Veritas

Warnings: none

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Playlist: 'The King of the Golden Hall' from 'Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' and 'A Gift of a Thistle' from 'Braveheart OST'.

'In order to know true love, you must know deep pain.'

One thing Jane quickly realised about the Bifrost. It was mad and totally terrifying, and she absolutely loved it. Despite the thought that she was being rocketed across the Universe with enough velocity to crush her flatter than a pancake against a ceiling if she ever hit anything solid, she could have laughed.

She tried not to think about what she had just left behind. About Erik, Darcy, the Avengers or SHIELD. About Earth, or the fact that Asgard probably didn't have coffee if either Thor's or Loki's reaction to the drink had been any indication. She tried not to think about anything beyond the hard arms around her waist, and her own around his.

The end came quicker than expected, with a hard jolt that almost sent Jane to her knees if it hadn't been for Loki. She felt faintly nauseous, as she blinked and gasped for breath.

"Forgive me, Jane," Loki breathed in her ear. "I had forgotten the effect travelling by Bifrost can have upon those unused to it."

"Warn me next time, yeah?" Jane replied archly, making Loki chuckle. Her legs buckled, and he bent to catch her up, ignoring her pointed thumping of his chest. "I got it! No need to go all chivalrous on me!"

A feminine chuckle forced them to pause in their spat, as Jane looked up for the first time and realised her surroundings. They were stood in a great, golden dome in front of a portal, spinning and whirling behind them in ever-slowing circles, until it stopped altogether. The walls gleamed, embossed and inscribed with archaic symbols and designs, some Jane recognised as Nordic, others far older and more ancient than anything any Earth archaeologist had ever seen.

But that wasn't what made Jane's jaw drop. Before them stood a battalion of golden helmed and armoured men, towering above her height, the tallest stepping forth and clutching a great sword. His eyes, as golden as the walls and the ceiling of the dome, swept restlessly from corner to corner, but Jane sensed he wasn't seeing just the confines of the room they stood in. Those unsettling eyes fixed on her, and she shivered.

"Welcome to Asgard, Jane Foster of Midgard. Welcome home…my Prince," the towering figure bowed, but only reluctantly, as Loki stiffened in her arms, his voice as tense as a bowstring.

"Heimdall," he murmured coldly. After a moment, the source of that feminine chuckle stepped out from behind the golden wall of metal and muscle, accompanied by someone very familiar to Jane. Thor.

"Hello, Jane. Welcome to Asgard," he smiled warmly at her, and Jane inclined her head with a grin, ignoring Loki's ever-tightening arms around her waist.

"Good to see you too, Thor," she murmured. "I'd hug you, but your brother's trying to suffocate me."

The iron ring around her waist abruptly loosened, and she could breathe again, with a pointed glare at Loki who merely returned it haughtily, utterly unrepentant. Jane rolled her eyes.

"Men," she muttered under her breath, and the woman stood beside Thor chuckled again. She was tall, although slightly shorter than Thor, Loki and Heimdall, with flowing golden curls that fell down her back riotously. She looked older than Jane, but she was still beautiful, her mature body lithe and slender, framed expertly in a gown of ocean blue silk accented with golden filigree bracers and pauldrons. A knife was belted at her waist. Her eyes were as far-seeing and ancient as Heimdall's, but loving and wise as they looked to her first, then to Loki.

"I see what you meant, Thor," she said quietly, before meeting Loki's gaze squarely. "You have chosen wisely, my son."

Loki tensed in Jane's hold, and she tried to send him all the strength she had to give, hoping he could handle this. She guessed this must be Frigg, the Queen of Asgard and Loki and Thor's mother.

Frigg's eyes were loving and gentle as they looked on Loki, and Jane could feel him shaking slightly in her grip. Thinking frantically, she let go of Loki and stepped forward, curtseying a little awkwardly.

"Your Majesty," she inclined her head. "It's an honour to meet you. Both your sons have told me so much about you."

