*Hey ya guys! Firstly I'm sorry it's been so long… nearly a month :P I hadn't even realized it'd been so long until like three or four days ago, and then I hopped to writing another chapter XP
Also: Announcement! I realized after I posted the last chapter that we have officially reached 100,000 words! OMG that's a first for me! *jumps excitedly around*
And also in between last chapter and this one, we reached one hundred follows on this story! We're not quite up there with the favorites, but that's cool with me ;) Because I have 100+ followers on this story! And now you're wondering why in Helheim I'm just rambling about how this story is going instead of actually giving you the next chapter! I'm wondering the same thing! So now I'm going to put a stop to my bold text and exclamation points and get to the chapter! :D
Hostility
Loki paced the hall nervously. He was a few passages down from the war room, and he was waiting for Thor to come back from the prison, hopefully with Marron. This was taking too long. What was taking Thor such an unnecessarily long time? Did it really take this long to get from the palace to the prisons and play out the plan and come back? Had something gone wrong? Was Thor just taking a stupidly long time? Or was Loki's perception of time just skewed with nerves?
He and Thor had spent at least an hour perfecting this plan, practicing Thor's lines and how he was to act. What he was supposed to say if this or that happened. But Thor was such a terrible liar… perhaps it would have just been better if Loki had disguised himself as Thor and gone himself. But it was too late for that now… he just had to pray that Thor wouldn't muss things up for everyone.
The sound of footsteps made the younger prince pause and listen carefully. Two sets of footsteps. One very heavy with longer strides, and the other lighter and walking quickly to keep up with the other's big strides. His heart jumped up into his throat. It sounded like Thor and Marron.
He let out a sigh of relief when he saw his older brother round the corner with his hand on the shoulder of a handcuffed Marron. The pair strode quickly over to him.
"Good to see you again," Loki smiled tensely to Marron before glancing to Thor. "The council just reconvened about twenty minutes ago. I think they were waiting for you, but started anyway when you didn't show up."
"Right," Thor nodded. "So… again, I went to the prisons to get ahead and find us a good source of information on the rebels?"
Loki nodded. "Right. And you two don't know each other. Did everything go smoothly at the prison?" his eyes flicked between Thor and Marron.
"Perfectly," Marron piped up proudly. "Thor did brilliantly, Prince Loki, you should have seen him. He was practically a believable liar."
Thor's chest swelled at the praise, and Loki smiled faintly as he glanced yet again between the two.
"I'm sure he was," he said slowly. "So, Thor explained the plan to you?"
Marron shook her head in the affirmative. "I'm merely another captured prisoner with some information I am willing to give up. And I have never met you or Thor before. And hopefully I'll be able to stay somewhere in the palace as a consultant of some kind on the war council?"
Loki nodded. "Right. Now, you're going to have to leave me out of this. Pretend I had absolutely nothing to do with any of it. Thor was just being a good prince and finding a good little traitor. I never saw you in the prison, the little excursion with Saklauss never happened… clear?"
"Crystal," Thor and Marron said at the same time. They glanced at each other, and Thor smiled while Marron blushed a bit.
"Alright," Loki cracked a smile at the two. "Let me know if anything goes wrong… I'll wait for a few minutes here. But if I don't hear from you, then I'll simply go back to my room. Thor, let me know what happens once the council meeting's over."
"Of course," Thor nodded determinedly.
"Thank you, Prince Loki," Marron added.
"Hopefully I'll see you both later." Loki lifted his hand in farewell and nodded for Marron and Thor to continue on to the war room. Marron nodded back, and Thor clapped Loki on the shoulder as they walked away. Loki sighed deeply and resumed pacing, just in case something were to go wrong.
"You'll, ah, understand if I have to be a bit rude to you?" Thor asked concernedly to Marron. "Just in front of my father and… everyone else, you know."
Marron nodded. "I understand. I know you don't mean it if you call me a dirty burglar or something like that."
Thor chuckled. "Good. We're nearing the war room. We'll now have to pretend unfamiliarity."
Marron nodded, and her face became serious. Thor's smile faded, and his expression became somber and determined as well, reminding Marron of the time they had first met, when Thor had thought she was an untrustworthy enemy. The two came into sight of a quartet of guards standing outside a pair of wooden double doors.
