The Fallen Prince - Loki fanfiction ✓

24. The ball - part 2

A group of Asgardian ladies called for Loki's attention, Lady Brigitta being one of them. They were all of his mother's generation, Loki grew up with their sons and daughters.

"Good evening, ladies," Loki greeted them. "Are you having a good time?"

"Of course, my King. Your mother always throws the best parties. Great music, great food, dancing, handsome men in their best attire, what is there not to love?" Lady Hildegard said to Loki, a glass of wine in her hand. Judging by her rosy cheeks and pretty bold remark, it was not her first drink. The other women also seemed to be drinking at a steady pace, enjoying a night out at the palace.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves," Loki answered with a smile. "It has been a while since we last had a ball in the palace."

"Yes, a party was long overdue," one of the women said jokingly. He couldn't recall her name, but he remembered her son. A big guy, strong too, brains the size of a walnut.

"You sure know how to surprise us, my King," Lady Brigitta said pleasantly. "Little did we know you picked an Alfheim bride after all!"

"Well, father meant for me to marry to strengthen our alliance with the realm of the Lightelves. I'm merely following up on his wishes."

"I think your father wanted you to marry a princess, my King," Lady Brigitta remarked, keeping a keen eye on Loki's reaction.

Loki smiled at the women in front of him. He would have preferred not to talk to his subjects about his choices, for that was what they were: his choices. But it was inevitable: if he wanted Mirilya to be his queen, the people would have something to say about it. And he would be wise to listen to what they had to say, so he could counter it in the right way. Especially at a night like this. If he went about it the right way, he would be able to ease Mirilya into the Asgardian society without much difficulty.

"Lady Mirilya might not have been born into royalty, but the queen of Alfheim thinks of her almost as a daughter. And princess Loriana sure thinks of her as a sister," Loki told Lady Brigitta, making sure he also looked the other women in the eyes.
"You've spent some time with her earlier this week, didn't you?" he asked his mother's old friend.

"Yes, I did actually! At your mother's invitation I spent an afternoon with the princess and your betrothed, learning about Alfheim needlepoint techniques."

Apparently not all of the women had heard that story already, because there were some surprised reactions to Lady Brigitta's remark. And because the lady loved being at the center of attention, talking about other people, she quickly started telling her friends all about her crafty afternoon.

Loki listened for some time and added to the conversation every once in a while. The Alfheim girls had been very friendly to Lady Brigitta and she had indeed learned some new skills from them. Because of that, she was really positive in her remarks about Mirilya and that rubbed off on her friends. When Loki finally excused himself from the group of women he was pretty sure they had a favourable look upon his plan to make Mirilya his queen.

Loki had more conversations like that during the evening. He was pretty sure he managed to turn them in his favour every time; most people seemed to accept the whole thing quite well once they had talked to him about it.
He knew his mother and queen Aylina had been doing the same thing, getting people to voice their possible concerns about the king's choice and then trying to smooth things over. It seemed they were pretty successful: as the evening progressed, Loki noticed he didn't have to talk so much about Mirilya anymore.

When he spotted her green dress a little behind Lord Walverling, he excused himself to the general and made his way over to Mirilya. She was standing with her back to him, talking to Lady Loriana and Lord Hergund. When Loki snaked his arms around her waist from behind, he could just hear the princess telling Mirilya she should go lie down.