Frigg's eyes snapped to her, and she smiled warmly, releasing her uncomfortable son from her gaze, and stepping forward to reach out to Jane. To the mortal's surprise, she embraced her tightly. "It is good to finally meet the woman who has wrought such change in both of my sons. Thor has told me much about your kindness and intelligence during his time on Midgard as a mortal."

After a moment, Jane hugged back, squeezing back sudden tears. It had been a long time since she'd felt the embrace of a mother, and Frigg was all Mom. Perhaps more a Super-Mom, but still a mom.

When Frigg drew back, her eyes were sad even as her smile was warm, as she gently cupped Jane's cheek, brushing a stray curl back behind her ear. "Oh my dear child, I fear you have battle scars of your own, that need healing. You have neglected yourself too long," she told her quietly, as Jane swallowed thickly, and stepped back, needing space and air before she completely lost it. Loki's arm snaked around her waist again, and she didn't dare look up into his eyes.

Thor stepped forward, his arm outstretched, as he opened his mouth and then hesitated. "Loki," he finally said. "It is good to see you home again."

For a wild moment, Jane wondered if Loki would throw Thor's tentative, silent offer of truce back in his face, before he relaxed against her and lightly took Thor's arm in return. "I…have missed Asgard," he breathed. "But I doubt it has missed me."

Thor sighed and shook his head. "Come, we must go. I am sorry for the guardsmen, Loki, but it is-"

"No need to explain, Thor," Loki cut him off with a self-deprecating smirk that chilled Jane's heart. "Lead the way."

At that, Loki stepped forward but Frigg stepped into his path. "Loki, this is not the way we wished to welcome you home," she told him firmly and not unkindly. "But as you must have acknowledged since you returned here willingly, you have crimes to atone for and judgement to receive."

"As have others, my Queen," Loki retorted, as Jane winced at the flare of pain in Frigg's eyes.

"Please, enough," Jane cut in, with a pleading look at Loki. "You didn't come here to hurt them, Loki. Remember that."

Loki looked for a moment like he would argue, or snap something vicious back at her, as she was reminded of the creature he had been when they first met, but as she stared at him, defiant and unyielding, something in him seemed to give way and he nodded once, coolly proud.

Taking a deep breath, Jane turned back to Thor and Frigg, both watching her with unreadable looks on their faces, and said, "Lead the way."

Asgard was more beautiful than anything Jane could have imagined. It stretched out before her in one glorious, glittering tapestry of towers and battlements on sandy shores, edged by an azure ocean that Jane itched to dive into, the waves crashing against the supporting pillars of the Asbru Bridge beneath her feet, truly a rainbow bridge as it flared in multi-coloured, irregular shapes beneath her feet, like dream shapes. Behind the city, she could see great mountains cloaked in forests, and above her head, the endless dance of the Universe wheeled over them.

"This is amazing," Jane breathed. "Truly incredible."

The darkness she had glimpsed earlier in Loki appeared to have receded for the moment, as he smirked at her. "Oh, shut up!" she grumbled. "Let the human look like an idiot for a second here!"

Loki bent his head to hers and kissed her soundly, making her gasp in surprise as he pulled her to him. When their lips parted, she stared at him, eyes wide, mouth agape. He just chuckled again.

"You do look alarmingly like a fish when you do that," he told her archly, and she glared at him, her gaze darting sideways to their audience. Frigg was watching them with a small smile, but Thor looked away.

Horses awaited them, and they all mounted, Jane with a certain lack of grace since it had been years since she'd been anywhere near a horse. As they galloped through the city, Jane craned her head from the circle of Loki's arms to look around her, at the tall, elegant buildings, all golden in the warm sunlight, as they approached the towering citadel of the Aesir.

As they trotted inside the gates, towering bronze things that Jane had to crane her head back to see fully, she caught glimpses of whitewashed walls and flowering gardens separated by pools and fountains, courtiers milling about amongst the flowerbeds, as brightly clothed as the flowers themselves. The horses came to a stop in a white courtyard, where yet more men in armour awaited them. With a sad smile from Frigg, Jane dismounted, Loki landing beside her.

