Mischief in the Crown

The branches of the nearby foliage slowly ceased rustling as the last vestiges of the Bifrost vanished into the sky. Loki took a few steps forward, brushing some errant specks off his cloak as he surveyed the surroundings. There was some sort of building up ahead, with the warm glow of lights emanating from its windows. That would be as good a place as any to explore, he thought. And perhaps stir up a bit of mischief as well.

As it happened, there was already some mischief in progress. Two men were outside, having a heated argument. One appeared to be a man of some stature, and he was berating the other for, of all things, some slight to his horse.

"How dare you place my mount in the stable with those other low creatures!" The first man shouted. He was tall and slender and impeccably dressed, with well-coiffed blonde hair. "I told you my Freya was to be placed in a spot of her own!"

Loki chuckled to himself. The man had named his horse after the lovely Freya, one of the most beautiful goddesses of Asgard. Hmm, he would surely merit some further observation...

"But Mister Woodmarsh...sir...I told ye, there's no where else t' put an 'orse 'ere at th' Crown!" The servant protested. "She can only be put in there!"

The gentleman--a Mister Woodmarsh, apparently--seemed to have no further retort to that, and so stomped away in a huff. The servant shook his head and returned to his duties, muttering something about jumped-up sons of nobility. Loki watched as the gentleman walked away, then quickly followed after him.

"My good man," he exclaimed as he approached, startling Mister Woodmarsh so much he nearly toppled over, "I do not mean to pry, but having overheard your conversation, I must say I have to commend you on choosing such a fine name for your mount."

Samuel Woodmarsh stared at the vagabond who had just accosted him, glaring down his nose at the man. Which was a bit more difficult for him to do than usual, being as the man stood just about the same height as he.

"You dare to speak to your better in such a familiar way? Begone you tramp before I--" Samuel began, but broke off as he took a closer look at the man in front of him. If he had not been wearing such strange garments and his hair had not been pitch black, Samuel would have sworn he was staring into a mirror. No, that could not be. Surely he was imagining things. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Yes, begone before I teach you a lesson for your breach of etiquette!"

Just as Samuel had made his surprising discovery, Loki had as well, and their uncanny resemblance was all he needed to decide on his next course of action.

"My breach of etiquette? I was not aware that on Midgard, a prince was not allowed to speak to whomever he pleases," he drawled.

"Prince? Prince of the paupers, most like," Samuel snorted, "Now as I said--"

"Begone?" Loki interjected, giving him a nasty smirk. "Yes, that sounds about right..."

Before Samuel could react, Loki raised his hands and shot a blast of magical energy at him, which sent the young gentleman sprawling backwards. Unfortunately, there was also a tree right behind him. Samuel's head collided with the wood with a dull thunk, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. Loki took a moment to observe his fallen victim, then waved his hands and enveloped Samuel's prone form in a magical bubble, which soon took on the appearance of the grass below him, hiding his body completely from sight.

Giving another wave, Loki enveloped himself in a magic bubble, but when this one vanished, he was now wearing Samuel's form. Pleased with his disguise, he proceeded towards the building, opening the door and sauntering inside.

"Christian? Oh, it's you," Jenny said, sounding disappointed. "Look, Mr. Woodmarsh, I don't know what your brother's been telling you, but I think you must have misunderstood - or he may have misrepresented the whole situation. You know what dear Gareth is like."

Well now, Loki was certainly glad of his decision to explore this place, having been presented with such a pleasing sight already. However, she seemed to be acquainted with that Woodmarsh fool, which meant she would be expecting him to act in a similarly foolish manner. Hmm, perhaps this would be more difficult than he had originally thought. Not to mention that she was speaking of Woodmarsh's brother who Loki knew nothing about. He had only put on the man's appearance, not his mind, after all. But Loki was nothing if not clever, and so he proceeded to slip into the role quite easily. Besides, he knew more than enough about the trials and tribulations of sibling rivalry himself to fill in any possible gaps.

"Sadly yes, I do know what he is like. Brothers, I fear, can be quite irritating when they put their minds to it." He shook his head slightly, banishing the image of Thor which had sprung into his mind. "However, in this instance, I cannot fault him for something he has not told me. What situation are you referring to, miss? I would appreciate it if you would enlighten me."

Thinking that Woodmarsh would probably not be quite so subtle in his attentions to a lady, Loki made a point to flash the woman a rather overzealous smile as he spoke.

