Chapter 8
ASGARD
Loki walked with purpose for the throne, barking orders as he went. He fully expected once Thor’s brain had a chance to catch up there would be a power struggle between the two of them for who truly deserved the throne. Thor was in for a rude awakening if he thought Loki would simply stand to the side and know his place.
As the mortal’s would say, finders keepers and all that…
A flick of his wrist and Loki was instantly dry, ignoring all the others soaked to the bone behind him. Since he was going to order them back out into the deluge there was little point. A globe of light expanded in his hand and he sent it to hover high above them. With the current storm and sunset only a few hours away Asgard was going to get very dark very quickly. All eyes turned upward before reaffirming on their king. “Go through the city path by path. Make certain all the fires are out. Hogun, take Fandral and Volstagg with you. Until we know more make sure word is spread that there will be no fires tonight. Not by hearth or torchlight.”
Hogun bowed his head silently but Volstagg’s frown was evident even through his beard as he asked. “Sire. What are the citizens to do for food? Light?”
Loki paused to slowly raise an eyebrow at him, his expression saying the answer was obvious. “Contact the kitchens on your way. Distribute what’s needed from cold storage.” His thoughts moved to that little light. It was the first spell that anyone learned since it was the easiest to produce and the least draining to attempt. “As for light, ask Lady Eir if you might borrow a few of her apprentices. The spell is elementary enough that any caster with an ounce of seidr in their veins and more than five minutes of training has learned it.” He turned his attention to the AEsir known by many as the God of War. “General Tyr, gather the war advisors…assess what needs to be done in case there is a second wave of attack. Sif. Put the guard on alert.”
Thor followed silently, taking in everything but saying nothing. On the streets it had escaped his notice but not now that Loki was in the throne room. The formal, stately attire his brother wore was for that of a king. He bit the inside of his lip hard to keep himself silent. He had meant what he said. He held no desire for the throne now. And most of that reason had to do with what coveting the throne had done to Loki.
He stopped at the bottom of the steps next to the others as he watched Loki spin around and sit on the throne, authority in his tone. “We must devise who this enemy is and smite them before they have the opportunity to regroup. Clear the throne room.”
There was a scramble for everyone to obey. At the doors Sif and the warriors three hesitated but Loki didn’t veer his gaze for an instant from Thor. When nothing was said from either brother, they too retreated and the doors closed behind them.
“Where is father?” Thor didn’t wait, the question in the air as soon as the doors closed.
Such a typical question, was all Loki could think. Now that he was back from the dead, all of Thor’s concern shifted to Odin.
Loki mentally grimaced as sarcasm bled into his tone. He wanted to be regal to show Thor the kind of king he could be but the thunderer always did bring out the worst in him. “I am King of Asgard, not caretaker over the throne. Where do you think he is?” Because they both knew Odin wouldn’t allow Loki near the throne were this a temporary arrangement. Not after the disaster of just a short while ago. Thor looked blindsided all over again, devastated. Loki took his time pushing himself to his feet and almost strolling back down the steps. There was so much he could say. So long had he spent thinking about what he would say. He stopped on the very last step, which kept him slightly taller than Thor and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. He spoke without truly thinking and what came out was more venomous than he’d anticipated. “Tell me, brother, how does it feel? To discover the death of someone you love so dearly. To realize not only are they gone, but that you have missed your opportunity to say goodbye.”
“Loki…” Thor looked absolutely crushed, staring up at Loki with the most wounded expression Loki had ever seen. “How could you do that to me, Loki?”
Good, was all Loki could think. Different circumstances but that had been himself after learning of mother’s death. Only he couldn’t ask such questions of Thor and Odin because neither had even a second thought for him, much less a first. Instead of defending himself that he had followed through but for some reason the letter didn’t reach Thor, Loki narrowed his eyes as bitterness and anger filled his voice. “It was as easy for me as it was for you.”
Thor searched for something to say. “Lok--…”
“I AM NOT FINISHED.”
The roar from his normally quiet, controlled brother stopped Thor from speaking. The snarled words were startling in their intensity and pulled the thunderer up short. He’d never seen his brother so angry. Loki always hid his emotions, a wide smile on his face camouflage for everything. For his brother’s anger to be so great it was easy for even him to see worried him.
