Where we left off…

Sunlight pours in through the gossamer peach colored drapes that hang in front of the tall narrow door that leads outside to a semi-circular stone dais that descents down three steps to a larger semi-circular balcony area. The railing is gold with a few long flower pots that follow the curve of the rail. Every few dozen feet there is a small pot sitting on the rail. The view of the ocean's narrow cleft harbor that comes close to the huge Palace's front steps with the Rainbow Bridge dividing it split down the center as Asgard's Great City is laid out around on either side is breathtakingly gorgeous in the late afternoon's golden light… but the pensive man seated at a large desk just inside the tall narrow arches of the doorway and windows pays it no heed, thus receives no comfort of his home.

The room he is seated in is large and set out in a somewhat oval layout. Thin pillars of gold with torch sconces line the pale apricot colored walls. Tall narrow mirrors line those walls between every other pillar. The furniture is large, white, and has gold ornaments and filigree. There are a pair of large dressers on either side of a vanity table with a large oval mirror, and a few armoires were arranged along the wall. Then there were trunks of white and steel along one side of the room. One was open with a few sheathed short swords within. At the center of the room were four lounging couches arranged around a large fire pit that is surrounded by a curtain of thin golden chains that dangle down from the high ceiling above.

Loki sits leaning back in the comfortable chair at the large desk. His long raven tresses are slicked back neatly and pulled into a tight low ponytail. The length of it is straight until near the end where it starts to wave. He looks to be in a very sullen mood with no relief in sight. He stares off into space with an angry glare as he mindlessly rolls something in his right hand. Though the desk is strewn with several scraps of loose paper and various books, some in stacks with a few open ones scattered about… He pays no heed to them.

His bright icy blue eyes look down at the object in his hand as he stops playing and opens his palm. Resting upon the pale smooth palm of his large hand is a large crystal that is faceted into a more spherical shape. There is a single rune etched upon every facet. Loki narrows his icy eyes intently upon the runestone residing in his hand. It starts to quiver and shake at first then slowly it floats upward and starts to spin. He gets it to tumble for a few moments before he makes a slow smooth motion as though to bat the stone away at a nearby dresser.

Loki watches and concentrates carefully upon the crystal as it floats across the room and slowly descends upon an ornate plate of silver and gold upon the targeted dresser. Before the crystal touches the plate, however, the oval room shifts with a green light and changes into that of Loki's former prison cell in the large Asgardian dungeon near the palace. He quickly stands from the desk which vanishes.

"So tell me, Loki… How has this day found you?" Comes Frigga's voice from behind Loki. He shifts his dour demeanor suddenly to wear a more smiling countenance before he turns to face his adopted mother. The smile isn't all a lie… he is thankful to hear his deceased mother's caring voice once more.

"Well the day has been most eventful. First, Thor has asked that his reward for saving the Nine Realms be that he go to Midgard." Loki starts in his usual indifferent manner. "Indefinitely." He adds with a slight sneer. "To spend his days with his Mortal Love." The disgust is evident in his tone.

"Don't berate your brother so. There are a few things you could learn from him if you took the time to study." Frigga reprimands in her motherly way.

"Like what? How to brag, to bully… to take all the glory?" Loki sneers as his anger flashes to the surface momentarily. It chases away the cold empty numbness that has long settled over him since before he was exiled from Asgard. Frigga frowns sadly at her second son… 'Her adopted son.' Loki reminds himself mentally of that fact every moment he spends looking at his loving mother. Deep down his heart aches to see her here. He knows she is dead. Knows it, but talking to her shade… a memory of her consciousness that she enchanted within the runestone so she could talk with him in his cell whenever she wished to speak to her wayward son. The shade retains all of Frigga's memories up to the last moment she used the runestone to speak with Loki and it retains the memories of every conversation Loki has with her… only Frigga will never hear those conversations… yet her ghost lingers on speaking to him.

"You know full well that your brother has changed his attitude and thus is no longer like that." Frigga says a bit sternly to remind her adopted son of his older brother's personal growth and maturity. Loki sneers at the words knowing there is truth to what she says for he has witnessed it first hand. Though he still holds to the anger that yet dwells in his broken heart.

"Oh, the other thing Thor did was relinquished his claim to Asgard's Throne… and Odin allowed it… if you can believe it." Loki then declares continuing with informing Frigga of the event's since last they spoke. He needs to keep this little talk on course or get distracted by his adopted mother's sentiments and he can't have that. He has a goal to achieve now that he is secretly King of Asgard.

Loki feels an upwelling of pride at his latest quiet coup to claim Asgard's throne. The only person to notice what was taking place was Odin himself after Loki had captured him, but then he fell into the Odinsleep not long after his subduction. Odin is currently a prisoner of 'Asgard's Rightful Heir' though he sleeps away in his hidden prison. A slightly amused smile crosses Loki's face then. Frigga's shade merely takes the smile as an amusement at what her second son had said.