The four guards straightened at the sight of Thor. One addressed him, "Prince Thor. The war council is in session at the moment. We are not permitted to allow anyone in until the session has ended."
"I have important information for the war effort," Thor said confidently as he gestured to Marron, whose shoulder he still had one hand on firmly. "My father will understand."
The guards looked at each other, hesitated, and then opened the door to let the crown prince into the meeting.
The council members were in the middle of a heated discussion about the best actions to take, debating where to begin their search for rebel hideouts and if they should wait for their next move or if that would only be inviting trouble. All of them broke off in their talking as the door opened, and a guard announced Prince Thor.
The king looked up sharply as his older son stepped into the room, leading a neko girl dressed in black with handcuffs binding her wrists behind her back. "Thor. You are late to our war council meeting. What is this?" he gestured vaguely towards the brown-haired neko girl.
"Father, I went to the prisons. Since we are making no headway in planning our offense, I thought we might be able to glean some intelligence from the captured nekos you had thrown in prison. So… I think we may have found our answer." He gave Marron a small shake to indicate her. Marron pretended a slight frown up at him, as if peeved by this action.
"An answer to what?" a bulky man with a bald head and a moustache inquired, peering at the neko. "Who is this?"
"A captured rebel. She seems to have some knowledge of their plans," Thor explained. "I thought perhaps we could use the intelligence she has to offer in exchange for some benefits for her. That way she will have a bit more motivation to give us accurate information, and less reason to want to rejoin the rebels."
Marron bit back a smile. She could so easily hear Loki's wording thrown into Thor's mouth. Apparently they had practiced this for a while, too.
Everyone was giving the neko a thoughtful look.
"So you're willing to turn traitor to the rebels, neko?" Sif called out, narrowing her eyes. Something about this neko girl was off-putting. It reminded Sif of something… her face or something. She looked vaguely familiar. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she could have sworn she knew this neko from somewhere.
Marron cleared her throat quietly. "Yes, I am." She licked her lips nervously. "If Your Majesty," she nodded to the Allfather, "is willing to provide some accommodations, then I can give you the information on the rebels that you want."
"Accommodations?" Volstagg inquired. "What sort of accommodations?"
Marron bit her lip for a second, thinking carefully. "I would just like to have a place besides the prison to sleep and spend my time. Also, food." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "The rebels don't exactly have quality sleeping quarters or food."
Murmuring went around the table as the members tittered their thoughts on this last.
"What information do you have to offer?" Lord Sogn queried, unravelling a blank scroll and dipping a quill into an inkwell.
Marron swallowed nervously again. "I know about their numbers; how many they have joined them," she answered a little unsurely. "And that they plan to recruit more, but are having trouble. I know a little about the state of their supplies, and how soon they plan to attack, and where the main headquarters is. I also know they have a smaller base of operations, but I'm not so sure on that location. Um…" she racked her brain for further information. "I think that's all."
The members of the war council looked intrigued. Odin was rubbing his chin thoughtfully while the others were whispering amongst themselves or else giving Marron an appraising look.
"If all the information is accurate," Lord Sogn said slowly, looking down at the notes he had scribbled. "Then it would be an immense help to our side of this struggle."
"I have accurate information," Marron said softly, not entirely sure if the man had really been directing his words at her or not. She let her eyes flick curiously over the others at the table… soldiers, captains, nobles, men of all shapes and sizes. And one woman. Marron felt her heart quicken slightly. She had met this woman at the ball. That woman who had spoken to them about how she was a warrior. The neko quickly averted her eyes, hoping desperately that she wouldn't be recognized by the dark-eyed warrior woman.
"Tell us your name," King Odin said curtly.
Marron swallowed. "Chatte Marron Arable."
Sif's eyes flashed, and something stirred in her memory. Chatte Marron Arable. Her eyes more carefully roved over the neko's face. She still couldn't quite place her. But she was positive she knew her from somewhere.
"Chatte Marron Arable," Lord Sogn mumbled under his breath as he scribbled the name down into his notes. He then looked towards Odin. "Well, it appears she's given us her real name… that's a good sign."
