Loki: Storm of Swords

Chapter 53 - To Rescue the Refugees

Loki knew the people of Dorne would be terrified of Rhaegal, but their lives depended on Loki warning them in time. Their fear of the dragon would have to play second to the fear of Surtur. When Rhaegal landed, the people screamed, but Loki raised his hand to silence them. "Everyone! Calm down! I need you to get food and clothing and some money from your homes. You must get out of here now! On the double!" Loki ordered as he darted into the first house. The family within gasped upon seeing the Pale Stranger, as he was known in Dorne. "Up! Hurry!" Loki commanded as he pushed some food into a bag and shoved it into the hands of the eldest child. The parents sprang into action a second later and Loki moved on. Thor landed in the little village a moment later and saw that Loki was having people get into their small boats and pull away from the shore. "Thor!" he called and the Asgardian approached him. "Fly back to Kings Landing. Have Yara Greyjoy send ships to collect them. Their boats won't last long if Surtur follows them across the channel."

"The fleet won't last long against Surtur neither," Thor reminded, but he did as his former brother commanded. Loki went from house to house and helped pack all the necessities, and worked his magic to keep people calm. Soon, most of the villagers were in a trance-like state, performing everything he told them swiftly and to the letter. Loki watched with nervous anticipation as they got into their boats and pushed off from the coastline towards Kings Landing. Loki inhaled deeply and ran his fingers through his hair. With his arm raised, he glanced down at the burn holes in his sleeve and frowned. What Thor had said before was true. It had always been a bit difficult for him to heal from burns. What had changed now? Loki brushed the thought from his mind when Rhaegal appeared behind him. 

"La oss flytte, Rhaegal. De vil være nok tid senere til spørsmål. Og jeg har mange av dem. (Let's get moving, Rhaegal. They'll be time enough later for questions. And I've got plenty of them)" Loki said. Rhaegal snorted and Loki nodded in agreement before swinging up into his saddle. He snapped the reins and kicked in his heels. Rhaegal spread his wings to take off, but that was when a clap of thunder was heard overhead, and Loki glanced up. He saw a red streak of lightning and his eyes widened.  Thor heard the thunder and glanced over his shoulder as he flew. He too saw the lightning and frowned. 

"That's my job," he muttered as he continued flying towards Kings Landing. 

Daenerys caught sight of the returning god as he flew towards the city and she steered Drogon in that direction. Viserion followed behind the elder dragon and the queen. Thor saw them and altered his course so that he would meet up with her. Thor pulled to a halt just as Daenerys steered Drogon to the side. Thor landed on the dragon's back with an 'oof' and Daenerys gave him a glance. "My apologies, Queen Daenerys," he said as he crawled up Drogon's scales and spines.

"Nothing to forgive, Odinson. But, why have you come back? Is Loki alright?" Daenerys queried.

"Last time I saw him, my brother was in one piece and giving orders. But, I have been sent back by him to have the Greyjoy fleet pick up refugees from Dorne," Thor explained. Daenerys made a face.

"Refugees?" 

"That city he went to? Sunspear? It's gone," Thor responded. Daenerys stopped breathing at this.

"What? How is that possible? A whole city?!" Daenerys declared.

"Surtur. He is a fire giant. His power is legend in both our worlds," Thor said and Daenerys paled visibly.

"All those people... of course! Go to Yara Greyjoy and tell her I command her to send half of her ships to Dorne. She is collect those poor souls and bring them back to the safety of Kings Landing. Although, how much longer it will remain safe is a mystery," Daenerys said dourly. Thor nodded, jumped off Drogon and quickly swung his hammer, flying down towards the ships. Daenerys felt a sickening fear begin in the pit of her stomach. Sunspear, the capital of Dorne, demolished by a single, powerful entity. What was to stop him from doing the same thing to Kings Landing. Absolutely nothing, Daenerys thought to herself as she steered Drogon towards Dorne. 

Yara Greyjoy glanced up with wide, curious eyes as Thor landed on the deck of her lead ship. He stomped over to her, his boots making booming noises on the thick wood. "Admiral Greyjoy!" he greeted.

"Prince Thor. What can I help you with?" she queried. 

"I have come from Dorne and Sunspear. It was destroyed and Loki and I managed to get the people out, but they're in their little fishing boats and so on, and can't really make it across the channel safely. Your queen requests that you send half your ships out to retrieve them," Thor said. Yara nodded her head after digesting the information. She turned to her first mate.

"Use the signal flags. Tell half the fleet to sail towards Dorne and pick up the Dornish refugees. Those are the orders of the queen," Yara instructed and the man saluted her and went about her business. She turned back to Thor and nodded. "Her orders shall be carried out. But, I cannot go myself. I must remain as my orders are to protect Kings Landing. But my men will see to everything else. They wouldn't let me down, unless they want to risk my wrath," Yara said and Thor gave her a smile. 

"Of course, Admiral Greyjoy. I wouldn't expect anything less from your Salt Warriors," Thor complimented before he took off. Yara watched him fly away with a slack jaw, but closed it as quickly as she could. She turned to her sailors and waved her hand for them to continue their work.

"They'll be no slacking on my ship!" she barked. After pacing her deck for a few moments, she did notice that several of her ships began to peel off and sail south. Yara sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I wish I could say, 'I am too old for this.' But, if Loki heard me, he would skin me alive," she whispered to herself. 

The ship bearing the royal family of Dorne towards safety was the first to be spotted by the Greyjoy fleet. Doran Martell saw them from the window of his cabin and breathed a sigh of relief. Trystane hugged Myrcella and his children, kissing them all and silently thanking Sansa for insisting that he go with them. They had been terrified and Myrcella had said that she would not have been able to calm them without their father. The Ironborn sailors saw the little boats as well and had to slow their larger vessels down so they would not overturn the smaller ones. They pulled the people onboard and immediately put them in the brig to keep them out of their way. The little fishing boats were cast aside and they began to escort the royal ship back to Kings Landing. "What do you suppose will happen now?" Myrcella asked her father-in-law. Doran leaned back in his chair and eyed his grandchildren as they stared balefully back at him.

"We must win the war before we can hope to rebuild our home. For now, we must rely on the charity of Queen Daenerys and the Lord Loki. I'm sure that since Myrcella is his ward, he'll be generous and house us," Prince Doran answered wearily. It had come as quite a shock to him when he had been informed of the portal and had sent for Loki, he had been terribly afraid of what was about to happen. And it seemed that he had been right to be afraid.