"As I've said before… There is a purpose to everything your Father does." Frigga says as her motherly tone returns, yet still a sternness lingers as she levels her adopted son with a glare that Loki knows all too well. It's the look of a teacher instructing, and it warns that discipline is soon to follow. Loki winces at the mention of Odin as 'Father'. He could argue the absurdity of that but Loki isn't about to waste time at the moment.

"Then Thor gave a passionate plea vouching for my valiant and honorable role in defeating the Dark Elves. Only the All-Father doesn't trust me… and still… I dwell here in the dungeons." Loki sighs wearily and gives a short humorless chuckle as he gestures to his surroundings. "Whilst Thor gallivants about on Midgard free of all responsibility." His sneer returns.

"Think not on that, Loki. It does please me to hear that the two of you managed to set aside your differences long enough to do such a heroic deed. Now I am proud of you, my son." Frigga says warmly and beams with pride. She then sighs. "As for your Father's distrust… that is because you've given him reason not to trust you. Now you have to earn it." She adds to encourage Loki. He shifts his weight as his agitated mood continues to linger. He does smile slightly at his adopted mother's pride in him. Yet it does nothing to assuage the pain in his heart over her loss.

"Your approval pleases me, Mother… but how can I regain Odin's trust when all he does is treat me as an errant child?" Loki then asks his frustration still clear, yet it has softened slightly. While Frigga's shade picks up on this, Loki does not. She moves to close the distance between them. She starts to reach out to touch her adopted son but stops her hand before she can touch his cheek. She knows she will dissipate as soon as contact is made. The first time Loki placed the runestone on the plate after Frigga's death… he was so taken by grief that he tried to hug his dead mother… 'Adopted Mother… Must I forever remind myself these simple things?'

"You've already taken the first step by aiding Thor in the defense of the Nine Realms from Mal-"

"NEVER SPEAK HIS NAME!" Loki snaps cutting her off and silence fills the room. Loki then shakes his head and turns away from his mother's shade. The anger is hot and the tears start to well up in his bright blue eyes. He does not want his mother to see those tears. 'I mustn't show weakness!'

"I'm sorry… Mother… I-" He starts softly, controlling his voice so it does not break with the emotion swelling within him. "It's just that… ever since…" Loki starts but he cannot finish. His voice starts to crack so he goes silent and his shoulders slump as he lets his disheartened state overwhelm him for the moment. 'Why do I feel such pain over the loss of the woman who was never really my Mother?' Loki ponders for a moment.

"Loki. I may just be a memory, a ghost of Frigga… but I do understand how you feel about the death of the only mother you've ever known… and I understand that you helped Thor for m-… for her." Frigga then says as she walks up to stand next to her youngest son. Loki looks over at his dead mother's shade and sees the sad look in her sky blue eyes. His heart pains him terribly. 'There is nothing I can do to stop this pain… That race of vile Elves is gone forever! Leaving me with no target for my hatred!' Loki thinks and clenches his fists tightly. Hot tears spill from his eyes as he shuts them. His body shakes from the flood of emotions. 'There is always one to focus on though.'

"If only Thor had gotten there sooner!" Loki yells releasing his rage in the verbal outburst, but the anger still remains filling his shattered heart again to overflowing. "If only I had been at your side!" He then cries out and he cannot stop the tears. The sorrow takes him now and his broad shoulders slump low with the heavy weight of guilt. 'Is this the truth of the matter? Am I really to blame?' Loki ponders and a flash of remembrance flits through his mind. It is of that strange magma creature that had busted several of the prisoners out. It did not free him, but Loki recalls giving it directions to aid its speedy escape from the dungeons.

"But you weren't there." Frigga speaks softly breaking the memory before Loki could further blame himself for his mother's death.

"Because Odin… in his infinite wisdom… placed me in this infernal cell!" Loki then shouts latching on to the anger still remaining within him as he gestures to the room around them.

"You are in this cell because of your own actions, Loki. Your rebellious side has condemned you. Blame that… then move on and better yourself… become the good man you really are, my son." Frigga says sternly at first then softens to her motherly tone. Loki remains silent though he still seethes inside.

"Turn that thing off, Loki." Comes Odin's harsh voice suddenly commanding as he walks up to Loki's cell alone. Loki ignores his adopted father's command as he gently touches the cheek of his mother's shade. He half expected to feel the resistance of her warm living flesh, but instead his hand passes through the image and a smiling Frigga disappears in a soft shimmer of green light. Sadness fills Loki then. Before it can completely take him, Loki holds his right hand up to the distant plate and recalls the runestone to his hand. It immediately flies across the room which shimmers revealing his mother's private chambers once more. Odin continues to walk through the room until he sits upon one of the lounging couches around the central fire pit.

