Feeling the need for a sense of accomplishment...hence the next chapter of Trials.

Trials

Chapter Seven: Odinson v. Finnulfur

Luckily for Loki, he lived in the same building that Finnulfur worked in. Unluckily for Loki, it was a very large building, and the Central Magistrate's Office was on the opposite side of it. His status – and years of exploring the palace's nooks and crannies and passageways – saw him there quickly and almost unseen, though, as far as Finnulfur's assistant's desk, which sat outside Finnulfur's own private office.

"Prince Loki," the man uttered in surprise, then hurriedly rose and bowed, though bowing was hardly required or expected. He was unaccustomed to Loki's presence, and Loki was sure Thor had never been here either, and probably not Father either. Anyone the All-Father wished to see came to him, not the other way around.

"Is Finnulfur here today?" Loki asked, uninterested in pleasantries even as basic as finding out what this man's name was.

"Ah, yes. Yes, he is. Did you, ah, want to see him?"

"Yes."

"Is it urgent?"

Here Loki hesitated. He wanted to race in and explain the situation to Finnulfur right now, but here he was, having an adult conversation, and if he wanted his argument to be taken seriously and to not be treated as the king's impetuous little boy, then he should behave calmly and maturely. "No," he answered. "But I do need to speak with him today."

"Ah. Very well, then. I'll let him know as soon as his meeting is over."

Loki nodded and the two stood there staring at each other for a moment, Loki struggling not to fidget, since, as his mother had drilled into him, princes did not fidget.

"You can have a seat," the assistant said, with a big official – false – smile, angling his head a bit and glancing behind Loki.

Loki followed his glance; four high-backed wooden chairs with leather-covered seats stood against the wall. "Very well," he said, in as formal a tone as he could manage, and took a seat, keeping his back just as straight as the chair's. Not fidgeting was at least a little easier now. Every now and then the assistant would glance over at him, flash that smile, and go back to the set of parchment papers he was reading and making the occasional mark on.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

Loki's eyes snapped up fully to the assistant's . "No, thank you."

The assistant smiled and went back to work. Loki hoped Finnulfur's other meeting ended quickly, because this was excruciating. Then he had to stifle a laugh, earning him another glance, another smile. Thor would have barged right into Finnulfur's office by now. Doubt flickered through his mind. Thor would barge in, and no one would stop him, because he was a prince and he was entitled. But so was Loki. He wondered then if he should perhaps be more assertive, and insist that Finnulfur see him immediately. He felt the energy building as the decision crystallized, pushing him up from his chair, and he was halfway up when Finnulfur entered the room…the same way Loki had entered. Loki swallowed and let his eyes close for a second or two in relief that he hadn't barged into an empty office. Just because Thor would do it, didn't mean it was the right thing to do. Or, maybe it was just that things like that only worked for Thor.

Finnulfur stopped short, eyebrows going up. He had thick bushy gray and black eyebrows that almost looked like living creatures crawling up toward his hairline. He had a slender figure that had gone a bit soft and bulged in the middle, probably from work that had him sitting around so much of the day, unlike most of the rest of Asgard. He was younger than Father, though probably not by much. "Prince Loki…what brings you to the Central Magistrate's Office this afternoon?"

"I would like to discuss something with you."

"Really? All right, well, come in, please," he said solicitously.

Loki went into his office, glancing over his shoulder to see him dismiss his assistant. The man had made him uncomfortable, so he was glad this would just be him and Finnulfur.

The First Magistrate's private office, which Loki had never been in, was not that large, and felt smaller because it was lined with stuffed bookcases and full of bulky dark wood and leather furniture. Two chairs were opposite Finnulfur's desk, where Finnulfur was heading. Sit, or stand? he wondered.

"Have a seat, Loki," Finnulfur said, essentially taking the decision away as he himself sat, after adjusting the cream-colored cape behind him.

Loki sat, and suddenly the office felt not only small, but positively claustrophobic. He'd known Finnulfur essentially all his life and his family as well, along with all the rest of his father's advisors and their families from countless feasts and official occasions, but he'd never met with any of them like this, in their official capacity, except for Eir, he supposed.

"So, what brings you here this afternoon?" he asked again. "I don't believe I've ever seen you or your brother down this way before."

"Well, I…I suppose you heard about what happened yesterday?"

"Yes," he said with some hesitation, drawing the word out a bit, and otherwise giving no hint to what he might be thinking. It reminded Loki of his father, and he found it unnerving.

