Caution: Dark Themes
The envoy wheedled his way into staying in Asgard for Frigga's birthday feast and Maryn and Loki took the opportunity to make sure he saw them together as much as possible. The idea of an act soon became lost as the newlywed couple forgot about him and enjoyed their time together. They sat close, whispering and laughing together, as well as finding moments to slip into dark corners and kiss, or dance together, enjoying feasts and celebrations with their friends.
Frigga's birthday celebration was an amazing sight to behold. Odin had the hall decorated in blue and grey and a sumptuous feast was served that left the tables almost groaning with the weight of the food.
Maryn chose a one shouldered gown of cream silk, overlaid with chiffon in the same colour, edged in silver embroidery at the hem and over the shoulder. The chiffon then flowed down to create a loose sleeve on her right arm and a belt of silver filigree was at her waist. She wore Loki's pendant as well as a chain with small silver flowers decorating it at her throat. A cuff of gold, silver and diamonds was wrapped around her left wrist and her wedding rind glinted on her finger.
Maryn stood with Tora in a moment where Loki was talking and laughing with his brother and their friends while she spoke with the lady at her side. "Brant seems overly protective of late. He has barely left your side unless it is to fetch you a plate of food or glass of fruit juice."
Tora seemed to glow when she smiled at Maryn's words, "He has reason to look after me so; I am with child."
For a moment Maryn blinked silently in shock before she laughed, throwing her arms around the woman that was as a sister to her, "Oh, I am so pleased to hear it, Tora!" She pulled away and looked at the redhead, "When will we be welcoming the child into the world?"
Tora rested a delicate hand on her stomach, "The physicians say I will give birth a few weeks before the moon celebrations."
Maryn couldn't help but hug her friend again, joy making her want to giggle like a child, "This is wonderful, Tora. I can imagine you holding a baby who has your eyes and Brant's chin."
The handmaiden grinned mischievously, "Personally, I would prefer if he or she had my ears." The two women laughed together.
Brant, completely oblivious to the teasing he had just been the subject of, appeared with a full goblet of fruit juice for Tora and watched with a confused smile as the two Mithrosians burst once more into a fit of giggles at the sight of him.
When large hands settled on her hips, Maryn leaned back into Loki's chest, knowing instinctively that he was the one behind her. "The jest must good if it has reduced my sensible wife to giggling like a maiden."
Maryn pretended to be affronted by his words and smacked his hand lightly, "And how am I sensible? It sounds quite dull."
Loki grinned and dipped his head so that he could murmur in her ear, "Dull it is not, my love, if our morning in our bathing pool is any indication."
Mortified, Maryn elbowed him in the ribs and, ignoring her crimson cheeks, she turned to Tora and Brant with an overly bright smile. The other couple had the decency to act as if they hadn't heard the prince's comment and continued with the conversation about Tora's pregnancy.
When the celebrations were winding down, Maryn kissed Loki and slipped from the hall to make her way back to their chambers. Tora and Brant had gone to their own rooms an hour before and Loki was in the middle of a battle of wits with Hogun and wouldn't leave until he had won. And so Maryn left for their wing of the palace alone. She had just walked through the door and into the chamber they used to entertain guests when she turned and froze at the sight of Lord Famir, the Mithrosian envoy, standing in the middle of the room.
Panicking slightly she stammered, "Wh-what are you doing in here?"
With a cool smile, the envoy watched her for a moment before answering, "I need to speak to you alone, my queen."
Swallowing hard, Maryn kept her back pressed to the door, her hand tucked behind her clenched tight around a small dagger she had conjured the moment she saw she was not alone. "And what could you possibly have to say to me that I would wish to hear, sir?" she asked the wavering of her voice making her even angrier, knowing that he could tell exactly how scared she was of him.
Lord Famir lifted his hands out to the side, showing her that he had no weapons, but she knew that he had the power of their people and so was never truly defenceless. "I wish to petition you, Queen Maryn. You are the last of your line, and as such, the final hope of our people."
Still not trusting him, Maryn nevertheless motioned to the settee between them, "Please, sit."
