I Am Loki! Part 3 - The Rightful King

A/N: Mahoosive ***Spoilers*** for the end scene of Thor: The Dark World. If you have been living under a rock and have not seen the film, then correct your sad life and do so. Otherwise, don't complain that this "gives it away!"

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The two Palace guards entered the quiet reading room off the main library and bowed to their King. Odin had retreated to where his son, Loki, had spent many a long hour reading and had summoned them there for a private audience.

“Ah, you’ve come.” He said looking up from an ancient looking scroll. “I have grave news and I would like it dealt with quickly and quietly. Loki is dead and his body is on Svartalfheimr. I would like you to retrieve it and bring it back to the Palace morgue. Here are the co-ordinates.

The elder guard took the small tablet bearing the co-ordinates and bowed. “My deepest condolences, my King.” He said. Both the guards left to carry out his instructions. Loki smiled inwardly; things were going well. There would be a body for the death rites, the real Odin was conveniently removed from the equation and Thor had, by all accounts, just defeated Malekith on Midgard and was due back any time. He sighed and sat back in his favourite chair; from the outside it appeared that Odin was mourning his son. On the inside, Loki was grinning like the Midgardian Cheshire Cat.

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Some time later Loki was perched on the edge of the broken throne in his new role as Odin All-Father, giving instructions to the master masons as to how to go about the restoration of the Palace. As he agreed upon the final draft of the design and the architect rolled up the scroll, a guard approached and bowed.

“My liege.”

Loki dismissed the masons, requesting they start the work the very next day. Once they had gone, he turned to the guard.

“Yes, what is it?”

The guard removed his helmet and stood with his head bowed.

“All Father, we have brought back the body of your son. He is in the room of final rest in the Palace morgue.” The guard stood still, continuing to look at the floor with his helmet in his hands.

“Thank you, my good man.” said Loki “You are dismissed.”

Loki rose from the splintered arm of the throne; it was time to arrange his own funeral.

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Two days later, Odin stood at the private jetty once more, only this time there were two small boats, similar in appearance to the Viking Longships on Midgard. On one, there was a large pyre, made up of a pile of wood stacked carefully in the centre of the deck. Lying in state upon the top of the pyre was Loki. To the sadness of his Palace attendants, Odin himself had attended to the body of his son, washing him, dressing him in his finest armour and arranging his weapons and other fine belongings important for the afterlife around him.

In reality, Loki – disguised as Odin – had wanted to do all this to prevent the possibility that someone might discover that the body was in fact a disguised Dark Elf. By using his supposed grief and his authority as King of Asgard to his advantage, he had ensured no questions would be asked.

Thor had arrived the previous day from Midgard, having defeated Malekith. He now boarded the second boat with his father and a small company of guards, along with an archer. This would not be an extravagant affair; although Loki was a Prince of Asgard and had died in battle to save his brother, he had fallen too far from grace and so his funeral was going to be held in private.

Once they had reached a point where the current was getting strong enough to eventually drag them over the edge of the waters of Asgard, the guard in charge of the funeral boat crossed over to the one in which the guards travelled with Odin and Thor. He pushed the boat holding Loki’s corpse into the current and, once it had reached a safe distance, the archer fired a lit arrow into it, igniting the pyre. Flames arose and shone in the eyes of Thor, illuminating the tears that clouded his vision as he said his final farewell to the brother who had caused so much pain through his desire to be accepted. He watched the receding boat as it burned with pain, loss and regret. In his guise as Odin, Loki surreptitiously observed Thor’s reaction to the loss of his brother with interest. Even now, Thor was devastated that the younger Prince was dead! After all the lies, cheating and multiple fights – and even an attempt on his life by Loki – the golden haired God wept for his passing.

Such sentiment!

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The time had come for the decision to be made as to the future of Asgard and her brightest son, Thor. Loki had been looking forward to this day for a while. The day he would finally take the throne and he would do it right under the nose of the vacuous warrior Prince he had grown up in the shadow of.

He stood in front of the newly restored Throne of Asgard – rebuilt just to his liking – looking down at Thor, who knelt at the bottom of the steps. Right where you belong!

“You once said that there would never be a wiser King than me” He said to the Thunder God kneeling before him. “You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them.” And every one of them saw me give mine! “What can Asgard offer its new King in return?”
“My life.” said Thor, rising to his feet. He smiled a sad, knowing smile. “Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality. The sacrifice….. it changes you. I’d rather be a good man than a great King.”
“Is this my son I hear? Or the woman he loves?” asked Loki.
“When you speak, do I never hear Mother’s voice?” replied Thor and a stab of heartache pained Loki. Fearing he would betray himself to Thor through this sudden lapse in his poise, he looked down to the floor and battled within to maintain his illusion.

“This is not for Jane, Father,” said Thor “she does not know what I came here to say.” Loki sat down heavily on the throne, holding Gungnir straight and leaning to one side to regard Thor.

Thor continued. “Now forbid me to see her, or say she can rule by my side. It changes nothing.” Inside, Loki seethed at the effect the pathetic mortal had had on the God of Thunder, a mighty warrior who had slain monsters and giants in the name of Asgard! He loved her! What did she have to offer to the nine realms, except as a fleeting consort to the heir, only to age and die and leave him grieving? No – that woman would never see the inside of these halls again and sending Thor away to Midgard would only make the throne an easier place to occupy.

“One son who wanted the throne too much, another who will not take it.” he said “Is this my legacy?”

Thor looked up to him earnestly. “Loki died with honour.” he said and Loki looked at him, unable to detect any irony or falsity in those words. He truly believes! “I shall try to do the same. Is that not legacy enough?” With these words, Thor looked down at Mjolnir, the hammer with which he had wrought the death of thousands of enemies of Asgard. Turning her around, he offered her back to Odin.

Dismissing the offer with a gesture of his hand and a slight shake of his head, Loki said “It belongs to you. If you are worthy of it.” He could not retrieve the damned thing even if he wanted to – how would that look to Thor?! As he reluctantly told Thor to keep it, he knew he would never lift that hammer, no matter what he did.

“I shall try to be.” Said Thor, looking up to his father for some kind of acceptance.

Loki shook his head. “I cannot give you my blessing.” Indeed I do not want this union between you and that pathetic creature! “Nor can I wish you good fortune.” Although having you out of the way will make ruling Asgard that much easier!

“I know.” Said Thor, nodding his understanding. Asgard was about to lose her rightful heir, with not much hope as to how the line would continue. He turned to leave.

“If I were proud of the man my son had become,” said Loki and Thor paused and turned around to look back at him, “even that I could not say. I would speak only from my heart.” Loki looked down at Thor, wondering if he would ever truly understand the real meaning of these words. “Go, my son.” he said.

Thor smiled, “Thank you, Father.” and turned to walk away.

As he watched Thor leave through the doors at the end of the throne room, a green glow travelled over Odin as Loki relaxed the enchantment, revealing himself sitting in the place he had known he belonged for all these years.

“No,” he said “thank you!”

He leaned back in the throne with a smile on his face and looked around him at the splendour of the golden throne room of Asgard. The last time he had been sitting here, he had been trying to kill Thor on Midgard using The Destroyer; now he was sending Thor back to that pathetic mortal realm to keep him out of the way.

Nothing could stop him now. The road to Ragnarok was his to tread uncontended………….