Among the Asgardians: The Goddess of Love

Jotunheim

Loki's POV

I took my place beside Frigga, who was standing to Odin's right. He was sitting in his grand throne, the two great ravens, Hugin and Munin, on his left and right. I hated those birds. They loved to tell Odin everything they saw, much in the way that children like to tattletale.

The hall was absolutely full. There were people as far back as ten city blocks on Midgard. They were like ants waiting to be crushed by the one Odin had chosen as leader because of sheer strength. Not brains or strategy, but strength.

I looked down the aisle. There were two rows of guards on either side of it, forming a boundary to keep the crowd back.

The crowd was a jubilant bunch. They were made up of the Ambassadorial assembly, their wives, and their children on the left, and the bureaucrats, also with their wives and children on the right. Both groups I hated. However, in Slanthis' place in the crowd stood Kathryn, who had been chosen to take his place so that there would not be any holes. It made the monarchy look bad if too many ambassadors missed the coronation of their keeper of the peace.

Kathryn looked fantastic, her gown a beautiful white with gold embroidery in the shape of vines curving up the side of the bodice and accentuating her hips and sides. Her head was covered by a white hood with a golden trim. At her side, she wore a long, double-edged sword with a golden handle and a large ruby in the hilt. Her hair tumbled over one shoulder in waves down her chest. It was beautiful.

As I watched, she took her master's place among the Asgardians and stroked the sword lovingly. I wondered how Slanthis had managed to acquire it. It did not look as if it had been made in any of the realms. Perhaps deep space? As I looked closer at the metal, I noticed that it was of the metal called Uru, the same metal in Odin's spear, Gungnir, and in the mighty hammer, Mjolnir. Uru was supposedly only found in deep space now. Most of it was concentrated in the asteroid region of Lidelse.

This matter needed looking in to. The only inhabitants of that portion of dark space were the Chitauri and their mysterious leader. I wondered if that could be who Slanthis was. It didn't seem likely. Up until now, he had spent most of his time in Asgard in an effort to gain followers. He could not run an empire from here. He would have to travel via the bifrost on an almost daily basis. Heimdall had not mentioned anything about Slanthis' travels when I spoke to the gatekeeper. Quite the contrary. When not at the Ambassadorial Assembly, Slanthis never left his apartments at all. Kathryn had confirmed this. He hated spending time outdoors, and in fact was allergic to the cherry trees that graced the Asgardian balconies with their fragrant blossoms in spring and their luscious fruits in summer.

The night of the gala, the cherry trees had been in bloom. I remembered their beautiful smell, and I associated it with my only love, the bearer of my son and the mother of my daughter. Perhaps if we had another child, I would name it kirsebaer, the Norwegian word for cherry.

Suddenly, the roar of the crowd jerked me out of my thoughts. Thor came from a side door wearing his ridiculous winged hat. No wonder the Greeks had called him Hermes when we visited their people as we had the Vikings.

Laughing and tossing his hammer, he strode down the alleyway between the two rows of guards. The ambassadors and bureaucrats clapped happily with obvious jubilation, but the rest of the crowd was furious. Only the magic of Gungnir could keep them at bay. They scramed insults at Thor and called him bad names, but the insolent bastard thought their yells were in his favor. As if all the masses supported his crowning. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I looked to the floor. Not all the blood was off the floor. There was still a small stain on the golden tile where the guard had dropped Hasira's head less than twenty-four hours ago. Angrily, I sucked on my cheeks. His death was unnecessary, though I was glad Odin disapproved of his murder.