Working Title : Loki & Annie

104 The Storm

When Thor arrived at the Observatory he strode forward without waiting for Sif or Fandral. Now that he was back in Asgard he felt the familiar weight of being the heir that always settled on his shoulders when he returned but this time it was especially heavy. He had failed in every way other than getting Loki out of the dungeons. He had left his Brother on earth - Midgard - with no guarantee that he could return. He had failed in getting the collar off. He had failed at getting Loki's magic returned and had failed at getting his Brother back. Thor wasn't familiar with failure and he did not enjoy the feeling. He was the heir, he could not fail.

"Welcome back, My Prince."

At Heimdall's greeting, Thor met the Gatekeeper's eyes and wondered if not having been found sooner had anything to do with the expression of sorrow that flickered momentarily on the Watcher's face. It seemed an odd emotion for the god to have yet Thor set it aside to think about later. "Am I?" Thor stopped to wait for an answer. "Welcome?"

"Asgard always welcomes her Princes back."

Thor heard Heimdalls use of plural Princes and wondered if the choice was deliberate then gave a huff, of course, it was. Heimdall was nothing if not deliberate. Thor would have spoken a word of thanks but was cut off by Sif's dismissive scoff.

"Not both Princes."

Heimdall focused his eyes on the female shieldmaiden, his voice deceptively neutral, "You would speak for all of Asgard?"

Red stained her cheeks but she raised her chin to boldly accuse, "Just as you would declare all of Asgard would welcome Loki?"

Fandral made a muttered, "Sif." They all knew she spoke out of turn.

Heimdall only answered with, "Out of the two of us who can see all of Asgard?"

Siff felt her face grow even redder, she didn't know why the Gatekeeper was defending the traitor Loki, everyone knew that he had no loyalty to anyone except himself. She looked to Thor, expecting him to show his agreement with her but instead was surprised to see him staring at her with disapproval. She realized that he must have been influenced by the snake even more than she had believed. She would have to remind him of Loki's treachery. Thor was not just her Prince but also her friend, he deserved her help.

Holding a hand up Thor began walking again, he didn't have time for her annoyance with Loki. "Not now, Sif." He also didn't have time to wait when she called his name. Exiting the Observatory he saw a group of men on horseback waiting for him. Thor saw his stallion being held ready but he had no intention of riding back to the palace. One man spoke up that he recognized as one of Reapt's men while the rest appeared to be the AllFather's guard.

"By the AllFather's decree, we are here to escort you before him." There was just a hint of insubordination in his tone that was heard by all. Never had Thor been escorted to the AllFather, Loki yes, Thor no.

"I do not need your escort." Thor pulled Mjolnir from his belt and within seconds he was moving towards the palace, leaving everyone else behind. Again he ignored Sif calling his name. In the farthest distance, he could see the gathering of clouds. He tried to settle his power, it would not do to lose control.

Once inside the palace Thor noticed that there seemed to be tension in the people he saw, the servants dropped their heads much lower than normal while everyone else moved out of his way with their eyes low. This was more than the result of Loki escaping. Something else had happened while he had been away. Another problem for another time. In the farthest distance, raindrops lightly fell.

Two Einherjar saw him coming so that by the time he arrived they had the two double doors wide open and he never had to break his stride. Ahead of him sat Odin while Frigga stood in her usual place and he idly wondered if they had been waiting long. He hoped so. The sound of the large doors slamming shut echoed through the room filled with only a few guards stationed in their places. Thor walked the long path to the throne while reminding himself that his goal was to get Loki free of the collar. Everything else could only happen after that. Despite this goal, Thor knew he would most likely get pulled off course so he was stiff with the struggle to stay focused when he came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.