Cooled Passions Chapter 63: Long Overdue

DMyGLcyC

Chapter 63: Long Overdue

God’s bones shouldn’t be able to ache, he grumbled to himself as he watched the last few representatives trickle in. It was a silly thought, something to distract himself from his duty, but a valid one nonetheless. His believers viewed him as an old God, a wise God, something he took great pride in. But why, oh why, did it have to come with back pains?

Seeing as the last of the ones that he had been expecting arrived, he sighed. He wished he could just get this over with, but it would be better if the soon to be enemy side initiated first. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Why have you brought us here again so soon, One-Eye?” Rumbled Farbauti, the Jotunn representative.

As well as the trueborn father of Loki.

“Stop being so impatient, Giant. We are still waiting for Loki to be present.” Came a sly voice, Dvalinn the Dark Elf spoke and turned back towards Odin, “When should we expect the Trickster to join us?”

Thor bristled at the disrespect shown, but Odin merely sighed and stood, bringing the room to a still as Gungir appeared in his hand.

“Loki will not be joining us.” His voice carried clear across the room, “I made a proclamation, an oath. I will fulfil it. Loki ignored my orders and antagonized the Dark Moon. As per my promise, I hereby strip him of his name and titles and disavow him. He is no longer an Aesir and-”

“Preposterous!” The uproar had started immediately, but Farbauti’s voice thundered out over the rest, “Weakness! Cowardice!”

He could feel it before the interruption, the mere mention of the thing calling its attention to this meeting. Like a coil in the inside of his skull, tightening ever so slightly in response to its immense gaze.

He wondered if the amusement he felt was real or imagined.

Odin slammed the butt of his weapon into the floor, the impact reverberating like a gong and stilling the room, all but a few quailing at the legendary weapon.

“You won’t cow me, Old One.” Dvalinn whispered, his voice audible despite being so low, “What exactly happened to Loki?”

“…He died.” Odin spoke, a feeling taking over them all, as if they all sucked in a breath at once, “In combat against Ranni’s Champion.”

“And you will not retaliate? Not strike back at the death of one of ‘your own’?” Farbauti’s voice took on a mocking lilt, “So much for him being your son. I suppose this is all a Jotnar can expect from the ruler of Asgard, after all.”

“Bravery is different from stupidity.” Odin raised a hand to forestall any interruptions as he asked, “Do any of you know where Ranni came from? This new god that none of us had heard of in our long histories?”

Alvar, the King of the light Elves, was the one that answered, “From beyond the Void.”

“Yes.” Odin nodded, causing murmurs to break out amongst the gathered delegates, “And who guards the passage that she passed? Who should she have to contend with to arrive as she did? Can you tell me, any of you, who among you thinks that they can defeat one who evaded the Dragon of Dreams?”

None spoke, causing the wizened God to sigh, “It is an unwinnable fight. Her weakness, her strange obsession with the Sagan, is not even exploitable. She will protect him, not even mentioning the rest of the Devils that will rally to his defence.”

“So you will do nothing.” Came the dismissive voice from the Dark Elf, causing Odin to nod.

“Nothing, except this.” He raised his spear, thrusting it out to indicate his willingness to fight for what he was about to say, to put the weight of his throne behind it, “As of this moment, Loki has been struck from the Eda. His songs, his deeds, shall not be remembered. I cast him out, and deny all memory of him.”

His proclamation was met with abject shock. Sure, he had stated as much previously, but to actually go this far, to essentially give up on his aeons long hope of redemption… It stunned everyone who heard it.

Before the surprise could turn into rage, Dvalinn stepped to the fore, bridging the gap between the Aesir and the rest, “Are you sure about this, Odin? Do you know what you are inviting here?”

“I do. My decision stands.” Odin kept his voice firm.

“Madness.” Farbauti whispered, “Madness and cowardice! Some foreign God rattles you and you abandon one you claimed as your own to her like trash? How dare you, Odin of Asgard! Loki was the only one stopping us from crushing you like we should have, all those years ago and this is how you repay him?”

“Delay is not providing a solution, merely prolonging an issue until later.” Odin spoke, unbowed, standing resolute, “If this causes war… Asgard stands ready. We rule the Nine Realms, it seems it is past time to remind you all exactly why that is so.”

“So be it.” Came the excited hiss, before the Dark Elf erupted into laughter, “So be it! Rangarok is upon you, you old fool. The Time of the Aesir has passed, this merely proves it. Brothers!”

He turned back to the crowd behind him, getting nods and grumbles of agreement before he turned back with his verdict, “We are at war.”

“So be it.” Odin reflected the phrase, “When we next meet, it shall be on the battlefield.”

“Oh no, we are ending this here and now.” Farbauti rumbled, stepping forward, “You have insulted me for the last time, One Eye. I will have your head in recompense.”

Thor stepped out from the ranks of the Asgardians, “If you want my father’s head, you will have to get through us first.”

Farbauti blinked, realising that his entourage was vastly outnumbered by the warriors of Asgard that were present.

“You shall have your chance to claim it, Jotunn.” Odin spoke, “But not here, not now. Let us both ready our people to clash with all their strength, so that when a victor is decided, there can be no doubt as to their worthiness.”

Farbauti stared at the King, eyes blazing with icy hate, before he scoffed, “Very well. But remember, old man, no wall stands forever.”

“I know that all too well.” Was the reply.

---XXX---

“Well, what is so desperate that you need to force me like this? I thought you were content to give me my space.” My Queen’s prickly nature was showing itself at full force, “Unless you have grown impatient? What, missing my body that much already?”

