Trials

Chapter Two: What are Brothers For?

The Trials started at sunrise with endurance. Before dawn broke, Loki took the horse that a servant had left for him out to the foothills of the mountains. Clothed in the latest version of his full armor, which he'd grown quite comfortable in after struggling with the growing weight of it in his earlier youth, he placed his feet carefully on the weathered footprints outlined in black on the smooth gray stone slab. The entire slab glowed gold for a moment, registering his presence. When the glowing stopped, Loki started.

Jitters quickly gave way to an easy grin. He liked running, and it was a beautiful day for it, a little cool, but the sun was rising and the sky was a clear, pale blue with a few pink wisps of the cosmos beyond visible in the direction of the observatory. It was peaceful out here, just him and the natural beauty of Asgard – snow-capped mountains at his back, the River Sekin at his right, birds chirping with the dawn. Not far into the run he veered a bit off course to avoid disturbing a doe and her fawn drinking at the river. He didn't push himself, but rather let himself relax and enjoy the experience. The endurance portion of the trials wasn't timed; speed wasn't the point. "Be in the arena by sunset unless you want to still be fighting at the next sunrise," Sorkvir had warned him in jest the day before. Loki laughed as he ran up an incline. Even without pushing himself, he was fast; he'd be there by noon.

Loki knew exactly – well, almost exactly – what to expect in his Trials. He'd been to several of them, for other boys he'd trained with, and even a couple of the girls' version, and then of course there was his brother's. The arena had been packed full for that one, and some had spent the night in the stands to ensure they had the best seats, for it was not every day their next king publicly proved himself a warrior. The very best seats, of course, were reserved for the All-Father and his family, and Loki had screamed his throat raw for Thor, who'd particularly thrilled the masses in his strength and battle portions.

Loki was under no illusions that such a crowd would be there for him. He wasn't going to be Asgard's king, no matter what he'd been told as a child, that much had long since been clear. And neither did he have the kind of charisma that Thor did, that somehow made everyone love him seemingly at first glance. But that was all right; Loki was used to it. Thor's birthdays were celebrated across Asgard, while Loki's were celebrated by his family and perhaps a few friends the day after his actual birthday, which Asgard celebrated as Victory Day over the Frost Giants instead. So if thousands showed up in the arena for Thor and dozens – his family, his tutors, his trainers, a few friends, a few curious onlookers (he was still a Prince of Asgard) – showed up for him, that was just fine. Loki had never particularly liked being the center of attention the way Thor did, anyway. He preferred it this way, really.

And for those that came, well, he would entertain them in the strength and battle portions as well. Maybe not as much as Thor, but he'd planned different tactics, and he was better than Thor in endurance and skills.

As he passed alongside a field, a younger boy, a redhead of around ten or eleven, emerged from the tall grain crops swaying in the breeze, caught sight of him, and took off at a sprint to fall in line beside him.

"Are you Prince Loki?" the boy asked.

"I am," Loki said, slowing his stride a bit for the boy who was already beginning to grow breathless.

"Are you going to your Trials?" he asked.

Loki repeated his earlier answer.

"That's so great! I wish I could go. Good luck, Loki!" the boy said, then stopped and bent over, hands resting on his knees, while he caught his breath.

Loki turned backwards and ran in place long enough to thank the boy, then continued on his way. It made him smile. Perhaps there were others out there who would like to come if they were able. Of course most people had to work, and those that lived this far out were unlikely to make the journey into the city just to see the second prince lifting heavy objects and thrusting a sword around in a predetermined pattern. There might be a few entertaining moments, but most of it was pretty dull.

The spires of Asgard, gleaming under the bright sun, slowly grew until they were all he could see, and he entered the city proper. Loki felt invigorated, the air rushing into his lungs as sweet as the best honey, even though it was now the smells of the city he was breathing in. He tried to imagine what he would feel like instead if he'd gone to the Starry Sky with Thor. He ran over an arched cobblestone bridge with a grimace. Loki had been hung over precisely once in his life, the first time and the last time. It was a good thing Thor had sworn that oath to their mother not to drink again until he reached legal age; Thor didn't have enough good sense to stay away from the taverns before something like this, and probably would have gone to his Trials hung over. He rolled his eyes then, realizing that in fact it would have fallen to him to make sure that didn't happen, and a whole lot of fun that would have been. Thor was lots of fun to be with when you agreed to what he wanted, or when you let him talk you into agreeing, or even when he happened to agree with you. Not so much when you disagreed and refused to waver. Of course, that didn't happen often.