Loki seemed to visibly consider before continuing, straining to keep his tone even. “You would not defy his orders to tell me yourself. I seriously doubt if the soldier who told me of her m-murder was asked to give me the news by either of you. You left me to rot in those dungeons while giving my spot to a mortal.” Only Loki could take such a simple, innocent word and make it sound vulgar.
Thor found his voice, reproach in his voice. “You rejected all of us through betrayal.”
Loki loosely crossed his arms over his chest and replied casually. “And yet you would come to me with offers of vengeance as my only reward. How enticing.” After the dark elves Thor had come to him in the dungeons and proposed an alliance between the two of them to kill the one who had killed their mother. But then Thor stupidly stated that after their task he would return Loki to his cell. “You were practically on bended knee, begging for my knife in your back at the first opportunity.” Loki said the last with a sneer on his face but not the traditional accompaniment of a tease in his eyes.
“Did you--…” Thor couldn’t even complete the thought, the possible truth too horrifying for him to even give a voice. He knew that Loki had been furious with Odin, but it was a horrifying thought that Loki would really kill the old king.
Disgust crossed Loki’s face, unchecked. “He fell into sleep and did not awaken.” He knew Thor assumed his expression was at the thought of killing Odin. He would let Thor indulge in his naiveté. He was disgusted Thor would assume he was feeling that generous.
Now Thor frowned in confusion as he asked. “Then how are you king?”
“You abdicated, from my understanding.” Thor was ignorant of the fact that his abdication was to Loki in disguise, not to Odin. He would allow that lie to continue since the alternative was putting up with Thor whining about it. Loki waved a dismissive hand at the questions he could see piling up in Thor’s blue eyes. “Ask those near and dear to you. I am certain they will delight in regaling you with a bit of theater.”
“How could you not tell me?”
Loki gave in to Thor’s kicked expression with a soft sigh. “I gave the missive to a servant, as I do with all messages and left it at that. You didn’t reply so I didn’t question you turning your back on Asgard any more than you and yours ever questioned me.” Thor’s head tilted slightly as if to question the truth of Loki’s words. “Obviously someone failed in their duties and it will be dealt with.” Loki just wasn’t certain if he would reward them or have them whipped.
Thor searched around the throne room, hurt and betrayal chasing across his face. “And you could not--…”
“Climb down off your martyred pedestal.” Loki snapped the words impatiently at him. He wasn’t foolish enough to expect an apology from Thor for his own actions but that Thor expected him to apologize was just infuriating. “How warm a reception would I have received even if I were inclined to go to Midgard?”
“But surely you could have sent someone in your stead. Why would you believe I--…”
Loki knew instantly what Thor was going to ask. ‘Why would he believe a reaction so outside of his character?’ The look that crossed Loki’s face just dared Thor to continue. Thor wisely chose not to and after a moment they both marveled that they hadn’t come to blows yet.
“It was so easy for you.” Thor frowned slightly, hearing the subject change. Loki’s thoughts had moved on to how they accepted so quickly that he had become a blood thirsty tyrant in less than a year. When the thunderer’s frown didn’t lighten Loki continued the thought. “To just assume the worst after so long of being your loyal tag-a-long. That a thousand years of mischief eventually equates treachery.” Loki slowly shook his head, frustration in his eyes.
Thor’s thoughts moved to Midgard. To the conversation they’d briefly had on the mountain top. “I asked you Loki. Not once did you ever say why.”
Loki raised an eyebrow, tone curious. “Why should I?”
The thunderer shook his head, frustration starting to contort his expression. “You forced us to assume the worst.”
The trickster chuckled without humor. “Ah, yes. Of course. You were the one shackled and forced--…”
“Loki…”
Loki cut off whatever Thor was going to say, asking with a dismissive shrug. “When have you ever believed me? Further, when have you ever accepted my actions as true intent and not thought of as deception? Ah yes…when it was convenient to believe.”
Thor stood up a little taller, thinking of all the tricks and lies. Centuries of deception. “You have spent a thousand years perfecting the art of deception.”