"How do you know she's given us her real name?" Fandral asked curiously.
"Because all nekos use the title Chatte in front of their name, and their first name is determined by their hair, ear, and tail color. And Marron is brown. They choose their last names for themselves. Since she's obviously a neko, and obviously brown, then I'd assume it's safe to say she's given us her true name. Therefore, she seems fairly trustworthy. As a rebel, the information she says she has seems reasonable, but not too far vague or out of proportion. If she really has all the information she says she does, then it seems fair to say that she may prove to be a valuable source of information." He looked around the table for everyone else's thoughts.
Everyone else looked a little less sure. They glanced between Marron and each other and muttered things that Marron couldn't quite hear. She only managed to catch phrases like "traitor" and "wolf in sheep's clothing" and "just lying" and "nothing to lose" and "should trust her." She felt her heart rate speeding up as she heard the mixed half-thoughts and unfinished comments that would fade into quieter tones so she couldn't hear the rest. She looked nervously at Thor out of the corner of her eye, but he stared resolutely ahead.
"Shall we take this to a vote?" the king suggested from the head of the table. "Those in favor of granting Chatte Marron Arable accommodations and accepting her information, and those supporting throwing her back into prison and not hearing her claims?"
Everyone murmured agreement that they should vote.
Odin raised his voice slightly, and he called, "Guards!"
The doors were promptly opened, and the four men entered. "Allfather?"
"Hold the neko in your charge for a few moments while we take a vote on her fate."
Marron's heart skipped a beat, and she threw a worried look to Thor, who barely managed to spare her an unsure frown, like he didn't know what to do, either.
Then Marron found herself being ushered out of the room with the guards' hands on her shoulders, and she was taken out of the room to wait for the vote.
00000
"Yes, tomorrow. I'm sure. The longer I stay here, the more difficult things are going to get," Noir said firmly.
Blanc bit at his nails, looking a little less sure.
"…Is there something wrong with that plan?" Noir asked slowly.
He shook his head. No, there was nothing wrong with Noir leaving tomorrow. He just had thought they would have longer. It really wasn't all that complicated of a plan… mostly it just involved timing and circumstance. No, there really wasn't much to prepare for. It made perfect sense that Noir would leave tomorrow. Blanc had just thought—hoped, even—that she would be staying a bit longer. Some vague desperation in the back of his mind kept dreaming that Noir would change her mind and decide not to leave. But it seemed that wasn't going to happen. "Alright. Tomorrow, then."
Noir nodded and offered him a quick, small smile. "Good. Thank you, Blanc." She reached forward and placed her hand on top of his briefly, squeezing it to emphasize her words. "I know you don't approve of my leaving. But I appreciate your help. If all goes well tomorrow, then I promise you that you shall be fully and irrevocably forgiven."
Blanc smiled wryly, his heart skipping a beat against his will at Noir's hand on his, even if the contact was muffled by the fingerless gloves. He swallowed and said simply, "Okay."
"Okay." Noir then removed her hand from his and took the map of the city from the bed, folding it neatly and tucking it into a pocket before she stood, walking out of the room and into the hall. Soon she found herself down in the main room of the house, where the other nekos were gathered around conversing amongst themselves.
"Where have you been?"
Noir's mother leaned casually against the wall, peering curiously at her daughter.
Noir's tail tip twitched nervously under her cloak. "I was… talking to Chatte Blanc Lune."
Soir's lip curled up in disgust. "Little flea-bitten scrap, isn't he?" she smirked mischievously. "I don't know how you managed to live with him for so long. I can hardly stand him, and he's only been staying here for a few days."
Noir forced a smile in return. "He didn't used to be such a prat, really. We were good friends. I think we're mending things again, actually."
"Oh, really?" Soir raised an eyebrow in question.
Noir just shrugged and nodded. "I suppose." She felt uncomfortable under her mother's searching gaze, as if she knew more than she was letting on. "I was just… talking to him," she added lamely. "You know. Apologies and that sort of thing. We'll be alright. You shouldn't be too hard on him, Mother."
Soir gave her another searching look and offered a wan smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Is everything alright, Etoile?
