POV Loki
I sit on the throne and try to avoid letting my internal conflict show. Things had been going... Okay. I can't say things were going badly, but they weren't going as I had predicted. Sure, I was King of Asgard, but I had failed to do much of anything, and I had no doubt my father would awaken soon. I had wanted to prove myself the better son. The capable son, whose origins meant nothing. But all that I had managed to do was keep the status quo.
I tried to get Laufey to come to Asgard so I could kill him and then lawfully retaliate against the Jotuns, but he has not fallen for my schemes, and that worries me greatly, as I thought I knew his personality well.
'What am I missing?'
The Jotuns have been unusually quiet, and that worried me most of all. Jotuns aren't known for their patience nor for their schemes. Then there was the strange visitor who had appeared to them and also on Muspelheim. And I didn't even want to deal with the headache that was Muspelheim and Surtur. I had no idea how Father did it, but the Eternal Fire was seemingly gone, and Surtur seemed certain that Father was responsible. And that was also causing me a lot of stress. The vaults. They were empty.
'WHERE THE HEL DID THEY GO!?'
I didn't even know how to react, as when I asked Mother, she paled and looked shocked at that news. I had managed to keep the news from getting out so far, but the panic that might be caused by such news getting out was not something I wanted to see. Then there was the last proclamation that Father gave before I confronted him.
'Why would you give Midgard such a privilege?'
Of course I wasn't a fool; I knew that Midgard had a powerful guardian deity, called Gaia Everfree, but that didn't explain why Father would suddenly choose to change the name based on what the locals call their planet.
Shiver
I shiver when I recall when I took a trip to Midgard. I had planned to go there and test Mjolnir and ensure my brother never considered coming back, but as soon as I set foot on that planet, I felt a sense of being watched, which should have been impossible, as I was invisible to anyone other than maybe Mother or Father. And yet I felt both unwelcome and seen. Needless to say, I had no intention of going back to that place. I am a schemer, not a warrior.
Of course, the Warrior Three decided to go to Midgard, and they have stayed there until now. So I planned on deploying the Destroyer Armor only to find the damn thing won't obey me. In fact, the cursed armor wouldn't even move from its position despite my order as king and with Gungnir. And when I tried to walk past the armor, it tried to kill me.
'What more have you been hiding from me, Father?'
Honestly, I was stressed out of my mind trying to figure out how in the Hel I was supposed to show my worthiness. Sure, war hadn't begun under my reign, and all things considered, there was no crisis per se. But at the same time, things were a complicated mess that I had no idea how to navigate.
"My King, Heimdall requests an audience," a guard announces and snaps me out of my thinking.
"Let him in," I reply.
Heimdall was... difficult to place in terms of loyalty. He clearly let the Warriors Three through the Bifrost, but I needed his talents more than I could ignore. Case in point: his report.
"What have you learned of these outsiders?" I ask.
"I have attempted to track them as best as I can, but I lost track of them. However, I believe I may have learned who they represent," Heimdall reports.
"Who dares intrude upon Asgard's Hegemony?" I ask.
"The Mad Titan," Heimdall responds.
It takes all my effort to avoid showing my shock and worry on my face.
"Thanos? Are you certain?" I ask, slightly showing concern.
"As certain as I can be, My King," Heimdall responds calmly.
I just sat there in thought for several moments as I used every curse word mentally to express this absolutely horrid situation.
"I see," I respond with a blank tone.
'I think I hate being King.'
For the first time in my life, I think I finally understood how terrible being King truly was. And I no longer wanted to keep the throne, but then realized with dawning horror.
'Thor is still banished. Oh god no...'
I realized I might be stuck with this job. And had one response to that.
'Sh*t.'
"You're dismissed," I order, and have everyone leave the throne room.
Only when everyone left did I let my true feelings show. My eyes went dull, and I felt a stomach ache coming on as well as a migraine.
"I see you have finally learned the true life of being King," a familiar voice says, and I slowly turn to the source.
