The Queen of Jotunheim

Chapter 4: Two Brothers.

Chapter 4: 
The Fall and Rise of
Two Brothers.

"Father, why would you give in to their demands!" Thor bellowed as soon as they were back, glaring up at their father who had gotten off his horse. Loki was still in a daze, thinking of all that happened just moments before, but shook his head as if to shake the unknown thoughts and feelings out of his head. He too looked to his father for answers.

"Do you not realize what you almost did! What you could have started?" Their father called out, glaring at Thor as he walked up the steps in the center of the Bifrost. Some servant quickly guided his horse outside the building where Loki and his brother's horses were also waiting, alongside the horses of Sif and the Warriors three.

"I was protecting my home!" Thor retorted, still holding his head high, but their father snapped back quickly, his voice booming and echoing all around them. "You cannot even protect your friends!" Odin said as he pulled out the sword of the Bifrost and threw it to Heimdale. "How can you hope to protect a kingdom?" Odin was angry with Thor, and Loki suddenly remembered this was what he had wanted. This was the best-case scenario, Thor showed off how bad of a ruler he was, and Loki gained praise for helping prevent a war from starting!

"Get him to the healer room," Odin called to Sif and The Warrior Three and gestured to Volstagg who still had frostbites on his arm, and was clinging to it. They quickly bowed to their King before following his order and rushing the injured Asgardian out of the room and toward their horses.

That reminded Loki of his own encounter with the frostbiting magic of the Jotuns. He subtly pulled his arm behind his back, quickly covering it with an illusion to hide the fact his armor there had been destroyed and was still slightly frozen. He had never had time to figure out what had happened to him, but he had a strong feeling he should keep it to himself for now.

"There won't be a kingdom to protect if you give in to demands like this!" Thor said seriously, the hatred strong in his voice. His anger probably stemmed from watching their father give in to the demands of the enemy instead of striking them down. "The Jotuns must learn to fear me, just as they once feared you."

But Loki had seen that between his father and the Jotun Queen, his father had been the one shaken. He did worry about what that might mean, but surely no matter what, having peace with them would be better than war. Yes, they were monsters, he had been taught that since he was young, but why should they waste resources fighting if they could be allies? Was that not what his father had always told them, that they should strive to maintain the peace?

"That's pride and vanity talking, not leadership," Odin said, confirming Loki's thoughts. Thor was not fit to be a King, if he had been given the throne today he would have led them to war just to stroke his ego. "You've forgotten everything I taught you about a warrior's patience."

Thor retorted back, almost growling at their father "While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us!" Thor said, gesturing out. "And now the Joutans are making unreasonable demands and you are bending over backward for them!" He shakes his head angrily. "You'd stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!"

Odin snapped at Thor for that. "You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" He scolded. "And you are an old man and a fool!" Thor yelled back, anger and hatred clear in both his voice and his face. Loki was suddenly frozen, unsure how to feel at this moment.

On the one hand, he was getting everything he wanted! He wanted to show his father that Thor was not ready! That Thor was not fit to be the kind of King that Asgard needed! And Odin saw it all now! On the other hand, he didn't like seeing his family fighting. He didn't wish for the family to be torn up about this, Thor was after all still his brother, and the heartbroken expression on his father's face now hurt Loki's heart.