Loki: Storm of Swords

Chapter 67 - The Hand vs. the Queen?

The servants paid no heed to a group nobles as they marched down the halls of the Red Keep. It was normal to see men going to visit the queen in her chambers to discuss matters they did not want to discuss in the throne room. However, they should have noticed that they were fingering their knives and swords at their sides. They arrived at the great doors with a dragon carved on it and knocked on it very loudly. "Open! Open up!" the leader ordered. The Unsullied appeared from around the corner and pointed their spears at them.

"Step away," the one Unsullied ordered them in Westron.

"Leave the queen's chambers now! Request an audience!" the other commanded.

"For House Frostborn!" the one noble cried as he drew his sword and slashed at the spear. The Unsullied withdrew his weapon and swung his shield out, swatting the man to the side. Two other men jumped in and overpowered the Unsullied, slaying him with their daggers. The same thing happened to the second Unsullied guard. They threw themselves into the door, causing it to burst open. The chambers were empty and they spun around, looking for the royals. The doors closed behind them and the torches and candles went out on a breath of wind.

"How dare you?! How dare you attempt to take the life of your rightful queen and her family?!" a familiar voice asked them from out of nowhere.

"We did it for you! You're the rightful heir and king!" one of the nobles said.

"You are a male and should be sitting on the Iron Throne!" another joined in.

"Fools!" the Hand's voice bellowed. "If I wanted the throne, I would not have raised Daenerys Stormborn from the ashes and placed her there myself! I would have taken the Iron Throne for myself!" That was when they heard a sound from outside and a head on the end of a long neck came through the balcony curtains. They gasped when they saw that it was Rhaegal. The dragon seemed to sneer at them and lowered his head so that the nobles could see Loki mounted on his back. "Who put you up to this? Whose idea was it to stage this coup d'etat?"

"We all came to the conclusion, my lord. We wanted justice for you," a highborn man stated. Loki snickered and ran his hand along Rhaegal's scales.

"Justice? Justice is a relative term. Justice is what we make of it. Although, most people agree that killing a right honorable monarch is not considered just," Loki commented. "And that, was your mistake." Rhaegal snarled, frightening the men to their knees. "Do you beg for forgiveness for your crimes against Queen Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen?" Loki asked.

"Yes! We do! Please forgive us! Show mercy!" all the men pleaded simultaneously. Loki's eyebrow went up drastically.

"Of course... but... now that you've been forgiven, you can die in peace," Loki answered. They started screaming as Loki whispered to Rhaegal, "Dracaris." The dragon breathed out its fire and consumed all the traitors within. Once Rhaegal stopped breathing fire and withdrew his head, Loki waved his hand and muttered a few spells. The fire was put out and all that remained, were the ashes of the traitors. Loki dismounted Rhaegal and patted his neck. "Godt arbeid, Rhaegal. Og nå må jeg takle konsekvensene (Good work, Rhaegal. And now, I must deal with the consequences)," Loki said to his faithful mount. Rhaegal cast a worried look in his direction and Loki chuckled. "Ikke bekymre deg for meg. Jeg er sikker på at jeg har møtt verre før (Do not worry for me. I'm sure I've faced worse before)," Loki assured him before giving him a gentle push, sending him flying off the balcony ledge. Loki turned back and was faced with a wall of spears from many Unsullied. His hands went up and the Unsullied bristled a little. They knew what he was capable of and they were not about to risk it.

"Hold!" commanded a voice and the Unsullied parted to reveal Daenerys. She was flanked by Ser Jorah Mormont and Daahrio Naharis. Both men had their own weapons drawn. Daenerys looked around, seeing the ash of the remains of the men. She glanced up at Loki. "They did this in your name."

"But not by my orders," Loki responded. Daenerys nodded and chewed on her lip.

"I can't be seen not punishing you though," she said and Loki made a face.

"Stop! He didn't do this!" Sansa's voice rang out and she charged through the Unsullied. They tried to stop her, but Sansa lashed out with such fury that there was nothing they could do to halt her advance. Daenerys watched as Sansa put herself between her and Loki. Her arms out wide, she glared at Ser Jorah and Daahrio, daring them to do anything. "You can't even think that he would do this! He wouldn't! He's your loyal subject and friend! Not to mention, your brother," Sansa reminded. That was when Thor came through the door, followed by Hogun and Volstagg. His eyes widened when he saw the remains of ashes on the ground.

"What happened here?" he queried.

"Some lesser lords tried to kill me and my family... in the name of Lord Frostborn here," Daenerys said, sounding detached. Thor's head swiveled in Loki's direction and he saw the cold gaze in his former brother's eyes.

"I don't believe that to be true, your grace," Thor said politely and Daenerys glanced at him. "Loki would not go through all the trouble to groom you, win a war for you, and place you on the throne, only to turn on you now. It would be too much work."

"Thank you for making me sound lazy," Loki commented before he turned to Daenerys. "I can assure you that I had nothing to do with this attack. And to show my loyalty, I will surrender myself to you," Loki informed her, holding his hands out to her. Ser Jorah and Daahrio looked to her, waiting for her commands. Tyrion's lips twitched slightly before he too turned to his wife. Daenerys nodded and waved her hand, and both her Queens Guard advanced. Sansa still clung to Loki, determined to keep him from being taken. "Hush! It's alright, my love," Loki whispered. "Better that I surrender than they have to take me by force."

"But they couldn't take you by force, even if they wanted to," Sansa reminded as both Ser Jorah and Daahrio took his arms. Loki smirked and winked at her as they started to take him away.

"Lock him in south tower for now. I will not have him sent to the pits unless it is proven that he was responsible for this treasonous act," Daenerys ordered and Ser Jorah and Daahrio acknowledged her directive with a nod of their heads. Sansa let a few tears slide down her face as Loki was taken away. As he passed Thor, Volstagg, and Hogun, all three Asgardians thought they saw Loki grin again.

"Is it just me, or is he plotting something?" Volstagg posed.

"No, Volstagg. You're not the only one. There is something greater going on here, and we need to find out what it is," Thor said.