Looking up at his face, she was not surprised to see a bitter kind of resignation. Clearly the All-Father still felt he was dangerous, which he had a point about, but this distrust really wasn't helping matters. Her heart ached for him.

"Come," Thor called, gesturing to them to join him as he ascended the steps. Jane froze when she felt a hand clamp around her arm, forcing her forwards. With a small snarl, she tore her arm away pointedly.

"I can walk unaided, thanks very much!" she snapped at the guardsman who had tried to lead her. Loki stepped across in front of her, glaring coldly down at him.

"Touch her again, Ranvald," he growled, low and menacing. "And I will not hesitate to remove your head from your shoulders."

"You are prisoners, and traitors here, Silvertongue," Ranvald replied contemptuously. "I need not fear your threats."

"Oh that wasn't a threat, merely a promise," Loki's lip curled into a sneer, and Jane felt that darkness that clung to him coil and tense itself like a snake.

"Enough!" Thor's voice boomed across the courtyard. "Lady Jane is not a prisoner of Asgard, nor is she a traitor. You will treat her with respect, Captain, or face discipline."

"You forget to whom you speak," Frigg also stepped forward, imperious and commanding as she looked down on them. "You will address my son and his companion with the respect due a Prince of Asgard and an honoured guest. Is that clear?"

"Yes, my Queen," Ranvald bowed, a touch reluctantly to Jane's eye. "My Prince," he breathed to Thor before meeting Loki's eye and very slowly and slightly, bowing to him too. "My Prince."

The word was laden with contempt but Loki just smirked and stepped close, whispering something in his ear. When he drew away, Jane was not surprised to see that Ranvald had gone pale and his eyes wide with terror, as Loki turned away and drew her with him.

There were no more delays after that, as they walked quickly through the citadel behind Frigg and Thor. Jane felt curious glances in her direction as they walked through the crowd of courtiers and guardsmen, all watching them, all whispering when they caught sight of their former fallen King.

Her skin prickled. Some of the glances were openly contemptuous, others speculative, while others were wondering and delighted. Clearly Loki was not despised by all of Asgard then.

Finally they stopped on the threshold of a wide, cavernous hall, the gold walls gleaming in the light of the sun above, red drapes flowing in the sea breeze. Before them, atop a dais approached by many steps, was a wide, impressive throne of gold, on which sat a man in armour and long robes, clutching a tall staff. She could see he was old, and white-haired, with only one eye as he rose from his seat.

It hit her suddenly, where they were and who she was about see, thanks to Erik's stories from his childhood. They were in the hall of Gladsheim, and they were approaching the seat of Odin All-Father, King of Asgard and protector of the Nine Realms.

They were marched down the steps to the floor, inlaid with intricate, whirling designs in gold against the ebony, as all the others knelt in respect, bar Frigg who ascended the steps to take a place beside the throne, facing them, and Loki and Jane.

The urge to bow, to show respect, was strong but she resisted it, and felt Loki's pleased glance.

"Odin All-Father, your prodigal pet returns. Have you nothing to say?" Loki's voice rang out across the hall, shocking a tumult of scandalised whispers. Jane rolled her eyes and winced.

Jane looked up and did not see the King of legend, but an old man, wearied by millennia and carrying a burden too great for his aging shoulders. A man who made mistakes and committed crimes in the name of peace and order, and she felt nothing but pity.

The staff, which Jane guessed was Gungnir, clanged as it was driven lightly into the floor, as silence fell.

"Leave us!" the All-Father called, and the guardsmen and courtiers reluctantly retreated, leaving them alone in the hall with Frigg and Thor.

Jane recognised a tall, slender woman with raven hair watching them suspiciously before she too retreated, with a nod from Thor. Lady Sif, she remembered from a time that already felt too distant to be real.

"You left Asgard a King, and now return a prisoner," the All-Father began, leaving Gungnir by his throne as he slowly descended towards them. "And all you have to give is vitriol and bitterness. Is this what you have become?"

