Loki's eyes immediately swung back to Lady Sif as he pursed his lips. He had not needed her to be so outright defiant and treasonous, but it definitely did not hurt regardless of what she might think. What was more interesting was how Fandral closed his eyes in dismay. One of them, at least, was smart enough to see where their behavior was leading them. Too bad the blond idiot had not realized it sooner. Loki felt no pity for him, not after all Fandral had either participated in or allowed to happen through his cowardice.
A quick glance over at Thor, showed his brother had his face buried in his hands. 'Twas not the best reaction Loki could have hoped for but, given the argument they had only a few days ago about these idiots, it could definitely have been worse.
"I see you wish to jump right ahead to the charge of treason," Loki said calmly, allowing one corner of his lips to twitch upwards at the look of pure fury which flashed across her face.
"We did what we thought was right!" Lady Sif spat.
"Treason is never right."
"'Tis not treason when a usurper sits on Hliðskjálf."
Though rage filled him, Loki forced himself to appear exasperated as he rubbed his free hand over his face.
"Now you truly sound like Heimdallr," Loki replied, the dark mutterings from the crowd indicating he was not the only one to note the similarity.
"We had nothing to do with that!" Fandral burst out, wide-eyed and panicked.
Loki regarded him for a moment, letting them fear before he inclined his head once. "In that, I believe you."
"You do?"
"Hmm."
He could only assume the sob-like sound from the family section was meant to be one of relief.
"Why?" Lady Sif questioned, suspiciously.
"'Tis what Heimdallr claimed, and this is not the last conversation of regicide co-conspirators," Loki replied, using Gungnir to pull up the recording from within Himinbjörg.
'Twas not strictly necessary as its existence had already been proven and the Warriors Idiot definitely knew what had been said, but it also did not hurt, and he knew those who had not been present before would appreciate seeing it for themselves. Plus, 'twas part of the pomp and ceremony of the overall trial and Loki was not one to allow such an opportunity to pass now he had the floor. He was certain he would be back in the shadows soon enough.
As the hologram played, Loki let his eyes sweep Valaskjálf. Most people were fully focused on the scene from Himinbjörg, either with rapt fascination (the crowd), horrified dismay (the families), rage (Lady Sif), dismay (Fandral and Volstagg), quiet determination (the High Council) or grim forbearance (Thor and Hogun). Loki had not honestly been certain whether his brother would be able to control himself today despite the potential for a serious misstep which could haunt Thor for centuries, but somehow between their first big argument upon his brother's return and today, Thor seemed to have gained some measure of control over his emotions. Just enough to allow some rationality in. So either Lieutenant-General Yngvarr had been correct and the Warriors Four had done his job for him, or Mother had somehow broken through to Thor.
Normally Loki would suspect the latter, but this time he was not quite certain. Regardless, it gave him hope they would be able to move past this with time.
Aye, Loptr had stated even the truth of his heritage had not driven Thor away, but Loki had no illusions regarding where he stood with his brother when Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were involved. But this, combined with the fact that he didnotplan to execute his brother's friends, gave him hope.
"That sounded like an admission of guilt to me," Loki stated when the scene ended.
"Only because you have managed to so thoroughly warp the situation as to make the laws of Ásgarðr work for you in claiming Hliðskjálf for yourself!" Lady Sif spat.
"Oh dear, are we back to the grand conspiracy theory?" Loki questioned, causing a ripple of laughter from parts of the audience, much to the confusion of the traitors and his brother. "'Tis part of what Heimdallr claimed," Loki explained, looking directly at Thor. "That I had masterfully orchestrated the events of the past week and a half in order to gain Hliðskjálf for myself. The sheer level of manipulation and collusion required, though, was quite staggering and Heimdallr seemed a little uncertain as to who were the co-conspirators and who the helpless puppets." More laughter. "Mayhap Lady Sif will be able to explain it better."
