All right... Everyone who has been planning to kill me for letting you wait so long, please reconsider... I hope you ENJOY it ;)

Chapter 28

"… at least fifteen deaths already, but the biggest threat is the amount of sick people. If we don't help Vanaheim now…"

"Yes… Yes…"

"Sire?"

"Yes… Sure…"

Thor frowned and looked up from the map he had been watching the last fifteen minutes. It showed Asgard and Vanaheim and was covered it red dots which indicated the area's with most trouble… The God of Thunder watched his brother sitting in his throne, his head leaning on his hand. Loki was obviously having trouble keeping his eyes open.

The room turned silent. Lord Argus, who had been reporting the incidents in Vanaheim, looked confused. He glared at Thor, silently asking what Loki meant with 'Yes yes…' and 'Yes… Sure'.

Thor nodded and held up his hand to make clear that everyone had to shut up for a minute.

"Loki!" he suddenly shouted. The young king dropped his head in surprise and only just manage to keep his balance. Blinking confusedly, he looked around the room.

"Yes! Yes! Sure!" he repeated. Thor raised his eyebrows. Once Loki realised the whole room was staring at him, he quickly smiled and set back in his throne. He cleared his throat.

"Lord Argus… You were saying…" Loki said, ignoring Thor's accusing stares.

The Royal advisor coughed and carried on. "Right… Err… If… If we do not send help to Vanaheim, the realm will starve. Besides that we're also facing rebellion of the Vanaheimers and even some Asgardians too. Therefore we also need our new forces as fast as…."

Lord Argus turned silent. He watched while his king's head slowly sunk back into his hand.

"My king…" Lord Atlas tried, watching from the side, but Loki didn't respond.

Thor sighed and walked over to the throne.

"Loki, we can always delay this meeting…"

The young king looked at his brother, hardly capable of staying awake. A huge yawn followed, but Loki still used all his power to sit up straight again.

"No.. no…" he said while making a waving gesture with his hand. "Carry on, Lord Gunnar…"

Lord Argus scowled. "Sire, I was speaking… Lord Argus…"

Loki frowned and looked at Lord Argus as if he only just realised he was there.

"Oh.. right.. of course…" he muttered, but he was interrupted by a new yawn.

"Loki!" Thor said angrily. "You're not capable to make decisions like this! I suggest…"

"I am perfectly capable of making divisions…"

"Decisions…" Thor corrected.

Loki nodded while his head fell back in his hand his eyes closed.

"Yes… Yes… diversions…."

"Really?" Thor asked with a grin, watching his brother fighting to stay conscious.

"Sure…" the young king said after a new yawn.

"So you also think that it would be a really good idea if you have the first dance together with Lord Atlas on father's birthday party?"

Loki slowly nodded. "Yes… Sure… Whatever you say…"

Thor smiled and witnessed Loki losing the fight against the sleep. He turned to the room.

"This meeting is cancelled. We'll come back to this… Well… when Loki wakes up! You're all dismissed."

Everybody bowed their head and left the room. Lord Argus mumbled to himself while walking out of the door. This way Asgard would never solve the problem…

Thor turned back to the throne and smiled. He couldn't really blame Loki. After all, the last three days had been pretty heavy… Especially after Lady Sif and the Warriors Three had been freed. The four warriors had turned up on Loki's doorstep every five minutes, demanding to know every detail, but Loki had been troubled with every single boring issue, twenty four hours a day. So in wasn't exactly surprising that he was tired.

Sudden hurried footsteps made Thor turn around again.

"My King, my Prince, my Lords, my apologies for being so late!" Arya said while rushing in the room, but her words got stuck in her throat when she noticed the throne room was empty. Her eye fell on Loki, sleeping in his throne and Thor standing in front of him. Arya opened her mouth to apologize again, but Thor was first.

"Today's meeting is cancelled, Arya…" he explained. Arya nodded, bowed her head and was ready to leave again, when Thor brought her to a halt.

"Arya, would you be so kind to stand guard at the kings' chambers?"

