Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Marvel Universe, Joss Whedon, and anyone else involved with the movies or comics. I am not making any profits from this writing, it is all for the purposes of fun and creative writing.

Chapter 4

Night had fallen over the realm of Asgard, but there was a heaviness over the usually bright city. Thunder rumbled above as rain poured down from the blackness that hung over the sky like a thick veil of sadness. The streets were wet and empty save for the stray dog or cat. The taverns lay silent, where once there would have been the joyous drunkard and mead flowing plentifully like wine, there was only silence like a graveyard. The houses lay silent and dim save for a single white candle standing at a window sill. It was a tradition done in remembrance for when one of high birth no longer walked among the living. A candle to light the way home to Valhalla for those who had fallen.

As many lay awake in their beds, their minds were occupied by who they had lit their candles for. Loki, youngest son of the All-Father, brother of the crown prince, and second Prince of Asgard. Thought to be no more than a trickster and liar, mischief-maker turned insane killer. On this day he had been revealed to be innocent of all crimes, brutally murdered by an otherworldly fiend. There were many who lay awake in their bed on this nigh, plagued by the horror they had saw with their own eyes in the great hall of the All-Father.

There was no sleep in sight, only the vivid memories of royal blood spilt, and green eyes dimmed in death. There was no sleep on this night, only the guilt of knowing that they had all failed the fallen prince for whom they had lit their candles.

At the center of the city-state stood the grand palace of the All-Father. Once golden and resplendent, it now stood dull and black against the dreary night. Within its sweeping halls was a silence more oppressive than that which blanketed the rest of the city. The palace guards stood tall and silent, solemn sentinels keeping watch. The great hall where Odin's golden throne stood was desolate save for a handful of servants who were on their hands and knees, somberly carrying out their orders of cleaning the mess of Chitauri blood and many puddles of vomit from those who had been too weak of stomach to bear witness to the brutality with which the All-Father, his queen, and eldest son had doled out punishment upon Loki's murderer, and of those who had not been able to bear witness to just how the second prince of Asgard had mercilessly had his life torn from him at the end of Menkos' blade, that stained the vast floor.

The servants scrubbed the dirtied floor without complaint and come morning it would be clean, but no longer spotless, for there would stay the scorch-marks from from Frigga's fire, the cracks and dents in the pillars that held up the hall from Odin's ice, and the three deep craters left by Mjolnir from when he had smashed Menkos' hand and knees into dust.

Menkos' severed legs had been tossed to the nearest flame without any regard, but the arm Frigga had torn of with her bare hands had been handled carefully and taken to the great weapons vault. The severed and grayed arm now occupied the empty place where the Casket of Ancient Winters had once stood. Odin's great metal juggernaut, The Destroyer was now tasked keeping vigilance over yet another dangerous weapon. The severed arm of a Chitauri mage, that still wore the blue-stoned gauntlet that had been the source of Menkos' power and the instrument of so much evil against Asgard and who know how many other realms.

The ones most directly devastated by this gauntlet had retreated to the upper levels of the palace, away from their subjects and all other eyes, to the privacy of the royal chambers. Frigga's low sobs echoed through the common room as she clung to her husband. Odin stood pale and silent, though now seeming more alive than he had been some hours earlier as he tightly held his wife in turn.

Some feet away from them, by the fire place in which a bright fire roared, but who's warmth was one felt by anyone, Thor Odinson sat slumped in a carved wooden chair, his hands listless in his lap. Mjolnir, stilled stained with Menkos' now dull and dried blood lay forgotten by his booted feet.

His usually bright blue eyes were now dulled to gray with cold grief as he stared at nothing. It had been early afternoon when Thor had all but carried his pale and shell-shocked father into this room, his mother following close behind. Sif, the Warriors 3, and Heimdall had rounded out the group. Thor had turned to his four friends with hard eyes and ordered the doors of the chamber closed, and charged the four with making sure no one dared enter. That had been many hours ago in the day, now it was late at night and Thor knew the four of them had not moved, dutifully standing at their posts.

As for Heimdall, the gatekeeper had stayed silently by those whom he served for several hours, but some time ago the Heimdall had taken his leave and returned to his post at the Bifrost. Thor knew full well that it had not just been a sense of duty that had sent the guardian of the gate from their midst, but crippling guilt as well. Heimdall had chosen to return to his lonely post, perhaps so none could see that he too grieved for the senseless loss he could not prevent despite his gift of sight.