Now Loki just hoped Thor hadn't gotten into some drinking contest and forgotten what today was. He chided himself for not having come up with a backup plan if in fact Thor didn't make it. Then he chided himself for doubting his brother. He might not be there at the beginning – the beginning was pretty boring – but he'd be there when it mattered. Thor had really only ever let him down once, in the same incident that resulted in Thor's oath not to drink again until he turned twenty.

"Hello, Lindall!" he called out to the bookseller as he entered Central Market.

Lindall turned away from his customer. "Prince Loki! Greetings! I wish I could join you. Strength and fortitude!"

"Thank you!" he called over his shoulder, continuing on. He picked up a fair number of gawkers and well-wishers – the route was designed to take the youth through some of the busiest parts of the city for precisely this reason – though the crowd was less than he'd expected, given the gorgeous weather.

A young woman he didn't know, blond hair all piled elegantly atop her head, put her fist to her silk-clad chest, then blew him a kiss. Loki's eyes went wide and he nearly stumbled before getting off a polite nod. These Trials should come around more often, he thought, trying to commit her face to memory in case he should see her again. She could be a hundred years older than him, but once he turned twenty the difference would begin to matter less and less.

"Prince Loki! Will you prove yourself a warrior today?"

Loki's eyes sought out the familiar voice and found the merchant Drosbo Aldarson, who'd been satisfying Loki's sweet tooth since early childhood and to whom Loki now sometimes took Baldur. "I will, Drosbo!" he called.

"I would like to see you do it, but my son is an idiot and my daughter isn't feeling well, she's going to make me a grandfather."

Loki almost stopped, and while it was technically allowed, he preferred not to. Instead he threaded his way through the other merchants and, awkwardly running in place, threw his arms around Drosbo. "Congratulations! To you and all your family."

"Thank you, Loki. And free fruit sticks to you and your brothers once you've passed your Trials."

"Thanks, Drosbo," he said, and set off on his run again.

He felt like he could run for a year – a decade, he thought, after passing the Healing Room and two pretty young trainees who waved and called out their fond wishes. He might not measure up to Thor in battle or popularity, but he still had plenty of support from his fellow Asgardians. It made his armor weigh nothing, as he supposed this run through the center of Asgard as he neared his destination was intended to. Once – so the trainers said – the Trials had been less a celebration than something simply grueling and arduous. Loki suspected they just liked for all the youth to think they had it so easy and their trainers had had it so rough. Now showmanship and entertainment were part of it as well, though the tasks were no less demanding.

The arena came into view, and as much as Loki wanted to race forward with a burst of extra speed, he forced himself to keep his pace steady. The run wouldn't be over when he entered the arena.

With a wave to the little girl who was panting from running at his heels for the last minute or so, Loki at last broke off from the boulevard he was on and ran down the gravel path that followed the short eastern edge of the oval-shaped arena. He soon rounded the bend and passed under the engraved arched entrance that Thor had run through before him, and every male Asgardian for thousands of years, including even his own father. The tunnel was dark, and the end of it so bright that he couldn't see beyond it. He already knew which direction to look in to see his family when he emerged, though. He squinted against the sun, eyes trained in the proper direction, but he couldn't find them. His eyes instead darted all over the north side of the stands, which were, to his great shock, packed with spectators from end to end.

