This is set before the first Thor movie.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All Characters go to their respective owners, the chapter and fic title to Nightwish.

Story title: From Astral Romance - Nightwish

Chapter Title: From Nightquest - Nightwish

Chapter Six: For in this war laws are in silent sleep

Loki accompanied Brynhild to the hall where everything was prepared already. Of course, he was not entirely himself. He wore the clothes of Brynhild's guards, a heavy helmet covering his face. He could have transformed again, but who knew when he would have to use his magic, and the exhaustion of a transformation was just too much of a risk. If no one looked closer, he could well pass as a female.

Hogni and Gunnar appeared; Sigurd was nowhere to be seen. But Loki could sense the magic from the Tarnhelm. Sigurd was here, was invisible. Was close to Gunnar.

Brynhild did not show she knew what game was played, but she did not bother with the niceties either. She walked down from the throne, touched the king's arm as he said loud and clearly, "I hereby ask you, Brynhild, to be my wife." There was a golden light emerging from their arms that soon faded again. Brynhild nodded.

She walked over to the spear and picked it up. Loki, who had seen how four women had to carry it, was impressed to how light it seemed in Brynhild's delicate hands. Much like Thor with Mjölnir, she seemed to have no trouble throwing the weapon. It flew all the way to the other end of the hall, landing just before the wall.

Gunnar nodded appreciative as he reached for his spear. If the king doubted his plan, his face did not show it. He threw it, and Loki almost fainted as it flew just as far as Brynhild's. No, further. It hit the wall and stuck there.

Brynhild bit her lips; for the first time she had been beaten. When she picked up the boulder, however, she seemed filled with new fight. With a scream, she threw it. It landed with a loud thump. But again, Gunnar's boulder flew further, if only by a few inches.

Brynhild took a deep breath before she charged at the boulder and jumped. Loki flicked his hand quickly; unnoticed to anyone but the Valkyrie, the wind rose and carried the Valkyrie over the boulder and caused her to land far behind it. She smiled knowingly as she turned to face her guards, her eyes finding Loki amidst them.

Now Gunnar, or, Sigurd leaped. Just in that moment, Loki flicked his hand again, changing the direction of the wind so it blew into the man's face. Yet, he landed just behind the Valkyrie.

The women cheered.

But Gunnar fumed, "You betrayed me! Mischief! The wind listens to your commands when it should not! Where is he?"

Brynhild froze, "Who?"

"Thor of course. The son of Odin. He reigns the wind and lightning. He must be here." Gunnar started looking around.

But Hogni stopped him, "My King, the Thunderer is a large man. He cannot hide himself here, and we would have heard Mjölnir. Thor is not here; this was not his work. It was, as you said… Mischief."

Loki suddenly felt a hard punch to his back and stumbled forward. Sigurd, he had forgotten about Sigurd. Loki landed hard on his knees, drawing the attention of all people present to himself. He sighed deeply and got up, taking off the helmet and willing his own clothes back on. "I am Loki of Asgard, Son of Odin. My brother is not here."

Gunnar stomped towards him, "You! You ruined my jump!"

But Hogni held him back, "My king, please." Then he turned to Loki, "I am Hogni of Tronje, King Gunnar's feudatory. You have insulted my king's honour. I hereby challenge you to a fight, God of Mischief."

Loki shook his head, "I do not fight mortals, Hogni of Tronje. And if you want to start talking about insulting a king or queen, we might as well bring in the Dragonslayer and the Tarnhelm, don't you think?"

With a roar, Sigurd charged at him from behind, but Loki, having grown up with a man who strangely enough reminded him a lot of Sigurd, waited till the last second and stepped out of the Dragonslayer's way so that Sigurd fell to the floor. He got up to try a second time, but again Hogni stopped him. "Enough, Sigurd. The God of Mischief is not beaten by strength and force alone."

Brynhild stepped up, "All of you, stop. There will be no bloodshed in this halls. Gunnar, you have deceived me. As it is, Sigurd has fought the battle for you, so you cannot claim me. And Sigurd lost the last battle…"

"Through magic!" Gunnar exclaimed.

But Brynhild waved him silent, "You cannot prove this incrimination, Gunnar. But as it is, you have not won, so I am not going to be your queen." Her arm was once again bathed in a golden light. "But since you have not fought, I cannot kill you. You and your men may leave this island."

"Why is he here?" Gunnar pointed at Loki. Loki had to smile as Hogni and Sigurd both rolled their eyes.

Brynhild tilted her head, "As I have said, I am not your wife, so I owe you no explanation as to why Loki is a guest in my house. And I urge you to leave as my guards will not take it lightly if you do not follow an order of their queen…" As on command, the woman all readied their weapons; spears, swords, arrows, and even Loki's hand went to his concealed dagger.

