Midnight Memories

Odin was most definitely not amused. Thor and the Warriors Three had been summoned to the throne room. The Allfather frowned down at all of them from where he was seated on the throne; his one good eye narrowed in displeasure. Thor and his friends bowed their heads, fully prepared for a harsh and lengthy lecture from the Allfather. After all they had been caught red handed by Odin himself.

"So tell me whose bright idea this particular stunt was?" Odin asked coldly. Thor and the Warriors Three exchanged a quick glance, surprised by this direct line of questioning. Technically the wager had been Fandral's idea but Thor had agreed to it almost instantly, and Volstagg and Hogun had joined in soon after.

None of them felt inclined to start talking as they knew it would be child's play for Odin to see through any excuses or lies they could come up with. On this particular occasion they didn't even have Loki with them to spin his stories and distract from the issue at hand. Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg remained silent adhering to their general unspoken agreement; they would share the blame if necessary but they wouldn't rat each other out.

Odin just waited; he fixed them with the same intimidating stare that was enough to unnerve even the most experienced politicians and diplomats. The Allfather had never gotten into the habit of repeating his questions. He would ask only once. Thor finally spoke up once the silence had become unbearable, "I'm sorry father – it was my idea. I take responsibility for whatever damage has been caused."

Odin raised one eyebrow quizzically, "Really that's how you want to play it" – his expression seemed to ask. Fandral seemed to be about to say something, but Thor quickly stepped in front of his three friends, firmly met Odin's gaze and nodded.

"Alright then Thor, I'm revoking all of your privileges – no trips to the city, no horse riding, no hunting, no games or competitions – in fact for the next three weeks, you are not to step foot outside the palace grounds", said Odin. Thor nodded; he had seen this coming. The only thing he had been unsure about had been the duration of the punishment.

"Three weeks is survivable", Thor thought to himself though he knew he would be bored out of his mind before the end of it. But Odin wasn't finished yet, "And for participating in the proceedings you will all spend two hours each day personally fixing and rebuilding everything that was damaged today till it is all restored", he ordered waving his hands towards the Warriors Three as well. Thor's friends bowed silently and Odin gestured for them to leave.

Thor was somewhat relieved; all things considered they had gotten off fairly easily. He made to follow his friends as they walked out of the throne room but Odin called him back, "Wait Thor, I want to speak with you alone." He felt his heart sink in his chest; this was definitely going to be unpleasant.

Thor steeled himself and faced his father. Odin had an inscrutable expression on his face. Somehow his father still had the ability to make him feel like he was just five centuries old even though Thor was now old enough that he was nearly of age as per Asgardian tradition. He was working his way towards earning the final mark of adulthood – the title of Warrior.

"It was mature of you to own responsibility today but do you know what would have been really mature? Not letting your friends egg you into doing it in the first place. It was dangerous and stupid. Is this how you plan to run things when you are king? Making rash, childish wagers all the time without a second thought?" Odin asked sternly.

Thor looked up in surprise. Odin shook his head, "Do you take me for a fool boy? One of Fandral's harebrained schemes to earn some easy gold I suppose?" Odin always did have an uncanny knack for hitting the nail right on the head. Thor had noticed Fandral collecting money from the crowd and guessed that he had probably made bets on several different outcomes; Fandral had looked far too happy back at the training pitch for someone who had just lost a wager.

Thor stayed quiet, neither confirming nor denying Odin's assumption. He couldn't really find it in himself to be too annoyed at his friend. When in truth, he had been just as eager to accept the wager for the sake of an exciting challenge. Odin sighed in frustration at Thor's stubborn silence. He relented and tried a gentler approach, "Thor, I was once young too, I can understand the draw of an exciting challenge. But you are a prince of Asgard, you need to think before you act, you need to weigh all the risks, especially before doing something so dangerous."

