Author now declares: I hold no ownership over the quotations taken from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol which is in public domain, nor do I claim ownership over Thor. This is written for the purpose of fan entertainment only.
Chapter
The Second of the Three Spirits
Odin sat in his chair by the fire. He did not bother to seek his bed, for he knew sleep would no claim him that night. The picture of his family sat cradled on his lap, and the old men's thoughts were those of what could have been...
Ne knew not if these apparitions were true. He could just as easily be losing his mind. But he could not doubt his memories nor could he ignore the painful sting within his breast. And now, almost like in a dream, he could hear the clock upon the mantle strike the hour.
He knew it was time.
He got to his feet and made about the room, waiting for the apparition he knew must come. Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for nothing. Especially not the smell of turkey and pudding assaulting his senses! His eye looked about the room and was surprised to see light coming from the other room. With all the grace and air of pride he still had, Odin approached it. A part of his mind told him that the door should, by all means, lay shattered upon the floor. But as he turned the knob all thought lost him.
The room had taken an unearthly glow. Its walls were covered in gold worthy of the very thrown room of Asgard. The crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe, and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there; and upon the table laid a feast worthy of four Kings. A figure danced around the table - quite a giant he was, almost a head taller than Odin himself - and paused to pick up treats to feast upon. He wore garments similar to those of the other ghost, yet the red hair and stuffy beard made him seem to come from another time. The ghost spotted him, and motioned for him to come near.
"Come in!" He boomed. "And know me better man!"
Odin entered timidly, though with each step he took gave him strength. The Ghost simply glowed with kindness and Odin felt intoxicated by the feeling of constant warmth and joy and peace he seemed to find in the ghost's mere presence.
"Are you one of the spirits whose coming was foretold to me?" Odin asked and the Spirit laughed.
"I may, or I may be not. You will have to be the judge of that, my little friend. Oh, you mind not that I call you 'little', do you? For compared to me, quite many seem quite little indeed." Odin could not help the chuckle. "I hear Fandral visited you already. Nice chap, that lad, but he has too much a flair for the dramatic, the little tease. But I believe he needs to show a fair face for the ladies. Quite the heartbreaker, that man." Odin was forced to agree, though was left rather surprised to know Ghost seem to partake in the teasing of their kin. That is, if Ghosts could be considered as kin.
"Ah..." The Ghost exclaimed. "Caramel! And of the tasty kind as well! But of course, for everything is quite delightful at Christmas. Haven't you noticed?"
No, he did not, and said so to the Ghost.
"Pity." The Ghost murmured. "Personally, I find the whole experience most thrilling. The feasts, the food, the banquettes, the stories, the games, the treats, the songs, the dances, the mead, the wine!" This one certainly had quite the apatite. "Here's to you, my little friend! To your health." The Ghost cried while lifting a goblet of wine and draining it to the last drop.
"I do believe I haven't met anybody like you before, sir." Odin confessed in earnest, which caused the one to whom the words were addressed to chuckle.
"Well my friend, as Midgardians tend to say, you've probably been living under a rock till now. Matters not! Before this day is done, you will have seen and met enough!" The Ghost rose and the room about them seemed to disappear, and as the ghost took his shoulder, Odin found himself in another room, far poorer than those of Laufey's home, yet far richer at the same time. Oh, and Odin knew these walls; he knew them quite well. How could he not? For he had seen and re-seen them quite frequently this night, both with his eye and with his mind.
"This is my home..."
The carpet was the same, the table was the same - the room was the same. It even had the same musky smell to it! A fire was burning in the heart, casting a calming glow over the room. The furniture had been moved slightly about the room, but most was left intact. He almost believed the Spirit made a mistake. Surely, he could see no more here. Could he?
"Spirit?" Odin questioned. "Why did you bring me here?"
The Spirit chuckled. "Call me Volstagg, friend. And I have brought you here because, well, when you say Christmas I can only think of family. Oh, and feasts, of course, but I doubt you are quite as fond of those as I. Oh! Is that goose I smell?"
The Spirit - Volstagg he asked to be called - darted towards the door Odin knew lead to the kitchen. Hesitantly, Odin fallowed him to the room, where he found a lovely lady tending to a delicious smelling goose, but a meager bird in size. The lady was a pretty creature, of dark hair and merry eyes, dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown. Odin recognized her as Jane, his eldest son's wife. He had met her a few times before. The first, he believe, was at their wedding. A child was at her side and an energetic bundle of youth was this girl! Blessed with the dark hair of her mother and the brilliantly blue eyes of her father, she was sure to grow into a most charming lady. But all of her cried of mischief, much like Loki did at her age, and Odin knew not if this was to be a good sign.
