Necessary Lies

Sif strode before the Warriors Three as they headed towards the throne room, making it look more like they were rushing to stop her than anything. The guards allowed them entrance and they rushed in, their heads bowed in respect of Odin as they approached his throne, "Allfather, we must speak with you urgently…" she cut off, however when she saw it was not Odin upon the throne…but Loki, in all his ceremonial garb, his horned-helmet on his head, Odin's staff in his hand as he sat, leaning to the side.

Her gaze flickered to the side that he was leaning towards, where Kona was standing, beside the throne, one hand resting on the back of it as she spoke quietly with Loki, their conversation interrupted by her entrance. She gave the minutest shake of the head at the sight, this…could not be. Frigga should have been on the throne as the Queen of Asgard, not Loki!

"My friends," Loki greeted them with a smile.

"Where's Odin?" Fandral asked.

Kona's hand gently slid from the throne to Loki's shoulder as she felt and heard him stiffen beside her, knowing it was a touchy and very painful topic for Loki at the moment. She knew he blamed himself for the Odinsleep his father had fallen into, he thought that his shouting at the man and demanding answers had triggered it. He was waiting for Odin to awaken so he might be able to apologize and truly speak with his father about what he'd done and what it could mean for the future. But at the current moment it was still a tense subject for Loki to speak of, so she answered instead, "The Allfather has submitted to the Odinsleep," she explained, squeezing Loki's shoulder a moment, "The Queen knows not when he will awaken."

"He may never awaken again," Loki murmured, his fears getting to him, voicing them for the others to hear. He just wanted his father to wake up so he could apologize, but…it was lasting longer than normal, the healing glow around him stronger and brighter and they knew it would mean it would take longer. How much longer not even Kona could see. And the fact that SHE couldn't pinpoint when Odin would awake alarmed him and he knew it concerned his mother deeply. Why would she NOT see him wake unless…he never did?

He frowned though when he saw her and the Warriors Three exchanging a look at that and reached up to place his hand on Kona's.

"We would speak with her," Sif decided.

"She has refused to leave my father's bedside," Loki informed them, "You can bring your 'urgent' matter to me," he stood, Gungnir in one hand, Kona's hand in the other as he stood before them, "Your King."

He watched as Sif's jaw tensed, the four of them giving yet another round of looks at each other before they begrudgingly knelt on the floor, pressing their fists to their chests in deference.

"My king," Sif recovered, continuing to speak, "We would ask you to end Thor's banishment."

Loki closed his eyes for a moment, he knew this was coming. Kona hadn't said a word about it, hadn't had a vision but they were both expecting something like this from the four, or at least from Sif. But he knew that it was an impossible request, "My first command cannot be to undo the Allfather's last," he said wisely, reminding them of the unwritten law between kings and the passing of the crown, "We're on the brink of war with Jotunheim. Our people must have a sense of continuity in order to feel safe in these difficult times."

Kona frowned, not even needing to see them to know they had to be resentful and angry about that, she could tell from the way Loki squeezed her hand in how he had to refuse a request he too wished to see come to fruition. But they both knew that, while Thor couldn't be allowed back…he could be BROUGHT back…if Heimdall was of the persuasion to allow it, to disregard Odin's orders (which he had in the past as well in letting them into Jotunheim). For anyone other than the reigning king to do that though…it would be seen as being the very traitors to the house of Odin that Laufey had accused Loki of being.

"All of us must stand together," Loki continued, "For the good of Asgard."

"Yes," Fandral reached out to stop Sif as she leapt to her feet, of all of them the most against Loki's decision, "Of course."

"Good," Loki nodded, though he felt Kona tense beside him, caught her staring off to the side in the corner of his eye. Kona always made an effort to look in the direction of someone as they spoke or as an event happened, for her to look away meant she was seeing something at that very moment, "Then you will wait for my word."