Staring in astonishment, Loki realized a few seconds later that he'd slowed so much he'd almost come to a complete halt. His legs propelled him forward again, and then he heard shouting; the crowd – who had perhaps confused which prince was demonstrating his skills today, he couldn't help wondering – had caught sight of him. He ran across the grounds and watched, still stunned, as they stood and cheered him on. He was almost to the other side when he recovered enough to actually search for his family; he hadn't expected it to be difficult. If he ignored the rest of the crowd, though, he did still know where to look, in the center, about half-way up, where the special entrance was. He found Thor first, standing on his seat, hands cupped around his mouth, and though Loki couldn't hear him over the noise of the arena, he had no doubt that his brother was yelling for him more loudly than anyone else there, just as he'd said. Then there was Mother, standing next to him, holding Baldur up so he could see, and Baldur and Mother were both shouting as well. Father wasn't there. Loki was disappointed, but it was early, and unless something truly urgent was going on, he was certain he would be there before the end. They'd talked about it at dinner last night.

Loki reached the stands and now came the only real challenge of this portion of the Trials – after running for hours, he had to run up the stairs on the far left, down the center-left ones, up the center-right ones, and back down the far right ones, out to the center of the grounds. The stairs were steep, and the "running" verged on jumping like a mountain deer. When he reached the center-left stairs he could pick out Thor's voice for the first time: "Go Loki! Faster! You can do it! Keep going, Brother!" Loki smiled and pushed himself harder, his breathing finally growing labored. He didn't dare look up from the stairs, though; falling flat on his face and breaking his nose would hardly be a good start to his Trials.

He hit the bottom and started his way back up, then around and back down again, and finally put on the burst of speed he'd been holding back this whole time to race out to the grounds and come to a halt atop a second smooth flat stone that glowed gold with his arrival.

Sorkvir stood before him, and spoke, the arena's sound amplification system projecting his voice into the stands. "This concludes the first portion of the Trials for Prince Loki Odinson. Prince Loki, you have passed. With the successful completion of your endurance trial, you have begun to prove yourself a warrior today before your realm. How far will you run to greet an enemy who threatens this shining realm?"

"From one end of Asgard to the other and back again," Loki said solemnly. In reality, he would probably just run as far as the stables and take a horse, but this was less about reality than ceremony.

Sorkvir nodded. "Very well. The skills portion will commence in thirty minutes."

Loki nodded back, and with that he was free for the next half hour. One of the assistant trainers was waiting at the bottom of the stands with a canister of water, which he gratefully took, then climbed back up the stairs, greeting people and grasping extended arms along the way.

He reached the level of his family's seating and suddenly there was Thor at the edge of the row, throwing his arms around him. "Did you hear me, Brother? I told you I'd be the loudest."

"I heard you," Loki said with a nod as he hugged Thor back, stepping lightly in place to keep his muscles warm and limber. "I think Jotunheim heard you."

"Good. Let it be a warning to them. Soon there will be two Odinson warriors for them to worry about. Come on," Thor said, dropping one arm back to his side and swinging the other up around Loki's neck. "Mother can hardly keep hold of Baldur he's so excited to see you."

Loki grinned and let Thor pull him through the throng, and into the less crowded and more comfortable area where his family sat.

"You didn't see me, Loki! I was yelling for you," Baldur said as soon as Loki cleared the crowd. His fair-haired younger brother, approaching five years old, stood atop a red-cushioned seat and was almost pouting.

"I saw you, and I heard you cheering me on. I don't know if I could have finished without you. I just couldn't look over at you because the stairs are very steep and I had to be careful not to fall."

"I helped?" Baldur asked, perking up immediately.

"Of course you did. Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Baldur exclaimed, sticking his arms out for Loki to pick him up.

Loki did so, then stepped over to his mother, who embraced both of them at once. She had tears in her eyes; she seemed to be doing that a lot lately. He hadn't done anything that exciting, not yet anyway. It was a long run, but it was just a run. "You're off to a wonderful start, Loki, I'm so proud of you." She wrapped a hand around his face and pulled him close enough to her that he felt her breath over his ear. "There's been a little flare-up between Alfheim and Nidavellir," she whispered. "Your father is meeting with his advisors, but he'll be here."

"I understand," he said back to her.

"What did Mother say, Loki?" Baldur asked.

"She wished me good luck. Now, are you paying close attention, Little Brother? This is going to be you in sixteen years, you know."

