A loud bang sealed all doors leading to the hall. Hela barely had time to register the clamor of dozens of soldiers trying to knock the doors down, as she realized where she was.

The throne room was nothing like she remembered. The golden walls and bright colored paintings depicted the current royal family. Drawings of Thor, and Frigga, of Odin himself sitting on his golden throne, Gungnir in his hand, the image of a benevolent magnanimous god, surrounded her.

It made Hela sick.

"How many more lives did it cost to pretend I was never born, I wonder?" She muttered to herself. She seemed not to be paying attention to Loki, or his blade on her neck.

Loki stared at Hela intently, trying to read her expression. What he found was rage, disappointment, contempt, and pain… so much pain. He lowered the knife and made it disappear, releasing Hela from his hold.

She did nothing, she didn't even move for a moment, looking around the throne room trying to find some familiarity. There was none. All the walls had been repainted, all the pillars remodeled, all the tapestry replaced. Everything that was there before was erased, covered up. Tossed aside, locked up and forgotten, just as I was.

Hela clenched her jaw, and walked slowly towards the throne, the one thing that remained almost the same. Loki stepped back and gave her some room.

"The truth, my dear Loptr, burned Odin so badly that he had to cover it up with lies," she spat, running a finger over the arm of the golden chair. "The truth would have destroyed everything he ever knew. And he would have set the Nine Realms ablaze before yielding to that fate." Hela stopped right in front of the throne and closed her eyes. One solitary tear ran down her cheek. "He burned my entire existence to ash instead."

.-

The war room was buzzing with the murmurs of the generals, while Odin heard yet another account of Frost Giants being spotted by Midgardians. Hela had been sent by the King himself to find why the Jotuns were so interested in Midgard all of the sudden. What she told him did not please the All-father. After all, Midgard was Asgard's to protect, and to exploit.

More than that, Hela knew Odin wanted to be persuaded into war. The Frost Giants were a thorn in Odin's side, one he would use any excuse to get rid of. But he had to be smart about it if he wanted his men to follow him to battle.

Losing her patience and tired of hearing Odin dismiss yet another peaceful approach, Hela stood up. "I would like to speak to my father alone," she addressed the soldiers.

The Hersir looked at the king, surprised by the Princess' tone, but obeyed anyway, nodding his head as he left the room, followed by the other divisions' generals.

"Father, the Jotuns are NOT trying to invade Midgard! Why are you still not telling that to the Hersir?"

Odin scoffed, deflecting the question. "Are you going to let yourself be fooled by their lies? I thought I had taught you better!"

"You know what I am saying is no lie. Jotunheim is dying," Hela said, with an exasperated sigh. "Soon, they will have no home at all." She paused and took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "Midgard is wide and large, it has vast cold regions where they can settle without disturbing or be disturbed by Midgardians. All they want is your blessing-"

"No! I will not allow those monsters to invade Midgard!"

"Are you not listening to what I am saying? They do not want to invade Midgard." Hela pressed, repeating what she had told Odin too many times by now. "You are the Allfather, the protector of the Nine Realms!" She emphasized the last words, making Odin flinch. "If you deny them the chance to leave their home, to rebuild their lives somewhere else, you are dooming them to extinction!"

"One less enemy to worry about!" Odin growled.

"They are not our enemies anymore! Will you drop your pride for one second and realize that?"

Odin pounded the table with his fist and stood up. "Do you forget what they have taken from us?! From you?!"

Hela bit her tongue, knowing forgiveness didn't have room in Odin's heart. She knew the story, not because she remembered it, but as it had been recited to her a million times, of how her own mother led the fight, how she was imprisoned and executed by the Frost Giants. The story, she had learned much later, wasn't exactly as Odin told it.

She stood defiant in front of Odin. The King no longer intimidated her, for as powerful as he might have been seen by Asgard and the realms, she knew better. She knew about all the skeletons in his closet and the secrets swept under the carpets.

After all, she was the Goddess of Death. And death spoke to her.

