Frigga had allowed Thor to return to his chambers, his typical warrior demeanor softened by the cries of his little brother who he was sworn to protect by birthright; the unsanctioned mission on Jotunheim now losing its luster as he thought of what it had cost Loki and, he was certain, would cost his friends in due time. Not that they could not withstand it. They were all strong. But he did not wish for any of them to suffer needlessly and this was needless indeed. He was overcome now by the guilt of what he had brought on their heads and now he fully realized the point of the lesson his mother sought to teach him as they stood before Loki's door.

"Your mother told me of your distress," Odin said suddenly as he entered Thor's room and interrupted his thoughts.

Thor rose from the table where he had been contemplating. His former anger was gone.

"I am sorry, Father," he said humbly. "I called you an old man and a fool when it was I who was the fool."

Odin was impressed by the swiftness of Thor's realizations. Maybe he could be molded into a proper king, but it was a thought he wasn't prepared to share just yet. He nodded his acceptance of the apology.

"Loki?" Thor asked hopefully.

"Worry not about your brother," Odin responded. "It is not like I had him taken to the dungeons of Asgard and flogged, which is very well what anyone deserves who breaks our laws as you did."

"Yes. I appreciate that, Father."

"Your brother shall recover, as will you."

Thor nodded, pleased to hear his brother was OK.

"Yes, I am certain it was not easy to hear your brother's anguish. After all, he is my child as well and it is not easy for me to do anything that might hurt him, but it was for the good of his character, your character, and our kingdom as well."

Surprised, Thor truly looked at his father for the first time since the king had entered his chambers. He had not realized that his father had been aware of his presence outside of his brother's door.

"Why do you look at me so?" Odin asked. "You thought I did not know you lingered outside the door while I took Loki in hand? It was not a lesson your mother was teaching you, my son. It was my lesson to impart. Your mother was merely assisting me in my effort to impart the message."

"Wa...wait," Thor replied, his anger beginning to grow again. "For whose benefit was Loki's punishment?"

"You flatter yourself, my son. And this is why you find yourself here, confined in your chambers."

Thor was uncertain but dared not speak.

"What Loki received was his alone to endure," Odin assured the worried warrior. "His defiance was not as great as yours, but it was defiance nonetheless and blatant defiance by the sons of the king cannot be tolerated. You are our people's examples, as am I."

Humility rose up to quiet Thor once again as he bowed to his regal father. "I understand, Father. I am prepared to accept whatever punishment you see fit."

Odin stood a moment to consider the budding maturity of his typically passion-driven son who enjoyed war as much as he enjoyed revelry. He nodded yet again before shoring himself up to complete the task at hand.

Thor could do nothing but wait for his father's command. It was not every day that he found himself in this position, but when he did, his father did not have a favorite method with which he would discipline his very grown but sometimes rebellious sons. And so what was to come would not be predictable for either of them, but he imagined it would be in a similar vein to whatever Loki had received. He could hear that much through the door; some sort of lashing was imminent, he guessed.

Odin paced the floor a moment before he spoke again. "It would probably seem that what I gave your brother is what you equally deserve."

Thor said nothing, temporarily puzzled by the feeling that he must have spoken his thoughts aloud. He stood with his eyes averted in deference to his father and he only listened until a response was called for.

"But you see," Odin continued, "Loki, while fully capable of exercising independent thought, has a blind spot when it comes to his elder brother. And so he would follow you to the ends of our world and deep into the frozen lands of another. For his misguided allegiance, he has been dealt with."

Odin stopped before Thor to see if his son would dare say anything in his own defense. But again, Thor said nothing. Odin continued pacing and talking.

"You, on the other hand, led your brother and your friends to what could have been their deaths! You decimated a truce that has been in place since before you were born and you opened this peaceful realm to the horror and desolation of war!"

Thor was no longer sure he'd be able to contain himself. As a matter of fact, he was certain of it.

"Father, punish me if you must for defying you, for seeking vengeance against those who dare invade our home. But do not accuse me of willfully sacrificing those I love or the people we rule. I value our people's lives!"

Odin stopped to consider his son's passionate words. "A leader, my son, does not go eagerly into battle. Pride and vanity are not the compatriots of a king. It is because he values the lives of his people that a true king has learned to master first himself before he dares to rule over others."

With heavy sighs, and second and third thoughts about whether or not to push the matter further, Thor moved to sit on his bed in silence. He could see his father's argument, of course. This was simply not so simple a matter to him, but he was a warrior. He understood the chain of command and obedience at any cost. He would never have tolerated a man in his army acting independently of the whole. If that soldier had, Thor would have had to make an example of him.

"What is your will, Father?"

Odin nodded his appreciation for the end of the argument. "I cannot give you what I gave your brother. Your offense was greater. What you have to gain is greater and so your punishment must be greater too."

Thor knitted his brows in confusion, but waited for his father to continue.

"Come with me," Odin commanded.

Thor sat upon his bed a moment longer as he watched Odin open his chamber door and walk out into the hall, not bothering to look back as he knew Thor would follow shortly, which Thor did.

The prince's usual air of confidence was abated as he walked red-cheeked past the guards outside his chambers and his mother who had waited outside as well. She brushed a reassuring palm across his arm as he passed, but she only followed as far as Loki's door where she stood a moment watching her elder son before attending to her younger one.

With Odin ahead, Thor followed a familiar path that did not lead to the dungeons, thank the gods. Nor did it lead to the outside courtyard where his father could have been planning some sort of public humiliation. Thor thanked the gods for that as well. No, this hall led to the throne room and Thor inhaled as he realized that it was just as public a place as the courtyard. But upon their arrival, not a soul was in sight, not even the guards. Thor exhaled in relief.

"What are we doing here, Father?" he asked before he had made his way fully into the regal space and noticed the object in the middle of the room. It was a simple wooden piece with four tall, stout legs and rounded top that could never be mistaken for a table. These pieces came in varying heights and widths depending on the height and weight of the person who would be upon it, and so this one looked very sturdy indeed.

Thor gulped upon seeing it. He was no stranger to this particular bench, but it had been quite a while since he'd last been made to lie across it.

"Could we not have done this in my chambers, Father?" Thor asked quietly as if not to be heard by the empty room.

"Your chambers would not have been sufficient. Receiving your punishment in the very hall in which you are to rule someday is meant to serve as a reminder to you when you are indeed one day King of Asgard. And to enhance that lesson…"

"Enhance it?" Thor looked quickly over to his father and back to the bench, imagining there were some kind of modifications made to ensure a particular memorable punishment this time. But he did not see anything different than before.

"Yes," Odin continued. "To enhance the lesson, you need to not only remember where you will rule but who will be under your authority."

"My authority?" Thor looked quizzically back to his father who was not watching him but the great doors to the throne room. Thor's eyes widened as he realized where his father's gaze fell.

"You may enter," Odin commanded.

Thor's breath caught as he watched the doors slowly open as if in a nightmare. Sif, Fandral, Hogan, and Volstagg obediently filed in.