Power of the Throne (Closed for Watching Cloud)

Loki bowed to Ivy.

"It's been my pleasure, m'lady," he said. "I'll leave you to your work or whatever it is you need to do. But if you need anything, just ask the guards outside the door and I or another servant will do our best to accommodate."

Loki/Anja bowed once more at the door and then excused himself. The guards didn't give him a second glance as he disappeared into the bowels of the palace. Much as he wanted to go back to check on his guest, he did have to keep up appearance as Odin. He resumed that disguise and spent most of the rest of the morning tending to the tedious parts of ruling.

Afternoon brought a pressing matter with a captured spy, leaving him again unable to attend his guest. As Odin, however, he made sure Ivy was brought lunch and offered any tools or resources she might need to further her work.

Finally, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, "Odin" was able to excuse himself to his quarters. Loki quickly changed to his Lucius guise, feeling more comfortable looking much like his old self, and dressed in dark green and black Asgardian court attire. He used illusion to slip out of Odin's quarters unnoticed and then availed himself of the network of secret passages built into the palace walls. No one knew their way around them like Loki; few even knew they existed.

At his old quarters, Loki tapped on what would look like a painting from his room. Hoping that sufficient not to unduly startle Ivy, he opened the secret door and let himself in.

"Sorry for intruding, Ivy," he said, looking both charming and chagrined. "And sorry it took all day to get the chance to come find you and explain myself."

Despite having selected her dress and helped her into it, Loki was again taken by Ivy's beauty. Now, highlighted with the orange hues of sunset, she positively glowed. She did, however, look understandably skeptical.

"I'm something of an agent for the crown of Asgard," he said. "My work often takes me outside Asgard proper and, to put it politely, occasionally entails things that shouldn't get back to Odin. If I'm caught, I'm disavowed. When we unexpected came back here, I had to ensure none of the guards saw us together...for both our sakes.

"I've had a chance to communicate what happened through my superior, who spoke with Odin. Thankfully, we're all on the same page with regard to you and your new technology. It's a risk we need to understand and we're very glad you appear to be someone we can trust."

He gave her a moment to take than in, then pressed on.

"I thought you might be getting a little tired of only seeing this tiny little bit of Asgard. I'll have to take you out the...other...exit, but how about a tour? I don't think we'll draw any attention as long as we aren't seen together inside the palace."

Ivy thanked Anja and watched her leave. She managed to get most of her notes off her laptop and started working her figures long hand. After about an hour of that she got frustrated and asked the large guards if they had anything akin to a computer. After all, with the technology they possessed, they had to have something right?

It wasn’t too long before they wheeled in what looked like a medical bed. One of the technicians then explained how it worked and how it might help in her research causing a broad grin to spread across Ivy’s face. Within minutes she had managed to pick up the technology and had put her cube on the bed. She virtually dissected it with their tech and was able to learn a great deal.

When she was done, they took the bed back to the medical bay, and Ivy was excited about the progress she had made. She was furiously writing when she heard a familiar voice, though she was so lost in her findings that it took a moment to register. After a few moments she did look up to see Lucius. She listened as he introduced himself, raised one of her beautifully arched eyebrows and then continued writing as he explained himself.

When she did stop, she gave him a pointed look. “Mr. Laufey, terrible alias by the way, I do not trust you as far as I could throw you, and as much as I would love nothing more than to see every INCH of this place, it will not be with you sir. Now, whether your story is true or not, I do not know, nor how you came to be in my room without alerting the guards. However, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and give you, oh, I’d say, 10 seconds, before I start screaming for them to come in and take you.”

She turned her attention back to her work and when she didn’t hear him move, she only responded with “Tick tock Mr. Laufey.”

Loki was stunned by Ivy's shrewd insight and firm stance regarding him. And homing in on his poor choice of alias? Did she suspect his real identity despite his efforts to throw her off? She was a greater threat to him than he'd anticipated, yet he was all the more entranced with her for it. He even felt his cheeks warm when she prodded him out of his speechless state.

"Truly, you're a brilliant woman, Dr. Wild," he said, affecting an apologetic demeanor. "I knew I was right to return your device for the chance to meet you."

He stepped back and tapped on the wall beside the painting, triggering the opening mechanism to the secret passage and revealing it to his guest.

"I knocked," he said, "but I guess you were too engrossed in your work. The secret passages of the palace, known only to the most trusted of Odin's inner circle. I can't tell you why you should trust me. I can only hope to earn it."

Leaving the door open, Loki crossed half the distance to Ivy, giving her his best disarming smile. "I'll show you anything in Asgard to which I have access. But, you will need to trust me just a little bit first. You can decide after that how much to trust me or not."

When she heard the light click of the mechanism, he set the pen down and turned to look at him for the first time since he had entered the room. While she tried to remain unaffected by the offer of adventure, she was truly torn between what she should do and what her curious nature was urging her to do.

