Dawn arrived in Asgard. The glass and gold of the buildings shone in the early morning light. Asgardians all over the city were rising and getting about their day. From the markets to the shops to the people who worked in the palace, all were focused on their tasks for the day. Though, none of them was aware of the young man high above their heads from a tower at the palace.
Loki watched the people far below, his cold green eyes seeing everything but not watching anyone in particular. The wind ruffled his raven-black hair as he shut his eyes, deeply breathing in the cool morning air. Small muscles relaxed, though one in his left shoulder stubbornly refused to obey. He furrowed his brow and his mouth turned down. The beating that Thor called "practice" yesterday was apparently still affecting him.
Loki opened his eyes in irritation. The memory of Miölnir swinging down towards his head just annoyed him more. He had managed to transport himself away, but the hammer caught his shoulder before he could fully disappear. Thor and his cronies' laughter rang in his ears, before Thor stopped when he realized that Loki was in fact injured. It had taken several healers and too many hours to get Loki's shoulder back to normal. Thor had tried to apologize, but Loki refused to even speak to his brother. Just like every time Thor did something stupid.
Loki tried to massage the offensive muscle, but it complained more than tried to relax. Damn. There went his morning.
He always got up early to come up here. It was the one place where no one would bother him. He could be alone with his thoughts as they whirled around in his head. Loki leaned against the arch, shutting his eyes again. He knew what people said behind his back. He always knew. Some said that he was mad, from an incident that happened a few years prior. Others called him cursed. They would try to hide the sign to ward off evil when he would stride by. They thought he wouldn't see. But he always saw.
Shadow Walker, Night Dancer, Silver Tongue, Prince of Lies. Loki knew all of the names. He could hear everything. He always pretended that he didn't care. But, deep down, each name, each dark look, each whisper pained him. He tried, oh how he tried, to have people look at him in the light. But, they would rather see Thor the golden child than the one in the shadows.
Thoughts and plans continued to whirl through his head as he slowly opened his eyes. Up here, he was safe. Safe from the people far below him and Thor's dangerous ideas.
The 'cawing' of ravens caught Loki's attention. Hugin and Munin noisily flapped as they headed from the Bifrost and to the throne room. This signaled that the rest of the family would be stirring. Which meant it was time for Loki to begin his duties of being second in line for the throne. Second in line, what a joke. He was far cleverer than Thor. But just because he was older than Loki made him the heir. When they were younger, their father told them that they both born to be kings. But no matter how much Loki tried to prove that he was just as able to rule as Thor, Odin seemed to have forgotten the words he had spoken to his sons.
Loki gracefully headed downstairs, following a complex labyrinth of secret tunnels and paths that only he knew about. He pulled on one last lever, causing the bookshelf on the other side to swing out and into his bedroom.
The room was mostly dark, though there were signs that the servants had been there. A fire had been lit, and his daywear had been laid out. He had been wearing a simple tunic to go exploring in. But it was time to look the part of prince. The green matched his eyes, with hints of gold accenting the ensemble. Loki carefully placed his hidden daggers before heading into his library.
There, he slid open another panel, this one leading to Thor's living area. Loki smiled to himself as he slipped into the room unseen. It still surprised Thor that his brother just seemed to magically appear every morning, despite that he had been doing it for years. Let him continue to think that.
Thor's chambers were extravagant and brightly lit. He had more rooms than Loki, though he seemed to not use them all. Thor's servants warily watched Loki as he lounged on one of the couches. He fixed a stare on them until they fled the area, leaving him alone. That he preferred. Especially since he could hear Thor's bellowing approaching from down the hall.
"How dare you not repair my cape! I want it repaired now!"
Loki could hear the servants madly scramble to right the wrong as Thor stormed into the room where Loki was waiting. The thunderous look on Thor's face quickly left when he spied Loki. He paused, as he did every morning, his eyes widened, as they always did, and Loki spoke Thor's daily greeting in his head, like he always did.
"Brother! Where did you come from? It is like magic!" Thor exclaimed. Loki suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.
"Just like everyday," Loki muttered. Thor wasn't listening, since he was making last adjustments to the temporary cape in a nearby mirror. A corner of Loki's mouth turned upwards, carefully waving a hand in Thor's direction. He was so distracted that he didn't realize that his cape was now the same shade of green as Loki's. Loki held back laughter as Thor continued to not realize the change in color as he started to head out the door. Loki swiftly got to his feet and fell in alongside his brother. They strode in silence, with Loki growing more and more gleeful by the fact that his idiot brother still had no clue. The usual morning court was going to be much more enjoyable now!
His enjoyment was short lived when Thor's cronies were found waiting for them in the antechamber leading to the throne room. They didn't normally come to morning court, so their purpose today mystified him.
