Hello! I am a bit scared to publish this story because it has been at the back of my mind for ages, so please give it a chance. I'm excited to do this Loki centric fic, so yay. I hope you guys like it. Please read, review, and enjoy my darlings.

Oh, and the ages of Thor and Loki in this fic are as follows: Thor is twelve, Loki is ten.

"Keep your body straight and tall, so your voice is loud and clear, see?" Frigga said as she softly pushed Thor's shoulders back.

"I don't understand mother." Thor scoffed, flipping his gold locks from his eyes. "Why should I have to practice my singing with you and Loki? I'm no good at it."

Loki snorted. "Is that not the point of practice?"

Thor scowled. He and Loki stood side by side in a large study. Their mother gave them singing lessons in that room once every week. She believed it was a good way for them to wind down, as they were getting into trouble every other day.

Frigga chuckled and bent over to stare into her eldest son's annoyed face.

"Thor my darling," She said. "I think you sing beautifully."

"Oh, yes. I am sure that's why Loki will be singing at the banquet instead of me." Thor looked away as Loki tried his best not to smile. His brother was older, yes, yet he still pouted like a toddler.

Loki would never admit it, but Thor was not a half bad singer. Loki was just the better of the two. He was told often that his voice was clear and pleasant. He was a little embarrassed, but happy that he had the ability. It made his mother proud.

He would be singing at a banquet that night. He was very nervous, but excited to make his mother, and hopefully his father, proud; though if he didn't do well, he couldn't imagine his father's wrath.

The banquet was being held to celebrate a treaty between Asgard and a place called Humab. Loki had not even heard of the planet until a few days prior. Apparently, according to what he had overheard the guards saying, the Humabs were extremely advanced in their weaponry. They had invented a sort of gun powered by black matter. Loki was not sure what that meant, but apparently, it was bad news.

His father had been agitated recently. At first Loki and Thor had believed it was because of the war Asgard had just ended with a far off planet called Gostiph; but when Loki heard of the advanced and potentially destructive Humab weaponry, he realized that wasn't the case.

According to what Loki had heard, after rumors and whispers of a Humab attack on Asgard began passing through Odin's ranks, the King decided his best move toward peace would be a treaty.

And so, Odin had created the Treaty of Two Armies. The Humab ruler, Jesur, had agreed immediately, assuring Odin that the rumors had been just that; rumors.

Now Loki was expected to please these people with his songs. He could not imagine the embarrassment if he froze up, or sang the wrong tune.

But no, that will not happen. Mother has taught me well, and I know I won't mess this up.

Loki was right, he would not, could not mess it up. There was no living thing that didn't find Loki's songs pleasing, and for good reason; he sang with magic.

Frigga had realized it first, as she could do the same. Though Loki's songs tended to have a different effect on the listener than her own. People found Frigga's songs pleasing, and her words often relaxed them and put them at ease.

The emotion Loki evoked with his singing depended on the mood of the song, or perhaps on the mood of Loki himself. Frigga hadn't decided on that fact yet. What she did know was that he could sing a happy tune and bring a woman out of her depression, but he could also place a happy man into one by singing a sad tune. Frigga had realized that his singing was more than just singing. If used correctly and developed effectively, Loki could use it as a weapon, like any other magic. If he honed it, there was even a possibility he could use it with simple speech as well as song.

Frigga was impressed. Though she was also a little scared to know her youngest son could wield so much power.

She hadn't told Thor about this. She didn't want him to think Loki was manipulating him whenever he sang a tune. Though if she did tell him, perhaps he would appreciate singing lessons a bit more, knowing his brother could use it as a weapon one day.

She wasn't even sure Loki knew of the power himself.

"Do not be angry Thor, I know you will be the center of attention, even if my songs do please our guests. You will entrance them with your tails of heroism!" Loki said with a hint of sarcasm, but he was smiling, so Thor didn't notice that.

"Yes, yes!" Thor yelled as he placed a fist stoically against his chest. "I shall tell them of the time I saved you from the giant boar, or of the time I strangled the Snake of Yildor with my bare hands!"

"I thought you said the snake was only a dream?" Loki asked as he bumped Thor with his shoulder. Thor furrowed his golden eyebrows.

"No, no, I specifically remember that being real."

"Alright Thor, we do not doubt you." Frigga said lightly. Though we doubt your memory.

"Come now, boys. We need to get you washed and dressed." Frigga stated as she floated elegantly toward the door, a curtain of shining hair sweeping behind her like rays of the sun.

"I took a bath last week!" Thor protested as Loki began to follow Frigga. Loki paused to turn and glance at his brother, who had his arms crossed indignantly.

"Well, you smell." Loki said with a grin. He turned and left the room with a walk not so unlike his mother's.