He smirked, "You are most kind, Your Majesty, however, I know we have only a few moments before your overly protective husband walks through that door and makes sure I am punished for even entertaining the thought that I could be here with you alone." Maryn pressed her lips together to keep quiet and nodded jerkily, silently telling him to continue but ready in case this was a deception or another assassination attempt. "I am no supporter of Coros or his subsequent government, Your Grace."
Maryn motioned for him to continue but kept her thoughts to herself until he was finished explaining why he was there. "Allow me to see if I understand you," she spoke softly, his words both shocking and amazing. "You came to Asgard under the pretence that you supported Coros and his claim to the throne…my throne. You lied about Coros' promise of my hand in marriage and your need to have the betrothal dissolved on Mithros so that you could speak to me to convince me to go back and annex Mithros to rule it once again. You steal into the private chambers of my husband and I, a place not even my handmaiden can enter without permission, and you expect me to believe this story you have concocted? To what end, may I ask." She glared at him, lifting her chin and keeping her eyes on him hoping Loki would choose any moment to enter and stand at her side. She sensed the power this lord had and it was chilling. He possessed the magic of her people and even she could not easily win a fight against that if it came down to it.
Lord Famir was a handsome man and when he smiled almost knowingly it scared Maryn even more, "There is an army waiting to rise up and follow their true queen and leader the moment you step onto Mithrosian soil once more, Your Grace."
She scoffed and walked to the window to look out at the stars, the dagger still clenched tight in her hand and her senses keeping track of where he stood. "The new government has already sent an assassin to try and kill me and my magic has been cut off from the power of my people. Do you truly think I would believe a word you say after everything I have been through, Lord Famir?"
"No, but I had hoped you would believe the word of a childhood friend, Maryn." She felt the surge of his power and spun on her heel to see that in the place of an older lord of average height with a dark beard and dark hair stood a younger man, closer to her age, with sandy blond hair and no beard, his warm brown eyes smiling at her.
Maryn froze, the dagger falling from her hand with a dull thud, "Zan?" she sobbed out feeling feint.
He took a step toward her but stopped when the door of the chamber opened and Loki walked in. The Dark Prince stilled before throwing a paralyzing spell at the chest of the stranger near his wife and crossing the room to pull Maryn into his arms, his body turned to protect hers should a weapon be used.
"No!" Maryn cried out seeing Zan fall. She pushed past Loki and fell to her knees beside the other man only to see him grimace and rub the centre of his chest.
She gasped as Loki grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet, putting himself between her and Zan and glaring down at her. "What is the meaning of this, Maryn?" he growled his eyes sparking with rage.
Tears sliding down her cheeks, Maryn looked up at him pleadingly, "Please Loki, he's my cousin."
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It took until the early hours of the morning for everything to be explained. Odin, Frigga and Thor were called once Loki had been told everything and the story was repeated for the rest of the royal family. Odin told both Maryn and Zan that he would deliberate on everything and then sent everyone back to bed.
After making sure her cousin was settled into his chambers, Maryn went back to the rooms she shared with Loki and, with a wave of her hand, she changed into a soft cotton and lace nightgown of light-blush pink with a robe of the same material and colour over the top, the strings that held it closed at the waist tied loosely. Letting her hair down Maryn sat at her dressing table, picked up a brush to run through her dark waves and tried to loose herself in the repetitive task. But her mind wouldn't settle. Not only was she reeling from what Zan had asked her to do, but Loki was also being distant. He had been quiet since he had walked in to their rooms to find Zan with her and Maryn could almost see the thoughts he was hiding behind the usual mask of indifference he had firmly in place. She felt the hurt building inside and could no longer hold her tongue.
"You have not spoken a word to me since I told you Zan was my kin. Why are you angry?" she asked watching his reflection in her mirror as she continued to run the brush through her hair.
Loki sat on the edge of the small love seat Maryn had in her dressing room and steepled his fingers against his lips, his elbows resting on his knees; but he didn't speak and his gaze seemed far away as if he was thinking of other things.
Sighing softly, Maryn put down the brush, got up from the dressing table and crossed the room, her bare feet silent on the thick rugs on the floor. Kneeling in front of him, she wrapped her small hands around his larger ones and tried to catch his eye. "Speak to me, my love. Tell me what is wrong." She pleaded softly.
