Loki
At best, this was going to be mildly tedious.
At worst, he was going to decapitate someone by the end of the evening.
All things considered, Loki wasn't sure which would be the better option. He had regretted agreeing to accompany Daenerys the instant the words left his mouth and there was a part of him that relished the looks of pitiful fear on the faces of the nobility when he showed up with her in two. The invitation had been clearly meant for her alone and the fact that she had asked him to come with her either said that she was well versed in social politics or that she was just naïve enough to believe that having him with her would be a good thing for her reputation.
If it was the first, he could admit to being marginally impressed and if it was the second, he would reserve several minutes later that evening to laugh at her gullibility.
He had a sneaking suspicion that it was a bit of both however, which made her something of an enigma no matter how childishly charming.
She had a lot to learn.
One thing he was impressed with however, was her ability to see the tree the moment she had laid eyes on it. He had placed several spells on it so it would not be seen by others. The fact that she had seen through the illusion was something he hadn't been expecting.
Then again, he had read up on her family during his time in Qarth. In one of his moments of boredom, on a lazy sunny afternoon he had perused a thick tome of history on the country called Westeros across the sea.
Some parts of it were fascinating, particularly the subtle magic that ran through the heart of the land still, specifically in the trees. The politics were interesting as well, the fact that the family he was now playing host to the last of had survived for hundreds of years through intermarriage was enough to raise a few eyebrows.
However, Loki was acquainted enough with biology to know that incest as a form of lineage building could only last for so long. Clearly magic had been the thing that had helped them avoid madness for much of their existence. Due to their depleted numbers, it was something they had lost.
He had read on out of a sense of morbid curiosity, vaguely fascinated with tales of out of control fires, mad kings and wars comprised entirely of bastards. It was all very bloody and dramatic and reminded him faintly of some of the histories of Asgard.
But he had shut down that thought before it could go too far.
All things considered, he did find the history of this land and its families somewhat fascinating. At the very least it was a good distraction from his own boredom and the incessantly dull mortals who insisted on trying to check him, or else get into his good graces.
He smirked faintly at the reminder of the package that had come this morning from Xaro Daxos for the Targaryen girl.
He had inspected it himself before having it sent up to her, amused that it had only turned out to be a gown, a rich blue silk with an intricate collar made of the thinnest gold. It was lightweight and made in the Qartheen style but he couldn't help but scoff at the almost desperate attempt at ingratiation.
Daenerys wasn't even staying with the man and yet there were people waiting to lavish her with gifts simply because of her name.
And now here was said woman, coming slowly down the main stairs to meet him. It was actually rather amusing how much she was attempting to hide how nervous she was. She had adopted a rather decently blank façade but given how much Loki knew that he had managed to throw her since his offer of hosting, any other events that she was unsure of were likely to be met with some level of anxiety.
He did so enjoy keeping people on their toes.
"Are you ready then?" he asked and saw one of the handmaidens behind her bristle slightly. It was the mouthy one, the girl called Doreah. Her perusal had been one of abject scrutiny and distrust over the course of the last day.
Loki didn't much care about her opinion but the girl would have to have a care in what she said if she didn't want her tongue permanently silenced.
Daenerys however, didn't seem ruffled by his bored tone. "I am."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Well then? I suppose we should get this over with."
"You really don't like very many people in this city do you?" she asked and he blinked at the faint amusement in her tone. Was she teasing him?
"No," he said, deciding that he must have been imagining things. He had only known her for less than twenty four hours. There was no way such a familial feeling could come from her.
"Is there anyone that you do like?" she asked as they headed for the gates side by side. She seemed intent to pursue this line of thinking for whatever reasoning and for the life of him, he didn't understand why.
He turned to regard her for a moment, taking in her coloring and the way the blue and gold of the dress she had been gifted with fell against her skin. For a mortal, she was stunning.
But his perusal didn't last long before his green eyes bored into her violet ones and whatever she saw in them made her eyes widen slightly.
"No," he said in a soft voice.
Ω
"Well," Daenerys said. "This is certainly…..decadent."
Truly, her ability for stating the obvious is impressive.
