Sorry, I havenʻt gotten around to naming it yet... Iʻm terrible when it comes to titling stories :(

Chapter 1

Loki

So this is what it feels like to sit on the throne. To look down upon all of them, be loved by all of them. To know that they will do whatever I wish, whatever I bid. Of course, if they knew who I really was, and where their former king was, they would hate me. And thatʻs exactly why all of Asgard believes the All-Father to be on the throne and Loki Laufeyson to be dead. Well, almost all of them. The head of the Asgardian Guard knows, but he is the only one I can trust, and only him barely.

Thatʻs who I am. My name is Loki Laufeyson, and I am the rightful king of Asgard. At last, it is more than a dream. So why am I not entirely happy?

"Your Majesty, please! My servant has stolen much of my wealth and he must be punished!" There is one issue with being a king: itʻs rather exhausting to hear each and every false plea from each nobleman or impoverished maid.

"No, she did not. In fact, you kicked her from your castle when she put too much salt in your stew. Iʻm afraid she beat you to Asgard, Bjarke. Leave now, and stop bothering me!" I respond quickly. Itʻs been the fourth time in two days when Bjarke has tried to convince me of how he has been so wronged. "Close the gates of the castle. I need time to think," I demand to a nearby guard.

So I have all of Asgard under my control. How fun. I can make them my army, but what else? Well, if I want an army, I will need a commander. It can hardly be me, for I only kill when I have no choice, or have reason. And who better than one of the oldest, most notorious villains of Asgard? Surtur, the man of flame, who has been imprisoned in Asgard for so many years. I cannot trust him, but I can certainly trick him.

"Free Surtur immediately." I say quickly, no, demand, to the remaining guard in the throne room.

He looks rather bewildered, and for good reason. They say Surtur is one of the worst villains of Asgard, and freeing him would be a foolʻs move. Little do they know...

Nevertheless, the guard leaves the room, and I am at last alone, albeit undefended. Thor is on earth, and I can only hope that he is happy. For all that Thor has done to me, all the revenge I never received, I wish him to be safe. He took care of me more than Father ever did. Odin, who now is in the deepest vault, disguised as an ordinary prisoner. He is to have no contact with any, and I delivered him to the prison myself. At last, I have revenge on the man who lied to me. Who cast me out, imprisoning me for what was his own fault in the first place. Now he knows what it is like to spend months alone, with no one come for company but thoughts. How it eats away at you, drives you insane.

Enough of Odin. What other fun can I have now that I am sitting on the throne of Asgard? As the first guard returns, it comes to me. "Secure the outer edges of the kingdom, and if possible, expand them." Why not? I have the resources, why not get more wealth, more control? I have everything, but there can always be more.

Sigyn

This is my kingdom. Itʻs not much, but how I love looking out over it. When the sunʻs setting, just hunting, patrolling the borders of our land. Just like my mother did. With my friends, or, more accurately, my second-in-commands. Iʻm not exactly a queen, but Iʻm pretty damn close. I have no palace, just a sea of tents, leather and hardy. I have no jewels, only the clothing my mother brought from Asgard. I have no heir either, but I suppose thereʻs time for that.

It is on one such night, when we are about, just as the sun sets, when an... army appears on the horizon. It has been years since such a thing happened.

"What are they doing here?" Magnhild whispers, tone hostile as usual.

"Shhh, weʻll find out soon." The warriors march towards us, hardly dressed for camouflage. We, on the other hand, are. I step forward, my boot barely crunching on the ground beneath. The army outnumbers us, three to one, but weʻve fought greater odds before. Theyʻre on our land, and we need to find out why. Odin set off this portion of land to my mother thousands of years before. Asgard cannot try to take it back after all all this time. I reach for my sword. I grip it tightly as we creep forward.

"Did you hear something?" one of the men asks.

I freeze.

"Stop it, Erling. There is no one out here." His companion says.

I smile behind the edges of my cloak. Nobody but me- the goddess Asgard forgot.