Arya frowned. "But…" she started confusedly. "The King isn't there right now…"

She threw a look on Loki, wondering if he was an illusion. Thor smiled.

"No, and he won't be either, but if you stand guard, everybody will think he is. And if anyone asks, you tell them Loki doesn't want to be disturbed."

Arya nodded slowly. "Can I ask where the king will be.. for real?"

Thor shook his head. "I'm not even going to tell you…"

The woman nodded again and bowed her head before leaving the throne room. Actually she was rather pleased to spend the rest of her day inside the palace. The last days she had trained the new recruits together with Lady Sif and The Warriors Three, but Lady Sif did most of the work. Arya didn't know why, but it seemed that the female warrior didn't really like her. Arya herself on the other hand only looked up at Lady Sif. Maybe she just had to give her some time alone…

-xxx-

Thor decided to take Loki to his and Jane's chambers. If he would stay in own room, Lord Argus would definitely be knocking on his door within five minutes. But then he first needed to get there… unnoticed.

"Loki!" Thor called out. The young king slowly came back to life and stared up at his brother. He blinked confusedly.

"I want you to create an illusion to get us to my chambers!" Thor continued.

Loki frowned. The words didn't get through as fast as they should.

"Your chambers?" he asked after a couple of seconds.

"Yes! You're going to sleep! Without any distractions!"

Loki groaned. "I don't feel like making any illusions…" he moaned while rubbing his eyes like an annoying child.

" Just try it…" Thor answered while taking his brother's arm to help him on his feet. Loki groaned once more, but Thor gave him a meaningful look.

The young king sighed and tried to concentrate. "Done…" he said after a couple of seconds.

Thor looked down and sighed. An illusion had appeared, but not really the one he was hoping for.

Loki, who was more hanging on Thor's arms then actually standing on his feet, grinned.

"Mmm brother, you still look ravishing!"

Thor sighed. "I have the feeling you're already dreaming!" he said in his own voice, which sounded really out of place on Sif's body.

Loki only grinned in return. He looked like a normal guard, but he smiled as Loki.

"Change me into someone else!" Thor's voice sounded from Sif's lips.

"Not a chance!" the young king answered. "Now, get going, unless you want to risk changing back into your own ugly appearance in the middle of the hall. That would be really embarrassing, wouldn't it…"

Thor scowled, but knew that he didn't really have another choice. He dragged Loki out of the throne room, even though the illusion just showed them walking next to each other.

The distance between the throne room and Thor's chambers wasn't that long, but now it seemed to take ages. Especially because Thor kept catching guards and other Asgardians turning their heads when they'd past, not able to keep their eyes of Thor's temporary female butt. If Loki hadn't been so tired, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from laughing at the sight of his brother's growing disgust.

Finally, they reached Thor's chambers. Thor could feel Loki's weight increase on his shoulder. He looked, but only saw the Asgardian guard, his eyes fixed on the door. The illusion started flickering…

The God of Thunder knocked on the door until Jane opened it, looking irritated by another impatient guard. But when she saw Lady Sif accompanied by an unknown guard, her expression changed.

"Sif…" she started confusedly.

"No!" Lady Sif interrupted with Thor's voice. Jane's eyebrows shot up her forehead. Her expression changed from not understanding to surprise to hardly capable of staying serious.

"Just let us in…" Thor quickly added. Jane stepped aside and closed the door after the two "brothers" had entered. The moment the door shut, the illusion flickered one last time and showed Thor and Loki again. The young king hardly seemed capable to keep his eyes open, but a small grin was still playing in his lips.

Thor sighed and dragged Loki to the nearest bed he could find, which turned out to be Frigga's, but since it was midday, she wouldn't need it. Jane followed her husband.

Loki felt Thor losing his grip on his arm. The next thing he knew was the soft fabric of Frigga's pink pillow in his face. The young king groaned. There was something he was forgetting. Something very important. Something he didn't want Thor to know. A silent voice in his head warned Loki for his nightmares, but the young king didn't listen. The bed was so soft and the blanket which was being put over his body was so warm. All he wanted to do now was sleep…

Thor took a step away from the bed and gestured to Jane that she had to leave the room. When they entered the living room, Thor closed the door connecting the two rooms.

