The councilors led Loki through towards Odin's throne room, showering him with updates, from the security report on the vault (no one knew anything), to Heimdall's latest view of Jotunheim (they were mobilizing troops), to Asgard's current military strength (General Tyr was mobilizing their own troops too), to missives from Nidavellir and Vanaheim regarding today's developments (Vanaheim was in favor of crushing Jotunheim, Nidavellir was not). Someone threw a cape around his shoulders and slapped his helmet onto his head, as if he were about to lead them to war this very instant. He raised his hands. "Lord Vili, summon the full council, including General Tyr. We will proceed with deliberation or not at all." There was some hesitation at his unconventional words. They must all be wondering why he was not immediately charging into battle as Thor would have. "Now," he ordered. Vili leapt to obey, scuttling out of the cavernous room.

Loki looked at the other anxious sycophants and sighed inwardly. This was going to be a fun few days. "The rest of you leave me. You may reenter when the council is assembled." They bowed and left. Loki trudged up the all-too-many steps to Odin's throne and slouched in it, turning the great spear over and over in his lap moodily. He promised himself he was never, ever going to act this recklessly again. Never.

So, what should he do, now that he was officially in charge? He would like to try to negotiate with Laufey, and if he were honest with himself, learn more about his birth family. It remained to be seen whether that would be possible.

The door opened, and he looked up in surprise. The council had gathered much faster than he had expected... actually, it had not. It was Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun who entered. He wondered how they had blustered their way past the guards, then reminded himself the guards were most likely just as simple-minded as any Asgardian, easily cowed by three trained Einherjar officers, and not particularly loyal to or cowed by him despite his current position. He was not the popular prince. He was also not particularly pleased to see his long-time companions.

The three of them looked shocked to see him rather than Odin. "What is this?" Volstagg asked with a tone of mixed confusion, wonder, and suspicion. Loki noted his frostbitten arm remained heavily bandaged and bound to his chest.

"My friends... you haven't heard? I am now ruler of Asgard," he said it sarcastically, but sarcasm was lost on them. All three stiffened at his words, eyes narrowing.

"Where is Odin?" Sif asked.

"Father's fallen into the Odinsleep." He could see the term meant as little to them as it had to him. He explained in the simplest terms so they would understand. "It is a magical sleep after the strength he expended to rescue us. None know if or when he will awaken again. Thus..." he gestured expansively.

Unfortunately, this concept appeared so foreign to them their brains could only assume he was lying to confuse them. He could see it plainly in their faces. This was why he never considered them actual friends. "We would speak with the Queen," Sif ventured.

"She has refused to leave my father's bedside, where she is needed to monitor his progress. You can bring your urgent matter to me, your King," he said pointedly, not that he expected them to accept his words when they had already decided not to believe him. He could try lying to them, but it probably would not help.

"Alright... we would ask you end Thor's banishment," Sif said. Of course that's what they wanted. They clearly had no understanding that when Odin said Thor was banished to Midgard, Thor was mortal. It was pointless to bring his brother back, even if he wanted to, which he did not. It was especially pointless now that Loki suspected Odin had sent Mjolnir after him as a potential curse-breaker. Bringing Thor back to Asgard could kill him, whether through accident or the slow decay of time cut off from the salvation of his hammer if Odin did not awaken. Sure, they could bring Thor back. And a few more days of mortality would do no real harm. But days became weeks, became months, and those weeks and months of mortality would shave years, decades, even centuries off Thor's life even assuming he did regain his powers eventually, because the clock could not be turned back. Whatever vitality Loki's brother expended in this time without his magic would be gone for good.

"He is mortal," Loki stated slowly, feeling for their reaction...

"If you're the King now, you can make him un-mortal," Sif said stubbornly.

