~ Chapter 16 ~

"Something that will please you, my King." Heimdall put his sword into the key hole without turning it, something which would activate the Bifrost. He held onto the sword with his hands as he focused his eyes into the distance between the realms.

The light from the Bifrost shimmered before forming an image of Midgard. It zoomed in until it showed plains of grass and trees outlining the forest in the distance. In the endless sea of green stood a single house. Small and made of wood with a paddock with horses close by.

The view changed once more and focused into the distance where a single rider came across the hills on a brown horse.

He looked younger, more alive, but there were no denying who he was.

"Loki?" Thor whispered.

"That's right, my King." Heimdall confirmed. "He's been reborn in Midgard as a human."

Thor knew his friend were talking but his ears couldn't pick up the sound. His eyes focused on the image before him as his heart beat in his chest. The hair was shorter than he remembered – curly – but the eyes were the same. His skin were slightly darker from being in the sun but it was still pale compared to some of the seasoned warriors who had spent centuries under the sun.

He still carried himself with the same grace he had in Asgard, the same spark in his eyes. He rode the horse with such ease that it looked like he were born in the saddle that it looked like he was in harmony with the animal.

The wind picked up some of his short curls and played with them.

"I'm so happy." whispered Thor. "He look so happy."

"He is. From what I've seen he do not have any memories of his life as a God and are living peacefully."

"I see. That's good." Then a thought hit him. "Does anyone else know about Loki?" he looked at Heimdall, slightly fearing the answer.

"No. No one knows." Heimdall said calmly.

Thor let out a sigh of relief. "Keep it that way." he returned his eyes to the image as Loki rode up to the paddock. "I don't want his old life to ruin his new one. He deserves peace."

Without him.

Heimdall gave his King a long searching look. "Will you not go to him?"

Thor shook his head. "I'm the last one who should enter his life again. What I did to him was beyond cruel and heartless. This is my punishment."

"If I may be so bold, my King, but I think you have punished yourself enough."

Once more Thor shook his head in denial. "No. It will never be enough. Even if it makes me a martyr."

"But finding peace is different from finding happiness." Heimdall turned to Thor. "You are blaming yourself far to much for what happened. If anything, you are as much a victim as Loki. Asgard has been filled by lies for so long that it became a disease. You were also raised by those who indulged your childish needs, they never taught you right or wrong. You became a victim to your own heart because no one was there to teach you what your heart were telling you. Your love for your brother became twisted and confused. You tried to find an outlet for it and made mistakes. In turn, you were taken advantage of by others in your time of weakness. You were raised to never doubt yourself, and when you were seriously doing so, one person took advantage of your weakness and it spread more lies like fire until no one could stop it.

"What happened to Loki in the dungeons were not your doing, but the actions of others who thought it their right to take justice into their own hands. Their arrogance and violence abused Loki to the point where everything spun out of control. It was their actions which brought on Ragnarok. For the past 50 years you have suffered more than anyone. There comes a time for all to find peace."

"How can I be King if I let my heart rule me once more?" Thor sounded doubtful. "In the end it was all my fault for what happened to Loki. It could just as well been me who raped him. Hel, I almost did it."

"But you didn't." Heimdall said forcefully. "Even if you search for peace, Asgard will forgive you. All saw your sins in the hall of Hela and they all saw your suffering. Do you even remember the look on your face that fateful day? It was the face of someone who were suffering from his own actions. It was because your love were so strong that you lost control, but you stopped yourself. You didn't hurt Loki in anyway. We are all guilty for Loki's fate, but that doesn't mean you have to bear everything on your shoulders."

"Even so... as a King I must set an example and Asgard is still too young to allow me time to indulge my heart." Thor's voice were tingled with sadness as he looked away. "Even if I spend another 500 years with my guilt it won't be enough to redeem what I caused."

"And if Loki won't be there when you forgive yourself?"

Thor's head snapped up. "What?"

The guardian looked at the image of Loki feeding his horses. "He will most likely never be born in Asgard again. Loki is human now and human life go by in the blink of an eye for us Gods. In a few decades he will be dead and we have no way of knowing when he will be reborn again, if ever."

Thor's soul trembled.

"You may go on alone for another millennium with your guilt. Or you can start to let it go and make up for your mistakes. Redeem yourself by your actions and not empty promises to a past that will never change. Either way, know that Asgard will not condemn you no matter what you chose."

Thor took in the words carefully to his heart before casting a hesitating look at the image the Bifrost were still showing.

It was a warm new day.

Like always he were up with the sunrise to feed and look after his horses. They were his livelihood after all.

He had grown up with his grandfather who owned the horses before him. When the old man passed away he took over, since he couldn't think of leaving or selling them. His trade was horse renting and as payment he either got money or food to put on his table.

It was all he wanted.

He didn't need fancy clothes. He didn't want to go to the big city like so many in the little village at the foot of the hills talked about. This life suited him. It was peaceful and giving to work with the horses. They were very honest creatures and since he had known many of them since they were foals, he considered them family.

Then again, not many owned many acres of land like he did.

He was currently in the paddock handing out small treats from the only apple tree behind his house. It was a sad little tree which never grew apples bigger than a pin-pong ball, but it was enough for the horses.

With four of the horses already around him receiving their treats, and more incoming, he had his hands full. A chestnut horse nudged his hand in search for the apple. Another nosed his hair, while the rest stood patiently waiting for their turn.

"Here you go." he said as the horse closed its lips around the small apple. He patted the mane of the horse. "Good boy." he cheerfully said. "Old man David will need our hard work today."

The horse snorted as if saying he already knew it.

He held forth an apple to a brown horse with a big white spot over one eye and one on its foreleg. "And Christy will be here soon to take you on a ride."

He was about to continue his daily routine of telling the horses what was expected today when suddenly they all looked over at the fence behind him.

"What's wrong?" he asked confused, turning around.

At the sturdy fence stood a man in dark slacks, a dark blue shirt that looked like it was old, and long blond hair that were pulled back in a tail.

He had no idea where the man had come from since he had not noticed anyone approaching which was a first.

"Can I help you?" he asked without stepping away from the horses who were all quiet. Even the horses which had been approaching were standing still.

The man smiled. "I don't know. I was on a walk when I saw the horses and wanted to take a closer look. Are they yours?"

"Yes." he patted one of the long necks.

"They are beautiful." The man said in obvious admiration.

One of the horses walked closer to the man and stood still as he let the man pet his muzzle.

"Very beautiful." he complimented and it was like a spell had lifted. The sound came back and the horses began to move again. One of the horses pushed him in the back, forcing him to step closer to the strange man.

When he came closer he noticed for the first time that the man's eyes were blue. Blue like the sky he loved.

"What's your name?" he asked when he came to stand next to the horse and the only thing that separated them was the fence.

"Thor." the stranger said and he couldn't help the smile from creeping onto his lips. "What's your?"

"Loki."

THE END!