"If I may, beg the indulgence of your majesty," Volstagg attempted, "To perhaps reconsider…"

"We're done," Loki cut in, turning to stride off, wanting to check on Odin, leaving Kona to follow, however she remained there to face the Warriors Three as they too stood.

"Can you not speak to him!?" Sif demanded, gesturing wildly at the direction Loki had disappeared in, her voice more a hiss to Kona, sure that Loki would try to eavesdrop.

"And what would I say Sif?" Kona countered, "Especially when I agree with him."

Sif rolled her eyes, "Typical."

Kona's eyes narrowed as she rose to her full height, looking down at the four of them as she stood at the top of the steps to the throne, "Watch your tone Sif. You may be a magnificent warrior, and I commend you on your bravery in battle, but you would do well to remember that I am a member of Odin's council," she added, it was a small group of individuals that Odin would turn to at times for advice or to plan something, "And now I serve Loki in the same capacity."

"We merely wished for Thor to return," Fandral spoke, grabbing Sif's arm to tug her back, knowing that the woman was concerned about Thor but also that her tongue would get them all into trouble if she was not careful. Insult Kona and there would be little chance that Loki would ever listen to them at all, because she would refuse to speak to him.

"Do you not want to see the true king on the throne?" Hogun asked quietly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he gazed upon her.

"Of course I do," Kona replied.

"Then why not convince Loki to allow us to bring Thor back?" Volstagg shook his head, not understanding why, if she was being truthful in wanting to see THOR on the throne she would hesitate so.

"Thor was banished for a reason," she reminded them, "Odin saw what you all have failed to see. That he was not ready to take the throne," she paused, waiting a moment for it to sink in, "And he still is not. Not right now. You must be patient, and you must trust Loki."

She didn't need her eyes to know that the scoff Sif gave was also followed by a roll of her narrowed eyes before the warrior turned and stormed off. She could hear the anger in the woman's heavy footsteps, could hear the other three rushing to catch up to her. She sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head, knowing the vision she'd seen only moments ago was now more likely to happen than ever.

Sif...would never not believe in Thor, just as much as SHE would never not believe in Loki.

~8~

"Let me guess," Loki began, weary, as Kona entered his chambers to check on him, him sitting on a chair before a small fire, "They are displeased with my decision to not end Thor's banishment?"

Kona nodded, "Yes, I'm afraid they are."

He shook his head, "Do they not realize that I do not want to be king? That I do not do this with a light heart? Thor is my brother, I would like nothing more than for him to be back but he is not ready to be king."

"They do not know you as well as I do Loki," Kona murmured as she moved to try and comfort him, walking over to stand behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them, trying to relieve the tension she could feel.

Loki he rubbed his eyes, "I do not understand how father does this," he admitted, "I can barely handle being king for more than a few moments and yet he has done it nearly his entire life."

Kona smiled, dropping a kiss on the back of his head, "Do not worry too much. Thor will be ready, eventually he will return."

He sighed, pressing his hands onto hers, looking up at her, "Kona can you see when he might be ready?"

She nodded, "That is what I saw when the Warriors Three and Sif were speaking. I saw them, Loki, going to Thor themselves."

He smiled, "Good."

But she shook her head, "Unfortunately that is not as good as it may seem. They shall get him before he is ready. Loki they're planning to go very soon and he has not been on Earth long enough to change."

He sighed, "What should we do?"

If banishment wasn't sudden enough, wasn't jarring enough, and wasn't enough to shock Thor into realizing he needed to change, he couldn't think of another thing that could possibly happen while he was on Earth that could get Thor to fully accept his banishment and to realize why he had been banished, to make him try and change for the better. They needed to be quick and they needed him to change soon. He knew that the moment they told the Warriors Three or Sif what he had planned and why they could not go after Thor…they would cry traitor, they would mark him as an enemy of Asgard. They wouldn't care for his reasons, they would just see what they wished to see, that he had gotten Thor out of the way to take the throne since they were already under the impression that all he did was to try and best his brother.