A slight snarl entered Loki’s voice, thinking of the years that Odin had lied to him. Not just a small lie of his adoption. He could have handled being adopted from another AEsir family. Even Vanir. Hel, he would prefer to find himself a mortal given godhood than a Jötunn runt stolen from that realm’s king. A mortal was a finite being looked down upon as small and narrow minded…Jötunn were believed to be savage monsters with no honor. It was a lie that rocked the very foundation of his sense of self. “Of course. An art I must have been born with instead of learning it from the true God of Lies.”
Thor’s expression sombered. He looked no more pleased than Loki was as Odin had lied to both of them. “We were both lied to in that regard.”
Loki took the last step and folded his hands behind his back, his steps even as he crossed the throne room in no particular direction as he stared outward, bitterness choking him. “It is so easy to accept that I commit a crime for the sake of doing so. After all, Frost Giants are nothing more than evil monsters spawned from an unholy union of Ymir lying as a woman with the demons of Niflheim.” Loki glanced slightly over his shoulder, eyebrow cocked and green eyes cold. “Correct?” Those had been his words and Thor recognized them instantly. He’d said other, worse things, but now knowing his brother’s origins he wished he’d never spoken them. Thor winced, Loki not seeing the reaction as his thoughts turned inward and he murmured to himself. “Guilty until proven innocent.” A sly smirk curled Loki’s lip, slanting a glance in Thor’s direction and a chill in his voice. “Your little mortal friends would be so horrified if they knew of the true Asgard instead of the idealic picture you no doubt painted for them.”
“I do not know of what you speak, brother.”
Loki snorted and rolled his eyes. “Of course not. We have lived in the same realm, a door away from one another, but quite obviously we have lived in different worlds.” He turned fully now, gesturing slightly towards his brother. “Thor the hero. Thor the mightiest of warriors. Thor the perfect. They trailed behind you since your status as warrior was made official, but they never knew you as I knew you.” His lips twisted nastily but he kept his thoughts to himself. Thor the drunk. Thor the whore. Thor the reckless idiot. Thor shifted uncomfortably, knowing whatever Loki was thinking was not something he wanted to hear. Instead Loki’s voice changed to imitate others, repeating words and whispers he’d either overheard or said to his face. “Why can you not be like Thor, Loki? What is wrong with Loki? The deceptive second son. The evil of Loki. The forked-tongued prince…were those not some of the rumors started by court?”
Thor knew what Loki was talking about and he didn’t look pleased about it. The expression would be more gratifying to Loki if something had actually been done about it. “I had no hand in that, brother.”
“It was so easy for you and Odin to pretend to hear nothing.” Now darkness crossed Loki’s expression as he slowly stalked towards Thor. An old wound that had been festering for years now at the forefront of his mind. “It was so wonderful for you to be present when I was cursed as an ergi.” Thor violently flinched at the word, unable not to. It was the worst slander for an AEsir. A man who fought like a woman. To be an ergi, one might as well be a woman for they certainly weren’t a real man and brought nothing but shame to their family. It was certainly not what a son of Odin should aspire to be. “What was your response? Oh yes, you laughed.” Loki sneered even as he glared. “So inspiring for one’s confidence.” It had been centuries ago, but Loki had a long memory and the wound was still raw. Thor glanced away, but Loki caught something in his expression. “What was that?”
“I do not know what you mean, brother.” Thor refused to look in his direction, which telegraphed an obvious lie.
Narrowing his eyes, Loki’s tone full of warning. “Thor.”
Thor paused for a moment before reluctantly speaking. He’d rather not say anything, but that Loki obviously thought he didn’t care moved him past his reluctance. “You are speaking of Colborn.”
“Of course I am.”
Thor visibly paused before sighing, shoulders slumping forward ever so slightly. “After you had vanished he and I had words.” That dark eyebrow quirked ever so slightly, Loki’s expression clearly unimpressed. Another sigh before Thor plodded forward. “I vowed if he ever vexed you again our second conversation would involve his face and my hammer.” Loki’s jaw dropped open. An embarrassed half-smile tugged at the thunderer’s lip, deciding he might as well tell his brother the rest of the tale. “I further explained that if that word was ever used against you by anyone ever again I would come to him for the explanation.”