"'Tis not so difficult to understand!" Volstagg roared, jerking at his chains. "Thor is the crown prince and heir! In Óðinn's absence or incapacity,heshould be king and notyou!"
"Nay, Thorwasthe crown prince and heir. The moment he was banished and stripped of his power and titles, those positions passed to the next in line of succession."
"'Tis not what Óðinn would have wanted," Lady Sif added.
"KingÓðinn," Loki retorted, growing bored of repeating himself. "And what, exactly, are you claiming, Lady Sif? That you are able to commune with my father while he is in the Óðinnsleep? Or that he was incapable of understanding what it meant to place me second in line of succession, and what removing Thor from it would mean?"
To be fair, Loki was not entirely certain Óðinn had thought quite so far ahead when he had banished Thor. Neither his adoptive father nor his brother had exactly been very rational at that time, but Óðinn had, nevertheless, chosen to adopt him and place him in the line of succession. The latter meant his regency had always been a possibility even if Óðinn had never truly expected for it to happen. It must have been a risk his adoptive father had been willing to take for, if something had ever happened to Thor, Óðinn would have been hard pressed to explain why he would not want to have his supposed second born on Hliðskjálf.
"I..." Lady Sif began, her fists clenching and looking surprisingly small and delicate in the heavy manacles and chains. "You manipulated the situation and let the frost giants into the vault!"
This was almost becoming boring in how much it echoed Heimdallr's trial.
"Tell me, did you steal Heimdallr's ideas, or did he listen in and steal yours?" Loki asked.
"That is your answer?" Lady Sif sneered. "It sounds like an evasion to me."
"I do not need to answer spurious accusations," Loki dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Iam not on trial here."
"You should be!"
"Do you respect any authority?"
"Those who have not stolen their positions!"
"So you believe my father stole his?"
"I never said that!"
"You implied it, for when you decided to retrieve Thor, you were disobeying the orders of King Óðinn as well as myself. One could also argue you do not respect Thor either, given the danger you planned to place him in."
"We would never endanger Thor!" Fandral protested. "Nor you."
'Twas an afterthought and one both he and Fandral knew was quite possibly not entirely true for all of them. Not anymore at least. Lady Sif guarded slights quite jealously and could be petty in her vengeance. 'Twas the area in which they were most alike.
"Lord Ragnvaldr, would you please inform every one of the punishment for one banished by the king who returns uninvited?" Loki asked.
"Of course, Your Majesty," Lord Ragnvaldr replied, stepping forward until he was at the base of the steps leading up to Hliðskjálf. "Those who return uninvited would be viewed as criminal and would be either banished once more, either permanently or for longer than before, or they could be imprisoned in the dungeons to serve out the remainder of their sentence, plus a penalty for disobeying their king.
However, in a situation such as this, where the aim of the return would have been an attempt to usurp Hliðskjálf and overthrow the rightful king of Ásgarðr, the sentence options increase dramatically, up to and including execution of the traitor."
Thatcaused a minor uproar around Valaskjálf as people realized the position they could have found themselves in if Lady Sif and the Warriors Three had managed to achieve their goal.
"Nay!" Fandral exclaimed in disbelief, eyes wide but voice surprisingly firm nonetheless. "You would not... not to Thor."
'Twas nice at least one of them knew him well enough to realize this, as 'twas more than clear the others did not.
Loki lifted Gungnir just high enough so when he let it slip, it caused a sufficiently loud bang as to lessen the volume within Valaskjálf once more.
"Nay, indeed, I would not have executed my own brother," Loki declared clearly. "But 'tis the danger you exposed him to when you sought him out in an attempt to usurp Hliðskjálf from me. Thankfully for us all, Thor refused to be a part of your machinations."
Loki had been determined to have that said loudly and clearly at some point during this trial, as 'twas important for the people to be clear on this issue. Thor would have enough trouble regaining their trust when this was all over without that doubt lingering in the backs of people's minds.
"There are traitors in the House of Óðinn," Hogun stated.
