{SET BEFORE THE EVENTS OF 'THOR'}
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"Did you know," she said, sitting on the ground and turning to the prince, "that Midgard has an entire language dedicated to flowers? Each of them mean something else. It's a very sweet way they can express emotio...
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*
Loki had made it halfway through lunch before he heard her.
He had already been feeling rather uneasy due to the offers made to him by Laufey. Instead of dwelling on it, he simply sipped his glass of wine and let Asmund do most of the talking. He couldn't stay out of the conversation infinitely, though, with only three of them there to converse.
A few times, he considered trying to have a telepathic conversation with Maeve, but he refrained, reasoning that they both needed to be completely present.
And so he discussed politics to no end. He usually favored this topic, but he couldn't remain focused. How was he supposed to protect Maeve if he didn't even know where she was? How could he protect his children?
The answer was simple: he couldn't.
Either way, the prince understood that even his thoughts needed to be kept quiet. The Jotunheim made him feel exposed, and he didn't like the way King Laufey looked at him. It was eerie, almost knowing.
"-but our lands have been devastated since the war with Asgard. I was hoping to change this in the near future." Loki snapped back into the conversation just as Laufey fixed him with a stern gaze. "But my hopes were misplaced."
Loki sipped his wine before responding, knowing that he had to choose his words with precision. The attempted negotiations from earlier made his skin crawl and his stomach twist. Maybe he could begin to make sense of it all when he told Maeve later. She always thought of things differently and was much more introspective than people gave her credit for.
"I am unable to promise peace negotiations, Your Majesty. Only my father can do that."
"Your father... yes..." Laufey drummed his fingers on the tabletop, smirking slightly. "Tell me, how is Odin these days? Is your father as mighty as he used to be?"
"The Allfather remains well," Loki responded indifferently. His thoughts took a dark turn at the thought of his father, but he kept his face placid. "He and my mother continue to keep Asgard in prosperity."
"I see. And you?" Laufey turned his attention to Asmund, who straightened his posture subconsciously. "What has become of Vanaheim without Frey?"
Asmund felt like people only ever asked about his father, the one topic he didn't want to talk about, but he remained polite nonetheless. "We had a bountiful harvest this year. That was mainly thanks to my sister. After your attack, she saved our fields."
"Ah, the attack." Laufey set his gem-encrusted goblet down. "You must know that the attack on your grain fields was not sanctioned by me. We've been having to quench rebellions in the mountain territories. My son, the Prince Bjarke, just returned from the mountains to solve such trivial problems."
