"Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."-Maya Angelou
Glitnir was dimmer than I thought it would be inside. The small torches that lit the hall up reflected off of the golden pillars and silver ceiling. The marble floor had small obsidian diamond tiles between them. I had never been to this place before. I never had a reason to before now. I was tugged along down the winding hallway. I took a quick peek up at the ceiling. In it, I saw my reflection for the first time in three months. My first reaction was to cringe. The somewhat long black hair I entered prison with was now down to my jawline. It lay in matted on my shoulders and back. I was going to have to cut it off. And my lovely pale face was not pale anymore. Dirt and dust had covered it from a lack of bathing. The only thing recognizable was my green eyes. I looked away from my reflection and stared forward.
"Stay here." The guards told me. Shrugging, I did as I was told. Now if these cuffs were off it would be a different story…I stood before two large doors. I had not the slightest idea to what they lead to, but whatever it was, was not going to be good. A Council of the gods. I had not heard of such things happening before. All of this fuss over me? How kind of them.
Suddenly the large doors opened before me and the guards returned. The muzzle was removed from my mouth and jaw. I sucked in the cool air though my mouth. "Much better." I muttered for the sake of talking. It felt good to move my mouth again. The cuffs on my wrist and ankles were not messed with. There was a gentle shove from behind and I stumbled forward into the room. It was circular. That was unexpected. I walked towards the center of the mostly marble room, taking everything in. It was like a small coliseum with seating all around the room. In the middle of all of this was a flat area with five chairs. One for each of the gods. The arena was full of people, which surprised me too. The chattering died down as soon as I stepped inside. In the center of the floor I saw a platform. Stepping up onto it, I scanned the crowd. Not once did I advert my gaze or lower my head. I was not ashamed of myself, even if what I did was terrible.
The small door behind the chairs opened and the first god of the council emerged. Gerd, the goddess of Midguard. Of course she would be here; I tried to take over her realm. She would not be a forgiving one, now would she? Her long blue dress dragged on the ground as she took her seat. Next to come through the door and into the hall was Fitch, the god of ruling and arbitration. He would probably act as the neutral in this trial. I felt his eyes burn though me as he took his seat. Maybe he would not be the neutral one after all. Then there was Var. I have never seen her before, but her beauty was outstanding. Gracefully she sat next to Fitch. Oh, what the cast were have here. Snotra entered with a wave. How pleasant, I didn't expect her here. She's the goddes of self-control. Who needs that anyways? Plus, what a drab cloak she had on. I do not believe I have seen her in any bright colors before.
Last but not least, was Forseti. He was a rather stout little man with blonde hair like Thor's, except he had a beard as well. I was surprised he was not graying yet, he's been around forever. Then again, we are just a bunch of close immortals here, right? His face did not show any signs of anger like the others did. Maybe he was my hope in all of this. Forseti made eye contact with me and I bent over a little. A bow of respect. Out of all of them, he was the one I would respect the most. He was the god of justice and reconciliation. I was counting on a small sliver of mercy. That and a bit of luck.
The people in the arena rose when he entered inside. After sitting down, everyone did so. Except for me. I was the only one, standing in the middle of loads of scorning glares and angry faces. I get those a lot. I spied Thor, Frigga, and Odin sitting near the panel of gods. Thor looked nervous, Frigga upset, and Odin angry. I did not expect anything less. "Let us begin." He shouted, his voice echoing nicely though the hall. Everyone became silent. "Thank you, Odin." Forseti began. "We are here to try Loki, God of mischief and lies, for his wrong doing in the realm of Midguard. Loki, would you explain to the panel you crime." His tone was neither angry nor spiteful, and this put me at a temporary ease.
I cleared my voice before I announced my wrongdoing to a room full of people. I was going to have to say it loud. "I attempted to enslave the human race in addition to taking over and ruling all of Midguard." I was tempted to say something witty, but I have already caused enough trouble. There were no gasps, no hateful noises from the crowd. Only silence. "You ruined New York, one of Midguard's finest establishments!" Gerd exclaimed. "What do you have to say about it?" I'm sorry. I almost said it too, sarcastically. This was requiring a lot of restraint. "I would have succeeded, if not for the Avengers." I said. I did not know if this was the right answer or not, but it was an answer. Thor was shaking his head, so I assumed it was either the wrong one, or funny. "You arrogant pig!" Gerd shouted. Okay, wrong answer. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." I said. She looked like she was going to fall out of her chair. "Somebody put the muzzle on that man!" She rose from her chair and was pointing at me. "Gerd, please, sit." Forseti said. She gave me a glare before sitting back down.