So it was to be like that, was it? How galant of him to pretend to have forgotten. She was rather impressed, in fact, that a Woodmarsh family member could be possessed of such tact. "Oh, never mind that now," she said, smiling and linking her arm through his. "I want to hear all about you. Your brother hasn't told me much." Gareth preferred talking about himself, of course. "Do you have sibling rivalry?" she asked with light laughter, but she was intrigued. She could sense that this Woodmarsh was far superior to the other.

Considering she had not been pleased to see "Woodmarsh" a moment ago, Loki was rather surprised when the lady suddenly slipped her arm into his. Obviously his own natural charm was showing through his disguise. That Woodmarsh dolt would likely pay dearly to be able to be so appealling to ladies, Loki thought, smirking to himself.

Oh she wanted to hear about him, did she? Well dear lady, I am a prince of Asgard, son of Odin Allfather, expert in the magical arts, and...ah, no. She was asking to hear about Mr. Woodmarsh. Fortunately, it seemed that, despite the lady being acquainted with another Woodmarsh, that sibling had not elaborated on Samuel's story. Which meant that, for all she knew, anything Loki told her could be true.

However, the lady's next inquiry hit a little closer to home than Loki would have liked. But at the same time, it meant he did not need to lie at all.

"Sibling rivalry? All brothers have sibling rivalry, dear, whether they wish to admit it or not. But while my brother and I may quarrel from time to time, at the end of the day we are still family. And I wish him the best always."

Alright, he was lying a little bit. He did not hate Thor, of course, but neither did he ever "wish him the best." Unless "wishing him the best" meant wishing that he would trip over his blasted hammer and fall on his face someday.

That was a very generous sentiment for someone with Gareth Woodmarsh for a brother, but naturally Jenny was not going to say so out loud.

"Would you like to come into the dining room and share a pot of tea?" she found herself asking. It was rare that she would invite the company of any man at all, but this was an interesting situation. "I have to confess, I've sometimes been curious about Gareth's childhood, and... whether he showed military promise at an early age." In other words, she wondered why on earth such a man had ever joined the army, unless he was forced into it by his parents. But why? Perhaps they had harbored a secret wish for his demise.

"I would love to join you for tea," Loki said, smiling at her again. She certainly seemed to be warming up to him, which was quite pleasing. The idea of drinking and chatting with her was a nice one indeed. However, her continued inquiries about Woodmarsh's brother made him wonder if she really wanted his company or if she was hoping to simply pry information about the brother out of him.

"Oh, I think such ambition was always in the back of his mind somewhere, though one might not have guessed it when he was younger." By the Norns, now he was making up stories about BOTH Woodmarsh brothers. What sort of relationship did this woman have with them anyway, when she appeared to know so little about either one? "I'm afraid there is really nothing of note to discuss about his childhood. His upbringing was no different than that of any other of our social rank." Which Loki had assumed was a relatively high one, if the garments he was wearing were anything to go by. They were nothing compared to Asgardian raiment, of course, but then Midgard had always been a rather backward realm.

The smile lingered on Jenny's face, but the emotion behind it was gone. That emphasis on social rank was no doubt meant as a barb for her. However she might dress, whatever manners and accent she might put on, she would never have the social rank of a lady born to the position. She was of course quite used to judgment from others, but that was no reason to court it. She rather regretted asking him to tea now.

She realized that her smile had vanished and she had been staring at him for some moments. It was no doubt impolite, but to hell with manners. "You disapprove of me, Mr. Woodmarsh?"

Disapprove? Loki raised an eyebrow in confusion. She was a very pretty woman who seemed to be quite kind as well. What could there be to disapprove of? Different social class, perhaps? She was dressed well enough, but maybe not good enough for someone of the Woodmarsh family's class.

"Why would I disapprove of such a lovely creature? The only thing I could possibly disapprove of is your affinity for my brother. Perhaps it is time you changed your allegiances..."

He was guessing there, of course, but from everything she had been saying so far, it seemed she was more fond of--or possibly even involved with-- Samuel's brother. Not that Loki really cared which sibling she had set her sights on. He was simply thinking about how amusing it would be if Samuel's brother confronted him later about making advances towards his lady. And poor Samuel would not have the slightest idea about having done so!

She frowned slightly. It was not surprising that Woodmarsh's brother should disapprove of their relationship. No doubt he and the rest of his family wanted Gareth to make a good match with some society girl of fortune. Gareth himself probably wanted the same, if he thought of it at all. She had always known this day would come, but she would not be got rid of so easily. It would cost the Woodmarsh family if they wanted her gone.

