The Queen of Jotunheim

Chapter 20: Bleeding Battle Scars

Chapter 20:
Facing the Old King with
Bleeding Battle Scars

"Wait, you said you needed to see Laufey?!" Loki asked, suddenly realizing what that would entail. "But you said he lived in the other castle? So why is he here?!" He looked around himself confused.

"Well, he stays here while I'm in Asgard, acting as a sort of Royal Advisor, keeping things running while I'm doing diplomatic talks." Nix paused in front of a giant set of double doors, they were sturdy and craved masterfully, giving them a sense of power and wonder. Loki quickly figured out this was the entrance to the throne room.

"Someone has to keep the kingdom running while I talk to the other realms," Nix said simply. Loki thought back to the conversation about how Nix got the crown in the first place, how she had forced the crown from Laufey in an uprising, but that he had also admitted defeat and was kept around as an advisor.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Loki whispered, frowning as he looked at the doors. "What if letting him act as King makes him miss it?" He knew the other Jotuns had jokes about Laufey praying for Nix to return soon, but he was not so sure about how accurate that statement was.

"Letting him act as King... Makes him miss a simpler time and retirement," Nix said in a sure voice as she opened the doors to the throne room. Loki was unsure what she meant by that, but then he spotted Laufey and concluded she was probably right.

He was sitting by the throne, not on it, and seemed to be looking over some paperwork mumbling to himself. He was leaning against the side of the throne, using it as a backrest, as his legs were stretched across the smooth floor, his heel just barely catching the edge of the last step up to the throne.

The throne itself was on a form of pedestal, but not the way Laufey's throne had been in his own castle. The throne back there was sitting on a pedestal too, but one raised far into the air where even a Jotunn would have trouble climbing up, making the person sitting on the throne tower over all beneath them.

This throne was lower to the ground, and while the pedestal it was sitting on was raised, it was only slightly, and it was followed by another bigger pedestal, making the whole thing more like a short staircase without raising it so high that one would have to look down on the people, but still be slightly above them.

Laufey's eyes were dark and somewhat lifeless. It reminded Loki more of a worker who was just going through the motions waiting until the workday was done so he could finally go home. But as soon as he spotted Nix his eyes got that light of a person who had just been told he got an extended weekend.

"Queen Nix, you returned sooner than expected," he said, his voice soft as he got up, slowly as if unsure about his legs, and stretching his body in a way that reminded Loki a little of a cat. His joints cracking and popping so loudly that Loki could hear it from the other end of the big room, and for a moment he reminded Loki of his old teacher who was counting down his days to retirement to rest his old bones.

"That I have Laufey, and I brought a guest with me," Nix said, gesturing to Loki by her side, "I already informed the maids, so you do not need to worry about that."

Laufey did not seem to have noticed Loki before, because as soon as Nix gestured to him, his eyes grew cold as he stared down at him, the darkness in his eyes returning in full force. "Why?" He asked, his voice cold as he looked back to Nix like she betrayed him.

"Because I need to talk with him, and because I truly think him to be an ally," Nix explained, looking up at Laufey with eyes full of determination, "so he is my guest and I expect you to treat him with respect, or at least not be hostile."