Disgrace [A Loki Fanfiction]

Chapter 10 - Trouble

We get off Nolbri's back, and I hold it by the reigns while we cautiously approach the Great Bridge. I stare at the titan before me.

   I can tell that he is mighty simply by looking at him. He is twice as tall as me. He is wearing golden gladiator clothing, and muscles bulge from the exposed skin that I see. His hair falls in curtains over his face, emphasizing his strong jaw and his deep, green eyes.

   Before we can get nearer than ten feet from him, however, I suddenly hear the pattering feet of at least twenty people. I whirl around, gripping the dagger from my belt in one fluid motion just as my eyes come to rest of a small horde of Lythmian soldiers, all dressed in the compulsary golden armour, and each carrying a spear. Three, right at the back, I notice, are each carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows.

   "Show your faces," the captain of the group says. 

   There is nothing for it. If I have to, I will fight my way through them, I think to myself.

   "We have an order from the king to search all travellers. I repeat, show your faces!" the captain says in an intimidating tone.

   "What is going on?" Loki asks me. I ignore him. 

   With an angry huff, I pull my hood backward, and Loki follows. I should have known that Father would send a search party after us.

   "Princess Alea, I am ordered by the king to escort you back to Myriah," the captain says with authority, "There is a carriage waiting in a nearby settlement. Follow us."

   "I cannot," I reply, deciding that lying might help, "This man here, I found out, is a Donthion. I vowed to myself that I shall escort him back into Donthion myself for his insolence in trying to spy on our lands."

   "Are you certain of these accusations, your highness?" the captain asks.

   "Positive," I reply, "Can you not see his black hair and his pale skin?"

   "Very well, then," the captain says, "But we shall escort him back to the palace. There, he shall pay for his injustice by the hand of the king."

   "Let me take him back to his home," I say in my most authoritive voice, "I shall deal with him myself, and return to the castle immediately thereafter."

   "I am afraid I cannot allow that, your highness. I have direct orders from the king," he says simply. He nods to the guards standing nearest to Loki, "Seize him."

   I panic. I shoot an apologetic glance in his direction, and he catches the hint. Just as two of the guards lift the wrong ends of their spears to try and knock him out, at least ten projections of himself appear out of thin air, surrounding him. All of them look at different guards. I lose sight of the real Loki as they change formation into that of a group battle stance. I do not know whether they can inflict harm, but I cannot count on hope.

   I have not suffered through weeks of travel simply to be returned to the castle. As fast as I can, I lift the wrong end of the dagger and whack the guard beside me with it before placing it at my belt and seizing his two hand-sized crossbows from his belt and aiming them at the guards in front of me. I have no experience as an archer, but they do not know that.

   Without warning, Loki starts attacking the guards near him, and I follow suit. I aim as best I can and shoot. Half of the darts miss the guards, but the other half hit other guards by mistake. In the next several minutes, Loki and I try to knock out as many guards as we can: I have no desire to kill them, but I will not allow them to stand in the way of me and my true home. Amidst the pandemonium, I notice Nolbri running off into the distance, and my heart feels heavy. It had helped us so much on our journey.