Chapter Thirteen/Kapittel Tretten:

Groggily staring out the window from his seated place under the covers of his emerald-canopy bed, the youngest Odinson sighed and blinked as he attempted to rid himself of the awful stomach-ache and headache he'd awoken with. Vaguely he recalled Eir telling him that he had fallen ill several days ago and had been afflicted with fever and now, apparently, nausea as well. He remembered the kind healer holding out a bucket for him as he threw up bile and the contents of his insides and he also recalled the woman telling him it would pass.

"Well, that hasn't happen yet…" Loki mumbled under his breath as he clutched at his throbbing head. Everything still seemed surreal. As though he'd lived through a very vivid dream but had forgotten what the dream was actually about.

Suddenly deciding that he was sick of being in bed, the young Odinson slowly peeled back the covers and swung his legs over the side. Upon standing, he carefully made his way over to the gold and glass doors to his balcony and then proceeded to push them open. A gust of mild wind hit him and for a brief second he felt refreshed and his nausea lessened, but this only lasted a moment before he was on his knees, desperately trying to keep from keeling over again.

When the sensation did pass he sat up and leaned against the doorframe, casually staring down at the smaller of the two training pits which were located in the central part of the palace and absentmindedly wondering where Thor was at the present time.

Loki thought it was surprisingly unusual for Thor not to burst into his chambers and attempt to nurse him back to health. But, after a moment of pondering, he realised that Thor was probably getting close to the end of his 'brotherly-caring' tether. Loki let out a little huff and bitterly wished he could be like Thor. His older brother was probably out right now with his friends in a town pub, speaking of their great victories and latest quests. Loki had not been on any quests recently and all the credit for his great victories seemed to go to someone else, be it Thor or Sif or one of the warriors three. One day, Thor would simply decide that Loki was useless on quests and just stop inviting him. It was an inevitable truth, but one Loki had hoped would come later rather than sooner. He didn't particularly enjoy going on quests, but every time Thor invited him he remembered that he did actually have someone who cared enough to at least invite him to join. He had no friends of his own, but it didn't really matter. Thor was his best friend – he didn't need anyone who wasn't genuine – and Thor was nothing but genuine.

Loki's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of his entranceway. Turning, Loki's eyebrow's shot up in surprise as he discovered that the one entering his chambers was actually his father.

"Loki," Odin seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief as he saw his son awake and upright. Striding towards him the King gave a little smile and upon reaching him he pulled up Loki's study chair and sat down. "How are you feeling, my son?"

Loki recovered from his shock and smiled back at his father – something which secretly thrilled the old man as Loki hadn't smiled at him in over a year.

"I'm… better." He said quietly, turning his gaze out upon the city of Ásgard. Loki's loose robes fluttered a little in the wind and Odin almost smiled again as he looked down upon the son that had previously learned to hate him.

"That is good. I am happy you are feeling stronger." The King replied somewhat awkwardly. The distance between Loki and he was still significant though. His relationship with his youngest son had started going downhill years before Loki had learned of his heritage and Odin knew this would take more than one night to fix.

Taking a deep breath Odin frowned and fixed his gaze unto the floor. He supposed that he should tell Loki of the things he needed to know, but…

The King looked at the back of Loki's head, his wavy black hair rustling ever-so-slightly in the breeze.

He didn't want to ruin this again. He couldn't have Loki hate him again. He just couldn't. Not his son. Not this son. This perfectly innocent and whole child which he'd been the one to raise – not Laufey. He'd been the one to bring Loki up and give him a normal childhood. Laufey and his wife had simply abandoned Loki in a temple! The child would not have survived the night if he had not intervened. But, none of that mattered anymore. What needed to happen now was reconciliation – between Loki and himself. The old king steeled himself and drew a shaky breath.

"Loki," he began, still trying to calm his fidgety nerves. "Do you remember the story I used to tell you about Jötunheimr and its king?"

"You mean the one where you defeated the king of the Jötun in battle and then you took the source of their power from them?" Loki replied, Odin nodding. "Yes, I remember. It used to be one of my favourite tales." The young man chuckled quietly, not noticing Odin's frown deepening.

"Yes," the old man continued. "The last Great War was thusly ended and we returned to Ásgard, the realm eternal and the beacon of hope to all the other realms. It was Ásgard and her warriors that brought peace to this universe."

To Odin it seemed that his voice was trying to justify all that he had done, but Loki simply let out another little laugh and Odin's heart constricted as he swallowed, attempting to keep all his emotions from surfacing.

"I remember when you first told this tale father," Loki returned his gaze to the king and Odin's heart melted at being called father again. Shifting his gaze slightly, directing it to Odin's feet, Loki continued with his reminiscing.

"Thor and I were visiting the treasure chamber for the first time." He smirked, recalling. "Thor was so damn eager to impress and I remember him claiming that he was going to slay all the frost giants, but then you gave him that simple advice: 'a king should never seek out war, but he should always be ready for it.' At that time you said that we could both be kings but only one of us could rule… Honestly, I never did want to rule Ásgard and I was glad when Thor was chosen. Even so, when we were children, I simply remember wanting to impress you…" Loki lowered his voice and moved his gaze yet again. "I just wanted to impress you, as Thor did."

"My son…" Odin said aloud. "My son, you have always impressed me."

Yes, this is what he should have said to Loki the first time. The look on Loki's face was one of shock and surprise, but it also contained an unbearable amount of happiness. Loki could be this happy? Simply from being praised?

"You're amazing Loki…" he continued as the younger prince sat frozen in absolute astonishment. "I know I do not speak it often enough, but what you can do is incredible. It is true that they say seiðr is a woman's art and it is true that it is not as highly vauled, but I have seen what you can do and I know that your power could be used for so much… You could benefit this world Loki. You could help Thor rule."

The king paused and waited as he took in Loki's reaction to his words. The prince frowned for a second before fixing his gaze onto his knees which were pulled up to his chest.

"I… I don't want to rule, father." He stated again plainly.

"I know," Odin interrupted. "However, you have always been an adviser to Thor, haven't you?"

Loki neither agreed nor disagreed, but he looked up at his father again and met his single eye. "You mean, you approve of me becoming Thor's adviser?" He asked, looking completely confused by this notion.

Odin chuckled and smiled down. "Well, we both know that Thor doesn't always use his head, don't we?"

At this Loki broke out into a grin and Odin decided to leave his tale for another day. Now, finally, he was getting somewhere with his son and his family would soon be whole again. Eventually, everything would be as he should: Ásgard would remain at peace, Thor would rule out over it with Loki at his side as his counsel and most importantly, the youngest prince of Ásgard would never remember the brief time he spent knowing another family.

Wahaha! Two updates in two days, how's that! I know it's short again but I hope you can forgive me. When this story is complete I'll probably merge the shorter chapters into one long huge chapter. But, for now they stay this way! I hope you liked this chapter and the speediness with which I presented it to you and if you did, please leave a review :) The reviews I got on the last chapter were simply adorable and it got me fired up to write another chapter :D Thanks for your support and you should all expect another chapter before 17/01/2015. See you before then!

Much Love,
Soulhearts