It was Loki’s turn to look away, now understanding why Thor had been reluctant to share. AEsir fought their own battles. It had been drummed into both of them by Odin their entire lives. That Thor broke such a rule for him…moved him. He would have appreciated it more if Thor had not laughed to begin with but Thor’s belated actions did help soothe the hurt.
If he were in an antagonizing mood, he could accuse Thor of thinking he was some helpless maiden who needed protecting. As it was he found he wanted the topic either dropped or changed as soon as possible.
Loki lightly cleared his throat, reaching forward to lightly tap the front of Thor’s armor with three fingers. The thunderer was instantly dry but Loki kept moving a few more paces, not meeting Thor’s gaze. “You never believed when I argued my innocence, only when I admitted to a guilty assumption even if it wasn’t true. After a while it becomes easier to simply agree and find my revenge with the guilty party later.”
Thor frowned, not completely sure he believed Loki but willing to listen. “When were you ever found guilty of what you did not commit?”
Loki crossed his arms uncomfortably as he paused, wishing he’d never started this conversation. He could lie. He probably should. “Sif’s hair, for example.”
“You admitted to it!”
Loki tilted his head slightly, his expression saying quite clearly that Thor was an idiot. “Considering you refused to stop grinding me beneath your boot until I did so, but yes. I did.” He shrugged and summed up the, until now, unexplained animosity between himself and Tyr with one sentence. “It was easier to get even with Tyr later than to continue arguing an innocence none believed.”
That lost, horrified look that was becoming too familiar crossed Thor’s face again. “Loki…”
Loki gestured dismissively with a sigh. “Even if I had full control of my faculties on Midgard, can you perhaps see why I didn’t even consider asking for your aid?”
“What do you mean in control of yourself?”
Loki was quick to wave a hand, cursing his loose tongue while being surprised Thor had even asked. It would be too difficult to explain his partial control over himself on Midgard. Opening the portal was out of his control, as were his physical interactions with the mortals. But not even Thanos could still his silver tongue and he’d used it to control the damage. Not stop the damage of course. He wanted Thanos to believe he was a terrible general and an arrogant fool, as opposed to being a threat that the Titan would be focused on destroying. He wanted just enough chaos and destruction to catch Asgard’s attention so there would be no choice in keeping himself and the Tesseract in Asgard, safely out of Thanos’ reach.
So he left hints as to where the Tesseract was. It was his suggestion of a failsafe to Selvig. He would freely admit he was in control of himself when he sent Thor plummeting out of the air ship, but he’d also known such a fall wouldn’t kill the thunderer. Especially not with Mjolnir in his grasp. Not that he felt he owed Thor that explanation. I am exonerated before the eyes of Asgard. I don’t care if Thor believes me innocent or not.
Not even he was convinced of that last lie.
Instead of explaining further Loki shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Your room is still as it was, stay as long as you wish.” He paused in his retreat towards the corridor, his spine stiffening. “But I will not be handing over crown and mantle to you, just so we are both clear on that fact.”
Thor instantly frowned. “I was not going to ask you to.”
Loki had almost disappeared into a side corridor, but there was an obvious pause in his steps before he continued onward.
Loki hadn’t even had a chance to get comfortable in his chair before the study doors opened and Sif silently slipped inside. No knocking. No preamble. But then again it wouldn’t have occurred to her to ask for permission. Her head nodded to give respect to his office, her actions all correct even if, as ever, there was something just a little off about them. “Sire.”
He didn’t even look up the map laid out on his desk as he spoke. “Have the citizens been seen to?”
Sif came further into the room, back stiff. “Lady Eir has sent most of her healers out to assist in making sure there will be light in Asgard. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg have seen to distributing food and organizing repairs. The damage was minimal.” Loki made a humming sound, still focused on the map before him. She took another step. “Those creatures were bred by fire. The old stories speak of such a creature who could create them at will to smite his enemies.” Her eyes widened as she noted the map on his desk was a layout of Muspelheim. “Surtur.”
Loki tapped the map in front of him once, glancing up with a frown. “Surtur was contained on his world.” Then he lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “We should ensure that is still true.”