She and Loki had arrived at the home of Daxos after a short walk through the city, prompting them to pass many similar manmade structures like Daxos'.
The gardens were a maze of trees and flowering shrubs as well as enormous golden statues of the Quartheen birds scattered along the paths and among the shrubs. The scent of incense was heavy on the air and Loki had a feeling he would have a headache before evening's end.
There were exotic fruits everywhere and Loki glanced down at his houseguest in time to see her eyes fixed on the food. He frowned slightly. He knew she hadn't eaten much that day, even though she had had access to it.
Perhaps she fears poisoning, he thought with some amusement. Although how she managed to arrive at that logic is beyond me. What possible reason could I have for poisoning her?
Then he remembered the dragons and the great value they would have to the mortals of this country, as well as their own response to him last night.
Perhaps she feared after their conversation in the garden that he might attempt to poison her through food, and take her dragons for his own. Given how much the creatures seemed to like him, it would be foolish of her to rule it out.
He hummed slightly to himself as the gates opened to allow them into the inner sanctum. She's showing some shrewdness at least. I suppose its good to know that not all mortals are trusting fools. It makes them somewhat more interesting.
There was the low murmur of laughter in the garden as guests dressed in rich garments milled about with goblets of wine in their hands.
At their entrance however, all manner of conversation in the garden ceased and every eye was immediately on them.
Loki looked down in time to catch Daenerys' swallow hard, as if such perusal made her uncomfortable. He sighed slightly and looked around. "As you were."
The harsh snap of his normally smooth voice cracked across the garden and almost as one, the guests turned back to their conversations, the general hum of merriment resuming once more.
"Thank you," Daenerys said softly as she followed him to the center of the garden where Loki could clearly see that wine was being poured. If he was going to make it through this evening, he would need a lot of it. Qartheen was not nearly strong enough to dull his senses the way that Asgard –
He cut the thought off before it could find purchase in his mind.
"You should not shy away from attention," he said without looking at her and reached for the wine that a trembling slave handed to them. "You are a queen are you not?"
"In name only," she replied as she sipped from the wine. "I have no throne, no crown and no kingdom. It is very hard to be a queen without those things."
Norns, she sounded as maudlin as him sometimes.
"Do you think yourself a queen?" he asked, choosing to ignore her last words about her present reality.
She glanced up at him, purple eyes narrowed slightly. "Certainly, but if no one else believes there is little difference between myself and a peasant. At best I am an interesting curiosity and at worst I am a raving madwoman. If no one believes it, than it doesn't matter how I feel on the subject, I am screaming into a void."
At the mention of the place where he had come from, Loki was hard pressed to stop from flinching. He knew he hadn't quite managed to hide it when her eyebrows furrowed in something akin to concern.
"What they think hardly matters," he said, once more adopting a tone of boredom. "At least at the beginning. If you believe it, others will as well."
Ah, and who are you lying to now hmmm? Your opinion certainly didn't affect others did it?
Loki shook off the dark thoughts. He certainly didn't want to think about that right now.
"I might actually be able to agree with you on that one," Daenerys murmured. "Seeing as how this party seems to have been put together specifically for me."
At that moment, she was engaged by a strange woman who began to chatter to her incessantly about the Night Market and how she must go.
Loki himself had been there once and had mostly found it a dull affair, filled with simpleton magicians and amateur tricksters. No one with any real value magically had been in existence. Although he would admit that he had liked the food.
Seeing one person's boldness, more people began to cautiously flock to Daenerys, all the while shooting him wary looks that he ignored.
Before long, the self professed queen began to look a little overwhelmed and Loki caught more than one glance in his direction as if he were supposed to come over and save her. He raised one eyebrow but did nothing, as if to proclaim that he was not her servant.
If you wish to get away from them, he thought as he looked at her, do it yourself.
Finally Daenerys seemed to get the idea and she politely excused herself from them all and walked back over to Loki who was now leaning against one of the fountains with a goblet of wine in his hand and being ignored by everyone.
"Gods," she muttered as she settled in next to him. "Does everyone in this city want something?"
