Chapter 2 – A King Rises

Eris walked quietly with the guards, she kept her eyes straight ahead, her hands on her swords, and she held her head high even as people around her stared at the young shade as she was led towards what had now been made obvious as the King and Queen's royal chambers. The guards stopped outside of the golden doors which led into the Royal Chambers, and Eris looked at each of them in turn, before she took a deep breath looking back at the door.

"Why have I been summoned?" She asked the guards, who stood at attention at her sides.

"We do not know your highness, we were just asked to find you." The guard on her left told her, as he looked at the small princess.

"Okay then, well please wish me luck, I think that I will need it." She put her hands on the doors and pushed them open after a good luck was given from both of the guards.

Loki had been sitting at Odin's bedside, and he looked up at hearing the door open, and he smiled warmly at seeing his wife walk in, her armour glistening in the change of light as she swept her ponytail over her right shoulder.

"Eris..." That was all he needed to say, since his mind told her the rest, and he walked to meet her halfway as she walked to him. Pulling her into his arms, his lips met hers in a long, yet loving kiss.

Frigga looked at the couple, and she smiled to herself as she watched the exchange of love between them, unfold.

"I love you, so much." Eris told him when their kiss was broken.

"I love you, just as much." He told her, moving a hand through her hair until it rested on her cheek. "Now, what's the matter your mind feels tense and heavy."

Frigga looked between them, wondering what Loki had meant, since their mind connection wasn't that well known to people.

"It's nothing, I just had a nightmare before the guards came for me, but I'm fine now." She gave him a weak smile.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I am." She nodded, kissing his cheek, before she moved to bow in front of Frigga, who stood and hugged her tightly.

"Mother, why did you ask us to both come here?" Loki asked when she had let go of Eris and Eris walked to take hold of Loki's hand.

"You're about to see why I have asked you both here." She told them, as the door opened and guards lined up outside. At seeing the guards, Loki pulled Eris closer to him, protecting her with his own body, and Frigga sighed at seeing this.

"It's alright Loki." Frigga told him, and she watched the royal coronation planner walk to them, holding the royal sceptre.

Loki and Eris both looked back at Frigga as the royal coronation planner bowed in front of Loki, holding the sceptre out to him.

"Thor is banished, that means that while Odin is in the Odin Sleep, Asgard rests in both of your hands." Frigga explained, as she watched Loki.

Loki looked back at the sceptre, unsure of what to do, before he done the most obvious thing and picked it up in his hands.

His hands tightened on the sceptre as he turned around and found both Eris and Frigga bowing to him, as the guards and royal coronation planner all bowed to him.

"My, King." Frigga and Eris both chorused, as they bowed.

Loki looked at his wife and 'mother' before he walked to Eris and knelt down to her level, resting a hand on her chin. "Rise for me."

Eris looked at her husband, and she got to her feet, looking at him, suddenly getting swooped up into a kiss when they were both standing.

"You bow to no body." He told her, when their kiss was broken.

"Surely I bow to my king." She told him, looking into his shimmering green eyes.

"Only at certain times and when we are in certain places, my love." He told her, a mischievous look in his eye.

Eris noticed the look in his eyes, and she raised an eyebrow. "I know that look Loki, and we will see about that." She pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek.

"You two must go and get changed, Eris you will need to be in a dress, and Loki your full armour." Frigga told them, laughing at Eris' look of distain at being told to wear a dress. "It's not that bad."

"Yes it is." She smiled, playfully at her, before she left the room ahead of Loki to go and get changed.

"What's the matter Loki?" Frigga asked him, noticing how uneasy he looked as he looked at the sceptre in his hands.

"Are you sure that I'm able to do this, mother?" He asked her, looking back at her.

Frigga smiled a warm smile, and she walked to him, sliding her arms around him, smiling more to her when he hugged her back. "Of course you are, Loki you can be King until Odin awakens." She looked back at him. "There is something else troubling you, what is it?"

"It's Eris; I know what being Queen would mean for her, I don't want anything to happen to her, especially not now that we have decided to try and have our own family."

"Loki the news about your family is absolutely wonderful, but you need to have faith in Eris, her shade will pull her through and if she ever needs anyone then I'm here, so is the Lady Sif and the warriors, and more importantly so are you." Frigga told him as she brushed some of his hair from his face.

Loki sighed. "I do need to give her more faith, don't I?" He smiled, though it was mainly to himself. "I just feel as though I have to protect her, especially after what she has been through."

"I know my dear." Frigga sighed. "But Eris is like you, she is just as resilient and tough skinned."

This made Loki laugh. "Don't forget stubborn."

"Oh, how could I, I remember what it was like to get you up and out of bed, when you were a child." Frigga told him, laughing softly. "Now go and get ready, I will be remaining here with Odin." She watched Loki bow, and leave the old Queen alone with Odin.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Asgard, Lady Sif and the Warriors three were discussing what had happened to Thor, since they didn't know that Loki was now their King.

"Our dearest friend has been banished, and Asgard is almost at war. Yet, you've been able to consume four wild boars, six pheasants, and a side of beef and two casks of ale! Shame on you Volstagg, don't you care?" Fandral shouted, as he threw Volstagg's drink, causing him to get to his feet.

"Don't mistake my appetite for apathy!" Volstagg shouted, and the two warriors looked set to rip each other apart, until Sif and Hogan broke them apart.

"Stop it!" Sif shouted at them. "Look, we need to see Odin in the morning, and thenwe can try and talk him into bringing Thor back."

"Yeah and risk treason ourselves for supporting Thor." Fandral told her.

"That's all we can do, anyway, at least Loki isn't King." Hogan told them.

"Hogan has a point, Loki has always been jealous of Thor; we would have no chance of getting Thor back if Loki was on the throne." Volstagg added.

"In fact, Loki would probably sentence us to death, just for the fun of it." Fandral told them.

Sif sighed and shook her head. "We all know that Eris wouldn't let him get as far as even thinking of harming us."

"For all of our sakes, I hope you're right about that Sif." Hogan sighed. "Come now, it's late in the morning we shall go and see Odin and get this mess sorted out."

They all nodded and retired for the night, not realising that their plan wasn't going to be as easy as they had originally hoped it to be.