"Sif, dear, I agreed to let you stay up late this night only so you may help me with the preparations for Christmas. Not to have you hop about me like some rabbit."
"But it's Christmas, mama!" The child's voice carried a pout, and Odin estimated that she could be no older than four or five.
Had it truly been this long?
"Wrong, my dear. We still have one more sleep to go till Christmas. Now, go and get your father to put more logs on the fire. Your uncle is due to arrive any moment now and I will not have him say we are poor hosts." With a happy cry, the girl darted off towards the kitchen's back door, pausing only briefly to pit a coat on her as she did so.
All this time, Volstagg appeared to be entertaining himself with some fruit. Odin shot him a look as a grape was this close to being eaten. Volstagg blushed scarlet and placed the bit of bruit back at its place.
Soon enough though the child returned with her father in tow, firewood and all, and Jane was resisting the urge to scold at them both.
"Missed me already, my love?" Thor teased his wife, eying her in a suggestive manner. The reward for his cheek was a playful smack on his behind.
"Enough of your games, husband mine, and tend to the fires."
A laugh. "Yes, dear mistress."
Odin watched the family doing its thing, tending to one matter or another, yet as small as the task the dedication was great. There was this note of joyfulness in the air about them, Odin noted to the ghost, who nodded as he made himself comfortable in a sitting chair by the heart. It was a remarkable quality of the Ghost, that notwithstanding his gigantic size, he could accommodate himself to any place with ease. Odin felt quite jealous at this point, for he could not quite find his place within the room. Though the learned quite early on that people could not see nor hear nor feel him - that they could walk right through him - he still much like the uninvited guest.
Suddenly, a knock came from the door and little Sif practically flew over to it before ether of her parents had the merest chance to blink.
"Hello!" The child said to the figure from beyond the door. A gruffly "ho-ho-ho" came from this stranger whom now made himself visible to the rest of the family, covered all in a long cloak and gray beard which covered most of his face.
"Why, merry Christmas to thee', lass! Has thou been naughty or nice this year?" the figure asked, and Odin now saw two green eyes sparkle with mirth as the child could barely withhold her own.
"Good, sir! Sif has been good!"
"Quite a shame... Mischief would have suited you bett-" the stranger stopped his sentence short, for a nasty caught had taken hold of him. "Damn this old beard!" The figure commented, though his voice now was one Odin also knew quite well. The child did too, for she had tackled the figure in a hug only small children were capable of!
"Uncle Loki!" Sif cried and Loki removed the fake beard to properly laugh at his niece's antics. The child seemed to sober out of her mirth for a moment, for she had detached herself from around Loki's torso, now eying him with a serious look in her young eyes. "Why are you dressed as Father Christmas?"
The adults laughed wholeheartedly at the child's most serious question but they sobered quickly enough. Loki leaned down and in a sly manner mentioned for Sif to come closer, as if the greatest of secrets were to be revealed to her.
"Tell no-one, Sif" Loki said "For no-one must know. You see, I met Father Christmas." Sif gasped. "Yes I did. And do you know what he said to me?" Sif shock her head. "He told me 'Loki, I have many a' children I must visit tonight, and I fear little Sif might miss me till time comes for me to visit her. But to show her that I have not forsaken her, will you give her this tree for me? '"
"Tree?" Sif questioned and dashed out. "Tree!" she now cried in delight, for low and behold indeed there was a tree out there. A most beautiful, yet not incredibly tall, evergreen tree lay on the side of the house.
Sif tackled her uncle a second time, words of thanks never ceasing from slipping from her tongue. By their side, Thor was booming with laughter.
"Brother, you indeed have outdone yourself!" The eldest of the two brothers declared. Loki did not appear at all modest about it.
"Oh Loki!" Jane herself cried and gave her brother-in-law a brief hug herself and secured a kiss upon his cheek. "You wonderful, wonderful man! However did you find such a beauty?"
"Father Christmas gave it to him!" Sif helpfully supplied, but Loki shushed her gently. Remembering herself, Sif gasped and crossed her lips - she was saying nothing. Instead, she now took to fallowing her father, tree and all, in the sitting-room.
Still chuckling, Jane turned back to her brother-in-law. "Well, Silvertongue?" She tried again, using the name Loki had long since earned in life in good humor. "How ever did you manage this miracle?"
Loki forged innocence. "I? What miracle do you accuse me of?"
