Prologue

The cup went up in the air and fell back into the young man's hand. Up it went, and down again, every time reflecting the everlasting sunshine of Asgard and throwing dancing sparkles on the stone walls. Up and down… Up and down… Up and down… Up an…

"Sire?"

With a loud bang the cup fell to the ground. The sound echoed in the empty throne room. The young man sighed, lifted his head from the back of his golden throne and fixed his light grey eyes on the nervous guard who had just entered the room. A slight smile appeared on his face. Believe it or not, but it had taken quite some time for the young king to master a friendly smile. It was no longer the evil, sinister smile he used throw at most people, especially his brother…

The guard cleared his throat nervously. Even after all this time he didn't really know what to think of the new situation. Just as everybody else he knew something big was at stake, something bad had happened, but at the same time he had to admit that everything was going… Well… Great… Kind of….

The guard, reassured by the kind smile of his king began to talk: "My King, I bring news from the patrol to Midgard…"
The young man's smile disappeared and made place for a serious frown. The guard paused for a moment. He knew how his king thought about Midgard, about Earth. At times like this he hated to be the Captain of the Guards.

"We found your brother, Prince Thor."

The young king rose from his throne and started descending the stairs leading towards the guard. He could sense the man was scared. Still, he couldn't let him leave yet.
The guard continued: "It seems Thor has settled down with a Midgardian woman in a place called, what was it again, New…"

"New York?" the young king suggested before he could stop himself. The guard looked startled.

"Yes, my king, I believe it was called New York…You know the…"
The young king scowled and turned away from the guard, making sure he didn't see the pain in his eyes.

"Yes, I paid New York a short …. visit … some time ago…"

The guard could sense he had spoken out of turn and tried to soften the tense situation.
"He was dressed in Midgardian clothing and wasn't carrying Mjölnir."

The young king seemed to be waiting for more. He now stood right in front of the guard, holding his sceptre in his right hand while looking at the man before him with a weird kind of curiosity in his light grey eyes.

"Are you certain he isn't coming back here any time soon?" he asked making sure he didn't sound too creepy.

"Thor did seem to be thinking about Asgard a lot, but the Midgardian woman persuaded him to leave it alone. They did visit some special Midgardian… in a tall tower… Stark tower, I think it was. It seemed to be some kind of smart man running the place…"
Memories of pain, hatred, but above all fear, filled the young king's mind. He turned away again and rubbed his head with his fingers.

"You said the girl persuaded my brot… Thor?"

"Yes, my King."

The young man grinned and muttered: "I still like here…"

"Excuse me, Sire?" the guard asked cautiously. The young king turned around again and smiled.

"Nothing, you' re dismissed. You did well!"
The guard bowed and couldn't help smiling. Relieved he left the throne room.

The young king walked towards the window and looked over Asgard: his city, his kingdom. Somewhere far beneath him he heard the clattering of weapons and the screaming of warriors practising. In the far distance the young king saw the rainbow bridge leading to a weird circular building with some sort of huge pin on top of it. The Bifröst: the bridge between Asgard and the other eight realms. He smiled. At long last, he finally got it. He finally got what he'd always wanted, what always had belonged to him.

He knew he had changed in his three months of being king, but he would always stay the God of Mischief. No throne would change that. Just as his past, his deeds, his reputation and his memories would never change. But still, it all leaded to this. The one thing he had been craving for all these years.

He was Loki, King of Asgard.

But to be honest… ruling turned out to be quite boring…