Noir bit her lip at both the question and the use of her old name. A curt nod. "I'm fine, Mother," she mumbled evasively.
Soir sighed, and then she stepped forward and took Noir into an embrace lovingly.
Noir tensed at the gesture, alarm flashing through her. No, this wasn't right. Her mother wasn't as she remembered her, and she didn't like being so close to her.
"I merely want you to be happy," Soir murmured absentmindedly as she released her daughter from the hug. "You seem worried and nervous."
Noir quickly took a step back and hoped that her mother didn't notice just how tense and awkward she was. "Er… I'm alright. I haven't… really… had to fight all that much. I've taken down guards before with daggers," she supplied weakly. "I'm just…. Nervous about the upcoming fight is all. You know."
Soir nodded. "Life as a street thief is hard, isn't it?"
A curt nod.
Soir offered her daughter a fond smile that left her gray eyes still steely and cold. "I'm glad you understand, Etoile."
Noir felt her heart tighten at her old name. She bit her lip and slowly just nodded, unsure how else she was possibly supposed to respond.
"Well, I suppose I should go and talk to Catalysseur," Soir said breezily. "Lovely talking to you, Etoile." She turned without another word and walked off.
Noir felt her brows draw together slightly. "…Voleuse," she whispered so quietly that no one but her could hear. Then she shook her head and crossed over to the window, drawing the curtain back a bit so she could see the empty street outside. Her resolve to leave only hardened. And her relief at finding her mother was alive only faded slightly. It wasn't that she wished her mother dead. She just realized that it didn't matter all that much. It didn't provide anything like comfort or love. She couldn't even properly connect with her mother. She was too preoccupied with finding her 'equality' for the nekos.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow she could get away from it and get back to Loki. She pursed her lips together to keep herself from smiling at the thought. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what his reaction would be to having her back with him. Perhaps he'd take her into his arms and hug her so tightly it almost hurt. No… maybe he'd just stare at her in disbelief and relief. No… maybe… maybe he would cup her cheek in his hand and bring her face closer to his, and she would feel his breath on her lips, and… and then maybe she could finally find out what it would feel like. A small smile spread across her face as she stared unseeingly down the empty street.
00000
Loki stood on the balcony of his room, frowning slightly as he looked over the view. Directly below was the royal garden. Beyond that, the wall separating the palace from the rest of the city. And then past that, the graceful buildings and shabbier hovels on the far reaches of the realm. And further than that, the burned ruins of the plantations.
He shook his head and returned his blue eyes to the city, raking his piercing gaze over it as if he just might be able to discern Noir from this distance. Absolutely ludicrous, of course; he couldn't even make out individual people from this distance, let alone the features thereof. But knowing that Noir was out there somewhere, and not knowing where, made his heart tighten with anxiety. He tried to imagine what it would be like when—not if, but when—they reunited.
She'd probably be bouncing with excitement. Or maybe shy and blushing. Or maybe she'd be cocky and sarcastic, greeting him with a mocking bow. In any case, he knew exactly what he was going to do. He smiled very faintly at the thought of sweeping her off her feet and pressing his lips to hers… would that be alright? She wouldn't mind… probably. But maybe that wouldn't be right.
He frowned, puzzling over it. Maybe it wouldn't be what he pictured. He hadn't the slightest clue. And maybe it wouldn't be right to merely sweep her off her feet… what if when they met again, things were awkward and uncomfortable, and they weren't sure what they were supposed to do?
Blast it, he was overanalyzing and worrying far too much. He would think himself to death one day, he was sure.
"Loki!" a voice shouted from somewhere behind him.
Loki whirled to face the inside of his chambers again, striding off the balcony. He entered the sitting room of his chambers to find Thor standing there, breathless. Suddenly panic flashed through him. "What's wrong?" Loki demanded. "Did they not want to hear Marron, or-?"
Thor shook his head, still catching his breath from the evident sprint he had just come from. The door to Loki's chambers was still open from where Thor had obviously burst in.
Loki waited for just a moment more before sighing in exasperation. "What is wrong?!" he snapped.
Thor gulped and took a deep breath. "Sorry," he gasped. "Just… ran… from the war room… fast as I could…"
"And why?" Loki growled.
