Loki: Game of Thrones

Chapter 71 - Licking Wounds

Melisandre knew that the Lord of Light had not planned on the siege of Kings Landing backfiring like it had. And quite literally too. The wildfire had exploded in a bright glow of green flames, and consumed Stannis' fleet. After that, Tywin Lannister came riding in with the Tyrells, and drove the rest of Stannis' army back. The Lord of Light was not happy with their defeat at Kings Landing. She had met with him once they were back on Dragonstone, and he told her that he sensed a magical presence that had a hand in their staggering setback. Melisandre had asked if it was Loki Frostborn by chance. That was when the Lord of Light told her what he knew of Loki Frostborn. Needless to say, Melisandre was now fascinated with the tall stranger. "I made the necessary sacrifices, and I still lost!" Stannis cursed bitterly, and Melisandre was brought back to the present.

"It is all part of the Lord of Light's plan," Melisandre told her king, and Stannis snorted dryly.

"So, it was his plan for you to be beaten like a drum?" asked a voice, and the two people turned to see Loki sitting on the map table. One long leg was tucked under, while the second was hanging off the edge. Loki smirked at them as he held one of the pieces. "If you ask me Stannis, he's not a very reliable ally. I, on the other hand, am. I take care of my friends and compatriots. You only get as good as you give," Loki said.

"What are you doing here?" Stannis asked, approaching Loki, his hand on his sword. "The word had spread from Tywin Lannister himself that you were dead!" Loki shrugged and climbed off the table, knocking several wooden carvings to the floor.

"That's what I want him to think. I guess it worked," Loki commented afterward. Stannis' jaw tightened and he turned away, seemingly determined to ignore Loki. Melisandre on the other hand, walked over to him. Once she was standing before Loki, she reached out and her hand began to trail down his chest. Loki just watched her, his eyes suspicious. When Melisandre felt something lumpy that was not clothing, she applied pressure, and Loki hissed, pushing her hand away.

"I hope it wasn't too serious, my lord?" Melisandre asked.

"It was not. But even if it was, it is none of your concern," Loki told her between clenched teeth. Melisandre smiled slightly as she brushed his collar back, revealing the thick, black stitches.

"Just the concern of a certain Stark girl?" Melisandre then posed. Loki's grip around her throat was instantaneous, and he lifted her off the ground. Stannis wheeled around, ready to defend her but Loki waved his hand and he went flying into the wall. Loki and Melisandre shared a long look, neither of them wavering.

"What do you know about it, sorceress?" Loki queried, the barely controlled anger in his voice.

"Only what my lord has told me," Melisandre responded coolly, and Loki's eyes narrowed. "He says you, like your brother, have a soft spot for mortals." Loki could not stop the gasp that escaped him, and he dropped Melisandre. Her fingers touched her tender throat, where bruises were already starting to appear. Loki turned away from her, trying to hide the myriad of emotions that were playing all over his face. How could the Lord of Light know that?! This realm had been severed from the other Nine for a long time. Long enough that he and Thor would not even have been born yet. So, how did this creature, this powerful being, know that Thor loved a mortal, and that Loki loved Sansa? Loki spun back on Melisandre and looked into her blue eyes.

"Is that a challenge from your Lord of Light to me? Very well, I accept!" Loki whispered to her, his voice deep and threatening. Melisandre nodded her head, and her hand went out. It caressed Loki's cheek, lingering over his lips for an instant before she withdrew it. And a good thing too, for Loki tried to catch her finger in his teeth.

"It is a challenge you will lose, Ser Loki Frostborn. And the Lord of Light would much rather prefer you join his side in one piece," Melisandre told him, and Loki chuckled lightly. Stannis tried to intervene again, and Loki snapped his fingers, putting the man to sleep in an instant.

"Don't want to be interrupted for when I do this," Loki said, and he back handed Melisandre across the face. With the sheer force, he sent her flying onto the table with a crash, and Melisandre gasped for breath. Loki walked over to her, grabbed the back of her neck, pulling it back. "I did that to make a point. If your Lord of Light really cared about you, he would have stopped me from doing that. But he didn't. He doesn't give a f-k about you!" Loki shoved her back into the table and vanished from Dragonstone, leaving a slightly trembling Melisandre in his wake.

Loki sat on his bed later that same day, while Sansa slowly removed the stitches from his cut. "I almost want to leave them in. Considering the situation, they were a work of art," Sansa commented as she pulled them out with tweezers. Loki huffed and watched as the black thread was dragged from his pale skin. Sansa glanced up at him, and saw the scowl on his face. "What happened?" she asked, and Loki looked at her. "You came back from your outing looking like a thunder cloud. Somebody made you mad, and you obviously didn't or couldn't deal with it the way you normally can. So, what happened?" Sansa posed again. Loki sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do to hide it from Sansa once she set her mind to finding out.

"I went to see Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre today," Loki admitted and Sansa nodded her head. She continued her slow and meticulous task of removing the stitches, waiting for Loki to resume talking. "I teased them for their defeat, and Melisandre said something that she could not have known." Sansa heard the tone in his voice and glanced up at him.

"What did she say?" Sansa queried, finally tugging the last of the black thread out. Once that was done, Sansa took a jar from his nightstand that she had brought in and took off the lid. Inside, was a golden like mixture, and Sansa lathered it on her fingers before spreading over Loki's cut.

"She said that her Lord of Light knew that Thor loved a mortal," Loki responded, and Sansa stopped what she was doing and glanced up at him. That had to have rattled Loki a little, since she was probably the only person he trusted with personal information like that.

"How did this Lord of Light know about something like that?" Sansa posed, finishing her task, and gently running her finger over the scar. Loki watched her tapered fingers slide down his flesh, and he had to restrain a shiver. Looking back at her, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. He just knows." Sansa huffed and folded her arms across her chest, fixing Loki with her steely blue gaze.

"I know you, Loki Laufeyson. You're not going to settle for 'he just knows'. You're going to find out how he knows," Sansa said, and Loki started to smirk. Standing up, he gave her a mock bow before he reached for his discarded shirt.

"You've hit the nail on the head, my lady. I won't rest until I find out how this being discovered something that could not be known by anybody else," Loki told her with a dramatic flair in his voice. Sansa wagged her finger at him as she picked up her tools.

"You make it sound like a joke, but what the red priestess said bothered you. I'm the only person who could have known about that because I'm the only one you trust to know something personal like that. Meaning, this Lord of Light must be from your world," Sansa said, and Loki glanced away. He had already been thinking that, but now that Sansa said it out loud, he realized the danger he was in. This Lord of Light wanted Loki to work for him, so he knew Loki's abilities and talents, and clearly wanted them on his side rather than against him. Meaning he was not Asgardian, and therefore somebody else he had most likely crossed paths with in his numerous journeys. A puzzle indeed; but one he would be happy to solve with Sansa. Glancing back at her, he grinned.

"You want to help me?" he asked her. It only took a second for a small smile to spread across Sansa's face. It wound up growing into a smirk.