"Come now, trickster! Share thou secrets. For your dear ol' sister-in-law knows for a fact that upon leaving the house this morning you had little more than a shilling in your pocket. And now you return with a tree which by all means must have cost you several hundred!"
"Oh, that. Well, simple - I collected my pay." Jane watched him with knowing eyes. "And I might have, erm... persuaded the salesman to offer me a reduction on the price." Jane laughed and from his spot Odin felt something warm growing inside of him. It felt like pride.
"Oh, you sly fox you!" Jane cried as she lightly punched him in shoulder. "But come. I have a light supper saved for you. Nothing fancy though, but just the right amount for my favorite brother in law."
"Your only one."
"Hush, or this is the last time I'm saving desert."
Loki's eyes seem to sparkle. "I do hope there's pudding, sister dear."
Jane laughed as she helped him in. Oh, how much laughter could this family give! Still, Odin found the woman's gesture odd, for he could not, for the life of him, imagine his son accepting such. His son was much too proud. But that was before he saw the way in which he seemed to simply drag his legs across the floor, lacking much of the cat-like grace he knew he had.
"Mama! Uncle Loki! Look!" Sif cried, gesturing towards the evergreen. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Odin too, glanced at the tree. Thor was fixing it in place and Jane soon took to voicing her taught on its beauty. For indeed, it was quite a handsome tree. The old man then turned to watch his youngest son, whom suddenly appeared to keep to himself.
He found it… particularly challenging to describe his son that night. Everything about him spoke of tranquility, but there was also this weariness to him which he couldn't quite explain.
"Brother," Thor said "I do believe this is one is the most handsome tree we ever had! I sure hope you will be here tomorrow to see it properly."
Jane gasped. "Oh dear, of course! How could I forget? Loki, do tell me old Odin let you have the day off."
... What?
Odin was sure he heard wrong. But Volstagg's merry laughter made him doubt that certainness.
"Forgive me, my little friend, but your face! Hahaha! Dear me, one would say you never knew."
"Knew? You mean this is true?"
The ghost needn't confirm, for Loki soon changes his appearance to that of his brother, and as he spoke in a voice so similar to that of his brother's the room erupted in laughter.
"Of course, when you happen to pull the Thor 'I-was-a-golden-retriever-in-a-past-life' look even cold, old Odin can't resist." And as the trickster morphed back into his own skin, one taught alone was flying about Odin's mind.
You are so fired.
"Before you ask, my little friend," Volstagg said "yes, Master Loki has always served as your clerk. As far as I know, Thor never applied for the position. Or at least that's what a little bird told me."
Odin grumbled. "Why the charade?"
"Well, because he knew you would never hire him otherwise, of course. And as you probably see, the family needed a course of income."
Indeed. Two grown men, a woman and a child...
"I pay Thor - I mean Loki - such a small amount." The words came out almost without his notice. "How ever do they manage?"
"Oh, your eldest son will at times also take on some jobs and bring a penny or two home, and Jane herself applied for a teacher position. She's quite a smart one, that Midgardian lady. But mostly I think it's because your youngest knows how to handle money wisely. Somehow, they always seem to have food on the table." The Spirit finished, now taking out a sour grape out of his heard and munching on it.
Suddenly, Loki was coughing, and these coughs shock his body like the wind does a falling leaf. Jane put her arms around him in an instant, keeping him from falling to the side, for Odin was sure he would have done do. He never noticed when he too approached Loki and tried to catch the lad himself. His hand went right through his son.
"Come Loki, let's get you seated. I do believe you had quite enough excitement for the day." Jane instructed and with slow, steady steps, led her brother-in-law in the den to sit upon the chair nearest to the heart. All this time her hands held him tightly. Loki's violent coughs were not ceasing. Jane instructed him to breath and barked for Thor to bring him water.
Odin did not know what to do.
Once seated though, Loki's breath seemed to return to normal. He breathed a sigh and offered his excuses as well as thanks to his sister, both which were dismissed without a thought by the Midgardian. Thor soon returned with water, which Loki accepted and the glass in which it came was drowned instantly.
"Much better." Loki said as he placed the glass aside.
"All fine again, Brother?" Thor questioned, placing a hand upon the dark haired man's shoulder.
Loki appeared annoyed. "I said all was better, did I not? Now go and tend to the bird before the house catches fire!"
It was Jane who spoke now. "Whatever do you me- Oh no! Thor! The goose! Come with me, man!" With the sound of Loki's tired laughter as their stage music, husband and wife put on quite the show of trying to save the goose from becoming completely uneatable the following day.