"A warrior is supposed to smell!" Thor yelled as he ran to catch up with his younger brother.

A few miles away, a grown warrior watched the sky with golden eyes blazing, his full lips down turned in an unsatisfied frown. His helmet blazed almost as bright as his eyes as the sun began to set, pink and orange hues dancing across the horizon in waves.

He glanced down at the bridge beneath his armored feet, its power radiating into his body as it sparkled and shined with more colors than any mortal could ever comprehend.

"Heimdall." Odin stated from behind this warrior. Heimdall turned slowly, not at all surprised by the sudden appearance of his king at the Bifrost gate. Heimdall had seen Odin coming for miles. He had also been expecting his appearance, as the guests would arrive very soon.

Heimdall was worried, though he wasn't sure why. He knew the guests; he knew everything about them, as he could see everything about them, even though their planet was light years away. They seemed to be no danger to Asgard.

Yet Heimdall was worried. He was not satisfied even though he should have been. He felt wrongness in the air, a thick scent of an unknown threat stirring in the wind.

Perhaps I am on edge because of the war. It has only just ended; it would be strange to feel perfectly normal already.

"The guests shall be arriving very soon, my King." Heimdall said as he faced his leader. Odin smiled slightly as the setting sun flashed in his one blue eye and across the slice of gold covering his other. But Heimdall believed he felt a light tenseness to Odin. Perhaps his King could taste the sour air as well.

"Yes, as expected, they are a bit late. Odd that such an intelligent and advanced people is so unorganized and shallow." Odin said as he moved to stand beside the gatekeeper.

Heimdall understood what he meant. The Humabs were expert developers and scientists. They were brilliant, frighteningly so, yet they constantly feasted, threw parties, balls, and they were obsessed with entertainment and physical beauty.

Heimdall had told his King all about this strange race, as much as he had seen in them. He had also told his King of their new technology.

It was extremely advanced, this technology; and very dangerous, to both the user and anyone on the receiving end. The reason for this danger was unpredictability. Asgardians knew enough about dark matter to realize how unstable it was, which was why they had abandoned all research into the subject. They hadn't wanted to take any unnecessary chances.

How the Humabs had managed to harness that unpredictability to their advantage, Heimdall had no idea; which was why he found the Humabs so unsettling. When thinking about it, they were nearly as unstable and unpredictable as the dark matter itself.

King Odin knew that they could not be trusted, not completely. Odin knew that rumors had been circulating the ranks of his warriors, that many believed the Humabs had been planning an attack on Asgard. That was not the entire truth. It was true that there had been speculations; whispers of impending attack on Asgard. But that had not been the only threat.

The Humabs had been almost unheard of until a few months back. They had earned their place in Odin's memory when they had attacked Vera, a planet that had long been an ally of Asgard, a known ally of Asgard. The Humabs had receded from Vera as quickly as they had arrived, having done minimal damage. It was almost as if they had only been testing the planet, watching how they would react. Or how Asgard would react. It was odd, and it was menacing.

Though what truly made Odin nervous were rumors of a different caliber. The king had heard that the Humabs had been secretly supplying supplies and weaponry to Gostiph during war the Asgardians were waging against them. King Odin could not confirm these rumors as true, but they made him very wary.

"We should be cautious of them, but we should not be unwelcoming. I have looked over them very thoroughly. They are very unpredictable, but they are still always concrete with their love of material things; that is something we will always be able to rely on." Heimdall said strongly, his voice radiating over the Bifrost like a thick skinned drum.

"Are you sure you do not want a place on my council? Your insight is always so helpful to me." Odin asked half jokingly.

"I am sorry my King, I will not join that council. Not to be out of place, but many of those men and women are not to my taste. They are a bit too bitter." Heimdall stated. Odin chuckled.

"Yes, they are not very much to my taste either, but they get things done. That is all I really ask." Said the King.

They stood staring at the horizon for a moment, the sun flowing into the sparse clouds and setting them on fire with colors of purple and red so thick it seemed the sky was bleeding.

"The sky burns bright with red of sun…" Heimdall started without thinking, an ominous poem flowing from his lips.

"…peace will be futile, sweetness be there none." Odin finished. Heimdall sighed.

"I feel tense, old friend." Odin whispered.

"As do I. I feel Asgard is in danger this night, though I see none. I fear I am going blind."

"No, your eyes are clear and bright as they have ever been. We will just have to hope we are only unsettled from the recent war, for Asgard's sake."

"Yes, my King." Heimdall said as he rested his sword against the Bifrost. He stared into the bright light of the horizon and prayed that his golden eyes were seeing no more than a scarlet sunset.

Loki stood in front of a long ornate mirror, his mouth open in dismay.

