Chapter 1077: Father and Son (Part Six) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Loki stood at the entrance of his own chamber, arms outstretched, allowing the guards to secure his cloak in the right position. He lowered his head, deep in thought, and after a moment, he looked up and asked, "Is Helen still with Frigga? Did the Queen mention anything about me fetching her later?"

"Her Majesty Frigga wishes for you to proceed to the greenhouse in approximately twenty minutes to join Her Royal Highness Helen and His Royal Highness Odin for dinner," one of the guards replied.

Loki paused his movements for a moment and inquired, "Will the All-Father be there as well? Thor is currently on patrol in Centaurus and won't be back for a few days. Wasn't anyone informed?"

"Her Majesty Frigga only mentioned your presence. We are not aware of the rest and do not have the authority to inquire," the attendant beside him spoke with lowered head.

Loki fell silent for a while, then suddenly flicked his cloak, causing the guard who was fixing his collar to hastily step back. Loki remained in place, his expression turning serious, as he said, "No matter what I ask you, all you ever have are two responses: 'not aware' and 'no authority to inquire.'"

"I ask you, who deprived you of those privileges? Was it Thor Odinson?" Loki looked into the eyes of the attendant, who averted his gaze.

"It is the rule, Your Royal Highness," the attendant replied.

"Don't call me Your Royal Highness. I am no longer a prince," Loki continued looking into his eyes. "Your expression reveals to me that if you don't call me Your Royal Highness, you don't even know what to call me. Perhaps you're even thinking, am I not still a prince? Asgard has no such foolish title."

"God-King has brothers, but Asgard has never had a prince. Do you know why?" Loki's tone grew increasingly somber. The attendant wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead and answered, "I do not know, nor do I have the authority to inquire."

"You wouldn't dare use those words to answer Thor," Loki turned around, swirling his cloak as he took the helmet from the guard's hands and slowly placed it on his head. "But right now, you're thinking what you just said in your mind. What sort of person am I? How dare I demand treatment equal to that of the God-King?"

After Loki strode away, the attendant touched his forehead, and this time, sweat dampened his cuff.

Feeling the weight brought by the two long horns on his helmet, Loki felt a bit uncomfortable. So, before entering the garden, he took off the helmet.

On the eastern side of the Celestial Palace's garden, there was a beautiful greenhouse, home to rare plants that were not native to Asgard. The outermost part of the greenhouse was a sunroom with a dome made of crystals, Frigga's favorite dining place.

As Loki entered with the helmet in his hands, Odin, Frigga, and Helen were already seated. Loki stood by the door, waiting, and Odin gestured to his left side, prompting Loki to walk over.

"Why aren't you wearing your helmet?" Odin asked, looking at him.

"Because it's heavy, All-Father," Loki replied, placing the helmet on the seat beside him as he spoke.

Odin furrowed his brow, but upon seeing Frigga's expression, he remained silent. Frigga was tidying up the napkin for Helen, and she seemed to be in a good mood. When she returned to her seat, she smiled at Loki and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to do it yourself; after all, you're no longer a child..."

Loki lowered his head as he took the cutlery from Frigga's hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing his address, Frigga's smile paused for a moment. She turned her head, glanced at Odin's stern expression, let out a faint sigh, and then said, "Don't be nervous, Loki. This is just an ordinary family gathering. We rarely have the leisure to sit here and enjoy the winter scenery..."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Normally, at this time, you would all be on the starship, waiting for the next battle to commence," Loki adjusted the utensils on the table, straightened his back, leaned against the chair, and looked ahead. "Indeed, few have as much leisure as me to admire the snow in winter."

"Loki," Odin's voice grew deep. "You are deliberately making your mother uncomfortable. You know she wishes for this to be a joyful gathering."

"But this was never going to be a joyous gathering," Loki spoke as if suddenly growing weary. "Because of who, we all know."

"Loki!" Odin's voiceinterrupted him, filled with warning.

Loki raised his gaze, his eyes reflecting a mix of sorrow and determination. "Father, I know you want me to forget, to move on, to be the obedient son you expect me to be. But I can't. I can't forget the pain, the betrayal, and the loss. I can't forget what he did to us."

Odin's expression softened slightly, and he reached out to Frigga, who placed her hand on top of his. "Loki, we understand your pain. We've all suffered in our own ways. But holding onto anger and resentment will only continue to hurt you."

Loki shook his head, his voice filled with bitterness. "I've tried, Father. I've tried to let go, to find peace within myself. But every time I close my eyes, I see his face, I hear his mocking laughter. How can I forget?"

