A messenger in the night
Chapter 32: A messenger in the night
The lessons prince Loki had to attend were all very interesting, but because of the fact that you were not allowed to do anything, you couldn’t take notes and therefor forgot a lot of important things you would otherwise have remembered. Prince Loki’s teachers were also anything but kind as they glared at you with hateful eyes whenever you sneezed or coughed. It almost felt as if they were insulted for being in the same room as you. But you preferred the lessons over the tedious disputes that prince Loki had to resolve. You had only been to this part of the palace once and you wished you never had to set foot here again, but alas, prince Loki’s audience with the people was held in a hall close to Glitnir where pubic trials of less importance took place. You had expected a little more excitement, but so far time seemed to pass slower than ever and the disputes grew duller as the day progressed.
“Forgive me, my prince! I never meant for this to happen!” The trembling man said for maybe the fifth time. He had not looked at Loki for all the time he had been here with his wife. It was obvious that the man was afraid of him, but so far prince Loki had not given him a reason to be frightened so.
“The prince can smell a lie from miles away, Unn! I know what I saw!” His wife yelled back. They had been going back and forth for half an hour and still nothing had been solved.
“Enough, both of you!” Prince Loki suddenly roared which made you and the couple flinch as his voice echoed through the empty hall. “You have come to the palace to seek guidance with your problem, but all you have done so far is yell at one another while disrespecting your prince! I will not sit here and be ignored!” The eyes of the couple grew wide in fear and you saw the husband swallow thickly while a beat of sweat formed on his wife’s forehead. “Get out of my sight, both of you!” Prince Loki roared and as quick as lightning, the couple got out of their seats and out of the hall. Prince Loki sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He then looked up to lock eyes with you. “Did you enjoy that?” He asked while you raised an eyebrow.
“I… I thought it would be more exciting, … being a prince.” He snorted at that and then waved his hand to beckon you closer.
“What would my little spitfire find exciting, I wonder?” You didn’t know why his question made you blush, but it did.
“Are all your audiences like this?” You asked him instead of answering him.
“Not all of them, but I’m afraid that most people are more prone to be disrespectful towards me than the allfather or Asgard’s future king.” His face remained the same while he spoke, but you could clearly hear the bitterness through his words.
“I think you make them nervous.” You said with a chuckle to lighten the mood a little. It seemed to have worked when you heard prince Loki snort while a smile formed on his lips.
“Yes, I do believe that anyone who comes in here has at least heard one story of my trickery. It’s terribly amusing, although, sometimes I wish they wouldn’t look at me as if I’m about to attack them at any second.”
“Well, perhaps you should make your tricks a little more… gentle.” He laughed loudly at that.
“Oh, Norns! Has mother asked you to tell me this?” You shook your head while your cheeks reddened. You hadn’t seen much of the queen after Alfheim, but knowing that she would agree with you and would perhaps consider asking you to make her son listen, made you prouder than you cared to admit. “Let me tell you something, little one. I am the god of mischief and I must live to that reputation, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, but that does not excuse you from stabbing prince Thor.”
“No, my brother is enough as an excuse.” You rolled your eyes at that. Djúpvitr had told you the day prior about various rumours that surrounded Prince Loki. Apparently most of the servants were convinced that prince Loki was envious of his brother to the point he cared little for his safety. He showed little to no mercy when he fought with the crown prince and whenever he lost, he managed to harm him by using his seidr in some way. You didn’t want to believe Djúpvitr at first, but she had been here longer than you and when she told you about various incidents that had occurred at the training grounds that were open to anyone who lived at the palace, you had to admit that there had to be some truth to her words.
“Besides, tricking and stabbing my brother is part of our training.” Prince Loki continued.
“Oh, yes, of course. I forgot how important it is for a prince to be able to defend himself at all costs against an armed opponent while his sword is transformed into a loaf of bread.” You chuckled to yourself while prince Loki gave you an odd sort of look. “What?” You eventually asked after a long moment of silence in which prince Loki kept his eyes locked onto yours with a look that you guessed to be something akin to wonder or bafflement.