"Well…I was told that I failed" – it still stung to say it – "because magic was against the rules. But no one informed me that it was against the rules. Therefore, it must have been a breach of law to fail me for something I could not possibly have known about."

Finnulfur sat back in his chair, eyes fixed on Loki, but otherwise did not react.

"So I am bringing the matter to the attention of the Office of the Magistrate for consideration in accordance with all applicable laws of Asgard."

Finnulfur's studious expression turned to a smile. "I see you still remember the Codices on the Rights of All Citizens of Asgard. I'm glad. Too often you boys and girls memorize these things and then completely forget them as soon as your examinations are over."

"I had mine only a few weeks ago," Loki said with a bashful half-smile. He didn't feel he particularly deserved any praise for remembering this, especially since it was his mother who had first prompted him to remember it, but he liked receiving it anyway.

"Still, it does a magistrate proud. All right then," he said, leaning forward and resting his arms over his desk. "Are you seeking a legal judgement?"

Legal judgement? Loki's thoughts raced. He'd thought to simply get some information, to find out which laws applied, because surely some did, and a judgement could be considerably more formal than that. Formal, though, would not be a bad thing, he thought. A formal judgement would hold the proper weight behind it, and force Tyr and Sorkvir to rescind their decision. "Yes," he said. "I am seeking a legal judgement…" Loki trailed off, realizing he didn't know exactly what kind of a judgement he was seeking. He had studied the basics of the Asgardian legal system and its underpinnings, but he was hardly an expert. He supposed he should just say it in plain language. "I'm seeking a legal judgement that they could not legally fail me for violating a rule they never informed me of."

Finnulfur watched him, and Loki fought to keep still, wondering if Finnulfur was waiting for him to say more. "Have you spoken with your father about this?" he asked after what seemed an inordinately long time.

"I have," Loki said, nervousness growing again. "But he told me to handle it myself." Of course, his father didn't know he was handling it in this way, unless his mother had told him, but Finnulfur didn't need to know that. If Finnulfur assumed he had the king's backing, that could only be to his benefit.

"I see," he said, followed by another long pause. "Loki, let me see if I correctly understand you. You want a magistrate to hear a presentation, in which your argument would be that…the rules of the Trials were insufficiently explained to you? And that the decision to fail you thus violated Asgardian law?"

It was Loki's turn to watch back in silence, trying to guess what Finnulfur was thinking, since he was still giving no obvious indication of it. He hadn't at all been thinking about "presentations" and "arguments" – that was beginning to sound very formal to the point of being intimidating – but if that was what it would take, then… "Yes," Loki finally said.

"Which law did you have in mind?"

"I…well…I don't know all of the laws. I, ah, I assumed you would know which laws are relevant."

"I'm unaware of any applicable laws. The only laws I can think of that are related to the Trials concern the responsibilities of warriors, and even those are only tangentially related to the Trials themselves – it would be a stretch. They don't address the organization or rules of the Trials, or how they're judged."

"But there must be something. I mean…you can't…. They didn't tell me I couldn't do it, Finnulfur. It's not fair."

"There are no laws concerning the Trials. It isn't a legal matter, Loki. If you can think of some angle you wish to pursue…. Perhaps you can review the laws on the responsibilities of warriors. I can direct you to the proper texts. I don't see what else I can do. I'll speak to your father, and perhaps he can-"

"No, no, don't do that. He told me… There must be something. Perhaps you've just forgotten it, or you haven't come across it, since no one ever failed the Trials before."

"I've studied the law nearly all my life, Loki. I know my field well. I have read every single law that we have on Asgard, and every law on Vanaheim as well. If you don't believe me, you are welcome to search the law books yourself, and as I said, I will ensure that you are provided with any assistance you require in your efforts. I could even assign a clerk to assist you full-time, if you like."

Loki's heart sank. Finnulfur had not spoken arrogantly or shown any sign of offense; his words were simply matter-of-fact. He was over 3,000 years old and had been First Magistrate for centuries. No one on Asgard knew more about law than he did. If Finnulfur said a law didn't exist, then Loki had to face the painful fact that it didn't exist. He slowly shook his head. "That's not necessary. I'm sorry I-" Loki heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Thor standing just inside the open doorway.

"What if it was a citizens' rights case?"

Loki stared at Thor as Thor seemed to ignore him in favor of Finnulfur. He hardly looked like himself, and it took a couple of seconds for Loki to pinpoint why. His shoulders were slumped, and in general he looked several inches shorter and he lacked the confidence he normally displayed. Loki thought he actually looked embarrassed.