“You know, if you are going to create a fake name, whoever you are, perhaps you shouldn’t pick one with such negative connection,” She said as she slowly stood, smoothing her dress around her. She had no idea that the man before her now was Loki, only that he had made a poor choice in his alias.

She looked around and saw no real choice of weapon other than the beautiful gold pen she had been using. She took a small note pad and the pen and tucked it into the pocket of her dress before slowly approaching Lucius.

“Please know that if you try anything I don’t like, I plan to plug this pen straight into your jugular,” she told him, her eyes dead serious, “Were I not so curious I would have told you to take a flying leap off of the balcony,” she added, “Now, lead on please.”

Loki smiled broadly at her threat, knowing full well it to be hollow given how much tougher he was than a human. He admired her spunk and forthright nature.

"Here," Loki said, pulling a small but ornate dagger seemingly from within one of his sleeves and offering it to her by the hilt. "This would work better, if you find yourself in need. Regardless, I'm the last person you should worry about here."

After giving her a chance to take the dagger, Loki led the way into the secret passage. He considered offering her his arm, but figured she wasn't ready to accept a gesture like that just yet. The passages were narrow and dark, made of rough cut stone lit by the occasional magic torch. He took her through a couple turns before reaching the private lift - a floating platform that served as an elevator between the hundreds of levels in the palace. The platform was already in place from his arrival and this time he did offer Ivy a hand as it had a slightly disconcerting wobble to those who'd never ridden it before.

"Level one ninety-nine," he said softly and the lift rose quickly through the dark tube. High above, an orange glow grew brighter as they rose, flames from a source just beyond where they came to a rest.

Loki escorted her from the platform and through a short hallway before coming to another secret door. This opened upon a small patio with a view similar to but much higher than that from his own quarters. He gave her a moment to take in the spectacular sight and get over the incredible height. While Asgard had no proper sun, it had day and night cycles and was now well into the transition to night with deep reds streaking the star filled sky.

"Everything you see is part of Asgard," he said. "There, extending from the city, is the Rainbow Bridge and from there the Bifrost. Beyond that is the Sea of Space. Behind us are the Asgard Mountains and beyond that many other lands, peopled by Asgardians and others. The entirety of this lies inside a pocket dimension of sorts, adjacent to the universe in which you reside, yet not directly accessible. Unless one is a brilliant scientist, apparently."

Loki let that last phrase linger, spoken with admiration rather than concern.

He leaned in slightly closer. "Now, what does this particular brilliant scientist most want to see? Our history? Technology? The architecture? The side streets and night life? Perhaps a fine dinner?"

Ivy accepted the offered dagger, giving a few little graceful flips before she put it in her other pocket. In truth she knew very little about wielding such a weapon, this little trick being nothing more than something she had practiced as an adolescent to scare bullies away, but dear Lucius didn’t need to know that.

She followed him, albeit warily, until they were on a platform. The sudden take off of the platform forced her to grab onto his arm for a moment to steady herself, though her pride quickly had her pulling away.

When they finally reached their destination, Ivy was in awe of the beauty she saw. She could never have imagined the world she saw before her, if one could even call it a world. To her, it looked like a piece of a planet that had been somehow saved by an incomprehensible bubble, allowing it’s beauty and inhabitants to remain, despite seemingly defying the laws of gravity and physics.

At his compliment, she started to smile, “I would be please with myself if it had been on purpose, this particular trip, was a complete accident, as I’m sure you’ve gathered,” she was going to continue when she realized how high up they were.

She took a few backwards steps, until her back was against the outer wall of the building. She swallowed hard and tried to steady herself. She had always had a fear of heights, more specifically, falling from them, and she was doing her best to tame them now. She cleared her throat and focused on Lucius, putting mental blinders on so that she wouldn’t notice the height.

“This particular scientist…would like to know who you are and why you are being so nice to me. I’ve already agreed to help with the device, as I’m sure you’ve learned by now if you are any kind of spymaster. So the only question I have left, is who are you,” she paused for a moment, “and if you would be so kind as to help me to a lower level.”

Loki was mildly amused by Ivy's fear of heights, but didn't needle her over it.

"Lower level, of course," he said, escorting her back inside to the floating platform and directing it to take them to level two.

As the platform began its descent, he offered some explanation to her questions. "I'm being nice to you because, as you clearly gathered, understanding your technology is important to the security of Asgard. But I wouldn't have to give you my personal attention to get your cooperation in that regard.

"No. I'll be honest. I'm fascinated with you. Humanity is interesting on its own, and you're something special. Brilliant, inciteful, and beautiful, all in one package."

He paused when he said that last bit, giving her a admiring gaze up and down that was appreciative without lingering into leering.

"As for who I am, I've already told you as much as you need to know for now. I don't know my birth name and in the thousand plus years I've been alive, I've gone by at least as many different names. I'd rather you decide who I really am on your own. I mean, I could tell you I'm a connoisseur of fine wines, or I could select one over dinner and let you come to that conclusion on your own."

