He ended up sparing Fulla's life. He could hardly believe that he'd done so when he told her of his new sentence for her, especially after witnessing the cruelty of her spell and what it nearly did to his unborn children. But in light of new information, he'd decided that she deserved a fate worse than death. And then, maybe later he'd kill her anyway.
"You… you are not going to execute me?" Fulla gasped when he told her the news.
"No."
"Why?" She looked suspicious of him, but that could have been because of the extensive damage to her eyes from the poison of the snake. She probably couldn't help but squint at him. However, her eyes would heal easily enough. And Loki didn't care if they didn't. She deserved to go blind.
"Tell me who you hired to create the spell you used on the cookies."
"One of the filthy urchins at my sister's orphanage is gifted in magic. I convinced him to help me in return for recommending him to a family for adoption."
"And this boy's name?"
"Havelock, now the son of Lord Njord and Lady Skadi."
Loki couldn't help but raise a brow at that. He'd never thought he'd see the day where Skadi ever agreed to look after a child. He wanted to ask which home the boy was going to live in, since Skadi and Njord lived in separate places, though they visited each other frequently. Of course, that was not important at the moment, so he made a note to investigate at a later time. If the boy had truly created the spell that had hurt Maisy so horribly then he must be a talented young sorcerer. It would be good to keep an eye on him.
"And did he know what you intended to use his spell for?"
"No. My sister would never forgive me if I put one of her brats up to treason. Even if he is a hybrid. I told him it was to kill the rats in the cellar. He believed me, he is very young," she told him seriously, and then she squinted again, "Why have you decided to spare my life?"
"It is what Frigga would have wanted," he replied, gravely. Though the true answer was that he thought Fulla was too eager to die. She had nothing left to live for, he supposed, and wanted a heroic death - doing what she thought was right for Asgard.
"Too true," she nodded primly.
"And, after the damage you've caused, I believe you deserve something far worse than death," he couldn't help but smile. She flinched.
"The serpent again?"
"No, no," he looked tiredly at the spear, Gungnir, "That would be too easy."
"Then what? And what damage have I caused? Your daughter-in-law is still alive, the guards told me so. And the babes inside her live as well."
"Yes. They all live," he gripped the spear tighter and glared at her, "But you have caused them great pain and suffering."
That morning he had insisted Maisy visit the healers again to ensure everything was well. When she had they'd discovered, by way of the Soul Forge, that one of the infants had lost a hand. It was the baby that had saved its twin by grabbing at the magic and holding onto it. They had not noticed the missing hand the night before, partly because the fetus was so small, and partly because they'd been so relieved that both babies were alive.
Loki had been furious, but Maisy had taken it surprisingly well. She'd talked him out of his fit of rage by reminding him that the babies were both still living and that she would rather have a child with only one hand than no child at all. He calmed down and the healer showed him other signs that showed both babies were doing well otherwise.
Still, he very much blamed Fulla for all that his unborn children had gone through and he wasn't about to let her get away with a simple execution.
"What is my new punishment to be, if not death?"
"You will have your title and any lands stripped from you," he replied, "And you will be banished… to a Midgardian prison."
Fulla's face—apart from the angry red marks around her eyes—paled to match her ash colored dress. A breeze could have knocked her over.
"You can't!"
"Do not fear, I hear the Midgardians are against using venomous snakes in their prisons. Instead you will be subject to cafeteria food and dormitory life. If I were you," he smirked, "I would misbehave and get sent to solitary confinement. You might prefer it there."
"I will simply escape!" Fulla declared, "Surely a prison on earth can be no match for even the weakest of Asgardians!"
"Do not put yourself down so, I've seen you wield a stick against Maisy's lady-in-waiting."
"I will kill as many Midgardians as I must to escape the prison!" She said passionately, "I have no qualms about dispatching mortals."
"Have it your way," he shrugged, "But if you break out then you will be left to face a world full of humans. At least in prison you can get yourself locked in a cell alone and have meals brought to you."
"And when will my banishment be over?"
He laughed at that and she started shaking nervously.
"Take a good look, Fulla, this is the last you shall ever see of Asgard."
"No!" She gasped. When guards started to haul her away she began sobbing and screaming, "You can't! You can't send me to those disgusting creatures! No! Odin, please! Nooooooooo!"
The heavy doors to the Great Hall closed and drowned out her pleading. Loki smirked again and went to deal with his kingly business for the day, not giving the old woman a second thought.
A note from the author: Two things that I'm sorry for. 1. How short this chapter is. 2. That I didn't kill Fulla. I mean, I'm still glad that I didn't kill Fulla because for her character I think this is a worse punishment, but I'm sorry because I know what a bloodthirsty bunch y'all are and you probably wanted something more horrible to happen to her.
Anyway, the next chapter is technically the last chapter, however I will be posting a "book" of one shots, deleted scenes, and whatever else I feel like writing related to these characters. I will probably post the one shot as soon as I'm done posting the last chapter. Now I just have to pick which one shot I'll put out first!
"Mine! You promised!" Blaze pushes her way into the room, "You're going to post mine first, right?! I wouldn't want to have to murder you."
"I don't know if I want to—"
"BUT YOU PROMISED!" Blaze summons a fireball into her hand and moves it dangerously close to my face.
"Okay, okay, how about I post a poll on my profile with three ones shot titles and the readers can vote? That way we let them decide what they want!" I offer frantically.
"That sounds... fair," Blaze shakes out the fire in her hand and stares at the readers, "I'm sure you will all want to hear more about me, right? Right?"
"I'll post it eventually even if it isn't first."
"I don't trust you," Blaze crosses her arms grouchily, "So I'm using your vote to vote for myself."
"Wait, but!"
"Too late!"
Anyway... so I have a poll on my page if anyone wants to vote on it. You can always vote in the reviews too if you would like. :)
I will see you in the next chapter, but in the mean time thank you for reading/following/favoriting!
Special thanks to my reviewers:
Dragoncat: Exactly! I think I need to put this story to bed and work on some other things, like my actual book that I'm hoping to publish sometime this year lol.
Ninja Squirrel: Awww little kidney bean baby! So cute and tiny! I'm not sure my portrayal of all of this pregnancy stuff is accurate, but eh, it's fiction right? I get a little wiggle room? Maybe? Maybe not idk. XD I tried to do some research stuff about pregnancies and babies and stuff and now Google keeps showing me ads for strollers and diapers and other baby supplies. I feel like Google is that over excited friend who jumps to conclusions and it will be so disappointed when it finds out I'm not pregnant lol.
AnonymousMe: I hope you're feeling better! And I'm glad my story could cheer you up a bit even if it's full of drama lol. Sending thoughts of warm soup and comfy blankets your way!
Guest: I don't have any plans to post a sequel so far, but I will have lots of "bonus content". I may eventually, like a long way down the line, refine the few little plots I made for a sequel and post it, but right now I don't have anything concrete enough to make any promises. Thanks for reading! :)
You guys, as always, are awesome! I'll see you in the next chapter!