"Laying waste to Jotunheim, murdering the Jotuns and letting their planet die will not bring my mother back," she stated. "And even if that were possible, you have already found and wedded a replacement," she added bitterly. "I don't see what more vengeance you could possibly want."

.-

Loki had listened in reverent silence to Hela's recounts. He tried hard to remember all the books he had read - he knew there were some mentions of a previous Queen, but it was never elaborated. His grandmother's name had been erased from Asgard's memory, as was her daughter's.

My very blood has been covered with black ink.

"I left Asgard for good after that day," Hela continued. "He sent out soldiers to search for me, only for them to find me exactly where he knew they would find me, on Jotunheim. That's when the rumours and stories started." She walked to stand in the middle of the foyer, her eyes squinted closed. "They were told I was violent and unstable. They were told I was out for blood, eager to conquer the universe itself. They were told I was consorting with the enemy to bring down Odin's bloodline, and Asgard with it. They were told I would usurp the throne for our enemies. And they listened."

As she spoke, Hela summoned several swords and threw them to the ceiling, creating cracks between the paintings of the royal family. The blades wedged deep in the plaster, but remnants of Odin's magic kept it in place.

"All of it was, of course, a lie. Odin's new young wife had already given birth to a baby boy."

"Thor," Loki said, and Hela nodded.

"The moment the boy was born, my destiny was sealed. He had another heir, his bloodline secured. He had a fresh, new mind to twist to his will. I wasn't needed anymore."

Hand raised in the air, she willed her magic to counteract that which was holding the ceiling together. Her swords vibrated and a bright green light emanated from them, spreading through the cracks and loosening the material. Large pieces of plaster fell around them. The old paintings that were revealed were very different.

Hidden behind the saintlike paintings of Odin, Frigga, and the Princes were images of war, of bloodshed and tyranny and death. Odin, on his eight-legged horse beside Hela herself, who was mounted upon a giant wolf, riding into battle together. Hela, at the head of a dark army of Einherjar, fire consuming the background. Soldiers wielding whips while emaciated citizens build a castle of gold. Odin and his Queen, a raven-haired beauty with bright eyes and a wicked smile.

The painting that made Loki stumble in shock was poised above the throne, the biggest one of all. Hela and Odin stood side by side, arms raised, with soldiers surrounding them and necroswords protruding into the burning sky. Odin had his spear, while Hela proudly held Mjolnir aloft over her head.

Hela broke the silence, watching Loki carefully. "I was raised to be Queen of the Nine Realms. With my mother gone, all I ever knew was what Odin told me. I would come to realize, after it was too late, that I was lied to and manipulated to follow in Odin's steps. I made my own way, educated myself, found out things for myself. I was banished for refusing to fall in line, for daring to question him."

This pattern was familiar to Loki, for he had been punished for rebelling against his so-called father too. At least Odin was consistent. Hela walked around the broken plaster, while Loki followed, staring at the images on the ceiling. A tiny glimpse of what was missing from the archives.

Hela came to a halt, right under a very vivid picture of her mother riding into battle in Jotunheim. The image of a fierce and powerful Queen, her long black hair braided in the warrior's ways. An army of Valkyries rode behind her.

"I too grew up with tales of the savagery of the Frost Giants, fueled mainly by the battles we fought and the people we lost." Her conflicted stare was fixed on her mother's face. "The giants surrendered to Asgard after a bloody battle where Odin managed to kill their King, leaving his only son and heir, Laufey, to take the throne. Laufey didn't want more bloodshed, he wanted peace for his people. But Odin would not budge. He wished to end their race, burn it to the ground, no matter how long it would take him. All he needed was an excuse." Hela turned to Loki, a deep sadness in her hardened gaze. "You were the excuse."

Loki gulped, as a shiver ran down his spine with the weight of those words. The betrayal, losing control over Hela, the political implications of joining Jotunheim and Asgard, what it would mean for Odin, Asgard and the Nine Realms to have a Frost Giant halfbreed sitting on the throne.

"The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?"

