"My queen. To what do I have the pleasure of seeing you on this fine morning?" Heimdall stepped down from his sword, smiling at the approaching woman.
"Oh, I'm sure you already know why I'm here," Frigga replied, smirking slightly. Heimdall chuckled, nodding his head in the direction of the temporary cot that lay against the observatory wall. Acknowledging the guardian, Frigga walked over to the bed.
The queen's heart warmed at the sight of her youngest son, curled into a ball, completely wrapped in blankets. Softly, Frigga sat down next to Loki and ran her fingers through the raven hair.
Heimdall watched as the young boy's mother smiled contently, quietly humming a lullaby to him. He had always respected Frigga, not only because she was his queen, but because of her defying compassion for anything she loved. Loki could always find sanctuary in his mother. Even then, a child's parent can't be the their only friend.
Frigga looked up from her youngest and focused her gaze on the guardian, who stood at the bottom of the observatory's steps.
"Heimdall, I want to thank you," Frigga said, sighing sadly.
"What for, my queen?" Heimdall made his way towards her, face twisted in confusion.
"For being a better parent to Loki than I could ever be." Frigga's voice trembled, suddenly thick with emotion. Unable to look at the other god, the queen stared at the ground, embarrassed.
Frigga made a small keening noise, trying to choke back a sob. Heimdall had rarely seen the queen in such a state, but it seemed that ever since Loki disappeared, it was almost a normal sight.
Sighing to himself, the gatekeeper walked up to the crying mother and kneeled on the ground in front of her.
"Frigga, please hear what you are saying. This last month has been hard for you and your family, I understand that. If it's any consolation, I believe that both you and the king have handled this very well. I was only with Loki last night, which means that most of his recovery has been from you."
Frigga smiled at the confidence in Heimdall's voice. Finding her composure, she quickly wiped her eyes and turned to face the gatekeeper.
Laughing with a forlorn expression, almost in denial, Frigga's voice rose in desperation. "Heimdall, your words are kind, but there is so much more to all of this. I am angered at Tyr for hurting my son, but I feel more anger about the fact that Odin has yet to give a verdict on the practically non-existent trial he conducted." Frigga's voice lowered, further despair slipping into her words.
"Thor has showed himself less and less since Loki returned to us. I fear that everything that has transpired has affected him significantly. As you know, Thor is always able to cope with a variety of emotions, but I feel that he has taken losing Loki too closely to heart."
The queen tried desperately to silence her sobs, attempting to not awaken the sleeping boy at her side. The gatekeeper sat back on his heels, unsure of what to say.
"Frigga, listen. I know not what Prince Thor's thoughts are, but I find myself also conflicted with the king's ideas of Tyr. My queen, we must not think too deeply into the present, for many times you can make yourself believe a lie. Be thankful that your sons are both well, and that Tyr has been rightfully detained." Heimdall's face held a heavy expression, evidently feeling the same as the queen. The gatekeeper cared deeply for the two princes, always having the urge to protect them. Even though his duty as the guardian of the Bifrost was to protect all of Asgard, there was something more emotional with the royal family that was beyond oath.
"I suppose you are right. Although I should not be surprised; you always give wonderful advice. My apologies for acting like this around you. It is weak of me to show such open emotion." The gatekeeper frowned as his queen vigorously wiped away her tears and stood from the bed. Frigga walked sternly to the open side of the observatory, stopping just in time so she wouldn't fall into the darkness below.
Desperately wanting to change the subject, Heimdall stood and made his way back to his sword.
"My queen, isn't there somewhere you need be?" Returning his mood to that of the gatekeeper, Heimdall watched as Frigga straightened, nodding slightly to herself.
"Aye, I do." Swiftly making her way over to where Loki still lay, the queen sat down upon the bed, placing gentle hands on the sleeping boy's shoulder.
"Loki, my son?" The boy moaned slightly, face contorting in annoyance, but remained asleep.
"Loki?" Frigga shook her son slightly while gingerly running her fingers through his hair. The second prince moaned again, this time bringing a hand up to rub his tired eyes.
"What?" Loki asked, his voice slurred and heavy.
Frigga smiled. "Your father's feast is soon. We must be ready, or we'll miss it." The boy sat up against the pillows, blank eyes staring at the women next to him. He seemed to have no recognition of the situation around him as he looked around the room, confused. The queen watched him, becoming concerned of his actions.
"Loki?" Attempting to gain focus of her son, Frigga reached out with her hand and placed it on his knee. The boy drew in a sharp breath, flinching backwards, and frantically kicked his legs away from the queen's touch.
Raising her hands in hopes that Loki would see she wasn't any danger, Frigga shushed him softly and gently to ease his alarm.
"My son, please don't be alarmed, it is only me. You are in the observatory with Heimdall. See?" Smiling, the queen nodded her head in the direction of the gatekeeper who, in turn, nodded and smiled back at the two. Only then did the second prince regain recognition, and sighed slightly, small frame relaxing from its tense state.
"Oh." The boy bowed his head in hopes to hide the embarrassment that he held on his face.
"Do not worry, Loki. Although, we must hurry back to the palace so we can get ready to attend the feast!" Frigga's face lit up with excitement as she jumped up from the cot. Hesitantly, Loki began to unwrap himself from the bedding and slowly climbed down from the bed. Frigga continued on to the Bifrost, unaware that her son did not follow. Heimdall gingerly walked down from his sword to where Loki remained standing, timid and worried.
