There was screaming. A man was screaming. It came from the royal bedchambers. It was followed by shouting and then more screaming. This time, a woman. There was blood. So much blood. A rush of guards came. Two bodies were carried out. One was missing its head.
"My prince! Please let me tend to you!" Lady Eir begged.
"Tend to my husband!" Loki snarled at her. She blanched. The poison in the sheets was a potent one, absorbed through the skin. Judging from the King Regent's backside, he'd gotten the brunt of it.
"Your husband is dead my prince. I am sorry, but he absorbed too much of the poison." She said. Thor's skin was milky blue and his eyes were wide open. Loki stood there, left hand balled into a fist and back rod straight. He swallowed and his Adam's apple bobbed as sweat dripped down his face. The sun was rising in the east.
"Awaken my mother. I need her to plan the funeral for me. I have business to address." Loki said.
"But my prince! Your wounds!" The healer called after him, but he did not listen. Loki strode back to his room as the palace guards flanked him to offer additional protection. They'd failed the royal family.
Servants had swarmed the room to clean up the mess. One servant, of course, was absent. Brain matter and bits of skull radiated out from the striking point on the floor. Loki had done it. The servants all looked sad for their prince and he could hear them muttering Kelda's name under their breaths, cursing her for eternity. Loki went to the bath to wash off the remaining poison on his skin and prepare himself for court. Those sheets had been given to Kelda, that much he knew.
Loki took his time showering, to think about who wanted to hurt him and why. Both he and Thor had been the target. What would the assassin do now knowing Loki had survived? With the Allfather still asleep, a coup was coming. He could feel it. Now, more than ever, he needed to show strength. He dressed in his most menacing outfit and when he left the lavatory he laid eyes on a new servant girl.
"You there. Follow me." Loki ordered. The girl did not speak but followed her prince as ordered. Someone else was also following Loki. An invisible man. Cloaked in magic he shadowed the pair all the way to the throne room. Word of the assassination had spread quickly and the nobles were already trickling into court. Soldiers were everywhere. Loki sat upon his father's throne, in power for the first time. Loki relished the feel of it beneath his bottom. His fingers curled around the hilt of the armrest. A smile curled his lips.
"My prince! The General would like…" The Court Herald began.
"King! I am King. Now. What do you want?" Loki asked. The Court Herald blanched as a frown spread across his face.
"The Allfather has not yet passed." He said.
"He is henceforth retired, and my husband is dead. You can bring your urgent matter to me." Loki said. Another moment of silence passed. "Speak!"
"General Gundirth would like a word my King."
"Oh, I'm sure he has several words for me. He can go last." Loki said.
"My King?"
"Did I stutter? Do as I command or I'll have you tossed into the dungeons."
"The night's watch is up then."
"Very well." Loki said.
"The King calls upon the night's watch to report." The Court Herald announced. The Captain of the Guard stepped forward, looking grim.
"Report." Loki ordered.
"My men saw nothing last night to indicate foul play my King. Only one strange occurrence in the palace stables. Two horses were stolen."
"The assassins no doubt making their escape. Gather the men to give chase." Loki ordered.
"I would my King except, I don't think they fled the city." The guard said. Loki raised an eyebrow. "We found the head of one of the horses not far from the palace. We surmise that some thief stole the animals to butcher and sell for meat."
"Given what occurred last night I doubt that very much. I still want a search party to find the rider. Now go." Loki said. "What's next on the agenda?"
"My King, the people would very much like for you to address what happened last night." The Court Herald said.
"I bet they would. Who's next?"
"General Gundirth Sire, no one else has asked to speak."
"So be it." Loki said. The servant that followed him from his chambers presented Loki a chalice filled with wine, which Loki snatched and slurped down.
"My King, on behalf of the Einherjar and the people of Asgard please except my apology for our failure." The General knelt before Loki. Far from looking aggrieved or contrite, he looked to be merely followed expected protocol. Nothing more.
"Mmm, tempted but…no."
"My King?"
"You must be so disappointed about my husband's death. Now that I'm single, you're free to pursue me again."
"I had nothing to do with this act of treason! I swear it!"
"Such pretty empty words from a pretty empty man. Tell me General, what debauched things would you do to me if given the chance?" Loki asked, rising from his seat and taking slow deliberate steps down the dais.
"You cannot begrudge me for coveting the greatest treasure in the realm. All men do."
"Yes, but few have the resources to snatch it up in a military coup. A man like you. In a position of power. Legions of soldiers loyal to you. Tell me General, just how long do I have before you make your move?"
"I wasn't talking about the throne. Do you not know what you do, what you are to those that are constantly in your presence? You are the nightingale, the siren, and goddess divine." The General said.
"Ah yes, and once I've learned my place as your Omega, the people will look to you for guidance? You would rule and I would be your submissive little bitch?"
"You say that as though your marriage were no different." Gundirth said.
"It was different. Far more than you can know." Loki said. "SEIZE HIM!" Einherjar surrounded the General and the man was led away in chains to the dungeon. The floor of the throne room seemed made of eggshells and the air of gunpowder.
"I hereby declare Asgard to be in a state of mourning. Court is adjourned." Loki said and then fled to his chambers, though he was still not alone. The servant girl followed him, along with the invisible shadow, trailing in their wake.
"Get out." Loki barked at the three women scrubbing the blood stain out of the fur rug next to the fireplace. They picked up the large hid and took it with them, shutting and locking the door behind them. Loki turned to the servant girl and muttered a charm to change her face.
"Did you find him?" Loki asked.
"No. He wasn't in the crowd." Kelda said.
"Thor what did you see?" Loki asked.
"Can you take the charm off first? Not being able to see my own hand in front of my face is no longer novel or fun."
"Of course." Loki said. He muttered another charm and Thor appeared out of thin air. Thor touched his body and sighed in relief. He knew he looked stupid but he didn't care.
"You don't think the healers will figure out that dead body is really a horse?" Thor asked.
"Not so long as the funeral is swift. The charm lasts a maximum of three days. The boat will burn by this evening. What did you hear?"
"Much what we suspected, and some that we didn't. People are expecting a civil war. There seemed to be a consensus among the crowd that Asgard's army is about to turn against the crown. There were also some mutterings about Asgard's Navy as well."
"Admiral Aegeal. He's very old, older than my father. But his son Aegir is in line to replace him."
"Aegir, I remember him. He beat me in a wrestling match. I don't see how the Navy could be a threat. The ocean is far off and the river doesn't run close to the palace."
"Hard to say, since you were eavesdropping on rumors. It could be nothing, or everything."
"What happens now?" Kelda asked.
"By putting Gundirth in the dungeons, we force his hand. Those loyal to him must now act or abandon him. Or, if there is a co-conspirator, they would use this to eliminate Gundirth and rally the army around them. Either way, battle is imminent."
"What can I do?" Kelda asked. Loki smiled at her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"You, my dear get to go home." Loki said.
"My prince?"
"Look into the mirror Kelda at your face. You will never look upon it again. I am going to give you a new one and it will be permanent." Loki walked over to a bureau and opened up a drawer to pull out a heavy purse. "This contains enough gold to keep you comfortable in a nice cottage in the country for the rest of your days. For your service to the crown, I thank you. You are pardoned Kelda. Thor will take you far from here to a quiet place where you may start over."
"Don't stamp out the revolution until I get back." Thor said.
"Don't worry. These sort of things like to start under the cover of darkness." Loki said.