Loki flashed her a warm smile and again offered his arm as the platform came to a stop. This level, much lower, felt warmer despite having the same dark stone appearance of the other levels of secret passages. He led her down another indistinguishable passage until arriving at a modest door. He peered out through a peek hole to ensure the coast was clear, then opened the door into a dimly lit room.

"Branwyr's tomb," Loki said by way of explanation as he led Ivy into the small chamber. The décor was subdued but elegant, with everything seemingly crafted of marble. A matching sarcophagus sat in the middle of the room with a carving of the interred on the lid. "Some hero from another age, or so I've been told."

Loki closed the secret door behind them. It was so perfectly crafted as to be invisible from this side, even to one who knew it was there.

"And since few others remember him, it's usually a clear back exit from the palace." Loki smiled, gave Branwyr's foot an appreciative pat, and then led Ivy out of the small building an into a park at the base of the palace. What passed for night in Asgard had settled in almost entirely by now, leaving the twisting paths, manicured pond-scapes, and massive trees in a purplish glow under the starry sky.

"I trust the ground-level tour might be more to your liking?"

She listened to his explanation to her questions and chose not to press the matter any further. If he wanted her to know more, he would, and until that time, it was pointless to probe further. She knew when she had hit a wall.

When he looked her over however, she couldn’t help but blush, though she did her best not to appear to be affected by it. It was rare enough for human men to say anything that was half so eloquent as the words he just spoke. The nerd in her loved the use of language, the way Lucius took his time to say what he meant instead of spewing it out with quick staccato words and gestures.

“You really are quite charming,” she said to him, her eyes squinted for a moment as if to say she wasn’t entirely sure that this was something that could be trusted.

When they arrived at the second floor, she was quite happy to be back on the ground. She walked towards the tomb and admired it’s craftsman ship. She wondered how many artists had labored to get Branwyr’s face just right. Her fingers ran over the marble, almost surprised to find it cold and not the warm flesh that had been so artfully rendered.

They soon moved out into the park outside the building, a setting that was far more her scene, despite the beauty she had seen from above. The smells coming from the garden were familiar and yet different from what she would have expected. She felt a soft breeze gently blow her hair behind her and the smell of grass, but she could also smell more exotic fragrances that were new to her.

She walked towards a pergola that had vines of flowers that glowed purple against the darkening sky, their blooms opening to welcome the moonlight, or whatever light it was that shone on Asgard. It was all very relaxing, and she could feel the hardened parts of her softening. It was then that she turned back to Lucius.

“Yes, gravity, or whatever it is you call it here, doesn’t frighten me as much from this level,” she grinned and then bent to take off her sandals, wanting to feel the soft grass beneath her feet.

She carried her sandals as she walked towards him, “I suppose this is a very…peasant thing to do, I hope you can forgive me,” She said, not that she cared one bit about his opinion, but spoke out of propriety more than anything.

“So, you are interested in humanity? This particular piece of humanity would very much enjoy tasting the delights of Asgard, if you would be so kind as to direct me towards them. I believe a fine dinner was mentioned?” she teased him as she strolled around the pond.

She carried her sandals as she walked towards him, “I suppose this is a very…peasant thing to do, I hope you can forgive me."

Loki smiled and waved off her concerns. "Nothing to forgive, doctor. You could go skinny dipping if you like and I wouldn't judge." He said this ambiguously enough to leave her wondering if he was being serious or not.

“So, you are interested in humanity? This particular piece of humanity would very much enjoy tasting the delights of Asgard, if you would be so kind as to direct me towards them. I believe a fine dinner was mentioned?”

Loki fell in beside Ivy as they made their way around the pond. A little private picnic here, by starlight, would've been a nice idea if he'd thought of it ahead of time. Still, there were other options not far from here.

"Of course," he said. "I'm sure we could find something that'll give you a taste for Asgard without being too far astray from your usual tastes."

Once around the pond, Loki led them out of the park and down a few cobblestone streets. This part of the city was busy with evening pedestrians, but not crowded. Various shops and food establishments were open for business and he slowed to let the human take in the sights and smells. No one paid them any special attention, which was the way he liked it.

"Almost there," Loki said as they reached an ivy-covered archway that branched off from the street. It revealed a narrow path through a dense thicket of woods and undergrowth, dotted with subtle lighting sufficient to show the way. The twisting path wound its way upward until finally opening up into a small clearing and ornate water garden.

"The Roost," he said as she took in the gardens and the four-story building beyond. It was understated in elegance, looking almost like a private manor rather than a restaurant. Warm yellow light spilled out the windows and gave it an inviting aspect. A handful of patrons were scattered about the patio, either waiting on fellows to arrive or planning what to do next after having finished their meal.