"What was all that?" Jane asked in a loud whisper, even though it wasn't really necessary to whisper. The walls were pretty soundproof, you had to start screaming to get through.

Thor scowled and decided to flop down on the couch. He didn't really have anything else to do.

"That was nothing…" he muttered. Jane walked behind the couch and put her hands on her husband's shoulders. She lend down until her mouth was next to his cheek and smiled.

"You… were a women!" she said grinning from ear to ear, obviously enjoying Thor's shame.

The God of Thunder groaned. "How nice of you to remind me…"

Jane laughed and walked past the couch to sit down. Still laughing she dropped next to Thor and put her head on his big shoulder. Thor slightly smiled and threw his arm around his wife.

"At least it was Sif..." he whispered in her ear before softly kissing Jane on the lips. At that moment Frigga walked in the room. She had been playing on the small balcony that looked over the rest of Asgard. When she saw her parents, a disgusted frown appeared on her face.

"Mummy!" she called out. Jane looked up and watched her daughter. The little girl stuck out her tongue. "Don't be so gross!"

Thor and Jane smiled. Frigga wanted to walk to her room when her father stopped her.

"Frigga! Don't go into your room. Loki is sleeping there…"

Frigga's face lit up and she jumped around excitedly.

"Loki is here!" she yelled while clapping her hands, but her parents immediately put their fingers on their mouths as a silent order to keep quiet. Frigga bit her lip and also put her finger on her lips.

"Sorry…" she whispered after which she walked over to the couch on the tips of her toes. She jumped on her father's lap and hugged his enormous chest.

"Why is he sleeping?" she asked with a worried frown spread across her face. "Is Loki ill?"

Thor shook his head. "No, no, sweetheart. He's just tired… If we just let him sleep peacefully for a while he'll be fine…"

Frigga bit her lip when she remembered that night when she was spying on Loki through the crack of his door. Her uncle had had some obviously horrifying nightmares and it wasn't the only time… She doubted Loki would have a good night rest. Should she tell her parents? Frigga decided not to. After all, she had nightmares herself and she didn't talk about those either. She figured Loki didn't want anyone to know…

So the little girl nodded and rolled off her father's lap, splitting her parents. Actually she was pretty tired herself, but she didn't want to go to sleep! Not while Loki was having nightmares. He talked to her when she needed someone, that night on the roof! Now she was going to make sure he was fine!

About half an hour later, a hard knock on the door made the three people on the couch look up. They had been talking about Frigga's latest adventures in the endless gardens of the palace. She'd also been exploring the rest of Asgard together with Arya. The Asgardian, Captain in the making turned out to be pretty cool and Frigga had started to see her as her big sister.

Thor looked at the door and sighed. He could already imagine Lord Argus or Lord Atlas standing at the door, complaining about Loki's absence… Arya had probably not managed to keep the two men of Loki's track. The God of Thunder first tried to ignore the visitors, but after a second, even harder knock he finally got to his feet.

On second thoughts, Lord Argus, nor Lord Atlas would knock that hard and rudely. Thor opened the door and stood eye to eye with Lady Sif. Behind her he could see Fandral, winking at a girl who just passed by.

"I know he's here!" Sif said before Thor could greet them. She pushed her friend aside and let herself in. Fandral slowly flowed. Thor frowned and closed the door.

"What do you mean?" he asked even though he knew who Lady Sif was talking about. Sif rolled her eyes and scanned the room.

"Loki!" she eventually said while walking over to the open door of Thor and Jane's bedroom. She checked the room and closed the door when she realised no one was hiding there.

"He is not in his room, I don't need some wanne be warrior to tell me lies! If he is not there, then there is only one place left where he could be after falling asleep in the throne room!"

Thor cleared his throat. "That 'wanne be warrior' is your future Captain, Sif…"

"Yes!" Frigga quickly added. "And she is really cool!"

