War Game

'But why do I have to be the Frost Giant?'

'Because I decreed it so, and I am the eldest. Now hold your tongue or you will ruin the game.'

The indignant pout occupying the child's face was priceless. A studious, quiet little boy, Loki of Asgard had never been easily coerced into doing his older sibling's bidding. He was not one for games and brash tomfoolery, as his brother Thor was. However, the two were rarely seen apart; as prominent members of the House of Odin, alternative playmates were few and far between. At present, the two royal children were secreted behind the throne in the Valholl; merely an hour after their father had guided them through the treasures, or rather the spoils of victory, of the Realm.

'Transform yourself into one of them.' Thor commanded. 'I know that you are capable of it – I have heard Mother speak highly of your progress at Court.'

'Again; why?'

'Little Brother, why must you always question our fun?' The stocky blonde let out an impatient sigh. What made sense in his young, battle-eager mind was clearly not having the same impact upon Loki.

'I simply do not see why I should conjure something which would cause people to fear me.' Loki stated, his lips barely moving an inch as newfound dislike for this pastime emanated from him in waves. They never engaged in any activities which he wanted to do.

'Because it will be fun!'

'I don't want to be a cold, blue monster! Stop asking or I shall refuse to play with you.'

Loki straightened up from his crouched position and edged around to the front of the gleaming throne, beginning his descent from its raised platform. His brother was so convinced that he knew best, as all eldest children do, yet his logic had ultimately always been flawed. There was some magick that wasn't meant to be toyed with, he had learnt this much from his Mother and teachers. There had been an accident some days previous in which he had sent a chambermaid screaming from his quarters, after she had found him levitating at a good height in his slumber. In a Realm which prized brute strength over sorcery, Loki had naturally been punished for this lack of control. It was to his dismay that Thor, as per usual, failed to comprehend that a deliberate use of such an illusion would be unacceptable. Imagine the effect that an azure beast in miniature would have on the servants.

Moreover, the youngest prince was still reeling from their encounter with a particular relic of the Allfather's. Whilst the accompanying tale had been truly fascinating, filling the curious boy's head with aspirations of war and ascension, the iridescent cerulean Casket had enveloped Loki with a sense of unease. There had been the desire to touch it, and yet the urge to run far away. It was inexplicable, but so many things were to a child of Asgard surrounded by eons of knowledge as he was, and he had paid it no heed. Nevertheless, he knew where the object had originated and had no desire to allow Thor to invoke those feelings again. Loki had scarcely reached the bottom of the summit when Thor scrambled after him, failing to maintain his dignity as he stumbled down the last step.

'Fine; I will not ask that you turn blue.' The exasperation was evident as Thor dramatically plonked himself down upon the dais, demanding attention. 'Please may we amuse ourselves together now? I promise that I will join you in the library afterwards.'

'I'd rather you didn't. You will fidget.'

'I swear I'll not make a sound. I will read peacefully alongside you.'

At this pledge, Loki smirked with genuine mirth. Their tutors had long been resigned to the fact that his hot-headed brother had absolutely no affinity of academia. Any room which housed such an extensive range of scripture screamed of purest agony for one whom so longed to be outdoors.

'Do not attempt to strike bargains which you know you cannot keep, dear Brother.' The amused smile still teased his thin lips.

'Please?'

Loki regarded Thor's pleading expression carefully, and relented. For what his brother lacked in wit, he more than surpassed in his persistence and wilful determination to get his own way. This was a talent which almost matched Loki's own skills of deception. Almost. Had Loki not, after all, almost achieved his original goal of finding a more enjoyable activity? He would indulge Thor for a little while before turning the situation in his favour.

'Very well; I must warn you, however, that if you so much as rustle a page incorrectly I will ask the guard to haul you away.'

'Excellent!' Thor bounded back to his feet, completely disregarding the condition. 'Now, as I was saying; you are Laufey and I will be Father, and we shall have a glorious battle. I will win.'

'It sounds thrilling.' Loki remarked dryly. It was amusingly noted as enthusiasm, which didn't surprise the slight boy; he knew this befitted Thor's attention span. He conjured a small black snake out of boredom, sending it off to terrorise his stable boy on a whim.

'If you will not appear as a Frost Giant, can you at the very least create an ice illusion?' His brother implored.

'Why bother with an illusion when we could have the real thing?' It immediately began to snow over Thor's head. 'Am I to be chased, or doing the chasing?'

'You will be chasing me. And since when were you able to do this?'

'Since I decided to read about it. The magick is hardly as difficult as the literature says.'

