Loki: Game of Thrones

Chapter 6 - Winterfell Welcomes

The cavalcade traveling to the capital castle of the Northern region moved slowly. Loki knew he could have made the trip to and fro in the space it took them to travel in a day! But, King Robert liked to stop and hunt for anything that moved in the underbrush. He also liked spending several hours in houses of questionable repute in almost every village they passed.

After his little rendezvous with Cersei, Loki had kept his distance from her, her brother, and the royal children. Although Joffrey had a pension for seeking him out. However, this time, he always brought the Hound with him. He was obviously hoping to intimidate Loki by his presence, but Loki was never scared of a person he had defeated in combat. He usually sent Joffrey back to 'mommy' with his tail between his legs. After one particularly nasty argument, Cersei tried to have him executed. Loki spoke with Robert in private, and used his magic to manipulate his mind. Robert ordered Joffrey to stay away from his favorite sells-sword. Loki enjoyed the peace and quiet he got afterwards. Loki did not mind it so much when Myrcella or Tommen came to him. They were polite and always asked if, "Ser Sells-sword had a moment to spare?" Loki liked that, and began to tell them stories about where he was from. Their blue eyes would get wide, and their mouths hang open at the thought of nine separate realms, existing within the boughs of Yggdrasil. Of course, they would tell their mother, and Cersei told them that Loki was insane, and that they should not go to see him anymore. And so, their visits ended. Loki was a little disappointed, but, he hoped that they would soon reach this castle in the North. There, maybe, all of Cersei's hate would be redirected to someone else.

Loki had assigned the position of forward scout to himself, so he rode ahead of the procession. Standing up in the stirrups of his horse, he saw the high and foreboding stone walls of Winterfell. A smirk graced his handsome face, and he wheeled his horse around. Kicking it in the ribs, he galloped back to King Robert as he rode in the front with Ser Jaime Lannister. The White Cloak glared at him, and Loki smirked back, before he turned his attention to the king. "Sire, I just saw the walls of Winterfell! We will be there shortly," Loki announced. King Robert was very pleased with that news, and had Ser Jaime ride back through the company to proclaim the news. Loki watched with satisfaction as Jaime was made King Robert's messenger, and he took his position beside him. Now, Loki would have very much preferred being the one at the head, but, he was contenting himself with serving this king. Until he had worked out the minutia of his finely developed plan.

The gates opened up for the royal procession, and Loki escorted King Robert through. The entire population of the castle was waiting in the courtyard for them. Loki's sharp eyes soon spotted the Stark family he had heard so much about on this journey. He scanned them, his green eyes noticing Eddard Stark, the family's head, standing next to his wife, Catelyn Stark. Loki looked down the line, seeing Robb Stark, the eldest son. Next to him, was a beautiful girl, with flaming red hair, and large, innocent blue eyes. Loki found himself staring at her. She was the epitome of incorruptibility, a girl of virtue. Loki turned his horse and watched as two men brought up a stool, and helped King Robert dismount. Loki dismounted as well, and stood beside King Robert as he greeted his old friend.

"You've grown fat," King Robert said to Eddard Stark. Loki had to smirk, and this caught the eye of Catelyn and Robb Stark. Eddard did not seem to mind, and with a slight tilt of his head, indicated that the king was one to talk. King Robert started laughing and they embraced. Loki took a step back as Robert greeted each of the Stark children. "Strong lad," he told Ned when he was appraising Robb. "Well, aren't you a pretty thing?" he said when he walked by the red head girl. She gave him a curtsy, and when she stood back up, she caught Loki's eye. He winked at her, and she blushed. Her older brother immediately looked cautiously at Loki, and the sells-sword noticed. He raised his hands slightly, and Robb glared. The rest of the children were introduced as: Arya Stark, Brandon Stark, and Rickon Stark. When they all looked up at Loki as he walked by, he smiled at them. Even though some children annoyed him (Joffrey being a perfect example), Loki liked it when they stared up at him like they had never seen the like in their life.

Loki walked through the cold hallways of Winterfell, his long black coat billowing slightly. The servants there had heard from the servants from Kings Landing, that he was a famous sells-sword; who had defeated the Mountain, the Hound, and Ser Jaime Lannister. Without weapons! He was a dangerous person. As Loki walked down the hall, he came to a stairwell, and started walking up, to find a quite place to read Frigga's journal. As he started up, he raised his head and saw the red haired girl, coming down the steps ahead of him. They both stopped walking at the same time. Her skin was as pale as his, and she was tall, and slender. Loki bowed to her. "Hello, my lady. I am Loki, the sells-sword for King Robert Baratheon," Loki introduced. The girl curtsied to him, and he saw a hint of blush filling her cheeks.

"Sansa Stark. First born daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark," she said and Loki smirked.

"Sansa. Very pretty name," he complimented her. Sansa smiled and stepped aside to allow him to pass her on the stairs. Loki paused and faced her, turning his body so that they were on the same level on the stairs. Sansa raised her head to look into his green eyes. "You can talk to me," he told her.

"What am I supposed to say?" Sansa asked. Loki shrugged and saw her point.

"Then I will leave you alone," Loki told her, and he continued his climb up the stairs. Sansa looked after him, watching him take three steps at a time with his long legs. She smiled before she turned and walked the rest of the way down the stairs. Sansa went to the one weaving parlor, and sat down next to her septa, Mordane. The older woman looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're blushing, Lady Sansa," she pointed out, and Sansa looked at a reflection of herself in a mirror. Her usually pale cheeks were pink now. Arya glanced up and she smirked.

"It must be because she's already in love with the prince," Arya teased. Sansa glared at her, and Septa Mordane shook her head.

"A young lady, like yourself, must keep those kind of thoughts out of her head. If your father were to hear..." Septa Mordane left the rest unsaid. Sansa nodded her head, and went back to sewing. But, as she worked, she could not help but think of the black haired sells-sword with the piercing green eyes.

Loki sat cross legged on the wall of the tower, and flipped through his mother's journal to the last entry he had read. When he reached it, Loki's fingers hovered over the words as he waited for Frigga's voice to fill his head like it always did.

And now you meet the family of honor. The Starks are a proud, and noble family. They have been living in the North, longer than they have been ruling it. Soon, Loki, you will see who is a person of honor, and who is a person of greed. The people of greed will either want you on their side, or out of their way. The people of honor will see you as an opportunist. But, be who you were meant to be! These mortals need a firm hand, and you will give it to them. In the end, Loki, you will be what you always were, and what I knew you were.

Loki closed the book and cast it into the Nether Realm. He rested his chin in his hand and pondered what his mother had just written. She was obviously aware of the Starks, and the influence Ned seemed to have over the king. It was also clear to Loki, that the family was a bunch of stiff-backed, rule followers, who never did anything fun. "What a bore!" Loki whined to himself. That was when he heard the door creak open behind him, and Loki cast a suspicious glance over his shoulder. He was surprised to see Arya, Brandon, and Rickon Stark looking at him from around the door. Loki had to smirk, and he turned around to face them. "Can I help you little lords and lady?" Loki queried. Arya humphed at this statement, and walked up to him.

"I am no lady! I am Arya Stark! And I am a warrior!" she announced. Loki smirked at her impetuosity, before glancing at Bran and Rickon Stark.

"We just wanted to see if you were interested in playing with us? Maybe teaching us a few of your sells-sword tricks?" Bran asked, and Rickon just nodded his head. Loki smirked as he realized they just wanted to get to know him.

"That's alright with me. Let's go down to the courtyard," Loki said, and the children began to lead him down the stairs of the tower.