Silver and Scales
A/N: I have been reviewing my chapters in the last two days, and I have planned a sequel for Vyperia and Loki. It will be in The Avengers slot if you try to search for it in the Movies tab; that's the next movie that it will take place. Thank you for the reviews; if you are pleased with how the progression of the story, let me know how I can make this even better. This is my first fanfic with Loki, so I'm trying to keep in character the best that I can. Let me know in your reviews. I'll let you get back to your reading! Enjoy
Chapter Thirty: Loki Laufeyson
Loki and Vyperia arrived at Heimdall's Observatory.
The sentry looked upon the king and queen with the gaze of immediate suspicion, though he said not a word as they came forward. Vyperia met his other-worldly, penetrating stare. Heimdall looked between Loki and Vyperia then made a respectful bow, though he did not move from his guard.
"Jotunheim," Heimdall said with careful delay, "will not welcome two Asgardians whom both accompanied the son of Odin who destroyed half of its kingdom."
"Jotunheim has no quarrel with Asgard, not yet," Loki told him sternly.
"We intend to make right with Laufey and his gargantuan brothers," Vyperia added, indicating the closed Bifrost with her hand. "Thor has done irreparable damage; he has broken the truce between Asgard and Jotunheim. It is in my King's right to make amends."
"Your forked tongue cannot best me," Heimdall retorted.
Vyperia stared at him, insulted. Her cheeks reddened with familiar crimson.
Loki glanced at her with a small smile as her eyes narrowed at the Asgardian sentry. Heimdall's hands closed tightly upon the sword in his grasp.
"Know your place," she said, clearly agitated. "You have wondrous power, Heimdall, but you are still a soldier; and I am placed above you."
He bowed his head, for he knew that he had spoken out of turn.
Loki gathered Vyperia's arm into his hand and led her in front of Heimdall.
"Open the Bifrost." Loki ordered.
"Sir, I must advise against—"
"Do as you are told," Loki snapped.
Heimdall bowed his head once more. He took his greatsword in two hands and inserted the blade into the deep mechanism. As expected, the oval-shaped, golden doors turned and switched; the portal that led to Jotunheim steadied along the wall and then opened to reveal a spasm of color and light, whirring in a nauseating circular motion.
"I await your call, Your Majesties," Heimdall told them courteously.
"As you should," remarked Vyperia arrogantly, glancing at him.
Upon that statement, bereft of all kindness, the portal latched upon Loki and Vyperia and pulled them forward into the light. When they landed, they were surrounded by a sea of snow and ice.
Loki glanced at Vyperia. Her breathing quickened.
She didn't like being here.
Light frost had already started to creep along her armor. Loki saw the steam on her breath as she looked around apprehensively. Vyperia's scoured the entire area. He had seen that fear in her eyes every so often; notably, it had been on her face twice in the last week. Once, Vyperia had been terrified during the skirmish with Thor and Laufey; the second time had been during the argument that had taken place after Vyperia had told him about his true parentage.
"They hide," said Vyperia, her voice shaken from the cold.
Vyperia turned to meet Loki's calm face.
"We came here for a reason, pet."
His bare hand took her gloved fingers tightly in a consoling grip. She looked down at the small gesture and smiled, though the pain of fright still glowed in her face as she looked forward to stare at the darkest shadows of Jotunheim.
"This place reeks of death," Vyperia muttered somberly. "Laufey and his men had to bury their dead after we left."
"What makes you so certain that they did?" remarked Loki as they started to trudge through the snow.
"They mourn for their lost loved ones, too, Darling," Vyperia replied without looking at him.
"Is this new love for the Frost Giants?" he asked cynically.
"I don't speak out of my place, Loki; but I thought that you might have felt a little closer to them seeing as you are one," said Vyperia calmly.
"They abandoned me when I was a child, Vyperia," Loki said indifferently. "Would you feel any closer to them after knowing that?"
"You are right," she sighed.
They walked together in silence, nearing Laufey's icy temple.
The icy surface of the planet looked haunted, daunting, and more frightening than it had been the last that they had stepped foot onto the snowy terrain. It was as if the sun had neglected the planet and favored the high hills of Midgard and the glowing buildings of Asgard. Warmth was forever absent, and it seemed to have been negated in the hearts of the Frost Giants as well.
"We're almost there," Loki told Vyperia gently. "Not too far now…"
Vyperia felt fear cling to her stomach's relief; tension built up in the tightest corners of her belly. She squeezed his fingers that held her hand. He glanced down at her clenched fist, noting just how frightened she must have felt—though she was trying her best not to show it. Vyperia bit her bottom lip as she steadily grew nervous.