"It wasn't really that dangerous, all of Chief Chartak's men have been trying it too. I knew I could do it father and I did. I managed to tame Suri", Thor argued. He was growing tired of Odin's constant lectures on responsibility, and it rankled how he was being treated like a disobedient young child rather than a young man who was capable of facing a challenge head on. Out there on the grounds the crowd had cheered in admiration, but in here he always seemed to be met with Odin's disappointed gaze.

"It's not always about you boy!," Odin snapped, losing his temper. " What if one of the bystanders had been hurt, or Norns forbid one of your friends? Would it have been worth it then? Actions have consequences and you might not be the one to pay the price. I thought you had already learned this lesson after the debacle with the dwarves but it seems you have not. Have you no concern for anyone other than yourself?" he demanded.

This was a low blow, he had not expected his father to bring up events from over a century ago. In the aftermath of that terrible incident, the whole royal family had seemingly come to a mutual understanding that they would never speak of it again. Friends, courtiers, palace staff and the citizens of Asgard had all followed their lead and refrained from discussing it, at least not in their presence.

But now Odin had seen fit to throw it in his face without any warning. Thor stood rooted to the spot, his blood turning to ice in his veins, reliving his guilt and shame from that day. He clenched his jaw and stared down at the polished floor of the throne room.

"I apologize for speaking out of turn. You are right, I did not think it through. I will attempt to do better in the future, to be a worthy Prince of Asgard", he said tonelessly. Anything to be done with this conversation, he couldn't bear to stand there facing Odin for another minute. Not when he was reminded that this was the exact same room where it had happened, where he had just stood by in horrified silence while… No he needed to get away before he suffocated in this bloody room!

"I hope you mean that Thor, it's high time you took your position seriously. You are soon going to be declared a warrior of Asgard. The people will look up to you, many already do. You must set a better example for your citizens, friends, and for your brother as well." With that final parting shot Odin dismissed him at last.

Thor bowed and made a quick exit; it wasn't till he was back in his private chambers that he felt like he could breathe again. But by then guilt and shame had given way to burning rage. How dare Odin stand there and accuse him as though he had the higher moral ground? When in fact it was the Allfather who had made the final decision on that ill-fated day, Odin who had sat there on his throne and pronounced the cold hearted verdict that had nearly broken their family.

"Hateful, spiteful old man!", Thor cursed as he kicked out at his furniture in anger. In moments like these he truly hated Odin and his manipulative ways. One of these days he was going to lose control and just punch his father in the face. He wondered what Odin's reaction would be then. Thor liked to imagine Odin would be shaken or shocked but he could just as easily imagine Odin just dispassionately ordering the guards to take him to the dungeons for daring to commit an assault against the throne.

Thor paced back and forth in his quarters, thoughts swirling through his head in a furious jumble. He longed to get away from the palace; a long horse ride would usually help clear his mind. But he was now confined to the palace grounds for the next three weeks with no way of escaping his father's eyes. Even if he managed to get past the palace staff and guards there was no way to elude Heimdall, the All-seeing and All-hearing Guardian of Asgard.

When Thor finally flung himself down onto his bed later that night he felt completely spent. He had missed dinner in order to avoid Odin and the hollow ache of hunger only added to his misery. In spite of how tired he was, he still felt far too restless to give in to sleep. He knew well enough the exact nightmare the treacherous Maras of the Dream Realm would have in store for him tonight and he intended to hold off on sleep for as long as he could.

Thor heard a quiet knock on his bedroom door. He jumped up wondering if his father had come to subject him to another round of reprimands, though he guessed it was probably his mother come to play peacemaker as always. He opened the door and found himself face to face with Loki instead. "What do you want?" Thor grumbled.

"Still sulking, I see. Come now brother, if you continue in this vein you will have frown lines by the time you are two thousand. Who will marry you then if you ruin your handsome looks? Heaven forbid you have to fall back on wit and charm to win over the fair maidens ," teased Loki. "Forgive me if I'm not in the mood for your mockery tonight," Thor warned his brother. After his father, Loki was probably a close second on the list of people he did not wish to speak with at the moment.