“I wish to show you something.” He said before he pretty much jumped out of his chair and walked out of the hall with long strides which you were struggling to keep up with. The people who saw you nearly running after prince Loki send you all quizzical looks and some even pointed at you while whispering to whoever was with them.
“Where are we going?” You tried to whisper to him, but that was harder than you had thought it would be as your voice caught in your throat from having to keep up with him like you were.
“Have you ever noticed how people go on walks to get away from the loud buzzing of the world?” He asked without stopping to look at you. “Well, let’s keep up that tradition and continue our walk in silence.” You huffed, but said no more as he led you in and out of various corridors until you reached a spiral staircase. You let out a sigh, dreading what was sure to come. Prince Loki seemed to understand your sour expression as he laughed loudly before he took that first step to ascend the stairs, expecting you to follow him. You looked up to see how many steps it would take to reach your destination, but you quickly became dizzy with the never ending spiral. It almost looked as if the stairs where going all the way to the heavens above. You sighed one more time before you followed the prince’s example and climbed the various steps. You couldn’t believe how terribly out of shape you were as you huffed and puffed while crawling up the stairs. You weren’t even half way as you peeked up to see where prince Loki had gone. Once you finally reached the top, you rolled onto your back to rest after the horror you had just faced.
“You look as if you have just crawled out of a battle.” Prince Loki said amusedly as his shadow covered you in darkness.
“You better have a good reason for dragging me up here.” You breathed out heavily. “You could have just transported us here, you know.”
“I thought you might wish to travel by other means given that you don’t seem to enjoy that particular sort of seidr.”
“That hasn’t stopped you before.” You said while you got up from the floor to get back on your sore feet. “Just admit it, Loki, you enjoy to see me suffer.” He let out a chuckle at that.
“I find you endlessly amusing, my dear, but as my squire, I believe your stamina needs improvement.”
“I am only your temporary squire, so I’m sure my stamina is just fine.” You then took a moment to glance at your surroundings which left you gaping in bewilderment at a golden room. Gold, you had quickly learned in your time spend at the palace, was not something out of the ordinary here. Yet this room was covered in such a shiny coat of it that you wondered if you could even describe it as something as simple as gold. It seemed to be more pure and your seidr quickly began to thump in your core, making you believe that there had to be some sort of powerful magic here.
“I see you have discovered Hlidskialf.” Prince Loki’s velvety voice suddenly reached your ears.
“Hlidskialf?” You asked him in a small voice. You had heard rumours about its existence, but you couldn’t fathom the allfather climbing all these stairs every day to watch over the nine realms that were his to rule. You were suddenly hit with another realisation.
“We are not allowed to be here!” You hissed at him frantically. Heimdall might be watching you right now, but nothing was said about him being able to hear everything across the nine. Loki merely chuckled as if he had no care in the world.
“No, we are not allowed up here, but you were too astonished to stop yourself from entering, were you not? Do you know the punishment for stepping on sacred ground without permission?”
“And what of your punishment, prince Loki? Surely I am not the only one to break such a holy law, am I not?” You mimicked his questioning.
“Very clever, Svinnr, but alas, it is my duty to get you out of the room before you touch anything you are not supposed to.” You groaned softly. You didn’t know how he did it, but somehow prince Loki always found a way to get out of a situation or excuse his behaviour by blaming it on someone or something else. “Now are you done with your mischief or shall I wait another moment?” You huffed and moved passed him and out of the golden room with its golden high seat and golden telescope. The smirk Loki had on his face remained intact as he, once again, took the lead to guide you to wherever he wanted to be. The hall that connected to the tower seemed to have been forgotten it existed as it lacked the splendour the other halls in the palace had. No tapestries, no ornaments and only a few torches of which some were not even lit.
“Where exactly are you taking me?” You whispered to the prince who was walking a few steps in front of you.
