Chapter 2.2 A Test of Time Part 2

Once he was finished bathing, Loki used seidr to dry himself off and summoned a casual, inconspicuous outfit from his closet back in Jotunheim, dressing in it. Seidr allowed him to summon anything he owned as long as a spell was placed over it, and he knew that the king would never notice one of his outfits not being there, as there were hundreds in his closet.

After he finished dressing, he summoned something to tie his hair back with, and pulled it into a ponytail, wanting it out of his face. He then called out to Thor, smirking when the Aesir jumped. "I'm finished."

Whirling around, Thor looked Loki up and down, shocked by his revealing outfit. "W-What the hell are you wearing?"

Loki's entire torso was exposed, his chest was covered by a see-through, mesh material, and the only thing covering his nether regions was something that looked similar to a loincloth. There was an attachment to the loincloth-like item that almost resembled a short skirt and other than that, the rest of Loki's body remained uncovered, with very simple sandals on his feet.

The niouvi frowned in confusion, looking down at himself. "I'm wearing a very casual outfit. What is wrong with it?"

Thor didn't answer him, ripping off his own cloak and covering Loki with it instead. "Don't take this off around the others."

Scoffing, Loki backed up, tossing the cloak back into Thor's hands roughly. "I will do no such thing!"

Loki literally looked like a walking sexual fantasy, and Thor refused to let him walk back to camp while looking like this. "Yes, you will. I understand that they dress differently in Jotunheim, but your kingdom is the only kingdom that dresses so provocatively. You're not going back to the camp until you're covered."

Glaring up at Thor, Loki snatched the cloak from him, annoyed that he was being forced to cover himself. "I will not change how I dress for you, betrothed. There is nothing wrong with it, and the rest of the kingdoms dressing as if they have something to hide is a very personal problem."

Thor didn't want to argue with Loki about this, as they were still strangers. Although agreeing to marry each other caused a certain level of familiarity to form between them, there was still uncertainty there. He'd put Loki through enough, and he really didn't want to cause him any more strife.

"Let's go back to camp, Loki." He sighed, gesturing for Loki to follow him. He was relieved when the niouvi did so wordlessly, and together they made their way back to camp, settling down onto Thor's blanket.

Loki honestly didn't feel comfortable sleeping, but he had been running on fumes since he was kidnapped and needed to rest. Sighing softly, he settled himself next to Thor and wrapped his cloak around himself a bit more, closing his eyes.

It seemed like he stirred every time he heard the faintest sound, and he was exhausted by the time the group woke up in the morning. He didn't think he got more than an hour or two of sleep and wondered how he was going to make it through the rest of this trek if he couldn't sleep.

They were only a two-week ride away from Muspelheim, and each day for Loki proved worse than the last. He was barely sleeping at night, and although he trusted Thor more and more each day, he didn't trust the Aesir's men. Never in his life had he ever been on an expedition like this one, and by the time they reached the outskirts of Muspelheim, he felt like a hollow shell of himself. He'd become paranoid that Thor would back out of their agreement, and fretted over it for days, praying to the Norns that he hadn't been too overly ambitious.

The night before they were set to travel into Muspelheim's capital city found them in a small town, and Loki was relieved to see that there was an inn for travelers there. Of course, they all got strange looks, and he got a few glares of disgust - Jotunheim and Muspelheim truly didn't get along - but he honestly didn't care. He just wanted to have a proper shower and sleep in a bed.

Thor rented four rooms to accommodate himself and his men, so after making sure Loki was situated, he left to speak with his men, all of them gathering in one of the rooms for an impromptu meeting. He knew they were confused by his decision to marry Loki and bring him into the guild, and he wanted to discuss it with them all.

After closing the door to the room they were in, Thor cleared his throat, beginning the meeting. "Tomorrow we deliver Loki to Muspelheim and receive payment. After receiving payment, all of you are to leave as soon as possible, and not stop until I have rejoined you."

His men grumbled at this, and Leon piped up, crossing his arms as well. "Why? So you can bring that whore to our settlement?"

Thor frowned deeply, annoyed with the young man. "Leon."

"What? It's the truth! He'll bring our whole settlement to ruin! You can't trust him!"

His other men seemed to mutter in agreement, so Thor put a stop to this, knowing that the last thing he needed was his men turning against him. "Loki offering to marry me gives our settlement a level of protection and security that we don't currently have. He is a powerful sorcerer and can help teach seidr to those of our settlement that wish to improve their skill. Because he is so powerful, we will have more security than we would normally have."

"I don't fancy being in the middle of a war between kingdoms because you got enamored with a witch's cunt, Drott." Grumbled another one of his men. "Who cares about seidr when two kings want your head?"

His other men seemed to agree with this statement, and Thor sighed, pinching at his brow. "I understand that all of you are mortal, and have forgotten how useful seidr can be to those of us that can actually use it. There is no doubt in my mind that Loki could kill a hundred men with a spell, and if we supply him with enough materials to grow his seidr prowess, we could very well have one of the strongest mages in the realm on our side. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up."

This seemed to get his men thinking, as although they were all Midgardians, they couldn't deny how useful it was to have a powerful seidr user with them.

"When I return to all of you, we will ride until our horses can't ride anymore. It's imperative that we get out of the kingdom of Muspelheim as soon as possible. Is this understood?"

His men agreed so Thor relaxed, uncrossing his arms. "I know this mission wasn't easy, and I understand that you all have families to return to. I promise that I will get us home. Trust in me as you trust in each other, and we will be okay."

"Drott… do you truly believe that marrying that witch will benefit the guild?"

Thor nodded steely determination in his gaze. "I do."

He and his men stared off before they all gave in, letting him know that they trusted him and his judgment.

After the conclusion of this meeting, Thor left the room and headed back to his own, surprised to see Loki sitting naked on his bed, his waist-length hair being brushed free of the tangles. "Norns! Y-Your cloak! W-Where is it?!"

Loki looked up at him, too exhausted to react like he normally would. "I'm not covering myself in the privacy of my room."

Thor felt terrible about Loki's current state, and averted his gaze, heading towards the bathroom in the room. "I'm going to shower." Loki didn't say anything, so Thor stripped himself of his clothing once he entered the bathroom, stepping into the shower and cleansing himself. He spent quite some time under the water, and only stepped out when his skin began to prune. He dried off his skin next and dressed quickly, exiting the bathroom.

He was surprised to see that Loki was still up when he left the bathroom, and sat down across from him on the other bed in the room, sensing that something was wrong. Loki was tense, he was biting his lower lip, and he didn't even notice Thor sitting down across from him, too wrapped up in his own thoughts. "You should get some sleep. We have an early day tomorrow."

Snapping his head up, Loki observed Thor with tired eyes, looking away from the Aesir after a moment. He honestly didn't know what to say, as he was staring at the man who held his entire future in his hands. He'd put all his eggs in one basket, and he was terrified that he'd drastically miscalculated his chances of success. If Thor ended up not holding up his end of the bargain, Loki would be trapped in Muspelheim, and that was the last thing he wanted.