Marching up the corridor, Loki barely noticed the other cells or the guard as he passed them. He couldn't get Laufey's words out of his head-they echoed and bounced around, repeating over and over.
"Ask Odin for the truth. The whole truth."
Loki shook his head to clear it and stalked through the museum, taking the stairs two at a time. Before he could reach the gilded doors, however, something caught his eye. The cask that Odin supposedly brought back from that conquest on Midgard, when he had conquered and subdued the frost giants, lay to one side of the room, glinting softly in the torchlight.
Loki stopped short of the doors, his hand already outstretched, and turned toward the cask. He squinted at it suspiciously. It was supposed to be a relic from Jotunheim-a symbol of their subjugation-given to Odin as a peace offering when the treaty was signed after a great battle was won. Loki had heard the story a dozen times growing up, as Odin had led him and Thor through the various halls of the museum down here, telling them stories of everything he had collected.
Now it seemed to call out to the young prince; he could almost hear whispers coming from it, and though he could not make out their words, he knew they called to him. He hitched the torch he still carried into the wall and approached the cask hesitantly, his hand reaching for it. He felt an odd, tingling sensation on his hand, crawling up his bare arm as he neared the vessel, and he glanced down at it. What he saw made him draw in a hissing breath.
His hand had turned an icy blue, and the color change was slowly making its way up his arm, the closer he moved to the cask. If not for the lack of change in feeling, he would say he was freezing to the bone. He withdrew his hand and, after a moment, it returned to its normal flesh tone.
There was a loud bang as the gilded doors swung wide open and Odin entered the hall, looking around frantically for a moment before spotting Loki. His gaze softened for a moment before he saw what Loki stood beside, and then his one eye hardened again.
"What are you doing down here, my son?" Odin asked, his voice a study in casual nonchalance.
Loki looked back down at his hand, willing it to change again. To his mild surprise, it did. He felt the tingling sensation spread throughout him and he turned slowly to face Odin.
Odin tried hard to hide his surprise and dismay. Loki was entirely blue, except for his eyes, which were a burning amber. The magic Odin had cast on him as a baby to make him appear Asgardian was no longer any match for his strong will-and it was in that moment that Odin knew Loki knew the truth.
"Father," Loki started calmly. The calm in his voice belied the rage he felt building in his belly. "Tell me about Laufey's son."
Odin did not speak for a moment. Somehow he knew this moment would come, but he had hoped it would not happen for many years yet, not until Loki was old enough and wise enough to handle the knowledge.
"The cask was not the only thing you took from Midgard that night, was it?" Loki asked, his amber eyes accusing Odin without saying the words aloud.
"There was a child-an infant-left abandoned in an old church. It would have died, had I not found it," Odin said, his shoulders sagging a little in defeat. This was inevitable, now. "I took it-him-and cast a spell on him to make him appear Asgardian. Frigga and I agreed to raise him as our own, to save him."
"Liar!" Loki shouted, his voice echoing in the open chamber. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to collect himself, and continued more calmly. "I have spoken with Laufey, Odin." Loki spat out the name. Odin visibly recoiled. "Tell me the real truth."
There came the sound of a throat clearing, and Loki's eyes shot upward, to the open doorway, where Frigga stood. His eyes welled with unshed tears at the betrayal, felt so completely, and he could not utter a word. His mouth moved soundlessly.
"Odin," she said as she descended the stairs and stood beside him, facing Loki, "it is time. He needs to know. If you don't tell him, I will."
Odin muttered something in disgruntlement, but did not protest. "Loki, you are the son of Laufey. Your mother left you in that church, and when Laufey returned to claim you, I had found you lying on the cask. I offered him peace-on two conditions. One was that he be my prisoner for the remainder of his life, and the second was that you return with me as a prince of Asgard, thus effectively ending his rule and his line."
Loki stumbled backward a step and his hand brushed the cask. He felt a shockwave of energy shoot through him and wrenched away from it. Frigga came forward and grabbed him just as he fell to the floor. The icy blue hue to his skin slowly faded, replaced with what he recognized. He looked up at her and his eyes were once again the same cool blue that she knew and loved. She held him by the shoulders as he tried to gain his bearings, unsure what that contact did to him.
"Why?" Loki croaked out, drawing a ragged breath.
"Politics, my son," Odin answered in a distant manner. Frigga's silence spoke volumes of her disapproval as she turned to glare at him, her hands still on Loki's shoulders.
"I. Am not. Your son." Loki stated haltingly, standing up and brushing Frigga's touch aside.
"Of course you are. I raised you. I have spent the past 700 years teaching you, grooming you, raising you to be the best man you can possibly be." Odin said dismissively, not even looking at Loki.
"All so you can toss me aside for Thor?!" Loki shot back. "I do not believe that you ever had any intention of 'grooming' me for anything other than being Thor's lackey-a constant reminder for you in your dotage of your conquest of my real father!"
Odin's attention was finally caught by that last statement, and he fixed his gaze on the younger man. He narrowed his one good eye and stood to his full height. "If that is the way you feel, then so be it. This is on your head, Loki Laufeyson."
Frigga's eyes closed in pain at that, and she moved to Odin. "Please. Don't do anything rash."
Odin waved her away, and addressed Loki. "I hereby banish you from Asgard. You are stripped of your titles and heritages. You are no longer my son, a prince of Asgard, or one of her people. You will be escorted across the Bifrost and are to never return!"
Loki stood stunned for a moment, silent, and then turned to Frigga. He made as if to speak, but Frigga shook her head, putting her hand up. She turned, walking away quickly to hide her tears, and the gilded doors closed loudly behind her.
Odin and Loki stood alone in the chamber, glaring at one another, each silently daring the other to speak first. Odin broke the silence by calling for guards. When the arrived, he pointed to Loki.
"Escort this person across the Bifrost and inform Heimdall that he shall be cast out, onto Midgard, never to return."
Loki was numb as his armed escort led him through the palace and across the glistening, rainbow bridge to the tower at the edge of Asgard. His one thought was that he would not get to say goodbye to Thor. As if brought by the sheer power of Loki's thought, Thor appeared just as they neared the tower.
"Loki! Where are you headed?" Thor asked easily, a smile on his face until he saw Loki's blank expression and pale features. "What's wrong?"
Loki swallowed and raised his head haughtily. "I am leaving. I have no further use for Asgard. Odin chose the wrong son-you are not fit to rule." Don't look at his eyes-they will break your heart-don't look at his eyes, Loki thought to himself. "I have chosen to leave this accursed place. Perhaps when you have run it into the ground, you will seek me out."
He turned back toward the tower, leaving Thor dumbfounded on the Bifrost, and proceeded up the dais to Heimdall, who stood at the ready with his sword.
Heimdall leaned over to Loki and whispered, "I know why you did that. He would have understood."
Loki looked straight ahead, not saying a word or even acknowledging the comforting words. He knew if he did, he would break. Heimdall shrugged and inserted his sword into the dais, turning it to open the portal to Midgard. Loki chanced one last glance back at Thor, who watched him like a wounded dog, and in that instant, Loki felt his heart shatter.
He stepped through the portal without a word or another look back.