Darkness shrouded the ruined temple. Laufey's home suffered repercussions from Thor's reckless abandonment. Loki guided her into the damaged home by her home. He heard her breath hitch upon arrival as Loki and Vyperia looked around them to see that Frost Giants were scattered here and there—everywhere—standing eight feet tall, all bearing menacing red eyes that peered out from their beautiful, blue skin.
Vyperia uttered a small, petrified cry as the Frost Giants, upon seeing their new arrivals, surrounded the Asgardian Majesties. The Jotuns' bodies blocked the exit. Vyperia stepped behind Loki as she sought the eyes of King Laufey, who sat on his throne, peering straight back at her. Loki moved his head to see Vyperia hide behind his back, frozen on the spot.
The Frost Giants moved and looked at one another in recognition, noting the fear that was ever present on Vyperia's face.
"Tell me," Laufey's deep, rolling voice thundered in the empty silence of the cave, "why I shouldn't kill you."
"I've come unarmed," said Loki bravely.
"But not alone," objected Laufey as he peered at the frightened eyes of Vyperia.
"We smelled that Snake from the moment you came here, Asgardian," Laufey's icy voice drawled. "We never forget a face. You say, Odinson, that you have come here unarmed; but to what end? Here to gallivant your strength upon my brothers? Are you here to claim what isn't rightfully yours? Shall I prepare a feast for my enemies? You've come a long way to die."
Loki smirked at him.
"I've come to make you another proposition."
"Ahhh." Laufey's voice crackled in realization. "So you're the one who let us into Asgard."
"You're welcome," Loki retorted sardonically.
"My men," said Laufey disdainfully, "are dead, and I have no casket."
Vyperia turned to see the Frost Giant encircle she and Loki.
"Darling…" she whispered fearfully.
Loki glanced at her and noted the cause of her small cry. The Jotuns closed in a few more inches.
"You," Laufey continued darkly, "are a deceiver."
Vyperia squealed in terror as Laufey lashed out and grabbed Loki by the throat. Vyperia's hands covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. The Frost Giants circled her, towering over her. She had never felt so small in her entire life.
Loki calmly stood his ground.
"You have no idea what I am."
Vyperia saw Loki's visage through the circle of Jotun arms to see that the blueness on Loki's throat clouded the rest of his face. Laufey and his guards stared in shock at Loki, whose eyes slowly turned crimson red. Loki grinned.
"Hello, Father," he said darkly.
Laufey released him. As soon as his hand left Loki's throat, the Asgardian prince returned to his normal color. Intrigued, Laufey sized up his abandoned son. While Laufey was momentarily rendered speechless, Loki looked at him sternly.
"Since we are honoring the niceties of diplomacy, I would appreciate it," Loki said strictly, "if your men stepped away from Vyperia."
Laufey looked over Loki's shoulder to see that his brothers gravely encircled the woman who had accompanied him. He gestured for them to separate. Vyperia stepped forward. Loki glanced at her to see if she was all right.
Her face had gone extremely pale.
"The Snake is your comrade," said Laufey indifferently.
"Queen," Loki corrected him.
"Ahhh…" Laufey registered with a gnarly smirk. "The bastard son lives. I thought that Odin had killed you. That's what I would have done. He's weak as you are."
"No longer weak," Loki stated seriously. "I now rule Asgard, until Odin awakens. Perhaps you should not have so carelessly abandoned me."
Laufey paused.
"Or perhaps it was the wisest choice that I have ever made."
Vyperia's color returned to her face, hardened and rejuvenated by Laufey's heartless and political remark.
"You should never have abandoned your own offspring," she said coldly.
Laufey looked at Loki momentarily, as if to see if Loki would stop his wife from speaking her mind. When Loki made no motion to do so, Laufey turned his red gaze to Vyperia.
"Who are you to dictate what my people do, when you cannot control your own?" he said dangerously.
Vyperia said nothing to this, only to know that he had a fair point. Laufey turned his eyes to Loki.
"I will hear you."
Loki smiled.
"I will conceal you and a handful of your soldiers, lead you into Odin's chambers, and you can slay him where he lies," Loki said smoothly. "I'll keep the throne, and I will return the Casket to you; then you can return Jotunheim to its former…glory."
"Why would you do this?" asked Laufey. "The Casket of Ancient Winters has been captive in your armory for the last millennia. Your people have languished with the idea that it was in your corrupted form of justice that you would rightfully take what is ours."
"It was Odin's corrupted justice." Vyperia stated defiantly.
Loki glanced at her. Vyperia's hand left his; Laufey looked upon her with some amusement. Even as she shuddered from the icy cold and her breath was frosted and steaming from her tempered heat, the look upon her face was sanctimonious anger.
"Why does your queen speak with such raw passion, Loki Laufeyson?" said Laufey.
"She is one of the goddesses in Asgard who care for such things," Loki retorted.
