The Party
Soon enough, Zozo found out exactly what “get help” meant, as she lay down on the floor of Loki’s chambers, red wine spilled on and beside her dress.
“This is a terrible idea.” She mouthed out to her partner in crime, who was crouched down on one of the ceiling poles. He peeked down at her, grinning wildly like a small child excited to receive a birthday gift. He was holding Charlie in his arm tightly, and in his other hand, he held a huge frying pan.
“It’s a fantastic idea, you’re just no fun. Now go back to pretending to be stabbed.”
“Your shit plan will get us electrocuted.”
“Shut it! Stabbed people don’t speak, they viciously scream for help. Which is what you need to do right now.”
Zozo rolled her eyes, and let out a blood-curdling scream. She looked towards her friend, who cleared his throat and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“SOMEONE, GET HELP!! MY DEAR FRIEND...RAN INTO A SWORD... ON ACCIDENT! PLEASE, SOMEONE, ANYONE, HELP THIS POOR DYING SOUL!!”
Zozo had to stifle a laugh, when the doors to the chambers opened with a bang. The door practically flew out of its frame, as a young Thor barged in.
“WHAT SOUL, WHERE ARE THEY!?” He yelled, holding his hammer in a protective manner. Zozo and Loki eyed each other, as Thor carefully looked through the room. Charlie wiggled in excitement as he saw his old friend carefully enter the room, causing the pole to squeak.
“Are you blind?” Zozo asked, in a pained tone, desperately trying to cover up all the sounds the pup was making, “I’m literally bleeding out right here in front of you on the floor.”
Thor swallowed, and put his hammer down to approach the girl. His face was the epitome of both worry and embarrassment, as he knelt down to observe her.
“My apologies madam, I assumed this was another of my brother’s cruel tricks. I suppose I thought you were a mannequin of some sort? Or a well crafted doll.”
“Why for heaven’s sake would your brother own a mannequin?”
There was a moment of awkward silence, but just as Thor knelt down to examine where the blood was coming from, Zozo sighed, and in her normal, yet quite tired voice said,
“Look, I’m sorry. Just... know that I’m sorry, okay?”
“Oh, no worries kind lady, I’m sure that you-“
Before the sweet prince could finish the sentence, Loki struck him in the head with the pan. Hard. Charlie ran up to his unconscious body and started licking his face, all while letting out soft whimpers. Zozo immediately sat up.
“So, what now?” She asked.
“Now we lock him up in my closet. Your fearsome guard dog will protect him, I’m sure, and we will go and cause much mischief at the feast.”
And so, while the fearsome guard dog was given a tube filled with treats, the Thunder God was dragged and locked in the closet, which was then barricaded with a chair. That, of course, sparked a minor fight between the two mischief causers on the topic of how they will now find appropriate clothes for a fancy feast, which ended the moment Loki conjured Zozo a new dress, by stealing one of his own and making it into an even more impressive blue gown.
“Wow, it’s beautiful!” She exclaimed after she changed, looking at the new, even softer navy blue material flowing down her body. Thankfully, her hair was already pinned half up in a classic Asgardian style and did not need adjustments. “You’ve got some exquisite taste, I must admit. But out of curiosity, why didn’t you make it green? Since I’m supposed to be your guest or whatever, wouldn’t green suit the occasion better?”
“No,” the god sighed, “if you wore green, the other me would assume you like him. And since he already made his interest in you obvious, this would only feed into that curiosity, and nothing good would result from that. We are supposed to lay low, Zozo, remember.”
The girl rolled her eyes, but reluctantly agreed. After a while of chatting back and forth and preparing her for any Asgard-related questions that she might be asked, Loki got out of the room, and proceeded to dramatically re-enter as Thor.
“Wait, do it again,” Zozo asked, taking her phone out, “I’ll record it and when I get home we can show Thor.”
With a wide grin, the god obliged, this time even more dramatically.
“BEHOLD! SOMETHING PISSED ME OFF, THEREFORE I WILL NOW DESTROY EVERYTHING IN SIGHT WITH-“ he couldn’t finish the sentence, as he tripped over Mjolnir, that was still placed in the middle of the room, and gracelessly fell on the floor, causing his companion to hysterically laugh.
“My, brother, I thought you’d never make such a fool out of yourself in front of a guest.” They heard a familiar voice say. In the doorframe stood the young Loki from before, arms crossed and eyes stern, despite the mocking smirk on his lips. “I’d ask what you two are doing in my bedroom, but I’d rather not know.”
“I was just giving her a tour of the palace. No need to be so stern, brother.” Thor-Loki explained, while trying to clumsily get up. The younger god seemed completely unimpressed.