Baldur shook his head, eyes wide. "I can't run from one end of Asgard to the other. I'll get too tired."

"Don't worry," Loki said with a laugh. "You have plenty of time to get big and strong enough to do it."

Baldur started pulling at the leather strap over Loki's right shoulder, and Loki turned back to Thor, lowering his voice. "I can't believe all these people showed up. And even for the first part. I mean, where did they all come from? I've been looking around, and I don't even know most of them."

"Well…"

"What?" Loki asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I might have happened to mention that you had your Trials today when I was at the Starry Sky last night. And when I was at the Sword and Shield after that. And the Golden Goblet after that. And…well, you get the picture. I think I went to them all."

Loki stared. "You went to every tavern in Asgard? I don't think that's even possible. Not in one night."

"No, not quite all in one night. The rooster was crowing at The Rooster by the time I got there. There were a few people still there, though, and I told them your Trials were today."

"Thor…," Loki began, what his brother was saying slow to sink in, "are you telling me you did all this? You got all these people here?"

"A few of them, anyway," Thor answered with a grin.

"You…I don't know what to say. I…thank you, Brother. I never expected it. It was amazing when I came in and saw everyone, like I must be dreaming it."

"It was nothing. You've worked hard, and you deserve this. I knew they'd be in for a good show if they came out to see you."

Loki shook his head, and ignored Baldur trying to get his attention again. "It's not nothing. I appreciate it, Thor, really. You didn't have to do that."

"What are brothers for?" Thor said, reaching around with one hand to squeeze Loki's damp neck above his collar, and ruffling Baldur's hair with the other.

Loki set Baldur back on the cushion and got to work fixing the strap his little brother had managed to unbuckle. "I don't know," he said. "But you're definitely off the hook for getting me a birthday present."

"I got you a birthday present!" Baldur said, pulling on Loki's sleeve.

"So did I. But you already knew that. So I'll keep it in mind for next year. You better get back down there now, Loki. And don't let all these people watching your every move make you nervous."

Loki stuck his tongue out at Thor before remembering that all these people were in fact watching his every move, and perhaps he should finally listen to Mother and stop sticking his tongue out at Thor now that he was about to turn twenty. It wasn't exactly adult-like, much less warrior-like. But Thor so often deserved it.

"Loki," his mother said in a chiding tone, with a deliberate glance at Baldur.

Loki looked down at Baldur, and saw he was sticking his tongue out at Thor. He bent down to whisper in Baldur's ear. "Only stick your tongue out at Thor when Mother's not looking," he said, then gave Baldur a wink. "All right, I do need to get back down to the grounds. But I'll come up again if I can."

Mother took his hand and squeezed it; Loki knew she would prefer to kiss his forehead or cheek, but was grateful she didn't in front of so many onlookers. He gave Baldur a hug and offered an arm to Thor who instead pulled him into a hug, too. They pulled apart and their eyes met, strong and steady, and it was different. They would still be brothers, they would still be best friends, but now soon they would both be adults as well, fellow warriors who would fight back to back for stakes higher than in mere games. Their lives would be full of adventures – for if no adventures found them, Thor would find the adventures – that they'd once only read about in children's books, and they would undertake them together. Loki couldn't be prouder to call Thor his brother in that moment, and he hoped Thor would be able to say the same of him.

"One down, three to go," he said, then picked his way back out to the stairs and down again.

/

/

The skills portion was a breeze, and quite dull. Loki began with the sword and a series of blocking moves so basic he'd learned them when he was nine and could have done them blindfolded and half asleep. His opponent – there only to provide the other half of the routine – was his first trainer, Ossur, the man who'd taught him and Thor these very moves. He'd actually requested to do it blindfolded, but was denied on the grounds that "It isn't done that way, Loki." He'd argued, because "It isn't done that way, Loki" hardly seemed like a rational reason for the refusal, but it wasn't like it was the first time he'd heard it, and, as usual, it didn't get him anywhere.

