Chapter 4: And So The Walls Begin To Crumble Part 1

After their surprisingly short wedding ceremony, Loki and Thor were thrown a great feast, with much of the town celebrating and rejoicing for their leaders. This feast lasted well into the night and by the end of it, Loki was so full and tired, he didn't know how he was going to have sex that night. Thor told him that it was tradition for Asgardians to try and conceive on their wedding night, so they would be intimate quite soon.

Loki politely rejected the offer for a fourth plate of food around 10 pm, and let Thor know that he was going to step away for a moment to clear his head. He'd drank more wine than he cared to admit and wanted the cool air to give him some clarity.

"I see you've finally managed to break off from the festivities."

Loki turned slightly, seeing a beautiful woman with long, platinum blond hair and the biggest, most charming baby blue eyes he'd ever seen on a person. She had an air of nobility, and Loki observed her carefully, wondering who she was. "I have. May I have the honor of knowing who you are?"

"My name is Freya. I'm Thor's cousin and Hogun's wife. I'm also the most powerful sorceress in this town. It's a pleasure to meet you, Loki."

Loki shook her hand, his interest piqued. "Ah. I'm surprised to see an Asgardian sorceress. You don't find too many of them."

"I'm from Vanaheim. Thor's mother and my father were brother and sister." Corrected Freya, gesturing for Loki to follow her. "Come. I would like to show you something."

Loki followed Freya into the forest surrounding the town, wondering where they were going. She seemed to be leading him deep into the woods, so he followed her silently for a few minutes, noticing that the deeper into the forest they walked, the greener the leaves of the trees became, and more and more forms of various life began to show itself.

Finally, they reached a large spring; the surrounding area illuminated by the moon's light. Freya smiled proudly and turned to Loki, sweeping her arm out grandly. "I come here to recharge my seidr. I have spent the past few years crafting this place and I would like to share it with you. You're just as strong as me - if not stronger - and I understand how important it is to replenish your seidr."

In their realm, seidr use was incredibly complex.

Getting stronger in seidr use was very similar to training a muscle, in that it took years of dedicated training to become useful. The strongest of mages practiced seidr for hours every day and even then, it didn't guarantee that they would become powerful. Elves and niouvi had a natural affinity for seidr use, and the strongest of sorcerers were often one of the two. Seidr could be used to do many things, but only the strongest of users could do something incredibly complex like healing a broken bone, building a home out of nothing, or causing an inanimate object to become a living being.

Beings that used seidr could not use it endlessly, as seidr stemmed from the essence and energy that resides in every single thing, both living and nonliving. When someone used seidr, they were pulling on their own essence and making it interact with the essence and energy of other things, to achieve its desired effect. If they used too much seidr - by casting a powerful spell that they were not yet strong enough to cast, for example - it could kill the user, or weaken them so much that they went into a coma. To prevent this from happening, seidr users drew from the essence of things found in nature to replenish their own essence, as the essence of plants, the sun, water, and the moon even, had endless energy available for them.

Many powerful mages had personal gardens, springs, and towers where they escaped to in order to replenish and practice their seidr, and for Freya to share her space with him shocked Loki deeply. "Norns… this is beautiful, Freya. You would really share your personal spring with me?"

Freya nodded, crouching down to run her hand through the cool water. "It is my understanding that you were brought here to strengthen our settlement and protect it. Until you craft your own area to replenish your essence, you are more than welcome to use mine."

"Norns… thank you." Murmured Loki, still looking around at the spring in awe. "This is amazing."

Freya hummed softly, stroking the petals of a lily flower then. "There is something that I would like to speak to you about, now that we are family."

Loki took off his sandals and sat down on the edge of the spring, allowing the cool water to sober him up faster. "I'm listening."

"Thor is a good man, Loki. And he is a genuine man. I cannot say that I trust you, and I cannot say that I don't, because I don't know you. But I do know my cousin." She looked over at Loki then, conveying how serious her next words were. "He will love you with everything in him and go to the ends of Yggdrasil to provide for you. He will protect you with his life and he will spend the rest of his days trying to make you happy because that's the kind of man he is. Thor has been through more in his 31 years of living than any one being should ever have to go through and it astounds me every day that he gets up and greets each morning with a smile."