A single tear escaped from Thor's eye and carved a bitter trail down his ashen cheek, his once sun-kissed face now bleached of all color against the light of the fire. At first it had been Odin sitting slumped in this chair, mute and still save for his own breathing while Thor had been the one Frigga had clung to with the desperation of one dying within as she wept. Frigga's tears had not stopped in all the time that had passed. But some hours ago, Odin had stood from his seat and as is moving without his mind really being present, like he was sleepwalking in a way, had made his way across to his wife and son and had gently taken his bereft wife into his arms and held her as he still did now while Thor had dragged himself away to the chair his father had occupied and collapsed into it.

Thor reached up with a weary hand and wiped at the drying salt that clung to his cheek, his eyes puffy and red. Over and over again his mind replayed everything that had happened today in stark detail, from Menkos' sick grin to Loki's blood as it spilled from him.

Torment was not an adequate description for how Thor felt in that moment. As his mind went back to it, before his eye Thor once again saw his brother, whole and alive as he got ready for the coronation, how he he dressed himself with all care and looked every bit the dignified prince that he was. As the fresh images played out in his mind, Thor remembered how Loki had stood before his mirror straightening his cape with pale hands, and then how he had stepped away and conjured a little silver jewelry box and stared at its contents with a sad little smile before he had closed it and set it down on his desk and then-

Thor said ramrod straight with a gasp, the movement so sudden it caught both Odin and Frigga's attention.

" Son?" Frigga croaked as she gazed at Thor in concern, Odin mirroring her look.

Thor looked to his parents, his grieve-dulled eyes sending them a stricken look before he grabbed up Mjolnir and all but ran out of the chamber, his red cape billowing out behind him. Outside Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstaag who were standing faithful guard all turned when the doors behind them flew open to show their friend and Prince.

" Thor wha-" Sif began, but Thor silenced her with a single, hard look before he strode past her and the others with clear purpose in each step. The four were left to share a look of confusion before the sound of approaching feet caught their ears and had them turning.

When the four warriors say an equally concerned looking Odin and Frigga step out of the chamber in Thor's wake, that was all the prompt that was needed as the four warriors parted to allow the king and queen to lead the way after Thor before following close behind.

" Where does he go?" Fandral asked as he and the others all followed Thor as the Prince all but ran through the palace halls, up stairs and down the long corridors, walking past his own bedroom and turning the corner sharply.

As they continued to follow him, Frigga and Odin had a growing suspicion about just where their eldest was going, but they remained silent and walked quickly to keep up. Behind the king and queen, Sif and the warriors three also began to realize where Thor was going, and it made their already heavy hearts sink further.

Loki's room, Thor was going to Loki's room.

Finally after what seemed like ages, Thor came to stand before a set of large, intricately carved door that were the color of deep black coffee. Around the handles that met at the center was a large iron lock. The room had not been opened since the day that Loki, now revealed to have been Menkos, had fallen from the broken Bifrost into the void.

A look of annoyance crossed Thor's face as he stared balefully at the lock, but then in one fluid motion he raised Mjolnir and brought it down over the lock with very little force. The lock gave way, shattering as if made of porcelain. The pieces fell to the floor with the tiny chime that metal makes and were forgotten as Thor now stood free to open the doors the lock was before barring entry through.

Thor tied Mjolnir to his belt and steeled his nerve as best he could, his jaw set with determination as he reached out and placed his hand to the seam of the two doors. Taking a deep breath Thor pushed on the door. With a low creak the doors gave way to, the wood groaning after so much time being closed.

The moment the doors swung away, it revealed that the room behind it lay dark with no fire to light it in the night. Clenching his jaw tighter, Thor stepped forward and crossed the threshold into his brother's long disused room. From where they stood, Frigga and Odin shared a saddened look before they too stepped forward and followed in after their son.

Without any prompting, Frigga held up her hand and conjured a bright flame that she sent floating into the room, where it multiplied into smaller flames that each floated off to light the cold lanterns that were situated throughout the room. Within moments Loki's room was illuminated after so many days of darkness.

The room itself stood as immaculate as every, seemingly untouched. But they all knew that a crime had happened within this room, brutal and bloody in its nature. Thor stood in the center of the large room and gazed about it. His blue eyes took in every single single piece of elegant yet masculine furniture, every book, every paper, every trinket that belonged to his brother. The deep emerald curtains that hung beside the large windows billowed lightly against the wind from outside. The bed, with its ornately carved headboard and simple white sheets was still immaculately made.

As he gazed around the room while Sif and the warriors three tentatively entered and did the same, Thor felt felt anger rise up within his battered heart as he turned to lay steely eyes on his father. The room was too clean for all the time that had passed.