Thor loudly exclaimed as he greeted his friends. Volstagg greeted Thor back the loudest cheer, his large girth a big as his laughter. The tall Fandral stumbled as Thor slapped him on the back. He quickly patted himself to make sure everything was in place. Fandral had quite a following of giggling girls that adored him and the ground he walked on. Little did he know that most of the women simply laughed at him behind his back. Hogan watched the entire room with his normal frown. Nothing ever made him smile.
The only one who wasn't loudly greeting Thor back was Lady Sif. Her slender frame was wrapped in warrior garb, her ink-black hair was tied back. Loki bristled as her dark eyes immediately fell on Thor's cape, before narrowing at Loki. He lifted his chin and drew to his full height. It was an attempt to look as imposing and princely as possible. Sif drew her mouth into a firm line, their unspoken feud still raging.
Loki and Sif never got along. He knew that she thought that he was trying to keep Thor away from her. Which was mostly true. Thor needed to focus on not destroying Asgard, not getting romantically involved. Loki didn't like her because he felt that she was up to some grand scheme, which would end up with him out of the picture. She didn't like him, because she knew that he knew. That, and he was trying to keep her away from the very oblivious Thor.
"The Allfather will see you now," a guard announced. Thor swept past the guard, while Loki managed to wriggle his way around the others so he could take his place of importance at Thor's right hand. He shot a smirk at Sif when he beat her to the spot, and he was rewarded by a withering glare. Ehehehe. Score one for Loki!
The band reached the throne, where Odin was listening to the raven's report. Loki's heart lightened as his mother, Frigga, climbed down the steps and smiled at her boys. Like every morning, she approached Thor first.
"Good morning, Thor," she embraced him.
"A pleasant morning to you as well, Mother," Thor boomed. She patted one of his oversized arms, before approaching Loki. He respectfully bowed his head to her. She replied, like every morning, by taking his face in her hands and looking deep into his eyes.
Loki never understood this little ritual, but it was comforting to him. No matter how bad a day he was having, no matter how much Thor hurt him- accidently or no-, and no matter how much he put up with the band; he knew that his Mother would always be there to support him. The little ritual cemented their bond each morning, even though he never understood why she always looked into his eyes.
After a while, she smiled and embraced him as well. "Good morning, Loki."
"Good morning, Mother," Loki replied softly. She pulled away, a smile still on her face. She went around, greeting the rest of the band while Thor impatiently waited for Odin to speak.
The ravens finally moved to their posts on either side of the throne, and Thor wriggled like an overexcited puppy. Loki sighed unhappily. It had been weeks since Thor had a mission. He was growing weary of waiting for something to happen so he could smash it. As they waited these past weeks, Loki's head seemed to see all of the smashing.
Odin rose from his seat, and the band fell silent.
"Thor," Odin spoke. "You are to take your warriors to the mountains. There have been giant sightings." Loki felt the group stiffen with worry while a gasp caught in his throat.
Giant were rarely caught in Asgard, and usually meant trouble. Most of the giant races were primarily stupid and usually wandered into Asgard on accident. However, the Frost Giants made everyone nervous. They were far more intelligent and held grudges. They had been after the casket forever, always trying to find a way in. Was Odin seriously sending them to go remove Frost Giants? The thought made Loki uneasy.
"Frost Giants?" Thor perked up, clearly not sharing the same fear as his brother. Idiot. "I shall hunt them down and slay them with my mighty hammer Miolnir!" Odin frowned at Thor.
"No," he replied. "They are not Frost Giants." Loki and the others visibly relaxed, glad that this mission wasn't going to be so dangerous. Thor, however, looked disappointed. He turned to look at Loki, who shrugged in half-sympathy.
"What are they doing here?" Thor demanded.
"They are Mountain Giants," Odin explained. "They must have wandered in on accident. I need you to find them, and make sure they return to their own realm."
OK, Loki thought to himself. This made a whole lot more sense. If it had been Frost Giants, neither one of them would have been sent. Well, Thor at least wouldn't have been sent. Being heir had its, perks. Odin wouldn't put Thor in danger on purpose. Loki on the other hand had been on plenty of dangerous missions. One came to mind, and he quickly shoved that to the deepest, darkest corner of his mind. He didn't want that nightmare to come back and haunt him, not here.
Sometimes Loki wondered if Odin was trying to get rid of him on purpose. Though, the thought of going on a trip into the wild with this lot didn't seem appealing to him. He was going to be spending the entire trip saving their sorry hides too many times from Thor's blundering.
