Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters should pray for their good fortune.

Title: A God's Proposal

Summary: Prequel to Where to Levy the Blame. Thor hears about a quest in the local tavern one day and thinks that the prize would be a fit proposal gift for Jane. However, he needs Loki's help to obtain this gift, and Loki is locked up in Asgard's dungeon suffering Odin's secret punishments. Warnings: Rape and Torture

Author's Comments: Okay I have thought long and hard about this chapter, so I hope that over thinking doesn't impede my writing here. I think of the entire concept of this story that this part is my favorite. To me it has the whole Jack and the Bean Stock feel.

~[~ (Loki's POV)

Loki woke up filled with dread and trepidation when he remembered where they were. This part of the journey was by far the hardest, and scariest, for all sorcerers. Every creature in this realm wanted to use him to exploit his magic, but this part of the quest involved going into a true giant's castle, and retrieving a crystal. If they were caught they would all face dire consequences for the giant would eat those who possessed no magic, and those that did faced his horrid dip. Each time Loki thought about being dropped into the pool of magic draining substance he cringed and shuttered violently. He was the first one, other than Hogun who had last watch, to arise and now his thoughts were a jumbled mess.

A while later the others started to get up and pack up the camp. Fandral seemed to be growing restless and so he began to play with his sword and crack jokes. Finally he asked "So what peril do we face today? Is it another army of natives, or perhaps a pack of wild animals who wish to tear you to pieces?"

Loki was not looking at him but knew that the question was meant to be insulting. "No, today is the hardest of all the steps, and certainly the most perilous, for if we are caught that certainly means our end." He turned to face them all so that they would understand the seriousness of the situation. "The next step involves retrieving a crystal, one that will give the flower eternal life, and the crystals are found in the giant Fabor's castle. Beware, though it may sound easy it is not, for Fabor enjoys eating those who enter his castle, and draining magic out of those who have it. We will have to sneak in quietly and steal one of the crystals from his collection room on the far side of the castle." Loki finished and exhaled deeply. He could see the mixed emotions that ran through the group. Sif and Hogun, ever the two smarter ones, look extremely apprehensive, while Thor and Fandral, ever the dumbest, looked eager. Volstagg was torn between fear and excitement.

Thor stepped forward to stand next to Loki and wrapped his arm around him. He turned and addressed the rest of the group. "For my friends this shall be a glorious day, one that we shall all remember for the rest of our lives I am sure. Fear not my friends for I am confident in our abilities and I know that we will be able to do this. But know this, if something does happen then I will protect you all."

Loki rolled his eyes knowing that this was going to be even more difficult than he imagined. "It will not be that simple, and it would be best if we could simply slip in and then leave undetected."

Thor was always the stubborn one though, and Loki could already feel the magic draining liquid enveloping him from what he was sure to be a most inglorious failure. "Oh please, we will be fine." Thor remarked, then walked ahead but not in the right direction.

Loki exhaled and opened the book so he could get a heading, and when he found it he silently started in that direction, formulating a few different plans in his mind. Thor had not gotten far and when he realized that no one was following him and quickly came back following Loki.

Arriving at the entrance of the castle was more intimidating than Loki would have liked to admit, but he had been bracing himself for this. Two large dogs guarded the door, and had very short chains. There was a moat around the castle, and he was not even considering what could possibly live in it. The castle was truly an impressive structure, and it was definitely going to make infiltrating it that much harder.

He decided to address his plan with the others. "Those dogs out front are to alert Fabor if something comes close to his castle. They have amazing senses and do not distract easily, so we will need to try to avoid them at all costs." He pointed to a window that seemed high to them, but was only the first floor of the castle to the giant. "That is where I suggest we try to enter, as it will probably drop us off in the hallway away from prying eyes. The giant is very protective of his crystal collection, and so we will need to be quick and quiet or else we will all die."

"Which room is the collection room and how will we know where to look?" Hogun inquired.

Loki looked away sadly. "I do not know, the collection is on the far end of the castle, and there is no entrance near it."

