Love Lies

ne'er be any greater than we knew't before:

I placed him down before Heimdall after I called upon him to bring us back to Asgard via Bifrost as soon as we hast made our way far enough from the ice-arena.

He looked upon me with tears in mine eyes and I looked away, shaking mine head and trying to push the pain elsewhere.

We brought him to the castle and tried to restore that which we hast lost, but he was truly gone. There remained no life with which to work, and so, there was nothing we could doth. Frigga cried in mine arms whilst Odin simply appeared full of anger.

Not one of us knew what to doth in that moment other than tell no one.

We sat around a small table with the king's crown at the center, leaving Thor's body to rest for a moment as we weighed our options and discussed that which we were to doth next.

"I understand we art all upset in this moment," Odin began rather diplomatically. "But, of all times, now, our actions art paramount. We art obliged to act. We shall not show weakness, even whilst we art so very debilitated and fragile in this loss. There art still options and there remain varying choices in terms of a new course of action."

"Namely?" Frigga wondered, teary eyed.

"I could resume mine place on the throne for a time, if need be," he answered.

"No," Frigga interrupted. "Thou shall not doth such a thing, husband."

"Wherefore?"

"T'nearly killed thou, Odin, all of Asgard knows that thou art, if I may be so bold, rather long in the tooth, for the position. There simply art others who shall do't better."

"I suppose thou art right, Frigga, but who?"

"Well, Thor completed his papers on the day of his coronation to name his successor if he were to bear no children," she announced. "That- t'is where we must go next. I shall fetch't," she decided, standing and making her way to the room of royal archives.

In the absence of Frigga, neither Odin nor I spoke a word on the matter. Since we oft' tended to fight and disagree in e'ery sense, t'was silently and mutually agreed that t'would be best if we remained civil by remaining silent in times like these.

Upon her return, she sat at the table with Odin and myself anew and placed the envelope upon't. I watched as she carefully broke Thor's red wax seal and undid the gilded twine holding't safe.

She pulled out the papyrus document and read directly from't.

"If I, Thor Odinson, The God of Thunder, should fail to produce a child before the end of my reign, or if mine life is lost before I am wed, I decree that mine successor shall be Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief, with no rebuttal of any name, shape, or form," she read.

"Is that all't says?" Odin asked angrily, standing from his seat and slamming his hand upon the tabletop.

"Regarding this, yes," Frigga assured him.

"He chose thou, of all people?" Odin asked me, next, practically shouting.

I stood. "I knew not of this, Odin, know that if naught otherwise."

"And I should believe thou- the man who casts a shadow in the dark?" he questioned loudly. "How can I be certain thou hast not lured Thor away and killed him thineself to become king?"

"I beg thine pardon?" I came back.

"T'is not so hard to believe!" he went on. "Thou hast ne'er seen a throne thou doth not wanted to sit upon."

I felt mine skin start to boil with rage. "This is no way to treat mine personage," I argued. "Thou hast always said that I am thine son, too, and now this? If I remain thine son, just as thou hast stated time and time again, wherefore art thou fighting the fact that the throne is to be mine?"

"Because thou art imperfect and inadequate to rule!"

I said nothing and just looked upon him.

"Because I can be whatever I choose, that makes me flawed?" I asked, syphoning power from Frigga's hand across the table to momentarily turn into Lady Loki. "I may hath the body of a woman, but I hath the heart of a king!" I turned back, gritting mine teeth.

"Thou were not raised for such a position, dost thou not see't?" he went on. "This shall ne'er work."

"Perhaps this is what Asgard needs," I commented. "I get the impression we hath not spoken with neighboring realms in... eons."

"But- thou art not an innately virtuous personage, Loki," he restated that which he hast mentioned before. "Thou must know't too and see't that, in thine heart th-"

"My heart beats like a king!" I shouted with e'erything I had, annunciating e'ery syllable. "And thou shall treat me as such."

"Fine. He who hath ne'er hast a crown shall reign king," he gave up. "But, when thou fail at this, and thou shall fail, I shall find someone truly fit to rule."

"When I doth not fail, then thou shall truly see me as I was meant to be seen," I told him.

"And, how is that?" he narrows his eyes upon me.

"As a dynast," I stated. "Mighty and prepared to face anything I might encounter."

He pushed the crown across the table at me. "Long live the King."

And, so, we went through with the huge ceremony again and e'erything went perfectly well as performed by Frigga ( because she hated me significantly less than Odin did). Though, in the end, he decided to finish up the ceremony and ruin't for me and e'eryone else thither.

Sure, I knew I could ne'er be as good a king as Thor was or as he had the potential to be, but I was willing to try mine hardest. T'was all I could doth at this point, but Odin wanted to make me feel like I was ne'er to be worthy.

"Since Thor, née King of Asgard, was a child," he started. "Loki hast wanted his realm and his crown. Loki was taken to Asgard as an infant, to be the brother of'ts next king in order to save himself and his royalty - a bond that should hath protected them both - but there were forces that conspired; forces of darkness that tore this all apart," he snickered. "His majesty Loki," he presented me as I stood, the crown upon mine head. "Long may he reign."