"I'm the Goddess of Guardianship," said Vyperia self-righteously. "It was I who wanted the All-Father to return the Casket to you, to allow your men to return Jotunheim to its state as it once was. Odin did nothing. It is yours, but you intended to use it to turn Midgard into another Ice Age."
"Yggdrasil does not bow to one Realm." Laufey returned steadily. "Each Realm has its purposes. Our home was ripped apart by the All-Father's soldiers, barely bereft of its original founding grandchildren. Your kind destroyed the lives of our loved ones."
Vyperia's eyes pierced his as he spoke so diligently, calm and collected.
"It is like the Asgardians to take what is not theirs. Odin did the same thing when he entered the Svartalfheim and wiped away Malekith's kingdom. How many lives were taken that day, when Odin wiped the race of the Dark Elves? How many years had to pass before they received justice? Did they ever?
"We crave the same for our kingdom as they did for theirs. Vengeance may not be in your precious vocabulary, Goddess of Guardianship; but Odin knew what he was doing when he tore through our ranks and took our Casket. Odin's boy would have killed us all with his bare hands.
"You walk into Jotunheim once more and ask for a truce? Why should we trust your words when the last Asgardian prince stepped forward and annihilated half my settlement? Your king—"
"But he is not king," Vyperia interrupted him pretentiously.
Laufey stared at her, studying Vyperia's vibrant gaze. Her serpent powers were as lethal as her tongue; yet he listened to her rebuttal. She obviously understood the damage that Odin had done a thousand years ago, and what pain had been put on the other Realms that had faced war with Asgard.
Her eyes were lit with renewed vigor. Any fear that had rested in her mind was expelled as Vyperia had listened to Laufey's testimony about Odin. Laufey didn't need to explain his doubt; she cradled the same disrespect for the All-Father as he did.
"Thor is exiled," Vyperia denoted with vitality. "His father cast him out; Thor was reckless, dangerous, and arrogant; we should have never had let him come to your kingdom. That was our fault," she added with a slight nod.
Loki's eyes watched her with interest and noted admiration. She was candid, polite, and potent with passion. She related to Laufey more than the king of Jotunheim realized. However, as she proclaimed with fierce heartiness about the flaws that the Asgardians had about allowing Thor into Jotunheim, Loki knew that she was appealing to Laufey's indignation and vital pain that Odin had caused him a thousand years ago.
"Why do you empathize with those whom would slaughter where you stand, Queen of Asgard?" Laufey drawled. "If you understand such a range of diplomacy, why, after all these years, stand up against the All-Father to proclaim such vivacity and spirit about right and wrong?"
"I know the pain that Odin caused you and your people," said Vyperia. "I know the anger that tempers your being. I know it,for I felt it when it happened. It is in Odin's nature to think that he is in the right; but he is wrong often. It was Odin who wanted to wait years and years later to tell my king of Loki's true parentage."
Loki glanced at her as she brought the subject up; Laufey looked at Vyperia and Loki. She ignored the lightest of intensity from Loki's gaze.
"I will never approve of what you did," said Vyperia, glaring at Laufey. "It's fair enough to say that Odin All-Father is not in my good graces, and I have no guilt whatsoever to see him die a glorious death."
Laufey and Vyperia exchanged penetrating gazes.
Loki smiled at Vyperia as she stood her ground.
"Your king," said Laufey slowly, turning his attention to Loki, "showed my men the way into Asgard on Thor Odinson's coronation. If you should do this to your own kin, why should I put my trust into a god who would betray his neighbors?"
"When all is done," Loki answered serenely, "we will have a permanent peace between our two worlds. When Odin is dead, I will return the Casket, which is what Odin has taken from you. And I will have my seat on a throne, which is what you took from me."
"What more is there for you than just a seat upon a throne?" Laufey demanded suspiciously. "The God of Mischief does not 'break even'."
"I, the bastard son, will have accomplished what Odin and Thor never could."
"This is a great day for Jotunheim. Asgard is finally ours."
"No, Asgard is mine," Loki corrected him imprudently. "The rest of the Nine Realms will be yours, if you do as you're told. My queen and I will not interfere in your litigations should you choose to partake in the other Realms, as long as your brothers stay away from Asgard."
"I assume that, as you keep her so close, that your queen also has some reward in this bargain?" Laufey remarked.
"Vyperia's place as queen is conditional upon Odin's sleep."
"And I have no intention of giving it back," Vyperia said blatantly.
Loki smirked at her as she stated this is so audaciously. The fierce promise in her voice was almost violent.
Laufey considered the proposition.
"I accept."
Loki took Vyperia's hand and turned to leave. She glanced at him as they walked; the slightest trace of a smile crossed his face.
The Frost Giants separated as they permitted the Asgardian gods to exit through the ruined doors, unharmed.