"Aww… T'is quite the shame. I never had the change to steal a bite…" Odin heard Volstagg complain, but the old man's attention laid elsewhere.
Truly looking now, Odin could see the dark rings under his youngest son's eyes; see the paleness of his skin and the sunken cheeks. As he took off the gloves which protected nearly-blue hands, the old man also took notice of just how skinny his boy now was. He knew that of his two sons, Loki had always been the slenderest of them, but that hand which was now playing with the empty water glass could not belong to a healthy man.
"Spirit... Volstagg..." Odin called and the Spirit was at his side in an instant. "What is wrong with my boy?"
Volstagg didn't quite laugh at the old man's question. Not in his usual laugh at least. Did Odin detect a hint of sadness in that sound the Spirit gave? "I do believe you have not called him thus for years."
Volstagg has made his point quite clear, but the dread Odin felt had taken root within his heart gave him courage to ask again. This time also adding "Please, I need to know."
For a moment, the Spirit said not a word, leaving Odin to gaze at his tired son. He seemed of peace now, but the gaze those green eyes held was one he remembered with a heave heart. That look Odin had seen in another pair of eyes, a pair of eyes he had loved far greater than anything of this world.
A sigh and the spirit spoke. "Well, t'is hard to say what is wrong and what is not with this one. But I see a vacant seat by the fire and laughter of less joy then that of now about this house if these shadows remain unaltered."
For once Odin wished he couldn't understand another's words. He tried to tell himself that he heard wrong "Speak not in riddles to me, Spirit, I bed you!"
"I speak not in riddled, my little friend. I only speak in truth. Had you not wished to learn of it, you should not have asked of it."
Odin had nothing to say to that.
"Oh!" Exclaimed the Ghost. "Look at little Sif!"
The child approached her uncle cautiously as Thor and Jane made haste with dinner. She tugged on his cloak and asked if he was well. The man smiled and said that all was well, that he was merely a little tired, was all. Sif gazed at him with grave eyes just for a moment, before she suddenly decided to scramble up into his lap. Loki laughed and helped her up.
"My niece is quite the little monkey, isn't she?"
"Am not!" She protested.
"Oh, are so!" Sif's laughs accompanied his own as the man playfully started to tickle her sides. She did so in return in her own act of playful vengeance and both were quite breathless from the laughter when Thor poke his head back in the room.
"What are you two tricksters doing? The hour is late and Sif is in need of sleep for Christmas morning. You plan not to steal the goose and replace it with carrots, do you?" He asked in jest. Loki put on a look a horror.
"You too, Brother?" Loki cried dramatically. "I am wounded by your words. To think, Sif! How easily your father accuses us of trickery." Sif mirrored her uncle's looks, which only added further to the humor. "It is if... he trusts us not!"
"No!" Sif cried and Thor did all he could to keep the mirth at bay.
"Never doubt my trust in you, my little tricksters!" Thor cried. "Yet I ask of thee your word that in your trickery you shall include my most humble self as well."
"Well then!" Loki cried. "We just might!"
Sif was nodding, but then frowning. "We will?" She was confused.
"Of course we will, Sif." Loki confirmed. "For we shall be in need of a donkey, you see. Though I fear your father is not all that fitted for the task. We need a small donkey, dear Sif, for in life he too was quite a small donkey." He waved a hand and magic sparkled about the room. The tree in the corner began to glow and upon its branches, a tiny donkey appeared. It shock its years once, cried twice, and Sif giggled with no pause as it started to move about.
"Once upon a time" Loki began "there was donkey they all called Small One, for you see dear Sif, the donkey was very small indeed..."
Odin watched mesmerized as his son said the tale of Small One. As his words progressed, the little donkey jumped from branch to branch, causing a globe or a candle to magically appear in its stead. Thor interfered from time to time to parade around the room as various characters came into the story and at some point Jane came back to watch in amusement how her husband did a most splendid imitation of a horse.
Volstagg was laughing wholeheartedly at the display and with each of his ha-ha-ha-s the room seemed to grow even warmer. Odin himself could feel the frost lifting itself from within him."Now that is what I call the Christmas spirit! What better way can you think of spending the holidays than with your family, knitting happy memories?"
Odin said nothing, for really, what could he say?
Soon Sif was asleep in Loki's lap. The clock showed it being way past three in the morning and even the adults began to show signs of fatigue. Honestly, where did that child hold all that energy? So with words of thanks for the trickster's brilliance, Jane relived Loki of his burden and set little Sif up to bed. The brothers were left to their own.
"Just you and me, now Brother... Loki, let's go break stuff!"