"No," Odin admitted quietly. "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple, and I found a baby. Small for a Giant's offspring - clearly abandoned and left to die in the cold. Laufey's son."

In his mind Loki saw clear as day that conversation with Odin, right after he had discovered the truth. How the All-father didn't even flinch when telling him the story. His hands began to shake with fury.

"What of my mother? Had she no say in my fate?"

"Laufey had not publicly taken a Queen. I don't know who your mother is, or if she even lived through your birth. For all anyone knew, it could have been any random female he wanted to take."

Loki now knew better. Odin knew all along who his mother was, and that she did not have a say in his fate was Odin's own doing.

"I wanted only to protect you from the truth."

Lies!

I was the living embodiment of his mistakes.

His hands started to turn blue, just as they had that day when he held the Casket. His chest felt heavy with the weight of the lies he had been poisoned with throughout his life. His own past was being unveiled, his history, his heritage, his family… his real family, and he could barely cope with it. The images on the ceiling started to spin, as if they were trying to communicate, tell him everything. The air felt too hot, too humid, and he could not breathe. Ghosts danced and swirled around him and he had to wonder if he wasn't speaking the dead into life.

"Rindr," Hela suddenly said.

Loki had not noticed she was now by his side. The touch of her rough hands on his was almost tender, and brought him back to himself. "What?" he croaked.

"That is your grandmother's name." Hela looked at the ceiling again, the image of the former queen seemed to be looking down at them. "Queen Rindr of Asgard, General of the Valkyrie Army, protector of the Nine Realms."

Loki took a deep breath and looked up. He had heard the legends of the Valkyries since he was a young boy, but he never imagined that one of their generals was his own blood. A hint of pride blossomed within him. My bloodline is more powerful than I thought. No wonder Odin wanted to keep me under wraps.

Hela remained silent, allowing him a moment to take it all in. When she spoke again, disdain had crawled back into her voice.

"I'm guessing the throne room isn't the only thing he, well, redecorated."

Loki shook his head. "I can't speak for any other part of the castle being altered like this, but I've seen the damage done in the library. Books were torn, enchanted, vandalized…"

Hela shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't surprise me at all. He had to make sure no one ever knew about what happened. Couldn't tarnish his precious image."

A loud banging interrupted their conversation. The palace guards we trying to breach the throne room, and Loki knew it was only a matter of time before they broke through his magic defenses. He searched his mind for a solution, but everything he imagined would end in bloodshed. The soldiers would fight to their last, and Hela could obliterate them one by one without breaking a sweat.

What if there didn't have to be a fight?

"You want your throne, and it is yours to claim, but the Hersir won't recognize your ruling," Loki said. "Odin saw that every shred of your life was erased. These soldiers haven't been around long enough to have known you."

Another bang, and Loki could feel the magic barrier thinning. Hela nodded her head and raised her hand, holding a temporary second barrier against the door. It wouldn't last long, but it would buy them a bit more time to think.

"Then we have to find people who will," Hela said. "Is that wretched traitor Heimdall still around?"

Loki shook his head. "He escaped."

"The head healer, Eir?"

Loki shook his head again. "She retired after Frigga died, and left the realm. There is a way we could track her down, as she has settled in the mountains of Vanaheim now, but-" Loki stopped mid phrase, as if something had clicked inside his brain. A frantic smile spread across his face. "I know someone… I know where we can get the information you need!"

Hela looked at Loki cautiously, sizing him up.

BOOM!

Instinctively, both summoned weapons to their hands in an automatic move, and Hela was forced to drop her magic.

"And why you are going to help me, when just moments ago you held your own blade to my throat?"

"There are many things I still don't know," Loki simply said. "You're the key to unlocking the truth."

Hela looked surprised, but she had no time to respond. The wooden doors were beginning to splinter, and in just a few seconds hundreds of Einherjar would be upon them both.

"Norns, she is going to kill me for pretending to be dead and not telling her," Loki said out loud to himself. He reached out to grab Hela's arm. "We're going to Alfheim."