Fidelity

Return to Asgard

            I stood beside Thor as he handed the other side of the Tesseract to Loki. We were standing in the middles of a park, with the Avengers surrounding us and many other humans watching from afar. Loki had been chained and gagged upon our return to the hellicarrier, and the Tesseract had been returned to Thor. Now, we would use it to go home. I could only hope that soon, things would go back to normal. Unfortunately, I knew Loki would have to serve his punishment first.

            Loki looked up at Thor first, then diverted his eyes to mine. I smiled encouragingly, then looked to Thor myself. He smiled back at me sadly, yet proudly. He nodded to the Avengers by way of farewell, and in the next instant, we were surrounded by bright light. I closed my eyes, feeling the cool air rushing past me, and when I opened them, we were once again standing on the edge of the broken bridge. I looked up at Loki, who’s eyes were staring straight ahead at the palace. As Thor tugged him along, I noticed his eyebrows make the slightest movement, indicating his regret at having been gone for so long.

            It was a long, quiet walk to the palace, with Thor staring resolutely ahead of us, and Loki occasionally glancing at me. Once, I glanced at him at the same time and our eyes locked for a moment. His eyes widened and his eyebrows raised, but I forced myself to turn away; now was not the time for apologies.

            When we were finally walking through the halls of the palace, Loki suddenly stopped walking. His eyes were on the doors to the throne room, until Thor turned to him. He stared at his brother and shook his head, fear clearly shining in his eyes. “Brother,” Thor whispered, stepping closer, “You must face Odin and your punishment. I have never known you to be a coward.” From the moment Thor called him “brother,” Loki was shaking his head. Understanding, Thor reached up to hold Loki’s head still between both of his hands. “Loki, listen to me,” he demanded. “You are my brother. I care not what blood runs through your veins, nor do I care what you have done wrong. We have always done everything together, Loki. You should have known that had I become king, I never would have done so without you.” Loki looked up into Thor’s eyes questioningly, and Thor smiled. “I may have the brawn of the family,” he chuckled, “But a good king requires knowledge as well.” Loki’s eyes betrayed the smile that he hid behind the muzzle, but it immediately turned sarcastic as Loki rolled his eyes and shook his head. Thor laughed and playfully hit Loki’s shoulder. “Stop it,” he laughed, “I really meant all of that.”

            Loki looked up at him again, then nodded once. Thor took that as forgiveness, and finally took Loki by the arm as he led him into the throne room. I trailed behind, a little nervous to face Odin again after he had nearly forced me to leave the palace. When I finally did walk in, I found Thor and Loki both kneeling before Odin, who stood a few steps above them, near his throne. His gaze was directed towards the top of Loki’s bowed head.

            “Do you realize what you have done?” Odin snapped, his voice quiet, yet sharp. Loki didn’t respond. “Do you realize what you put your family through? You killed hundreds of innocent people, Loki! You dishonored this entire realm! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t let you rot in the dungeons!” His voice had steadily grown louder, to the point that Loki actually flinched at the last word.

            Since he couldn’t answer of his own accord, I quickly stepped forward, opening my mouth to speak, but closing it when Odin glared at me. Instead, I sank back towards the door, bowing my head respectfully.

            “I do not care what influence you were under,” Odin continued, glancing at the Tesseract in Thor’s hand, “You had the choice whether to run away or not, and you made the wrong one. Therefore, you are punishable by law for your crimes. I, Odin Allfather, sentence you to imprisonment until further notice. During this imprisonment, you will pay for your crimes as I see fit.” With that, four guards were immediately upon their former prince, forcing him to his feet and dragging him away. As much as I wanted to follow them, I found that I could not move a muscle. Once Loki was gone, I instead looked to Thor.