Sif, he knew, always thought he was jealous of Thor but he couldn't understand the reason why. There was nothing to be jealous of. Yes or was bigger than him and stronger than him and a better warrior, he had been trained to be king and that was not something HE had ever wanted or ever tried for. He did not want to be a warrior, he wanted to focus on his mind and he was very clever, he wanted to learn magic and now he was a master of it, he wanted to find love first, find someone who would love him truly for him instead of as a king, he did not want to be a pawn used to broker peace. And in so doing he had found Kona. So really, what was there to be jealous of? Nothing.

He felt Kona's hands on his shoulders still for a moment and he looked up at her, "What do you think?" he asked, eyeing her carefully. He could recognize that expression, it was when she had a thought but did not want to say it, "What are you thinking?"

She hesitated, "I am not certain what I am thinking would be the best course of action."

"Well I would appreciate any sort of perspective on this, any thoughts at all would be most welcome."

She sighed, but still did not make a mention of what her thoughts were. Loki leaned forward, reaching up and taking her hands off his shoulders, tugging her around the small chair he was sitting on to stand before him. He smiled mischievously, one that she could not see, and tugged her down with a laugh as she fell onto his lap, making her smile and laugh as well while his arms wrapped around her.

"What are you thinking, my heart?" he looked at her.

She smiled, blushing at the compliment, at the small endearment, before giving in and telling him what thoughts had struck her, "When I lost my sight," she spoke slowly, as though considering her words and how she wanted to phrase them, "When I lost my sight, it felt as though I had lost everything. And, in a way, I did. I could no longer be a servant when I couldn't see, there were very limited things that I would be able to have done. Everything that Odin allowed me to do as a servant, as your friend, what I would have done in the future, I could no longer do. My entire life changed in that single moment."

He nodded, recalling how hard it had been for her, how it had taken her ages to adapt to being unable to see.

"I had to learn an entirely new way of life," she continued, "It was jarring and shocking and it truly made me appreciate everything that I still had. It forced me to find a new strength inside myself, it forced me to change and grow and adapt. Everything I had left became that much more important to me because of losing my sight. To lose one thing, you must gain another."

Loki looked at her, that was exactly what had been said to his father when he had gone to Mimer's well, for knowledge to be gained something else has to be lost. He felt like he understood what she was getting at, what might shock a change into his brother, "But what could Thor possibly lose? He has already lost his home in his banishment."

Kona bit her lip, "Did he?" she had to ask, "Thor has spent the entire time on Earth trying to get back to Asgard, knowing his banishment would one day end. What if…" she trailed off.

Loki reached out and turned her head to look at him, his thumb stroking the corner of her chin, "What if what?"

"What if he were to…" she sighed, "Think that the banishment was not temporary?" she offered, "What if he truly thought he had lost his home and that the only place he had left was Earth? He might not act as though the arrogant prince that still had a claim to the throne but more…a man who was alone and lost with nothing but himself."

Loki paused, considering those words, considering the logic behind them. That did make sense, Thor was a man where something truly magnificent or terrible had to happen to get through to him…like Kona's blinding, "So you mean…if Thor were to believe that Asgard was lost to him entirely, that his banishment was permanent or something, that he might start to appreciate his life on Earth and start to grow?"

She nodded, "That is what I think. What I have found is that, sometimes, the things that weaken us, that…devastate and break our hearts, are the things that allow us to grow stronger. Maybe that is what Thor needs? He has always been strong, but he has always been a prince and had Asgard to support him. He has never had to rely solely on himself and earn the respect and trust of others."

"But what could possibly have happened that would make his banishment permanent?" Loki had to wonder, "Unless…"

Now it was HER turn to frown, "Unless what?"

"Unless he knew it was impossible," Loki murmured, "Thor knows the law of the Kings, that the next king cannot undo the last law of the prior. If he thought that father…" he swallowed hard, "If he thought that father had…died, that he would not be around to reverse the order, he would know that the next person in line could not change it, that he would be stuck on Earth."