Loki's jaw clenched and his gaze snapped to her, the sharpness of it making her cautious, "Tell me, my love," he spoke quietly, the endearment a sneer, "How long have you known the envoy was in fact one of your loyal subjects in disguise?"
The tone he spoke in was worrying and Maryn tightened her hold around his hands, confused by his anger. "I-I only learnt of it a few moments before you walked into our rooms, Loki. I don't understand why this angers you."
He wrenched his hands from hers and stood up, moving to put distance between them he turned his back and Maryn could easily see the tension in him from the way he moved. "You think I do not see the way he looks at you, wife?" the dark prince snarled. "He is waiting for the moment when my back is turned to take away what is mine."
Shocked, Maryn stood and tried to make sense of what he was saying, "You think Zan truly wants to marry me?" she shook her head, "He swore that it was merely a ruse to speak to me about my people."
Loki barked out a mirthless laugh, "And my brother merely wishes to have you as a good-sister."
Utterly confused by his words, Maryn stepped in front of him, "What are you speaking of? I have never and will never want any other, Loki. Do you not trust my loyalty and love?"
With a cruel twist of his lips, the Trickster looked down at her, "Don't think I have not heard the rumours, Maryn. You hang on his every word and laugh with him as if he is the man you married not I."
Forcing back the tears that were threatening to fill her eyes, Maryn shook her head, "How can you say such a thing?" her voice rose as the pain of his words sunk in, "It is not I that is seeing another, Loki. Do you not know the poison wagging tongues are spreading about you and Sigyn even as we speak?"
"It is you who was alone in our rooms with another man," Loki growled, his own ire rising to meet hers.
"And it is you who believes I would do any of what you are accusing me of," swallowing hard, Maryn glared up at him, "Tell me, my lord, do you truly love me or was that only one of your tricks?" she saw the anger building in him but ignored her better judgement and continued to speak. "If Zan had been who he said he was when he used his illusion, or an assassin my people sent to kill me, you would have found me dead and been free of me forever!"
Loki took a step toward her to loom over her, "I am not the one that wishes to be free of this marriage, woman. You are entertaining another in our chambers. You choose my brother over me and spurn anything I do. You are unfaithful and think me a fool!"
They were both yelling and Maryn couldn't help but scoff at his unfounded ideas and the unprovoked attack on her loyalty to him. "I am going to bed, husband. When you have realised how ridiculous you are being you may join me."
She moved to step passed him but his next words, cruelly snarled, pulled her up short, "Perhaps you would prefer I stay in Sigyn's chambers."
She reeled back as if he had struck her before her big grey eyes filled with tears and she turned her back on him. "Do as you wish, Loki," she whispered and ran from the room before he saw how deeply he had wounded her with his words. Collapsing on their bed she buried her face in his pillow and wept. Confusion and hurt warred inside her; she could not understand how everything had imploded so quickly. The rumours flying around the palace had been the same as always with talk of how she and Thor behaved together indicating that they were having an affair but she had no idea that Loki would believe such ridiculous tales. How could this be happening when not hours before they had been laughing together at the feasting table and the night before had been making love in their bed and talking as she thought all couples in love did?
Her tears eventually slowed and it wasn't long before she felt sleep tugging at her consciousness. She fought it. The thought of sleep made her feel ill and the thought that Loki had made good on his words and gone to Sigyn's rooms made the bile rise in her throat. Forcing it down she sat up and left the bedroom, walking into her dressing room to find it empty. She dressed in a pale blue gown with cream embroidery at the hem and open neck and long, loose sleeves gathered at the wrist. The skirt was split at each side where an underskirt of cream lace showed. She did up a thin leather belt around her waist and slipped on soft leather shoes. Her hair she left down, stopping only long enough to braid a band across the back and slip small, oval, gold drop earrings into her earlobes which had soft blue stones set into them. Once she was dressed she slipped out of their rooms and walked toward the great hall where breakfast was being served. She didn't come across anyone save guards and was thankful for it. Once in the hall she made her way to the tables and took two slices of the freshly baked bread there. Conjuring a small basket she put the bread inside it with a small hunk of cheese and an apple. Taking a bottle of the fresh milk that was always served for breakfast she slipped that into the basket and, with a wave of her hand, she sent the basket to her mare's stall.