No, he could not. Magic did not work that way. He would have to figure out the exact nature of the curse in order to undo it, and even still may just have to let the thing run its course depending on the specifics. The very best thing he could do for Thor was not interfere with whatever mechanism Odin had put in place for his redemption. So he shook his head instead. "I cannot. And I cannot bring him back, both for the risk to him in his mortal state and for the risk to Asgard. My first command cannot be to undo the Allfather's last. We're on the brink of war with Jotunheim. Our people must have a sense of continuity in order to feel safe in these difficult times." Well, they hated that response, but Loki no longer felt like arguing the point. He was busy with actual problems. "All of us must stand together, for the good of Asgard," he said in a tone that mimicked Thor's usual bravado. "Also, I am expecting the full council any moment..."

"Of course," Volstagg said quickly. The three of them bowed and backed out. They were probably going to go mutter about him and decide he was evil or something. Loki would deal with it as it happened. He went back to thinking about Jotunheim.

After a few minutes, the door opened again, and Odin's council entered. Loki straightened up to receive them. They arrayed themselves before him in a semi-circle. Loki blinked and almost laughed. Odin, the ridiculous, formality-bound traditionalist had no chairs in here. No wonder no one wanted to stop and think and discuss policy if they had to stand for hours and hours to do it. Loki waived a hand to conjure twenty chairs, one behind each lord. They were technically illusions, but he gave just enough substance to them to function.

"Gentlemen, be seated. We have much to discuss."

"Er, we do? What else is happening besides invading Jotunheim?" General Tyr asked.

Loki stared at him, aghast. He did not even bother to hide it. "Nothing, and we are going to try not to invade Jotunheim."

Fortunately, the general did not immediately protest, just shrugged. "If you say so." He did sound skeptical though.

"Let me first summarize the events of today as I understand them," Loki said. He needed to control this narrative before it ran away from him entirely. "For unlike any of you, I was present for all of it. As you know, there was a breach in the vault during Thor's coronation ceremony this morning. The breach was by two Jotnar, but it was contained. Nothing was taken, and the two Jotnar are dead. None of our guards were injured."

"Do we know what they were after?" Lord Baldr asked.

"The Casket of Ancient Winters," Lord Vili answered. Loki nodded.

"Do we know yet how they got in?" General Tyr said.

"No," Loki answered. "Not according to the report I have received. Heimdall also does not know, and I have inspected the chamber myself for trace magical residues. There is nothing." That wasn't even a lie.

"Then-"

Loki cut off the next interruption. "We will figure it out. For now, our guard is doubled, and I will send word to Heimdall to check in on the vault security four times in every hour." He saw several reassured smiles at the suggestion. Loki thought it was a pretty obvious measure to take, but it was clear no one else had thought of it. "Additional security measures will be designed and implemented as possible. Now, following the breach, you are no doubt aware my brother led a mission to Jotunheim. He wished to answer your questions - why and how did this happen?" He paused. "None of us will argue with that goal, however what you may not know is that the Allfather denied Thor's wish when he suggested it in the vault. Thor disobeyed, and I disobeyed by going with him even though I did so reluctantly and sent word to notify the Allfather of Thor's intent. The result is as you see. We encountered King Laufey at his court. We were outnumbered with no hope of winning any conflict by might of arms. Laufey gave us leave to go in peace, yet Thor did not take it. He struck the first blow of the melee that broke out and nearly claimed the lives of the captains Fandral and Volstagg. Indeed, every one of us might have died but for the timely arrival of the Allfather. The Allfather asked Laufey for peace. Laufey was not so merciful by then, for we had slain or wounded dozens of his soldiers between us. It was only the Bifrost that allowed our retreat with our lives."

Loki waited, but no one spoke yet. That was good. It meant he had their attention and was telling the story well enough they saw no need to question him. "Upon our return, my brother argued with the Allfather. Thor wished to immediately return in arms to Jotunheim, despite the Allfather's orders against it. He was unwilling to accept the Allfather's wisdom..." he paused again for dramatic effect. Everyone was so reverent of the Allfather's oh-so-incredible wisdom, it was almost unheard of to argue with him. "And so the Allfather stripped him of his rank and of his immortality. Thor has been banished to Midgard to live out his days with the humans." He bowed his head for a moment, allowing the councilors to whisper amongst themselves without his eyes upon them. Sometimes, Loki even wondered if Asgardians did not always fully develop the concept of object permanency, they were so keen to whisper when he was no longer in their sight/looking at them but still well within earshot. He counted to five then raised his head up. "The Allfather was exhausted by the effort to salvage the situation in Jotunheim and fell into Odinsleep."