She stopped walking and looked up at him. "Really? But what could possibly tear me from your brother?"

It seemed she had not realised to what he was alluding, so Loki decided to speak plainly.

"Why myself, of course." Smiling, he patted her arm lightly. "You should not squander your affections on my foolish brother when I am so willing to receive them. Just because he plays the warrior does not mean he is truly worthy of your attention. Those whose talents lie in intellectual pursuits are just as worthy...if not moreso."

Of course, Loki was thinking more about himself and Thor than about Woodmarsh and his hapless brother while he was speaking, but the fact that she had referenced the elder Woodmarsh's military service was only serving to make his statements that much more natural. This was an argument with which he was very familiar, and now it was extremely apparent that he had stepped into a role which was turning out to be quite easy for him to play.

Now that did take her by surprise, and for a moment she did not know what to say. What sort of ploy was this? "Did your parents ask you to do this?"

Though Loki knew nothing of the Woodmarsh parents nor of their relationship with their children, he highly doubted that Samuel was the type who would ever do anything his parents told him to do. However he did seem the type to flirt with women for sport, whether he cared about them or not.

"Dear lady, I ceased listening to my parents' suggestions centuries ago." Oops, a slip of the tongue there, but Loki felt certain she would take that phrase as merely undue exaggeration. "Besides, I need no one to tell me whether I should pay more attention to a lady, especially one so lovely as you. Really dear, you cannot tell me you prefer my brother. Surely I can sway your affections to a more deserving recipient, can I not?"

Jenny was utterly confused, still believing that this was merely a ploy to get rid of her, a blot on the Woodmarsh family escutcheon.

"To be perfectly honest, Mr. Woodmarsh, I'm not sure that I can trust you."

And rightly so, dear, being as I am not only an imposter but the god of lies as well, Loki thought. She was certainly a smart one. But then again, perhaps he was simply playing the role too well, for in his natural guise, Loki prided himself on being able to deceive others without them suspecting a thing.

"And why is that? How does showing my affection make me untrustworthy? You wound me, lady, if you think my intentions are anything but honourable." Sighing, he shook his head slightly. "But if you are so convinced that I am not to be trusted, perhaps it would be better if I did not trespass any further on your kindness..."

She laughed lightly at that. "Fair enough." It was no great loss at all. One Woodmarsh was more than enough after all.

Fickle strumpet, Loki very nearly said out loud. First she had been asking him in for tea, and now she was bidding him to go. Sometimes these Midgardians could be so difficult to decipher. He had been hoping to spend more time in her company, but at the same time he did not want to arouse any suspicion by pushing his luck too much.

"Very well. If wish me gone, I shall trouble you no further." Then, with a naughty glint in his eyes, he added, "Though I would hate to think what my brother would say if he learned how disrespectful you had been to me..."

A sardonic smile slowly spread across her face.  "Well now I know you're only playing a game."  When had Gareth ever cared about anyone but himself?  She took his brother's arm again.  "But that's all right.  I'm rather fond of games myself.  Tea then?"

Ah, now that was more like it, Loki thought, as she slipped her arm into his. Clearly he had chosen the right turn of phrase once again. Though he had to admit that he was getting exceedingly tired of discussing "his brother." Even though he was truly referring to Woodmarsh's brother, the subject was irritatingly too close to home, and he was quite eager to change it.

"Tea would be lovely, my dear," he said, "But surely we can find a much better subject of conversation than my foolish brother." Smiling again, he added, "I would much rather hear about you."

"Me?" It was obviously an attempt at flattery, for she knew very well that men never cared to hear about anyone but themselves. It suited her own sentiments as well, for she had no interest in telling this man anything of her own history. "Not much of interest, I'm afraid. I doubt you care to hear about a lady's concerns, embroidery and linen. I would much rather hear about you. You mentioned intellectual interests?"

Himself? Now there was a subject which Loki could discuss at length--with a little adjustment, of course.

"I did, did I not? Well yes, intellectual pursuits are of great interest to me. I have always spent much time in the library reading through the ancient tomes. My brother has always mocked me for doing so instead of engaging in some silly form of combat, but I prefer not to dirty my hands if I can help it. Thankfully my mother has always encouraged my learning, so I may take comfort in having one family member who values the power of the mind." He paused, then said more softly, "One day I will prove to them that my studies have not been without merit."