… The house would probably not survive.
"Yes, let us go throw ourselves into a tree, Thor. I am sure your wife will be oh so impressed by our maturity. But first, I do believe Father Christmas has a few more presents to give." Out of seemingly nowhere, Loki produced a very fluffy, very pink pony toy which he placed underneath the evergreen.
"... Brother? Why is that pony pink?"
"You do not question Pinkie Pie!"
The old man closed his eyes and Volstagg cried with laughter. Did Odin really want to know?
"I shall take your word for it. But speaking of horses -"
"Ponies." Loki corrected.
"...You chose a good story tonight, Brother." Thor finally said, throwing an arm around his brother's shoulders.
"I recall it being the last mother told us before... traditions had to be altered." Always gifted with words, Loki... "And truth be spoken, the look you had when you came in reminded me greatly of a donkey."
"I?" Thor sounded scandalized.
"Quite so. You looked to be ether choking on your dinner or grinning like a horse. Somewhere in between that and we get a donkey, do we not?"
"Ha! Like you are one to speak, cow."
Odin really didn't want to know.
"T'was just the one time!" Loki said. "And I just made a visual projection of a donkey hop about the evergreen for the entertainment of your daughter Thor. Never doubt that I couldn't push myself just a little bit further and add some better ears upon your head."
"... Point taken." A pause. "Loki, I know the hours has grown too late for any dinner, but this evening we can still treat ourselves to a drop of wine... and a tad of pudding, maybe?"
"Pudding!" Loki cried much like a child, and Thor boomed with laughter. Alas, Loki's ridiculous love for pudding shall never change.
Odin cried and laughed at the same time. He saw Loki devour the pudding he and Thor shared for the night, saw his two sons sing carols and mock-dance to their own music, saw how Loki did not move quite right on those shaky feet and saw them prepare a toast.
"A toast, Brother." Thor called, lifting his glass. "A toast to health, a toast to Christmas!"
"And a toast to father." Loki supplied. "Whom in his own twisted way provided us with wine and pudding."
Odin stood speechless, for he could not believe his ears. He saw his sons toast and drink of their wine. He saw his oldest, whom savored every drop, saw his youngest, son not of blood but of choice, drink with grater care, but drink with all his heart. How could they...
"Speaking of which... Father is not coming for dinner this year either." Loki's announcement and the sad tone he used as he spoke broke Odin's heart.
"If next year it will be the same, I swear to you brother I will kidnap him from that dreaded house myself." Thor promised and Loki's lips twitched upwards just a bit. "Or better yet, I could do so right now." He even made a move to get up.
"Sit back down you great oaf. You know father doesn't do what he doesn't want. And in your failure it is I who gets sacked."
"Actually... that be I."
"Thor, do not start. You have no idea how painful it is to add in all those errors into the accounts. You owe me the moon. Which reminds me... how's the job hunting going?"
"Erm... it is... going..."
"Thor, remind me why I'm not strangling you yet."
The room darkened bit by bit, till Odin could see nothing more of it. He wished to see more. He didn't want to let go, but the shadow reminded him that they were mere shadows.
"Consider this a dream, my little friend."
"I cannot." Odin confessed. "I cannot presume to see this all a dream."
In the distance, church bells began to strike the hour. One, two, three...
"Then my work upon this world is done, my little friend. I could have showed you many more things, but you seemed to need this visit more than any Christmas spent in the household of a baker of a fish merchant or even of a miner. Hogun will care for you now. He may be quite grim, as his reputation quite states, but he will teach you much."
... ten, eleven...
"Keep close to him friend, and listen well. Upon my soul, know him better, man!"
Twelve - and the bell struck no more.
Odin looked about him for the Ghost, and saw it not. As the last stroke ceased to vibrate, he remembered the words of Laufey, and lifting up his eyes, beheld a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, towards him. Hogun the Grim.
This chapter was a joy to write. Having Loki and Thor simply being there was quite a pleasant experience for me. But of course, Loki stole the whole show. As always. And yes, Thor's first child is a girl named Sif, because I can make it happen. Also, after Crazy Laughter pointed out how un-Thor-is it is for Thor to be a clerk at his dad's firm, of course I had to add in this perfectly pointless (or is it) twist. Because let's face it, if anyone is bringing any money home, that would be Loki.
MINI-CONTEST!
Last chapter's "Question of the day" winner is riren who recognized Disney's Small One short as the story Frigga told her children. And now, onward towards the next question, and I wish you all good health and peace of mind till our next update.
Question of the day: Can you spot all the references used in this chapter?