"I can sense the darkness in you calling for mine and what a lovely waltz it would be, swaying over everyone and everything without a care, not bound by morals and consequence, to show you how magnificently broken and perfect you are. I would tear y...
'He is in no shape to welcome any visitors, unfortunately.' Persephone told Loki.
'And why weren't we notified of his condition before our visit?' Loki asked in a calm voice and ordered his guards mentally to stay alert.
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'It all happened very recently, Your Highness, otherwise we would have sent word to Asgard. My husband was so eager to make this visit happen and didn't want to delay it again, hence he asked me to be your guide. He also nominated me to take over his royal duties while he is temporarily incapacitated.'
It struck Loki then: the spell must have been lifted. But how? What triggered Persephone's memories? What was the common denominator? That is if there was a spell to begin with. Was it all an elaborate rouse all along? The Queen was waiting for his answer, so unless he wanted to publicly call the verity of the queen's word into question, he had no choice but to accept her offer as his guide and he had no intention to offend her. He needed a new plan. He glanced at Persephone and flashed his most genuine smile at her, then went down on his left knee, bowing his head.
'Your Majesty, I'd be honoured.' he said, keeping his head down, waiting for her to give permission to rise. He heard his guards following his example.
'Rise, Prince Loki. We are old friends after all.' he heard her voice and stood up.
There was an excited spark in the Queen's eyes, her impassive mask slipping for the first time. She enjoyed her new title, Loki instantly knew he made the right move with bending the knee instead of just bowing his head.
'Let us relocate to the dining hall then and celebrate your arrival in style. I took the liberty to ask our Chancellor of the Treasury to join us along with our High General and explain a bit more about our current state of affairs. That is, if you don't mind talking business during lunch.'
'Not at all, Your Majesty.'
'Excellent. After lunch, we will have dessert and refreshments, you and I, in my private quarters. There we can discuss any other questions you might have.' she smiled, linking her arms with his jovially. 'And I have a feeling you will have a few.'
✧
Persephone was pleased with the progress they made during lunch. The High General and the Chancellor played their parts well, answering to Loki's every question according to the plan that Hades put in motion. Of course, they didn't really have a choice after Hades informed them about his wife taking over temporarily due to his unexpected health problems, but the King assured them that his wife had his full support until he recuperates. It wasn't unprecedented that Persephone chaired official meetings or made decisions in his absence, albeit they had a few concerns which Hades easily handled with his usual arrogance, telling them to fall in line if they wanted to keep their positions. The fact that Alleo was a close ally of hers, standing not far away with a grim expression on her face along with a dozen of soldiers loyal to their Queen, helped a lot, too.