"So we have no direction and are just going to go snooping around this giant's castle hoping not to get caught?" Sif seemed a bit put out at the implication that she didn't know exactly where they were going.

"Essentially." Loki stated sarcastically and then turned back to the castle.

Thor piped up next to him "How are we to get across the moat without alerting the dogs?"

"We are going to swim across, that way our scent will be masked and the dogs will not see us coming." Loki was now looking over at the water nervously. He was afraid to know what creatures lived in there, but this seemed like their only viable option.

Fandral was now indignant and so was Volstagg. "You have got to be kidding me. There is no way I am swimming across that. There must be another solution." Fandral uttered and looked away defiantly.

"Yes surely there must be another way across, one that is less hostile?" Volstagg inquired and Loki almost felt bad for crushing his spirits.

Looking back at the water and then at the large and clearly agitated hounds Loki said. "You are more than welcome to come up with another way."

After a few more minutes the group sighed and gave up finally looking back him. He slowly snuck out of the bush to the edge of cliff over the moat. He could see small steps that should support their weight, even Volstagg, on the way down that they could leap onto and that would get them in the water. He jumped first onto one and held his breath as he landed. When the small step didn't move he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the others. "All clear" The first part of the mini adventure had begun. They all began to jump from spot to spot until they reached the water.

Loki was surprised to find that the water was extremely shallow and only went up to his knees. Though he thought it was strange he didn't comment on it and waited for the others to finish their decent down the cliff. Volstagg seemed to have a bit of trouble and almost tripping on several occasions.

When they had all reached the bottom Thor stepped into the water and laughed when he realized that it was rather shallow. "All the fuss over a small puddle." He confidently strode across the moat and the rest of them followed, though Loki was watching carefully for any signs of trouble.

When they had crossed to the other side Loki began to look for a way back up. From what he could see small vines hung about half way down the cliff that they could use to climb back up. The others seemed to sense what he thought and Volstagg chimed in "Need a lift anyone?"

Thor took over directing them then. "Sif and Loki could climb up and find another vine to drop down to the rest of us so we could climb up. Volstagg lift Sif up to grab on that vine over there and I will push Loki up to the one over here." Everyone nodded and Volstagge lifted Sif up with ease making sure that she firmly grasped the vine before letting go and allowing her to finish climbing up. It was slightly more difficult for Thor and Loki because though Loki was light the vine they were trying to reach was higher and so Loki got a running start so Thor could essentially throw him up to grab the vine. It was a scary experience and once he took hold of the vine he held on dearly taking a moment to collect himself before moving. Finally him and Sif reached the top and cautiously checked around for threats.

"We can use the rock over there to tie the vines so that they can climb up easier." Loki explained to Sif who nodded. They both grabbed a few vines and while Loki secured one to the rock Sif tied several together to make the vines long enough to reach the others. When she was finished she cast the vines over the edge and signaled for the others to start climbing.

While the others began to climb Loki watched for potential threats and kept an eye open for anything that seemed unusual. So far they had been doing well and the area that they chose to climb up into was hidden by a large garden concealing them well. When everyone finished climbing they all regrouped to move along with the next step.

Everyone looked back to Loki now waiting for him to give them an idea. He had thought this next part through carefully, and as long as everyone was careful they should be okay. "The next part is the hardest because we need to make it up into the castle without being seen. That window over there is our best chance, and so we will need to climb the castle wall carefully to get inside. When we do we should split up so we have the best chance of finding the crystal and meet back here as soon as we finish searching the area we choose." Though the plan sounded simple Loki knew it wasn't. The castle was not going to be an easy one to search, especially with the fact that the giant and his house were ten times their size. It would be a challenge to get inside, let alone sneak though without being seen.

They carefully approached the wall and everyone began to carefully climb. Loki was especially careful because his battered body was starting to feel the strain. Even though as a god his healing was much better than average, he was still slightly sore and the wounds were aggravated. His movements would have to be precise so he avoided further injury, and suspicion. Having Sif know was bad enough, but he did not need the others to find out as well, for they would surely jest about it for years to come.