Frigga's eyes glistened with tears, and she spoke softly, her voice filled with love and compassion. "Loki, my dear son, we don't expect you to forget. But we hope that one day you can find healing. We hope that you can find a way to reconcile with your past and forge a path towards a brighter future."

Loki's shoulders slumped, and he released a heavy sigh. "I want that too, Mother. I want to move forward, to find peace. But it's difficult. The wounds run deep."

Odin leaned forward, his gaze filled with a mixture of regret and understanding. "Loki, we were all affected by the events of the past. We all carry scars. But we are a family, and we need each other now more than ever. We need to support and love one another."

Loki's eyes met Odin's, and for a moment, the tension between them seemed to lessen. "I want to believe that, Father. I want to believe that we can find our way back to each other. But it will take time."

Odin nodded solemnly. "Time is something we have. Let us use it to rebuild what was broken, to mend the bonds that were strained. Together, we can find strength and healing."

As the family sat in the greenhouse, surrounded by the beauty of nature, they shared a meal filled with both spoken and unspoken words. It was a small step, a glimmer of hope in the long journey towards reconciliation.

And as the snow fell softly outside, covering the palace grounds in a pristine white blanket, a sense of peace settled over the family, reminding them that even in the face of darkness, there was always the possibility of finding light.

The journey would not be easy, but they were determined to walk it together. For in the depths of their shared pain, they discovered the resilience of their love, and that love would guide them towards a future where healing was possible.

And so, in that quiet moment, surrounded by the warmth of family and the beauty of the winter landscape, they began their journey towards forgiveness and redemption.

Loki sat across from Helen, and whenever he glanced up, he could see the young girl who bore a striking resemblance to him. She looked at him with a curious eye contact.

In reality, Loki and Helen weren't particularly close. Despite their uncanny resemblance, they had no real parent-child interaction.

Their relationship was limited to Loki acting as a dedicated courier shuttling between Stark and Frigga, responsible for transporting Helen between Earth and Asgard.

"Loki, let's start eating," Frigga said in a gentle tone. "Though you're no longer a child, it seems like you still need me to help you with the napkin. Come on..."

After speaking, she walked behind Loki and gently helped him fasten the napkin. Frigga's tender dress passed through the cold and hard chair back, brushing Loki's hand, as if he were a prisoner restrained in the chair, catching a glimpse of moonlight.

Loki picked up his utensils and skillfully cut his food with elegant movements. Frigga smiled and praised, "Loki, seeing you is like seeing a younger version of myself. Odin used to say that you resemble me, don't you think?"

Frigga's eye contact shifted to Odin's face, and Odin cleared his throat, saying, "You do indeed resemble your mother."

"It's my honor," Loki replied flatly.

Frigga's smile stiffened for a moment, and she changed the subject, saying, "Helen also resembles you. I don't just mean in appearance; she has the same mischievous spirit as a child. But unfortunately, she doesn't have an elder brother to take care of her..."

Loki's actions paused, and he spoke, "Yes, Thor not only fights courageously but also cares for his loved ones. That's why Asgard's warriors are willing to follow him into battle."

Frigga's smile almost completely vanished as she looked at Loki's face and said, "You know very well that this isn't an exam. I don't want the correct answer..."

Loki lowered his head and cut the food on his plate. He glanced at Odin's expression and then said, "I'm sorry, Mother. I'm just feeling a bit unwell, perhaps due to the cold weather."

"That's enough, Loki," Odin put down his utensils and looked at him. "I have never taught you to say these things, and you don't have to perform like I'm coercing you in front of your mother. Stop your tricks!"

Loki also put down his utensils, as if finally losing all patience. He looked down at the fragmented food on his plate, revealing a cold smile and said, "I apologize for my untimely response in this exam. But I don't have a better answer because I haven't attended many family gatherings. So, I don't know what to say. I can only respond based on my usual experiences."

"This isn't an exam," Frigga said sadly. "I just hoped that we could sit together and have a conversation as parents and children, about our future as a family..."

"Then why is it me sitting here and not Thor?" Loki looked at Frigga and asked, "I can sit here and talk for a thousand years, but I don't have the authority to decide the future of this family."

Loki sighed and said, "I'm not deliberately being sarcastic or trying to make you angry. It's just an obvious fact."

"Frigga, your warmth shouldn't be given to someone so indifferent," Odin placed his hands flat on the table and looked at his wife. "Haven't you noticed? He's just like Laufey, cold and cruel."