Thor being on the brink of a meltdown brought Loki out of his thoughts. Chasing off Mountain Giants weren't Thor's idea of having fun. Loki breathed out noisily through his nose, not looking forward to having to calm Thor down. This was usually where Loki got hurt. He had turned to Thor, when he noticed that Sif had gotten to Thor first. Loki growled under his breath, his frown deepening when Sif gave him a sly smile. Whatever she was up to, it wasn't good for Loki.
"Thor," Sif purred. "Why is your cape green?" Loki felt all the blood drain out of his face as Thor first looked confused, then noticed his cape. Thor's face grew thunderous as his fist bunched up a wad of material. Sif's eyes danced as she stared right at Loki. Thor followed her gaze before whirling around to face his brother.
Loki took an involuntary step back, years of experience keeping the innocent look on his face. He narrowed his eyes slightly at Sif, who looked positively delighted at the prospect of Loki getting a pounding. This was going to take all of his charm, wit, and Thor's naivety to get out of this unscathed.
"What did you do?" Thor bellowed at him.
"I didn't do anything," Loki replied firmly. Thor bared his teeth, raising a fist as a threat.
"Change it back!" Thor roared, taking a step towards him. Loki folded his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow as his heart raced.
"Thor," Odin growled in warning. Thor turned to glare at their Father, as Frigga shook her head slightly at Loki. Giving a sigh of defeat, Loki waved his hand slightly and the green gave way to red. Thor realized that his cape had turned back, and he glared at his brother for good measure. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Loki curled his lip at Sif. Something had to be done about Sif and that awful smirk on her face. Loki smiled to himself as several ideas floated across his mind, each one more frightening as the next. How was she going to handle snakes in her bedroll?
"When do we depart?" Thor growled, still ruffled over the cape.
"This afternoon," Odin replied. "Loki, you will not be going with them." Loki perked up a little at that news. He didn't have to put up with them on a boring trip? This was great! He kept his face neutral as internally, he was cheering quite loudly.
"Why?" Thor demanded.
"There is another task I need him to complete before he rejoins you," Odin explained calmly. Loki stopped cheering internally. Damn. He thought he was going to get out of this. Thor clearly didn't look happy about the news, but he remained silent.
"Thor, you are dismissed. Loki, remain," Odin ordered. The band bowed before heading out the door, discussing the mission amongst themselves. Thor gave Loki one last look before following his friends. Loki slowly took the center position as he looked up at his parents. Very rarely did he get them both to himself where he wasn't in trouble. And getting his own mission that wouldn't be risking his life. It was rather nice. Odin approached him so they were eye-level and smiled, also a rarity.
"My son," he said slowly. "I have a rather important task for you." Important? Well, this was different! Normally if he was sent on an errand alone, it was rather mundane.
"It is my honor," Loki breathed truthfully. He was pretty excited about this! Odin smiled warmly at him.
"I need you to go up to Valhalla and speak to the Valkyrs."
Loki's face fell. The Valkyrs were the guardians of Valhalla, and the conveyers of warriors who had fallen in battle. The Valkyrs didn't like live men, and the last time Loki had interacted with a group of them didn't turn out so well for him. Odin must have thought about the same thing, since he rumbled a chuckle.
"Do not worry," Odin laughed. "They know that you are coming and will not harm you. Do make sure that you are properly dressed and take the ravens. They'll relay the information back to you as you rejoin your brother." The raven's beady eyes watched Loki carefully as he tried not to stare back.
"Why send me?" Loki asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"The information they are bringing back from their campaign is important," Odin explained. "I require someone I can trust to retrieve it and guard the ravens." Odin trusted him? Loki was suddenly very interested in this little adventure.
"Which group is returning?" he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. However, his parent's smiles gave away the fact that they knew the true reason why he was excited about visiting Valhalla.
"Sigyn's group," Odin replied. "I know how much you've missed her." Missed her? She had been gone for a year on a mission with her sisters. He hadn't seen her, heard her, felt her… Loki ran a hand through his hair. He did allow a true smile to form on his face though.
"So that's why you chose me," he continued to smile. Odin put a hand on his shoulder.
"Only a small part of the reason. I know how much she means to you," Odin said. "They're expecting your arrival this evening. Then you'll catch up with Thor the following day."
"Take Sleipnir," Frigga encouraged. "He needs a good run." Odin nodded in agreement and Loki felt himself grow warm. The horse, well, was a touchy subject. He fought back frightening memories, quickly thinking about the task at hand. How he was going to get to Thor he was going to have to figure out there.
"Thank you, Father," Loki said, giving a slight bow. Odin replied by patting his shoulder as Frigga gently hugged him.
"Good luck," Odin beamed.
"Tell Sigyn that we welcome her home," Frigga took his face in her hands. "And be careful."
"I will," he smiled, before heading out of the chamber, the ravens ghosting behind him. Today certainly was turning out to be a good day!