Turning to leave she froze at the sight of Loki standing not an arm's length away, his face void of all emotion and his vibrant gaze on her.
Holding back the tears that stung her eyes at the sight of him looking so handsome in his black breeches and boots and dark green tunic, Maryn curtsied quickly and went to step around him only to have him catch her wrist gently, pulling her up short. She kept her gaze on the ground and her body turned away from him but she was fighting a losing battle with her emotions at the feel of his large hand encircling hers.
Loki was silent and when he didn't speak or try and pull her closer to him, Maryn slipped her hand from his and stepped further away from him, her chest tight and a knot of tears throbbing in her throat. The ghost of his touch burned her skin and she tortured herself by looking up at him and seeing that he was still watching her.
She was just about to open her mouth and speak when a delicate hand lighted on her arm. Starting she turned to see Sigyn's sickly sweet smile and calculating gaze.
"I see you are away early this morning," the older woman smirked. "I would have thought you would still be a-bed with your husband, dear girl."
Maryn forced a smile, "I am in the mood for a ride and Loki has matters of state to attend to. Good day, Lady Sigyn," she nodded and turned on her heel, leaving the hall as quickly as she could.
She made it out to the stables before her tears got the better of her. Slipping into her horse's stall she wrapped her arms around the large animal's neck and sobbed against it. She ached to be wrapped up in Loki's arms and hide away from the world but it wasn't to be and after a few more moments of self-pity she saddled her horse and picked up the small basket she had sent ahead, sliding it into one of her saddle bags. Mounting up she guided her horse out of the stables and toward the forest. Seeing Zan walking with Odin and Frigga, Maryn raised her hand to them and then urged her mount into a run toward the edge of the forest, ignoring Odin's call.
Tears blurring her vision once more she let the horse have her head. The ride was fast with Maryn soon pulling the animal up beside a small brook.
The sound of another horse's footsteps as it neared her caused her to look up half hoping it was Loki. Her disappointment was bitter and she saw Lord Ulf grinning as he pulled his huge grey stallion to a stop near her mare.
With a soft whinny, the horse beneath Maryn sidestepped and shied away from Lord Ulf's mount. Maryn quickly settled her and swung off to catch the mare's bridle and gently stroke her neck to sooth her.
"Your horse needs to be better trained, Lady Maryn," came Ulf's deep voice.
Keeping her eyes on her horse, Maryn spoke softly, "She is well trained. It is your stallion that has frightened her." The creaking of leather warned Maryn of his dismount and she jerked away when his large hands settled on her hips. "Do not touch me."
With a self-assured grin, the tall lord grabbed her arm, "What is the harm in touching the spurned wife of a prince?"
Trembling, Maryn tried to tug her arm from his hold but his grip only tightened painfully, "The harm is that you will lose everything if I tell Loki you followed me here and are touching me so."
"You are welcome to do so, little mouse. I doubt he will care now that he is once more buried between my wife's thighs."
His words were like a blow to the chest and before Maryn could recover his mouth closed over hers in a bruising kiss. Crying out, Maryn pushed him away and tried to turn and get back in her mount's saddle.
With a cruel laugh Lord Ulf grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged her head back, his body pressed up against her back as his hot breath rushed over her neck. "And where are you going, girl. I haven't finished with you yet." He pried her fingers from her reins and dragged her back to bodily throw her against a tree trunk.
With a groan of pain Maryn felt her head smack into the trunk of the tree and everything went a little hazy for a moment. When her vision cleared once more it was to see Ulf standing before her with a cold smirk on his face.
"They say the Trickster is possessive and easy to anger when his possessions are taken or ruined," Maryn's breath sped up in fear when he grinned, his white teeth glinting in the morning sunlight. "Let us see how he reacts when I bed his wife."
Steeling herself Maryn glared up at him and spoke with as much authority as she could muster, "Let me pass and you may live to see your next sunrise."
His hand closed around her throat and he sneered down at her, "Now why would I want to do that, little mouse, you see, I love to try new delicacies and you will be sweeter than any I have yet tried."
