The day that followed a grand banquet was traditionally fairly relaxed, but Thor was restless. Though most of the eight years between his interrupted coronation and battling Thanos on Earth remained, he didn't feel he could justify wasting so much as a moment. He'd already seen how acting differently than before changed things in ways he couldn't predict, and that would continue to compound until his future knowledge was all but useless. But what to address next?
Neris and his fellows had requested a few days' peace after their ordeal at Ebony Maw's hands before they would be ready to discuss what they knew of Thanos's operation. Odin had arranged to meet with King Eitri to plan improvements to the defenses around Nidavellir, but that too wouldn't happen for days yet. Unless Heimdall brought them more unexpected news of the Titan's movements, it seemed there was little Asgard or its crown prince could do about him in the meantime.
Thor would very much like to do something about Hela. That, however, would require him to have another argument with his father. He didn't know how he was going to convince him that merely attempting to strengthen the enchantments keeping her on Niflheim wasn't good enough. He thought his mother might be his ally in that fight, given that Hela had apparently tried to murder her the last time they interacted. He thought Odin might even listen, given that he had imprisoned Hela in the first place for that very act.
Jane, Erik, and Banner would likely locate Malekith's ship soon using the tracking device. Thor could make preparations for that. It might be better to deal with the Dokkalfar next in any case; the people would need time to grow accustomed to what they had just learned about Loki before they would be receptive to talk of an alliance with Jotunheim. A victory against an even older, more dangerous enemy than Laufey could be just the thing to garner the kind of public goodwill needed to make that alliance work. It would show that the House of Odin knew the difference between a threat and an opportunity.
There were also the Avengers. With Rogers newly rescued from his icy slumber, it would be possible for the first time to bring the entire team together. Hopefully it could be achieved with less contention now that Loki was in the role of ally rather than enemy, and having Barton and Romanoff's help should also make that go smoother. They would of course want to begin rooting Hydra out of SHIELD, a goal that was very much in Asgard's interest too. The Realm Eternal couldn't very well establish and maintain closer ties to Earth through such a corrupted organization.
As Crown Prince, the moments when Thor felt pulled in many different directions at once were not rare, and there was one person he often turned to first for counsel, perspective, and a chance to get away from the palace. He set out for Heimdall's Observatory on foot, looking forward to seeing the Gatekeeper. They'd only had brief conversations with others present since he came back in time—the least interaction he'd had with any of the loved ones he'd lost before.
Had barely left the grounds of Gladsheim for the city when he spotted Sif a little way ahead of him. Surprised to see her anywhere other than the training grounds at this hour, he called after her and broke into a jog to catch up.
"If you're here to make your brother's case for him, Thor, I'm not interested," she said, not slowing her pace or looking at him. "He can do it himself."
Thor blinked, caught entirely off-guard by the level of hostility in her tone. "What?"
Sif's step faltered. "Loki didn't send you after me?"
"No, I haven't seen him since breakfast," said Thor. "Did you two have a fight?" That was disappointing. He'd hoped the two of them were on a path towards understanding each other better after his recent conversations with her, but perhaps that had been asking too much.
"A fight?" said Sif with a derisive laugh. "He accused me of deliberately altering the transporter's coordinates to expose him! How could he think I would do such a thing?!"
Thor had been prepared to defend Loki and encourage reconciliation, but this brought him up short. "He—I thought it was just a malfunction."
It was Sif's turn to frown. "So did I."
"When Loki left breakfast, he was going to check in with the scientists to see if they'd made any progress," said Thor. A horrible realization clunked into place. "If it wasn't a problem with the transporter..."
"...And if it wasn't me," said Sif, her eyes going very wide, clearly following the same line of logic Thor just had and appalled by where it led. They both looked back at the palace.
Thor wasn't aware of how angry he had become until black clouds began swirling over the sky, accompanied by low growls of thunder. All thought of visiting the Observatory forgotten, Thor's feet began moving towards the palace. Sif kept pace with him, a hand on the hilt of her sword.
X
The Einherjar carried shackles, but Fandral went with them willingly, so they did not use them. Loki followed in their wake, climbing back up the long stone stair, crossing the grounds, and entering the palace. Only when they reached the throne room did the soldiers peel off. Odin stood in front of Hlidskjalf, Frigga at his side. At the base of the golden stairs were Vidar, Banner, Jane Foster, and Romanoff. The three mortals looked around at the sound of their entrance. Banner's eyes widened at the sight of Fandral, Jane's narrowed, and Romanoff remained impassive, with a brief glance at Loki.