He worked his way through other weapons – including his body itself – and other trainers and the required moves, transitioning from defensive to offensive and back again time after time. As he spun his staff to block a blow, he stole a quick glance up at the spectators. Father still wasn't there, and – though perhaps he was only imagining it, it wasn't like he'd taken the time to inspect their faces individually – he thought the crowd looked bored. Well, it was boring. Even when Thor had done this part, it had gotten boring. Except during this exact part, when Thor had slammed his staff into the trainer's with such force the trainer's staff snapped clean in two. Loki wasn't going to be snapping anyone's weapon in two, but he knew he was going to please the crowd in the next segment.

About an hour later, when his arms would have been tiring even a month ago, Loki took up a sword again, this time working through a much more complex series of maneuvers, though at their core they were just combinations and elaborations of the same moves he'd begun with. It was simple, and by this point he'd practiced it so many times he could do it flawlessly without conscious thought.

He ended, per the standard routine, with the blunted tip of his sword at First Swordmaster Almod's exposed throat, and the audience applauded. Loki glanced up; Thor was shouting with his hands cupped around his mouth again, and Baldur was perched on his shoulders, doing the same. Loki smiled up at them and walked over to Sorkvir to exchange the next ceremonial statements, in which he affirmed his commitment to fight for Asgard with whatever weapon was available, even if it were the last stone from the rubble of the last building in the realm. Loki struggled to maintain a serious face during that one. It wasn't like he'd ever had any stone-throwing training, but he figured, sure, if it came to that, he could lob one hard at the enemy's forehead, though he thought he'd probably be able to come up with something a little more effective than that. On the other hand, the last Asgardian left in the realm…all alone? He shivered at the horrible thought. What would there be worth fighting for at that point? Principle? Loki wasn't sure his principles were quite that strong. Such conjecture was pointless, anyway – if only one person was left alive in all of Asgard, it would be Father, or maybe Thor. It wouldn't be him. Regardless, it was all just for ceremony anyway, and it was merely another way of asking, "Do you love Asgard enough to fight for it, even when the odds seem insurmountable?" And of course, Loki did. Without question. Without hesitation.

And now he had another half-hour, so he made his way back up through the stands. Vendors were selling snacks; there normally weren't enough people at the Trials to justify that, Loki had only seen it before at Thor's. Thor and Baldur were mimicking a child's version of a swordfight with little wooden sticks that had once held a snack of some sort. Honey-roasted chicken fillets, it turned out, as Mother reached over and held out two to him over words of praise.

"Thank you, Mother," Loki said, taking a big bite out of one of them.

"Eat slowly."

"I will."

"And there's water when you're done."

"There's water down there, too," Loki said after quickly swallowing.

"Yes, but I brought this water for you."

"And it's far superior water, of course."

Frigga swatted at his arm; Loki laughed.

"I win!" Baldur shouted, and Loki looked over to see his wooden stick poking Thor in the chest and Thor's head lolling back, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Good job, Baldur. It's not easy to defeat Thor. Maybe tonight we can take him on again together."

"Maybe Baldur and I will take you on together," a miraculously recovered Thor said. "After all, you'll be Asgard's newest warrior. We can't let you become too arrogant."

"I accept your challenge," Loki said with a grin. "Two more trials first." The four individual trials became successively more difficult, but Loki's confidence was soaring, and he wasn't worried.

/

Oh, my goodness, doesn't everyone seem so happy, so harmonious, isn't everything just perfect? (Don't go telling poor Loki he's in a fanfic, thus ruining his good mood.) ;-) And of course, if you peer underneath the cushions, nothing's quite as 100% perfect as it seems, anyway.

Adding this note for any who may be confused: Yes, in this family of stories, there were three brothers. I still see it as in line with the canon I had at the time (Thor & Avengers)...but Baldur was...gee this sounds horrible to say in the context of this story...Baldur was long dead by the time of the events of Thor. So it's definitely my addition to canon, but doesn't contradict it. HEY, it's not like they mentioned that one character in Thor: Ragnarok in the previous movies! Ha. Anyway, Baldur and what later happened to him features in a couple of my other stories.

In Ch. 3 "All for Show," Loki tries to entertain the audience, and Loki and ninepen both get to try out a bit of deception, which was great fun for both of us.