A little shorter this time but it was either this or way another day;P Enjoy! Ty to all those who reviewed! Reviews make me very happy;P It means I'm doing something right as an author!

CH 14

When he arrived by the gates of Asgard he was met by Lieutenant Angborn. He muttered a low curse under his breath as he dismounted. As King of Asgard he was no longer free to do as he pleased neither was he free to simply prance around into other realms since his status would as it already had paint a target on his back.

"My King, I am glad you have returned unharmed! Your brother has been most anxious in your absence. He wishes to speak with you."

Loki nodded at him. "Thank you Lieutenant, I will speak with my brother shortly." He walked down the halls toward the healers ward.

This was why he never wanted the throne. The sheer responsibility weighed down heavily on his shoulders. So many lives at stake! He bit back a hiss, he would have to see the healers first, and then swear them to secrecy. He couldn't have the palace knowing that the last remaining or "available to lead at the moment" heir to the throne had been close to death only hours before. King Laufey may have not stated the obvious out loud but he was alive thanks to whatever powerfully healers had been present when he was pulled out of that accursed pool. He frowned, a million and one strategies forming in his mind. But where would the light elves strike? They would no doubt use the Orb to open a doorway… Perhaps, yes the Orb would need to use one of Yggdrassil's branches of magic to open a portal. This would produce a magical disturbance in Asgards atmosphere. In short Heimdel or himself should be able to sense and triangulate the magic, and it immediate area would have to be where the army would emerge! He smirked. After all the mind was more powerful then both magic and the sword.

And yet, if there was one question in his mind it was why? To what end had King Laufey returned Gungnir to him? The staff contained an immense amount of magic. What was his angle? Laufey might have been purposely trying to lure him into a false deception of trust. But Loki would not be fooled. Kings as he had learned from watching Odin and studying the various histories of other kings would always put their realms safety and prosperity above even family. There were even cases in the history of Midgard of fathers killing their sons because they feared to be usurped before their death of old age. He shook his head pain building behind his eyes. Perhaps he was overthinking things; perhaps Laufey truly wanted a son…

He laughed. Truly a son? For what end? Couldn't he have more children? Or was he simply adamant at never marrying again? Power, this is why he never wanted to be king, there were simply too many "conspiracies" and "conspiracies inside conspiracies" until that would drive the owner of the crown mad for he would not be able to discern the difference between real dangers and simple paranoia. He sighed silently as he opened the door to the healers. He would simply deal with the more pressing matters such as the war and locating where in the blazes the Light elves would strike. He would deal with Laufey later.

And yet… Why had Heimdel not warned him of the trap? Surely he would have seen Laufey in council with his advisors, and although the amount of magic to transport him to Hlein's lost halls which he now realized must have been underneath or nearby to the actual palace of the frost giants was small Heimdel should have warned him of the possibility of this hall… Oh he would have a nice long conversation with the sentinel, just as soon as he took something for that pain behind his eyes.

As a healer I have been sworn to confidentiality. As head healer however, I was keen to point out to the boy now King that he was fortunate and I mean blessed by the stars to be lying flat on his back under the scanners and still breathing here before me.

He thinks I do not see the slight furrowing of his brow as I poke at his side with a stylus to do what I did when he was but a child called "the weather you are fit to play and not rest because you are not hurt grievously enough that I must confine you to your bed game." It consisted of me jabbing at the scraped knee or wound of the juveniles. Weather it was Prince Thor or in many no let me amend that in most cases Prince Loki. And if they yelped or squirmed in pain they were stuck here in the healers ward until they were fully healed because stars if I would let them out of my sight a moment too soon they would return with a concussion on a concussion or in this case a wound on a once poisoned and nearly infected knife wound.

