✨The Price of Loyalty ✨

Chapter 1

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"Boys come along now or we'll be late for your Father's speech."

The Queen quickly fastened the last of her hairpins into the braid that cascaded down her back. She was just as regal as she was beautiful. Frigga was not only the Queen of Asgard but also the mother to the heir of Asgard's throne, Thor, and his mischievous younger brother, Loki. The pair were nearly eight and seven Midgardian years old respectfully - as time on Asgard does not pass as it does on Earth.

"MOM! LOKI STABBED ME!"

The blonde-haired prince came running out of their room, clutching his shoulder where a small knife was protruding out of it. Blood ran down his arm just as quickly as the tears that raced down his smudged face.

"Loki, come here this minute!" Frigga bellowed, crossing her arms as the younger of the two princes. "What happened?"

"Well, you see mother -" Loki began, stepping forward as he waved his hands to spin his always growing web of lies.

"Without lying Loki." His mother snapped, giving him an icy glare while motioning for Thor to come to her side so she could inspect the damage.

"He -He... H-he turned into a s-snake an-nd I picked up the snak-ke and he s-stabbed m-me!" Thor sobbed once again.

Frigga gently pulled the knife from his arm, quickly pressing a cloth she had fetched to the wound. It stained red as the blood flowed, but not for long. Under her breath, she uttered a spell that would stop the bleeding and heal her son. Pulling the cloth away, she wiped off the remaining blood. "Go change Thor, quickly or we'll be later than we are already." Frigga's intimidating eyes met Loki's, causing the boy to shrink where he stood.

"Mother, I- "

"Do not make excuses my son. Admit to your wrongdoings and work hard to ensure it doesn't happen again. How will you make a good king if all you do is lie about your intentions? The mark of a true king does what is best for the good of the people, not himself. Acknowledge your shortcomings and learn from them - but should you harm your brother again, you shall have to deal with me."

While the Queen of Asgard could be quite caring and loving, it was times like these that her sons were reminded as to why she was married to their cold-hearted father; she was nearly as terrifying as he was. Her face softened slightly, the scolding over as she opened her arms for Loki. 

The boy walked over to his mother, hugging her as she smoothed down his raven black hair and straightened out his green, black, and gold adorned outfit. "Was he teasing you again?" The boy could only nod. Frigga sighed. Of the two, it was not a secret that Thor was much bigger and stronger than Loki - perhaps that had to do with the heritage that Odin kept a secret from them. It was not uncommon for Thor to pick on Loki, simply because he could. However, sometimes in retaliation, the Prince of Mischief would become a bit too carried away and lash out in a hostile manner.

"Use that silver tongue of yours my son; I do believe it can get you out of nearly every situation you should find yourself in. A good king uses his words, not his actions. Do not forget that, lest you will become irrational and undependable." She smoothed his wild hair down, giving him a soft smile. Now come, let's see if your brother is ready to go."

When they entered the washroom, the younger Prince watched as his brother struggled to pull on his red collared shirt, already sobbing and crying as he usually did. Thor was impatient, quick to act, and most irritably, slow to think; Loki was determined to be better than that. Looking in the mirror, he shook his hair out, pushing it out of his face like Thor until his mother came up behind him and combed it back, again. For some reason, his mother always claimed that she loved to look at his eyes so she would brush his hair back. That, and the fact that every time she brushed Thor's hair back, he usually messed it up within seconds of walking out the door. Holding their hands, the queen led the pair down the stone hallway, their feet echoing with each step they took. The princes bickered some, about who was ahead or whose outfit look better. Thankfully, it did not take long for them to come upon the throne room, the doors sealed for the speech that was about to take place.