Tensing to use a spell, Maryn reached for the dagger she always had close at hand only to have Ulf grab her wrist and bare down on her with all his weight crushing her against the coarse bark of the tree. "I have it on good authority that you enjoy it rough. Tell me how much you like it."
Maryn's mind went blank when his hand groped at her breast and let go of her throat to start to drag her skirts up her legs. The sound of her gown ripping at the neckline was what made her snap and in the next instant her magic rushed out of her palms which she pressed to his chest. The power slammed into his torso and with a groan of agony and the splash of dark blood against her bodice, Maryn watched Ulf pale and then fall, his chest caved in and a pool of blood starting to seep into the grass around him. The silver glow of her palms ebbed away as she dropped her hands to her sides, her eyes on Ulf's lifeless corpse.
"Lady Maryn?"
She looked up at the sound of Heimdall's deep voice to see his golden eyes on her, Loki and Zan standing behind him frozen in shock. Breathing hard, Maryn flicked her bloodied hand out toward Ulf's body and bit back a cry of pain as she pushed his life-force back into his corpse, his chest expanding with the crack of bones. The blood on the ground slid back into his body and she had to catch herself against the trunk at her back as she was drained of energy to complete the spell. Lord Ulf's eyes fluttered and then he gasped and sat up, looking around as colour filled his cheeks once more. His chest heaved and he stared at Maryn with such fear she felt sick, everything around her starting to blacken at the edges as her consciousness wavered.
"Lady Maryn," Heimdall spoke again, his voice bringing her back and she looked up to see Zan holding a hand out to her, his gaze soft with understanding.
"Everything is alright, Maryn. Come." The young Mithrosian male tried to coax her to him.
Feeling the panic well up at what she had done, Maryn's eyes filled with tears and she fled, throwing herself into Loki's arms, her body colliding with his before she collapsed weeping, clinging to him afraid he would push her away.
He was silent, the stain of red on her light blue gown making him feel a rage he had never known before. It robbed him of words and made white hot fury fill his chest and pull at his power begging for it to be unleashed. Maryn's whimpered words were what brought him to his senses and he wrapped his arms tighter around her.
"I killed him," she murmured, her entire body trembling as she pressed her face to the centre of his chest, replaying what she had just done over in her mind, the roiling in her stomach not settling.
With a dark look at Ulf that promised pain for him, the Trickster lifted his sharp gaze to the Asgardian Gate-keeper, "Take him to my father, Heimdall, and make sure he understands that the lord deserves no mercy."
With a grave nod, Heimdall reached down and pulled Ulf to his feet, his hand clamped down on the other man's shoulder to keep him steady and make sure he didn't get away.
"I am to be tried when she was the one that-," Ulf cut himself off from saying the words.
All those standing there saw Maryn flinch violently at the sound of his voice. Loki's fury built at her response and he had to fight not to strike the lord down where he stood. As the Gate-keeper turned to lead him away, the Dark Prince spoke again, "Tell my father I wish to speak with him before he makes a decision, Heimdall."
"Of course, my Prince," the tall Aesir nodded.
"Maryn, please tell me if you are alright," Zan spoke up then stepping toward his cousin and her husband.
Hearing him move closer to her, Maryn cringed away praying he wouldn't touch her. She was barely holding her own against the sickness churning in her belly and the thought of any man touching her that wasn't Loki made her want to scream. Loki glared at the Mithrosian man, his hand lifting to run soothingly through Maryn's hair.
"She is safe. That is all you need to know, boy," he growled and then, in a swell of magic, he transported them from the forest to their chambers.
Maryn stumbled when her feet settled on the golden flagstones of the floor in their rooms. She looked up to see that they were standing next to their bathing pool. Shaking, she stepped out of Loki's hold and wrapped her arms around her stomach. The sticky wet feeling of her clothes made her jerk her arms away from her body and, with a shudder, she looked down to see blood drying into the material of her gown and staining her hands and sleeves. Her stomach rolled and it was only Loki's quick thinking to conjure a bowl that saved her from embarrassing herself and vomiting over the floor. He held her hair back as she was sick, her body shuddering with every retch and cough.
When she was finished, Loki made the bowl disappear with a wave of his hands and stepped behind her. Silently he quickly unlaced her gown and the shift underneath and pushed both off her shoulders to pool at her feet. She stepped out of them and her shoes. His clothes were next and then he led her by the hand to the edge of the water.