"Father, is that really you?" I ask with a sliver of hope that I wasn't hallucinating.
"Yes, I am real," my Father says calmly.
"Oh, thank the Aesir!" I say aloud, not caring about decorum.
"We have much to talk about. But first, I'm sorry," my Father says calmly.
"What?" I say with complete shock as I check my ears.
"You heard me correctly. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept the truth from you. I thought I was protecting you, but I was deluding myself. I should have told you from the start," my Father says.
'He apologized?'
I didn't think he could apologize, but it was enough for me.
"I... I forgive you; I shouldn't have snapped at you either. I know that you and Mother love me, and I should have focused on that," I reply somberly.
"You only acted as anyone would; you have no fault," my Father says and embraces me.
I embraced him back and felt a weight lift off my chest.
"Can you take the throne again?" I say half jokingly.
"Are you sure you don't want to rule longer?" my Father asks.
"By the Aesir, no! I fully acknowledge I am not ready, and for once I hope Thor takes the throne someday," I answer with full honesty.
"Hahahahaha!" my Father laughs.
I laugh nervously with him, with slight fear that he might not actually return to the throne.
"Yes, I shall rule again. I just find it amusing how much you changed in such a few short months," my Father comments with a smile.
I breathe a sigh of relief.
"But if your brother doesn't return, you will take over. So I will ask you, what was your main mistake, in your opinion?" my Father asks.
I think for a moment.
"I didn't have backup plans?" I offer.
"Close; the real issue was that you hesitated. A King must act with certainty and confidence. When your plans and schemes failed, you hesitated to act. While being cautious is not wrong, being too cautious is also a grave error. But all things considered, I believe you did a fine job as King," my Father explains.
I ponder his point and nod after realizing he was right.
"But we have much to discuss. I know your limits; as such, I realize that should your Brother not return, Asgard may find itself in grave danger," my Father says.
I take a seat alongside him and wonder what he could want to talk about.
"We shall start with the true history of Asgard," my Father says and starts his story.
As his story goes on, most of it was things I already knew or suspected, but then came the bombshell that shocked me to the core.
"Sister? So I have a sister," I comment with a pondering tone.
I was surprised that we had a secret sibling and that it was so thoroughly hidden that I never even had an inkling that she existed.
"She went down a path that I could not follow. The path of a warmonger," my Father says sadly.
"That's why you really banish Thor; you thought he was going down that same path," I say with a sudden clarity.
"Indeed. It is also why he will not return until I am certain he has changed," my Father says firmly.
The story continues until he comes to the part that makes me want to be King even less.
"When I die, she will be released," my Father says grimly.
I grow pale, and it takes every bit of self-control not to run off to Midgard so I can be banished as well.
'Why did I ever want to be King? Should I go back in time to punch myself for such a stupid idea?'
"You stand no chance at defeating her. Even with your illusions, if you strike her, she will easily heal away the damage. Only with you and Thor fighting as one do you stand a chance, and only if you can keep her away from Asgard," my Father explains calmly.
"What happens if she gets to Asgard?" I ask cautiously.
"She will become beyond your powers combined. Or at least more than likely. If that happens, evacuate those you can and head to Earth," my Father says.
"Why Midgard... I mean Earth," I ask.
"Gaia Everfree is the polar opposite to Hela; combined with fighting on home ground, Hela wouldn't dare pursue you. That and Gaia Everfree's son is a trusted friend of Asgard," my Father explains.
"Wait, is he the elf that has been seen in the palace every so often?" I ask.
"Yes, his name is Rio Pines. Talk with him when you can; he will be a great asset to Asgard, I have no doubt," my Father says with absolute certainty.
'Hmm, an Elf from Earth... How interesting. Actually, how did a Nature Spirit make an Elf? Can they even... Better not think about the logistics.'
We discuss more things, and through it all, I fully pray that Thor comes back so he can be King while I live in luxury the rest of my life. Let him deal with the stress and pain of ruling. I'll be satisfied with watching plays and eating food in leisure.