"Why, ashamed of what you have wrought, father?" Loki snarled coldly, contemptuous and mocking. "And one is not a prisoner when one returns of their own free will."

"Your crimes, both against Asgard and Midgard, are grievous, Loki," the All-Father continued, ignoring his jibe. "The secret entry of Jotunns into the citadel, and the attempted conquest of Earth-"

"Are no different than the very crimes you yourself once committed, All-Father, or did we not once allow the humans to worship us as Gods, or take young infants from their worlds to be raised as pawns?" Loki countered; forcing the man he had called Father into silence. "Tell me, how long do you believe your rule will endure if the people knew what you have done, even to the hated Frost Giants? That you set up one of their most hated enemy as a potential heir to the throne?"

"And yet you still scorn your birth as much as you scorn me," the All-Father replied. Loki snorted, standing tall and proud before them all, ignoring Thor's pained glances and Frigg's sorrow.

"I scorn everything that so easily underestimates me and what I am capable of. I decide my fate and my path, Odin All-Father," he pronounced coldly and proudly. "No one and nothing else."

"Then why have you returned?" he asked with a weary sigh.

"To pay penance for the crimes I committed against Midgard and Asgard. Despite what we have long believed, we are not Gods and we do not have the right to abuse our power in pretending to be so," he replied. "But I do so because it is my choice to do so. I could have run, and you would not have caught me."

"No," the All-Father sighed, reaching out to Loki and cupping his face. Jane glanced at him, and saw Loki tense but he did not move. "For all the poison in your words, Loki, I have missed you. You shall always be a son to me, whether you will it or no."

"Odin-" Frigg gently spoke up, but the All-Father cut her off.

"No, my gentle Queen. Loki's punishment must fit his crimes," he sighed, as Jane felt rage lance through her.

"Might I be permitted to speak?" she suddenly called out, summoning all her strength. The All-Father's gaze was focussed on her for the first time, and she raised her chin defiantly. "I'll speak anyway, but you know, I thought I'd be polite first."

Loki and Thor chuckled, as Frigg smiled behind Odin's back.

"Very well," the All-Father sighed, gesturing for her to go ahead and speak. She spared him a slightly incredulous look, before starting her piece.

"Look, I know what's happened and everything Loki's done, and the choices he made have led him to that, I get it and so does he," Jane started carefully, thinking about her next words. "But isn't everyone, or at least almost everyone, in this room partially to blame?"

"You can not know reasons or the circumstances of Loki's past, mortal-" the All-Father interrupted her, but she cut him off again.

"Actually, yeah I do. I looked into the heart of the Tesseract," she told him shortly, and it was like a cord had been snapped. Everyone truly stood to attention, staring at her but for Loki and Thor.

"You looked into the heart of the Tesseract?" Frigg asked, almost tremulously, shock and awe in her eyes.

"It is not possible. No mortal could withstand the Tesseract's power," the All-Father shook his head, while Jane sighed exasperatedly and folded her arms. She caught Loki's smirk and sent a glare his way.

"Yet here I am," she muttered sarcastically. "Look, anyway I know what happened, to Loki, about Jotunheim, about Thor and the Destroyer and the Frost Giants. The Tesseract showed me everything, and no disrespect All-Father, but telling someone no as they're hanging off a precipice over a black hole probably wasn't the wisest choice of words. And I'm sorry, but who gave you the right to dictate his future like that? What if he didn't want to rule Jotunheim? Is duty so important that his own choice would never have mattered? Despite what my people used to believe, you are not Gods, and quite frankly if being a God means you have the right to destroy or dictate other people's lives, I don't believe in them. You share at least a portion of the blame for Loki's actions."

"And that's not even starting on the fact that Loki was deceived. I mean, yes I know he still chose to invade Earth and kill a lot of people, and that will stay with him for the rest of his life, but he made those decisions based on a lie. Thanos manipulated his memories, tortured and brutalised him until he became the monster he always believed himself to be," she continued, unable to look at Loki to gauge his reaction to her words. "But he overcame it. He fought back and broke Thanos's hold over his memories and helped us stop the Chitauri from destroying New York. That's got to be worth something, surely?"