Some of the councilors nodded at this, so at least the concept was not entirely foreign to them, as Loki had feared it might be. Some were definitely confused, though. "As we are all no doubt aware, this is a magical kind of restoration, and I fully expect our Allfather to emerge from it rejuvenated," he said with a confidence he absolutely did not feel, but which made the others happy. "Until that time, I will do my best to govern in his stead, and as he would have. It was the Allfather's wish to preserve the peace," he said firmly. "So that will be our objective. If we cannot, then we will do battle, and we will win. However, if we must sacrifice the peace that the Allfather worked long and hard to create for us, it will not be because we do not try."

He earned a few agreeable nods by making peace sound like a bigger and worthier challenge than fighting, which it objectively was when one considered how much work it was to keep people like Thor from randomly killing each other all the time. His estimation of Odin raised back up just a smidge. Loki smiled. "General Tyr, I am glad you have demonstrated the readiness of our troops, should we need them. For now, they shall stand down but stand by. We shall not be the continued provocateurs."

General Tyr slowly nodded. "Yes, my King."

"Lord Vili, I would like you to coordinate our communications with our allies. Nidavellir, Vanaheim, and Alfheim must know the full truth of what has happened, and of our peaceful intentions as well as our readiness to defend ourselves or others."

Lord Vili nodded quickly. "What shall I tell them exactly, my King?"

Did Vili want Loki to write it down? Actually, that might be a good idea. "I shall compose a statement for you to relay to them. You may answer any questions they have with the information I have said before this council today. If they have questions to which you do not know the answer, refer them to me." He widened his smile. "We shall not allow others to be the provocateurs either through misinformation." That earned him some more smiles and nods. Asgardians liked to feel superior to everyone else.

"Now, I am open to suggestions regarding how to approach King Laufey, in peace." He would probably not take them, but he had to let them speak or someone was bound to blunder off on their own as Thor had. He allowed the conversation to carry on without his intervention for a time. For now, they were all clueless. Asgardians were not well-versed in solving problems peacefully. Resolving bloody feuds was a full-time job for their justice system, and even a frequent duty of the Allfather when two sides would not abide by routine attempts at mediation. It occurred to Loki that Odin was comparatively forward-thinking, if he had found Loki as a baby and thought he might have found an end to a war. Too bad he then failed to follow through on the intent. He probably had run into the same problem the councilors were now arguing about: how to approach Laufey without having the Jotun king justifiably explode in their faces.

Loki decided the conversation had circled around enough times and raised a hand to settle it. "I think we should try the most direct option I heard," he mused, not saying whose idea he was referring to, since in fact no one had said anything worth considering. (Send them a sword with a message inscribed on it. Show up with an army but don't actually attack. Send them a box of gold with weregild for the two who had died in the vault, completely ignoring the casualties of Thor's attack. Send them ten baskets of flowers and fruits. Send a crate of weapons to them with no actual explanation... just, why?) "We shall send one of our bravest warriors alone and unarmed, bearing a message suing for peace."

"Will Laufey accept it, if he rejected the Allfather?" General Tyr asked.

It was a reasonable question, but Loki nodded. "I think he might, if our messenger tells him what Thor now faces as a consequence for assaulting Laufey's court."

"Would that not be a risk to the prince? The Jotun could go to Midgard and slay him, while he is vulnerable."

Loki doubted Laufey would bother, but that might be because his was the reasonable head. He should consider that Laufey could be just as unreasonable as Asgardians, even if he did share Loki's genes. The boneheads would have an advantage in foreseeing threats in that case. "We shall have to watch Midgard carefully to ensure that does not happen. Make a note to inform Heimdall to watch Thor just as closely as he does the vault." He settled back in his chair. "Who shall be our messenger?" he asked.

