You stood with perfect stature outside of the gate to the Bifrost, listening to the quarrel that was taking place inside. Of course, you weren't exactly meaning to eavesdrop on the Allfather and his two sons, but they were being terribly loud and you were certainly not going to leave your post.

The Allfather's voice suddenly rose in volume. "You are vain, greedy, cruel boy!" The elder king reprimanded his son.

"And you're an old man and a fool!" One of the princes spat at his father. Thor, you believe it was.

You had never really payed much attention to politics. That is until recently, when you were assigned to be trained by the gatekeeper.
Even so, you knew that you would have gotten the switch for speaking that way to your father. How much more so would this prince suffer the consequences for speaking that way to not only his father, but the king of Asgard and protector of the Nine Realms?

There was silence.

You looked to Heimdall, who stood more ramrod straight and solemn than you thought possible. He turned his head and gave you a grave look. This would not end well for the prince of Asgard.

While your attention was elsewhere, the Allfather had still been speaking. You nearly jumped out of your skin as the Bifrost roared to life. Stepping away from where you had stood, you turned your back to the city of Asgard and watched the walls of the gatehouse spin, steadily increasing in speed.

Heimdall seemed unfazed. He had not moved. You doubted he had even blinked at the commotion taking place behind him. Electricity crackled in the air, and made your hair stand on end.

You could no longer hear the conversation going on inside, but you were certain it could be nothing good. Was the royal family falling out? How would this affect the people of Asgard?

A beam of light erupted from the end of the Bifrost and someone was sent hurtling through space. What was happening?! Had the prince once again stomped off in fury, as you had so many times before after a quarrel with your father? Where was he going? What would become of the kingdom? The man had nearly been crowned king just this morning!

Would the younger prince - you couldn't recall his name - receive the throne instead? You halted your thoughts. Heimdall would be disappointed in you. Slowly, you turned around and returned to your statuesque position adjacent the renowned gatekeeper.

Instead of worrying, you tried to remember the name of the other prince. Again, you knew Heimdall would be disappointed. He had been quizzing you daily on basic Asgardian government and such. He had stated, almost condescendingly that even children were taught this. With this in mind, you searched the depths of your memory. You had to know this. You had known yesterday.

The gatehouse had now ceased to spin. The Allfather stormed out of the half-circle door and down the bridge. Heimdall gestured for you to stay put and followed after the king. You faintly heard his deep voice asking, "Is it done?"

And the grim reply, "It is."

You stood at the gate and watched as the two slowly faded from view. After you could no longer see them, you removed your helm and wiped the beads of sweat from your brow. What was done?

"Dear gods, what have I done?"

You whirled around at the sound of the voice behind you. There was the younger prince, sitting on the dais with his face buried in his hands. As you studied him, his name finally rose to the surface in your mind.

"Loki," you whispered.

Even though you had barely made a sound, you saw him tense at the mention of his name. You moved back to your rigid position, hoping he hadn't noticed you. As you turned, however, you felt a hand grasp the collar of your shirt. You were suddenly hanging over the edge of the bridge. Your feet just barely touching the shining edge. You stared up at your attacker, speechless.

"Hmm, not much of a guard now, are you?" Prince Loki grinned, seeming to delight in watching you flail desperately to find your footing.

You gulped. Your grip on his sleeve tightened as he lowered you even closer to the rushing water. "Your highness."

Satisfied, he pulled you back onto the bridge. He was still grinning like a monkey. Oh, how you wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off of his face.

"Now," he said, "Maybe next time you will take your job more serious-" You slapped him - hard - across the face before he could finish.

You gasped and looked from your hand, to the rapidly darkening red blotch on his cheek, to his changing expression. Initially, he seemed shocked and enraged.

What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?! I just slapped the Prince... I'm dead. I am so dead.

Then, to your surprise, he looked amused. That dumb grin reappeared as he studied you. "You have fire. I like you," he stated, and then turned and walked away.

You stood and gaped as you watched him proceed down the long bridge back to the city.