"Your brother's apartments?" Loki raised his eyebrows in shock. "I didn't know you had another brother."

Thor shrugged the issue off. "Yes, well… He hasn't been around in years, and I suppose he never came up, before."

Loki hesitated, thinking back on the documents he'd had to read over for Thor's benefit. Now, he remembered a particular name, that hadn't meant anything, at the time, but was mentioned as a former heir to the throne. "Balder, wasn't it?"

Thor nodded, a small, sad smile on his face.

"What happened?" Loki wondered.

Thor shook his head in sadness. "It's a bit of a long story."

Loki sat down on his new bed. "I'm comfortable."

Thor smirked at his eagerness, and settled himself on the mattress next to his brother.

"Balder is my older brother. He was my sun, the light of my whole world." Thor sighed. "Even though he's older than I by seven years, we did everything together. He called me his best buddy." Thor sighed, his eyes far off, and clouded by pain. "Balder was so kind, the quiet sort, and he always had a smile ready for anyone. I was the exact opposite, loud, rash, and eager to use force to get anything and everything done."

"About five years ago, he told me about the slave trade, and we both agreed that was the most disgusting thing we had ever heard of. Together, we decided to do something about it, but, until he was king, there really wasn't anything to do. But he was the one who got me to be so very opposed to it.

"A few months after that day, he was sent on business to Vanaheim, and he and his convoy were attacked by brigands." Thor fell silent, staring out the window as rain gently pattered against the glass.

"I'm sorry." Loki spoke up.

There was a heavy silence, the only sound being the rain on the window, and the occasional roll of thunder.

"He was only twenty-three." Thor murmured.

Loki nodded, unsure of what to say or do. He was accustomed to losing everything he loved. But, for Thor, who had grown up with everything, this must be devastating. He didn't know how to comfort someone who was allowed to dwell on his loss. When Loki had lost his closest friends, he typically had to pretend nothing had happened, and continue with his work. So, he was good at it. He was good at ignoring the pain, but he didn't know how to help someone else through it.

Hesitantly, he crept across the quilt, and, oh, so awkwardly, wrapped his arms around the king. He was not a hugging kind of person, in fact, he despised being touched at all. But he had seen free men and women comfort each other with hugs. So, it must be acceptable on some level.

Thor looked up at his face in mild surprise, before leaning into the embrace with a shuddering sigh. "Thank you, Loki." He murmured, and Loki smiled, not knowing what to say. Uncertainly, Loki gave the Thunderer a pat on the shoulder, and then pulled back, retreating back into his own comfort zone.

"You'll be alright?" He asked softly.

Thor nodded, stood up, and gave Loki a pat on the shoulder. "Pleasant dreams, brother."

Time passed, and the summer Loki had arrived faded to fall, the trees leaves burst into color, the air chilled delightfully, and Thor's renown grew through the land. Everyone agreed, he was a great king, wise, noble, and just, yet peace-loving, and merciful.

Thor said that was mostly because of Loki.

Loki disagreed.

Thor had compassion, and that was not something Loki could impress upon him.

On one particular clear autumn evening, Thor was reading a book, curled up in an armchair by a crackling, lively fire, whiling away the hours, when Loki burst into his room, his face livid, and hands trembling. "Thor!" He seethed in rage, his hands balled into fists.

"What's the matter, brother?" Thor gasped, jumping to his feet. "What happened?"

"Your people are not listening to you." Loki proclaimed. "Do you know, there are still slaves in the capitol city? I saw them, at market today."

Thor's face dropped in frustration. "I'm not surprised."

"But you forbade it!" Loki protested.

"Not everyone obeys me." Thor pointed out. "That's why there is such a thing as crimes."

Loki blinked in shock. "Truly?"

Thor nodded in frustration. "I mean, if we can catch the perpetrators, they'll get the punishment I promised them, and the slaves liberated. But, apparently, the slavers are extremely good at not getting caught."

Loki seemed confounded by this, and no wonder. He'd spent all his life, having to obey someone, or suffer for it. It made absolutely no sense in his head, that someone would blatantly disobey against their authority. "But I thought crimes were accidents." Loki wondered. "They always were, with me. I never heard of anyone directly rebelling against direct orders. At least, not when it wasn't for a good cause."

Thor shrugged. "Most people do, honestly."

Loki shook his head in wonder. "They don't take advantage of their own freedom, yet they lord it over our… their slaves' heads."

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Thor sighed. "I have my Einherjar searching through the realms for slavers, but they've only busted two, since my coronation."

Loki locked eyes with Thor. "That's ridiculous. If there are enough that the royal family still notices them, there have to be hundreds."

"But we can't prove it." Thor countered, holding up his hands in a helpless gesture. "If we don't have proof, we can't accuse them of anything."

"Except that there's obviously slaves, working in the market, for a master!" Loki gestured in the direction of the door.

"But who are they working for?" Thor asked calmly.

Loki blinked in surprise. "I… I don't know."

Thor shrugged helplessly. "Then, we can't do anything."

Loki nodded in defeat. "That's… discouraging, to say the least."

Thor nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry."

"We could do a sting operation." Loki offered. "Pretend we're in on it, and then when they agree to sell us a slave, we can arrest them."

"That's very dangerous, brother." Thor sighed. "Most of them are armed, and they'd probably fight for their 'wares'."

Loki raised his eyebrows, as if to say, "So?"

"Do we not fight for freedom?" Loki demanded. "I say, we do whatever it takes, no matter the risk. And, if you aren't willing to help me, I'll do it, myself, and spare you the trouble."

"Loki…" Thor dragged a hand over his face. "That's extremely dangerous. I can't let you."

Loki levelled him with a stony glare. "I'd honestly like to see you try and stop me. You know, I didn't come straight here, from the markets. I checked in the records, and figured up exactly how many slaves there are, left. According to my calculations, which could be slightly off, I admit, but approximately sixty percent of all the slaves that were in bondage at the beginning of your reign still are. That's unacceptable."

"I agree." Thor nodded. "And, I have my best men working to find the perpetrators, but they are good. Most of the slaves you see have been threatened into not spilling a word, pretending they're paid employees, or their masters will kill them and everyone they love. We interview them, and they tell us a pack of lies about how their masters like them, now, how they're treated well, when they obviously aren't even getting enough to eat. They're dressed in rags. We're working on it, but I can't let you risk your life for them."

Loki opened his mouth, then closed it, pressing his lips into a line of frustration. "Do you know how many times I have risked my life for my fellow slaves?"

"No, how many?" Thor wondered.

Loki waved a hand to dismiss the idea. "I don't know, either, I don't keep track. But it's a lot. In the hundreds. And this will be no different. How can I do any less? I was given a chance of a lifetime. How can I not give them the same? It's not… It's not fair." He bit his lip in frustration. "That sounds petty, but it's true. It is my duty."

"Loki…" Thor sighed.

"Yes, that's my name." Loki snapped. "Do you like it?"

Thor rolled his eyes. "You can't."

"I see." Loki nodded curtly. "I'm too important, now, as a prince. Well, whatever happened to everyone is equal? I am no more or less of a man than I was a year ago. I am the same person, so I must do everything I can to help."

"It's not that." Thor flapped his hands in irritation. "I can't lose you, too!"

Loki smiled confidently. "You won't."

With that, he turned on his heel, cape swishing behind him, and stomped out, slamming the door.

TheOnlyHuman.