The walk felt endless for me. I couldn't see the details of Odin's face from here, but by his tense, upright posture, he was ready for me.
I finally pulled to a stop in front of his throne, my heart pounding heavily in my chest.
I glanced to my left and saw my mother, Frigga, one of the only two people I had ever truly cared for. I felt my heart give a pang of disappointment in myself as Frigga gazed at me. I, for one second, regretted my actions in New York.
"Loki." Frigga whispered gently, making me feel like a little boy who had done something wrong.
"Hello, mother," I responded, "Have I made you proud?"
Frigga looked even more disappointed in me then. "Please, don't make this worse."
"Define worse," I said sarcastically, narrowing my eyes.
Finally, Odin's voice rang out in the throne room. His voice was so familiar, and I felt a pang of anger when I picked up a note of disappointment in it. All of this was his fault! Did he not realize that? I attacked Earth out of spite for him.
"Enough! I will speak to the prisoner alone," Odin said, his voice ringing throughout the throne room.
Frigga glanced at Odin before leaving. My gaze followed her sadly, wondering when I would ever possibly see her again. I then turned to Odin, anger making my blood boil.
Is that what I have become to you, Odin? I wanted to shout. 'The prisoner?'
I stepped forward before putting my feet together, letting the chains around my ankles click to make them ring throughout the throne room. I managed to chuckle and say, "I really don't see what all the fuss is about."
Odin snarled at me, "do you truly not feel the gravity of your crimes? Wherever you go there is war, ruin, and death."
I let out a sigh before responding, "I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent god. Just like you." I gazed at him with the angriest, most piercing look I could. The boredom and heaviness evident in my voice.
"We are not gods," said Odin, looking down at me angrily from his throne, "we are born, we live, we die. Just as humans do."
I frowned at first, feeling angry at being compared to Midgardians, mere mortals. "Give or take 5000 years," I finally responded with a sarcastic smile.
"All this because Loki desires a throne," Odin said with disappointment and resentment heavy in his voice.
"It is my birthright," I growled.
"You're birthright," Odin spat at me, "was to die! As a child. Cast out onto a frozen rock." I glared at him, my heart pounding louder still. "If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me."
I sighed again. Looking up at him desperately I stepped forward, feeling the tug of the chains on my body as I moved. "If I am for the ax, then for mercy's sake, just swing it. It's not that I don't love our little talks, it's just..." I gazed at him, "I don't love them."
Odin raised his chin, staring at me with a look of almost...loathing. "Frigga is the only reason you are still alive and you will never see her again." My mouth began to fall open at those words. "You will spend the rest of your days on Midgard, living a mortal life surrounded by those you have wronged, families you have torn apart, and relationships you have broken."
Thump, thump, thump, thump. My heart was beating faster and faster, pounding painfully against my rib cage.
A mortal life, I thought. If I was mortal when I returned to Midgard, they would certainly kill me.
Odin directed the guards, "please unlock his chains and move out of the way."
The two guards behind me stepped forward cautiously. I kept my gaze trained on the Allfather, trying my best to hide the panic flowing throughout my veins. The chains fell away and the two guards scurried away from me to the sides of the throne room.
"Kneel before me, Loki Laufeyson," Odin ordered in a booming voice.
I swallowed back any pride still bubbling in me and obliged slowly, falling to one knee, realising my mother was right and I really shouldn't make this worse than it already was. "I, Odin Allfather, hereby take of you your magical ability and power from which you were born with. I strip of you your immortality." My head began to pound first before I felt as though thousands of knives were stabbing me all over my body. I scrunched up my eyes, the pain in my head like jolts of electricity, before letting out a small cry. "You are stripped of your title, Loki Laufeyson, and I cast you out to Midgard for the rest of your days." Odin pointed his staff at me and I felt like I was on fire. I let out a loud cry of pain as my magical power and immortality were completely stripped away. I fell to my hands and knees as the ground beneath me vanished.
Instead of being in the throne room, I was tumbling through the open sky, falling quickly towards a vast body of water several hundred feet below me.
I felt groggy as my body became closer to the ground. The pain in my body from losing my immortality was forcing me into unconsciousness. Eventually, my eyes slipped closed and I passed out right before I hit the water.
I woke up to a horrible hissing noise much like snakes, but louder and more urgent.
I peeled my eyes open and gasped to see some thing that looked just like a human but with all white eyes, no pupil, and no irises staring at me. There were three of these strange creatures. They were talking in strange hissing noises.
My eyebrows furrowed together, I looked about the room. I was on a metal table, and there were many, many more of these strange creatures moving about the room. There was one large window but it was too dark to see anything out of it.
"Who are you?" Said one of the things, speaking English now. It drew out the words, making them sound like a long hiss. "Where do you come from?"
I balled my fists. Where was I? This couldn't possibly he Midgard, because there was no way these creatures were human.
"I am Loki Laufeyson." I said nervously. When I tried to sit up, my head began to bang. I touched my head where it hurt and my hand came back covered in blood. "Adopted son of Odin, the king of Asgard."
"Son of Odin?" Asked one of the white-eyes creatures with interest.
"Adopted," I insisted, "I was banished."
"Banished? What for?"
I curled my lip at at the thing but the longer I stared, the more my head hurt. "I...um...tried t-to take over Midgard in New York a couple of days ago."
They all looked at each other. "Ah, yes." One hissed, before talking in their own language.
They talked for a while, and I looked around more. The room was huge with a few doors around the sides and the one window.
Finally, after what felt like hours, one of the creatures spoke again, "Loki Laufeyson, son of Odin, you are just what we've been waiting for."