"Your lack of self control is discerning, Loki." Snotra spoke. She did not rise from her spot as Gerd had done. "Yes, it is a tribulation for me." A small smile crept on her face. "As it is for many." I nodded at her statement. "So when the opportune moment appeared, you could not help but take it, correct?" Snorta asked. I shook my head yes but did not look up. "That and a combination of things." I replied. There was a rising murmur that Forseti tried to calm. "Well, boy, if there were more reasons, then say so!" Fitch yelled over the chatty crowd. I swallowed again. "Many people forget about the power the Tesseract." I began. "He's going to fill our ears with lies!" Gerd exclaimed. "Why do we not punish him yet for his crimes against Midguard and the terrible disgrace he brings upon his family!" Oh, ouch. Because I totally have a family. "Gerd, sit." Forseti commanded. Slowly she lowered into her chair. "As I was saying," I continued, looking at her specifically. "The power of the cube is immense. There are parts of my travels that I cannot recall, as hard as I may try. They are like fuzzy blurs that have evaded my mind. In other words, the Tesseract is also to blame for my insane behavor." The arena erupted in noise. People stood from their seats yelling at me, others shaking their heads disapprovingly. I created chaos. I love chaos.
"Please, silence!" Foresti shouted over the crowd. Things settled down as people stopped shouting and sat down in their seats again. "This is an interesting accusation, boy." Fitch said once the room was silent. "You blame power for your destruction of Midguard." I raised a finger in the air. "Part of the reason, yes. And I only damaged it, I did not destroy it." I reminded the Council. "Damage is destruction to me, Loki." Gerd commented. Fitch looked down from his seat to Gerd. "They are not the same things!" He exclaimed. Snotra nodded. "They are very similar though. Damage could be destruction." Fitch shook his head. "No, no it is not!" Forseti interjected. "They are separate to me." I said. "See, they are differnet!" Fitch said to Gerd. "He's the god of lies, you cannot trust him!" She retorted. "Why can we not get along!?" Var exclaimed. This was the first time we had heard anything from her since the beginning of this trial. "We are a council, for Valhalla's sake, let's act like one!" The goddess of agreement would be angry at us all though. Figures.
"Loki," She said, turning back towards me. "I believe you." A few more murmurs spread before they dissipated." I bowed my head in appreciation. "There is still more, my fair lady." I told her. "Continue." She asked of me, sitting back down. "I was coursed into taking over Midguard by forces beyond what we know. Forces beyond the Chitauri." I left it at that. That was almost all I knew. Almost.
The panel looked somewhat concerned and intrigued. "Greater forces?" Var asked. I gave a nod. "Yes. That is correct." There was a pause of pure silence before she spoke again. "What forces?" She asked. Ah, the question everyone has been asking inside their head. "I do not know." I said at last. Gerd crossed her legs and sighed. Fitch shook his head and looked at Var suspiciously. "How do you not know?" Gerd questioned. "You were working for someone that you did not even know?" Oh, no, that's not just what I said at all! "The Other, the Chitauri's leader, has a master for which they carry work out for. I do not know this master, so therefore, I did not really know my employer." Gerd shook her head disapprovingly. "How naive can you be? You led an army into the realm I protect and you don't even know who they really work for!"
"Gerd." Forseti said. "Sit." Crossing her arms, she plopped into her chair. "How else was I suppose to take over Midguard?" I asked her. She sighed. "You were not permitted to take over it in the first place, fool!" I stepped off the podium and walked towards the panel. "Have you ever done anything wrong in the hopes to make things right?" I posed the question. This really shut them up. "Boy, whatever do you mean?" Fitch asked. "Yes, explain yourself, Loki." Var added. "Why do we not-" Forseti raised a hand. "Gerd." He shouted. She sunk back down in her chair. "Loki, continue."