Loki offered Ivy his arm and escorted her inside. The foyer probably had more in common with what Ivy might have expected in an old European ski lodge than a typical restaurant. A lovely young woman greeted them promptly and Loki asked for a private patio. Without missing a beat, the woman bowed and led them up two flights of stairs and down a short hall until arriving at a small outdoor patio - just large enough for a small table, candle-lit with elegant place settings.

The patio had a small wrought railing to keep guests back from the drop into the gorge beyond. To the right was a spectacular two-hundred foot high waterfall, with the restaurant perched about halfway between the top and bottom. The gorge carved out by the flowing water was dotted all over with bioluminescent plants in a myriad of colors.

"One of the better dinner views in Asgard," Loki said as she took it in. "The food isn't bad, either. I hope you're not a vegetarian."

Ivy laughed a bit at as Lucius brought up skinny dipping. “If you keep complimenting me Lucius, I will start thinking that you like me, and you don’t seem to be the flirtation type.” She told him and prayed he wasn’t, indeed, hitting on her. She would have no idea what to do with him if he did. He was attractive enough she supposed, but she had never been good at flirting, or men for that matter.

When they approached the cobble stone, Ivy put her sandals back on and then followed him down through the streets and into the city. She enjoyed seeing the different people and manner of dress as they strolled through the city and would have been lying to herself if his choice of venue didn’t please her immensely.

They were lead through the beautiful house and out onto a private patio. She could feel her face flushing red as she saw the romantic scene laid out before her. In an attempt to not make a complete fool of herself, she sat in the offered seat and took in the view before her.

“Absolutely stunning,” she had to admit, especially since they weren’t miles up in the air. She placed her hands in her lap to hide the fact that her palms were getting sweaty.

“No, not a vegetarian,” she added a bit absently. She was relieved when wine and h’ors d’ouevers, they both served as something to do with her hands so that she didn’t look as awkward as she felt.

She sipped the wine and blinked a bit. There was something a bit different about it than what she was used to, though she supposed it was the fruit. It hadn’t occurred to her that the strength of it would be stronger for the inhabitants of Asgard. She nibbled at some fruit and drank a few more sips and already felt warm and fuzzy.

“No more of that for me I think,” She said as she set the goblet down with a slight smile. “So what is it you wanted to learn about humanity? Presumably you could have just ventured to Earth to learn all this. Am I some kind of bet or something?” She found herself saying, due to the over strong wine she now had coursing through her system.

Loki could see the wine's impact on Ivy. He considered getting a woman drunk to get under her skirt well beneath his skills. Perhaps for the best, she seemed to back off on her own.

“So what is it you wanted to learn about humanity? Presumably you could have just ventured to Earth to learn all this. Am I some kind of bet or something?”

Loki cocked his head. "A bet? Surely not!"

He considered her while refilling his own glass of wine.

"I've been to Earth, but not often. And I only went this time in response to finding your device. You're the one who brought us back here.

"That said, I do find you fascinating. There is far more diversity among your people than in Asgard. Perhaps because my people are hundreds of thousands of years older as a civilization. We've become boring and sedate.

"As for you, in particular, what drives you each day? What compels your research? Where do you see yourself after you've finished? With whom do you celebrate your successes and lament your - hopefully infrequent - failures?"

Ivy took a drink of water, while not drunk she was certainly relaxed and she thought about the questions he posed to her. She looked at him for a few minutes and thought about how he almost resembled one of the paintings in the room she had been put in. She supposed, given it had been his room, it was only natural to have that painting haunt her day.

“You know you look a bit like…” she trailed off and shrugged and decided to move on and answer his questions. “To be honest, helping people drives me, as far celebrations and all that, the only company I have is my own. While I do have a few colleagues, most are not pleased that such a junior staff member is working on something so complex. They’ll really get flustered when they find out what I’ve managed to accomplish with a small little cube.”

Food was brought to the table in such a style that each person was to serve or be served by the other. Not knowing where to even start, she decided to let Lucius take the lead on that.

“What about you? What drives you to do what you do?” She asked and took a sip of water. “I’m not to daft as to not realize that you are more than what you seem, and so one must post the question, why are you doing the work you do? Is it because one son is, well who knows where, and the other has died? Does this impact your work?”

Loki helped serve up portions of the tender roast alderboar, along with richly seasoned vegetables and pastry buttons in fruit sauce, all while listening to her questions. Clearly, she suspected plenty about him and wasn't the sort to leave it alone.

"Let's just say I'm working very hard to keep Asgard safe these days," he said, then leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Odin has taken the loss of his wife and son hard. Thor's absence hasn't helped, either, as Odin has come to lean on him more in recent years. Just between us, I fear our enemies have seen us in a position of weakness and are looking for ways to exploit it. Making Odin look strong never used to be a chore."

Loki speared a bite of the meat, and offered it to Ivy.

"On a happier subject, I can certainly vouch for the alderboar."

Loki let her savor the morsel, then offered another.