"Yes," Loki muttered into his wine, still not making eye contact with anyone. "That's one of things you must learn as royalty. Everyone will want something from you, they won't care about who you are, only what you can do for them."
"That is a disturbingly maudlin approach to life," Daenerys said, her tone somewhat annoyed. "Why can I not have both?"
He chuckled at her. She was so naïve…but then most mortals tended to have a pathetically optimistic approach to life. It must have been because of their short existences.
"It is simply not possible," he said in a tone where he might have been trying to explain the concept to a child. "People are inherently selfish by nature. Their desires will always overshadow their morals and the moment you begin understanding what it is that people want, is the instant you will have power over them."
"I take it that that is a principle you have operated under for years," Daenerys said, her distaste plain.
"Nay, it is a lesson I have learned only recently."
Before she could no doubt ask him what he meant by that, there was a commotion from across the garden and both he and Daenerys looked up to see an unwelcome figure entering the party.
He hissed and clenched his goblet a bit tighter. Daenerys whirled to face him. "Whatever is the matter my lord."
"Nothing dear lady," he said, eyes glued to the bareheaded, robed figures. "I simply dislike charlatans that's all."
"Charlatans? But –"
"Queen Daenerys!"
The Targaryen's head whipped up to see a tall pale man in deep purple robes approaching them. He was bare headed and had not an inch of hair upon his scalp. His lips and mouth were tinged a deep blue and his dark blue eyes flashed curiously as he took them in.
Loki felt his hackles rise and unconsciously found himself rising to his full height so that he stood once more, a head taller than those gathered.
The warlock regarded him for a moment before Loki's intense stare caused him to look away. Good.
He had disliked these fools from the second he had sensed them in the streets. For the most part, they had kept to themselves during his one year stay in the city. He had sensed magic in them, but it was paltry, a flicker, barely there. They might have had great power as far as mortal magic went, at one time, but now, they kept to their palace of dust and rarely moved beyond it.
To see them here….was interesting….and annoying.
"My prince," Pyat Pree bowed low before him and Daenerys shot him a blank look. "We wondered if you would perhaps be in attendance tonight. How good to see you."
The look Loki sent them was deeply unimpressed. "I wish I could say the same charlatan. Tell me, why have you and your sycophants chosen this night to crawl out of the hole you inhabit?"
There was a slight gasp from all those gathered but Loki ignored them in favor of focusing on the roach in his line of sight. He had met many mortal sorcerers over the years and every single one of them grated furiously on his nerves. They possessed no seidr, no understanding of the different realms and had no comprehension about life outside of their own limited sphere of influence. Such lack of foresight combined with such arrogance over those who didn't possess an iota of their false power was very irritating.
These….individuals were some of the most annoying he had ever met, comparable to ticks or fleas clinging to the ears and fur of the largest predator they could find.
Pree's eyes narrowed as if he had anything to be offended about. "Is it a crime to be in the presence of one so magnanimous as yourself my lord? And we simply could not pass up on the opportunity to meet with the last Targaryen queen."
Smoothly, he turned away from Loki to Daenerys who had been watching the entire exchange like a hawk. "On behalf of the warlocks of Qarth, I welcome you to the city."
He took a step forward and offered her his hand. "A demonstration."
"Oh yes, by all means, show the good queen your parlor tricks," Loki drawled as he drained his wine. He was both amused and irritated now. "I'm sure she would like to see how the exact opposite of how magic works."
The head warlock bristled but ignored him in favor of keeping his eyes on Daenerys. She regarded him warily, but seemed to realize that there were too many people watching her and that it might be impolite to refuse.
Loki knew she was far more polite than she was and thus he was no surprised when she placed a hesitant hand in the grasp of the warlock.
He took her hand in both of his and suddenly produced a jewel from his sleeve. "This gem….look at it."
The woman frowned at him, but nonetheless did what he requested.
Loki stared at the amber gem all the same with far less interest than she. It was nothing more than an ordinary jewel and the fact that others believed there was anything unique about it was laughable.
"So many facets," he said before giving her an odd smile. "Look closely enough…..and you can see yourself in them."