Loki raised his hands in a placating motion, "Alright, alright, look I come bearing gifts," he held out a tin dish that contained half a meat pie and a large piece of plum cake. Thor snorted at that, but he stepped back from the door and allowed his brother to enter. Loki set the dish down on Thor's bed and perched himself comfortably on Thor's windowsill. Thor closed the door with more force than was strictly necessary and sat back against the head of his bed, pointedly turned away from Loki as well as the offering of food.

"So how long did you get? Six weeks? A month?", Loki asked. "Three weeks," Thor answered grudgingly. "And I have to help fix all the damaged training equipment as well."

"Pshaw! That's nothing, three weeks ought to fly by in no time. Seems Allfather has grown quite soft in his old age," said Loki with a cheeky smile. "No he is just as harsh as always", Thor thought to himself but he couldn't bring himself to say anything about his father's cutting words. He knew any mention of that forbidden topic would be sure to wipe the smile off Loki's face and ruin his mood instantly. And unlike his father, Thor took no pleasure in rubbing salt into open wounds so he kept his mouth shut.

Ignoring Thor's sullen silence Loki continued, "But tell me brother, how did you manage to tame Suri the wildest of wildebeests? The whole palace is buzzing with tales of your daring stunt. I heard it was so thrilling that Lady Salma swooned seven times, once for each round you completed. And Deosan told me just how honoured he was that you were the one to beat his standing record of five rounds."

"Five rounds , my ass! He wouldn't even dare approach within five fathom lengths of Suri", scoffed Thor.

Loki chuckled at that, "I think we can both agree that the only undisputed record that Deosan holds is in his ability to cook up tall boasts", he said.

Somewhat mollified, Thor cracked a grin and began describing the evening's exploits with some degree of relish. He waved his hands around animatedly, gesturing wildly, only pausing occasionally to gulp down a few bites of the meat pie. If Thor narrated a mildly embellished version of events, Loki did not challenge him on the details. Instead he simply sat back against the frame of the window sill, listening with amusement and responding with appropriate enthusiasm at all the key points of the story.

"Of course, once I realized that it was the noise that was distressing Suri, it was all too easy to calm her down and steer her back onto the track", Thor concluded, licking the last crumbs of pie from his fingers.

"Well, nothing like a wildebeest rampage to break up the monotony of a lazy summer evening. In fact I'm quite hurt that you and Fandral didn't include me in your schemes. I could have raked in piles of gold if you had let me in on the betting pool", Loki remarked wryly.

"Knowing you, you would have probably spent all your winnings on some ancient artefact or rare book anyway. Or worse on some ridiculous magical jewellery that doesn't even work", Thor joked.

Loki gasped in mock outrage, "I'll have you know the Ring of Peril works just fine". Loki had purchased the ring in question at their last Annual City Festival. The stall owner, a colourfully dressed old woman, had assured the young prince that the ring would warn the wearer of any and all approaching perils. Loki had bought it on a whim simply because he liked the striking design of the bright sapphire stone set into an engraved silver ring.

"Oh really, did the ring warn you to keep away from the river, because if I recall correctly you somehow managed to fall into the Rival Vyalli that very same evening?", asked Thor.

"A bit of water is hardly peril you dummy! And it was you and your friends who thought it would be funny to push me in! If anything the ring should have warned me to stay away from drunken idiots," Loki shot back.

"It was worth it for the look on your face brother", Thor broke down into laughter at the memory of Loki in his regal festival robes, sopping wet and cursing up a storm. As pranks went, it had been a fairly harmless one given that Loki was one of the strongest swimmers in all of Asgard and could easily swim across the banks of the Vyalli in record time.

Loki crossed his arms and glared at him from the window sill. He raised his right hand, "Keep laughing and I just might decide to turn all your hair blue Thor," he threatened. Thor raised his hands in surrender, "Alright here, a token of peace," he said as he broke the piece of plum cake into two and held out the larger piece to Loki.

