Part 2: Setting down some rules

(A/N I've added a picture which has a rough idea of what each character looks like, you can picture them how you want, or read my descriptions and which actor on the collage fits it, whatever you decide ;) oh and! I couldn't decide on one actor for most of the characters as you can see, especially Ake, so have fun choosing an actor or picturing how you think he would look. A photo of my vision of Eerica is attached to a later chapter)

We stood to attention as his cold eyes peered down on us. Searching our faces to reveal every lie we've ever told, I suppose the more untrustworthy we are, the more he will trust us. But that's just a theory.

Loki stood in front of the throne, holding Odin's staff. The throne room is large, with many columns that have only recently been rebuilt. Every inch of the palace is covered in shining gold. It reminded me of this story I learnt in history of the nine realms, I had chosen to study Midgard and how fairytales and mythology first began (ourselves being classed as Norse mythology).

I came across one about a man called King Midas, he turned everything he touched into gold, until one day he turned his only child to gold. And that's what the Aesir reminded me of. Odin was like Midas, he lived in a palace of gold and then his true son, Thor, became his golden boy, leaving Loki as silver or bronze, not worth as much as gold, but perhaps just as beautiful...

Perhaps I'm reading too far into that family, but it all seemed to fit in my head. Perhaps Odin had brought this down upon himself by putting Loki second, if he ever did. Or perhaps Loki created demons where there were none. Demons are such strange things, they live within our deepest fears, they lurk in every dark corner. So why can't Loki simply turn on the light and fight these demons? Perhaps then he would find peace.

"It is rude not to answer when spoken to!" I heard a shout over my thoughts and found all eyes on me. The other four warriors seemed scared for me, they pitied me. Loki however was stern and frightful. I hadn't realised he was talking to me.

"I'm sorry..." Once I had been so strong, nothing would frighten me. Yet as his demonic gaze was cast upon me I found it was breaking down my defences, leaving me weak in the knees and stomach.

He seemed to laugh at my apology, slowly stepping down from the throne level so he was in front of us. He looked down to the floor, smiling cruelly. Now that he was on the same level as us, I noticed how tall Loki was. I wasn't particularly short but the top of my head would only reach his top lip.

His eyes slowly studied me and I felt a shiver course through me, more so when his emotionless stare found my face "what is your name again?"

(A/N= I think you pronounce it as "i-ri-ka" but it's a Valkyrie name meaning ruling forever)

"Eerika" my voice was slightly shaky and I couldn't control it.

He hummed a response and then his gaze turned stern again "well Eerika, you are expected to speak when spoken to, yes?"

"Yes"

"So if you can't even do that, how can I trust in you to be a warrior?" I had no response, I simply stared at him, frozen on the spot "I admire however" wait... What? "A woman stepping forward and asking for such a position, therefore I shall cast aside this mishap, in knowing that you have been brave in coming here today" my body unfroze and I realised that he had complimented me.

As he turned towards the steps up to the throne a sound jumped out of my throat and formed a word "thank you"

"For what?"

Oh god... Remembering that I detest this man was going to make it hard to suck up to him "for this opportunity" I bat my eyelashes a few times and stood back up straight, as he turned again toward the throne.

Once he was looking down upon us again, he assigned us to our roles in the palace. I couldn't imagine there actually being anything he needed us to do, being blocked off from the rest of the nine realms meant there were no longer any battles to fight. No enemies to defeat. What was the point in keeping warriors around who were only going to catch dust?

Again I was thinking too much and a frown snuck onto my expression "what? Are you not pleased with your position?" Great I hadn't actually heard a word he had said.

If I'm stuck here I may as well be honest. Even if he is king "not at all sire... I just wondered why you would have use of warriors in a realm cut off from the rest" somehow I'm glad I said something but I wasn't at the same time.

"Well, someone has to keep the kingdom in order"

"Don't you have guards who could do that?" This is when I should have shut up.

"They must guard the palace"

"From who?"

"So many questions, you sound as if you don't want the position" I instantly realised what I had said, how it must have sounded. Like I was trying to convince him that he didn't need us, so that I wouldn't have to serve him. But truth be told I needed to get close to him if I wanted to dethrone him, or at least find a way to get Thor into Asgard.

"No! I do... I'm just..."

"Curious? Hm. Well, you won't need curiosity here, the first rule I shall tell you is to keep your bloated opinions to yourself" consider myself told. He was so cold. So strange. So mysterious. "Now, your only job is to patrol the palace grounds, train in the training grounds for all I care, just stay out of my way, and you'll do fine, so long as you don't inflict your opinions onto me" he calmly spat.