Loki didn't expect to hear this and frowned, mulling over her words. It was imperative that he got onto Freya's good side, and he knew that everything he ever said to her would have to be carefully calculated. "I did not come here to ruin Thor's life. I came here because we both needed each other. I have explained to Thor that although this is a marriage of convenience, I firmly believe that love can bloom between us."

Freya stood up then, the moon illuminating her pale skin beautifully. "I can only hope so, Loki."

Her tone spoke of unspeakable wrath if he managed to do anything to hurt Thor, and he couldn't say that he was offended by it. It seemed that this woman sensed his intentions and it surprised him, as he was usually very adept with the way he used people. No one ever caught on that they were pawns to get him to where he wanted to be in life and for the first time, someone was telling him to be careful.

It was thrilling almost to be warned like this and Loki smiled, standing up and putting on his sandals so that he could walk back to his and Thor's reception. "I will do my best to love your cousin, Freya. I cannot say that I love him now, but I believe that one day, I will. I promised to protect him and value him, and I will."

Freya observed him carefully then, before nodding and leading the way back to the reception. "I will hold you to your word, then, niouvi."

Loki followed Freya back to the reception and found that he mulled over her words and the information he gained, as it changed his perception of Thor. He didn't want to hurt the Aesir, but he didn't want to fall in love and be vulnerable either. He trusted his abilities to pretend that he was falling in love and while he did feel some level of attachment to Thor - how could he not after the Aesir risked his life to save him - he knew he couldn't be vulnerable in the way Thor was wanting him to be. If nothing else, he believed that he would grow fond of Thor and this, he told himself, would have to be enough.

Their reception began to wind down by midnight, and after being sent away with good wishes in the air, Thor and Loki returned to Thor's home. They would then spend the next three days in each other's embrace, enjoying their new marriage.

Loki felt better now that he sobered up, and he jumped in the shower once they arrived, wanting to cleanse himself before bed. As always, he left the bathroom naked, and looked through his new clothing from the tailor, searching for a nightshirt. He could feel Thor staring at him lecherously as he bent over and laughed softly, turning to look back at him. "I'm not going to sleep with you until you take a shower."

Snorting softly, Thor stood up and made his way over to Loki, hands ghosting over the niouvi's ass. "Why are you so intent on me showering before sex?"

"Because I don't enjoy having sex if the other party is dirty and covered with sweat and grime from the day." Answered Loki, looking over his shoulder when he felt Thor kneel behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Something you'll enjoy," Murmured Thor, swiftly spreading Loki's cunt apart and licking at him.

Loki let out a low moan when Thor licked him, twitching slightly in his hold. "Thor-"

Instead of replying, Thor continued to lick at him, teasing at the sensitive area with a finger. It didn't take long for Loki to wetten at all, and once he tasted it on his tongue, Thor slid a thick digit into Loki, letting out a low moan when the niouvi clenched around him.

Thor was gripping at his hip and pulling him back towards him, and Loki arched in his hold, making himself more accessible to Thor while reaching down a lithe hand to jerk himself off. When Thor slid another finger into him and crooked his fingers a bit, Loki cried out, running his hand along his shaft a bit quicker. "A-Another!"

Slipping in a third finger, Thor pushed his tongue in along with his fingers, pleased when Loki gasped and rose up on his toes. He reached further up and replaced Loki's hand with his own, jerking at the niouvi's cock in time to his fingers thrusting into the man, making sure that his tongue never left him.

Loki could feel his climax rising from within, and he arched on his toes even higher and moaned as he came from both sexes, the waves of ecstasy washing over him.

Thor pulled his fingers out of Loki and wiped at his lips and beard, smirking proudly. "I suppose I'll go take a shower."

Whirling around, Loki grabbed the collar of Thor's shirt and pulled him in for a deep kiss, licking at the Aesir's upper lip before pulling away. "You're terrible."

Laughing softly, Thor kissed Loki gently, hoping to placate him. "I find it hard to feel guilty right now."

Loki surprised both himself and Thor when he kissed Thor again, reaching down to cup at the Aesir suggestively. "I would like to enjoy our wedding night. I'll be waiting."

Thor shot Loki a heated look before forcing himself to pull away and head into the bathroom. He took what he believed was the quickest shower in his life and rushed to dry off, not bothering to put on clothes. He and Loki would spend the next three days wrapped in each other's embrace, and he was looking forward to being able to grow closer with the niouvi.

He hoped that by spending the next three days with each other, that they would grow closer, and that Loki would begin to trust him.