The Art of War

Chapter Two: Green

"A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends."

-Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom

"Sir, I'm not sure that's how we..." Sif drifted off, she wasn't even sure what to call what had just been proposed by Odin. He'd been strange since the death of Frigga but this was really unexpected.

"It will be best for all involved in the realm. You know this nonsense with a mortal, this love he claims he has for her, it is all fleeting. He would be better off letting go of her now and settling down with someone fitting. Then perhaps someday he will get in line to put his other responsibilities in order." Even with another person's face Loki's tongue remained a shimmering silver. The plan wasn't one his father would normally have but Sif coveted Thor enough to color her judgment.

He'd just finished explaining the idea. He wanted to have Sif go with Thor to an assignment on Jotunheim where there was rumor of another group of frost giants starting to build power. The sooner that was dealt with the better, and if Loki could arrange for Thor to disappear with Sif and a mystical potion that would make him love her in the process, all the better.

"I just..." Sif hesitated, it was clear morally she felt obligated to say no but the potion was already between them. The light pink liquid was cloudy, a bottled cotton candy in a small vial container. All the mixture required was a bit of Sif's hair and for her to be the one to administer the concoction. Such magics were usually frowned upon but desperate times called for desperate measures. Loki knew that with him out of the picture – as far as anyone else was concerned. With his father having always disapproved of this particular dalliance it wasn't completely impossible and Sif might not like it but she would have already refused if she wasn't tempted.

"Thor will be a better man next to you, you know what must be done. You will be able to support him fully, next to him and not behind him. I hate to have to ask anyone to do this, but you understand don't you?" He took a step closer to Sif, reasoning with a slightly lighter aspect to the deep resonance of his father's voice.

"I understand my lord." Sif said finally, reaching out toward the vial. Hesitating only another moment, as if the glass would burn her, before snatching it and holding it in her hand. "If that is your will I will not argue it. But I believe that Thor will resent this. What of Jane Foster? The woman doesn't deserve any hardship."

"And we will not give her any. She will return to her world and that will be the end of it. No more traversing the Earth, none of their people will come here again and the road will remain closed. Thor will not have time to think of it, he will be too distracted with thoughts of you." Odin replied, the authority returning with the hardness expected of it for only a moment before dropping away again. "I hope that I will greet you again as a daughter soon Sif."

"Stay well all-father, I will do what is required of me." Sif replied, offering a bow. It was honest, though it was clear her mind was still troubled the warrior woman wasn't one to shirk orders – particularly once she'd agreed to them. If all went well Thor wouldn't be thinking of Jane at all soon – the thing he hadn't mentioned is that the concoction would function a second purpose – Thor would forget his former love.

It wasn't permanent, it would only last until he saw her again, then the spell would shatter. But by then it would be too late, Loki would already have ahold of the mortal that Thor so claimed to love. He smiled, resisting the urge to indulge in laughter as Sif was still just outside. Things were only going to become more interesting. If he was to be recovering from death on Earth, then he couldn't be here...and he certainly couldn't be seen. The watcher would soon join his father in the dungeons, and complex spells would be left in his absence. The illusions would function perfectly well for his purposes. They would draw a fair amount of his power to be maintained across a galaxy but that wasn't troublesome. He was supposed to be recovering from near death and some miraculous recovery on earth after all. The god of mischief continued to smile, like a child that had stolen not just the cookie jar, but the factory. The others wouldn't understand until it was too late for them.

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"I don't think your dad likes me." Jane wasn't sure how else to put it so the blunt course seemed wisest.

"What?" Thor frowned as he glanced at her, his eyelids slightly heavy after the evening of drinking. He had indulged more than he should have. This topic wasn't one he'd expected, certainly Odin didn't really seem to approve of Jane openly but Thor doubted his father disliked her. "What brought this comment on?"

"Just...he never really talks to me, I guess it would be normal for a parent to show interest in the girl his son is dating?" Jane remarked. Something about the exchange earlier really bothered her, but she couldn't just tell Thor she thought his father didn't love his dead brother.

"Odin has a lot he's thinking about Jane, I wouldn't dwell on it. I'm certain he likes you." Thor remarked, a little unsure how to have that sort of a conversation. He certainly didn't expect Jane to break out the idea that his father didn't like her. Of course he supposed there was that whole issue where he wanted to throw her out or imprison her when they first met. That was bound to leave an impression. "I know you got off on a strange foot but we'll have dinner with him next time you visit. You'll see he's not so bad..."

Jane stared a bit blankly at Thor, she couldn't really picture sitting down to eat supper with the all-father, how the hell would that go anyway? Dinner conversation with a god just didn't compare to discussing the weather or talking about scientific research (or boys) with Darcy. Right now she could use a little of Darcy's strange sort of advice. She could picture her friend talking about in-law issues – of course Jane's issues weren't like the average girlfriend.

How does one really go to dinner with your boyfriends dad when he's the god of everything and his wife died trying to protect you only a few months before. "That just sounds really uncomfortable."

Thor didn't answer, he was already asleep, it made Jane sigh. Of course he would be all boisterous and carefree, that was just the way he was about everything. Usually his brave attitude made her feel secure but right now it just made her feel uncomfortable. She really cared about Thor, she thought she loved him, certainly she'd waited several years for him but now that they were together nothing but negative things seemed to have come out of it.

Tomorrow she'd be going back to earth full of concerns and doubts but unable to speak them, how else was she supposed to approach this? She was pretty sure just a family dinner wasn't going to force Odin to like her. She wasn't convinced he didn't outright hate her since it was her fault Frigga...

Taking a steadying breath Jane crawled into the bed and curled close to Thor's chest – while his overt bravery might not make her feel very certain in this moment his muscles and warmth helped a little. Listening to his heartbeat she managed to drift off into unconsciousness – blissfully unaware of the conversation between 'Odin' and Sif happening several halls away.

End Chapter

Thanks for all the reviews so far, this was an idea I had since I first saw the new movie and wanted to just fiddle with. None of the chapters will be exceptionally long but I'll at least try to get them up frequently. As frequently as my busy life allows.

-Aura