The Blood Of A God || Loki Laufeyson

XVI - The Art Of War

March 11th, 2016

Sup. THE FEEEEEEEELS.

K BYE.

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Chapter Sixteen

She walked in the hallways until she found someone she thought she could help her. The guard that saw her almost looked ready to jump out of his own skin. Why wouldn't he? She was covered in dried blood, almost none of which was her own. She must have looked like a scene from one of his worst nightmares.

"I am one of the King's hunters," she said. "I must stay the night. Could you kindly direct me to an empty room?"

He did so, and she made herself comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she could possibly be.

It got to the point where every breath that Seline took hurt.

Not physical pain, the mental kind. Because with every breath, she thought of Amond and Kayla. And every time she closed her eyes, she saw their faces. She saw the expressions and the looks in their eyes when they finally realized it was all over. When they finally realized they were going to die.

The water flowed down her body, taking on the color of the dried blood as it did. The bottom of the shower was covered in water that was a shade of red so dark that she could just barely see her feet through the small amount of water that was still going down the drain. The blood of the men that murdered her friends. The blood of the five men she killed that night.

She swallowed, taking one more deep breath before getting out of the shower. She dried herself off and slipped into a black shirt and black jeans. Her clothing reflected her current mood, apparently. She dried her hair a little with a towel, then walked back out of the guest room.

She couldn't sleep. Not anymore.

She went down the hallways, feeling her hair still dripping a little. She didn't let it bother her.

She made her way to the only place in the palace that ever truly made her happy. The library.

She could remember all of the nights she and Loki had spent there. She was rather fond of them all. Whether it was because she had liked reading or if she had liked being with him, she didn't know.

She walked along the aisles of bookcases, and as she skimmed over the spines of the many books, she saw one that she recognized. 孫子兵法. The title of the book translated into English was "The Art Of War". She had read the book a thousand times, and in many different dialects. This one was the original Chinese form. The book looked rather old, too. It was from Midgard, which surprised her. Did they visit the land more often than they were willing to say? Or perhaps Loki had been using his magic and knowledge to travel between worlds. Either way, with this book in her hands now, she wasn't complaining.

She ran her along the spine, then opened the book and read some of the first paragraph.

"The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin," she whispered.

If she hasn't heard his footsteps, she may have jumped when he spoke.

"Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected," he said.

She turned to look at him. "Have you read the original book?"

Loki nodded. "And the English translation, yes."