He turned and looked back towards the golden statue of the bird he had stopped in front of as if he were looking at someone.
"Often more than once," another voice said and Daenerys looked up from the gem, startled to see an identical man to the one speaking to her on the other side of the statue. They bore the same dress, bearing vocal tone everything.
"Should your curiosity about Qarth ever consume you," the first one said. "It would be an honor to host you at the House of the Undying. You would always be welcome there."
Loki snorted and his fingers twitched at his side. "Yes, and I am certain that if the queen wishes to visit a pile of rubble she may do so at any street corner in this city. Now be gone you fools before you drag this celebration even further down than you have."
His fingers twitched again and a moment later the man's form vanished in a puff of smoke and a small green lizard had taken its place.
There was a shriek from one of the guests, quickly followed by more when the lizard darted off into the crowd quickly followed by the other warlocks, all of whom sent nasty glares in Loki's direction which he soundly ignored.
Daenerys however looked after the scuttling creature with interest. "Is it permanent?"
"No," Loki said taking another sip of his thoroughly unappealing wine. "The enchantment will last until they reach their palace of dust. It will be a firm reminder that they shouldn't speak of things they know nothing about."
"You really do not like other magic users do you?" Daenerys asked and he raised an eyebrow at her amused tone. "What I dislike are charlatan sorcerers playing at magic. It is not a game for sport, it is a discipline to be studied like mathematics or art."
"Can it be taught then?" Daenerys asked and he blinked, not having anticipated the question. "I beg your pardon?"
"Can it be taught?" she asked again, offering him her full attention.
"It takes decades to master the sort of study that I have acquired," he sniffed and she cocked her head up at him. "So in order to perform magic correctly, one must have a sufficiently long life, longer than that of the average human."
He paused and regarded her more seriously. "Yes. The study of magic is one that can take an entire lifetime to learn."
"So that would make you much older than you look," Daenerys said, her eyes boring into his. "You don't look much older than I am but you clearly are if magic takes so long a time to learn as you claim."
He blinked, caught off guard for a moment before giving her a very small half smile. "If you wanted to learn more about me my lady, all you had to do was ask."
She didn't back down. "Given how strange the past day has been, you cannot blame me for being cautious and keeping my own council about some things."
He conceded the point by tipping his head slightly. "I suppose."
"My apologies," said a voice and both Daenerys and Loki turned around the see Xaro Daxos approaching. "Pyat Pree is one of the Thirteen so it was customary that I extend him an invitation. Customs die slow deaths in Qarth."
He was dressed in the garb of Qarth with a sword at his side and a collar of golden threaded lattice work was woven about his neck.
"It's alright," Daenerys said though Loki's expression must have said that it was most certainly not alright. "What exactly is the House of the Undying?"
"It is where the warlocks go to squint at dusty books and drink Shade of the Evening. It turns their lips blue….and their minds soft. So soft in fact that they actually believe their parlor tricks are magic," Daxos replied, waving his hand with a dismissive air.
But then he turned to Loki. "Although I must say, the trick you performed on him my prince was certainly no parlor trick."
"I don't believe in charming the minds of simpletons Daxos," Loki said with a smile that was more like baring his teeth. "My magic is both complex and direct and when I want it to hurt….it will."
"I believe I will be retiring for the evening my lord," Daenerys cut in when Daxos' face tightened and his eyes gleamed with barely concealed anger. "I am still recovering from my long stint in the desert and Lord Loki and I thought to come only for a short while to be polite. But I think I've had enough stimulation for the evening. Shall we my lord?"
She shot him a pointed look and for a moment, Loki was annoyed that she was attempting to give him direction. But then he remembered his earlier words about wishing nothing to do with this party and realized she was giving him an out.
He couldn't help but feel marginally grateful. "Indeed, I believe I've had enough of Qarth's tacky celebrations and tasteless guests for one evening. Come then my lady."
He offered Daenerys his arm and the two swept away, leaving a fuming Xaro Daxos behind them.
Ω
"You seem to find a great deal of enjoyment in insulting people," Daenerys commented when they had found their way back to the house.
