Shadows and Lies

Chapter 17

Chapter 17
Loki cleared his throat a bit and then started talking.
"My father was absolutely the worst father I could ever have been stuck with. Our relationship had little love and was mostly based in lies, deception, and his determination in making sure I never got an ounce of recognition for any of my accomplishments" the people started looking around at each other, finding his nerve unbelievable. But Loki didn't stop there "He was undoubtedly my least favorite person in the entire world and frankly I was happy when I got the news that he'd died" when Loki first got up to speak there were disapproving murmurs, as everyone knew he was not going to speak well of Odin, but thor mourners had turned into the people furiously shouting at him. He really had the nerve to get up at Odin's memorial and speak so poorly and disrespectfully.
The crowd was getting more and more upset so Thor got up and went to grab Loki down, but Loki kept talking before Thor had the chance.
"But his performance as my father did not reflect his performance as a king" loki added before Thor or one of the many people who were about to attack him were able to get to him. The crowd went quieter for a moment and Thor paused in place, everyone now curious about what he'd say next. Somehow Loki had stopped looking angry and hateful, his tone had softened and he'd started to put on that air of charm that he was so good at putting on to get people on his side.
"I did not get along with my father, i hated him and still do, but even I cannot deny that he was a great king and did great things for Asgard. He led you all to victory through countless wars and battles, and when it came to realm security he was always the first to risk his own life. He was honorable, noble, and led you all with strength and integrity" the crowd settled back now, they weren't just curious, but actually looked pleased with what he was saying. Loki could even see a few smiles, faint though they were. "I was, and still am very resentful of the fact that Odin clearly always loved Thor more than he loved me, but but Thor was the heir and I never was." The guards tried to move again to grab Loki, but Thor held out a hand to stop them, he wanted to see where this would go. "But the attention he gave to Thor was all so that Thor would be adequately prepared to take over as king. He made sure that when he was gone you would all be left in capable hands, something only a responsible king would make sure of doing. I guess he did an acceptable job. Basically my point is that I hated my father, he was horrible to me and made me hate him and hate myself at times, but although He was the worst father a man could've asked for, he was one of Asgard's best kings. And we aren't here today to celebrate what he did as a father, we're hear to celebrate his rule, So..." he took the glass out of the hands of Fandral (who's been standing near Thor) and raise it up a bit "please raise a glass, and take a moment to be mindful and appreciative of everything Odin did to make this realm a safe and prosperous place to live" Thor didn't understand how Loki did it, how did he get a room full of people who hate him to follow him in making a toast? But as confused as Thor was, the entire room seemed to be moved and by what Loki said, and they all raised their glasses in celebration of Odin. By now no one was trying to attack or harm Loki; he he seemed to own the room. Loki took a sip from the glass he'd stolen from Fandral and then stepped down off the platform as the room was once again filling with the soft murmuring of the people, but this time they weren't disapproving.
"Close your mouth Thor, you look like a fish" Loki said when he got back to Thor.
"Why did you do that? How did you do that? I mean- you really just gave father a compliment" Thor said in total shock. He really couldn't believe that loki, the one who hated Odin the most, the one who Odin treated the worst, the one who dedicated every angry thought to Odin had been standing there praising him.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it it was worth it" loki said. He lost all of the charm that he'd possessed while making his speech and he'd gone back to looking bitter.
"Why? Why did you do it?" Thor asked him, still shocked that Loki had been able to fake that amount of respect for Odin. Loki was of course a terrific actor, but how had he swallowed so much pride?.
"Don't be so shocked, I can pretend to like Odin for a few minutes if it means getting the council off my back. I earned some much needed respectability points, and I even got some of the people liking me a bit more. Besides, now the council owes me a lot of money so that'll be nice" Loki told him. If there was one thing that would drive Loki to do well in pulling off a lie, it was the idea of proving someone else wrong. Even if it means swallowing his pride.
"Oh so you found out about the bet? I tried to make them stop but I couldn't" Thor told him. He had already offended Loki pretty deeply that day, he didn't want Loki also thinking he'd been making money off his misery, as the rest of the council was.
"Whatever, Sif told me about it. She told me that if I could manage to make no one win then they'd all give me the money. Hence the sappy speech" he explained.
"The speech was actually really good... did you mean any of it?" Thor asked. He knew loki hated Odin, but maybe Loki was realizing that even though Odin was a bad father, he wasn't an inherently evil man.
"I was just stating facts. I hated him, I still do, but there's no denying that his reign brought prosperity to Asgard" Loki responded, but it looked like it was physically painful for him to repeat that sentiment.
"So then you do think he was a good king" Thor said, trying to see what Loki was actually feeling.
"He was a good king, but a terrible, terrible person. He was only ever good at leading politics" Loki clarified. He didn't want Thor going around thinking that loki held any respect for odin, because he didn't. He was just stating facts during his speech.
"Now excuse me, I'm going to go finish eating and read my book" Loki said, walking back toward his window to stay out of the way again.
"Wait hold on" Thor rushed up behind him and grabbed his arm.
"What do you think of me? As king" Thor asked. Loki looked pretty confused.
"Thor you know how I feel about you" loki said. He'd made it clear countless times that he wasn't fond of Thor.
"I know, but objectively how am I as a king?" Thor asked again "the people like me personally, so they won't be honest. but you're objective, You don't like me, and if you were able to be objective about father then I think you can do the same for me." He added.
"You actually want me to tell you what I think of your performance as king?" Loki asked. Thor just nodded.
"Okay, Fine.... I think you're not the same as father was" Loki said "I think you're really good with the people and I think you're a strong leader, and they all seem to respect you, so I suppose you're an okay king" he said a bit bitterly. It annoyed him that Thor was good at leading, he always hoped Thor would fail and he could throw it in his face, but that didn't happen. Thor was a good leader.
"So then how am I different?" Thor asked. Loki sighed and tightened his jaw for a second. It was painful for him to say nice things about his brother.
"Because father put me in a cell, and you gave me a second chance. You have compassion, and you showed mercy. so... I guess I have to say that you're slightly better than father was. But only slightly" Loki put emphasis on 'slightly' so Thor didn't think he was actually being nice.
"Wow... I thought you were going to curse me out and tell me I'm a terrible king" Thor told him. Loki shrugged a bit.
"I would've liked that a lot better, trust me. But it wouldn't have been true, and for some reason today I'm in the mood to be honest, which is strange seeing as how I'm almost never in that mood" loki said, annoyed at himself for being nice to Thor. He didn't like that it was getting harder and harder to actively hate his brother, he kept trying to remind himself that Thor was the enemy, that Thor was the reason for his misery, that he hated Thor. But everyday those things seemed less true and felt less real.
"Stop grinning" loki snapped when Thor looked even slightly pleased "I'm not complimenting you, I'm just stating facts, same with father. Now leave me alone so I can read and eat" Loki grumbled, walking off to go finish his food that was undoubtedly cold by now. He wanted to keep hating Thor, but it was getting harder every day; he used to be close with Thor and he was starting to realize how much he missed that.