Kona nodded, it did make sense, but…she also knew what it would mean for that to be told to Thor, she knew how hard it would be not just for Thor to hear it but…for Loki to say it. Loki would have to be the one to tell Thor that news, "It is a terrible lie Loki. It is truly a burden to take on, I would never wish it on you, but…I think this may be the only way to get Thor to realize what he had in Asgard, to realize, when he is alone on Earth, all the people that he had around him, the ones he was meant to protect."

Loki fell silent, thinking about it. It was truly terrible how much sense that made. And he knew it would be a horrible, horrible thing to tell his brother, to lie about the state of their father…but if it would make Thor realize what he had and what he had lost and how important Asgard was, how much it had to be protected and cherished…if it would help him mature and grow stronger and make him appreciate the role of king and the weight of that power and everything that much more…

He nodded, resigning himself. As much as it killed him to have to do it to his brother, he understood Kona's logic. To lose all one had made them appreciate what they had left, made them treasure the things they gained after that point, made them cherish it should it come back. Thor needed to believe himself truly alone on Earth, not a Prince of Asgard, not a God, but…just a man, just a man like every other mortal. One who needed to earn the respect of others, earn their trust, and show respect and trust in return.

"Can you see it?" he looked at her, "What would happen after I tell Thor that?"

Kona closed her eyes and focused, her face scrunching as she tried to see that particular future, "He will be...devastated, yes, pained, guiltridden. He will feel as responsible for that as you do for the Odinsleep. But..." she nodded, "He will be more subdued," she breathed, seeing it, "He will be considerate, and...he will see the lengths others have gone and will go to help him. There are people with him...a woman, he will be able to see her character afterwards, she will be able to change him for the better."

"Like you do me," he murmured, his arms tightening around her.

He hoped it would be true, that his brother would fall in love one day, he didn't care with who, Sif, another Asgardian, a human, it could be a Frost Giant for all he cared so long as Thor was happy and understood what HE felt around Kona. If the man could know true and deep love...perhaps he would understand how important Kona was to him and finally give up his childish grudge against her. Kona, through knowing her, had made him a better man, a more considerate and compassionate man. He hoped this woman, whoever she was, that Kona had seen would do the same for Thor and it seemed she would. Thor truly had been so focused on returning to Asgard that he had blinded himself to those around him, to how he acted and how he treated them...but it appeared having no home to work towards would allow him to see those still with him and to appreciate them, the first step in appreciating others as well.

"Then it appears I have no choice," he murmured.

Kona nodded sadly, leaning over to rest her forehead to his, her hand winding around the back of his head, her fingers lightly playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, comfortingly, soothingly, "I am sorry Loki," she whispered.

The two of them closed their eyes, just…sitting there, Kona offering as much strength and support as she could for Loki to do this, to do what had to be done for Thor to truly realize what he had lost in his brash actions, and Loki just…taking comfort in Kona, gathering his will to tell the worst lie he ever would tell to the brother who had always been there for him, to the brother he would do anything for.

~8~

Loki stood in a room, much like one of the prison cells of Asgard, actually quite like it, very minimal, scarcely anything there, but…different, having an…Earth feel to it. Which it would, as he was on Earth. He was standing there, looking sadly at Thor as the man sat in a chair, covered in mud and sweat and bruises, his hands bound before him, staring up at a man in a suit as they spoke. He knew what had happened, Kona had told him of every vision she'd had of Thor. He had gone on a quest for Mjolnir, had attacked and fought his way into this…facility. Instead of negotiating, instead of talking or thinking he had done what he had in Jotunheim, he'd just…attacked, used physical force to try and get his way.

He hadn't been able to lift Mjolnir though, even when he'd made it all the way to the hammer, through all its guards. He wasn't worth of the power of Thor any longer, not yet anyway. He actually found it…beneficial that he had chosen this moment to come to his brother. The shock of fighting so excellently to get to his prize and have it refuse to be lifted by him, to realize it meant he wasn't worthy of its power would hopefully mean his brother would be more inclined to listen to what he had to say and take his words to heart.

