Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel-characters!
AN: I am here with another chapter. You had to wait a while for this update to come, but I hope it was worth it. A lot of you made a guess at the end of the last chapter and a few of you were close. Read on if you want to know what exactly Thor is seeing. And don't worry; answers are coming.
~ Fields of Blood ~
Chapter 11
The sight before Thor greatly unsettled him and for a moment all he could do was stare. On the throne sat Arta, a victorious grin plastered on his old, wrinkled face while he held a long, bloodied sword. Thor dreaded to think whose blood that was.
His eyes fell on the defeated figure of his father. Blood stained Odin's hands and shirt. Most of the blood belonged to his enemies since there lay about a dozen corpses around him and Thor felt a strange ping of pride. His father might be an old man, but he could still put up a good fight if he wanted to. But in the end the King had been defeated and he was clearly injured. A deep cut was visible just above Odin's right eye.
It was not that which had shocked Thor so, however. Seeing his father - the almighty Allfather and King of Asgard - kneeling before Arta while an enemy pressed a filthy dagger against his throat did make Thor feel sick.
"I suggest you drop your weapons if you want your father to live," Arta said as he looked down on Thor from the throne. He had a wicked grin on his face and Thor despised it.
He couldn't help but glance around even though he didn't know what he was looking for exactly. Was he looking for help? Was he looking for someone to fight at his side? All that he found though was his father, Arta and about twenty of Arta's cruel men. For the umpteenth time Thor wished he had Mjolnir at his side, but the weapon currently lay in one of the many weapon's vaults in the lower levels of the palace. He vowed to himself never to part with the hammer again when all this was over.
"I know what you are thinking," Arta said. Finally his grin disappeared when he stood up from the throne and descended the steps that would lead him directly to Odin. As Arta walked, his eyes never left Thor. "You might be able to kill all of my men present here, but know that as soon as you make one wrong movement-" Arta placed a hand on the man pressing a dagger against Odin's throat, "-my friend here will kill your father."
"You will kill him anyway," Thor said with a rough voice. He was raging on the inside and he wanted to cut Arta's head off. He did have a good aim so he might even be able to kill that bastard from this distance. Then again, that savage would still murder his father.
"If I wanted to kill Odin," Arta explained slowly, "don't you think he would already be dead? I defeated him, Thor, I won the fight. I had my blade pressed against his heart and he was forced to surrender. I could have easily killed him then."
Arta started to walk forward again, but he was still a good distance away from Thor. The throne room is a very large room after all. Very carefully, Odin follows Arta's movements and Thor recognized a murderous look in his father's eyes.
"I still have plans for the two of you," Arta continued, "so I would hate to kill one of you already." His entire demeanor changed suddenly. When he opened his mouth again, he didn't speak, but he shouted unnaturally loud. At that moment, he looked nothing short of insane.
"Now drop your weapons!"
Odin winced when the man pressed the dagger harder against his throat. A few drops of blood trickled down his neckline. Now Thor had no other choice anymore. If he didn't obey, his father would die and Thor had sworn to protect the King. Surrendering to the madness of Arta was the only way he could achieve that.
As soon as he dropped his weapons, five men jumped him and violently pushed him forward. Thor struggled as much as he could, but in the end he could only oblige as the men forced him to kneel besides Odin. He had never felt so humiliated in his life before so he could only imagine what Odin was currently experiencing. At least his mother wasn't subjected to this abasement.
He truly hoped the Warriors Three found Frigga and that they brought her to safety.
"What do you want, Arta?" Odin asked with venom in his voice.
Arta went to stand before them. "Isn't it obvious?" He asked in return. "I want your throne. It surprises me that you did not see this coming, old friend, because I swore years ago that I would claim Asgard as mine. I swore I would destroy everything you hold dear."
Thor now understood how Arta was planning on doing that last part. If he wanted to destroy everything Odin held dear, then kidnapping his youngest son and torturing him was certainly a good way to start. Thor was starting to doubt if Arta ever wanted the Infinity Gauntlet in the first place.
