The Brightest Star

Chapter 28 - The Engagement

(Loki's POV):
"Loki, the King has requested your presence," a guard spoke, waking me up with his voice. He then immediately left the room, not giving me the time to lash out at him for barging into my room without warning.

As I moved to get up, I accidentally woke up Kára in the process. She groaned slightly, moving so that her arm fell over my bare waist. She snuggled up into my chest, making me want to do nothing more than remain in bed with her for the rest of the morning.

"Darling, I have to get up, Odin wishes to see me," I spoke softly in her ear, kissing her cheek afterward as an attempt to make up for having to leave her.

"It is still so early, stay a few more minutes," she pled, holding on to me tighter and still refusing to open her eyes.

"As much as I would love to keep Odin waiting, I am assuming that he wishes to confront me about our engagement and with how enraged he must be because of it I probably should not anger him further. I have a feeling that our lesson is going to be postponed today so feel free to go back to sleep, love," I replied, kissing her forehead and slipping out of her grasp.

She finally opened her eyes and sat up, the bedsheets falling down and revealing her beautiful naked chest, "should I come with you then? Perhaps having us both there will prove to be a stronger force?"

"It may, but I fear that that too will make him angrier than he already is. You do not need to worry, I know how to handle him. They do not call me 'silvertongue' for nothing," I smiled at her as I used magic to get dressed.

"Oh so that is what it refers to, after the nights that we have spent together I was beginning to think that it was something else."

"Mm, you are a naughty girl, Kára," I hummed, trailing my eyes down her body, covered solely by the bedsheets. "Perhaps later I shall just have to punish you for that."

"I will count on it, my Prince," she smiled, slipping out of bed so that I could see her full body. She walked up to me and pressed her body up against mine as she kissed me passionately.

"Kára," I moaned against her lips, trying to restrain myself from completely ravishing her. "I must go speak with Odin, I promise that I will return soon."

I gave her one last smile before leaving the room, ignoring the guards that immediately flanked me as I made my way to the throne room. A few more guards met me as we walked, one of them stopping us.

"I have received word from the King that because Loki is leaving this wing of the palace he should be chained up," he informed the other guards as his partner began to tie me up.

I rolled my eyes as they chained me up, mildly annoyed by how inconsequential the restraints were. Although they inhibited my magic, I knew that I could easily fight off the guards and escape whether I was restrained or not.

"Would you mind speeding this up a bit?" I finally asked after a minute had gone by. "I am sure that Odin has a great speech planned to reprimand me and I do not want to keep him waiting. He is a rather old man, he may forget what he wishes to say by the time you finish tying me up."

"Be quiet, Loki," one of the guards spat, clearly not in the mood to deal with me.

"My apologies, but silence is not in my nature," I smirked, beginning to walk away as they finally finished fastening my chains.

"You would think that someone a breath away from life in prison or even death would be a bit more polite to the guards."

"Why?" I questioned, tilting my head in confusion. "What good would that do me? If Odin wishes to lock me up what impact would you have on that decision? I really do not think that you are important enough to influence anything."

The guard fell silent, nobody speaking for the rest of the trip to the throne room. They knocked on the door and announced my arrival before escorting me inside. I kept my head held high as I approached my father, deciding to have some fun by bringing my feet together in mock attendance. I could not help myself and burst into light laughter as I hoped to cover my fear with the facade that I did not take this matter seriously.

"Stop with the jokes, Loki," Odin growled as he looked down on me, rage clearly prevalent in his face. I noticed Thor stationed on the right of Odin's throne, his eyes warning me to stop playing. "What were you thinking, Loki?! What could have possibly possessed you to make you think that becoming engaged to the peasant was a good idea?! Did you really just do it so that you could offend me?!"

"As much as I would enjoy that, that was not actually the reason-" I defended, before getting cut off by Odin.

"Do not interrupt me!" He cried out, causing me to simply tilt my head as I waited for him to continue. "That girl is nothing, she does not belong here and she certainly does not belong with you! Frigga never should have brought her to the castle so now I must be the one to send her back and as for you, I think it best that you finally take your place in the dungeons."

"Odin, we are engaged now, whether you approve of it or not. She will become nobility by marriage, does that mean nothing to you? You will need a greater reason than not approving of our relationship as an excuse to tear us apart, or is an engagement no longer as sacred as it used to be?"

"I have plenty of reasons to separate the two of you, Loki, and you know it," Odin spat, making me nervous as he was somewhat correct. However, I knew that I could talk my way out of it.

"Do I? Please, enlighten me."

"Loki, you tried to take over Midgard, or have you forgotten about that little adventure? Not to mention those you killed when you sent the destroyer to kill Thor. And that brings me to another crime, you attempted to usurp the throne."

"I had the throne!" I interjected, distaste spilling from my tongue. "Or have you forgotten how you banished Thor and then fell into your Odinsleep? I merely wanted to prove myself a capable ruler by eradicating our enemies, just as Thor would have done had he had the chance. As for Midgard, I was not in control of my desires, my thoughts were being influenced by-"

"By the mind stone, yes I have heard the story from your fiancée," Odin finished for me, standing up from his throne. "I think it is long past time that you pay for the crimes that you have committed, I will see to it that you get locked in the dungeons."

"And Kára, she will just be sent back to her home? You would truly just rip us apart because you do not like the thought that I may have finally found a shred of happiness?"

"Loki, you know it is for your actions that I must lock you up, not for any personal reasons. To be a good ruler, I must put my emotional attachments aside while making decisions."

"So then why wait until now to lock me up? You could have done it the day that I arrived back from Midgard, but you did not."

"You and I both know that it was Frigga who kept you from a cell, but she held hope that there was still good in you and she has clearly been disproved."

"Father, with all due respect, I saw Loki when he had taken ill and this woman, despite her low status, seemed to have a positive effect on him," Thor began to defend me, taking me a bit off guard. "Perhaps it would be wise to see the two of them together before making your decision."

"Thor, I know that you care for your brother, but he cannot be able to evade justice. As King I must make decisions that I may not enjoy, but it is what is right. Loki, you have committed too many wrongdoings to be left to freely roam. I must now sentence you to the dungeons where you shall not see your precious Kára again."

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(A/N): Rip Loki's plan, but do you think that they'll find a way out of this? Or is Odin's decision final and inevitable?