Mark My Words | Loki FanFic

.chapter II.

.chapter two.

       A few days later...

She's bluffing. That was his first thought. For all he knew, her words could be nothing but lies--made up excuses. He would know a lot about that. How could an enemy of his already be upon him? If anything, the person plotting against him could be Sage. 

However, he should not take threats lightly, especially as a King--if he should even call himself that. Which is why, over the past five days, Loki had increased security.

He requested for every person to enter or exit the castle to be documented. He did not let his illusion down, even at night when he slept. His meetings with the councilmen were short and vague. Some of his appointments were even canceled. Loki even recruited two of his best men to find Sage. From what he had heard, she was staying at her late father's house on the outskirts of town. Since her proposal, he hasn't contacted her once. choosing to assign his guards to keep an eye over her instead. 

As dinner time came, Loki began to grow less wary of Sage. Although they weren't the best of friends, she was the only one he could trust at the moment. He knew that if she were to be the enemy she spoke about, she would've acted upon it by now. He sighed in boredom as the servants served dinner, declining a glass of wine.

"I'll take it!" David roared with a haughty laugh as he took the wine glass from the servant, not caring if he almost spilled the soup on the other side of her tray.

Loki had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes. He had always questioned the King's choice of friends. Did the King genuinely care for them? Or was it just another burden, the aftermath of a never ending business deal? Whatever the reason may be, these friends seemed to be genuine to his father, seeing as they had made sure to keep him occupied as much as they could ever since the death of the Queen.

He had to admit: it was hard to keep up his act. Impersonating the King, the one man he has come to despise yet still admire, was no easy task. Just the thought of the King would bring him a repulsive feeling. He was not accustomed to exerting his powers and as much as it wore him out, he pushed himself further. Casting illusions have always been Loki's expertise.

No matter how much the King, who was supposed to be a father figure for him, condemned him for learning magic, Loki always held it close to his heart. It was the one thing the Queen, his mother, taught him and cherished. It was the one thing that Loki prospered in, the one thing he could win his favored brother at. And look where it got us all, he thought. I have the throne meanwhile my idiot brother is running off with the peasant he fell madly in love with.

The idea of acting out in the image of the King to ruin his reputation crossed Loki's mind many times. Not even the destruction of the King's image would be able to pay for all the damage he caused Loki. All those years of believing that he had some right to the throne only to realize that he had been living a false dream. He had put up with always being chosen last, with the rude remarks and hostile looks sent his way for not being like the 'oh-so-perfect' Thor only to be slapped with the cruel truth. He never had any right to the throne. His birthright had been to die. He felt humiliated in the worst way possible for being brought up as an Asgardian, when in reality he was the son of the enemy.

Soon, Loki told himself. He'll enact his revenge out soon, and he will not only take down the beloved King with him, but his entire kingdom as well. Anyone who had dared to wrong him will pay for their grave mistake. The Queen had been the only one holding him back, the only one ever so kind to love him with a pure heart. But she was murdered in last year's war and it was all the King's fault. The grief and pain over her loss added more to the fire raging on inside him.

But for now, I have to keep this act up. He thought as he forced himself to laugh at a simpleminded joke Finnley, another of the King's friends, made. The rest of the night went the same way as it always did. David would drink until his words slurred. Finnley would excuse himself right before dessert was served with the excuse of being tired, but in reality, he would sneak off to meet with a maiden--who was much too young to be involved with an old man like him. His other friends, Patrik and Harold, would make light conversation with him. Nothing too deep, in fear that they would remind him of the Queen in any way. Loki would interact with them, laughing when it was appropriate and saying some of the King's famous expressions. 

"If you excuse me, I'll be heading to bed." Loki announced as he abruptly stood from his table. It was around the same time he always left the dining area. He left before either of his "friends" could reply or persuade him to stay for one more drink and retreated quickly to his room.

**

"My King, my King!"

Loki groaned as he awakened to the sound of one of his servant's frantic yelling. He slowly counted to three, in the comforts of his bed, before deciding to get up to answer the door. He knew by way the servant was knocking that whatever he had to say was important. Why else would someone disturb the King in the middle of the night?

"What is it?" He demanded as soon as he opened the door.

"It's your friend, your majesty. David. He's dead."

"Take me to him." He replied instantly, feigning a horrified expression. David was the closest friend to the King, and although the King had a cold heart, Loki knew that he would at least be fazed by this. He himself couldn't even fathom the news.

Dead? Asgard has always been a troublesome kingdom, fending off enemies one after another. But violent? Never. The Kingdom of Asgard has always been peaceful, hence it's name. It's the reason why it was so vulnerable to other competing kingdoms.

He followed the servant down the long corridors, anxious to find out more. He was already thinking of ways to notify the Kingdom of David's passing and arrangement of his funeral. Not only was he a good friend to the King, but a good contributor to the wealth and food supply of Asgard. It would only be right to give him a proper funeral, as much as Loki didn't want to.

It wasn't long before he reached David's chambers. He arrived just in time to see one of the healers, the doctors of Asgard, pulling a white cover over David's still body. There was no trace of blood or sign of any murder, as far as Loki could see. He noticed the four guards hovered around the four-poster bed, waiting for instruction from either the King or healer. Loki nodded his head toward the dead body and with no words exchanged, they picked up the body and left the room.

The healer turned to face Loki, an empty wine bottle in his hands. He immediately recognized it as one of the King's favorite wines. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but before he could ask, the healer spoke.

"I believe he has been poisoned."

"Poisoned?"

"I tested what little was left of this wine and it came out positive for the deadliest poison of them all."

Loki blinked. He could still not process it all. David had been poisoned, but by who? And with what intentions? David was a generous and kind man, who had no enemies whatsoever. Unless...

"My king, I am sorry if I am speaking out of turn, but I feel that it is necessary for you to know that, that wine was meant to be served to you tonight." The servant, the one who had escorted him, admitted. "I have already called for an investigation to determine who the culprit is..."

Loki tuned out the rest of the servant's words, too consumed in his thoughts to listen. He would have to ask her for the information and details later. David was not the target of whoever poisoned that wine. The King was. Someone had tried to murder him and in the most transparent and cliche way. All he could think about were Sage's words:

"You'll be surprised to see that the real enemy is already upon us."