"If the one you loved fell deathly ill, and the only way to heal them would be to steal the medication, what would you do?" I asked to the panel and the crowd. "What if an evil man threatened your family if you did not follow his orders, as bad as they may be, what would you do then, people?" There was utter silence in the whole arena. "If saving your family meant taking your own life, would you do it? Even though taking one's life is wrong, per se?" I looked around at the faces of the people watching me. "Would you kill someone to protect yourself and your family?" I paced around the large circular floor as I carried on. "And, what if someone would inflict the greatest pain upon your beloved if you did not agree to fight with them? What would you do then?" I shouted. Still, no one would answer my questions. My eyes shifted up to Thor. "Would you do what's wrong to make the life of others right?" I could feel something inside the room change, even though I could not tell you what it was. Mutual understanding now? I do not know. "I think my point has been made here." I said, standing back upon the podium. "So please, great panel of judges, do what you wish with me."
No one said anything at all. The gods looked down at me with a different demeanor, and it was then that I could not help but smirk. "Fitch?" Forseti asked. He rubbed his chin and pondered what he wanted to do. "100 years in prison." He replied. I cringed at his reply. A hundred years was not being extremely generous, but it was not the worst. My palms became sweaty and I rubbed them anxiously on my linen pants. "Var." Forseti asked next. I could see her hesitate before she spoke. She was torn between two issues. "Imprisonment. For how long, I do not know." Okay, prison was not too bad. I let out a sigh of relief. I knew things were going to become much worse whatever the decision may be. "Snorta." The god of justice asked. "Prison is not going to teach him self-control." I have a bad feeling about this one. The goddess of self-control was not going to be easy on me. "We should take advantage of Loki's shape shifting abilities. As a horse, he could provide lots of service to Asguard. Doing work for 50 years should be good enough. That should whip him into shape." Oh, very funny goddess. Horse whips were not cruel, but it would be for me, for I had an idea for who I would be forced to work for. And Odin was not very forgiving of his second son. The corner of my eye caught some movement as Thor leapt from his seat in protest. Odin quickly pushed him back into his seat."Gerd?" Okay, this one I expected something dramatic from. The corners of her mouth turned upwards in an awful smile. "Execution. This man deserved to die from his careless actions that he has not only exhibited once before, but twice now. He is the source of our problems. I do not know why we do not kill him now."
"Then do it!" I shouted aloud. "Kill me then! For what does this lowly soul have to live for? I have no family! I have no home like you! I have no place where I belong!" Gerd looked slightly taken aback. "I have nowhere where I belong. So go ahead, kill me. You would make life much easier for me." Forseti stood up from his seat and the other gods followed suit. "The panel will now decide Loki's punishment." He walked around his chair and back though the small door. The others followed behind him. The door closed and the talking rose back up again. I was tired of their scornful faces. My head remained tilted forwards and down. I examined my feet and the hem of my pants, but I was not going to look up. I did not want to see my "family's" faces. I did not want to see any of it. Over the din I heard my name bellowed out. It was Thor. I still would not raise my head. I am sorry, brother. And I was. I had not been sorry in a long time. Actually, I was pretty sure that sorry was not in my vocabulary.
There was suddenly silence and I assumed the panel had entered the coliseum again. Slowly I raised my head up to look at them. Each one was seated and looking back at me, all their faces neutral. The doors on the floor opened up and two men entered. My head tilted to the side, wondering what his was. One of them was carrying a large scroll of parchment and the other had a small object in their hands. They stopped in front of the podium. "Loki, by law you must agree to your punishment." A knife. That's what the small object was. I knew what to do. I took it from the man and dragged the sharpened blade across the center of my hand. The parchment was blank, but the ink probably appeared after my blood touched the paper. A common spell used on these. Sighing, I pressed my palm on the top of the document. A stinging sensation traveled up my arm and the words on the parchment began to appear. I could not remove my hand, for the man kept it on the paper. My eyes widened as the words showed up red. My blood was the ink for this document. I read the words on it as they appeared. My jaw dropped open, leaving my mouth slightly ajar. Could this sentence possibly be correct? I looked up to the panel in shock.
"Loki, you are to be exiled to Midguard."