"Loki?" Heimdall started quietly. "I will be at the feast, so do not worry." The gatekeeper crouched down on his knees in front of the boy, hands reaching out to grab his small shoulders.
"Also, I believe your mother has something waiting on the bridge that you might like to see." Loki's eyes lit up with curiosity as he glanced to where his mother stood, waiting for him at the observatory's entrance.
Heimdall laughed, rubbing a hand on top of the prince's head. "Go on, Loki. I will see you within the hour." Loki turned back to the guardian, a small smile spread across his face. Reaching his arms out, Heimdall gently enveloped the boy in his embrace; Loki quickly returned the gesture.
Pulling away, the young prince finally made his way out to the Bifrost, leaving his friend behind in the observatory.
Loki stepped onto the Bifrost, searching for his mother. Instead, he was greeted by a familiar sight that hopped up and down in excitement.
"Freedom!" Loki shouted. He threw his arms up, running forward to greet the young colt that continued to stomp his hooves impatiently. Frigga laughed, watching her son jump around his young horse, the two trying to knock each other over.
"Mother! Look how big he has gotten! Surely he must be ready for me to ride him! Can I?" Loki looked at the queen with large, pleading eyes. The queen frowned.
"No my son. He is getting big, but it still will be some time before he has the strength to ride like the other horses." Loki's face fell, eyes falling to the ground. Frigga hated to disappoint her son what seemed to be all the time. She thought that by bringing the young horse with her, maybe Loki would start to revert to his old self. The boy hugged the colt around its thick neck who, in return, rested his head on the child's back.
Frigga pulled her horse forward by the reins and tightened the saddle.
"Come on, Loki. We have already wasted enough time here," Frigga said. Loki let go of Freedom and climbed on the back of his mother's horse as the queen sat in front of him.
"Come on, Freedom," Loki called. The queen jostled the reins, and the two made their way down the bridge with the young colt following closely behind.
/
The voices died down in the great hall as all of the feast's attendants drew their attention to the Allfather. The king stood at the head of the table, waiting to speak to his kingdom. Queen Frigga sat at his right, and the crown prince to his left. The second prince sat slouched in the seat right of his mother with a plate of uneaten food getting cold in front of him.
"People of Asgard!" The king's voice boomed through the hallway, enhanced by a spell of magic. "I have hosted this feast this morning in celebration of my youngest son's safe return home. I'm sure the majority of you know what has transpired these last few weeks regarding my son, but I feel the need to express myself to you. A kingdom should understand its king and the life of the royal family. With that said, Asgard has been betrayed by someone very close to me. Tyr, the head guard of the Einherjar, has committed treason by putting forward and executing a plan to kidnap and take hostage my youngest son, and the second prince of Asgard." The king continued to tell the horrific story to the attendants of the feast for over half an hour. The room remained completely silent as the people tried to make sense of the awful truth the Allfather was speaking of. Loki sat completely still in his seat as his father spoke of his heroic venture into the training tunnels. He could see, in the corner of his eye, his mother looking at him every once in a while with concern on her face.
Finally, the Allfather drew a close to his speech, and the people of Asgard broke into a cheer. The king thanked them all and returned to his seat as the rest continued eating.
"Loki?" Frigga looked down at her son, who in return moved his head slightly to acknowledge that he heard her.
"Why have you not eaten? I made sure that the cooks brought out apples for you. Will you at least eat one?" Frigga spoke softly, trying to avoid Odin hearing her. Loki remained silent, but reached out slowly to grab a red apple from the basket in front of him.
"Thank you," Frigga said, turning back to her meal. Loki took a small bite out of his apple, but then set it back down on the table. He could hear his father talking boastfully to Thor next to him. Multiple times he had tried to look up at his older brother in hopes to get his attention, but stood unsuccessful. No one had yet to tell Loki why Thor had disappeared, only to come back abruptly. Now everyone—Thor, the king, and queen—were talking about one of Thor's training sessions where he had apparently beaten another boy so badly he had to spend a whole week in the Healing Rooms.
Loki couldn't help but feel disgusted when his parents praised Thor on his "accomplishment".
Giving up on his brother, Loki turned to look down the table to where Heimdall sat with Si, Fandral, Volstagg , and Hogun . The boy watched sadly as his friend spoke happily with his brother's friends, telling of accounts he had seen from his perch on the Bifrost.
"Mother?" Loki called out in a small whisper. "Mother?"
The queen finally turned to face him. She started to smile, but quickly changed it to a frown when she saw the tears on the brim on her son's eyes.
"What is wrong, Loki?" Frigga asked, concerned.
"I wish to be excused." Loki bowed his head, attempting to hide that amount of discomfort on his face. The queen only watched him, troubled.
"Ok," Frigga responded in a small whisper. Before she could say anything else, Loki quickly wiped a hand across his wet eyes and fled the dining hall. The queen sighed sadly to herself and turned back to her husband and eldest son. Both were completely immersed in an energetic conversation with Thor's friends. Frigga could feel her throat tighten as time went on; no one seemed to even notice her youngest son's absence, and even Heimdall seemed oblivious of the situation. Although without Loki, the feast continued on into the afternoon, full of cheer and liveliness.
Author's Note: Wow! Long time! Before anything else, I want to say that I am extremely sorry for such the long gap between my chapters. I initially had a very big writer's block, but then I got held up with a lot of stress at home during the holidays. This is all just excuses so I am sorry, and I truly hope it never happens again. I also hope that you all had terrific holiday's and a great New Year's. Thank you all!