Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this story and I do not make any money. It's written for entertainment purposes only. Thank you.

Read and review, have fun and forgive any potential mistakes; English is my second language, though I had help of a great beta. Sephaya, thank you.

5. Worthy

When they reached Asgard, silence reigned for a minute. Loki leaned on Gungnir and let out a long sigh. He felt absolutely drained and wished to retreat into the peace of his parents' chambers, to inform his father of what he had done today. His latest stunt lay heavily on the prince's conscience and the feeling was rather unpleasant. He really hoped his father could hear him, or at least he would like to pretend that Odin did.

Thor had been a daddy's boy, always running to Odin to brag or– when there hadn't been any other option – to meekly confess and beg forgiveness. Loki usually denied everything anyone accused him of doing and because nobody had been able to prove anything, he had never begged and never confessed to his father. For once in his life, Loki wanted to be as open and honest as his brother was.

"My prince, you did well."

The deep voice startled him, he had expected a torrent of questions from the two warriors and maybe even a few accusations and Heimdall's probing.

And I should believe you are honest, Keeper? Loki turned slowly to face his brother's friends and the Gatekeeper. The large man stepped down from the stairs and his sword gleamed when he rested the tip of it on the ground.

"I believe King Odin would agree with me. What are your orders, my liege?"

Yes, act as their ruler. Loki smiled wryly and inclined his head, none of his surprise evident in his face. He felt as a boy but he could not act as one. They were expecting a ruler. How he despised the burden that had fallen on him.

"Watch King Laufey and his oldest soncarefully." He said and then thoughtfully shifted his hold on Gungnir, gazing at its tip. The weapon was flashing again as if it was excited by the prospect of what was coming. "I believe the Jotun's crown prince will soon make a bid for our attention."

"As you wish, I shall watch them day and night." Heimdall gave him a long look, shifted his gaze to the spear and his lips turned upward.

Loki nodded again and started to march out of the Observatory, Volstagg and Fandral following closely behind him. Their silence was strange and when they spoke, Loki shook his head – they just could not stay quiet a little longer. He liked them much better when they were not talking.

"It is insane, to ally us with that whelp."

"You call my brother a whelp? The Jotun's prince is the same age as Thor." Loki returned amusedly. It was just his luck to be the youngest. Again. The words his father had once said to him, about being born to be king, were not true. Loki was not an heir, he was born a spare.

"It is not a matter of age, my liege. How do we know that he will not betray us?" Fandral had the gall to speed up and was now walking alongside the prince. His fair face was troubled. "How do we know he is capable of succeeding if his word is true?"

"We do not." Loki stopped and Volstagg almost collided with him.

"That's risky, isn't it?"

"We will have to make sure that Helblindi succeeds, then." He looked at both warriors and smiled slightly.

"You really trust him?" The look of disbelief and worry Volstagg had on his face would have been amusing, if it were not so well founded.

Trust him? Loki shrugged and looked into the distance. Another dark thought entered his mind and for a moment, the prince stood motionless, contemplating the position he was in. He did not, but he needed to. Not only for the good of their realms. The responsibilities which had fallen upon Loki's shoulders were much heavier than the young prince had thought in the beginning.

You are doomed to fail. It's inevitable. He believed that this time, the voices might be right, not because of his folly and incompetence, but because of his blood-brother's possible betrayal.

"I don't see us having any other choice, my friends. Helblindi is either trustworthy and both Asgard and Jotun will remain standing after the storm passes, or he is not. In that case, as long as there will be hands capable of holding a sword, a war will rage. There is no other possibility; we win, or we perish. If Jotuns want to fight, fight we will to the total destruction of both our realms and far more beyond that."

The two warriors looked excited by the prospect of battle for honor and glory of Asgard, but their faces had darkened by the end of Loki's speech. He gazed at them, his anger slowly rising. Don't you understand?

"Come now, you cannot be so blind not to see what will happen to the Nine Realms should Asgard be no more." The prince shook his head at their rather blank stares. Fools.

"Have you forgotten what we are? What we represent? Think of Midgard, the green and blue of Earth. They are still like children, not fully capable of defending themselves yet, and ignorant of the workings of universe. Think about Vanaheim and its peaceful people, remember Alfheim. Think about the Dark Elves. Think about other dangers in the void far from the light of our world tree. Have you truly forgotten?" Loki gave them a piercing look and Gungnir in his hand flashed dangerously. "I have not. My father has not, but it seems the pride of our nation has."

Silence reigned and the prince was staring at his escort and his escort at him. The warriors were left speechless, mortified, and embarrassed. He tried to calm down. What he needed now was a few moments of solitude to organize his mind and review his plans and speech, before summoning the War Council. The visit to his father's bedside needed to be forgone.

You're not a boy anymore, daddy won't help you now. He reprimanded himself.

"Let's move. I have a war to plan." Loki remarked briskly, striding towards his horse.

Fandral swallowed, well remembering the lessons their teachers had tried to convey to them when all of them had been nothing more than innocent children. Asgard was the beacon of hope shining across the stars, the reason why the Nine Realms dwelt in peace. Its might keep the darkness at bay and it brought protection, prosperity and stability to the more peaceful peoples of the Yggdrasil. The legend of bravery and strength of the sons of Asgard kept others safe. Should the Realm Eternal fall, should they be defeated, the faith the others had in Asgard would die, the fear the Asgardians had installed in their enemies would be gone, and the order Odin had kept intact for thousands of years would be disrupted. Chaos would reign. Evil would find its way back into the Nine Realms.