As they stepped out onto the icy tundra, Vyperia exhaled in relief. They crossed the snowy terrain to step onto the rune where they had been transported earlier.
"Heimdall!" Vyperia's voice shrieked to the heavens. "Whenever you are ready!"
Not a minute after her call, a burst of light came forth from the sky and snatched her and Loki from the surface.
They zipped through the waves of color and light to land back into the warmth and solidity of the Observatory. Vyperia uttered a noise of sickness and swayed on the spot; she leaned against the solid wall and massaged her stomach through the leather chest plate, attempting to calm the wave of nausea that hit her.
Vyperia looked up to see Loki and Heimdall glaring at one another. She straightened as she peered at the wholesome gaze on the sentry's face. It was one that could bite if it had teeth; distrust and simmering offense penetrated the beautiful golden yellows of Heimdall's eyes. Loki cocked his head to the side.
Heimdall stepped away from his controls.
"What troubles you, Gatekeeper?"
"I turned my gaze upon you in Jotunheim," answered Heimdall, "but I could neither see nor hear you. You were shrouded from me, like the Frost Giants who had entered this Realm."
"Perhaps," suggested Loki icily, stepping forward slowly, "your senses have weakened after many years of service."
"Or," Heimdall stated with aroused misgiving on his voice, "perhaps someone has found a way to hide that which he does not wish me to see."
Vyperia bit the inside of her cheek.
Loki sized up Heimdall momentarily then smiled. He interlocked his fingers with thought.
"You have great power, Heimdall. Tell me: did Odin ever fear you?"
"No," answered Heimdall.
"And why is that?" Loki questioned routinely.
"Because he is my king; and I am sworn to obey him."
"Exactly," Loki said. His smile disappeared to replace a frown of skeptic disdain. "He was your king. You are sworn to obey me now. Yes?"
Heimdall met Loki's piercing gaze. A frown furrowed on the Gatekeeper's lips with obvious dislike. After a long minute, he said through distorted courtesy,
"Yes."
Loki unclasped his hands.
"Good. Then you will open the Bifrost to no one until I have fixed the damage that my brother has done."
He motioned for Vyperia to follow him.
"I'll be along shortly, Darling," she called to him.
Loki halted mid-step to turn to look at her.
Heimdall stared at Vyperia.
"I'll be along, Darling," she reassured him vaguely.
Loki's eyes switched between Heimdall and Vyperia briefly. He merely nodded his acknowledgment to her then turned on his heel to walk out of the Observatory. Vyperia folded her arms across her chest.
"Do you suspect my husband of treachery?"
He didn't answer.
"Speak freely, Gatekeeper," Vyperia ordered.
"I do not see what the other women of Asgard spy in you, Your Highness." Heimdall's low voice informed her dutifully. "As a goddess, you have performed miraculous feats in your profession—saved thousands of lives in the course of the wars that happen upon Midgard. What you want is purpose. You can have that under the rule of another god."
Vyperia narrowed her eyes and asked,
"And, dear Heimdall, what if my purpose is to stand by my King's side when he needs me the most? Why not elaborate my duties in priority, as you see and hear all?"
"It is your duty to look after the lives of all whose creation was made," Heimdall told her plainly. "You are the mother of all who was given life and which is taken away; do you know it deep down that several lives hang in the balance of your loyalty to Asgard and to Loki?"
"My loyalty is to both, for I love both Asgard and Loki," Vyperia remarked.
"Do you love the lives of the Frost Giants as well?"
"You tread on thin ice, Heimdall," warned Vyperia. "I intend to hear you out because it is in my nature to be forgiving and curious. As queen, it should be my duty to understand the concerns of those around me; but you're making it very difficult to remain unbiased."
"Your Majesty, I believe that you may enjoy the throne too much to remain unbiased."
Vyperia raised an eyebrow, surprised at his blunt confession.
"You were at first kind and lenient to those around you," Heimdall perceived. "Always the gentle spirit in Thor's band of companions, have you been. Now as the circle weaves tighter, I can tell that your gentleness has hardened into arrogance."
"I am arrogant, Heimdall?"
"You are not the formidable beauty that once you were known to me, Vyperia," said Heimdall passively. "Your care and your love have been tainted by the power that comes with ruling."
"How so, Gatekeeper?"
"Never have you ever told me to know my place," Heimdall informed her. "We have never spoken so candidly; but there has always been a known respect between us. That has changed. You have changed, and in the worst way possible."
"I am your queen, and I have changed," said Vyperia firmly. "My loyalty lies with Loki, as yours should now."
With that in the air, Vyperia turned on her heel and strode after Loki.
Heimdall watched her retreating back, and he shook his head slowly; he turned his gaze to other Realms in silent contemplation.