Weʻve come close to them, hiding in the shadows of boulders, in the dark.

"Itʻs time." I whisper. The rest of my band make a quiet circle around the sixty men. They still seem to still suspect nothing. I look around our dark circle, then leap forward, waiting for the others to follow. My sword clashes into the armor of the man nearby, and he falls to the ground out of purely surprise.

"Donʻt kill anyone until you know why theyʻre here." I shout over the clashing of swords.

I knock down one man with the back of my sword, and he falls unconscious. This is too easy. I have no training, unlike these warriors, but I learned from the greats, or, more like my mother. The story is legendary among my people, how she tried to rebel against Asgard itself, and almost succeeded. The All-Father banished her to the border of the realm, but never out of it, for he knew that someday, Asgardʻs armies would be outmatched. And when that day came, and she helped bring the kingdom to victory, Odin gave my mother a small portion of land of her own, on the condition that she would never return to the palace again. And so here I am...

"Dammit, Sigyn! Stop getting lost in your thoughts in the middle of a battle!" Maghildt shouts as she puts an arrow through the hand of the warrior behind me, sword raised.

"Thanks," I tell her quickly. Come on, focus. Donʻt get yourself killed...

I search the crowd of guards, each being beaten by my small troops. It really was pathetic. But where was their leader? I quickly push anyone, friend or foe, out of the way, with the side of my sword. "Iʻll take it from here," I tell Brenna, who is viciously attacking a man in heavily-polished gold armor. She steps out of the way rather reluctantly, and I crouch next to the man, sword at his throat. "Are you the leader?"

"Why would I tell you? Whatʻs a bunch of girls doing fighting Asgard?" he retorts.

"Weʻre not a bunch of girls, as you put it. And this is my land." I say, drawing a bit of blood as my grip on the sword tightens.

"Yes, Iʻm their leader." He chokes out, then falls silent.

"What are you doing on the land that is rightfully mine?" I ask.

"Our king commands that we secure the border lands. And this is the border lands," he says.

"No, it is not! You have already passed the border lands. Your king decreed years before, that this would be my land, not his."

"The All-Father grows old. Perhaps he has forgotten in his old age." He responds, then mutters to himself, "Or perhaps it is no longer him who rules Asgard."

I whirl around. "What did you say?" I turn to Brenna, who has a spy within Asgard to tell us what is happening inside the palace. "Have you heard anything of the passing of Odin?"

"No," she says, looking just as confused as I feel.

"Oh, I never said anything of that sort..." the guardsmen says, trying to backtrack. But I didnʻt hear anything wrong.

"Who rules Asgard now?"

The guard is silent.

"Tell me who sits on the throne, or I might have to kill you." I tell him. And I will. Well, actually, I might not, but a threat is all it takes.

"Loki Laufeyson, son of Odin."

"My lady Sigyn... Thor was the heir to the throne, not his younger brother," Brenna tells me.

"Did he take the throne rightly?" A bit more blood stains my sword.

"N-no."

"Go home," I say disdainfully. "And tell your fake king that he will not take the land that belongs to me!" I lift my sword, turning away.

"He wonʻt like that much..." The guard says, scrambling to his feet.

I donʻt even turn around. "See if I care."

As I retreat back into the woods, Maghildt says, "If there is a man on the throne who wishes to take back our kingdom or whatever you wish to call it, we need to do something about that."

I shake my head. "Youʻre always so ready for war. Iʻve said it once, Iʻll say it again: I do not involve myself with the politics of Asgard."

"Well, you do always say that. But you never keep that promise." Brenna says honestly.

"This time, I will." I say, steeling myself. Traveling to Asgard would be foolish. Yet what Maghildt says is correct: we cannot let anyone think they can take our tiny kingdom away. Not when its all we have.

"Prepare my horse! I leave for Asgard at daybreak!" I shout as we return to camp. Maghildt looks smugly at me, seeing that she has won once again. I roll my eyes at her, a doubt in my mind about my decision. Too late for doubts, though.