The man in the suit was speaking, neither he nor Thor aware he stood there, just behind him and off to the side, he was cloaked in magic of course.

"You made my men," the suited man spoke, "Some of the most highly trained professionals in the world look like a bunch of minimum wage mall cops. That's hurtful. In my experience, it takes someone who's received similar training to do what you did to them. Would you like to tell me where you received your training?"

Loki glanced at Thor, the man just sitting there, staring blankly ahead.

"Pakistan? Chechnya? Afghanistan? Then again, you strike me more as the soldier of fortune type. What was it, South Africa?" but Thor was silent still, "Certain groups pay well for a good Mercenary like you," and still nothing, which made Loki smile, his brother certainly was…stubborn, "Who are you? One way or another, we find out what we want to know. We're good at that."

Loki watched as the man left the room, getting a call on some sort of communicator device, as Thor bowed his head. He stepped up, coming to stop before Thor and dropping the magic. As though sensing it, Thor looked up to see his brother there. He'd attempted to mimic the style of the humans he'd seen. Dressed now in a buttoned white shirt, with a black vest, a black jacket over it but with a green scarf, black pants, very…modern Earth attire he hoped. Which made him briefly wonder what Kona would have worn if she had accompanied him, but he shook his head, now was not the time for his mind to wander.

If he thought of Kona, he was sure he would smile, and he…he needed to look solemn and burdened. Which…he truly was. He was loathing himself for having to do this to Thor, to tell him such a blatant lie, but…it had to be done, for Thor's own good, for the sake of Asgard.

"Loki?" Thor breathed, "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you," he said, his voice deep, sorrowful, something Thor seemed to pick up on.

Thor stiffened, "What's happened?" he frowned, sensing a negative note in his brother's voice, "Tell me! Is it Jotunheim? Let me explain to father…"

"Father is dead," Loki cut in, needing to get it out, needing to get it out as quickly as he could. For being a 'Mischief Maker' as Kona loved to call him, he was surprisingly horrid at lying to Thor and his mother, Kona he refused to ever lie to on principle.

"What?" Thor breathed, staring at him completely stunned.

"Your banishment, the threat of a new war, it was too much for him to bear," Loki explained, trying to think of any justifiable reason for Odin to be so weakened. He knew Thor had seen it when Odin banished him, the weariness in his face and posture and words when he'd been stripping Thor of his title, Thor knew how deeply the banishment and the fight had affected their father, and…war with the Jotuns, that would be enough to sap any king of strength, especially having already fought them once before.

Loki took a single step forward, seeing the guilt enter his brother's eyes, "You mustn't blame yourself," he told Thor, unable to help himself. He just…wanted Thor to think that he couldn't come back to Asgard, he didn't want the man to blame himself, to burden himself with such unfounded guilt. It killed him enough to have to lie about their father's death, to see Thor like this…it hurt him to do, "I know that you loved him. I tried to tell him so, but he'd fallen into the Odinsleep by then before he…" he trailed off, leaving the implied 'death' unsaid as he glanced at Thor. The man looked too shocked to comprehend what he was saying, so…he added the one thing that he hoped would imply enough what the effect of Odin's death would be, without having to openly tell him the banishment was permanent, "It was so cruel to put the hammer within your reach, knowing that you could never lift it."

He silently begged the stars that Thor would understand his words, read between the lines, and realize he was speaking of the fact that Odin had sent the hammer out with a spell HE had put on it, and that with him dead, the spell could never be removed.

But Thor just stared ahead, shaking his head, not saying a word.

Loki sighed, "The burden of the throne has fallen to me now," he added, making it known that a new king had been put in place, a new king who could not change the laws of the last one.

Thor looked at him, "Can I come home?"