Maryn stopped and when he looked back at her she couldn't hold back the tears that filled her eyes. His gaze softened and he pulled her into his arms, holding her tight to him as she sobbed against his neck, her arms tight around his chest as if he would pull away from her at any moment.
"I am not leaving you, sweet one," he murmured trying to calm her down. He had seen her distraught before when Ulf had pinned her in the sparring ring or just after her mother had died and she had tried to throw herself from the Rainbow Bridge, but he had never seen her as scared and traumatized as she was now.
When her sobs had slowed to hiccups and small sniffles he lifted her in his arms and carried her into the warm water of the large bath. He used a spell to magic the scented oil and flower petals she always enjoyed into the water, and then settled back against the side of the pool, sitting on the submerged shelf there.
Maryn slipped from his hold and sat beside him, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms clasped tightly around her legs. She stared sightlessly at the rippling liquid around her as Loki gently cupped water over her shoulders and arms, rubbing away the smears of red left there. The pool was enchanted to stay clean no matter how much dirt was washed into it and so they had no fear of sitting in tainted water.
"I lost control," she murmured suddenly, her cheek lying on her knees with her face turned toward Loki. "Maybe it would have been better if he…if I had let him…" she closed her eyes against the thought and so didn't see the anger rising in her husband once more.
Longing to rage at her and yell that she was his and no other man could have her, Loki bit back his words and reached out running his fingers over her cheek, along her neck, and across her shoulders.
Before he could speak she whispered, "You must truly believe the gossip now. I was once again alone with another man that was not my husband and he was willing to take what is yours." She shivered with the knowledge that she had come so close to being ruined and had taken a life to save herself. Still silent Loki cupped her jaw and rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. Needing to feel safe and closer to him after everything that had happened, Maryn turned and pressed her mouth to his without a second thought, a soft moan falling from her lips as his hands closed around her waist and he lifted her into his lap.
Pulling back slightly, the Trickster pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed as he spoke, "Is this what you want, Maryn?"
Desperate to feel the safety and sensations only he could ever give her, Maryn nodded, "Please…please," she gasped out cupping his face and pulling his mouth to hers again. For a moment she was scared he would push her away but then his arms wrapped around her and he kissed her deeply and lifted her from the water, carrying her to their bed.
After, they lay together under the linen sheet, Maryn curled into a ball with her back pressed to Loki's side. He respected her need to lie quietly but couldn't stop himself from running his hand through her hair soothing them both as he did.
"I would never betray you," she spoke, her voice soft and tear-filled. "Zan is my cousin, the last of my blood, but you are my husband. I want no other, Loki. Do you not believe that?"
She felt him move to turn and wrap his body around hers from behind, his face pressed to her shoulder, "I trust your love, sweet one. I should never have listened to palace gossip."
Still hurt by his distrust Maryn asked the question that had been plaguing her since he had spoken to her of palace rumours, "Who convinced you that I was in the arms of another?"
Loki was silent for so long Maryn had her answer. She tried to pull away from him but he rolled her under his body and caught her chin in a gentle hold so that she was looking up at him. "I am a jealous man, Maryn. I have never professed to be otherwise. I should not have listened to Sigyn's poisonous words and I never will again."
"Is that all you did," Maryn asked bitterly tensing to try and pull away, "Only listened to Sigyn's lies?"
With a dark scowl, Loki worked his jaw for a moment before he spoke, "From the day the Allfather and Allmother told me I was to be married to this moment I have only had one woman. Do you not trust my fidelity to you?"
Rolling her lips together, Maryn studied his face, the truth reflected in his eyes slowly relaxing her. Nodding she reached up and pushed a lock of his hair away from his face, her grey orbs locked on his vibrant emerald gaze, "Yes, Loki, I trust you."
His gaze softened and he lowered his forehead to her shoulder, the tension that had been in him since they had fought after Zan revealed himself melting away. "He will pay for what he has done to you," he murmured against her skin.
Maryn kept silent, the thought of Lord Ulf being punished for what he had done sending a dark but strange satisfaction through her. It was a feeling that she had never had before and it scared her even more than the man himself had.