" Father, can you tell if there is seidr within these walls that would deceive our eyes?" He asked, his voice firm but quiet.

Odin met his son's gaze and gave a mute nod before he closed his eye and did a sweep about the room with his own magic. When Odin opened his eye, the look on his face was confirmation enough.

" No more lies father." Was all Thor said.

" No more lies." Odin said quietly before he raised his hands, palms facing each other and summoned his own magic.

Everyone else watched on as an orb of white magic gathered between the All-father's palms. Once it reached roughly the size of a tennis ball, Odin slowly pulled his hands away from each other, causing the ball to expand and then spread outward filling the entire room in a blinding white light. Everyone but Odin and Frigga shielded their eyes against the brightness and waited silently for it to dissipate.

There was a low sizzling sound throughout the room as the light slowly began to fade. When the light had completely faded away, the true state of the room became known. The breath seemed to leave all who were in Loki's room as one as cold horror settled over them.

Gone was the immaculateness of before, now there was the bear truth. The room lay in shambles, the green curtains were faded and fraying at the ends. Layers of dust covered everything, and worst of all there was the telling evidence of the crime that had happened in this room.

Frigga let out a cry of distress as she all but leaped backwards, her eyes glue to the floor she had been standing on moments before. There where her feet had been was a large, circular stain of dark liquid, long since since dried and set in with time. Frigga brought a trembling hand to her mouth and let out a muffled gasp as she sank to her knees before the stain. The blood of her youngest.

" My Queen." Sif said as she strode forward and knelt beside Frigga, her own face showing her horror.

Odin's eye widened first when he saw the stain, and then the tattered leathers and melted chest plate that lay beside it. There were more splatters of blood near the one giant puddle, and it took the All-Father had not to fall within the Odin-sleep right then and their.

" Look." Volstaad said softly as he pointed to a far wall, and all eyes turned to see the large crater that adorned it, along with scorch marks. This was the hole left by Loki's body after he had been blasted backwards into it by Menkos' and his gauntlet. Fandral had to turn away for a moment as the smell of the dried blood, rotted over time suddenly filled his nostrils. For the rest of his days, Fandral would never forget this smell, the smell of innocent blood so mercilessly spilled. Hogun just shook his head and whispered a prayer to the Norns for the strength not to turn and flee from the room.

Letting out a shaky breath, Thor mechanically stepped forward towards the center of his brother's room, coming to kneel before the dark stains that marred the floor.

" My brother, piece of my heart." Thor whispered brokenly as he reached out with a trembling hand and lightly grazed his fingertips over the large stain, five streaks in the dust that had settled over the blood.

" Thor." Frigga whispered brokenly through fresh tears, her heart breaking anew as she gazed upon her eldest son's despair.

Tears rapidly gathered but did not fall from Thor's blue eyes, as he gazed as one of the only remnants left of Loki. No one knew for how long they all stayed that way, however many minute, or however many hours, they were all just stuck in that moment of utter desolation.

Then in an instant Thor was looking up with wide eyes, remembering what had spurred him to come to the place where his brother had been killed in the first place. Rising to his feet, a stricken Thor looked desperately about the room, searching for something.

" What is it my son?" Odin asked as he stepped forward, concern written in every line of his weathered face.

" Where is it, where is it, where is it?" Thor whispered rapidly under his breath and he started frantically stepping here and there until finally his eyes landed on the desk Loki had kept near the mirror by one of the walls.

Thor just froze where he was, letting out a shaky breath as he eyes fell on Loki's dust covered desk, the quills ruined where they still stood in their holder, bits of feather littering the surface of the desk. One of the many books Loki had kept and had come undone at its binding, the rest had their pages yellowed with lengthy neglect. But this was not what had made Thor stop in his tracks, no what stopped him was the small rectangular jewelry box that sat amidst the decay, its silver surface still luminous even with the layer of dust that covered it.

Letting out a shaky breath, Thor stepped forward, slowly making his way across to Loki's desk, and the silver box. Thor's heart was literally pounding out of his chest, and outside a loud clap of thunder sounded from the stormy heavens, seemingly in reflection of the thunderer's state. Thor clenched his jaw tightly to keep it from trembling as he came to stand before the desk. Thor's hands shook as he reached out for the box, reverently picking it up and gazing down at it.

Frigga rose to her feet as she and everyone else watched on. Thor turned slightly and they could see what he was holding. The box Loki had conjured just moments before Menkos' had entered his room and done what he did. They all watched in silence so think you could hear a pin drop.