Loki winced, it appeared Thor hadn't realized the true extent of what it would mean for their father to die, for HIM to be king. He closed his eyes a moment, before looking at Thor, now knowing it would take more than just speaking of the 'last laws' belief, it would take something more to get through to him, for him to realize or think that he couldn't come back to Asgard, "The truce with Jotunheim is conditional upon your exile," he said.

"But couldn't we find a way to…"

"Mother," he cut in, hating himself for taking the absolute worst lie of his life and having to bring their mother into it, but he knew Frigga was as important to Thor as she was to him, "Has forbidden your return."

Thor nodded, bowing his head and Loki saw it…the resignation, the realization that he would be forced to remain on Earth, a place he was a stranger in, a place he was a mere mortal in. He swallowed hard and nodded, "This is goodbye, brother. I'm so sorry."

"No," Thor shook his head and looked up at him, "I'm sorry."

Loki blinked, finally seeing it, the first stirrings of true…regret. Kona had been right, she had been spot on, losing the one thing he had to hold onto had made Thor realize what he'd lost. He knew it was just the beginning, he knew that it would take a while longer for Thor to truly start to change but…it was a step, it was the beginning, and…Thor had apologized, he could count on one hand the number of times he had actually and truly said to someone's face that he was sorry.

"Thank you for coming here," Thor whispered.

"Farewell," Loki murmured, disappearing.

"Goodbye," Thor nodded, just as Coulson stepped back into the room.

"Goodbye? I just got back."

~8~

Loki walked briskly through the halls of the facility Thor had been taken to, following the chattering of the people who worked there till he reached a small area that had been constructed around a stone that had Mjolnir half stuck into the top of it. He walked over to the rock and placed a hand on the hammer, trying to lift it, more half-heartedly than anything.

It didn't budge.

But then again he hadn't expected it to. He knew he was not worth of Mjolnir, only Thor was, the hammer had chosen him after all, almost no one besides Thor would be able to wield it. And he knew that, as Odin had said, Mjolnir was meant to be in the hands of a king, and he was not the true king of Asgard.

He nodded to himself, before he disappeared back to Asgard and back to Kona, none of the other workers noticing, hoping that soon…Thor would be ready to wield the hammer again.

Until then, he would try, as hard as he could, to be a king that Asgard needed, until the king she belonged to returned.

A/N: Some more of a look into the reasons here for Loki lying to Thor about Odin. I feel like Kona would have understood more what was needed to really get someone to appreciate what they had in that she had lost her sight and it made her cherish what she still had, it made her change, the loss changed her, and so she would see that perhaps Thor needed a true and meaningful loss to allow him the chance to change as well :'(

I felt like, watching the movie, after Loki appeared and told him about Odin, THAT was when he really started to change for the better, in realizing he couldn't get back home like he was sure he'd be able to do before. It made him try to make the best out of his time on Earth and learn to be a man deserving of the help he was getting :)

Also, I can say we'll see more about Loki's plan with the Frost Giants as well as a glimpse into how...not defenseless Kona is in the next chapter ;)

And Happy Holidays!

Some notes on reviews...

Oh Loki will have her peeking in at Thor even more after this moment ;) And we'll definitely see more of the reasons behind Loki's actions too :)

We'll have to wait and see if Loki will remain good or if the power will go to his head and he becomes evil }:)

Lol, Tom is adorable. I saw a commercial with him as Loki and he had to 'shove' a little girl, all I could think was I bet he baked her a plate of cookies to apologize for having to do it :)

Oh I can say Shakespeare will be popping up, but more likely in the Avengers ;)

That's ok, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far :) I hope you had a great time in Disney!

Thanks :) I really wanted to give a deeper look into Loki's mind, it'll be very important, especially in the Avengers when we get to a key moment (which I'll have a note about when it comes around) ;)

I'm glad you're excited and enjoying Kona and the story so far :) I'm very excited to get to the Avengers too, just a few more days! :)

There's definitely a very complicated and complex reason for Loki's actions in the Avengers, but we'll have to wait and see what they are }:) As for Kona well...one of those complex reasons will relate to her and that's all I can say for now }:)