When War and Lies Collide

Prepare for War

The troubled prince beelined his way towards the Throne Room, A) knowing he was on borrowed time and B) that Thanos could attack in any moment.  It was, indeed, a discouraging fact.  His footsteps raised clouds of dust as he walked, Loki desperately trying to think of what to say.  For once, it seemed his silver tongue had failed him.

"Well, I'm definitely not calling him 'father'." Loki grumbled under his breath, running his hand through his hair.  He kept to a steadily paced walk until he arrived at the large, detailed doors of the palace, the grand architecture seeming to finally bring his mind back home.  He stepped over to one of the golden clad guards, Loki's gaze meeting the eyes that lay slightly hidden under the shadow of his helm.

"What is your name, guard?"  Loki asked, the man still rooted in his spot and in the traditional warrior's posture.

"My name is Brandt, sir."  He answered swiftly, a firm grip on his weapon.

"Brandt, I would like you to take me to the Throne Room.  There are serious matters that I must discuss with the king."  Loki commanded, Brandt only slightly hesitant to carry out his order.

"Yes, of course."  The man answered, the click of their boots echoing on the marble flooring as Brandt lead Loki away from the grand hall.  Minutes later, Loki found himself entering the Throne Room and gazing up at Odin who sat on his throne and was speaking with Frigga.

The guard left Loki there, returning back to where he had been stationed.  Loki stepped further into the large auditorium-like area and cleared his throat to make his presence known.  Odin's one-eyed gaze met Loki's own, no fondness found there.  Frigga's, however, shone with adoration.  No matter what Loki had done, Frigga would always love her son.

"Greetings, Odin.  Mother."  Loki said coolly, striding closer to where Odin sat.  "I am afraid that I must rush us into why I have come, and it is not at all good news."

"Why is it your presence always brings death and ruin?"  The Allfather spoke back, although Loki couldn't help but notice that the question was more of a statement.  

Ignoring the rude comment, Loki continued.  "Asgard is on the brink of war."  The prince said quickly, although each word hit Odin as if they were throwing knives.

"What do you mean, war?"  Odin hissed, his eyebrows raising in a mixture of surprise and out right denial.

"I will explain everything, but I dare say you must listen with an open mind.  If not, this will not be easy to comprehend..."  Loki began, Odin taking a moment and a glance with Frigga before nodding for the fallen prince to continue on.  And so Loki began.  He spilled everything, every detail after his frightful drop from the Bifrost all the way up to returning home just moments ago.  He described where he had been, what had been done to him and even revealed some of the scars that the 'adventure' had left him with.  Frigga clung to the side of the throne to help her stand, a horrified expression on her face as she and Odin finally understood why he did what he did.  Sure, the chaos after Thor had been banished had been out of pure jealousy and confusion, but the attack on Midgard had not been all Loki.

Loki remembered it all vividly.  Waking up to find himself held down and afraid, and surrounded by darkness.  He recalled being called an 'asset', a person with high intelligence and whom they were to use to get inside.  He could still feel the sting of the lashes across his back he had endured, the hot flow of blood that sluggishly left crimson trails along his broken skin, the burn marks as they branded him as if he were no more than a bull they had ownership of.

It went on for months until he finally collapsed under the pain, he physically couldn't take it anymore.  He told them everything, in turn, believing that they would set him free.  How wrong he had been, they only gave him a little time to heal and then thrusted them into their plan of universal destruction to obtain the Tesseract.  He betrayed everyone he knew and loved just t avoid the pain, and after his failure, they would return for him.  Not only did they want his physical pain, they wanted him to see everything he knew burned down to ashes.  They wanted him to watch as Asgard and the people he loved crumbled.

And then, they would turn their attention to Midgard to finish their attack as a delayed success.  

By the end of Loki's rushed explanation, Loki could've swore Odin was about to fall into the Odinsleep.  His entire expression displayed a look of complete shock and denial.  "We need to prepare for war, Odin."  Loki said, as if reviving him from his state of overwhelming thoughts.  Frigga still appeared as if she would fall over, shifting her weight from foot to foot as if she wanted to dart from her spot and wrap her son in her arms, reassuring him that it was only a nightmare.  Sadly, this was no bad dream.  Instead, it was a cruel, wicked reality that they all would be forced to face.

"Yes, yes we will do that.  I must speak with Sif-  we must get all of the warriors prepared for this.  I need to contact Thor, Thor will need to fight.  Heimdall will have to be on high alert, and I want guards and warriors at all of Asgard's borders.  They need to be refreshed on their training.."  Odin rambled on about how they should be preparing, Loki listening intently.  He needed to know where he would be during this time, and he wanted to be sure Sif was not in the fight.  They knew of his love for her, he was sure.  She, and all of Loki's other friends, were a target.  Knowing Odin would deny any wish of Loki's for Sif to sit this battle out, he would just have to convince the warrior to resign.  Things were in no way looking bright, Sif would die fighting for her home and there wouldn't be much of an arguement.  Her loyalty and honor as a warrior would make it so there was no chance of her resigning whatsoever.

Odin turned his gaze back to the troubled, raven haired god with a look of worry.  "It is late.  Go home, rest.  Tomorrow, Asgard prepares for war."

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