Chapter XVI: King Undisputed

A/N: I actually finished this chapter before Chapter 15, hence the relatively quick update. Woops *blushes* Well, I unbent and gave the readers a little something. It's at the end of the chapter, though I recommend reading the whole thing, so everything will be in context. Thanks for the beta work by theicemenace and anyone else who helped as a sounding board. Enjoy the chapter… *evil grin* SSD

Title inspiration came from the song "Be Prepared": "I'll be king undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the wonder I am!"

Hanna was watching the scene unfold before her. Sif and the Warriors Three had just gotten a major shock: Loki was sitting on the throne of Asgard as king. She was having trouble believing it herself. And she had seen the transfer of power with her own eyes.

To be perfectly honest, Hanna was nervous about Loki sitting on that throne herself. He had been behaving strangely, even by his standards. His behavior became even more uncharacteristic since the return from Jotunheim that had resulted in Thor's banishment.

"You will bring your urgent matter before me." Loki stood up, "Your king."

That was another shock for the group. Volstaag recovered his composure first and bowed with the others following suit. Though Sif did it slightly more slowly as she and Loki had never gotten along. But still she asked,

"My King, we would ask that you end Thor's banishment."

Hanna scoffed. There was no way Loki was going to do that.

"My first command cannot be to undo the Allfather's last." Loki was starting to hit his stride.

"We're on brink of war with Jotunheim. Our people need a sense of continuity to feel safe in these troubled times. All of us must stand together for the good of Asgard.

Loki inclined his head as he finished.

Obviously not liking what she was hearing, Sif stood up suddenly, her intent clear. Just as quickly however, Hogun and Fandral grabbed ahold of her arms to restrain her from doing something that she would later regret.

"Yes, of course," Fandral said charmingly, though Hanna could tell that it was much more forced than usual.

"Good, then you will wait for my word."

"If I may beg the indulgence of your Majesty, to perhaps reconsider…" Volstaag started, before Loki cut him off snarling, "We're done!"

###

As the Warriors 3 and Sif left, Hanna breathed a sigh of relief. There had been no incidents, well there had been that close call with Sif.

Hanna was about to leave where she had been watching when she ran into a guard who had apparently been looking for her. He bobbed a bow and said,

"My lady, the King wishes to speak with you. Immediately." The guard did not bother to wait for her as she knew exactly where to go.

The throne room.

###

Loki had an appraising look his face as she approached the throne. Unlike any other look he had ever given her before in the 80 years Hanna had been his apprentice. It made her incredibly uncomfortable as she bent knee.

"You may rise, sorceress."

Hanna rose quickly, not wanting to provoke him. Looking at him directly, Loki grinned before asking,

"If you knew a secret, who would you tell?"

What the Hel kind of question was that? All Hanna knew was that she had to answer it very carefully.

"Depends on what the secret was, Your Grace."

Loki's reaction to her answer only made Hanna more nervous. The way to describe the look was that of a wolf about to pounce upon the rabbit that was his prey.

She needed to get out of the room and quickly. As politely and according to protocol as possible, Hanna murmured, "Do I have your leave, your Grace?"

"You may leave." Loki still had that wolfish grin on his face.

Hanna walked out of the throne room appropriate decorum, though once she was well out of earshot, she teleported to her room and locked the door with magic. Though it would do her little good, if someone who knew what they were doing wanted to get in.

###

Loki smirked as he watched Hanna leave. She knew nothing of his ancestry. It seemed that Sven had indeed kept his mouth shut.

Hanna had never been able to lie to him. While he had taught her well, Loki knew enough of her tells. She was able to lie to others, but never to him.

All of Sven's strange behavior towards him made sense now, in light of recent revelations.

Loki had decided to punish Sven for his knowledge and take full advantage of the oath the he had likely made. And what better way to do that than to force the older man's hand into handing his favorite daughter over to him in a more… permanent sense.

Hanna more than fulfilled the statutory requirements. And that old Vanir tradition no longer shielded her. Not that it would, since exceptions had been made before. Sven would not be able to object to the arrangement without revealing his prior knowledge.

###

Hanna was completely and utterly exhausted when she laid down on her bed. It was unmade, since things had been rather hectic.

The chat with Loki had left her drained on so many levels. "What *is* he up to," was Hanna's last thought before finally falling onto the bed.

She was reading in the library, and was just finishing up the book. As she set it aside, it suddenly moved to the floor. It hadn't fallen, more drifted down. It began to move across the floor like as if it were being tugged by an invisible string.

"Damn it," Hanna muttered as she got up to chase the book. This was a book that Loki had loaned her, and would be very upset if it were damaged in any way.

The book kept on making turns and yanking itself out of her reach when she nearly caught it.

In desperation, Hanna had to whisper, "Whomever is doing this, I will do what you ask of me if you please stop. I swear it."

She waited for someone to make an answer of some sort before turning around to head back. She'd had enough and whoever was toying with her would have to wait.

As she was turning around, Hanna ran bodily into Loki. He had that wolfish grin/smirk on his face. Wearing the leather armor that she preferred to the fancier court armor he now wore as king.

Loki said softly, "You swore you'd do what is asked of you as long as the person stopped. Well, I stopped so now you have to live up to your end of bargain darling."

"What would you have me do then?" Hanna asked, not quite meeting his eyes.

Tilting her face up so he could look her in the eyes, Loki traced her lips with his free hand, murmuring,

"Such beautiful lips... I can't wait to see them kiss swollen and whimpering my name, begging for release…"

He grabbed her suddenly and roughly pulls her close as he crushes his lips down on hers, kissing furiously...

Hanna woke up with a start, yelling "Son of a BITCH!" Her entire body felt overheated and it wasn't just her abilities talking.

She needed a cold shower, and she needed one fast!

A/N 2: Well, that was something. Hopefully that makes up for the fact that this chapter is shorter. Credit for the whisper goes to Loki's Dirty Whispers. This is my first time really writing something like this on my own. Please tell me what you think.