Loki and Fandral had nearly reached the golden stairs when the doors banged open behind them. Loki turned and saw Thor and Sif marching in, accompanied by a whiff of ozone and a distant rumble of thunder.
Fandral shrank in on himself, but didn't hesitate to go into a half-kneel, bow his head, and put fist to heart.
"These four have brought me an interesting theory," said Odin with a gesture towards Vidar and the humans. He spoke calmly, but the knuckles of his right hand were white as he gripped Gungnir, and Fandral flinched. "I wonder if you already know it."
"I do, Allfather," said Fandral. Thor and Sif had moved to where they could see Fandral properly.
"Is it correct?" said Odin.
"Yes. There was no flaw in their craftsmanship. Sif set the correct destination, and it was I who changed it."
Sif made a noise like an angry cat, and the thunder increased in volume. Loki would not have been surprised to see threads of electricity arcing over Thor's skin. Both were looking at Fandral as though they'd never seen him before. Even Frigga wore an expression harder than any Loki had ever seen on her.
"Thank you for bringing me your evidence," said Odin. He waved at Vidar and the humans without taking his eye off of Fandral. "You are dismissed."
Jane looked like she wanted to protest, but Vidar and Banner nudged her toward the exit, and Romanoff followed.
The feeling in the throne room changed the instant the door closed behind them. The fires in the braziers all down the hall dimmed and there was a rumble even lower than the thunder as the air seemed to grow heavier. For someone with as much raw power as he had, Thor was famously dreadful at keeping it from leaking out of him when his emotions were high. Odin was on another level entirely, but his control was so good that he could be mistaken for a harmless old man when it suited him. It plainly did not suit him now. "You will explain why you decided to put my son at risk," he said, "and why you chose a moment when he was already in dire need of a healer's attention to do so, no less."
"Does it matter why I did it?" said Fandral. The naked remorse in his tone didn't seem to register with anyone but Loki.
"Does it MATTER?!" Odin repeated in a shout. "We kept this secret for his entire life to protect him! Even if no harm comes of it on Asgard, which I doubt if this is the treatment he has received from one of his oldest friends, Laufey could learn of it any day now because of your presumption! You will give your reasons. Whether you do so willingly or otherwise is your choice."
"My king, I only meant there is no excuse for what I did," said Fandral. "But I will give you what passed for one in my mind at the time." He swallowed. "I remembered all the tales I grew up with about the war and the invasion. I refused to see one of my oldest friends, only a kinsman of the monsters who slew my uncle Hroarr."
Odin bared his teeth. "If you seek the kinsman of your uncle's killer, boy, then look to Thor, not Loki."
Fandral stared up at Odin for the first time, bewildered. "What?" It would have been better if he hadn't spoken.
"Hroarr was a traitor!" Odin roared. The sound alone was enough to lay Fandral out flat. Loki could feel it resonating harshly in his bones, and that was only from standing as close as he was to the other man. "He was the reason I have only two sons instead of three. He would have robbed me of Thor and Loki as well when he led his assault on Gladsheim, had he not fallen to my spear. Had I been my father, his entire family would have been executed alongside him and you would never have been born. I see no reason not to correct that oversight now!"
He raised Gungnir, golden fire shining within his eye. "For your cowardly treason, I hereby sentence you to death."
Loki had watched it all unfold through a haze of detachment. It was easier that way; he didn't have to feel the betrayal as much. But he realized all at once that this wasn't what he wanted. "Father, no!" He stepped between Odin and Fandral and raised his hands. He could feel the surprise of Thor and Sif at his intervention, but he didn't look at them.
"Stand aside, Loki!"
Loki held his ground. "He confessed! Whatever was in his heart when he acted, guilt and reason soon prevailed. He could have attempted to flee, but he came to me and confessed what he had done of his own accord. Must one moment count for so much more than all the years he has fought at my side?"
He noticed Frigga watching him closely, as though trying to read his thoughts. He gave her the same imploring look he was giving Odin. She reached out and touched Odin's arm. The pressure in the throne room lightened almost at once, and the fires came back up. Odin was silent for several seconds, eye on Loki.