As more time passed, Thor grew increasingly repugnant toward that man. Honestly, he hadn't known it was possible to hate someone this much. He wanted to rip Arta's head from his shoulders. He wanted to tear his limbs from his body. Or perhaps he could feed that man to the rats that infest Midgard. He heard those small creature could be very nasty.
"You will never succeed," Odin argued, never losing any of his pride and grace. Not once did he appear fearful. "The people will never accept you as their King."
"And that is why I still need you, don't I?" Arta began to smile again. "The people won't dare to rebel against me out of fear that their true King and his son will be murdered. And if you are dead and Thor is dead, then what hope would there remain?"
"You are delusional," Thor breathed. He just doesn't have any other word for it. He can't understand how Arta thinks this would ever work. Thor refused to simply give up and he definitely refused to see Arta steal the throne from Odin and him.
Arta laughed without humor. "Perhaps I am delusional," he said, "but I have gotten this far, haven't I? You and your father are at my mercy. Your army is running wild since there is barely anyone left to lead them and all of your guards are dead. It is just a matter of time before I found the Queen as well."
Thor was incredibly relieved to hear Arta utter that last sentence. Now he knew for a fact that his mother was safe.
"So tell me, Thor," Arta continued, "who is there to stop me?"
"How did you even get in here?" Thor asked. It was a question that has been puzzling him for a while now. How did Arta get inside the palace unnoticed? How did that happen without anyone sounding the alarm?
"Let's just say," Arta smirks, "that someone left the front door open for me."
Thor narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure what Arta just told him. "Are you saying that there is a traitor in the house of my father?"
"Oh, Thor," Arta sighed. He shook his head as he still looked down at him. "You will regret calling him a traitor." He turned his back to Odin and Thor and walked back to the throne.
Thor knew that if he acted quickly, he could jump up and actually snap Arta's neck with his bare hands. Then that bastard would finally be dead. However, that one savage was still holding a dagger to Odin, only now he was pressing it against the back of Odin's neck. If Thor killed Arta, then Odin was dead as well.
Before Thor could make a decision, however, his found his attention drawn to something else. Arta had called forth someone and now the doors to the throne room opened again. For the briefest moment, Thor hoped it was Sif coming to their rescue, but that was not the case.
Instead, two of Arta's men entered and in between them, walked Loki.
Thor's heart skipped a beat when he realized he hadn't thought of Loki tonight. He had been so occupied with his mother and father and he hadn't even bothered to check on his brother! With fear in his eyes, Thor watched Loki walk forward only…something wasn't quite right. The two men were holding Loki's arms, yes, but they did not use much force. Not like the savages had used on Thor.
They guided Loki towards Arta who smiled triumphantly.
"Loki, what is going on?" Thor heard himself ask. His voice was barely more than a whisper.
"Loki here," Arta said with nothing but complacency in his voice, "has been such a very good boy."
"No," Thor breathed, "no!"
Arta ran his hand across Loki's cheek. Thor didn't know what to think when Loki violently pulled away from Arta's touch. Thor couldn't see his brother's face and he wasn't sure he wanted to see it either. He simply couldn't believe Loki had aided Arta in this besiegement. How long had his brother been in league with Arta? Had the torture even been real?
"Do you see, Odin?" Arta said, only having eyes for the King. "I broke your little boy. I broke him in so many ways." Arta uproariously grabbed Loki's shoulder and pushed him down until Loki too was kneeling.
However, Loki lost his balance and a cry of pain came across his lips. When he fell to the floor, Thor could finally see his brother's face and he felt all the air leave his lunges.
Thor had never seen his brother so frightened before.
Tears made Loki's green eyes shine brilliantly and pain filled his face. Blood dripped from his nose which stood swollen. He had to breathe through his mouth and Thor could see how difficult that was for his little brother. Clearly Loki was in agony and for the millionth time today, Thor wished he could murder Arta.
"I'm sorry," Loki whispered with dejection in his voice. He let his gaze drop and his raven hair fell before his eyes, shielding him away from his surroundings.
"I win, Odin," Arta said viciously.