Thor pointed at Loki and took another deep breath. "…Father wants you…. To listen… while Marron… gives her information." He gasped again. "To make sure she's not lying, since you're so good at telling when people are lying."
Loki blinked. So… the king wanted his help for something? "Wait…" he said. "So… so what exactly happened?"
Thor finally seemed to compose himself, swallowing and straightening himself and then let out a breath. "The council took a vote, and they said they would have Marron as an informant for our side of the struggle. And Father wants you to come and listen in to what she has to say, to make sure she isn't lying. He sent me to come and get you."
Loki frowned, a little bewildered. "…Oh. I… didn't know I'd be summoned."
"Will you come? We're still pretending that we don't know her, and no one suspects anything," Thor added.
Loki slowly nodded. "I… yes, I'll come."
"Well, then, away we go!" Thor grinned excitedly and gestured toward the door. Loki forced a smile and followed. "All is going according to plan, brother!"
Loki couldn't help but feel a tad of trepidation at Thor's words. It seemed like just the sort of thing that would precede things not going according to plan.
00000
Marron fidgeted under the gaze of all the council members. She sat next to Lord Sogn, who was taking down every word she said, and Prince Loki sat across from her, giving her a quick reassuring nod when she glanced at him. But everyone else, besides Thor, seemed to be giving her a hostile glare, full of masked mistrust. She could hardly believe that they had even voted to hear her… almost as surprising as the fact that when she had been brought back into the room, the king had said they would hear her as soon as they brought Prince Loki in to oversee.
"And… you said their main base has about eighty recruits," Lord Sogn muttered as he scribbled down on the parchment.
"At least," Marron agreed. "I believe Chatte Noir Soir said there were eighty to ninety. And she said they were still increasing their numbers by finding street thieves, and they have a smaller base, they said, somewhere near the outskirts of the city, I think…?" she frowned, trying to remember.
Everyone looked to Loki for confirmation. He quickly nodded to indicate he didn't think she was lying.
"And… you said you had information on the state of their supplies," Sogn continued.
"Yes," Marron dipped her head. "They were saying… saying they were running low on food and clothing. Some of them wanted to launch an attack soon since they're running low, but Catalysseur told them they were going to wait two weeks to train their newer recruits…"
Another glance towards Loki, who nodded.
"And… we'll be wanting to know the location of their main base," King Odin input. The other council members murmured in agreement. One stood and unpinned a map of the city from the wall before dropping it onto the table before the neko. "Point out the place," the king said simply.
Marron blinked a few times, peering at the expansive diagram. Her eyes scanned the parchment, trying to orient herself with its directions and key. "Mmm… give me just a moment," she said quietly, leaning over it slightly and biting her nails.
"…Do you know where it is, neko?" someone called out.
"I know," she snapped irritably, looking up to glare at the man who had spoken.
Loki and Thor both threw a glare to Fandral, who looked surprised at the three angry pairs of eyes on him. He let out a slight laugh and shrugged helplessly. "If you'd please…" he returned his gaze to Marron, who pursed her lips.
She breathed in and let her eyes rove the map again. "Alright… so…" she began talking under her breath to herself, reasoning it out. "So, if the palace is here…" she traced her fingers over the palace, depicted on the map. "It was further… this way, I think." She brushed her finger to the side. "Because I came east into the Trade District. And it was on the outskirts of the richer districts." Her finger ran over the outer border between the poor and the rich. "In a villa…" her brow furrowed. "It was just… Here, I believe." Her finger landed, stabbing determinedly at a spot.
Sogn looked up from his parchment and quill, eyes focusing on where Marron's fingers hovered. He reached forward and let a single drop of ink leak down onto the paper, marking it. Marron drew her hand away now, sighing.
"Very well," Odin nodded slowly. "Chatte Marron Arable is dismissed for now. We shall summon her later if the need arises for further clarification of details. Until then, I say that this council is dismissed. Chatte Marron shall be taken to her own chambers. Everyone else may return to their regular duties."