Loki was the third one to reach the top, and when he arrived he immediately wanted to turn back around. This place looked like a nightmare to any magician, for magical artifacts where strewn throughout, and Loki knew that they were once prized possessions of the giant's victims. Also, paintings covered the castle walls of the glorious feasts that the giant indulged in, and the disgusting sight of creatures from the all realms butchered like animals was a bit overwhelming. The others wore similar expressions, and if they did not understand his fear before, he was certain that they did now.

Next to the window a lovely red and gold curtain hung, one that touched the floor. Gold ropes held the curtains in place, and Thor was the first to grab hold of it and slide to the castle floor. The others soon followed suit with Loki attempting it last. He was afraid to grab hold of it because the drop looked so far, and he was not a fan of heights. When he finally did grab the curtain and began to slide he felt himself losing his grip and falling. The sensation was terrifying and he almost screamed, but was stopped when he felt someone catch him and break his fall. Thor had grabbed him and gently set him on the floor trying to make sure he was alright. He muttered a quick appreciation before taking in his surroundings.

"Hogun and Sif head to the upper floor of the castle, while Volstagg and Fandral check the middle. Loki and I will scour this floor and we shall meet outside the second we finish our search. If anyone finds the crystal grab it with haste and hurry to the bank we emerged at on this side." Everyone nodded and took off to start the search so they could leave as soon as possible.

~[~ (Thor's POV)

Loki certainly did not jest about the dangers of this castle for Thor could see it was a barbaric place. The paintings made him feel sick, and he decided that Loki was right about avoiding the giant at all costs, for Thor was not sure he wanted to ever meet this disgusting creature. Loki and him first headed to the right, and found and armory filled the armor and weapons of all those that must have fallen victim to this monster. The supply was impressive, and it was near the entrance to the castle. Thor was surprised at the placement, for if the victims escaped they could surely arm themselves before leaving or get more stock after entering.

"Look at all the wasted weapons, once used for glory and purpose, and now reminders of battles once fought." Thor mused aloud hoping to start a conversation with his brother. He was deeply worried for him, and knew that they had much more to discuss, for he was not letting Loki off from their previous conversation. Yet at the same time he felt that pushing his brother would yield him nothing except more distance and he wanted Loki to trust him and to want to open up to him. When Loki had fallen earlier Thor had panicked and immediately came to his aid catching him swiftly and checking to make sure he was alright. When he did this he caught certain things that he was sure Loki was trying to hide, like several small bruises at the base of his neck, and a small cut on his right wrist. Thor wished he had more time to properly inspect his brother for injuries but this quest was not the time for such things.

Loki didn't answer for a moment after his comment. It appeared that his brother was distracted by a small book on the far side of the room. He had gravitated toward it and was flipping through the pages sadly. Thor walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder hoping to comfort him but feeling dejected when he flinched away. Looking closer Thor could see that the book contained many magical secrets, including the locations to portals throughout the realms. He realized that this book could be of use and was hoping that Loki would take it, for he would surely know how to use it.

"This book belonged to someone very special. I can feel it." Loki said sadly and closed the book putting it inside his coat. Thor was grateful that he had taken it, and hoped that it would help them continue on their quest.

They were both startled by the loud footsteps headed their way and did not have time to hide before the giant appeared, looking all too happy and holding a cage that held the four others inside. Thor was filled with utter dread and his friends in the cage looked frightened. He went to throw his hammer but the giant stomped on the ground throwing him off balance. Before he could regain his footing he and Loki were scooped up and thrown in the cage with the others. Now they were all in trouble.

~[~

The next chapter will hopefully be the best one in the story, for I know it will be my favorite to write. I was hoping to add some more after the part where they were all captured, but I feel that it will be better featured in the next chapter. So what did you think of this chapter, and as a vote angry tough giant, or giddy awkward giant?