Worlds Apart

Chapter 34

Thor was well aware that the atmosphere in the throne room would be tense upon Loki's arrival, but regardless of that knowledge, he was nowhere near prepared to see the full extent of Loki's consequences.

If Maxine had decided not to help Loki and had remained on Midgard, Thor would have chosen to steer clear of the throne room altogether. Despite how much Loki may have deserved it, he had no desire to hear the inevitably harsh words that were sure to come from their father's mouth. It would only serve as a reminder of how truely broken their family was.

But, alas, Maxine coming with him meant that Thor had no choice but to intrude on his brother's trial. His plan was to keep quiet until the end of his sentencing and explain his plan to Loki once he had been taken back to the dungeon. And, in the event that the Allfather decided that Loki's punishment should be death (which Thor very much doubted, but he wasn't naive enough to think it impossible), he would step in sooner to persuade his father to change his decision.

As Thor, along with Loki and the guards holding Loki's chains, stepped into the throne room, Thor stood up a little taller, put on a stoic expression, and stepped up to where his father sat, opposite to where his mother stood. He came to a halt a couple of feet from the throne and stood with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Loki," he heard his mother call out to her younger son. Thor let his gaze shift over to her and watched as she eyed his brother with concern.

"Hello, Mother," Loki replied, the corners of his lips curled up only slightly in what was obviously a forced smile to hide any true feelings he had. "Have I made you proud?"

"Please, don't make this worse," she begged him in a hushed tone.

"Define 'worse'," Loki said.

"Enough!" the Allfather interrupted. Loki's head turned towards Odin and Frigga let her eyes close for a moment. "I will speak to the prisoner alone."

Without questioning his order, Frigga turned and began to walk out of the room. Thor, on the other hand, shifted his weight and turned to face the throne.

"Father," he started in a low tone, "if I may, I would like to stay. I will remain quiet for Loki's hearing, but I have some news I wish to discuss with you afterwards that pertains to this matter, and I will be able to explain it easier if I know what is to come of him."

Odin eyed Thor, and for a moment, Thor thought that he would deny his request. "Very well," Odin finally agreed, much to Thor's surprise. "You may stay, but as you said, you must remain silent. What I decide is final, and there will be no room for discussion on the matter. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Father," Thor said with a bow of his head.

He supposed he would just have to hope that things would turn out in his favor. And, if on the slim chance his father did go towards the route of execution, it wouldn't take place right away, which would give Thor time to discuss another alternative after Loki had left. Getting the king to change his mind would be difficult, yes, but Thor had hope that it would not come to that. Odin was Loki's father after all, regardless of the fact that they were not related by blood. Surely he would not make such a quick judgment for someone he cared about, king or not.

Thor turned his attention back towards his brother and watched as he began to take slow steps towards them. Once he had come parallel to Thor, he came to a stop by taking one last step and clicking his heels together. The chains around his ankles made a loud clanking sound that echoed throughout the otherwise silent throne room.

Unable to keep a straight face, Loki suddenly let out a laugh and his posture relaxed. "I really don't see what all the fuss is about," he said.

"Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes?" Odin asked. Thor eyed Loki for any sign of what his brother's true feelings were, but if he did feel any remorse for his actions, he hid them well. "Wherever you go, there is war, ruin...and death."