There was a scraping of chairs being scooted away from the table, and warriors and captains and nobles filed out of the room. Thor laid a firm hand on Marron's shoulder and started to lead her out of the room. Loki started to follow them, but he paused when he felt a hand rest on his own shoulder.
Loki turned quickly to see his father, looking at him gravely. He felt his jaw tighten and heart pick up a little speed. "What?" he asked tensely.
Odin searched his younger son's face for a moment before speaking. "Loki, I wanted to thank you for participating in this meeting. I appreciate your help."
Loki felt his face change into an expression of confusion.
"That's all." The Allfather started to let his hand fall from Loki's shoulder, but then he paused. "I wish that you would find it in yourself to attempt to contribute more often."
Loki felt ice in his heart at this last statement. "Father, I tried to contribute when the ordeal with the nekos began. You wanted to hear nothing of diplomacy."
"And now I see that perhaps it would have made a difference," Odin conceded.
"It wouldn't, actually."
Loki and Odin both turned slightly to see Marron, still standing in the doorway with Thor. She offered a nervous smile as apology for listening in.
"I just… wanted to tell you that the nekos have no thoughts of diplomacy, either. I doubt offering it to them at this point would have made much difference. A hand of friendship would have had to have been extended years ago for it to… to be accepted without hostility." She swallowed and blushed a little. "I… I think we would have ended up in this situation no matter what measures were taken."
Odin's hand squeezed Loki's shoulder slightly, in what might have been an attempt at comfort. It made Loki's heart ache a bit, wishing that could actually happen more often. "Were you going to show our neko to her room?" the king continued.
"She's not our neko," Thor pointed out. "It's terribly rude to say she belongs to someone. But yes, Loki and I can find her a guest chamber to reside in."
Loki smirked slightly and went to stand with his brother and Marron. In his mind, all he could think to tell Thor was that it would help if Thor said he was hers, too.
00000
Odin smiled slightly as he watched his sons escort the neko traitor out of the room and down the hall. It seemed things were starting to get a bit better. Soon all would be well in the kingdom, and the rebellion of the nekos would be crushed.
But first, of course…
He strode out of the room and headed down the hall opposite the one his sons had gone. Down a few turns and to the entrance of the palace… and out to the soldiers' barracks.
Men in golden armor saluted and stood to attention at the sight of their king, but he walked briskly past them. And to the quarters of the captain of the guard.
"Allfather," the captain Stood to attention and bowed at the sight of his ruler. "How can I be of service?"
The king had lost the faint smile and the warmth he had had when looking upon his sons. His expression had become cold and regal again, like a statue of marble. "Assemble your troops and ready them to move out. A hundred fifty men. In one hour, we move to strike the neko rebel base."
Note from LoquaciousQuibbler: Because you know they're all about that base, bout that base; no rebels! They're all about that base, bout that base; no rebels! They're all about that base, base, base, base, base…
Sorry. That was too good to resist. That little randomness there was a reference to the song "All About that Bass" by Meghan Trainor :P
I apologize profusely for taking so long to update. Blame Emmie and Naomi. Mostly Emmie. If you don't know who that is, don't bother lol. Mainly I've just been working on other fics and neglecting some others… but for the most part, I just had writer's block on this chapter. There were a lot of ways I had in my mind to do the many scenes in this chapter… and I couldn't figure out exactly which way I wanted to do it. So I finally settled for this. I'm still not particularly… happy with this chapter… but it's finally, finally, finally the transition into the action (hint, hint: the little bit at the end with Odin saying they will attack the rebel base).
I hope you enjoyed the little bits I put in… we got a little Thorron cuteness, a little tension between Noir and her mom, more tension between Blanc and Noir, some Noir/Loki daydreaming about each other…. And Marron is officially a traitor to the nekos! Yay! XP And we also actually managed to get a little something between Odin and Loki… just because I wanted to ;)
And now…
Odin: We now have the location of the rebel base… *adopts Russian accent* I must break you.
(Rocky IV reference, if you got that… lol) and now I feel like I'm rambling for no reason… but mebbe I'm just happy to have actually updated this story… anywho, whatever the case may be, I look forward to hearing your thoughts, as always, my darlings, and I look forward to seeing you next chapter! Please favorite, follow, and review! We're up to 234 reviews!