Sif watched the little girl in confusion. What was so cold about Arya?

Thor sighed and gestured to Frigga that she had to be quiet.
"What makes you think Loki fell asleep during the meeting?"

Sif fixed her eyes back on Thor and watched him in disbelief.
"My future Captain is not the best liar! She almost pooped her pants when she saw us coming!"

Thor frowned. What was going on with Sif? All right… she wasn't the most kind and sweet girl in the world and she could be really jealous, but this was just abnormal. Thor shared a look with Fandral, but his old friend just raised his shoulders. He didn't know either.

"Anyway, where is he! We need to talk to him right now!"

"Loki is sleeping…" Thor finally admitted. "He's exhausted! Just give him a break!"

"A king is supposed to be available at all times!" Sif immediately answered. "We need to talk to him now!"

"Sif, just try to understand…" Thor tried. He was doing his best not to start shouting at her, but Sif just ignored him.

"We need weapons! Swords, daggers, speers! The new recruits can't be taught with those useless, broken, rusty things we have left! Loki wants an army? Well then he'll need weapons too!"

"Weapons and army matters are Lord Atlas' responsibility and you damn well now that!" Thor said harshly. Fandral's eyes jumped between his two friends. He knew it wouldn't take long before they started fighting.

Sif just ignored Thor's word's and walked over to Frigga's room.

"What' behind that door?" she asked while reaching for the door handle. Frigga immediately jumped from the couch.

"That's my room!" she shouted enthusiastically, completely forgetting that Loki was in there. All she could think of was the fact that Lady Sif, her idol, was interested in her room! She ran over to Lady Sif and wanted to open the door, but Thor was quick to interrupt.

"No!" he called out furiously, while pulling Frigga back. The little girl looked confused and Sif smiled. Now she knew that Loki was in that room.

"She just wanted to show her room to me…" she said innocently. Frigga looked up at her father. Thor on the other hand looked at Sif in disbelief.

"You are not going to take advantage of my daughter! How dare you!"

Sif scowled and stepped away from the door. The fire in her eyes increased and Frigga swallowed. Was her father telling the truth? Was Sif taking advantage of her?

"How can you defend him?" Sif asked darkly. "He killed so many innocent people, he betrayed us and the rest of Asgard more than once! He killed your father and took the throne for himself! How can you even trust him!"

Thor pushed Frigga towards her mother. Jane understood the hint and tried to force her daughter to leave the room, but the little girl was far too interested in the conversation.

Fandral who realised things were getting out of hand tried to calm the tense situation.

"Come on guys…." he tried while walking over to his two friends. "I think we're all a bit tired…"

Fandral smiled and turned to Sif. "We'll come back when Loki wakes up… I fact… maybe we all could go to sleep! I like sleeping! Especially after a good party, and with a beautiful girl next to me, but …"

"Shut up, Fandral!" Sif called out looking very irritated. "Nobody asked for your opinion!"

Now it was Fandral's turn to get angry.

"What is wrong with you!" he shouted. Sif looked at him in disbelief.

"Wrong with me? What is wrong with you two! That," she shouted while pointing at the door behind her, "is a murderer and a liar!"

"You are just blinded by a childish hatred!" Fandral responded. "And I'm not the only one! Thor's thinking it too! Loki used to be your friend! As if you never did anything wrong!"

Sif pulled up her eyebrows and turned to Thor. "Oh really? You're also choosing his side? I'm not the one who's blinded! You two just have to accept the truth! He's tricking you! Again!"

"Loki has been a good king…" Thor started, but Sif didn't listen.

"So you trust him? After everything he has done, you still trust him!"

Thor groaned and closed his eyes. "I don't trust him and I don't forgive him! But he is the king and he is a good one! It's time you accept that!"

Sif's nostrils widened as she took a deep breath to shout her response, but a silent, innocent and slightly scared voice interrupted.

"Why not daddy?"

All eyes fixed on little Frigga who was standing at the door of her parents room. She had tears in her eyes and was shivering in fear and anger. Thor looked confused.