Well, Loki could not worry about anyone having found this trial dull. He gave people a moment to react to those words which were even more inflammatory out of their original context.
"You would use Laufey-King's words as your defense?" Loki inquired, when things had calmed down.
'Twas all starting to make sense to Loki now, why so many had been so quick to connect the three jötnar who had attacked the vault to him. The fact that 'twas true was irrelevant in some ways, but aye, his birth father's words would have been enough to make Hogun suspect a connection. And if he had voiced that and Heimdallr had overheard, well, combined with his ability to mask his presence from the famous gatekeeper, he could now see why they had suspected him.
But to draw the conclusions they had from it?
Frankly, Loki was not quite certain whether to be offended or feel complimented they felt he could pull off so elaborate and impossible a task. For truly, to organize the attack, manipulate his brother, convince Heimdallr not to obey his orders, manipulate Laufey into declaring war, have Óðinn banish Thor, and then somehow make Father collapse into the Óðinnsleep? Really, it would be a truly magnificent trick, but one he could not even begin to plan, let alone achieve. There were simply far too many variables to consider. Even for him with his love of complexity and manipulation.
"He said them," Hogun stated.
"Hmm, he did," Loki confirmed. "He also called Father a liar and a thief, would you claim those as truth too?"
There was an aborted move from where the High Council stood, and Loki glanced over to find Uncles Vili and Vé had laid placating hands on Thor's arms. In his brother's current condition, 'twas probably enough to restrain him. A few others had caught the actions too, but Loki was not worried. Thor reacting adversely to anything negative said or done to his family right now could only be beneficial.
"He may well have believed them to be true," Hogun answered diplomatically.
Loki had always known there was more going on with the vanir than was immediately apparent. Though why Hogun would choose to follow Thor then, he had never worked out with complete certainty, but he suspected 'twas because of the prestige. On Vanaheimr Hogun would not ever have amounted to much, but here he could be a shield-brother to a king, or that had probably been the original idea anyway, upon taking up Thor's offer to join after they had first encountered the silent fighter.
"Blatant disrespect for the current king of Ásgarðr, associations with one who would commit regicide, involvement in a plot to overthrow me, and now attempts to make Laufey-King sound authentic." It truly was far too good of an opportunity for Loki to allow to pass unremarked upon. "If I did not know any better, I would begin to think I needed to look more closely for possible links between you four and Jötunheimr."
The blast of chaos as everyone reacted to those words was terrific and Loki drank it in, trying to utilize it to soothe the ever-persistent agony of his core which was like a white-hot ball of fire burning him from the inside out. Rather ironic, considering his true nature. Both Ásgarðr and Mother Winter enjoyed the chaos as well, and it provided some comfort to know he would at least still have one of them moving forward after Óðinn woke. It would not lessen the pain of losing Ásgarðr, but it would help him cope with it.
Rather predictably, all four of his brother's friends reacted explosively to the mere suggestion and Loki had to suppress a smile as he watched the guards work to bring them back under control. Almost able to feel Thor's gaze on him, he looked over and met the oaf's eyes. For a moment he simply held it before he made a small gesture with his free hand, one of their signals.
Hold. Stay. Trust.
"Why you two-faced, conniving trickster!" Lady Sif sputtered as she struggled with the guards. "I swear I will-"
"Sif!"
The voice cracked across Valaskjálf, and Loki's head whipped around to find Lord Hermóðr, Sif's father, standing red faced and with fists clenched, glaring at his daughter. The man seemed caught somewhere between mortification and fury. With a start, Loki recalled how the lord had not been happy when Sif had joined the Einherjar. If he understood it correctly, it had been her mother who had encouraged her and, as a result, Lady Sif had fallen out with her father. Given all of that, Loki could well understand why Lord Hermóðr might be furious with her now.