After that we were simply dismissed, without another word. I would start my patrol from the bottom of the palace and then work my way up. During that time I was given permission to skive off course, maybe work on my skills and discover some more about the palace, even do a little research on our very own fallen prince.

The other four warriors, who by the way were male, were to be in charge of the guards, while patrolling the kingdom and keeping distressed Asgardians from killing each other. I was to be left alone in the palace. One of the warriors who's name I learnt to be Ake, was the calmest of us, he seemed very level headed.

Ake was tall with a square jaw, and handsome features, his hair was short and slicked back so that he didn't look so scruffy. His hands were large around his sword and I guessed he was approximately the same size as Loki, but unlike Loki he was set with a pair of chocolate brown eyes, which you could just melt into. He was set to patrol the area around the palace, instead of being with the others. Which was strange to me because I thought he would make an excellent leader.

Then there was a blonde haired man called Colby. He was a similar height to me, but by his face I didn't trust him. He looked like he was dark inside, even if he wasn't fully in touch with it. Perhaps he was the most satisfied with Loki as a king, as they both seemed to be on the same side. He had a round face and a small blonde beard, kind of like a goat. He had piercing blue eyes and a curled lip, like a permanent snarl.

Then the shortest of us all was Gustav, he was quite rotund and red in the face. He was bald and had expressionless features. I wasn't sure if he was alive for a second until he suddenly twitched into reality, making me huff a sigh of relief. I couldn't see him being much harm to a butterfly let alone another Asgardian.

Last was a large muscly man, Endre, he was a few inches taller than Ake and Loki, he had a stern face and a hard jaw, his eyes were blank and his hair was a dull blonde. If you asked me I would have to tell you that he seemed more muscle than anything else, I couldn't image being married to him, he'd either crush you or look blankly at you, who would want that?

(A/N= so I basically just googled names linked to Norse mythology and these are the ones I found. Here's what they mean- Ake: Forebear/ Colby: town of darkness ;) / Gustave: staff of the gods/ Endre: one who's riding alone )

After we were dismissed we all went our separate ways, Colby and Gustav took a group of guards and Ake went off to his own area of patrol, and I made my way down to the first, unrestricted, area of the palace after watching Loki strut off down a corridor I was not allowed to go down. I wondered what was down there, what mysteries lay hidden. I had never visited the palace before, so I had no clue where I was going.

Eventually I managed to find myself lost, I had taken so many turnings that everything began to look the same, in the end I gave up on trying to find my way back on route and just began to wander. The palace was like a giant maze and I hoped I would bump into a friendly guard, but I had no such luck.

On my walk I began to delve into my thoughts, losing myself in my mind. I seemed to do that often. I was thinking about how Thor and his friends, and his family, had grown up in this palace. Running around in their nappies and throwing food at each other for fun. I thought how they had innocently roamed these corridors as children, lost in a whole other world made of imagination.

Then my mind traveled to Loki again. How he had too grown up here. Once an innocent young boy who had played with his fair haired brother. Who knows how he must have felt even as a child. I read that sibling rivalry starts young, from the first time your sibling snatches your rattle. Perhaps Loki had always felt inferior to Thor, maybe Odin put that on him without realising, maybe Thor did it on purpose by teasing him and tormenting him, as most young boys do.

How could I think Loki played no part in this? Obviously it wasn't just him, other parties made him feel the way he did but there was no reason to go blow up the Bifrost. Things may have gotten a little out of hand when Loki revealed his true colours. But Thor came back and sacrificed his relationship with his mortal to save us, he dethroned Loki then, and that's why I believe he could do it again.

Soon I stopped watching where I was going, and my face became stuck to something solid and extremely cold. At first I thought I had bumped into a wall or something. But, the solid began to breathe and I instantly knew it was not a wall. I peeled myself from the solid and peered up to see a male face above me. Oh bugger. I had bumped into the the metal plates of Loki's armour.

Loki's cunning green eyes bore into my skull and I took a few steps back, trying to show my respect and manners "watch where you are walking!"

"My apologies sire" I kept my head down and then remembered that it was courtesy to look someone in the face after you attack them by bumping into them.

For a moment there was silence, like he was contemplating what he might say, but we had both drawn a blank. The tension was rising as my fear of being screeched at by him grew, awkwardly he broke the silence "right well... Be careful" he turned and left down the corridor, but I was still lost.

I ran forward a few steps and then shouted "my king!" He turned slowly to me "actually I'm lost" I hated admitting it to him, even though I couldn't help being lost. It didn't help that I didn't even know where exactly I was headed.

He seemed to sigh "follow me"