'Well that sounds dull. Can you stop with the snowing now?' Thor shook the white blanket from his unruly mane, shivering a little.

'If you stop talking and get on with it, I just might.' A large shard of ice appeared in Loki's palm.

'Will you give me a head start?' Thor asked as he readied himself, mirroring the action, and drawing his sword.

'Never.'

Thor's eyes sparkled and he began to sprint through to an antechamber, his laughter bouncing off the walls. There was the smallest of pauses as Loki's mind registered the movement, then he began his pursuit; the infectious laughter bubbling through him as he struggled to close the gap between him and his sibling. Swinging around a gilt pillar, Thor called back to him gleefully, certain of an early victory.

'You shall not catch me Laufey! In the name of Asgard I will strike you down!'

Loki rolled his eyes; he wasn't in the mood to equal Thor's poor theatrical impersonation. Instead, his reply came in the form of his ice-shard and he smirked as the projectile impacted with the wall barely an inch above Thor's head.

'You want to face me head-on, foul beast?' Thor charged back towards him with all the grace of a baby bilgesnipe. He skidded to a halt, perplexed, after he crashed through a shimmering, pint-sized mirage.

'If it will end this sooner, Brother, then that suits me well.' Loki replied smoothly, revealing himself as he sauntered out from behind an ornate urn.

'Loki; don't call me "Brother". You are Laufey, remember?'

'Of course; out of the two of us, I am the one who pays attention to things, after all.' Loki's teasing reply was met with a poked-out tongue. He sighed and summoned the campest dramatic skills of all the great Asgardian play-actors. 'Surrender now, Allfather and your end will be swift! Fight on, and Asgard shall forever feel the wrath of my cold winter!'

'We will never surrender!' Thor readied himself, clutching this weapon with all the delight of one who had been taught to seek pleasure in battle.

'Very well; so be it.'

A sceptre materialised in Loki's hands. He knew that the inaccuracies of a Frost Giant using such a weapon would irk his brother, but it suited a sorcerer's purposes more than any blade. He was not one for blindly charging into an attack anyway; preferring the nuances of a well-planned ambush. It was to their swordsmanship instructor's dismay that Loki was less proficient with anything larger than a dagger. The blades of Asgardian Princes were never dulled, hence he would engage in any play-fight on his own terms.

Thor's breath hitched when Loki made the first move with a sharp prod to the stomach. The young boy regarded Thor smugly and debated teleporting away before his brother could recover. He decided against it based upon the fact that the elder prince would never cease whining and that there was no guarantee where Loki would end up, his power being more than a little unstable; both of these possibilities would have the undesirable effect of lengthening the game anyhow. Instead he met Thor's incoming blade head-on with the soft chime of metal on metal. They lingered, pushing against each other for some minutes before Loki broke away to lure his playmate deeper into the palace.

'You cannot run from me, coward!' Thor cried, thundering past an unsuspecting servant, procuring one of the apples that she carried as he went.

'Who said I was running?' Loki swung the sceptre over his shoulder and fired a small, provocative burst of energy in Thor's direction. He turned to face the other child when they stumbled into their mother's quarters. Thor stood between Loki and the only exit. Annoyance flitted across his pale features when he was forced to duck a well-placed swipe of his brother's sword, losing his sceptre in the process. This was becoming tedious.

'Yield, Laufey. You will face justice for your crimes against Midgard.'

'If you wish to end this then it shall be so, Asgardian.'

Loki was suddenly blinded by a mass of fair hair. Thor barrelled into him and used his thickset body to pin Loki's smaller frame to the ground. Loki looked up thoughtfully at Thor's jubilant face, partially obscured by his unruly mane.

'Unlike you, Laufey, I am not a savage. I will claim my victory and –?!'

In the blink of an eye, Loki had struggled free from his brother's grip and flipped the situation on its head, commandeering the advantage and Thor's apple in one fell swoop. A large sliver of ice was pressed lightly against Thor's throat. Yes, this was better.

'I win.' Loki smirked, casually biting into the apple.

Ignoring Thor's protests and hastily made up "rules", Loki released his brother in favour of using his frozen ally to pin his tunic to the floor. He then stood up, admired his work, and quietly exited the room via a secret passageway that led to the library. A slightly miffed Thor was left wriggling on the ground.

Had Loki experienced the passing fancy to remove his gauntlet at this moment, he would have met the cerulean flesh beneath.

This one is dedicated to MissMercury101, in response to her demands that I write a "happy" Loki rather than my usual angsty take on him. Normal angst-laden service will be resumed with the next instalment. :D Reviews are always adored. :) MC. xx