"You were about to say I looked a bit like someone. Might I hazard a guess you were going to say Loki?"

She was enjoying the morsel of alderboar when he mentioned that he looked like Loki. She finished eating the bite he had given her and leaned back in her seat.

“Yes, as a matter of fact. It’s strange. Since I’ve been here I seem to be haunted by him. I’m in his room, surrounded by his things and his portrait. One of the servants,” She paused and blushed a bit before turning her attention back to her plate, “Um, let us just say, she knew him well.”

She took a bite of the vegetables and moaned softly. She had been living on whatever was convenient given how deeply she had been involved in her research, but this was exquisite.

“Forgive the interruption, everything seems to taste better here,” She related before moving back to her prior subject, “but yes, you look a bit like him but not quite.” She watched him for a moment, it was clear she was thinking over several heavy thoughts and not sure what to make of him.

“At any rate, I’m sure that any further questions about your work would only serve to get me landed in prison or worse…”

It was then that everything suddenly clicked into place. His interest in her work, the resemblance, the way he ran off when they arrived. Her muscles suddenly tensed, despite her attempt to appear unaffected. She looked out at the beautiful view and knew there was no escape, there was a balcony and there was the door, which his seat blocked.

“Perhaps I should get back to work, I wouldn’t want to neglect the King’s kindness,” she said, though it was obvious that she was suddenly uncomfortable.

Four days ago, in Jotunheim…

Parfrey sized up the four ice giants kneeling before him, showing proper subservience to their new king. He knew, firsthand, they were smart and ruthless, perfect for the task he had in mind.

“Rise,” he said, his voice as frosty as the air. “Commander Verwyn.”

The four stood and their leader took a step forward, nodding his head in acknowledgement. “Your highness?”

Parfrey handed his soldier a small crystal vial filled with iridescent fluid. “This is a potion of obfuscation,” he said. “It’s enough for the four of you to hide your identities for at least a week. Anyone seeing you will instinctively ignore you, assuming you to be someone of no consequence and not worth a second look.”

Verwyn took the vial and considered it. “What is our assignment, then?”

Parfrey rose and began to pace. He’d waited for this moment, this opportunity, every day since learning of his father’s murder at the hands of Loki during an ill-fated attempt to kill Odin and throw Asgard into turmoil.

“I’ve wanted vengeance upon Loki since he killed my father,” he began. “But first he disappeared to parts unknown. When he returned, on Midgard, his stay was brief before Asgard captured and imprisoned him beyond our reach. Now, my sources report, Loki was freed and then killed on Svartalfheim.”

Verwyn looked as if he wanted to point out the obvious, but he wisely held his tongue.

“The god of trickery has been dead before,” Parfrey said. “Many times over. Not once has it actually been true. You’ll go into Asgard and fetch me Loki’s head – whether it be from his still breathing or cold and rotten corpse.”

“Yes, my king,” Verwyn said, bowing his head. “But how do we get there?”

Parfrey sneered. “Through the same secret paths the Trickster showed us when trying to coerce father into killing Odin for him.”

#

Present, in Asgard…

Loki was amused by Ivy’s unsettled feeling over his likeness with his true self. He probably would have been better served by using a more complete disguise, but he hadn’t expected his brief encounter with Ivy back on Earth to be anything but just that – brief. Still, even if unsettled, he got the sense it wasn’t all in a bad way…not by the way she looked at him when not over-analyzing her situation.

Ivy said, “At any rate, I’m sure that any further questions about your work would only serve to get me landed in prison or worse…”

Loki sighed. “Hardly. Your questions wouldn’t get you in trouble. My answers, on the other hand…”

Ivy’s entire body tensed and Loki got the sense she’d come to some conclusion about him, though what he wasn’t entirely sure. Had he done something to lend credence to her suspicions about his identity without realizing it? Then she abruptly asked to return to the palace and her work, clearly uncomfortable despite dinner only being half eaten.

He took a breath, ready to politely protest against her fears, but decided it best to do everything to keep her at ease. Much as she fascinated him, her device mattered far more and he couldn’t afford to jeopardize that. If he had to play the safer roles of Odin and Anja for now, so be it.

“If you must,” he said politely. “Though even Odin knows the value of a good meal.”

Loki rose and let her out gracefully, leading the way through the restaurant until they were back out on the twisting path through the woods. He was nothing but polite and non-threatening.

“Has Odin provided you with everything you need to do your work?” he said by way of making polite conversation as they worked their way back through the streets toward the park.

He listened to her answer as they entered the park, but his attention quickly shifted to his surroundings. Something was wrong. The air had an unexpected chill to it and…smelled wrong. He tensed and was ready to draw his daggers from their magical hiding places at a moment’s notice.

Ivy felt a slightly bad about ruining what had otherwise been a beautiful dinner. She couldn’t confirm her suspicions, but even if he was who she thought he was, he had done nothing to hurt her and shown her nothing but civility.