“We, sire? Surely--…”
He smirked and cut off her protest. “Just because I am king does not mean I am chained to Asgard. Odin headed several wars personally. The method of Surtur’s containment was not expressed and a quick mind will be needed to assess it.”
There was an insult to AEsir intelligence hovering in there somewhere but Sif ignored it, focused on practicality. “If he has escaped we will smite him.”
Loki leant back in his chair and got comfortable. “You truly believe we can destroy a fire demon a thousand feet tall? Do you believe in my might that much when not even Odin could destroy him?”
Sif shifted again, looking uncomfortable before asking, “May I speak freely?”
Loki lifted an eyebrow and countered her question with one of his own. “When have I ever demanded otherwise of you, Sif? Bluntness is in your nature so obey it.”
She nodded once slowly and paused for just a moment before saying what everyone knew. “The people of Asgard have always held Lord Odin’s physical might in high regard.” Now her dark eyes lifted, glancing at him as her spine stiffened. “But we all knew your mystical might eclipsed his.”
He smirked and purred his words, not believing her for an instant even though he couldn’t detect the lie. “How sweet. Placating your king.”
Her rebuttal was swift, “Truth is my strength as lies are yours.”
Loki pressed his index fingers lightly to his lips, feeling the corner of his lips twitch as he decided to satisfy a curiosity. “Then tell me this truth. Just how deeply did it burn when I was named successor after Thor’s desertion?”
“It didn’t burn.” Loki slowly raised an eyebrow at Sif in disbelief. “My regret is that Thor chose Midgard over Asgard.”
He bared his teeth at her and neither of them bothered to attempt to call it a smile. “Now who is the liar?”
Sif kept her expression carefully neutral. “You can hear lies as most can hear a song. You know I am not lying.”
His eyes narrowed just a little as he watched her carefully. “Then there were no regrets?”
She slowly inhaled before she spoke slowly. “I will not say that. There were regrets. We were convinced you would kill us for what happened before.” An evil little smirk curled his lips, clearly amused. She also wasn’t wrong because for a moment or two he had entertained the thought.
“Why the sudden change?” Loki’s question felt like a change in subject but it really wasn’t. “You were so desperate that I not sit on the throne before, even as caretaker.”
Now reluctance crossed her face as she replied. “You’ve always had your tricks.” At the annoyed look that crossed his face she clarified. “I do not mean your magic. I mean your sly skills. You can hide behind an impenetrable mask and none can determine what you are thinking or feeling.” Loki preened a little even if to an AEsir her words could have been taken as an insult. Sif’s thoughts were to that disastrous time when Thor was exiled and Loki was handed the mantle. “Sitting on the throne, I not just saw but felt your rage, from what I know not.” His expression was quick to close off. “I feared what you would do to Asgard while Lord Odin was indisposed.” There was a pause before she continued, her reluctance accompanied by the faintest of blushes. “And yes…I was petty then and thought Thor was better suited.”
“And now?”
She shrugged and answered as if it were obvious. “Now you are our king, it matters not why.”
There was still no expression on his face but there was a hard intensity to his eyes. “Even if I am only king because there was no other choice and if Odin had a younger daughter he would rather name her than I?”
Sif’s eyes widened as she blinked at him. That a king would choose a daughter over a son was unthinkable, which was the source of most of her surprise. That he would actually say something like that about himself only served to shock her further. But she recovered from her surprise after a few moments of silence. “I highly doubt that.”
“I don’t.”
Sif decided to ignore him, interpreting his rather outrageous statements as an attempt to goad her. “You are the voice of Asgard, your will is our life.” He was more skilled at hiding it now, but she could still feel the rage burning inside of him. She wasn’t certain where it came from, although she had a suspicion that she and the other warriors had helped it burn as brightly as it did. Which caused her to worry, for she had never known anyone to be so angry for so long. She could only hope that eventually it would pass. “I cannot speak for anyone but myself. All those centuries of brashly going on adventures. Defeating foes in glory. You were the one who held us together. Your plans and schemes. Your tricks. Your presence assured our victory. Thor was the mightiest fighter of us all, charging headfirst into battle and we to take care of the rest in his wake. You were the one that ensured that we lived to fight another day.” Words that she wouldn’t have admitted to just a few years ago. Words she was privately surprised she was sharing. Idly she wondered if Loki had put some sort of spell on the room to force truth. “It may not be what Tyr and the other arms masters taught us but for obvious reasons I’ve never completely followed convention.”