He exchanged a shocked glance with Volstagg, both shaken to their cores. The realization hit them, then, and in unspoken understanding they hurried after the prince.

"It has been always Asgard that fought off the offenders and kept the innocent and weak safe. It will be Asgard to continue to do so, my liege. We will not fail, not now and not ever."

"You are foolish, Fandral, to believe that Asgard is invincible." Loki mounted his horse and secured his cloak, giving them one last look. Something was different about themnow, and he watched them suspiciously. "Is that all?"

"One moment, my prince." The blond snatched Loki's reins and gazed up at him, while his friend leaned on his axe. The prince had his back towards the setting sun and the orange beams made his armor and helmet look like they had been set on fire.

"But we are invincible, my liege." Volstagg said seriously, his eyes squinting upwards, one of his hands shielding them from the harsh beams of sunlight. It was disconcerting to see their changed faces, their once prideful expressions so solemn and humbled. Loki fought off the urge to slap them silly and demand what was this about. Why are they looking at me like this?

"I fail to see why you think so, Volstagg."

"Asgard's might stands and falls with the strength and wisdom of its King. As long as the one leading us is honorable and selfless, powerful and determined, strong-willed and wise, I cannot see us perishing, my liege."

Indeed. Loki gave them one small bitter smile. "Father won't wake up anytime soon."

"He wasn't talking about the Allfather, my liege." Fandral bowed and let go of the reins. He too had to shield his eyes now, when he had taken a step back and gazed at Loki.

"We await your orders, my king."

Loki's eyes roved from one to the other and then he frowned, gripping the spear tightly. What had just happened?

Both warriors stood tall, regarding him in the same manner they had from the moment he had uttered his little needling speech, very much like to the way they held themselves up in the presence of the Allfather, and the prince came to the conclusion that he must have impressed them with his talk. The thought was ridiculous – even more humorous than the one of Heimdall approving of his actions. His brother's sidekicks would surely not believe him to be worthy of the title of a king, let alone believe he would lead them to victory.

Loki was not many of the things Volstagg had mentioned; he was not honorable or selfless, he was not powerful enough, and he was not wise, per se. The only things he might be willing to concede were cleverness and persistence.

The prince searched their eyes, looking for any hint of lie or pretense, any flicker of doubt. They were not lying, they were genuine and they believed in what they had just said.

Was it really so easy to win their trust, their obedience and loyalty? He scoffed. It was not; he had sacrificed his mask and had to let them see what was hidden under the trickster's false face. It had cost Loki much and yet looking at these two, he could not shake off the thought that maybe, just maybe, it was worth it.

"Volstagg, I want you to overlook the mobilization of our reserve forces. I need them to be ready as soon as possible."

"Yes, my king." The large man bowed, without any mockery this time, and went to find his own horse tethered on the opposite side of the Observatory.

"Fandral…" Loki grimaced slightly and sized his companion up and down. This will hurt someone's pride.

"Yes?" The blond man grinned. He was bouncing on his feet in anticipation and Loki was remained of the day when a much younger Fandral had been nervous and desperately needed to prove himself to the older commanders of the Asgardian armies. He had failed then and his promising military career had ended. A lot had changed since then and the prince was well aware of Fandral's abilities in strategic planning.

"You and I will visit my father's generals. We need a strategy for every possibility."

"It would be an honor, my king. I have always wanted to see the fabled War Room from the inside. Does this mean I am worthy enough in my liege's eyes to have a voice in the council, Prince Loki?"

"Your understanding of the palace defenses, at least, would be invaluable."

Fandral nodded and jogged for his own horse.

"It's a pity Hogun is gone." He remarked when he returned. "May I suggest the involvement of some of our… discreet friends? They would love to take a walk here and there."

Volstagg grinned broadly and shook his head: "No, they would not love it that much. Remember how they dislike cold climates."

"I have my own spies, thanks." Loki remarked dryly and spurred his horse.

"I knew you have!" Fandral cried in victory and sped after him. "Volstagg! Tell him I knew he has!"

"Oh yes, my king. He has often told us." Volstagg confirmed.

"Well, yes…" The prince gave Fandral a bored look over his shoulder. Both warriors flanked him and,keeping half a step behind his horse, were bent with laughter. The gravity of the situation had not left them, but they were again acting as was usual for them. Thor would normally join in with his booming voice and thunderous laughter – but it seemed both were content to have Loki's quiet grin.

"But scouts! That would be a good idea." Volstagg thoughtfully added a minute and Loki found himself nodding. For the rest of their way towards the royal palace they talked about the impending war and preparations they would need to make.

Their ways separated then; Volstagg had his task and Loki and Fandral watched his retreating back. Then the prince turned to one of the guards lining the length of the entrance hall.

"Inform the members of the War Council that I require them in the War Room, immediately."

"Yes, my king!" His armor clinked as the man bowed and continued rattling as he quickly retreated in search of the generals.

"It could take a while." Fandral mused and took off his gloves. "Would my liege object if I take this off?" He knocked on his breastplate.

"Go ahead." Loki started to unfasten the clasp of his cloak and march towards the wide staircase leading further inside the palace. "I'll meet you there in half an hour. Should I be late…" The prince stopped and turned, half grinning. "Express my sincerest apologies."

He had never liked his father's generals. They thought by their swords, as most Asgardians did. No use for brains whatsoever.