Dreaming again

After a fruitless search for survivors Loki returned to Asgard with Thor and the rest of their men. The young prince knew that Thor would be summoning him shortly to discuss the next course of action along with the rest of his inner circle. But for now he was free to do as he pleased and he headed directly into the palace gardens.

He made his way to a large grotto that Thor himself had commissioned. It bore an impressive fountain, creeping vines with beautiful flowers and two imposing statues.

With a sad sigh, Loki plucked two flowers from the vine and laid them at the feet of each statue. Sitting down on a bench facing the statues, Loki looked up at them both and blinked back tears. The statue on the left, made in the image of Odin seemed always to look down on him disapprovingly.

Loki and Thor had been in the throes' of adolescence when they had lost their father in the Time War. Thor had been crowned King but Frigga ruled as regent until he was of age.

Loki remembered Frigga's rule well. Her patience and intelligence had made her a shrewd but benevolent ruler. She successfully negotiated a peace treaty with the Daleks, bringing peace to the Nine Realms (what was left of them). Sadly the peace was all too brief.

When Thor came of age he had been full of vengeance and bravado. Keen to prove himself a warrior King and avenge his father, Thor had mounted an attack on a population of Daleks in Vanaheim. Many Daleks had been destroyed, but the retaliation of those that had survived was swift and brutal. Asgard itself was bombarded by a Dalek assault and many Asgardians had paid with their lives for Thor's hotheadedness. One of them had been Frigga.

In the garden Loki looked sadly at Frigga's statue. The sculptor had done an excellent job of capturing her grace and beauty. The young prince let out a choked sob. Truth be told, he had felt the loss of Frigga far more deeply than the loss of Odin. Loki had always been closer to his mother, but it was more than that. Odin had been a warrior and Loki had come to understand at an early age that a day may come when his father did not return from battle. He had never believed he would lose Frigga in such a way.

Loki lay down on the bench and looked up at the rolling clouds above his head, letting his sorrow wash over him. Before long the warm sun and the gentle babble of the water fountain mad his eyelids grow heavy…

"Alex when you said you had a fun afternoon planned; this is not exactly what I had pictured".

Alex turned and looked at his friend in bewilderment, "you don't think this is fun?"

His friend, a young blonde woman – what was her name again? – looked around the museum with a slightly aghast expression. "No".

"But this is history" Alex impressed, "aren't you curious about past civilisations in any way?"

A funny look came across the young woman's face, "curious? No I wouldn't say I was curious".

"Well I think it's fascinating" Alex replied as he walked along, looking at the displays and not paying attention to where he was going. He collided into a young woman, causing her to drop her audio guide. He picked it up and handed it to the young woman, giving her a charming apologetic smile. The young woman blushed and continued on her way.

"Ooh, you could definitely have gotten her phone number if you'd asked for it" his friend said with a grin.

"Why would I do that?" Alex asked.

"Oh Alex" the young woman shook her head, "you are so oblivious. She could have been the girl of your dreams for all you know".

Alex felt his cheeks become flushed with colour, "well actually, the girl of my dreams is-"

"-dreaming again young prince?"

Loki woke up with a start. He turned his head to see Heimdall, the guardian sentry of Asgard, standing in the grotto.

He stood up smoothly and looked at the sentry with a frown, "should you not be at your post?"

"The King has summoned you to council" Heimdall said in his deep voice, "and requested that I seek you out".

Loki nodded. "Thank you. I will be there momentarily".

Heimdall looked at Loki with an air of suspicion. He had never quite trusted the polite young prince. He had lived long enough to know a calm demeanour often hid a raging storm within. He wondered what tempest lay within Loki.

For his own part, Loki watched the sentry expectantly. Eventually Heimdall bowed his head slightly and left the grotto.

Patiently, Loki stood watching the grotto entrance for a full five minutes after Heimdall had left.

When he was sure he was alone, he knelt down beside Frigga's statue and gently pressed a seemingly random sequence of carvings on its base. A panel slid open and Loki slowly removed the Dalek gun he had secreted there some time ago.

It had been Frigga's death that had changed everything. Oh yes, in its wake Loki had carried on as the dutiful, albeit slightly jealous brother he had always appeared (unwavering loyalty would have been too suspicious). He rarely quarrelled his brother and only questioned him when his plans grew too blood thirsty. The people of Asgard saw Loki as a man of integrity who was torn between loyalty to his brother and common sense.

But Missy had been right. It was but a carefully cultivated image.

No one knew the bitter hatred he harboured for his brother – the man he blamed for the loss of his mother, the violent idiot who was unfit to be king. No one could see the rage and hate course through his veins like poison.

Except, it would seem, for this mysterious Time Lord.

Loki turned the gun over thoughtfully in his hands. It appeared untouched. At any rate, no one knew of the secret compartment. Loki had ensured that the sculptor had met with an unfortunate accident as soon as he had completed 'the King's secret request'.

Loki had been planning his revenge for some time. It was a simple plan that required patience. He procured a Dalek gun and kept it hidden until it was time. Then when Thor led another battle against the Daleks, the King would 'fall' in the ensuing melee.

There would be no suspicion. Loki could easily disguise himself as a Dalek to perform the deed. The King would have fallen in battle, tragic but not unexpected, and then he - the grieving brother - would assume the throne and rule what was left of the kingdom that Thor had destroyed.

It had been perfect. No one could know. No one could even suspect him. But she knew. How? How did this ghost of Galifrey know secrets that he had told no one?

Loki needed more information about the Time Lords. Sadly, there were few Asgardians left now that knew about Time Lords in detail. Perhaps Heimdall would know something, but the gatekeeper didn't trust him. Besides, Heimdall took his oath to the King far too seriously. He'd probably report Loki's questions to Thor immediately, and that would lead to more questions which he was not keen to answer.

No, he needed someone whose silence could be bought. Someone who knew all the peculiarities of the universe...

With a frown Loki placed the Dalek gun back in its compartment and slid the panel back into place. There was no other option; he would have to destroy the weapon. The attack on Earth would have been the perfect excuse for Thor to wage war again (and he almost certainly would) but Loki could not risk executing his plan with this 'Missy' sniffing around. With any luck, the damn fool would get himself killed of his own accord.

Loki stood up and brushed the dirt from his knees. With a sigh he looked up at the two statues of his parents grimly. "I would ask your forgiveness" he said bitterly, "but we all know you'd have taken his side anyway".

Then he walked away, barely giving any thought to the strange dream he had just awoken from, or the blonde woman who resided within it.