Loki lounged on his bed in his cell deep in the dungeons of the Asgard palace. The place didn't look much like a dungeon, really. There were no doors to the cells. Instead, each cell was protected with an energy barrier. The cells were well lit and in line up in neat rows. If a stranger were to wander the halls of the dungeon, they would seriously doubt it was a prison at all. Except of course, for the nasty-looking inhabitants. That was a dead give-away.

Since he was no ordinary prisoner, his cell had certain commodities like a bed and a table and chairs, and he had been given good food. After all, he was the king's son.

King's son. he thought. Ha!

Being the king's son didn't stop them from locking him away in the deepest part of the palace where no one would have to see him. And he didn't see anyone, except for the guards and a few of the other prisoners incarcerated in the cell across from him. He was alone, and that was always a dangerous place to be. It gave him far too much time to think.

His thoughts inevitably strayed to his actions of the past few years. According to his conscience (and pretty much everyone in Asgard), he was the ultimate traitor. He deserved to be defeated; to be imprisoned for the rest of his life. To some, he deserved death. Did he regret his actions? Maybe some. But he had lived in the shadow of his Thor his entire life. His big brother, who Loki knew wasn't fit to be king. Thor was far too arrogant. But he had looked up to Thor. They had played together, fought together. Just like brothers do. He had loved Thor and Thor loved him. What had happened?

Odin happened. Loki thought bitterly.

The man who called himself the "All-Father" had proved to be a liar and frankly a terrible father figure, concealing Loki's true heritage and feeding him the lie that he was born to be a king.

He had no intention of ever letting me anywhere near that throne. Couldn't have a Frost Giant ruling his precious kingdom. So why did he lie?

Loki sighed, leaned his head back against his pillow, and closed his eyes. Had his treachery been worth it? According to everyone, both on Earth and in Asgard, he had failed. The fact that he was now stuck in an Asgardian prison was testament to his failure.

No. He told himself. It wasn't worth it.

And just for a moment, he wished he was that naïve little boy playing with his big brother once more.