She started to stop him as rose to allow her to leave. He did so with so much graciousness that it only served to make her rethink her actions. Being overly self-reflective had always been her downfall. As they left the restaurant and started to walk back, she was half tempted to take his arm, though she refrained from being so familiar.

“Forgive me for ruining our dinner, I do tend to over think things,” she began telling him as they were walking through the park.

She was about to respond to his question when the air, that had been warm and pleasant, suddenly chilled. When she gasped at the sudden change, she could see her breath fog against the chill. It was then that she grasped his arm in concern for the situation.

“What is happening?” She asked, knowing instinctively that something was wrong.

Verwyn didn't like Asgard. Everything about it was too warm, too vibrant, too fast, too...everything. Jotenheim was harsh and cold, slow and staid, a place to test one's will and resilience. The Asgardians struck him as soft and frivolous, and not for the first time he wondered how they'd been the ones to conquer and rule over the nine realms.

He also didn't like trusting to magic to keep him and his fellow frost giants safe. The obfuscation potion, however, did its job, and they walked freely throughout the city without getting a second glance from anyone. Granted, they were still careful not to interact more than absolutely necessary and preferred to move by dark of night, but after a full day in enemy territory they were relaxing a bit. Even Verwyn's prized ice hound, Slytr, didn't attract attention under the influence of the potion.

"Now what do we do?" Tuthern said, echoing the sentiment of the others.

Verwyn's hound had been given one of Loki's old daggers, left behind in Jotenheim, to get and track the Trickster's scent. A visit paid to Loki's tomb yielded no response from the hound, indicating it was empty...at least of their quarry. Verwyn had been forced to ask around, to see if Loki had been given the ceremonial funeral by boat set aflame as it traveled toward the Sea of Space. It was easy to learn that had no happened. It took considerably longer to learn that Loki's body had never been recovered from Svartalfheim.

"We'll need to find a way to Svartalfheim," Verwyn said, scowling. How to manage that was beyond him, both in the getting there and then with where to search in the expansive realm.

His men clearly understood how difficult that task would be. Their king would not be pleased.

Slytr perked up abruptly and sniffed the air. Verwyn watched the hound while his men picked up on the signals and began surveying the park in which they'd taken refuge from prying eyes. A growl, so low as to barely be audible, rumbled from the massive beast's chest. When it pointed, Verwyn grinned - his hound was trained only to point when it caught whatever scent it had been trained on. Laufey's spirit must be aiding their quest, for somehow Loki or someone carrying the Trickster's scent was heading their way this minute.

#

Ivy began apologizing for ruining dinner, but his attention was everywhere else. She must have picked up on the signals as she grasped his arm.

“What is happening?”

There were few things that would chill the air abruptly like this, and Loki was displeased at the prospects of facing any of them. Before he had a chance to respond, a snarl erupted from a cluster of trees off to their left, and a giant ice hound burst forth. Loki, eminently skilled in magic and illusion, immediately recognized that it was under a spell meant to hide its true appearance. To Ivy, it might look like an ordinary if large dog. To Loki, it was four times his size, bluish white with fur of ice, and baring deadly fangs.

If there was an ice hound here, Loki knew frost giants would be around as well. How many or how they'd gotten here were secondary concerns. He had to be ready to deploy his full array of skills, and to do that he was forced to drop his illusory disguise. If Ivy wasn't looking right at him, she might not even notice this change to his usual outfit or the subtle change to his facial features.

"Stay close," Loki said quietly to Ivy.

He took half a step in front of Ivy and slipped from her grasp, pulling a pair of daggers from thin air. Alone, he could easy elude and fight a number of foes, but doing so while protecting a human was another matter altogether. She was far too valuable to give up for his own escape, until or unless he had no other choice.

"Heel!"

Loki heard the shout, uttered in the tongue of the frost giants, and the hound instantly obeyed, coming to an abrupt stop not ten paces away from him and Ivy. So, they didn't want him dead. Or not immediately, at least.

Loki spied the speaker, a frost giant under similar illusion to the hound, following from the woods with a massive sword in hand. The giant looked both dangerous and pleased with himself. Loki looked around in all directions and found three other giants coming from other directions, neatly hemming them in. He cursed under his breath for allowing himself to relax his guard enough to get caught like this.

"Rumors of your death, Trickster, appear to have been as reliable as usual," the giant said, switching to the common tongue.

Loki sighed, spread his arms, and took a slight bow. "Well, I do have a reputation to uphold. Wouldn't want to disappoint my fans. Or my stalkers."

When Ivy looked up at him for some sort of answer as to what was going on, his appearance changed and her suspicions were confirmed. She gasped at first but her attention was drawn away from his face as a dog came charging towards them. She could only nod briefly as he instructed her to stay close to him.