The saucy grin was a fragile thing, I could tell. She was defaulting, attempting to derail me by pulling me into our usual game of teasing and winding each other up. The instinctive response was difficult to stop, especially with my sins acting upon my psyche so heavily, but with Ranni’s help and my own knowledge of what was occurring, I was able to fight off the impulse.

“No. I missed you, Cecelia.” I responded, completely honest and open, deciding to cut straight to the nub of the issue and leave her no room to deflect or wiggle away, “I think you know that. This is unhealthy, keeping our feelings bottled up like we have, Cecelia. We should clear the air and be honest with each other.”

“Trying to have a standard relationship now, Damocles?” Came the mocking response, “A bit late, don’t you think? I will never be more than a concubine, one of your many bed warmers. Trying to make it more than that… It's just silly. What, are you going to say it’s different for me, that I’m special? I’ve heard it before.”

She switched to being aggressive, trying to shut down my attempt by assaulting me verbally, but I let it flow over me. She was scared of the one thing she had always wanted, now in reach. She wanted desperately to believe what was happening was what she hoped, but at the same time she was terrified of it.

“Cecelia. There is something I am going to say to you.” I sighed, “It is the honest truth, so I want you to hear it out fully, okay?”

“What, going to pry open my heart with some flowery-” She crossed her arms, huddling in on herself, turning away from me.

“I love you.” My words stopped her dead, her breath catching at the simple statement, “When Catharsis approached me, I could have chosen anyone. From millions, trillions of different realities. Goddesses, primordials, dragons, sorceresses of unimaginable power, demons who feed off of sex.”

“Stop…” She whispered, pleading.

“I chose you.” I pressed, my tone expressing my earnestness, “Not just any version of C.C., You, specifically, out of all the countless that exist. Even then, I didn’t truly know you. Didn’t appreciate you fully. Now that I have had time to do so, to truly understand you? I am even more glad for my decision. You are amazing, Cecelia. Your wit, your cutting barbs, your intelligence. Your unique outlook, even your cynicism. I love it all. I don’t begrudge you any of it.”

I stood from my chair, the motion causing her to flinch as I walked over to her, my height allowing me to envelop the ball she had curled into.

Hugging her, I infused my voice with as much of my feelings as I could, “I accept you, Cecelia.”

She started to shake,, my hug tightening as she did, her limbs curling even further into herself, as if she was trying to block out the entire world. From within the curled up mess, I could hear a mumble, soft, barely perceptible.

I didn’t speak, letting my words hang in the air until her green hair shifted, one golden eye glaring up at me with rage, “It’s not fair.”

Before I could respond, she snapped up, breaking my grip as she grabbed my shirt with two fistfuls of fabric, “You damn stupid idiot. We were having fun, it was all going perfectly, then you had to… had to go… And! And make me feel attached to you! Do you understand how agonizing it is? Your plans, your position, they’re so dangerous! I’m used to losing people but…”

Tears started to flow freely, her grasp lessening as she collapsed, clinging to me as I caught her in my arms.

“If you die…” she whispered, the voice trembling, fragile, “It won’t be the same as all the others. They would have only lived for decades anyway, but you… If you are with me, I never have to be alone again. If you die… I can’t…”

Her honest thoughts finally made themselves known, the reason she was so afraid of what was forming between us finally in the open.

“I won’t die.” I spoke softly, causing her to give a wet scoff, “I am already strong enough that only a few in this world could succeed in killing me. Even then, most would not dare try due to the amount they would lose in the process. That will only be more and more true.”

“Even the mightiest king can be killed by a peasant.” Her voice was tired, resigned.

“True. That is why the King has guards. Advisors. People around him to ensure that he is never in that situation.” I replied, gently moving one of my arms to allow me to grip her chin and look into her teary eyes, “Cecelia. I need you. Now and Forever. That will never change.”

Her breath hitches, staring up into my gaze, before she closed her eyes and whispered, “Promise me.”

“Anything.” I replied without hesitation.

“If you face someone more powerful… If you even suspect that they could kill you…” She buried her head into my chest again, murmuring the last few words, “Escape. Run. Don’t test yourself… Come back to me.”

“I promise.” My response was instant, making her snap her head back to take in my grin, “I was already planning on doing that. I have far too much to live for.”

Staring up at me in shock, she eventually huffed wetly, the sound turning into laughter, “Of course you were. Why would I suspect anything else?”

“I’m not stupid, Cece-” My words were cut off by her lips, CC deciding to shut me up before I could continue.

—XXX—

I pulled back, letting her legs go and staring down at my frazzled, dishevelled Queen. Her cheeks were red, her eyes watery, her hair an absolute mess. Sweat dripped from her, the flush dripping down her body like spilled paint, ending just below her breasts whose nipples were standing proud like two peaks. Spread out behind her, her green locks were tangled where I had grabbed it, as well as crumpled up from me forcing her to slide across the bed.

She had never looked more beautiful.

Eventually our breathing evened out, our gazes locked to each other as we came down from the highs of passion. I could see it when the teasing, haughty look returned to her, preparing for it as she opened her mouth.

“Well, that was certainly something. Were you that backed up?” She grinned.

“Hardly.” I snorted, “You just have a way of driving me crazy.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you went crazy more often.” She laughed tiredly, before she reached up wrapped her arms around me, pulling me down to rest on her chest. Holding me there, she stopped me from looking at her, “I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully.”

I nodded, resting, backing in the presence of this woman, this amazing creature who I had pulled into my life.

With a sigh, she whispered something, the words soft, almost unheard. They rumbled through her chest, dripping with meaning, allowing me to hear them more deeply than if she just said it normally.

“I love you too, Damocles.”