"Citizens' rights?" Finnulfur repeated. "You mean you wish to say that Loki's personal rights as an Asgardian citizen were violated, because the rules were insufficiently laid out?"

Thor shrugged, finally glancing briefly at Loki. "It was just an idea."

Loki nodded, renewed hope pushing him up from his chair. "It's a good one. And you just said the other laws depend on the outcome of the Trials, since all warriors are made through the Trials, so it's something that could be addressed by law. And I have a right to fairly prove myself as a warrior. I have a right to know the rules I'm going to be judged by."

"Rules were explained to you, were they not?"

"Not all of them, only one or two of them. How many more rules are there that they never told me about? I have no idea. I hadn't even thought about that before. But I know they didn't tell me all of them, because they never said I couldn't use magic."

"I'm sure if they specified everything you couldn't do, it would take days to list it all out to you. Was there no implication at all that magic wasn't allowed? It seems obvious to me that it wouldn't be."

"No," Loki said immediately, hoping he could respond before Thor, still standing behind him by the door, spoke up and possibly expressed a different opinion. "And just because it seemed obvious to you doesn't mean it seemed obvious to me. Should a fair judgement depend on what may or may not seem obvious? Does Asgardian law work that way? Do you make judgements based on what seems obvious, or based on codified law?"

"Common sense plays a role, yes, but…your point is well-made. Judgements ultimately must rest on codified law. Were the rules explained to you positively? In other words, were you told five things that you were permitted, such that you should have reasonably assumed that anything other than what you were specifically told was not permitted?"

"No, it wasn't like that."

Finnulfur nodded, and Loki thought he looked as though he might be favorably inclined. "All right," he said after a moment, causing Loki's chest to begin to fill with the anticipation of victory, "I can see that as a potential citizens' rights petition. I'll get you the form myself, then you fill it out and return it and I'll post it to the common magistrate's listing, and we'll take it from there."

That sounded less encouraging. "How long will all that take?"

"Well, if you get the form back to me promptly…perhaps two months. No more than three. There's a backlog, but not a large one. We're working on clearing it."

"Finnulfur, my birthday is in six days. I have to take care of this before I turn twenty."

Finnulfur's eyebrows crawled up again. "I didn't realize you wanted to do this before your birthday. Even if there were no backlog, this is Asgard. Nothing happens in six days."

"But it has to! What about the Expediency Law, for exigent circumstances?"

"What are your exigent circumstances?" Finnulfur asked, at the same time as he heard Thor muttering, "Exigent circumstances?" behind him.

"My birthday, isn't it obvious? I can't turn twenty without being declared a warrior," Loki pled, frustration reaching a peak as one obstacle was removed only to be replaced by another.

"That isn't really what the Expediency-"

"What if Asgard were to go to war in a week?" Thor put in.

"The Frost Giants are soundly defeated," Finnulfur said, nodding and smiling at Loki, whose birth marked Asgard's victory. "All Nine Realms are now at peace. I hardly think that's likely."

Loki scowled. He wished people would stop associating him with that. It wasn't like he'd actually had anything to do with the Ice War; he'd just happened to be born the day it ended.

"But war could always return. And Father has always said that Loki and I have to be ready for it. Loki isn't just any Asgardian. He's a prince. If war comes, and he's an adult, he has to be able to fight in it, at Father's side, as a leader, someone his people want to follow. Not as some unproven child, hoping for a chance to show he should be a warrior when Tyr judged him to have failed his Trials. And what would the people think of a prince who sat at home and never lifted a sword to defend his realm?"

By the time Thor finished, Loki had turned to stare at him with something close to disbelief.

Finnulfur then regained his attention, nodding as he began to speak. "Your argument has some merit, though honestly I believe the legal standing is shaky. It's true there are numerous laws with special provisions for the king and his immediate family, because of their distinct status and responsibilities in the realm. A case could be made that it is more urgent that a Prince of Asgard be available in good standing for battle than it is for an ordinary citizen. Most importantly, Asgardian law is meant to provide every possible recourse to the citizenry in the case of a potential violation of rights, so, very well, I both accept your citizens' rights petition, and approve the invoking of the Expediency Law. In that case, you should fill out the form immediately and return it to my assistant's desk today. It will be posted first thing tomorrow morning, and the presentations will begin within three days. Will you be prepared to present your own case? Or will you be appointing someone to speak for you? If so, you need to appoint him or her immediately to allow that person time to prepare."

