Emprise [Fólkvangr End, Book 2][Loki Fanfiction]

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Stríð

Author's Note: I feel I owe you all an apology a million times over. The hiatus has been unfairly long and for this, I am intensely sorry. I am finally on break, thank the gods. This semester sort of kicked my ass, in the best of ways, but it's been a very tiring, intense last few months and writing unfortunately fell to the back burner. But here we are again! And with only ONE CHAPTER LEFT after this one! Madness! I'm sure we all want to get onto the story, and so, I only apologize again, and wish you all a happy holiday season! I guarantee you the last chapter will be up before the New Year, so keep an eye out for that as well! <3

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Chapter Twenty-Nine - Stríð, or War

“Loki?” I ask sleepily, reaching my hand out next to me. The sheets are cool under my touch…and noticeably empty. I sit up abruptly, and Loki is nowhere to be found. I whip the covers off, grumbling under my breath as I jog over to the bathroom to check if he’s in there. No sign of him. “Oh, come on!”

I dash back across the room, jumping up on the bed and scurrying across it to save on time. With a sigh I slide down the other side and catapult myself into the closet. I yank clothes down from the shelf where they are neatly piled. Are these my black leather pants or Loki’s? A little tight. Definitely Loki’s. No time to change. I throw a red tunic on over my shoulders, belting it hastily. I pull on my black boots as I rest temporarily on the edge of the bed. I reach over to the nightstand and grab my dagger before tucking it into my belt. I twist my hair quickly around my hand and then pile it on top of my head into a bun and pin it in place. Then I go dashing out the door and down the hall, and then the next, down all the halls until I run full speed into the throne room. 

“Oh my gods!” I gasp, clutching my side, surprised at how winded I am again. I look up and everyone is staring at me. Apparently, I’m missing some sort of meeting that Loki did not feel the need to wake me for. I take in the separate faces of people of the palace looking at me. But there is no panic or worry. So…why is everyone here? I notice a heavy line of guard positioned behind Odin’s throne, but otherwise nothing much seems amiss. Odin stares at me, pausing his speech, but says nothing, apparently waiting for me to join Loki and Thor’s side. I scamper down the stairs and walk quickly down the aisle of people across the stretch of the throne room. Every eye is on me as I walk as quickly as I can manage without positively running up to stand by Loki’s side. I scamper back up the opposite flight of stairs beside Odin’s throne and inhale sharply as I slide into place between my two favorite Norse gods.

Odin turns and looks back at the assembly. “As I was saying previously, there is no cause for alarm or…hysteria. All these whisperings about the palace are just that. Merely whisperings.”

“Is he serious?” I ask Thor through gritted teeth. Thor barely glances at me but manages an affable nod. Loki’s hand slides across my waist and comes to rest in the middle of my back. I want to scream and I can feel it forming in my throat but I know there is no good way for me to try and disrupt this ridiculous gathering. Odin trying to tell his people not to worry is the most absurd thing I’ve heard in a while. Surely not all these people are fools. I turn my gaze from Odin out to the actual crowd and I try to survey their faces for any possible signs of hope. Placid, calm, tepid, the most banal expressions I have seen. I am seething with anger and yet nothing seems to indicate to anybody here that something is amiss. I notice a guard by the door shift uncomfortably, but I can’t see his face clearly enough to know whether he is merely shifting because of the weight of his armor, or perhaps because his foot fell asleep, rather than because he knows every word Odin says is a lie. I scan further, peering at the back rows, and then I see her. Staring straight back at me.