Silver and Scales
Chapter Nine: Thor's Exile
Sif, Loki, the Warriors Three, and Vyperia sat before the roaring central fire of the room. They were battered and shell-shocked, still reeling from the day's events. Loki and Vyperia coupled together on the cushions of the couch, both idly gazing into the flames. Vyperia's eyes lowered to her hands, her fingers stained from her own blood.
The only sound in the room was the crackling of the wood smoldering in the fire's womb.
Hogun reached into the flames and pulled fragile healing stones—neither the fire nor the stones burned him. He strode back to his place on the arm of the couch beside Volstagg, whose arm was still recovering from the frostbite. Fandral winced in pain as Hogun changed his bandages. Loki's face slowly glimmered from the light of the fire; his eyes watched Volstagg with penetrating thought. Vyperia's guilt-ridden stomach overturned when Loki turned away from Volstagg to peer at his own arm.
Undamaged.
Vyperia distracted him for a moment when she reached across Loki's vision; her hand interlaced with his fingers and brought his wrist into her lap. Loki's expression didn't change, but he looked at her as she leaned back against the couch. She met his eyes. Loki's searched hers as if prying for an explanation. She gave him a very weak smile.
Volstagg busied his fidgeting hand with a large mug of mead, provided to him by Lady Sif, who had left the healing room for a brief minute to hand them all comforting bouts of alcohol. Vyperia's remained untouched; her stomach tossed and turned uncomfortably in the presence of Loki.
"We should never have let him go," said Volstagg when the silence seemed to deafen.
"There was no stopping him," Sif said, sitting down.
"At least he is only banished," Fandral reached optimistically, "and not dead. Which is what we all would be if that guard hadn't told Odin where we had gone."
Volstagg shook his head,
"How did the guard know?"
"I told him."
The Warriors Three and Vyperia turned to see Loki, whose eyes looked away from the fire to peer at them with conviction.
"What?" Fandral said, surprised.
"I told Heimdall to go to Odin after we had left. Though he should be flogged for taking so long."
Volstagg's face lit up in disbelief.
"You told the guard?"
"I saved our lives!" Loki said shamelessly. "And Thor's. I had no idea that Father would banish him for what he did."
"Loki," Sif pleaded as she rose to her feet, "you are the only one who can help Thor now. You must go to the All-Father and convince him to change his mind!"
"And if I do, what then?" Loki replied. He rose to his feet to meet Lady Sif so that she did not tower over him. Vyperia's eyes followed him. "I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you know what he is. He's arrogant. He's reckless. He's dangerous. You saw how he was today. Is that what Asgard needs from his king?"
The others exchanged glances, torn. Loki had a point. He left the room without another word. Hogun stared at him. Vyperia lowered her gaze from Loki's retreating back and closed her eyes.
"He may speak for the good of Asgard," Lady Sif said quietly. "But Loki has always been jealous of Thor."
"We should be grateful to him," Volstagg sighed. "He saved our lives."
Vyperia sighed.
"He may be jealous of his brother," she said through calm words, "but he certainly knows what he is talking about. Thor took us into Jotunheim knowing that the Jotuns would fight. He went in there searching for war. We shouldn't have let him go—or we should have let him go alone."
"Why did you go if you disagreed so much?" Lady Sif retorted, obviously nerve-stricken by Vyperia's words.
"I didn't do it for him," Vyperia said irritably, though her voice was still tranquil. Her expression, though, could cut through glass. "I left because Loki asked me to. If it hadn't been for that, I would have stayed. And I would have gone to the All-Father as well."
"Laufey said that there were traitors in the house of Odin," Hogun uttered.
They turned to the usually quiet Hogun.
Vyperia's face contorted to one of self-righteousness.
"Why is it," Fandral sighed in simmering irritation, "that every time you choose to speak, it has to be something dark and ominous?"
"A master—a true master," Hogun continued, "could easily bring three Jotuns into Asgard."
Understanding swept through the faces of the Warriors Three. Lady Sif went through the motions of confusion and soft denial. Vyperia, though, already knew of this and instantly shook her head.
"That is a terrible thing to say," she hissed.
"Oh, I agree with her!" Volstagg chimed, shaking his head. "Surely not!"
"Loki has always been one for mischief, my friends," Fandral installed swiftly, "but you're talking about something else entirely."
"Who else could elude Heimdall's gaze with tricks of light and shadow?" demanded Sif, for logic's sake.
"The ceremony was interrupted just before Thor was named king," Volstagg muttered.
Vyperia rose to her feet, no longer in desire to hear much more.
"Where are you going, Vyperia?" asked Lady Sif competitively.
"I'm done hearing about this."
"Vyperia, we must go to Odin about this!" Sif called after her.
She had already started to walk away. When Sif said this, Vyperia turned on her heel and walked toward her, anger instilled on her usual cheerful face.
"What you four are suggesting," she whispered, "is that Loki is a traitor to the crown. He is Odinson, and you want to fight him on that? Who do you think that the All-Father will believe, Sif? Volstagg? Hogun? Fandral?"
"You defend him so strongly because he is your lover, Vyperia," Fandral said with compassionate understanding. "It is all right to feel upset about this."
Vyperia had no response to that. Instead she trailed after Loki out of the room.
She found Loki striding down a silent corridor.
"Loki."
Her voice was quiet.
Loki stopped in his trail and turned to look at her. He waited until she was standing in front of him.
"Loki, we have to talk..."
"Later."
"No...now," she said tenderly.
Loki stared at her.
"What?"
"Not here," Vyperia replied. Loki glanced at her hands, which wrung together nervously. She licked her lips uncertainly. "I know where you are going. I know what you are about to do."
"And what am I doing?" Loki challenged.
She sighed shakily.
"Please, just let me talk to you...before you go to the Casket of Ancient Winters...and see for yourself..."
As if she had read his mind, Loki's eyes widened at her statement. He hesitated.
"Fine."
He grabbed her hand and they walked to the closest, abandoned room.
Vyperia closed the door behind her.