A rather loud commotion drew Loki's attention back to the Warriors Idiot, and he found the Einherjar had wrestled all of them to their knees and were forcing them to maintain that position. Fury and shame burned bright in Lady Sif's eyes and he knew she would happily run him through with her sword right now if given half a chance. Too bad for her, 'twas not something she would ever have again.
Fandral, though, seemed far more desperate than anything else.
"Lok-" the paramour began, but clearly catching how his gaze narrowed in warning, Fandral cut off and began again. "Your Majesty, please!"
"Do not. It will simp-" Volstagg began.
Loki banged Gungnir against the floor once more, quieting both the audience and his former companions alike. They were still far too well trained to respond to the sound from when his father had used it in a similar fashion.
"I did sayifI did not know any better," Loki said once he had everyone's attention. "Luckily for you four, I do. Be grateful for it, as your actions recently would make you suspect for such suspicions otherwise."
Rather predictably, Lady Sif was already opening her mouth to argue, so Loki twitched Gungnir in his grip, activating the silencing spell on her collar and cutting off what she was about to say.
"Now, do any of you have anything civil to say in your defense?"
Lady Sif glared at him defiantly and made an aborted gesture with her arms, the chain cutting it off short.
"If your intent is to speak civilly, you will find that you are able to, Lady Sif," Loki told her. "Youarea lady of the court and such incivility is unbecoming of you."
His words only served to further her anger, but Loki did not care. He loathed vulgarities or base language and normally only used it when he had to provoke a very specific reaction from someone, or one of his tricks required it. Besides, 'twas more of a challenge, and infinitely more amusing, to be unfailingly polite while he was insulting someone. There were even times when the other party did not even realize what he was doing, but only if he had another audience, of course. Or else where was the fun in it?
Unable to voice her displeasure, Lady Sif bared her teeth at him instead, drawing mutters and scorn from the court.
"Charming," Loki said, before he shifted his gaze to the others. "Lords Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, any final words?"
"You would only twist them," Volstagg stated.
Then, because he was simply so petty at times, Loki looked at the wider audience. "Does anyone else have any evidence or words they would like to present before sentencing?"
There was a faint shuffling from the area where the families were kept, but thankfully none of them spoke. 'Twas a risk in opening it up, but Loki could not resist proving to the self-important Warriors Four they had gone too far this time, to the point where Thor was completely powerless to render them aid.
"In that case, I find you guilty on all counts," a cry of despair from the families, followed by a strangled moan. "First, for the deplorable behavior you have displayed both here today and over the course of the past few days, I hereby strip all of you not only of your titles, but also of your status as warriors of Ásgarðr."
Though there were some mutters from the audience - it had been a while since anyone had been denobled - most of them were nodding. The news clearly hit all four of Thor's friends hard and Loki knew it would be far worse for the latter than the former, since all of them took great pride in not only being warriors, but some of the most renowned throughout the Nine.
"You cannot do that!" Sif protested.
Loki merely raised an eyebrow. "I just did, for you are all clearly unworthy of either and could do nothing but stain the honor of both the court and the Einherjar."
Murmurs of agreement cut off Sif's reply and her face turned an ugly puce color in anger and embarrassment.
"Additionally, for your acts of treason against both the royal family and all of Ásgarðr, I sentence all of you to lifelong indentured servitude so you can repay all of the opportunities and privileges Ásgarðr has bestowed upon you and which you have betrayed and squandered so thoughtlessly."
The general reaction was more confused now and Loki was not surprised, it had been a long time since Ásgarðr had any indentured servants, but he was certain the knowledge would soon spread. A quick glance at Thor showed his brother was caught somewhere between confusion and relief, though he was certain it would not last long as Lord Ragnvaldr was already leaning in to explain it to him.
"Indentured servitude?" Fandral questioned.
"Hmm, and your first project will be repairing the main road in the eastern part of the city," Loki stated.
Thatelicited a greater response, both from Ásgarðr's four newest slaves and the people who had come to witness the trial. The section of the crowd which was the least well-dressed was particularly abuzz, and Loki assumed they were either from that area or close to it.