A female warrior. A male witch.
Loki’s expression had slowly melted into an impenetrable mask. “So convenient that you say this now.”
“You are king, my lord. You commanded I obey my nature.”
“That I did.” Loki nodded ever so slightly in confirmation.
A very small, wry grin curled her lips. “You were also a sulking, self-absorbed brat, envious of the praise and recognition that Thor gained. You were jealous. You were petty. You have often called me a bitch, but it is an art I learned from you. You lashed out at him and the rest of us, doing so with words and pranks instead of fists.”
Loki’s lips twitched, well used to those sorts of insults coming from her. “Now that sounds more like the truth.”
“They were both the truth. You enjoyed antagonizing me. You still do.” She fiddled with the end of her hair, her brow furrowed slightly.
Now Loki understood her candor. He had always found guilt such a curious emotion. Sif hadn’t been the one to hold him down until he admitted to butchering her hair. That had been Thor. But she was the one that accused him to begin with and refused to believe his claims of innocence. Loki had known no one would believe him, especially since Tyr had used enchanted shears to cut her hair. Loki was certain Tyr hadn’t known their effect on Sif’s hair, but that the strands were now permanently black left Asgard with no doubt as to the culprit.
The Midgardian tale of having his lips sewn shut was an exaggeration. His punishment had been a spell that stole his voice for six months and banishment to his rooms. A punishment that no doubt only angered Sif further.
The only conclusion he could come to was that she had returned from her task and had been in the closest corridor to the throne room to overhear his conversation with Thor. “Odin was fond of saying that eavesdropping is not a trait for an honorable warrior.” Usually such things were said to him after he’d been caught doing it. She didn’t look at him and he sighed softly. “He used an enchanted blade from what I was able to discover. The intent was to cut it off, by accident this was the result.” Sif nodded silently, not looking at him. Slowly his brow furrowed at her rather uncharacteristic reaction. “I saw no point in giving you a reason not to trust Tyr. Not when it would be centuries later that we were finally acknowledged as warriors of Asgard and no longer under his instruction.”
“Did...”
Loki could almost hear the question she refused to ask. She and he had been little more than children at the time. “He admitted to nothing but I suspect he had issue with a female defeating his best and brightest.”
Her dark eyes glanced at him before flitting away again, her voice soft. “It seemed like a trick you would commit.”
Loki smirked. “Of course it was. That was the point so that he wouldn’t be discovered.” Now she looked at him in surprise and his smirk broadened. “He is not the only one to do so, though I venture there will be no repeats now.” He glanced down at his fingernails as he flicked the digits outward. “I would say half of the tricks I faced judgement for did not originate from me. But then again half of the tricks I did commit I was never discovered as the culprit.”
Sif’s tone was still subdued, a small furrow line appeared between her eyebrows. “I would have vexed you less had I known.”
“As you say…I am fond of antagonizing you.” Her lip quirked the slightest bit in amusement. His expression became unreadable once more. “You think I should gift the throne to Thor.”
Sif didn’t respond right away. As much as it pained her, she still felt the impulse to act to Thor’s benefit. She thought of all the good that Loki had done in restoring Asgard, actions that Thor might not have had the foresight in ordering. Thor would have maintained the traditions of Odin and those before him. Loki demonstrated a willingness to change tradition. At least Loki had shown he was open to listening to Asgard welcoming women into the ranks. It gave her hope for a future that she had long ago stopped believing would ever happen. A possibility that if she were to one day ever marry and have a daughter, that her child would have a choice in her future. “I think that Thor made his choice. I also think that…perhaps…Asgard is better for it.” Loki slowly lifted an eyebrow. She scowled at him, just for show. “You’re still an ass. Sire.”
Loki bared his teeth in reply.
Author's Notes:
Not much action this time but we had some healthy venting. :)
Next:
Thor learns the state of Asgard