Thor shifted the box to one hand and used the other to gently undo the sealed clasp on the lid. With further reverence, and with his blood roaring in his ears, Thor gently pushed on the lid with his thumb and opened the box.

Thor's eyes grew impossibly wide and a soft gasp escaped his lips as he gazed upon what the box held within its black velvet lined confines. Then with trembling fingers he reached into the box.

The others watched as Thor pulled out a thick braided chain of exquisite silver that seemed to almost glow in its radiance, and hanging from this chain was a silver pendant, a miniature replica of Mjolnir herself, but with two crossed throwing knives behind her. The finely crafted pendant shone more brightly then the chain from which it hung, glinting softly in the light of the fires that illuminated the room.

Thor stared at the necklace, holding it up to eye level, taking in every detail of the pendant. It was striking beyond words in the amount of detail and care that had been put into it, from the tiny three-corner symbol carved on the front of Mjolnir, to the handle with its spiral design, and the two crossed knives that were an exact replica of the knives that had been Loki's weapon of choice. Thor would have stared at it for hours, but something else in the jewelry box he was still holding caught his eye. Looping the chain around his fingers, Thor reached inside the box once more and found a piece of folded parchment.

Thor pulled it out and used his thumb to unfold the piece of paper. He instantly recognized the elegant hand writing held within. As his already glistening eyes scanned over the words that had been written, Thor felt like the floor was pulled out from under him yet again.

Written of the paper were these simple words.

For my brother, who from this day forward shall be my King. I offer you this humble gift crafted by my own hand, and tell you to never doubt that I will love you till my last breath and beyond it.

-Loki.

Thor gasped as he felt whatever remained of his heart shatter as the box fell from his numb fingers and clattered lightly onto the floor by his feet. With fresh tears spilling free from his eyes, Thor slowly turned and spoke.

" H-He made this for me, he made this with his own hands for me." Thor said as he held up the necklace, his entire face shellshocked.

" My son." Frigga whispered as she strode forward, all but running across the room to Thor, one hand going to his tearstained cheek while the other went to cover his hand that was holding up the necklace. Her hand was so small over his own as she gazed tearfully up at her crying child.

The Crown Prince of Asgard, the mighty Thunderer looked now not as a God, but a boy once more, a devastated boy.

" Thor." Frigga sobbed softly.

Thor looked down at his mother, there tearful gazes meeting as he spoke.

" He loved me mother, he always loved me... After everything I thought... I thought... But it is not so... It was Menkos mother, not him, it was never him. All this time I thought it was gone from him but it wasn't."

Frigga stayed silent, only nodding at her son's babbling before Thor took a rattling breath and looked back and forth between the necklace and his mother's stricken face.

" Loki he... he never stopped loving me Mother, he made this for me, he was going to give it to me after my coronation."

Behind them Odin felt his eye fill as he gazed at his wife and son, beside him Sif cried without shame, while Volstaag looked ready to join her, Hogun stood biting his knuckle hard in an effort to not do so, while Fandral had his over-bright eyes glued to the floor, his face flushed a deep red with guilt and shame.

" I know Thor, he loved you most my son, he loved you most." Frigga said, nodded her head while she tenderly wiped at Thor's tears.

Thor's breath hitched violently as he stared at his brother's gift and then a look of horror spread across his face.

" He wrote me this." Thor said thickly, holding out the piece of paper before Frigga's eye, allowing her to read Loki's words. The Queen shut her eyes and pain before she forced them back open and met Thor's gaze, nodding once more.

" He said that he would love me to his last breath... He called out to me with his last breath, but I didn't hear him... I didn't hear him Mother." Thor said, sounding more desperate with each word.

" I know Thor, I didn't hear him either, none of us did." Frigga said tearfully.

" But I should have Mother, he's my brother, I don't care about where he came from, he is my brother. He's mine, he's mine... he's... he..." Thor trailed off and could say nothing further as the helpless sobs he had been holding off erupted from him. Gasping for air, his lungs burning, Thor feel back against Loki's desk, the sturdy piece of furniture the only thing holding him up as he slumped over, buried his face into his hand, and began to cry without shame.

Frigga could do no more than wrap her arms around her son, pressing his face to her heart and holding him as he wept. Movement to her side had he turning to see a desolate looking Odin come to stand beside them, his weathered hand reaching out and settling over Thor's shaking blond head.

Outside the rain continued to fall, heavier now than it had been before as the Thunderer finally shattered completely.