"Road repair!" Sif muttered in horror. "We are warriors, not common laborers!"
Rather than reply, Loki waved them off and the guards immediately began to drag them away and back down to the dungeons. A quick glance over to the family section showed a wide range of reactions. Lord Hermóðr could not seem to retreat fast enough, his face still tinged red with mortification. Both of Fandral's parents, meanwhile, had identical expressions of relief and he knew their worst fear had been that he would have executed their son. As long as Fandral was alive, they had hope. Volstagg's wife, however, had a look of utter devastation on her face and once more Loki felt for her. She had not only just lost her husband forever, but also the only one who was currently supporting the family. He would have to ask Lord Ragnvaldr to ensure someone pointed her towards the meagre help services they had available.
Mayhap watching her struggle with them would make Thor realize they required greater funding. He could only hope as it would make something good come out of this entire mess.
Though the greater number of people in Valaskjálf made the risk to his safety higher, Loki rose from Hliðskjálf and descended the steps as it also meant a greater number of people would be able to use the opportunity to approach him.
Loki spent about two hours in Valaskjálf before he decided he had tried his brother's patience long enough, and he retreated to the small chamber behind Hliðskjálf.
"Brother!" Thor boomed, coming right for him as soon as Loki entered.
He was engulfed in an embrace and squeezed tightly, Loki supposed, for a mortal.
"They will not like it," Loki warned. "And there are details to this you will not like."
"Of that I have no doubt," Thor replied, pulling back. "But Father would surely have executed them for what they said and did today."
If not what had come before.
"Let us hope that does not come back to haunt me," Loki replied.
Though he had his own reasons for selecting the punishment he had, Loki would not surrender the opportunity to ensure Thor fully understood the risks he was taking here by not summarily executing all five of the traitors.
"I understand, but what you said sounded good and from what Uncle Vé told me, the eastern part of the city is in dire need of some repairs."
"And not just there, unfortunately," Loki replied.
"I dread to ask."
"Suffice it to say several of the King's Funds requests were items which should have been dealt with differently."
"Uncle Vé told me of that too," Thor admitted, pausing before continuing. "I cannot say I am pleased with which applications you have chosen, but I could see you received ones Father never did."
Loki's eyebrows shot up at that, startled. "'Tis what happens if people do not feel the outcome is already determined."
"So I see."
Dare he? Loki knew it could trigger another fight, especially now of all times, but his brother was already being far more understanding than Loki had expected Thor to be.
"And a lot of the applications I turned down will still go ahead, simply with the funding the military already receives, which is very significant."
Thor frowned. "You and some of the others still divert too much away from it."
"Thor, we do not divert 'too much' away, hardly even what is needed to keep other vital services running."
"The warriors-"
"Are not the only people on Ásgarðr and not everyone can or wants to become one!" Loki retorted. "Nor would we want them to as we would have no one to grow the food they need, create the weapons they use, or sustain the economy which pays for it all. Ásgarðr needs all of its people to function, and that means supporting all of them. And part of that requires having basic infrastructure for trade and commerce to be passible, or for those who do not become warriors to be educated to a sufficient level to be able to run trades which can compete against those from other Realms, or balance their books to ensure they do not spend more than they earn."
Thor sighed. "I wish to view the road my fr- they will be working on."
It took Loki a moment to realize this was his brother's way of asking for permission to do so. Normally it would not be an issue, they both came and went without needing to ask Óðinn for permission for such simple things, but this was hardly a usual situation as Thor was essentially a mortal and without all of his usual privileges as a prince of Ásgarðr.
"Of course, but take your guards," Loki replied, trying to soften the blow a little.
While they had already fought about his brother's desire to go visit his friends, that had been the only time Thor had truly needed his permission to do anything. 'Twas one aspect of kingship Loki had not yet truly needed to confront and one he had no desire to; the power to order any of his adoptive family around. In his interactions with his mother so far it had not yet come up, as they were simply continuing on as normal. But 'twas different with Thor due to his brother's own altered status.