Loki promptly grabbed the offered piece of cake. They sat in companionable silence, both munching on the sweet, juicy plum cake. Thor glanced across at his brother who looked impossibly young in the star light and was hit by a wave of nostalgia.

He still remembered how Loki would sneak into his bedroom at night when they were children, how they would stay up playing and talking for hours. Loki would demand sweets and stories and then more sweets and sometimes Thor would be able to bribe him into going back to his own room eventually. But more often than not, Frigga would walk into Thor's room in the morning to find both her sons sound asleep in Thor's bed, sprawled out in the comical positions that young children somehow always manage to fall asleep in.

"I miss this… Our midnight feasts; I can't remember the last time we did this," Thor confessed. Loki tore his gaze away from the stars and swivelled back towards Thor. A strange light seemed to enter his green eyes, but his mouth twisted up into a wistful smile.

"What mischief have you been up to lately? I've barely even seen you all week," asked Thor. Loki laughed softly, "I have been serving out my own punishment for the prank on Hadini last week," he replied.

Thor sniggered, "Yes Sif told me about evening assembly, how long did you get for that?", he asked. "Thankfully Major Kani let me off with just one week. Mostly just been doing some research for Lady Eir. If I spend one more day cooped up in the library I think I might just go mad," Loki admitted. Thor raised his eyebrows at that, "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?," he demanded playfully.

"It's this infernal hot weather, you know it always makes me restless," said Loki. Thor nodded, restlessness he could understand. Why else had he taken Fandral's bait, wrecked half the training pitch and gotten himself into hot water with Odin, if not restlessness.

Thor groaned and flopped back onto his bed, "I wish father would be kind enough to leave all my punishments up to Major Kani too, he is so much more lenient. Kani would never think to have Heimdall watching my every move, for one. I'm definitely going to die of boredom before my three weeks are up."

There was no answer from Loki. Too late he realized his mistake. Thor looked up to see his brother sitting frozen on the window sill, his face drawn into a pained frown. He was about to quickly apologize for his thoughtless words, when Loki waved his hand jerkily and cut him off. "Leave it! It's getting late, I think I'll go to bed now", he said getting up abruptly and moving to leave the room.

"Wait!", said Thor. Loki stopped with one hand on the door knob, "What?", he whispered. Thor hesitated, a dozen different heartfelt apologies and regrets running though his mind but he knew they would all fall short, he knew this wasn't something that could be fixed with words, so he just sighed and finally said, "Good night brother".

Loki opened the door and turned back to face him, Thor couldn't quite make out his expression in the darkness. "Good Night / Sleep Well / If the Night Maras bite / Send them all to Hel," Loki recited without a hint of humour. And then he was gone shutting the door softly behind him. Thor slumped back down against his pillows. He knew the old children's rhyme would offer no protection against his nightmares tonight and he was left wondering just how much worse they would be for Loki.

The next day, Loki stood underneath the wide canopy of the teaching pavilion in order to avoid the blazing heat of the late afternoon sun. Eir was sitting in the shade as well and chatting amiably with his Uncle Fenni while they waited for the arrival of the documents from the Vital Records Office. Uncle Fenni had just dismissed his last class of the day and most of his young students had dispersed out of the teaching pavilion and were now playing on the nearby grounds.

Loki heard the soft clip clop of hooves, he looked up to see an official messenger riding towards them. The messenger stopped a little distance away and untied a large package from the back of the horse. He approached the pavilion and carefully laid it down on the ground. "The records you requested, Lady Eir," he said. Eir signed a scroll acknowledging receipt of the package before dismissing him with her thanks.

Loki knelt down beside the bulky package and began unwrapping it, he uncovered a large sheaf of parchments along with several official record books bound in black. Eir joined him and started sorting through the records. Uncle Fenni walked over as well and let out a low whistle, "Well looks like we have our work cut out for us," he said.

It's been a while since I updated this fic but I haven't abandoned this story. Would love to hear from you, so do let me know your thoughts on this chapter.