"He also kidnapped and threatened you, Jane Foster, and yet here you stand, defending him," the All-Father replied, with a curious look on his face. Jane shrugged.

"I know that, but he also protected me, healed my injuries and listened to me when it mattered most," she argued back, as she stepped back and felt blindly for Loki's arm. His hand caught and enclosed hers, as she finally plucked up the courage to meet his eye, and the sheer desolation, mingled with shock and awe, made her shiver. "He could have enslaved me, but he didn't. He could have killed me at any moment, but he didn't," she continued, smiling softly up at him before she looked back to the All-Father, at Frigg's shining eyes and Thor's soft smile. "Loki is not irredeemable, and to use an old Earth saying that he'll probably want to murder me for using, he's only human so to speak. We have all made mistakes, it's just with the power you guys hold, those mistakes cost a heck of a lot more. I won't say he doesn't deserve some kind of punishment, because he does and Loki acknowledges that otherwise he wouldn't be here. But please take everything I've told you into consideration, before you turn him into a single cell amoeba for the rest of his life."

That last surprised a chuckle from Loki, as her gaze flew to him and she smiled weakly with relief. She'd thought he might be a little angry with her words, or at least resentful she'd stolen some of his thunder, but that desolation in his eyes had lightened, just a little. He placed a hand against her cheek, and she realised she was blushing slightly, unused to being scrutinised so intensely as she had been by the All-Father, not to mention Frigg, Thor and Loki himself. They'd all listened to her intently, despite the suspicion Jane had that the All-Father would have rarely listened to the words of a mortal before today.

"It is true, Father," Thor suddenly spoke up, turning to face his father urgently. "Every word the Lady Jane has spoken is the truth, much of which I witnessed myself."

"There…may be some truth to her words, my son," the All-Father conceded, as Jane gaped then mentally smirked. Jane 1, All-Father 0. He suddenly speared her with his gaze, and she froze, but retained her defiant stance. She wouldn't be intimidated by him. They stood there, Aesir to mortal, staring at each other before he exhaled wearily, a twinkle that had not been there before in his eyes. "You are a curious being, Jane Foster of Midgard. You speak with tenacity and strength before immortals far older and wiser than you, with power that could destroy you. You taught my firstborn son humility and nobility, and my second son to regain his will and his strength. You have looked into the heart of the Tesseract truly, and survived whole and free, your mind unbroken. You are a curious creature, child."

"Thanks, I think," Jane frowned slightly. "Now I know where Loki gets his talent for backhanded compliments from."

Frigg chuckled, as even the All-Father nearly cracked a smile. Loki smirked, mock-glaring at her and Thor laughed openly.

"Hey, don't you start," she called over to the blonde Prince. "Loki might have his talent when it comes to compliments, but you definitely inherited his complete lack of subtlety and manners! Coffee cup ring a bell? At least Loki didn't smash it the first time he had coffee. And the whole 'I am the mighty Thor, you dare to challenge me with such a puny weapon' act when you arrived? At least until Darcy tasered you, that is."

Thor stopped laughing at that, as Loki really and truly laughed that time, Frigg joining in, as the two other men in the room both looked at each other for some idea what she was talking about.

"You are well-matched to keep my sons humble," Frigg smiled gently, as she stepped down from the dais, taking Jane's hand. "If it pleases you and my husband, I would know you better, Lady Jane."

Jane looked first to Loki, who nodded to her, before she looked to the All-Father. There was little more to say, she'd done her piece. She only hoped he listened.

"You are a new being, Jane Foster, without weariness or fear in the face of the unknown," the All-Father pronounced. "And you have some destiny intertwined with Asgard's that I cannot see. I will think on your testimony further. You may go, for now."

With one last look and touch of the hand from Loki, Jane let Frigg lead her away, feeling three pairs of eyes watching her leave the room.

To be continued...