"It is you Fandral has hurt, Loki," he said at last. "I place his life in your hands. You are the only one who can deem it worth sparing. I hope others as foolish as he will learn from the mercy you have shown here."
Much of the tension drained from Loki. "Thank you, Father," he said. He stepped aside and glanced down at Fandral, who was looking up at him in mingled shame, confusion, and gratitude.
"However," said Odin. Loki froze, and the little color remaining in Fandral's face drained from it. "We do not yet know the full consequences of what you have set in motion. Let them be what determine your fate." He aimed Gungnir and a golden beam shot from it and engulfed Fandral, who screamed. "Whatever harm befalls Loki from the revelation of his heritage, you shall suffer it twofold."
The light faded and Fandral was left, shaking, on all fours. He pushed himself unsteadily back to the half-kneeling position and resumed his salute. "It is better than I deserve, my king. How can I repay you?"
"Repay me by keeping the oaths you swore and seeing that others do the same. This is the only reprieve I shall offer you." He looked away from him with the finality of a dismissal. Fandral was quick to obey it, bowing as he got to his feet and retreating from the throne room without once raising his head.
Odin turned his gaze to Loki. "You will accompany me to my study."
"Yes, Father," said Loki. Odin turned to leave, and Loki hurried to catch up. Frigga seized him for a brief but fierce hug as he passed and kissed him on the cheek, then let him go.
X
When Thor first entered the throne room, he had wanted to seize Fandral by the throat and demand answers of him. He still could not understand how one who had been so loyal for so long could have faltered in such a way. This was not the original timeline, where suspicious circumstances had abounded and painted Loki in an unfavorable light. Thor had been unhappy his friends were so quick to suspect his brother and attribute to him the worst possible motives, but he had trusted that without those circumstances and with a better understanding, they would remain true this time. With Sif, at least, it appeared he had not been foolish to hope it.
Yet now, he would not have been sorry to watch his father strike Fandral dead right in front of him.
Loki's intervention came as nearly as great a surprise as Fandral's betrayal, and it was difficult to maintain the same level of anger. Only at that point did he realize that he had just learned something rather startling about the death of the brother he had never known. He looked at his mother. "Baldur was murdered?"
Frigga looked suddenly weary. "Come," she said, beckoning to both him and Sif. "You may as well learn the rest of it."
X
Odin stood facing the fire in the study. Geri and Freki huddled atop their bed of furs, tails between their legs as their heads turned from him to Loki and back, a hint of a whine escaping from one of them.
Loki didn't dare speak first, and he didn't have to.
"Why would you spare him?" said Odin. "With one flick of his wrist, he may have put you in more danger than you've been in since I found you!"
Loki closed his eyes, bracing for when the same anger from the throne room fell on him. He forced himself to speak. "Because in a way he wasn't wrong to question my loyalty to Asgard." His throat was tight and his eyes burned. "I started all this when I showed those Jotnar the way to the Vault."
This one was really hard. Partly because world events are pretty freaking distracting right now, but also because shouty Odin is tricky to write, and I wanted all of the emotions to feel real and earned. I think I succeeded, but please let me know. We never saw Odin in protective dad mode in canon. I think he would be at least as furious in that situation as when he banished Thor, and nearly as difficult to reason with as he was in Dark World. Nobody messes with his kids, especially not someone related to the guy who actually conspired to get one of them killed.
Thor's scene at the beginning was kind of an arc to-do list, and I think I know which item on it is coming next. I'm not sure I'm going to actually write Frigga's conversation with Thor and Sif, since it's mostly information you guys already know or can guess. Some deeper cracks are definitely forming around the bigger secrets of Asgard now, though.
In case anyone forgot, Natasha witnessed Fandral tweaking the destination on the transporter, but she only saw it out of the corner of her eye and everyone seemed pretty content with the idea that landing in the square was a malfunction, so she didn't mention it sooner.
Oh, someone asked if there was any specific music I had in mind for the songs played at the ball. I wouldn't say I was thinking of a particular song for any of them, but I would definitely recommend you check out the music of Antti Martikainen. He's composed a ton of excellent Norse Metal and epic space adventure music, and it's probably the closest you could get to my idea of Asgardian music.