She stood behind and watched as another Asgardian approached him and spoke in a language she couldn’t understand. The dog stopped dead in it’s tracks and the man, as well as his counterparts, started to approach them.

Given Loki’s sudden reveal, she was wary to take anyone’s appearance for granted. In truth, had she not been surrounded with so much evidence that she was, indeed, in Asgard, she might have questioned that as well. However, as the three men approached, she wasn’t entirely sure that they were what they seemed. She had never heard an Asgardian speak as these men had, nor had a chill ever been put into the air. Whatever they were, Loki seemed to want to protect her and given the giant sword that one carried, she certainly didn’t want to be hacked down by it.

She looked around for something to protect herself but the park was so well maintained she didn’t see even a single leaf on the ground, much less a branch worth using as a weapon. It was then that she remembered the dagger in her pocket, which she now withdrew, prepared to defend herself against these men or Loki or whoever was going to attack her.

“Who are these men?” She asked, “I am sure your father would be overjoyed to learn that you are alive, should I get help?”

Loki sighed. Of course Ivy would notice his identity. She wasn't one to miss details, despite the extenuating circumstance.

"Yes, I'm sure Odin will be thrilled," he muttered softly to her. "But I wouldn't recommend running. These guys would run you down and kill you just on principle for trying."

He considered throwing an illusion out to mask their position and try to escape that way, but the hound's sense of smell wouldn't be fooled. Maybe he could trust Ivy to aid him once she understood the true danger.

"Play along," he whispered to her before turning his attention back to the lead frost giant.

"We're not here for the girl," the giant said. "Not for you. Just your head. Odin can keep the rest of you."

Loki smiled. "Well, if we're going to negotiate in good faith, we should all drop our disguises."

Loki didn't expect the dispelling of the giants' disguises to directly save them, but it might make them uncomfortable enough to do something foolish. He waved his hand and unraveled the magic behind their illusions, revealing them in their gigantic blue hideousness to Ivy and anyone else who might wander by. Furthermore, he also cast a new illusion, this one on Ivy. In an instant, she appeared to grow several feet taller while her clothes became living fire. Her eyes burned with apparent white hot flame. He added a minor illusion of heat to the effect, but not enough to harm the human. Fortunately, the entire effect was so bright the frost giants had to avert their eyes for a moment, giving Ivy a chance to adapt to the illusion.

"And I should introduce Mycellia, daughter of Surtur." If there was anyone the first giants feared and hated more the Odin, it was that fiery demon.

It wasn’t until she found herself standing several feet taller and made of flame that she understood what he meant by play along. She now saw the giants for what they were and between her own transformation and theirs, it took every fiber of her being to hold back her fear of both situations.

She swallowed hard, which luckily was hidden by the flames she now found herself made of. She then looked at the frost giants and their dog and furrowed her eyebrows at them. Something in the back of her mind made the name Surtur sound familiar, but she was unable to recall exactly why.

“If you are wise you will leave this place, and the Prince, intact,” She began, her voice altered, sounding like the screaming deaths of 1000 innocents. “I have business with him and I have no problem relieving you all of the burdens of life!” she told them in a deadly tone.

She lifted hand up and imagined a ball of fire in it, and to her great luck, it appeared. She had no idea why these men wanted Loki, but regardless of what happened, it was not their place to punish him, at least not in her opinion. Of course, the fact that they scared the living hell out of her and he had moved to protect her didn’t escape her notice either.

Loki couldn't have been happier with Ivy's performance. He'd trusted she would act in the interest of her own self-preservation, especially when handed a path to do so. Still, he didn't know if the frost giants would buy the ruse.

Doing his best to sell the illusion, Loki gave the giants the cockiest smile he could manage - a specialty of his. Most of their icy demeanors cracked.

"Oh, please, continue," Loki said to the giants. "This I'd like to see."

The giants that had tried to corner them in from the sides were clearly shaken and took steps back. The one who'd been giving commands to the ice hound looked furious, but was clearly trying to weigh his options.

Much as Loki would have preferred to avoid confrontation, he couldn't afford to let these giants escape with knowledge of him being alive. His charade as Odin was still tenuous and he needed to avoid any chance of suspicion falling on Loki.

"Burn the dog," he muttered under his breath to Ivy.

Without further explanation, Loki spun on his heel and flung two daggers in quick succession toward one of the frost giants off to his side. Both took the giant by surprise, embedding in his chest, and he collapsed with a stunned expression on his face. Two new daggers materialized in his hands as he turned to face another.

The lead frost giant barked at the ice hound and the beast, somewhat uncertainly, began stalking the duo, looking for a way to strike.

Ivy had no idea what was going on but when she was told to burn the dog, she hurled the fireball towards the animal and was grateful she managed to hit her target. While it didn't burn the beast, it certainly scared it plenty.