“You’re not the most patient now are you, darling?” He asked and you huffed. Prince Loki was always keen to answer a question with one of his own. It was rather difficult to get a regular response out of him that wasn’t encoded. You remained quiet as you followed him all the way to the end of the hall where the torches on the walls grew even more sparse. He then stopped in front of an old wooden door, lifted his arms and formed complicated gestures with his hands before the door opened without as much as a creak you would expect from such an old looking piece of wood. Prince Loki then took a step to the side and gestured for you to enter the room. You did so on slightly shaking legs. Afterall, the prince was known as a trickster and you knew he loved a good laugh even if it was at the expense of others. What you did not expect, however, was a sight more marvellous than the green fields of Valhalla. A library with aisles of bookcases side by side, row on row, that stretched as far as the eye could see.
“What do you think?” You flinched as soon as the first letter had left his mouth. You had entirely forgotten that prince Loki was still with you and had actually taken you to this wonder of a world! You didn’t understand why he sounded so anxious. It was not as if anyone could come up with any bad words to describe the room you now found yourself in.
“Loki, it’s…” You didn’t know enough words to express just how magnificent you truly thought of this hidden jewel.
“Yes?” Prince Loki pushed you for an answer after a long moment.
“Heavenly.” You eventually managed to breath out.
“I’m glad you like it for you will spend many hours here.” Prince Loki said with an amused voice as he closed the door behind him and walked over to the first bookcase he could reach.
“What?” You asked, not really sure if you had heard him correctly. Prince Loki rolled his eyes as he pushed back a book from a shelve he had just pulled it out of.
“Most of these books are about spells, ancient techniques on using seidr and theories and investigations on certain magical objects, animals and beings and their impact on Yggdrasil. Your lessons in seidr will take place here for small spells and the theory behind them. For the bigger and therefor more dangerous spells, we will move to another location, but for now my library will do.”
“Your library?” You whispered more to yourself than anyone else. “Does the allfather know of its existence?” That made him smirk mischievously.
“Why? Are you going to tell on me, little spitfire.”
“I believe it’s my duty to get you out of the room before you touch anything you are not supposed to.” You mimicked what he had told you before in the sacred tower of the allfather which made him laugh loudly.
“I believe I am a bad influence on you, my dear! The nine are definitely not ready for another silvertongue.” He chuckled as he waved his hand to beckon you closer. “To answer your question, the allfather has no knowledge of this place and I very much intend to keep it that way. I have spent many years perfecting my collection and shrouding it from the all-seeing eyes of Heimdall and therefor Odin’s. And now, my little mischief-maker, I share this secret with you and I trust you will keep it safe.” You nodded your head eagerly. You couldn’t believe how much he was trusting you with his most precious secret, but then again, so had you with your own most valuable secret. “Well, now that we have established that, let us move on to the rules I expect you to follow flawlessly. I want you to follow my every command and execute it to my satisfaction. I will not take any excuse for you to slack on your progress and work. And you will not practice any seidr outside of these lessons or without me being there to guide you. Do you understand?”
“I do, your highness.” He rolled his eyes at that while he let out a sigh.
“And you will address me by my name alone, Svinnr.” You smiled and nodded your head. “Good. Your first lesson of casting elemental seidr will take place tomorrow, but I want you to read up on the subject tonight. For now, let us go back to my chambers where we will have dinner.”
“Can’t we stay here a while longer?” You asked, a little disappointed he wanted to whisk you away so soon.
“It gladdens me to see you so in awe of my most precious possession, but I promise you that we will spend the entirety of tomorrow in here. You can do your exploring then, my little apprentice.” Your spirits were lifted instantly and so you followed him out of the private library without a fuzz.
Instead of going back down the steps of the sacred tower of the allfather, prince Loki took a wooden spiral stairs at the back of the corridor you found yourself in. He lifted his hand and made an orb of light appear to luminate your descend as there were no torches here. It took you longer to get back to his chambers as the wooden stairs only went down one level and from there prince Loki led you through various corridors that had senseless patterns to them. You took a right than a left, only to go right again. For a while you were convinced prince Loki was fooling with you, but eventually you did reach your destination, just in time to see a servant walk down the opposite corridor with silver plates in her hands. Prince Loki opened the door for both you and the servant to enter before himself. You didn’t know who the girl was, neither did she meet your eyes as she quickly placed the plates on the table and fell into a curtesy for her prince to await his dismissal of her. He gave it in the form of a waving hand as he sat himself down at the table.