"The people of this city make it so easy," Loki replied nonchalantly. "Everyone is so worried about their reputation and ready to throw their life on the line because of something as simple as insults. If I worried as much as they did about their reputation I would have been in more than one hundred of their foolish duels."
Daenerys flinched suddenly as if she had been struck and her face closed off. In the pale light of the moon she suddenly looked ill and turned her face away from him quickly. "I believe I will retire my lord. Thank you for your stimulating company this evening."
Before he could say anything else, she lifted the hem of her dress and all but ran to the house, disappearing into the main hall and up the stairs.
Loki stared after her, his brow furrowed slightly into a frown, wondering at her strange reaction. What could there possibly be about something as innocent as duels and insults to set her off. Whatever it was, it must have been painful.
A moment later he shrugged, deciding it wasn't his concern and finding that it was too early still to retire, he glided through the house, nodding at the servants until he had passed through it all entirely and found himself on the shoreline overlooking the Jade Sea.
He walked right up to the water's edge and stood there until the waves lapped at his ankles, soaking the hem of his robe.
Raising a hand towards the depths, Loki closed his eyes, searching for the presence that he knew would soothe him this evening.
Upon finding it, a small smile curved his mouth before he whispered in an intent voice: "Jormungandr….to me."
There was nothing but silence for a few long moments and the water in the sea remained as still and calm as ever….the moon like a spotlight on the waves.
Finally however, he could make out waves far off in the distance, rising but all the time drawing nearer to the shore and to him. His smile widened into a grin.
The water of the Jade Sea began to roil and froth, almost as if a giant had reached down from the heavens and began to stir it with his hand as fast as possible.
Loki raised a hand, preventing the largest of the waves from reaching the shoreline and watched with anticipation as the large vermillion and blue fins of the ancient sea creature began to rise from the water.
And then finally, finally, a pair of lamp like yellow eyes emerged from deep, zeroing in on him like a spotlight and casting the shoreline with an eerie glow.
The sea snake itself was massive, easily the length of twelve ships and when it raised its great head out of the water, it stood taller in the water than any mast.
"Yes, that's it," Loki said softly, knowing the snake would hear him. "To me Jor, to me"
The creature drifted slowly towards land and then finally raised its great head from the waves until it was hovering over Loki, dripping water on him from its massive scales and spines and fins. It's yellow eyes gleamed with intelligence and he smiled upon seeing his most faithful companion for the last year.
"There you are," he said softly and the sea dragon lowered its head until it was eye level with Loki, softly blowing a burst of mist and steam into his face and drenching him.
The god laughed slightly and reached out a hand to place it on the side of Jor's jaw, scratching at the smaller scales there.
Leaning forward, Loki rested his head against the creatures snout and closed his eyes, letting the familiar connection solidify in his mind. How are you little one?
The waves shifted as the creature adjusted itself in the water and once more blew air softly into his face. I am well father. There is much to explore in these waters and I would see it all.
And what have you seen?
Everything. There are downed wrecks beneath these waves that I suspect are thousands of years old. The amount of treasure that I have swum through is too great to count. Shall I bring you more of it?
If you can Jor. But it isn't necessary any longer. My place here is secure now. I have no more need to plumb the depths of the ocean for wealth. I am only curious now.
You are not the only one who is curious tonight father. There is someone hiding behind the great rock on the shore watching us.
Loki sighed but didn't move from his position, leaning against Jormungandr's snout. I know little one. I sensed her right away.
She is very small father. But she has her own peculiar form of magic in her blood.
Aye Jor. I sensed that too.
Finally, he lifted his head from the creature's and turned around. "You need not hide any longer my lady. It's unbecoming."
There was a soft rustle of fabric from behind the rock that the creature had indicated and Daenerys hesitantly stepped forth. Her eyes were wide as dinner plates and her face was fixed on the great sea dragon before her.
She looked utterly entranced, to Loki's great amusement and she drifted forward as if drawn by an invisible string.
"How –" she whispered, unable to form a complete thought. "Where did-"
"Like I said," Loki replied glancing back up to the majestic creature he had rescued not long after he had arrived in this land. "You are not the only one with a connection to dragons."
Ω