"Why have you put me in a dress?" Loki demanded as he faced his mother. Thor was writhing on the floor, his eyes running as he laughed uncontrollably. Thor was wearing a simple white tunic and a leather vest dyed blue to match his eyes. He also wore leather pants that resembled those of an Asgardian warrior.

"It is not a dress Loki, dear. It is a Duava, a traditional and very precise array of clothing items worn only during special Asgardian occasions." Frigga soothed.

Loki's finger shot out and pointed to the hysterical Thor. He nearly screeched, "Why not him? Why must I be the only one?"

"Because you will be standing before all of our Humab guests as well as every Asgardian at the banquet, so I would like you to look very pleasant and traditional."

"Is it traditional for me to look like a girl in front of all our guests?" Loki muttered with crossed arms. Thor released a guffaw at that. Frigga smirked and raised one eyebrow as she put a hand on one hip.

"I would think you would take pride in feminine clothing. The more woman you are, the more elegant and strong."

"What? Men are stronger!" Thor yelled from the floor. Frigga laughed.

"Dearest child, you do not know the true strength of a woman, and you will most likely not discover this until you are grown."

"Honestly though, Thor, have you forgotten Sif? She nocks you on your backside every time you challenge her!" Loki laughed. Thor grumbled and stood, leaning against a wall and looking toward the floor in shame.

"Do not fret child, I only jest. We are all equal warriors. We just vary in our areas of strength and weakness. You and your father are strong in physical strength while Loki and I are stronger with our magic." Frigga said as she walked over to her eldest son. Thor smiled.

Loki looked in the mirror once again and sighed. He did not mind the outfit too much, it just wasn't his style. He didn't like clothing that was so flashy. Or long.

"Can I not wear something simpler, mother?" He asked with pleading eyes as he turned to his mother. She grinned and set her hand on his dark head of hair.

"No."

"Stevna, could you have worn something a bit flashier?" King Jesur said to his servant as he strode along a cobblestone roadway. She was dressed in a short deep red robe studded with gold and rubies at the collar. Her hair was folded into an elaborate style and also littered with rubies and gold. She looked beautiful, yet she was nothing compared to the king.

The king wore a gold and silver collar fitted with several rare gems, and he wore bracelets along his arms that matched perfectly. His garb was a shining partially see-through robe that sparkled like a galaxy of stars when it moved, and the only other clothing he wore was a long intricate loincloth with a gold band belt. He was covered in precious metals and gemstones, and his body was painted with gold designs that trailed up to his face. His lips were painted blue, as was traditional for the Kings of his nation when meeting another leader for the first time.

He and his favorite servant walked a few yards behind King Odin and about thirty Asgardian guards as they made their way through the city, passing markets, fountains, training grounds, and stone houses that were much too plain in Jesur's eyes.

Behind King Jesur, about one hundred fifty of his people followed. They were adorned in bright colors and shining jewelry. They showed much more skin than the Asgardians, and as they passed through the city, they received a few judgmental glances from the more conservative citizens of Asgard.

"Their kingdom is so drab looking." Stevna whispered to her king. He smirked.

"Yes, but at least it is clean." He whispered back.

Odin stopped at the top of a golden staircase and turned. Jesur tensed for a moment, thinking Odin had overheard, but the Asgardian king simply said,

"We have arrived at the palace. I am very pleased that the Humab nation and the Asgardians were able to create the treaty of two armies over this past week. It was a tense time for our ambassadors, and for yours as well. I am pleased that you will be feasting with us this night in celebration of that treaty. Please, make merry and enjoy the food and entertainment." The Asgardian guards beside Odin stepped up to an enormous set of gold doors and knocked.

The doors began to swing slowly inward. Odin walked down some steps and stood before King Jesur, his body language very proud. Jesur smiled and bowed to him, King Odin returning the gesture.

"I am glad we have met on good terms instead of bad." Jesur said as he strode with Odin into the palace, the interior boring the Humab king just as much as the rest of the city had.

Nothing here is beautiful. It is all too plain.

"As am I." King Odin replied. "I hope you will enjoy this night. We have been preparing for days."

I doubt that.

"I am sure it will be an entertaining evening indeed." King Jesur lied as he showed his teeth in yet another meaningless smile.

Heimdall stood alone at the Bifrost gate, his armor dulling in the dim light of the evening.

The sun had been replaced by a dark blue sky, the twinkle of premature stars dotting the darkness.

The warrior sighed morosely. He had met the Humabs, he had met their King. They were as he knew them.

Yet…

There was something sour about the air, and it had grown more potent with the arrival of the Humabs.

Well...how was it? O.O Also feel free to tell me about the errors I surely missed while editing! Next chapter will be up quite soon, and it shall be more exciting, I promise! This one was kind of like an intro, you know? ANYWAY, til next time darlings.