Everything was a whirl as Loki moved into action, daggers appearing from nowhere and finding purchase into the two giants at his sides. When the leader stalked towards them she didn’t know what to do and her expression betrayed her. She turned to look at Loki only to find the hound, clearly aware that she wasn't the danger she appeared to be, charging at her, it’s teeth bared and mouth foaming.

She screamed in fear and as it charged her, she found the dagger she was holding sink into the monster’s eye and into it's brain, taking what life swiftly. Almost immediately she found her disguise fall away from her as she dropped to the ground, the animal’s large head pinning her to the ground. Though it’s weight was considerable on her very human and petite body, she still tried to free herself as Loki dealt with the last ice giant.

As Loki dealt with the second and third frost giants before they could get their bearings after the bright flash of Ivy's disguise, he caught a glimpse of his guest flinging illusory fire at the hound. Perfect, he thought, right until it brushed it off and charged at her. The third giant, quicker on the uptake, had only taken a dagger to his shoulder and was now engaged with him at close range. Loki couldn't turn to help Ivy without opening his flank to the giant's own sword.

Before he could yell out her name, he saw her go down under the icy-furred beast. Shit! He wasn't sure if he was more upset about losing her potential device or losing her. That uncertainty shocked him even more. Since when did he care about personal relationships except with regard to how he could leverage them?

With a burst of angry energy, he slipped under the giant's grasp and plunged a dagger up through his ribcage. The giant let out a gurgling yell and fell aside in a heap.

"Loki," the remaining frost giant said icily. "Your usual tricks won't be enough to save you from the likes of me."

He caught a glimpse of Ivy out of the corner of his eye and was immensely relieved to see her alive and conscious, albeit no longer under his illusion and struggling under the weight of the hound. The dead hound, he corrected himself. She'd managed to plunge his dagger into its head. His heart swelled with pride. Many an Asgardian soldier would have crumbled under such an attack. HE gave her the subtlest of nods.

With the remaining frost giant closing, Loki intentionally moved away from the fallen hound in hopes of keeping him unaware that Ivy was still alive. Maybe she could work her way free.

"Not to worry," Loki told the giant. "I've got all new tricks."

He made a feint with his daggers and tried to catch the giant flat-footed. This giant, however, was ready for the move and reversed his own sword's trajectory to both block the attack and shove him backward. Loki stumbled and was soon on the defensive, taking all his strength and speed to block the savage attacks of the powerful warrior.

It took some doing but Ivy finally managed to un-lodge herself from under the wolf’s massive head. She looked around to see two of the frost giants had fallen to Loki’s wrath while he and the last frost giant exchanging words. It wasn’t long before they attacked each other, first Loki looked like he had the advantage only to falter and have the frost giant pushing him backward.

She had no idea what to do, neither of them was particularly good options. She remembered New York all too well, and yet, the ice giant didn’t seem a viable option either. If they learned of her tech they would find themselves on earth and her prison considerably colder than the one she presumed she would have now that she had knowledge of Loki being very much alive. He would never allow her to ruin his plan.

After a few moments of debate, she pulled at the dagger that jutted out of the wolf’s eye. It took several tugs, as the blade had gone through the bone, but she finally pulled it out. She took a few deep breaths and then ran towards the pair. She closed her eyes and managed to shove the dagger through giant’s neck. As blood spurted from his neck, one of his hand came flying back, throwing her several feet back and knocking her out.

Loki hated to admit it, but this particular frost giant had him outmatched in skill and strength. Worse, he was wise to most of Loki's usual tricks. It took everything Loki had to keep that massive sword from hitting home.

In his peripheral vision, Loki saw Ivy struggling out from under the hound's corpse. She didn't owe him anything, but maybe, just maybe... He maneuvered the fight so the giant's back was to her.

The giant moved, but took advantage of Loki's positioning to push him back and down. Before a fatal blow could land, however, Ivy jumped up and stabbed the giant in the neck. The brute back handed her violently, sending her through the air. Loki took the opening to lunge forward and jab his daggers into the giant's chest, but it probably was overkill given how much blood flowed from the neck wound.

Loki got a certain satisfaction from the dying giant's look of shock and rage, but quickly ignored him as he hurried to Ivy. She was on her back, unmoving, but breathing. Hopefully just unconscious and not worse, but he'd have to get a more professional assessment. And she knew who he was. That made her a risk to him. What to do...?

Time was ticking as someone likely heard the conflict and guards might soon arrive. Cleaning the bodies wouldn't be possible. He snatched up all of his daggers, magicked then away, and then gently picked up Ivy.

#

Loki, now in the guise of Anja, stirred from the chair beside his old bed at the sound of Ivy moving. After getting her discreetly checked over, he'd moved her back to her guest quarters and waited on her the rest of the night. He gave her a few moments to take stock of where she was and perhaps guess at how she'd gotten there before making her presence known.

"Good morning, m'lady," he said, bowing politely. "I hope you're feeling better after taking that spill last night. I've told the staff more than once that the flooring by the bath gets too slippery when wet."