“And you thought it appropriate to take lady...” he looked towards Zozo in a questioning manner.
“Zofia, your majesty. My name is Zofia, if that is what you are asking.”
The god nodded, then looked towards the other once more.
“You thought it appropriate to take lady Zofia to my bedroom?”
“Well yes,” Thor-Loki admitted, then added with a wink, “Would you rather I take her to mine instead?”
The younger Loki gritted his teeth, clearly displeased. Zozo walked towards him, an apologetic look in her eyes.
“I apologize, this is completely my fault, I asked prince Thor for a place where I can leave my dog for the duration of the feast, I didn’t think he’d take me to your bedroom.”
The god’s eyes softened, as he noticed Charlie munching on his treats by the bed. He looked back at the girl, and placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
“No, I apologize for my brother’s foolishness. You are my guest, I suppose there isn’t a better place for your dog to stay than in my room. And if my clown of a brother makes you uncomfortable, do not hesitate to tell me, I will deal with him.” Slowly, he moved his hand from Zozo’s shoulder, and looked at her up and down, “you look... purely decent. I suppose after Thor gets himself together, we can all head to the feast.”
“I like that plan. And thank you, your majesty. You are very kind.” Zozo responded, smiling shyly. Her companion broke character at that statement, rolling his eyes from across the room, but immediately corrected himself by letting out a hoarse laugh and embracing the girl and Loki in each arm, effectively separating them from each other.
“Let’s go then! I wouldn’t want us to be late because of my lack of concentration when walking.”
“Can you at least take that godforsaken hammer with you, so when you call upon it it doesn’t destroy my door further?” Loki asked him, clearly annoyed, only to be ignored and squeezed tighter. The entire way to the feast was incredibly awkward for all parties involved, and whenever Zozo would try to start a conversation with the younger Loki, her companion would immediately shut her down by answering for him, or simply making the conversation about Thor, his life, or hero ideals. It was overall a convincing performance, despite the exaggeration and discomfort, and yet somehow Zozo still felt as if her companion was only seconds away from being discovered. On the other side of his presumed brother, the young prince of Asgard also felt quite uneasy.
“Thor, do you remember what we talked about earlier today?” He whispered, eyeing Zozo carefully to make sure she doesn’t hear him, “Please keep in mind what you promised me.”
“No worries, brother.” Thor-Loki exclaimed, “I always keep my promises.”
The younger god looked towards the floor and bit his lip, a defeated look in his eyes.
“Yes, clearly.” He managed to say, before being squeezed once more, very, very tightly.
Soon enough, the three arrived at the dining room, guarded by four guards dressed in various shades of gold. The younger god freed himself from the tight embrace, and just as he was about to speak, his other self gracefully stepped in front of him, leaving Zozo behind.
“Myself, my brother, and our guest, please.” He said, causing the young Loki to yell out “MY guest!” As if that would make the guards less wary of the girl, who curiously eyed their weapons.
“This is so cool.” She mentioned to the prince as they walked past them, “I can’t believe you guys have like, actual guards for your parties to keep people out.”
Loki chuckled at that statement,
“It’s mostly to keep people in. You do not wish to see how badly a drunken fight can go at a party like this, and causing much damage to other parts of the palace would make my father very, very angry.”
Almost immediately after he uttered these words, the two watched Thor-Loki jog up to the beautifully set table, grab a drink of ale, and proceed to chug it down in one gulp, much to the embarrassment of his younger self, and an impressed look from his companion.
“Oh, how I missed this!” He yelled out, smashing the cup into the table with a loud thud, causing everyone in the room to turn their eyes on him. Upon noticing the judgmental stares, he almost instinctively slouched a bit as if he’d been trying to hide in himself, then waved a little, a confident smile on his face despite his nervous body language. Surprisingly, all the guests smiled back, some even came over to pat his back or make small talk, and within a minute the feeling of shock withered away, and the illusion of confidence was replaced by an innocently pure grin. Unable to keep all the joy to himself, he looked towards Zozo and gestured for her to come close. When she finally squeezed through and got out a few words of encouragement, he simply couldn’t contain his excitement, and immediately put her arm in the air, introducing her to the circle of fans surrounding him by exclaiming,
“Everyone, please be sure to give my dear friend Zozo here a warm welcome too. She is my guest and-“
“Zozo?” The younger prince’s sarcastic voice remarked. The atmosphere of the room shifted, as people looked back to find Loki standing alone by the table, arms crossed. Some deliberately looked away, as if ignoring him would make the discomfort disappear. “Since when are you on a nickname basis with MY honorary guest, brother? And why, for heaven’s sake, would you make such an ill-mannered fool of yourself by treating her like some sort of show dog? It is insulting to treat a lady that way, don’t you think, lady Zofia?”
