A Trickster's Love

Chapter 41

"Have we made a mistake in binding her magic?" Frigga spoke quietly to Odin. The couple was standing on the dais of the throne room, their gazes sweeping over the crowd of Aesir on the golden flagstones below them. The levee had just finished and Odin had called for the customary ale and wine to be brought out by the servants.

The Allfather looked at his wife, "Would she have died if you had not?"

Sighing, Frigga nodded, "I believe so. The injuries would have continued until her body gave out."

Reaching over, Odin caught Frigga's hand in his and squeezed it lightly, always careful to never do her harm. "Then you chose the lesser of two evils, my love. Losing Maryn after having lost our son would have been too harsh a blow."

"But look at her," Frigga nodded toward Maryn.

The princess stood apart from everyone else, her face a cold impassive mask, her eyes moving over those around her in an unnerving blank stare. She was dressed in black still, her gown made of satin, with an over dress of chiffon that crossed at the chest and was decorated by bronze and gold beads with boarders of the same, and embroidery at the high waist, neckline, and cuffs at the elbows of the short but full sleeves. She had refused to wear her crown again, and instead wore a curling circlet at her brow, a single green stone at the centre. Her hair was pulled back in a low bun, filigree and pearl earrings hanging from her earlobes, and a bracelet of twisted gold with diamonds and emeralds at either end around her wrist. The huge wolf that never left her side kept back any Aesir who did not shy away from her detached gaze, his strange, knowing eyes following the movement of everyone around them.

Frigga saw Maryn sip from her goblet of wine and then turn her gaze to the sky visible between the columns of the balcony outside the throne room. "She is so cold, unfeeling in a way she has never been before."

Odin tightened his hand around Frigga's, "There is nothing we can do about it now. If the spell is reversed she may still be attacked and we do not know if it was Mithros or another force that was responsible for it."

Agreeing, Frigga kept her gaze on their good-daughter, her heart heavy with the consequences of what she had done.

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The spell Frigga had cast to block Maryn's magic hurt in a way that she never thought possible. It wasn't a physical pain, but, after having so much power running through her and giving her energy, the absence and numbness was like losing a piece of herself. Her mind wandered more frequently now, unable to focus on anything around her. She wanted to be free of the bind but was exhausted by the very thought of trying to find a freeing spell.

Fenrir had also changed. It was as if he could sense that she was weak and vulnerable, detached from the world she existed in. He stayed by her side and his gaze watched those that came too close. If they seemed to pose a danger to her, he used his hulking size and intense gaze to keep them at arms-length. Maryn was thankful for that for, although she longed for the closeness of family, the emptiness inside her drew her away from them.

As she stood watching the Aesir mingling in the throne room, she wondered how different her world would be if Loki was still there. Before he had been consumed by wanting to prove his worth as a king and Odin's son, he had brought a different life to the parties and gatherings the Allfather's halls were famous for. There was always a child-like glee surrounding him whenever he and his brother and friends were together in the same room. Although he was known for his dark humour and the sometimes-cruel tricks he played on others, there was never any doubt in Maryn's mind that Loki lived for his family and friends.