But again Hogni stepped in between, "My Queen, we will accept this gracious offer. However, we ask you one more favour. I am from the North, as you are, and I am sure just as me you can sense that it is going to be a rough night on the sea. If we could stay here until the sea calms down again, we would be forever most grateful." He lowered his head.

Brynhild looked outside, "You are right, Hogni of Tronje. It will be a rough day and night. Of course you may stay. Please do however stay in your quarters. I will put guards in front of your rooms. Please leave now."

"Thank you, my Queen." Hogni said, and waved at Sigurd and Gunnar to leave with him. Gunnar gave Loki a look that promised pain, but left with no other words. Brynhild's guards all followed them, leaving Loki and the Valkyrie alone.

Loki said, "I am not happy with them staying here."

"Neither am I." Brynhild admitted. "But I cannot send them away like this. Unfortunately, being a Queen requires diplomatic decisions every now and then. But do not worry. My guards will make sure they don't leave their room." She turned to him, finally. "You made this happen. You saved me."

Loki actually blushed, "We all swore an oath to be at your service should the need arise, I even more than the others. It was my duty to help a friend of mine."

"I am most grateful, Loki." She reached out for his hand. "Stay with me tonight. I don't want to lose you so soon again when you travel back to Asgard. Stay at least for one more night."

Loki took her hand in his and raised it so he could place his lips to her wrist, "Why would I leave so soon when I only remember too well the delicacies of this country. Not to mention the delicious food you serve at the banquets." He smirked.

She laughed, "Oh, Trickster, you have a way with words." She moved closer and kissed his lips. "I want you to lie with me. Just you, and me in your arms."

"Your virtue…"

She shook her head, "I am not talking about this, Loki. I need my strength if I want to kill every man until I can marry you. But that does not mean we cannot share a bed and hold each other."

Loki nodded, "Of course we can. And I will enjoy it more than I would enjoy stealing your virtue… Well... just as much, maybe." He added with another smirk as he cupped her face to kiss her.

She fell asleep in his arms. Loki knew how honoured he should feel that Brynhild, who despised sleep, actually had enough trust to sleep in his arms.

He however did not sleep.

In fact, he was wide awake, the events of this passed day not giving him the peace of mind he needed to fall asleep. He had protected her, and it made him feel proud that he had been able to do so. But he knew the danger was still present for as long as Hogni stayed under this roof. Loki did not fear Gunnar's wrath. What could this weakling do other than try and slay him? And really, that was not something Loki feared. A mortal would always lose against a God.

Even Sigurd and his strength did not scare Loki, for the very same reason. Sigurd was strong and a skilled fighter, but Loki knew better than to be afraid of mindless violence. Given that Sigurd had the Tarnhelm, but Loki had his magic, and he was not afraid to use it if it meant killing the Dragonslayer. There was a rumour that Sigurd was not entirely invulnerable, that some part of his body had not been touched by Fafnir's blood. Loki did not know whether it was true, so he did not want to rely on that, but sure as hell it could mean that Sigurd could be beaten, and killed. Loki did not enjoy killing people, that was more Thor's idea of a good time, but he would not hesitate to do so should he find that one weak spot, if it even existed. In fact, Loki would use every means available to him to kill Sigurd. Sigurd, for all his strength and good luck, was not a match to the God of Mischief.

But Hogni… Hogni was different. Loki could see the intelligence and wit of that man in his brown eye. And he was sure Hogni would not let the insult against his king pass. And as long as he was here, Brynhild was not safe. Well, not entirely safe, she surely could defend herself. He had to remind himself she was not as vulnerable as some women on Asgard. But Hogni was still dangerous. And if he struck, in whatever way, Loki wanted to be prepared. Because Hogni was probably just as strong as Sigurd, but combined with his intelligence he was a more than worthy opponent. And the fact that he had asked this one favour of Brynhild suggested he did not yet see the fight for the Brynhild lost for his king.

And that set Loki on edge. Wrath and violence, he could beat. But he knew from experience that intelligence was a much more powerful weapon than a sword or an axe. And he did not know Hogni enough to guess what the man's plan was. What would he do, what lengths would he go, to ensure his king got what he wanted? Or, was he right now trying to convince Gunnar to just forget about wedding the Valkyrie and go home? What would it mean for Sigurd, then? Sigurd could not marry Gudrun unless the king was married; it was just the same with Loki and Thor. The king had to marry first, only then could the sibling get married. If Brynhild was the only one Gunnar considered having as his wife, Sigurd would urge Gunnar to do something so he could marry Gudrun. Hogni was probably not interested in either marriage, but in the strength of Burgundy. And it could never hurt to have the Dragonslayer and the Valkyrie on the side of Burgundy.

No, Hogni would not leave until Brynhild was Gunnar's.

But what would he do?