LOKI

I was already regretting bringing Thor along.

"And so there I was, surrounded on all sides by my enemies. The fight looked hopeless-it seemed I was unlikely to survive!" he narrated, continuing his story.

"You seem to have survived," I drawled, rolling my eyes. The brown steed I'd chosen for the trip stumbled over a patch of uneven ground and I jerked forward in my saddle. I did not prefer to travel by horse, but Skali was only a day's ride from the city. I had assumed that using horses would've been faster than procuring a ship. So, that was two mistakes made today.

I righted myself in the saddle, hoping Thor had not noticed I'd nearly fallen off. Thankfully, he was too engrossed in his battle story. "Well yes, I did, but it certainly didn't seem like I would. I was facing off against seven giants-"

"Seven?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I thought it was six."

"No, no, that was in Alfheim," Thor corrected.

"They all sound the same," I groaned, "and they all end the same. You obliterate your enemies, gaining your warriors' everlasting respect and restoring peace to the land."

"Well, it isn't as if you were adding anything to the conversation, brother," he pointed out. I had stopped correcting his use of the term 'brother, as he seemed determined to continue the irksome habit.

"Only because nothing of interest ever happens at the castle," I replied. "The last exciting thing I did was get stabbed in the chest."

"Starting to regret becoming king, are we?" Thor asked with a smile.

"No," I stated vehemently. More calmly, I added, "It's only been three months. The realm is just...adjusting."

"Right," he agreed, not at all sincerely. I glared at him.

"Why? Do you want the throne back?"

"I would not take it back for anything," he chuckled. "Although I do not know if the people of Asgard will ever truly accept you as king."

My mood soured even more, mostly because I knew Thor was right. "They will accept me," I insisted. "They will have to."

"I have been spreading word of your bravery at Svartalfheim," he told me, "although perhaps you would appear more trustworthy if you explained how, exactly, you managed to survive."

"I already told you, Thor, my sorcery gives me healing capabilities that far surpass the average Asgardian."

"Do those capabilities include reviving yourself from the dead? Because I watched you fall with my own eyes," he said, still unconvinced. I almost found myself growing angry at his insistence that I was lying, before remembering I was lying.

"I do not know what else to tell you, brother," I replied, striving to look as innocent as possible.

"I know when you are lying, Loki," Thor insisted, but he allowed the argument to end there, realizing that he would not get a straight answer out of me. We continued to ride in silence. I surveyed the landscape, trying to determine how close we were to our destination.

Skali had a primarily agricultural industry, its main export being sugar. It was one of the more prosperous districts, as it had taken advantage of its proximity to a port, using the Sea of Marmora to send its products to other realms. To the best of my knowledge, most of the wealth acquired through these exports went to the upper-class citizens of the city.

The scenery had indeed changed from the sleek, modern architecture of Asgard to rolling green hills and farmland. In the distance, I could make out a trail of smoke, snaking out of a small house.

The two guards I had taken with us apparently noticed this as well. "Sire, we will reach Skali by nightfall," one of them informed me.

"Good," I said. "We have much work to do."