He is too old now for me to force him to rest. And even if he wanted to rest I doubt he could. I smear antiseptic into the various cuts and heavens are those teeth marks? As gently as I can, I have been head nurse for centuries and this boy seems to be a magnet for trouble. I use a tad of magic to determine whether any of the painfully looking marks are infected. He bites back a hiss as I press down more ointment on where the original and now unrecognizable because of the deeper scratches knife wound was made. He thinks I do not catch it does he? Well young one I have been around far longer than even your own father who yes I have seen as a wee babe because I was a healer here at the palace when his own mother gave birth to him. But you already know that don't you? It is simply my middle aged face that is creating the illusion in your mind that my age does not press heavily on me.

He squirms only slightly as I place my fingers on his forehead. Gungnir! This is what I meant by his fortune of still breathing! His mind has magika exhaustion if that were even possible. And unless someone had tried to pry open his mind with their own or force him into a magical trance of illusion it is almost impossible to befall such an illness! Where on Jotunheim do they even have such powerful magic? I have been around during the war mind you so I am aware of the lethality of Jotun mages but this is too much! And Prince Loki is one of the most powerful mages in the realm though he will never take credit for it!

I infuse a magical charm into a cup of water and have him drain it before I have him resume his humbled position as my victim and mutter a few more spells with my hand on his forehead. His face softens from the previous ghost of a grimace and if it were any other healer they would doubtfully be able to tell the difference. I hand him his shirt and he unceremoniously yanks it on and then stares at me expectantly. I can almost see the tiny boy with a similar though more open expression of anticipation kicking his small legs which are far from reaching the floor against the bannister of the healers bed waiting for the verdict.

I sigh loudly and audibly in my you might be King but you're not of the hook way and he sighs back. Now don't get me wrong his face is still mostly stoic but you can see the sigh in his eyes if you look hard enough. The I'm just so not in the mood to be sick or hurt because I have a country to run sort of way.

"A few days of sleeping should amend the exhaustion you are experiencing now." He nods fiddling with a buckle.

"Preferably an eight to nine hour long sleep." His eyes dart to mine. He has been caught. Do not think I haven't noticed child. Nothing escapes my gaze or wrath although in this case the shadows under his eyes are obvious, or perhaps only to me anyway.

"I will work with what I have." He shoots back with his trademark I know you know better but too bad grin.

He suddenly frowns deepening the shadows under his eyes looking far too young to be thrust onto the throne with the burden of a Kingdom resting on his shoulders. "Why has Allfather not awakened yet? Surely the access magic should have dissipated by now…"

His voice is even not laced with accusation as Prince Thor's had been earlier he has too much respect for me and magic to realize Odin's condition is not that simple. When Odin's brothers in arms Vili and Vé were dying they with their last breath forced their magic into Odin to allow him to defeat the fire giant Surtar. This had never been done before. It had destabilized Odin's axis of magical balance nearly killing him and had been quite the dilemma for the healers primarily me. As it is written in the book of Kings we had him break pieces of his magic away into objects such as Gungnir. The result was positive however it had its side effects. Over time his magical axis of balance would tilt and to even the cycle and bring his magic back into balance Odin needed to be placed into a healing trance. Otherwise he would never awaken from the sleep like state he would fall into and when the balance would tilt too much too one side his body would not be able to handle the strain and he would die. Loki knows all this and so it is not difficult to explain to him what went wrong.

"When the elves removed the Orb of Agammato, they somehow extracted it without breaking the wards as you yourself have told me. The wards because they now lack the object for which they were placed have reversed themselves and returned to Odin as magic."

The frown in his eyes deepened and he straightens from his slouch. "Meaning?"

There is no easy way to break this so I conveniently take a few of the flasks and reshelf them my back to the prince. "The wards placed were exceedingly powerful; they were part of the excess magic King Odin received."

The prince's eyes widen in fear. "How long does he have?" He is a sharp one.

"He may yet still live. The magic did not kill him yet which is a good sign"

"When will he awaken? If ever?" He adds in a snarky undertone."

"A few weeks at best, perhaps little over a month." I can hear a sharp inhale and then a slow exhale. He rises and nearly forgets his staff as he walks out of the room. I do not blame him nor do I envy him. But I am not worried for he is now a man who will do a man's job. I have faith in him. And believe me if anyone's opinion should count it should be mine. After all age has its privileges.