It was not an idle question. Prior to today, everyone probably would have picked Thor, Sif, or one of the Warriors Three as the prime adventurers of the past few centuries, all of whom were out of the question now. "General Tyr?" Lord Vili suggested.

The general shook his head quickly. "I have too much history with Laufey of old. He would assume I was there to fight him." He grinned. "Normally, he would be right."

"We could send someone really old, so there could be no mistake," one of the younger councilors said. Loki was hopeful one of his elder neighbors would slap him, but alas it was not to be. A few did glare, so at least the problem with this plan was obvious to others as well.

"I do not think anyone on any world would mistake any Asgardian we might send for feeble," Loki said smoothly. The older councilors grinned at his compliment. "We could send an ordinary woman, and they would still conclude it was Lady Sif in disguise come to stab at them from within. No, we should send one of our strongest and bravest, as I said. That way, the Jotun may see our strength, our fearlessness, and our willingness to risk our best for the greater good of all." He waited a bit longer, but although there was more smiling and nodding with his pretty rhetoric, no nominations were forthcoming. "If no one else, I could go," he suggested.

"But, you're the King!" Lord Vili said.

Loki shrugged. "That did not stop my father from coming alone to Jotunheim in the midst of battle to save us. I do not see why I should succumb to cowardice when he did not."

"He was well-armed."

Loki grinned. "So will I be." He waved a hand, and a dozen duplicates sprang up around him. "I will not be visibly armed, but my seidr will give me an advantage should I require a quick escape. And I can arrange a special signal for Heimdall to watch for."

"Clever, yes," General Tyr said, respect lighting his eyes. Again, Loki's plan was incredibly basic, nothing special, but he accepted the general's witless flattery without comment. It was easier to command a gaggle of simpletons when he treated them like children.

"Then you should definitely be our representative," Lord Vili said enthusiastically. He probably liked that Loki had singled him out earlier, even though the choice had initially been made at random.

Loki smiled. "Then we have a plan. Is there aught else we should discuss now?" He did not think so. There was plenty for him to think about, but he would not bother burdening the others with the chore, not now. "No? Then we are finished here. Lord Vili, I will compose the missives to our allies immediately. Someone send a messenger to Heimdall with his new assignments regarding the vault and our errant prince. And in the morning, I go to Jotunheim. All of you know your tasks." He stood, as did everyone else. With a wave of his hand, the chairs all vanished. "Dismissed," he said as he descended the stairs. "Lord Vili, with me. Tell me, what has been said to the public about events so far?"

"Er, I don't know. They have probably heard most of it by now."

Which meant no official announcement had been made, so the rumormill was up and running and needed to be checked as soon as possible. Norns help him, their government was so ineffective. He would definitely go insane if he had to sit on Odin's throne for more than a week, simply because he would be too afraid to delegate anything of importance to anyone else. "I will prepare a public statement as well. Our people deserve to know the truth." Vili nodded agreeably again. Loki led the way to Odin's office.

And then he would sleep at least a few hours before venturing back into the ice and snow.

Author's note: left Fandral out of this scene because it really doesn't make sense for him to be there, even with the movie timeline, since they cut back to the healing chamber for another few scenes after this. Also, you'll notice Loki forgot he had not taken the time to tell the others that Thor was mortal before with everything else on his mind and assumes Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun are incapable of understanding and empathizing with him without actually trying very hard to explain himself. This Loki may be smart, but he's also very fallible, particularly because he's under stress and becomes a conceited prick, similar to Thor, except his conceit is in his intellect. This Loki might care for his family and friends (whether he calls them that or not), but he's so arrogantly aware of the gaps between them, and so generally pessimistic, he tends to think worse of others than they deserve and reacts accordingly. Of course, the whole premise for this story is that Loki's opinions of Asgardians in general are legit, so it probably would not have helped if he had tried to explain what exactly Odin had done to Thor... Still not a great coping strategy though. So, not great at winning friends, somewhat good at influencing people=ok leader.