Chapter 47
The Castle seemed almost destitute. It was...pitiful really. Loki instantly knew who it was causing the ruckus. There was a small, pale, dark haired man lurking, it would seem, behind the Throne, upon which sat what Loki presumed to be the King. Though he did not look very regal, nor very kingly. Instead, he seemed almost withered, old. It was disconcerting. Loki did not know what to think of it. How were they supposed to rid this so called great King from the control of the one behind him, Loki had no idea, but he doubted this mystery thing that had caused them to rush to Rohan with all speed had bothered to inform them of what they were expected to do either, which meant that it was up to them to try and not get thrown from the city before whatever it was, could be fixed, or whoever could come and fix the issue themselves, or they themselves could figure how to handle what was going on. This was going to be an annoyingly long stay, Loki felt, and it was never a good thing.
"Ah...I see many friends...here...today." The King stated, almost wheezing. Loki winced at the sound, still lurking behind the Elves and the Dwarves. "Long lost King of Gondor is it..."
"Not King, not now, not yet, perhaps not ever." Aragorn stated sharply, leaving the old King to laugh. Loki did not really understand what was going on with Aragorn. From what he could gather it would seem the other was supposed to be a King, but had not taken up the mantel, and ended up leaving his country to the hands of...a sort of vice lord or something. Personally Loki could not even begin to think of doing such a thing. He had ruled Asgard, even for a little while, because it was what was expected, and needed. Not to mention they were on the brink of war, a lost peace, and a broken treaty, along with likely many others if things had not been patched up as quickly as Loki had managed. Perhaps he had not truly been...of his best mind at the moment, but he felt some grace should be given for the fact that he had been abruptly told that he was some war prize of a land of people that everyone hated and would love to slaughter if given the chance. Even Thor felt that way. He claimed he had changed on Earth...but Loki doubted it. Perhaps a temporary change, but how much can a man who has lived over a thousand yeas change within a few earthly months? Still, Loki had not left the land to be ruled by others, and had taken up the mantel and responsibility himself, despite everything...He could not understand this Aragorn...
"Yes, yes, of course, and whom may be your friends, which you have brought?" The King questioned, glancing behind Aragorn towards the rest.
"This is Gimli, of the Dwarves, Legolas, of Mirkwood, and Haldir, of Lothlorien, as well as Loki." None of them knew where Loki came from, that was right. Loki winced inwardly knowing that it would be a problem. He was right, as the next thing the King asked was where it was he was from, leading everyone to stare at him. Loki took a step back in surprise and discomfort, but cleared his throat, knowing he would have to say something...of course he could not very well speak the truth, that would lead everyone to thinking him insane, but he also did not have good enough knowledge to know well enough where he could claim to be from. Beyond that he could not easily lie, as the Elves seemed to have a knack for noticing, but he could...well...twist the truth a bit. He was used to that, good at that, knew how to do it and had done it his entire life. He just...well...it was just different, though he did not know why.
"I am...afraid I am not entirely certain how to say it." Loki said gently, though his words carried strong to the King despite their gentle nature. "I was stolen from my birth parents, raised as an instrument of a political game by the enemy of my parents, and more recently managed to escape these people after finding out what had happened." A tear found its way down his cheek, leaving Loki to breath sharply, though shakily, his left fist curling as he tired to ignore the tear stain on his right cheek. "I am not entirely sure I belong anywhere, or truly can claim any land, or home. The place I thought I was...home at, and the people I thought to be my parents and family were...not, and merely pretending for the sake of a...potential prize." Loki struggled to hold the other tears that seemed to want to fall, another falling down the same track as the first. He finally allowed himself to wipe the tear from his cheek before standing a bit straighter. "It does not matter, in the end. I am here, where I come from is...well, useless anyways, I cannot very well return. I would likely be killed. By my...by the person I thought to be my brother, and that is presuming nobody else is aware. My biological people and the ones I was raised with don't exactly have a good relation with each other." Loki ignored the stares and swallowed down more tears, turning to hide them as they relentlessly came up anyways. He did not know he would ever be...at peace with this.
"I am sorry," The lurker stated softly, coming up slightly towards the King's left shoulder to speak. "That seems...horrible. Such awful things...to one so young," Loki bowed his head slightly, silently thanking the other. "My lord, perhaps we should allow them board...at least..."
"We are merely walking through," Haldir spoke up, stepping to the side slightly to catch the attention. "I misjudged the distance, surely going to be getting quite a lot of mockery for it, but it is what it is. We found the city and were going to ask for board if it was allowed or possible."
"Of course, my Lord would be happy to allow such wonderful people to stay for a bit." The dark lurker stated, staring once more at Loki as he did so. "I will send for someone to show you to your rooms. If it pleased my lord of course."
"Yes, yes, allow, of course." The king stated almost second handedly. It confused Loki but he recognized the thrall to the words.