Chapter 1.5 A New Beginning Part 5

Thor remained silent and glared at him, so Loki laughed, an amused grin still on his face. "I assume Muspelheim has paid you a vast amount of money to kidnap me. Money that will undoubtedly help bolster your guild, and allow it to grow. I do not want to be married off to King Surtr and live in Muspelheim. That would just mean I'm leaving one dreadful life and entering another and I refuse to do this."

He raised an eyebrow at the Aesir then, loving the distrustful look in Thor's eyes. "I am offering myself to you. After handing me over to Muspelheim's king and receiving payment, come back for me, and I will go with you willingly as your bride. I will help you turn your guild into the strongest settlement in the land and give you whatever you desire. In return, all I ask is that I am given the freedom to do as I wish."

This was the absolute last thing Thor expected to hear, and he lowered his sword a bit, confused by Loki's offer. "Excuse me?"

Loki knew he needed to pander to Thor's seemingly soft heart and frowned, looking away and knowing that he had a pained look on his face. He was a brilliant actor. "In three months, I was to be married to King Thrym. He forbid me from practicing seidr and from being alone. He is known for killing his wives when they go against any of his wishes, and I was on thin ice with him. I wouldn't have lasted a year."

He frowned deeper then, finally looking up at Thor and realizing that the Aesir seemed receptive to his story. He had to hide his grin, and masked it with a sorrowful look. "If I remain in Muspelheim, I will be nothing but a sexual slave. I will be assaulted every day, and forced to have children that I will never love. My rights will be stripped from me, and I will be trapped there forever. That is not a life I want to live."

He looked around at Thor's men then, seeing that their weapons were slightly lowered as well. Norns, this was going so well! "If I offer myself to you, I will be given freedom that I've never experienced before. I want to continue studying seidr and I want to grow more powerful. I can't do that if I have a husband that seeks to restrict every aspect of my personality."

Thor stared off with Loki for what seemed like minutes, weighing the niouvi's words carefully in his mind. He knew that Loki spoke the truth and understood that if he agreed to marry him, it would be an arrangement that benefited them both. Of course, he stood to gain way more than Loki did, and it was this knowledge that made him wary to agree. "How do you know I'm not like the others? I could hurt you just like they would."

"The entire ride here, you covered me so that I was not exposed. You helped me maintain my modesty and chastised your men for leering at me. You gave me water and treated me with care when you didn't have to. If you were a brute like King Thrym or King Surtr, you and your men would've assaulted me after getting me and treated me like a war prize. And you did no such thing."

They stared off again for some time before Thor lowered his sword a bit more. "I am not a king. I cannot give you a life of riches and offer you the lap of luxury that you're used to."

"I will pay whatever price I can for my freedom." Answered Loki. "With me in your guild, I can help you and your men grow to be as mighty as a kingdom." He observed Thor's countenance then, hoping that he'd been able to convince him to agree.

Finally placing his sword back in its scabbard, Thor strode over to Loki, staring down at him with that same, distrusting look in his eyes that amused Loki to no end. "If you betray me at any turn, I will kill you without hesitation."

"Naturally," Answered Loki, smirking up at the Aesir. "But that won't happen."

Thor knew Loki was hiding what he truly stood to gain from their agreement, but understood that he'd be a fool to not accept Loki's proposition. There were countless opportunities that Loki could offer him and his guild if he joined them, and although he would have to speak things over with his council of ten, he found himself agreeing to Loki's proposal. With Loki on his side, he could finally take back what was rightfully his. "If I agree to this, then my only request is for you to hide nothing from me. Secrets cause a guild like mine to tear apart from the inside."

This was an easy enough of a request; Thor would never truly know when he was and wasn't hiding something, as one of his greatest gifts was telling just enough of the truth to make people feel as if they'd received all of it. "I can agree to this."

Nodding to himself, Thor exhaled slowly, praying to the Norns that he wasn't falling into a trap. "Then I will agree to your proposal, Loki."

Loki's eyes narrowed then, his grin almost dangerous. "Splendid."

Everything was going according to plan and he almost laughed, amazed at how easy this all was. He'd secured his freedom and managed to obtain a marriage with someone that could be molded to carry out his bidding. This was the opportunity he'd been praying to the Norns for and he was thrilled, looking forward to the life he would live from here on out. "All I ask is that you treat me with the same respect you're wanting me to give you. If I am mistreated, I will find a way to leave."

"You will not be harmed, niouvi," Sighed Thor, looking around at all of his men. They seemed floored that he agreed to marry Loki and shot him incredulous looks, not knowing what to make of this arrangement.

"Hurry up, drink, and eat. We need to leave." Ordered Thor, snatching a cloak and handing it to Loki. "Put this on."

Loki took it and wordlessly put it on, relieved that he was now covered. Having his nether regions exposed to these men was not a pleasurable experience and he could only hope that he made the right decision by offering himself to Thor.

Of course, only time would tell, and if this ended up being worse than his other options, he would have no one to blame but himself.