The one good thing of all of this was that it might make Thor think twice about ordering him around in the future, as it had been one of the things he had been worried about before the coronation; that his brother would utilize that particular power thoughtlessly. Now, at least, 'twas far less likely to happen.
"Aye, of course," Thor replied. "And I will think on what you said."
"Good. Simply remember, not everyone automatically has all we did growing up," Loki replied. "They cannot all afford to be educated and trained so easily."
"Is that why you elected to fund the one warrior application?"
"Hmm, 'twas aimed at those who would not receive training from normal military funds."
"I saw."
"You read them all?"
"Most of them," Thor paused. "Some of those you rejected were ones I had previously worked on."
"I know, but they received funding before, 'tis someone else's turn now," Loki responded. "And besides, we are replacing and upgrading a lot of the warriors' armor and weapons now, so there will be more of the usual budget available for other items which would normally have been used to do so."
"I had not thought of that. I shall speak with General Týr on it," Thor stated, before he reached back out for him. "And Loki? Thank you."
Loki tried to wave it off, but having his brother's genuine gratitude was rare as of late and so 'twas hard. He could only hope it did not come back to hurt them in some fashion.
"Do you know where to go to see what you wish?" Loki asked instead.
"Aye. When will you set them to work there?"
Loki winced. "Remember how I said there were details of this you would not like?"
"Aye."
His whole brother's tone and body were now tense and braced, and Loki was pleased. Thor seemed to be taking this seriously.
"Well, indentured servitude has special... accessories to ensure compliance."
A muscle in Thor's jaw jumped, but his brother took a moment to think before he spoke.
"What sorts of accessories?"
"Items quite similar to what they wore today, only imbued with dökkálfarian metal seiðr to ensure they cannot escape or disobey."
"Seiðr? Loki is that absolutely necessary, you know how they feel about seiðr."
"Hmm, this is part of what indentured servitude means. Besides, would you be able to guarantee they would not attempt to escape or refuse to do the work assigned to them otherwise?"
"Nay," Thor winced. "But when you say ensures compliance... ah..."
"Aye, it can mean what you fear, which is why I will build in safety precautions to ensure 'tis not abused."
"Thank you, Brother."
Whether Thor would still thank him once his brother saw his friends and had heard their complaints, Loki did not know, but he would take it for now while he could.
Once Thor and his guard had left, Loki took a moment before glancing over at Lieutenant-General Yngvarr.
"Am I forgetting anything regarding military funding, do you think, Lieutenant-General?"
Yngvarr shifted forwards a little. "I strongly believe anyone given more funds will find something to spend it on, so while we would be able to utilize it, you are correct in that we do not require it. Well, unless the peace treaty does not hold."
"Nay, then everything will need to shift," Loki replied, before tilting his head. "Do you not want more?"
"Not if it comes at the expense of what I saw in the eastern part of the city."
"Hmm, it did rather drive home their need."
"Additionally, I have also seen what a lack of investment in trade and commerce causes," Lieutenant-General Yngvarr continued. "I was on Múspellsheimr not long after their economy collapsed."
Loki winced at the thought. He had never known Múspellsheimr as a thriving Realm, merely as the ruins 'twas now, but Lieutenant-General Yngvarr made a good point as that was what had happened there. Mayhap he would need to pull out the details of it all later, to show Thor how important what his brother saw as the 'non-essentials' could truly be.
"Norns willing, Ásgarðr will never be in a similar position," Loki stated.
"Norns willing," Lieutenant-General Yngvarr replied, though he looked like he wanted to add more.
Before Loki could inquire about it, though, there was a knock on the door and Lord Ragnvaldr entered the chamber.
"Am I interrupting, Your Majesty?"
"Nay," Loki replied. "Shall we head to my study, so I can sign the parchmentwork and make it all official?"