"I'll present it," Loki said without hesitation, though the idea definitely made him nervous. He hadn't exactly thought things through this far. He thought he was coming for information; now he had to present a case before a magistrate. A few weeks ago, before he'd completed his lessons and passed his examinations, he wouldn't have even been allowed to speak for himself before a magistrate. He had no idea how to present a case, but he didn't want any more people involved in this than were absolutely necessary. He'd figure it out. His arguments weren't that complicated.

Thor stepped back out of the office, out of the way, and Finnulfur led Loki to his assistant's desk, where he pulled out a thin pad of light brown paper full of questions, and left Loki to fill it out. Names of involved parties, rights believed to have been violated, details of relevant incidents, desired redress and outcome. Loki filled it all in as quickly but thoroughly as he could, then signed his name to an oath of his truthfulness, checked a box confirming the form was complete, and then everything he'd written faded away from the paper and into the official record, to be checked and then moved to the next stage in the process in the morning. There was no turning back now.

He turned to leave and found Thor still standing there, not far from Finnulfur's door. It felt strange – Thor didn't often stay still and silent like that. Loki looked at him for a moment, until Thor signaled they should go. They fell into step with each other and started working their way through the place, back toward the private wing.

"Thank you," Loki said as soon as they were out of hearing distance of the Central Magistrate's Office and in a gray stone-walled corridor with no one else around except Loki's Einherjar-in-hiding. "I can't believe you remembered the citizens' rights option."

"We just studied it last year, and that was what, the third time or something?"

"Second. But it's not very common, and it was one little detail of everything we studied about Asgardian law. And you hated studying law."

"Because it was so boring. Remember when Ingifrid told us we were going to get to see presentations, and we were so excited?"

Loki nodded, thinking back fondly on it. "We thought it would be a murderer, or a thief."

"And it was some man who was upset because he wanted a bigger share of the profit from that vegetable stand that he owned with his…cousin or…" Thor gave up and shook his head. "It was so boring I've already forgotten. I'm so glad to be done with all that. But that doesn't mean I didn't learn anything. I passed all the Standard and Advanced Examinations, the same as you.

"Eventually," Loki said with a nod and an innocent smile.

"Shut up. At least I didn't have to file a citizens' rights petition."

Loki stole a glance at his older brother; he was grinning. He'd meant it as any other mostly-friendly jibe that typified their interactions, but every once in a while those jibes hit a raw spot and hurt. Thor didn't realize it, and Loki didn't particularly want him to, so Loki ignored it. "That was great, too, what you came up with for the Expediency Law. It was a good argument, especially when you quoted Father. You could be a law clerk."

Thor pulled a face at that, then jammed his palm up under his chin and gave his neck a dramatic squeeze. "A fate worse than death outside battle. Anyway, that one was easy, because it's true."

"Wait," Loki said, darting in front of Thor, and bringing them both to a halt. They were behind the throne room now, in a small room lined with large tapestries documenting their grandfather's reign – a good place to exchange private words because the tapestries were also good at muffling sound. "So you don't think the citizens' rights petition is true? Or, I mean…appropriate? It was your idea!"

"Loki…," Thor began with a sigh, his grin disappearing entirely, "you're my brother. And if you're determined to do this, then I'll try to help you out. But no, I don't think it's the right thing to do. I told you what the right thing to do is. Speaking of which…you need to tell Tyr and Sorkvir that you've filed a petition."

Loki turned around and started walking again; he heard Thor's footsteps pick up speed to catch up. "I'm not talking to them. They can find out from the clerk who brings them the summoning."

"Don't do it like that, Loki," Thor said. "You'll regret it. You're going to be dealing with them for a long time to come."

"Stop lecturing me. You aren't my father."

"No, I'm your brother. And you used to listen to me."

"You're older by ten months, Thor! You've always treated it like it was ten years. I'm not a child anymore."

They were almost to a guarded door that separated them from the private wing. Thor came to a stop again, and this time he looked angry. "When you have to deny it so much, you sound like you are one."

Loki found himself staring at his brother's back. "Thor, wait," he said, but Thor didn't react. "Thor!" Loki called again, louder because Thor was further away, heading off to the right down a narrow corridor that led to the throne room. Thor had finally shown he was on his side – sort of – and now Loki was on his own again.

/

In the next chapter, Loki runs into someone who's unreservedly in his corner, and, well, there might be another problem.

Thanks for reviewing and following and so forth! I truly appreciate every review. 'Til next time!