"Why don't you want to trust or forgive him?" Frigga asked again.

Thor was taken aback by the question. He sighed. How was he supposed to explain something like that to a five year old?

"Frigga… sweetie, it's difficult to understand…"

Frigga frowned angrily while even more tears flowed down her cheeks. Why did everybody think she was too stupid to understand things! It was them who didn't understand while it was all so simple! Why did grownups always make things so difficult!

"But daddy! Loki is your brother! Of all people you should be the one to forgive him! Because that's what family does! It doesn't matter what they've done wrong! If I had a little brother or sister I wouldn't just curse and hate them, or turn them into a murderer! You are a really, really bad big brother!"

Frigga was so angry she didn't care how rude she was.

Thor closed his eyes and sighed. His daughter's words hurt him more that anyone else's. Somewhere he wanted to shout back at Frigga, to make it clear that this was his business, but he knew that her young mind just didn't know any better.

"Sweetheart, you don't understand… Loki has done some really bad stuff and sometimes you just can't forgive someone…"

"BUT HE'S YOUR BROTHER!" Frigga screamed out. A short, but loud crackle filled the air as a thin silver force field surrounded Frigga's body and blasted through the room, making everyone stumble backwards. A vase with beautiful red flowers which was standing on the table, was blown into smithereens. Everybody looked at the little girl, awe-struck, but Frigga was so furious that she didn't even notice.

"All right, Frigga…" Thor started, trying to keep his voice steady. Loki was going to pay for this! He'd told him that he didn't want him to teach his daughter magic!
"Just calm down… Maybe you should stay with Jane until…"

"She does have a point…" another voice suddenly interrupted. Thor looked up and watched his wife with a questioning look in his eyes. Jane was obviously as surprised as he was by Frigga's little outburst, but she'd managed to keep her head.

"Frigga does have a point…" she repeated. "Loki is your brother… Maybe if you forgive him, he could be trusted too…"

Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing! A new wave of anger consumed his body. Why was everyone making such a big deal out of his family troubles!

"I appreciate your Midgardian principals, but Loki and I go way back! Your idea of forgiveness, trust, and brotherhood is based on a human live! Loki and I have lived together for at least a thousand years!"

"Exactly! That is why you should understand how important it is to keep your family close!" Jane called out in a desperate voice.

"This is not the first time Loki crossed the line!" Thor shouted.

"I understand that and that is exactly the reason why I chose to give him a chance! All I know about him is The Battle of New York and Let's fake my own death to take the throne! You told me so many stories about the battles you and Loki fought! The countless times he saved you're life! He saved your daughter's life too! Isn't that enough to forgive him and forget the past!"

Thor turned around and rubbed his eyes. He really needed to get out, otherwise people were going to get hurt! He was way too angry to listen!

"Jane! You can't understand!"

"Exactly!" the furious mother shouted back. "Because I never will! Because I'm just a mortal! How am I supposed to live alongside you when I'm just a blink of an eye for you! I'll grow old, while you stay young forever. You will even witness the death of your child! And still you won't have aged a day!"

Tears had formed in Jane's eyes. Finally she had brought her biggest fear to the light. She knew this had nothing to do with the subject and she understood it was rather selfish of her to draw the attention towards her, but it was just a matter that had been killing the poor mother ever since she and Thor got married. And especially when Frigga was born! She didn't even know if Frigga would age as a human! For now it seemed like she was, but maybe that wouldn't last! Maybe she would never see her daughter become an adult. Maybe she would never have grandchildren!

Thor and everyone else in the room turned silent. Thor's anger faded like frost under the morning sun. He blinked confusedly and swallowed. When Jane noticed that everyone, including her daughter, was staring at her, she quickly turned around and walked into her bedroom. Before anyone could stop her she'd slammed the door shut.

I hope it was worth waiting for, I'm really trying, but it seems as if my teachers have gone mad!

Sorry if you find a lot of spelling mistakes, I went over it rather quickly...

Please review!

Rumple x