The Trickster's Bride

Chapter Eleven: Loki

It was three days' time before the girl's ceremony. And the dreaded engagement party.

I would have made myself scarce, if it wouldn't have broken mother's heart. Mother was the only person in all the Nine Realms who truly believed in me. I would rather die than let her down. She had defended me many times, and I knew this marriage would make her happy. I only wished that I felt the same way.

I had decided to stay at the Palace until after the whole ordeal. There was no use going back to Laufeyson, my home in the forest. I would simply be summoned back for some reason or another. As it were, I constantly had servants knocking on my door bringing me questions from Mother and Father.

And, I must admit, I was curious about Rani. After all, there had to have been a reason that Mother chose her as my bride. Mother was smarter than most. I was puzzled as to what special trait had made Frigga choose Rani, above all others.

However, I was not permitted to see her until her coronation. Everyone wanted it to be a great surprise, our first meeting. I suppose they hadn't thought about how awkward that might be. "Oh, hello, we're getting married soon, pleased to meet you." Just thinking about it made me wince.

I didn't fret too much, until the day after her arrival. I overheard others in the halls whispering excitedly about her. My stomach flipped each time I heard her name. A part of me wanted to see what all the fuss was about. But I kept to myself. I was content to stay in my old rooms, leafing through the many books I had left here. In some of them, my childish hand had sketched notes and drawings in the margins. It was fairly peaceful. I preferred my solitude. Too many people made me jumpy, and most conversations were a bore. This did not bode well for my short temper.

The knocks at my door had finally lessened in the evening, and I was enjoying the quiet. I tried keeping my mind busy with reading. Needless to say, I was a bit irritated when my brothers Thor and Tyr burst into my room.

"Has nobody taught you two manners? Most civilized people knock before they enter a room. Why, I could have been stark naked," I said calmly, laying languidly on my couch.

My burly brothers guffawed as though I had cracked a joke. I rolled my eyes and closed my book.

"Brother!" Thor all but yelled, coming over to slap me on the back. "Soon you shall meet your bride! Are you not thrilled?"

I looked up at him, my eyebrows inching up my forehead. "Absolutely unable to control myself," I said boredly.

Tyr drank from a goblet on my desk and wiped the froth from his beard. "A little bit of enthusiasm is due here, Loki," he said. "What ails you?"

I rolled my eyes and closed my book. There was no way I could avoid him anymore. "Nothing ails me, brother. I simply don't understand what all the fuss is about. People get married every day. It's nothing new."

"Yes," admitted Thor, eyes widening with glee, "but it's youwho's finally getting married! Loki, the Son of Odin!"

Tyr butted in, “We were beginning to think you'd never find a woman.”

As my brothers laughed at my expense, I considered teleporting back to Laufeyson before I had to suffer through any more bad jokes.

Thor saw my discomfort and frowned. He sat down heavily in a chair across from me. "You've always been strange, brother," he said, "and it's one of your most interesting qualities. But really, your bride is here! And let me tell you, she's wonderful."

An odd pang of possessiveness twitched in my heart, like someone had plucked a lyre string. I stifled it. "I know you and Sif have spent time with her," I said. "I'm sure the three of you have become quite close." I couldn't mask the edge in my tone.

"Oh, don't be jealous, brother!" Tyr guffawed loudly. "You'll see her soon. Don't you want to know what she's like?"

"I'm sure I'll find out soon enough." Of course, I wanted to see her! I was expected to live out the rest of my days with this woman. I would be stupid not to be intrigued. I just didn't want to be disappointed.

"I recall, before wedding my darling Sif," Thor said, his eyes glazed with memory, "I was so tightly wound, I felt ready to burst."

"Oh, Thor," I said in disgust, "please don't be crude. I do not want to hear about your sexual longings-"

"Ha!" Thor tossed his head back while Tyr choked on the ale he was still drinking. "Well, yes, that, too, but that's not what I mean, brother. I mean, I ached to see her. I wanted to learn everything about her. Surely you feel the same way?"

I looked at my siblings. We may not have been blood, but we were brothers just the same. Raised from infancy together, we knew each others' ins and outs. And despite my protests and distant heart, Thor had never turned his back on me. Tyr was not quite so loyal, but he was skeptical by nature. Either way, they had both come here to keep me company, which I must admit was a kind gesture. I vaguely wondered if Mother put them up to it.

"Fine," I spat, "I'm a bit curious."

Thor laughed so hard, I felt he might explode from joy. Really, he was just a child in a man's body sometimes. "What do you want to know, brother?" Thor leaned forward, smiling wide. He nudged Tyr's shoulder, and he, too took a seat.

I sighed. I'd lost this battle before it started. "What does she look like?"

Thor immediately delved into a long explanation of Rani's beauty. I felt that perhaps he was embellishing a bit, but I allowed him to speak. As he went on, my curiosity grew, even as I tried to squash it. I couldn't even muster a sarcastic comment.

Who was this woman I hadn't even met, who had me already under her spell?

“Your red-haired vixen is quite appealing,” Tyr admitted. “You're a lucky man.”

I listened to my brothers for nearly an hour, before they left to seek out more ale. Once they had gone, and my chambers were filled with peace at last, my mind would not quiet itself.

Rani was somewhere on the other side of the Castle. And though I tried to fight it, I was wildly curious. I decided to give in.

I was Loki, the Trickster, Son of Odin, descendant of the Jotunn. I did as I pleased.