Working Title : Loki & Annie

Chapter Seventeen

Immediately after leaving Loki's chambers Thor headed towards the halls to break his fast. Before he could make his way there he was stopped by the call of one of his fathers personal guards.

"You are requested to appear before the AllFather." Neither the man's voice nor appearance gave anything away. He was much too well trained.

Thor nodded. "Of course." He headed towards the throne room, trying to decide if Odin could have discovered what he had been up to. Perhaps Heimdal had seen him? There were few options available if his actions had been revealed. He could never escape Asgard, not again. 

Rather than making the familiar turn towards the throne room he was redirected towards his fathers personal office instead. A single massive gold door blocked his  way and for a moment Thor stood in front of it and studied the familiar scene. So familiar that he had stopped noticing it once he had been able to open the door himself rather than have to have someone with greater strength open it for him.

There were multiple scenes of historical Asgardian wars. And each one was depicting victories where the bodies of their enemies lay butchered across fields of battle or Asgardian kings standing over kneeling defeated kings. And every enemy was a Jotun. A Frost Giant. As Thor pushed the door open he wondered why Odin had kept the door knowing that Loki would see the door and his memory was much better than Thor's. Loki would never forget this door to Odin's privet office.

A large stone chamber furnished in gold and dark wood it was softened with rugs and golden statues, bowls filled with fruit and walls covered in the finest tapestries. This  office sat in the interior of the palace but that didn't prevent it from having a wall of large windows that overlooked a courtyard which allowed light into the room.  On one side of the room Thor found his father sitting at a large wooden desk. Surrounded by various scrolls and parchment, Odin sat without acknowledging his heir.

 On the other side of the room were a half dozen military commanders standing around a large square table, looking down on maps and slips of papers spread out before them. They glanced up at Thor as he entered and several gave him respectful nods before going back to their quiet discussions. They were going over the latest results of subduing civil unrest and capturing marauders.

Once the door closed behind him Thor moved to stand in front of the desk and gave a respectful bow, crossed his hands one over the other behind his back and waited while Odin finished reading over a parchment. A fire burned in the hearth, the room was pleasant with several bouquets of flowers arranged on various side tables.

Odin set the page aside and looked up at his son. The one blue eye studied the boy in front of him. "You inquired about Loki's punishment being reduced to imprisonment only." Odin looked back down.

Thor nodded. "Yes. I believe if I can make a reduced sentence known then he is more likely to return -"

"No." Odin shuffled pages and picked up another and began to read.

Thor frowned while glancing at the others in the room. None were looking in their direction but it was impossible to assume the men couldn't hear the conversation. "I, I don't understand. It would mean so little to simply stop these punishments." Thor had to be careful, he couldn't reveal that he knew the extent of Loki's abuse or his condition.

Odin raised his eye to stare at Thor. His voice was close to hostile. "You are not required to understand my reasonings."

Thor's head pulled back as though he had been slapped. His eyes widened at the unspoken rebuke, Odin didn't use this tone of voice with him. "Of course, my apologies, Father."

Odin watched as the boy gave a curt nod, took a single step back and began to turn away. "Thor." He called with a sigh. When he once more was looking into his son's eyes he spoke again. "Your brother has yet to learn the lessons that should have been ingrained as a child. No matter how much it was impressed upon him, he was always challenging. Always questioning."