The girl swallowed nervously, her arm still suspended in the air. Standing in the middle of the crowd was anxiety inducing enough, having to participate in some weird dominance game between two Lokis sounded a nightmare.
“I’m sure he meant no harm, but as YOUR guest, I was indeed surprised by that introduction.” She admitted, then swiftly slid out of Thor-Loki’s tight grip to stand next to the younger god, “Especially given that you haven’t received a proper one yet, so everyone, give it up for prince Loki of Asgard!”
The crowd that has been previously so enthusiastic for Thor, all seemed to lose their vigor as they awkwardly clapped for the young god. Hurt flashed in his eyes, yet his posture remained confident and uncaring. Zozo looked through the room, shocked to the core.
“Wha-“ she whimpered, instinctively searching around the room for someone, anyone really, to show a sign of happiness or enthusiasm. Her eyes fixated on her companion, who’s face looked utterly miserable, as if witnessing the reality of his social situation on Asgard physically brought him pain.
“Don’t worry about the... introduction, madam.” Young Loki said in a tired voice, “take a seat instead. This is a feast after all, we don’t need to stand.”
Still shocked about the behavior of the guests, Zozo sat down on the chair that the prince pulled out for her. She watched him sit next to her, and not knowing what to do to cheer him up, she kept silent. Soon enough, they were joined by the rest of the guests, as well as Thor-Loki, who sat down on Zozo’s other side, seemingly unaffected by the scene that took place only minutes before.
“Oh, the ale is just remarkable. You should really try some, it’ll cheer you up in seconds.” Thor-Loki advised, slamming a large cup in front of his friend, “don’t drink too much, though, leave some space for the delicious main course.”
“Of course.” Zozo responded, still wary of the other prince’s feelings, who was now eyeing the beverage curiously.
“Are you worried she will get herself drunk on the ale, brother?” He asked, smirking at the girl, “because I don’t blame you. She should most certainly limit the alcohol, in fact, I think our dear friend should be kept away from the ale and wine at all cost.”
Thor-Loki nearly spat his ale when he saw the speed in which Zozo’s head turned at that statement. Of course she wouldn’t let down a challenge like that, which is exactly what his younger self wanted.
“Oh, you think I can’t down this like a champ, princey?” She asked, grinning from eye to eye.
“I certainly have my doubts to your confidence, lady.” He chucked.
“Well prepare to have your mind blown.”
The girl took the drink in both of her hands, sniffed it for a second, then brought it down to her lips and proceeded to chug it down in large, rhythmic gulps. As she progressed with the beverage and tilted her head backwards, a little trail of it made its way down the corners of her mouth, which didn’t bother her to the slightest, even as it hit her dress. It wasn’t until the cup was empty that she pulled it away from her lips, and raised it triumphantly in the air. Both Lokis smiled at her joy, and their soft grins only widened when she slammed the cup into the table and yelled “Another!”, quickly looking towards her undercover companion for approval. “Did I do this correctly?”
“Yes, you did it very well indeed,” he laughed, repressing the urge to mess up her hair as one would do to a toddler, “top class drunk, if I knew one.”
The girl giggled,
“Awww shucks, you’re too nice. Besides, I’ve had way stronger vodka at home, this was like a slightly alcoholic apple juice.”
The Loki on her other side took a sip from his own glass of ale, and seemed to relax in his seat.
“You’re going to have to wait a bit for the ale to really kick in.” He explained, “it is extremely easy to forget just how strong it is, especially for youngsters and the... inexperienced.”
“Good thing I am neither, princey.”
“Er, Lady, uh... Sophia?” A young, blond man sitting across from them whispered, causing the girl’s attention to divert to him, “Word of advice, from one of Thor’s friends to another, you’d do well not to provoke prince Loki like this, he isn’t one to hold back on a challenge.”
Loki rolled his eyes, and immediately crossed his arms again. Zozo, in contrast, leaned in closer to the man, clearly intrigued.
“What do you mean?” She whispered.
“I do not mean to insult the prince, however it seems as if you are not aware of the forces you are tampering with. His charms may put your instincts to sleep, but you must remember that he is, most primarily, a trickster.”
Zozo looked towards the trickster, who seemed to be making some sort of statement by leaning as far back as he could, and staring into the huge window.
“Look, I get he’s like mischievous or whatever, if that’s what you’re saying, but I don’t think he’s the type of guy to like, poison me.”