"Odin!" Frigga screamed for the first time. The usually well-mannered queen had never made such a sharp sound before. She said, "This is our family gathering. Why do you have to mention other people's names?!"

"We all know why," Odin stared at Frigga and said, "You don't think that your intelligent and insightful youngest son is still unaware of his true identity, do you?"

Frigga slowly shifted her gaze to Loki, who remained seated, staring at his plate. He said, "I'm sorry, Mother. Earlier, when I said I was cold, it was just a joke."

Frigga closed her eyes in pain. Her hands clenched tightly on the edge of the table, and finally, the tense knuckles relaxed. With a tired expression, she said, "If everything I've done only results in wasting your time to play along with me, then I say it's enough."

"Sometimes I really wonder if I've gone mad to have a husband and son like this. You're not family, not friends, not even strangers, but enemies!"

"We were born enemies," Loki replied swiftly.

In the next moment, the kitchen knife pressed against Loki's forehead, forcing him to slowly step back and rest his head against the backrest of the dining chair.

Odin looked into his eyes and said, "Your biological father, on a cold night just like this, I beheaded him because he provoked me, just like you."

Loki straightened his back, took a deep breath, and slightly turned his head to look at Odin. He said, "All-Father, your benevolence is known throughout the Nine Realms, and your reputation is renowned. If the main course before you right now were my head, would you be happier?"

"Loki!!!" Odin stood up, staring at Loki with a stern gaze. He said, "You have caused sadness to your mother and angered me. I truly don't understand why you are so mischievous!"

Loki glanced at the helmet he had placed on a nearby chair and said, "Today, Thor is not here, and I don't even know what I should do next. If it were as usual, I would have stolen his helmet by now and disappeared from everyone's gaze."

"Thor can't catch up to me, he can only stomp his feet in frustration and leave, pretending to be magnanimous, saying 'It's just a prank,' so that you all don't have to be angry for me."

Loki stood up, picked up his helmet, and with a gesture that he would never have done before, even showing a hint of a rogue behavior, he directly threw the helmet onto the dining table, causing the utensils to scatter and the plates to shatter.

Frigga and Odin looked at him in shock, and Loki turned his gaze towards them and said, "Let's end the rehearsal here. I promise you that during a real family dinner, I will attentively listen to Thor's views on the future and applaud in a timely manner... even more promptly than all of you."

After speaking, he took his helmet back and put it on his head. Before turning to leave, he added in a low voice, "Because I know that only I can hear the specifics of Thor's words."

Loki turned and left, leaving Odin and Frigga stunned in their places, as if they had never known their youngest son.

However, Helen glanced around, jumped off the chair, and quickly chased after Loki in the direction he had left.

Loki walked on the grand bridge of the Celestial Palace, his cloak fluttering behind him. One after another, mighty guards passed by him, saluting him, but he only looked straight ahead, moving at an extremely fast pace, passing through the lingering twilight of Asgard.

Crossing the bridge, bypassing the training ground, he arrived at the pier of the Bifrost. When he was about to teleport away, Loki didn't notice that a small figure was following him from behind.

Back in his apartment on Earth, Loki casually tossed his helmet to the ground, took off his cloak and threw it aside, and leaned against the sofa. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably, unable to conceal his expression of shock and fear.

Suddenly, Loki heard a slight noise behind him. He turned his head, but saw nothing. So, he stood up to investigate what had made the sound.

But the moment he stood up, he felt a hit to his chest. Loki staggered back two steps, lowered his head, and saw Helen, whose arms wrapped around his chest like an octopus.

"Helen, stop it. I'll call Pepper to come and pick you up," Loki turned his head away, reaching for the mobile phone on the sofa.

Helen opened her mouth to speak but suddenly furrowed her brows. She tightened her grip on Loki's neck with her arms and gently exerted force, sending Loki flying two meters away.

"What are you doing?! Helen! I don't have time..." Loki raised his voice, but at that moment, where he had been standing, a square orange portal opened with a "whoosh." A group of individuals wearing black riot-like armor emerged from it.

The leader held up a paper, glanced at it, then looked at Loki and said in a deep voice, "Loki, according to the TVA (Time Variance Authority), you have violated the laws of Space-Time Mutation and have been classified as a time criminal. You are now under arrest, wanted throughout the entire Space."

"Now, you are captured."

Not a single normal

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 1078: Father and Son (Part Seven)