“Sit.” He told you as the servant scurried away and closed the door behind her.
“Aren’t I supposed to fetch your meals?”
“You are, but Rydigg knows how terrible my wrath can be if my dinner is not delivered on time. I suspect she send someone else to bring it to me instead of waiting for you.”
“Must be quite a wrath if it managed to get Rydigg to act like this. In my experience she is not so easily persuaded.”
“Silvertongue, darling.” He said with a chuckle as he pointed at himself.
“You played a trick on her, didn’t you?” You couldn’t believe for one minute prince Loki had managed to persuade her by using his skills in speech. The smirk that had been plastered on his face grew even larger as he snickered in response to your question. “I knew it. What exactly did you do?”
“Her meals might have consisted of cockroaches for a while.” You knew it was wrong of you to laugh at the expense of others, but the image you had in your head of the tough Rydigg finding cockroaches in her meal and screeching at the top of her lungs, was too amusing to be ignored. Prince Loki couldn’t help himself either as he followed suit with a laugh of his own. Dinner went on with prince Loki telling you tales of his many tricks on the entire population of the palace.
You were happy and sated as you went to your bed in the little side room that was provided for prince Loki’s squire. You still felt a little troubled sleeping in the same bed Forni had occupied for a while, but there was simply no point dwelling on the past. Afterall, Forni was in Valhalla and you were sure he was now the healer he had always wanted to become as he drank with like-minded souls in the golden halls.
You were just having a wonderful dream of wandering through Terth skógar while a full moon shone trough the foliage when an urgent knock came to the door and woke you up with a start.
“Enter.” Prince Loki called, clearly irritated by the disturbance. An Einherjar bearing the royal seal walked into the sitting room with a serious expression on his face.
“Forgive the intrusion, your highness, but your presence is needed in the throne room.”
“Whatever for?” Prince Loki asked, sounding bored to the bone while he rubbed his sleep-filled eyes. The Einherjar glanced at your little bed in your door-less room before his eyes locked with Loki's once more.
“I am under orders to escort you there where you shall be informed on the matter.” Loki sighed and then went to follow the guard out of the room or so you thought for he turned back around to face you.
“Come girl.” You gave him a confused look which was echoed by the einherjar who was standing by the door already.
“Your highness, I’m not sure-“
“If you’re not sure about something it is best to keep your mouth shut about it.” Prince Loki interrupted him which stopped the guard from saying anything else. You didn’t really have much choice here so you followed the prince and the guard out of the prince’s chambers and into the corridors in the direction of the throne room. To say you were nervous was an understatement given that you were convinced the allfather wouldn’t take kindly to his son bringing his novice squire to an important meeting especially if said squire was still in her nightclothes. And you proved to be right as the king glared at you angrily with his piercing blue eye while two generals were standing by his side. You recognized one of them as prince Loki’s teacher of theories of war.
“What is the meaning of this, Loki?” The king asked with his booming voice that prince Thor seemed to have inherited.
“I wanted to ask you the same, allfather.” You swallowed a lump in your suddenly very dry throat. That was no way to speak to a king, let alone the king of all. You didn’t even speak like so to your own father no matter your differences. The king sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before he glared at his son once more.
“Never mind, we have more pressing issues at hand. A village has been attacked out of nowhere it would seem. Whoever is behind this set the houses ablaze and now the surrounding villages are under threat of being consumed by the same fire. The guards who had been posted at the western towers and gate saw the smoke and rushed to me. I gave the order to send out rescue parties and an additional garrison of soldiers and now their messenger tells me the whole village was transformed into a sea of flames while many villagers lay lifeless with gaping wounds.”
“Which village are we talking about?”
“Árfarvegur.” The king said and you gasped. This wasn’t just any village that had been attacked nor where it just any people whose bodies lay lifeless on the ashen ground. This was your village and your people and each and every person they found could very well be your mother, father or little brother.