"That is such a foolish distraction to be entertaining at this time." Odin starts as he seats himself.

"I need not explain myself to you." Loki says in retort as he turns from Asgard's King. The runestone rolling around in his hand once more. His mood has not improved. 'Why am I even talking to a doppelganger?' Loki then thinks to himself and waves his hand dismissively at the seated Odin. There is a shimmering of green light around Odin and suddenly a second Loki is now seated upon the lounging couch. The doppelganger smiles wickedly in a knowing manner at his sullen maker.

"You owe yourself an explanation as to why you'd be talking to the ghost of the woman who did nothing but lie to you your whole life." The Loki double says still smiling as he eyes his maker with a mirth unfitting for the situation.

"SHE WAS MY MOTHER!" Loki shouts as he turns suddenly. A throwing dagger flashes through the air as it speeds towards its intended target. The doppelganger disappears, laughing, as the dagger impacts and buries itself within the back cushion of the white couch. Loki growls in frustration as he clenches his fists. The anger causes him to shake. 'Why must I argue with myself?' He ponders this and takes a deep steady breath to calm his nerves. His whole demeanor then shifts. He runs his right hand through his hair to slick down any loose fly-away strands. He then straightens as a determined look fills his face and he turns. He strolls quickly up to a large full length mirror on one of the doors that leads from the large oval room. With a simple wave of his left hand the mirror's surface ripples like still water being stirred by the wind… and he steps through… to appear somewhere else.


The room is dimly lit and golden. The walls are covered in shelves which are lined with an innumerous about of books. A few desks are in the room strewn about with open books and scattered loose pages. There's an archway on a pedestal on one side of the room but Loki walks past everything to a black door trimmed with gold. He unlocks it with a wave of his hand. This is his secret study and no prying eyes anywhere can see inside these walls… the perfect place to hide an Asgardian King.

As Loki opens the door and walks down the stairs, his clothing changes as a green shimmering light flows over his body. His long flowing emerald green cape graces his broad shoulders and bellows out behind him as his armor fills out and takes on a polished golden luster. His golden horned helm appears upon his raised head and Odin's spear, Gungnir, appears in his right hand. Though his handsome face is a neutral mask, he still rolls the runestone around in his left hand showing his true mood is just there under the surface.

He stops to open another door at the foot of the stairs and enters a small circular room. In the center is a large golden bed with a sleeping old man resting within its white and gold sheets. Odin looks positively ancient now in his slumber as a sad frown graces his lined face. Loki smirks mockingly. 'So pathetic! HA! The old Fool never saw this coming.'

"How does it feel, Father?" Loki says with contempt to the sleeping Odin. "Knowing that you are alone in this place, seeing all that I do in your name? I'm surprised you're still alive." Loki mocks. He pauses to give a short chuckle as he gives Odin an appraising once-over. "Though, by the look of you… you may just last another century or two."

'End this madness at once, Loki!' Odin demands telepathically towards his mocking son. Loki's left eyebrow cocks up at the clear command and his face twists from smiling to dark. He tilts his head back slightly.

"You don't command me anymore." Loki says in a grumbling whisper as his icy eyes glare down his nose at the slumbering king before him. The man he once knew as a loving father. 'No, never loving… Thor was loved best by you… not me…Never me.'

'I am your Father and King of-' Odin starts trying to urge his adopted son to reason but Loki cuts him short as he mentally smacks Odin across the face with a backhand to silence his adopted father.

"You are not my Father!" Loki yells in rage. "You are a liar! And a traitor!" Loki yells as he blasts Odin psionically twice more. He then chuckles and straightens himself as he takes stock of the scene playing out before him. There's an irony in this. "Besides… I'm King now… no one knows but you and me… and that's how it shall remain. The best part is… your precious Thor practically handed Asgard to me."

'Release me now and I'll finish what Laufey intended for you at your birth.' Odin then says as he struggles to regain his mental fortitude. Loki continues to chuckle but then his bright blue eyes darken and he narrows those icy orbs upon the sleeping aged man before him once more.

"You decreed that I should waste away in the dungeon 'til the end of my days…" Loki starts in a serious tone. He then tilts his head raising his chin to look down his nose at his disgraced adopted father. "Henceforth, you shall remain here… until you rot in this bed… Father." Loki says coolly with a hateful edge in his tone. Each word drips with venom and he mocks Odin as he spits out the word father. Odin looks at his adopted son sadly with his mind's eye. 'Don't look at me like that… I despise your pity, Old Fool.' Loki thinks as his eyes narrow slightly upon the defeated king. He does nothing… says nothing… he only turns with a flourish of his green cape and struts off standing straight and tall with his head held high though Odin hears every word ring loud and clear through his mind. 'Save it for yourself.'