Gardenias (L. Laufeyson)

Chapter 14

Maeve woke up under a warm pile of blankets smelling of parchment and newly fallen snow. An odd scent, but one that brought her immense comfort. She sighed and rolled over with the intention of falling asleep again until she remembered everything that had occurred the day before. Then she slid out of bed as quickly as she could. On the nightstand, she found a note pinned onto neatly folded clothes.

Get dressed and meet us in your suite as soon as you wake. Please stay out of sight.

-L

She smiled a bit and unfolded the dress. Simple, long-sleeved, and forest green. He even left shoes, nice but comfortable flats. The princess slipped into the gown, noting how unusually soft it was, before poking her head out of the door. No one seemed to be around. After a moment of hesitation, she scurried down the hall to her room, where Asmund, Corey, Thor, and Loki all sat around talking quietly. They all stood out of respect for her as she entered, but she waved them down and sat in between her brothers.

"Good morning, love," Loki greeted, a slight smile spreading across his face at the sight of his princess wearing his colors. The bags under his green eyes made her wonder if he actually slept at all.

"Is it a good morning? What's going on?" She asked, choosing not to waste words. Formalities didn't matter. Roscoe did. Asmund passed her a cup of tea, a tight-lipped smile on his face.

"Loki and I performed the spell a few minutes ago. You were still asleep, sister. We were going to get you soon," he replied before handing her a map of the realms. Her fingers gripped the edges, careful not to wrinkle it, and she noticed a small golden dot. "Here."

"That island's in Jotunheim territory," She whispered, her eyes never leaving the map. "That's where Ros is?"

Loki nodded somberly. "Yes."

Asmund sighed and said, "we think that's why they've been causing problems back home. They've been scouting a way to do this."

"We've been mapping it out," Corey added.

"How could this have happened?" Maeve thought back to her homeland and it's regulations. "Jotuns aren't allowed in Vanaheim without express permission from Papa!"

"The ones who took your brother are criminals, darling," Loki reminded before taking her hand. Corey glared at this before Asmund shot his brother a glare himself. "They aren't going to abide by the rules."

"Besides, it could have been someone else. It might not have been Jotuns," Corey reasoned. Loki rolled his eyes, not even attempting to hide it.

"Papa will not just storm into the Jotunheim, even with his own son there," Asmund said. He rubbed a hand across his eyes, trying to hide the exhaustion that inevitably came with strong magic. Next to him, Loki was fighting similar feelings. "An organized search party will take weeks, even months. Time we don't have."

"There has to be a better way to do this," Loki muttered, deep in thought.

"We need to help him!" Maeve's heart filled with panic as she thought of her brother on a forsaken island in the Jotunheim, alone and freezing. She'd never been to that realm before and never wanted to, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "There has to be something we can do!"

Corey and Asmund exchanged uneasy glances. Maeve waiter for her brothers to catch their thoughts, knowing how well they worked as a team when they were on the same page. When they weren't, however... not so much.

"Asmund and I are going ourselves to find him," Corey said. "Now that we have a location, we can be on our way and get out of your hair."

"That's ridiculous!" Thor protested loudly, shaking his head. "You can't take on the Jotuns by yourselves. It's too dangerous."

"I am the god of war. I am stronger than you. Don't tell me that I can't take on a few measly Frost Giants."

"I will tell you for a fact that you can't take them alone."

"Are you doubting my strength?"

"No, but you underestimate theirs. I am also stronger than you. You should listen to me. I am a future king."

"And so am I." Asmund stood, fire in his usually calm irises. "This doesn't help anyone. Both of you."

Maeve slipped her hand out of Loki's and put in on Asmund's shoulder. "You can't do this by yourself. You know that. You need help."

Asmund studied the princess. Small, but strong. Young, but determined. Terrified, but brave. She was a little flower to him, too precious to lose. He had felt a personal responsibility for her ever since their mother passed. Even though he trusted her skills and her magic, he didn't trust himself to protect his sister. "You can't come."

"Asmund!"

"I can't ask you to put yourself in danger, Maeve. I can't. Roscoe's already in trouble. I can't lose you, too. I'm sorry."

"You're not going to lose me. You can't ask me to stay here and twiddle my thumbs while three of my brothers could be dead in the Jotunheim! I'm coming," she said firmly.

"You are not coming and that is final!" Asmund spoke in the closest to a raised voice she had heard from him in years. He shrugged away from his sister, but not before a wave of foreign anger spiked with anxiety rushed through her. She stared at him in shock as the emotions faded away. Asmund never lost control of his magic. As one of the strongest Empaths in all the realms, he knew the dangers of it. He turned away once he realized what happened. "You're going to stay here and be safe."

"Asmund, they're right." Everyone turned to Corey in surprise. "I hate to admit it, but we're going to need some help. The people closest to us are not a bad place to start."

Thor and Loki exchanged uneasy glances before Thor spoke. "I will be glad to help my future brothers. However, we need a way to escape the palace without being noticed for a little while. That is easier said than done."

"We'll tell Mother and Father that the three of us are going on a journey. A break from the palace. An adventure," Loki said. "We have not left in a few years, and we usually do go on trips to other places. We'll take a ship and sail to the island. It'll be safer for all of us, and no one will suspect anything odd. We do it occasionally anyway."

"That was quick thinking," Corey commented, impressed.

Loki gave a little bow. "You may be the god of war, but I am the god of lies."

Maeve considered the group standing before her. Four princes, all older than her. While the ages didn't line up, Loki reminded her more of Asmund, and Thor of Corey.

"So what do we need to do?"