“Why of course, of course, our prince isn’t... evil... but he is indeed the type to intentionally humiliate you.” He nudged Thor-Loki under the table, causing him to also lean in, “one time, he turned his own brother into a frog. In front of everyone. He thought it hysterical, but everybody was just worried sick that the crown prince shall never get back his true form.” The man eyed the presumed Thor, “tell her, my friend.”
“Well uh, it was a rather funny prank.” Thor-Loki responded, laughing nervously, tapping his fingers on the table. To comfort him a little, Zozo put her hand over his in a protective manner, as if to tell him that he will be okay, which the god deeply appreciated.
“It was more than a prank, rather a desperate play for power. Taking away the hope of the pubic, knowing very well who we all favor to take over the crown-“
“Is this all because you are still angry about the pants thing, Fandral?” Loki casually asked, leaning into the table to match the rest, “Because I for one, think you’re forgetting your place. Might want to limit the alcohol, lest you wish I sew your mouth shut this time.”
“Wait no don’t sew his mouth shut, I’m invested in this now, what pants thing?” Zozo protested, eyes wide open with curiosity, still holding her companion’s hand. Loki eyed them, then cleared his throat.
“It was just a harmless prank, really. Nothing more than a little bit of fun after a long day. I simply went out, and slightly inconvenienced one of Thor’s self righteous so-called friends, for which he still holds a petty grudge for some reason.”
“My prince, I do not wish to insult you, but sewing all of my pant legs shut is not something one could call a minor inconvenience.”
“You should not have left your doors unlocked, then, if such minor things make you so angry.”
“Half of Asgard leaves their doors unlocked, for we believe we have nothing to fear in our home. Perhaps wrongfully.”
The prince let out a low chuckle, that sent shivers down Zozo’s spine. She squeezed Thor-Loki’s hand tighter, yet she could not stop looking at the young god, glaring at the poor Asgardian with such intensity that the tension could practically be smelled. The other guests seems to pick up on it as well, as they slowly turned their heads towards the two men.
“You flatter me, saying that I should be feared. It is a qualifying trait of a good leader, if I am not mistaken.” Loki said, then upon noticing that the conversation was anything but subtle anymore, he stood up, “The prince, or king, or anyone with authority, really, has two choices in how they wish to present themselves to the general public. They are whether to be feared, or loved, and while it sounds like there is an obvious choice between the two from the narrow perspective of the subject, only a fool would try to be loved by everyone.” He paused to look around the room, pleased to have captured everyone’s attention despite the cooks having come out of the kitchen, carrying various plates of deliciousness. “No one, no matter how kind, will ever be able to please everyone, it is something that is simply unachievable. So, in order to establish their place on the throne, the ruler must use the factor of fear, so that those who will not love them will still subdue to their authority. A good king understands that, and strives to achieve a balance between the fear and the love, so that they can pursue their goals with the unwavering loyalty of their people. We’ve seen Odin do that countless times, setting examples on what happens if you cross him, and in order to keep his legacy stable and Asgard strong, he needs an heir who will understand the importance of that very balance.”
Zozo stared at him, mouth slightly open, feeling both proud and absolutely amazed at the speech the young prince gave. If she were him in that situation, she’d have probably kept silent, which, to her utter disbelief, was exactly what most of the guests did, before turning to the magnificently-looking food. Loki didn’t seem too pleased about this, but after a defeated sigh he joined the rest at the table, muttering something about uncultured pigs.
Soon enough though, the silence was broken by small group of women who, quite rudely in Zozo’s opinion, separated her from her undercover friend by forming a circle around him once more and ambushing him with a series of questions about various battles that he had apparently been a part of. Unsurprisingly, Thor-Loki rejoiced in the attention, and the Thor loving circle grew with each story, as Zozo was pushed further and further away from her companion. It wasn’t as if she had anything against that, quite the opposite, seeing her Loki thrive like that made her feel warm inside, as if his sense of belonging had brushed off on her. She did wish, however, that she wasn’t so blatantly left out. Apparently she was not the only one feeling this way, as when she finished stockpiling as much food as humanely possible onto her plate and started searching for a place to sit, with the corner of her eye she saw the younger prince of Asgard leave.
“Hey! Wait up!” The girl yelled out to him after jogging up to the entrance, only to be blocked by the guards. “Are you uh.... are you okay? I brought you food.” She raised the plate higher, causing a piece of meat to fall onto the floor with a wet splash. Loki, who was turned away from the door, took a deep breath, and turned around to face the girl. His eyes seemed angry, yet his face overall was unreadable.
“Let her through.” He said to the guards. “I wouldn’t want to be even worse of a host by trapping my guest against her will, would I?”
