dis mean you won't be sending wages?"
"I talked with the staff pay master. He said he'd send the money to you directly until I get back," Linn frowned, though she wasn't surprised that her father was only concerned about the money. She'd also told the pay master to take half of her wages and set it aside for her. She still didn't want him running around with that much money.
"Then feel free to leave, Linnea. See ya around."
"Bye Dad. Love ya."
"Love ya too, and all dat."
Just as they were turning to leave, Bjorn glanced out the window and yelled out a warning. He knocked Maisy and Linn to the ground right as an arrow shattered the window. That arrow landed harmlessly, but a second quickly followed and, to Linn's horror, struck the base of her father's skull.
"Dad!"
"Stay down!" Bjorn ordered, pushing Linn under the bed and helping Maisy under as well. He drew his sword and stealthily peeked out the window. No more arrows came, but now there was the sound of footsteps racing up to the apartment.
The door flew open and two men burst in with long knives drawn. They growled at Bjorn to get out of the way. The guard kept them at bay with his sword and while they were distracted Maisy slipped out from under the bed and grabbed Palmer's walking stick. She brought the makeshift weapon up with force on the groin of the first man and when he was howling in pain Bjorn stabbed the second man through the gut. He turned to the first and dispatched him as well. Then he went to secure the stairs and make sure there was no one else coming.
"Dad," Linn crawled out from under the bed and grabbed her father's hand, "Dad, no!"
"Linn, oh Linn, I'm so sorry," Maisy wrapped Linn in a hug and they both sat there with her dad's body. There was nothing to be done for him. The arrow had been shot expertly and at the very least he probably hadn't felt any pain because it had been so quick.
"He was just… I just told him. He was fine a second ago!" Linn gasped for air and dropped her father's hand, turning into Maisy's hug fully.
"The building is secure. There are no more of them, but we should get back just in case," Bjorn came back and hesitated for a moment after seeing the two women hugging. He bit his lip nervously and then crouched down with them, "Linn, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"
Linn didn't respond, she just jumped to hug her boyfriend, even if he was wearing painfully unhuggable armor. He stiffly held her and they stood up together. Maisy rose with them and they all began to leave the cramped apartment. Linn glaced once more at her dad lying on the floor. She wished she could stay with him, but she knew that they needed to get out of there and back to the palace in case any more assassins came for Maisy.
"What's happened?" Loki demanded as Maisy, Linn, and that guard Linn fancied all walked into his room. He'd been sitting on the couch with notes in hand, waiting for them to return from the home of Linn's father with permission for her to go to Midgard. He'd wanted to go with them, but he knew he need to plan how he'd go about asking Odin for his blessing to go live on Midgard. Seeing Linn's tear streaked face and blood on her hands, he now wished he'd gone with.
"Me dad got shot!" Linn exclaimed, clinging to Bjorn for support, "Tyr sent dem freaking assassins after Maisy and they shot me dad wif an arrow!"
"We went to talk to Palmer," Maisy said, squeezing Linn's hand, "And right as we were leaving they attacked. Bjorn killed them all - well, actually, the archer probably got away - and then we got out of there."
"Two assassination attempts in three days," Loki strode toward them and placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on Linn's shoulder, "Perhaps it is for the best that we are leaving the realm."
"Sir," Bjorn said, glancing worriedly at his girlfriend, "I ought to go tell the captain of the guard about this, but…"
"You should stay with Linn," Loki nodded, "Well done keeping them both safe. I will inform the captain of your deeds and of the attack."
"Thank you, sir."
"Maisy," Loki turned to his wife, "You are unhurt? None of them wounded you?"
"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."
"And Linn," Loki looked at her and she stared back through tears, "Oh darling, you need a rest. Stay here. You won't be leaving our sight until we go to Midgard, alright?"
"Mmm hmm," Linn nodded and tears poured down her face more, "Don't be gone long, Loki."
"I just need to go speak with the guards. I'll be right back."
"B-be careful, I can't lose both me dads in one day."
"I'm not your-" he sighed, rolled his eyes, and patted her head, "I swear I'll return safely."
He gave them all one more look over to make sure they were all safe, and then quickly made his way to the captain of the guard's office. He gave a brief report of what had happened, remembering to commend Bjorn's bravery, and then quickly left. He had one more person he needed to speak with before he returned to wrap Maisy and Linn in an enormous hug.
He no longer needed a fancifully worded speech to convince Odin to allow them to go to Midgard. There was enough rage boiling in him at that moment to give a thousand passionate speeches and if Odin still refused him, well, he knew other ways of leaving Asgard. One way or another, they were leaving.
A note from the author: I lied, domestic Loki is still a few chapters away. :P Sorry about that. I wrote some of this stuff a while ago and forgot about it.
Did I really have to kill of Linn's dad? No... probably not. To be honest, I forgot he was alive still and I just kinda, well, removed him from the plot. If I was editing this story and the first one I probably would have just had Linn be an orphan and never mentioned her dad. But it was too late so I just... removed him. *coughs awkwardly*
Thanks for reading! Sorry it's taken me so long to update.
Special thanks to my reviewers:
ferbette: The Avengers are just going to be so happy to see him. ;)
Guest: Minor spoiler alert, Loki does not like their neighbors. I'm glad you're excited because I'm excited too!
Ninja Squirrel: And then Loki will go home and Maisy will ask him what he did that day and he'll tell her "oh, I was just testing the Avengers' reaction times. It's important to keep Earth's Mightiest Morons on their toes after all!" And Maisy would squint suspiciously at him and call Tony to find out what happened. And Tony would scream something incomprehensible about snakes. XD
darkangelynn5: No worries! I'm glad you're still reading. :) Hope the crappy stuff gets better!
XinterestingX: Loki would probably just sit and read a book while lazily emptying the dishwasher with a few flicks of his wrists. The music from Fantasia when Mickey is magicking the brooms would be playing lol.
Lwolf: Oh... he'll think of something. Maybe. I'm not telling! ;)
Phoenix86710: You betcha!
xlokiswolfx: AWWWW BABY GOAT LOKI! I love it! :D Goats seem kind of mischievous just like him!
nina del carmen: I'm glad your computer problem is fixed! Loki is going to have a good time in New York lol. :)
Dragoncat: Odin's a real stubborn dude and I'm thinking that losing his voice of reason (Frigga) only makes him more ridiculously stubborn. :P
You guys are the absolute best! Thank you so much for continuing to support my writing! :D Until next time!