"As you wish," Lord Ragnvaldr replied, falling into step beside him as they left the chamber. "I have spoken with the palace blacksmiths, and they say they will have the necessary items ready tomorrow afternoon."
"Good," Loki smiled tightly, trying to keep his true pleasure at the thought hidden. "Have the master blacksmith meet me in the dungeons then, for the final adjustments as we fit them."
"I will see to it. Additionally, I have been in contact with Councillor Vör and she says they are ready to commence the repairs whenever the traitors are ready to be put to work."
Loki glanced over at Óðinn's advisor. "Did you invite her to the trial?"
"I thought it might be the easiest way for her to understand the situation."
And ensure those in charge explained it properly if questioned on it. Let it never be said Lord Ragnvaldr was anything but a political mastermind. He could see why Óðinn had first chosen, and then kept, the man around for so long.
"How did she react?" Loki asked, genuinely curious.
"She appeared extremely pleased, beyond merely having the necessary labor."
Aye, it could have been viewed as a disappointment as there were only four of them. But they were four strong workers and the magical restraints would ensure they actually performed as well as they could.
"All four have been known to make disparaging remarks about the lower classes of Ásgarðrian society," Loki explained. "Nor were they particularly quiet when doing so. I am not surprised word of their sense of superiority would have filtered back down to those living in areas like Councillor Vör's."
"Ah, I see."
Let it never be said he would not do everything in his power to aid his own cause. Now he had been able to enact his chosen punishment on the former Warriors Four for all they had done to him, Loki would do all he could to ensure Óðinn did not overturn the sentence when they appealed to him. And appeal they would, of that Loki had absolutely no doubt. Just as he had none that Óðinn would see how they had endangered Hliðskjálf and all of Ásgarðr, but he was far less certain of how his adoptive father would choose to respond to his chosen punishment. So, by ensuring Lord Ragnvaldr knew as much about what the four had done and how they thought, Loki hoped to help the advisor see why what he had chosen was a particularly good punishment for them.
After all, he already knew Óðinn would not listen to him directly on the matter, as the man never listened to him. Not anymore, if ever.
The strange feeling of restlessness Loki had felt before was back, and it made him antsy and nervous in a way he could not quite explain. He tried to shove the feeling aside as they entered his study, but the attempt was unsuccessful. It lingered at the back of his mind as he looked over the forms Lord Ragnvaldr had drawn up and signed and sealed each one, officially making each of his brother's friends an indentured servant and stripping them of all of their titles and rights as a free citizen of Ásgarðr.
"I would not be surprised if you commence receiving requests for the use of the traitors," Lord Ragnvaldr said as he gathered the four parchments.
"Oh?"
"I was already approached immediately after the trial by some wishing to utilize their services."
That was interesting.
"I assume you asked for them to submit an official request?"
"Aye."
"The question is who should oversee it. Normally I would ask it of Lord Óðr, but given recent events, I am loathe to trust him with the task."
"May I recommend Prince Vé?" Lord Ragnvaldr suggested.
"Why?"
'Twas not whom he had expected the man to recommend, and Loki was intrigued.
"When he was younger, Prince Vé expressed an interest in Ásgarðr's history and architecture, therefore I believe he might be particularly well placed to understand the importance of various requests regarding areas which may have been inadequately compensated for repairs after the múspellssynir attack."
"I was not aware of that," Loki replied. "But it sounds good, I will speak with him about it. Now, about the report we have had from farmers in the north."
The next hour was spent in discussion on various items pertaining to Ásgarðr's economy, none of which were particularly interesting, but all rather important. Or rather the consequences of ignoring them would be. 'Twas an aspect of kingship Loki knew to be critically important, but which he found mind-numbingly dull. Which did nothing to aid him in ignoring the restlessness he felt, and it took quite an effort to remain seated and attentive as they worked.
From there he moved onto some other parchmentwork once Lord Ragnvaldr had left, though 'twas hard and he had to force himself to do so until there was a knock on the door.