Within seconds, Zozo was by his side, nervously balancing her plate as to not let any more food drop. The prince silently guided her to the nearest staircase, where they both sat down, and he let out the anger in a series of annoyed grunts. Unfortunately, his guest did not know what to respond to that, so in a gesture of good will she simply offered him a piece of sausage, which he accepted.
“Forgive me.” Loki muttered, mouthful of sausage, his posture defeated as ever. “If I had known anyone would notice my disappearance, I wouldn’t have left.”
“Oh no, don’t apologize, you’re a great host, I just got worried.” Zozo assured, then took a bite of some delicious-looking roast, “And besides, I’m glad we’re getting to talk here alone, without everyone’s pressure to remain silent. The monologue you gave about the role of the king was very impressive, can’t believe they all just ignored it.” She hesitantly reached out and pat his back lightly, “and well, if you wish to talk about what happened in there, or anything else that’s bothering you, I am all ears as well.”
The god let out a broken laugh.
“And, pray tell, what makes you think I would trust you enough for that?”
The girl shrugged.
“I don’t know, people tend to tell me stuff. And considering that you don’t know me and yet you invited me to that feast, I thought you’d like the idea of being friends.”
“I invited you because I thought you were interesting. Not because I wanted to make friends. Obviously you are not from here, but the only people at this godforsaken feast were Thor’s friends. I thought it would be fun for me to bring someone who he hadn’t corrupted with his great heroic status yet, but somehow he found you, and once again I had to share something that’s mine, that I found first, because that’s what he desires.” He took a breath, and looked towards the floor. “Every time. He does this every single time, and for some reason I thought today would be better. I specifically asked him this morning, to let me be the true host of my own feast. To let me entertain the guests with MY stories and MY games, just once. And he promised, but of course, he couldn’t actually let that happen, could he?” The god eyed his guest, who inched closer to him as if fighting the urge to give him a hug, “There you have it, Lady Zofia. Are you satisfied, knowing the pathetic reason behind inviting you was the crippling fear of being alone at my own birthday feast?”
He felt the girl move the plate from her lap, and squeeze his hand tightly.
“This may not mean much coming from me, but you aren’t alone. Your brother, while oblivious to your needs, loves you dearly. The rest... I’m not sure about, but I am afraid they are too caught up in their own self-righteous morality, especially to reflect on what truly makes a good politician. Uh, and I was also at the party, I know I don’t talk much, but I observe. And from what I observed today, you’d make a wonderful king.” She gave him a reassuring smile, “You know, just in case anyone ever told you different.”
The prince returned her smile.
“That is the nicest thing I’ve heard today.”
Zozo grinned widely, but just for a second before the realization hit her.
“Wait, this isn’t right, it’s your birthday, and this was the nicest thing you’ve heard?”
“Are you that surprised, given my... less than warm treatment at the feast?”
“Well... not really. But it’s still sad, and if that assho- uh, if your brother told me it’s your birthday, I would have at least prepared you a gift. Now I just feel like a jerk.”
Loki laughed, and adjusted his hand in hers, in a way where their fingers intertwined together.
“There isn’t any need to be feeling this way, lady Zofia, you didn’t know. And besides, what could you possibly offer me that I don’t already have?”
His thumb tracing circles on the sensitive skin on her hand was incredibly distracting, and yet Zozo found enough composure within herself to clear her throat and answer him in a way that at least partially made sense.
“Well, I am an artist, I could draw you something, or paint, whichever one suits you better. Or uh, I can also sort of play guitar and sing. But I don’t think you’d-“
“You think wrong.” The god interrupted, his voice firm yet somewhat gentle. “Please, indulge me.”
“I-“ Zozo started, a blush appearing on her face from the utter embarrassment of the situation. Why did she have to tell him about the singing? She would have been perfectly content drawing something for him, but she just had to mention the one think she was definitely not confident enough to do. “You want me to....sing for you....now? Like, now, as we speak?”
The prince nodded, grinning mischievously, his thumb still stroking her hand in lazy circles. God is that unhelpful.
“Uh, I’ll need a guitar for that, I think, and I highly doubt that you have any spares laying around.” She chuckled slightly, and immediately let out a surprised yelp as Loki stood up, still holding her hand firmly, and started leading her somewhere through the halls. Unfortunately, the wonderful looking food plate that Zozo was looking forward to consuming, was left to the mercy of the palace dogs. Soon enough the two arrived at what the girl could only interpret was a some sort of ballroom. It was filled with various instruments, some of which she recognized, some that she didn’t.
“Wow...” she breathed, allowing herself to touch some old looking harp, it’s stunning sound giving her chills.
“There you have it, our music room. Pick your guitar and allow me to enjoy your voice.”
Oh, she was doomed.