The God's Awakening

Chapter 11

The meeting with the Allfather had been a truly uncomfortable one, mainly due to the Allmother watching them all with a stern gaze. She had made it very clear years ago that she had not appreciated how they had treated her youngest son, especially when Odin had fallen to the Odinsleep and Loki had temporarily ascended the Throne. To be fair, with hindsight Fandral could understand her animosity. They had not trusted Loki even though he had given them no reason not to.

The Allmother's glare did not stop with Sif and the Warriors Three either. Fandral had noticed that over the years almost all were subject to her ire including Heimdall, Thor and the Allfather himself. It was apparent that she held everyone accountable for the fate of her youngest son.

The meeting had taken hours as Odin had requested every detail of events from the moment Loki had been removed from his cell until the moment they had returned. The Einherjar who had guarded the young Prince had been summoned and questioned about his behaviour whilst in the cell and why they had not noticed his deteriorating health. The Einherjar reported that his health had appeared to be fine. Food had seemed to be eaten though it had been less than expected but as he seemed to be in reasonable health it had not been deemed a large concern.

Thankfully the Midgardians had given them a data pad which they had downloaded much of the security footage onto which helped to support their theory and shown Fandral and the others how to use it. The swordsman had to admit it was an ingenious device which helped their case as it meant they had physical evidence to present to the Allfather. Once the meeting had come to a close Odin had dismissed them all to deliberate.

The small group of Warriors had initially gone to the training grounds but had been unable to focus clearly and so retired to the lounge room where they usually relaxed with the Princes. The events of the last couple of days had been weighing heavily on them and they knew they would be able to talk in private here. The problem was that they did not know what to make of everything. To understand recent events they needed to delve into the events since the failed coronation and attempt to make sense of those which was no small feat.

"Perhaps we should have waited before going to retrieve Thor." Fandral said, pacing near the balcony. He had never felt so restless. "If we had given him more support...."

"We all believed that he was up to something, even Heimdall!" Sif interrupted stubbornly. "Why else would he refuse to lift Thors banishment?"

"It would have looked as though he did not respect the Allfather by overturning his ruling so quickly." came Hoguns grim tone from the balcony. "The Throne would appear weak".

Silence engulfed them once again as everyone took in this perspective then Hogun spoke once again.

"If what Thor told us is true about Loki's true heritage and he had just found out there is no telling what was going through his mind".

"To find something like that out after all those years of not knowing! And in the midst of battle too!" Volstagg added, rubbing his right arm, remembering the injury he recieved that day.

Fandral found himself unconsciously clutching at his own chest remembering his own injury. If it had not been for Loki I would not have survived that battle. he thought ruefully, remembering how the young Prince had killed the Jotun who had tried to kill him and then helped Volstagg remove him from the ice shard. How many times has he saved us when we did not even thank him. Thinking back he realised that there were many occasions when the Trickster had got them out of sticky situations with his Silvertongue or his Seidhr and yet Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three had taken all the glory.

"How were we to know that it was not Loki who sent the Destroyer?" Sif said defensively to something Volstagg had said. "And we did not know what had happened in the year since he fell into the void, only that when he returned he was power mad." Her voice had become somewhat less strong as she spoke due to the memory of what Fandral had said about Loki's physical condition during the meeting. It was an image the suave swordsman would not be able to forget. He had been there with Thor when Banner had examined him and he couldn't believe how many scars covered the young man. What confused him was the fact that many had not fully healed. Loki had been in his cell for three years so how had they not healed?

Silence reigned over them like a heavy blanket as they all slipped into their own thoughts. Fandral's quiet voice was barely audible as he asked the question running through all their minds.

"When did we stop trusting him?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days passed with no word from Asgard. By halfway through the first day he had found Loki's vitals improving faster than he expected. Thor had informed him that the fox was helping to heal him which caused some concern when the rest of the Avengers found out. There had been talk of trying to stop her somehow which Thor had refused. It didn't surprise anyone how protective the God of Thunder was regarding Loki, what did was when Clint sided with him. The footage they had been scanning and the recollections of their interactions with the God of Mischief as well as Thor's account of his abilities, abilities he had not used during the battle, only lent credence to the theory he had not been in control of himself. Thor seemed to be taking the news the hardest as he felt he should have noticed the difference.

For the moment the fox was allowed to continue healing Loki, only awakening to eat and, when she felt it was safe, go to the adjoining bathroom. Whenever she returned she would curl up on the raven man's chest protectively and continue her self appointed task. With Thor and Clint taking turns every couple of hours to watch over them they were never left alone for long. The fox could feel the strength slowly return to the prone man and knew that, at least physically, he would be alright. She sensed that he had already been trying to heal his mind but would take time if doing so alone. The thought of helping there had crossed her mind but did not want to push her luck. She wasn't a healer, all she was really doing was lending her magic and following his unconscious direction on what to do. In a way it was really him doing the main work.

By the end of the second day the God of Mischief looked a lot healthier.