For a while, I simply stood there.
The balcony stretched out before me, overlooking Camelot and the lands beyond its walls.
From here, the capital looked almost untouched.
People moved through the streets below, lights burned warmly from homes and shops, and the great towers of Camelot stood just as proudly as they had before I left.
One could almost pretend nothing had happened.
Almost.
My eyes travelled farther.
Beyond Camelot, beyond the perfection protected by Rhongomyniad, smoke still rose into the clear sky.
Not nearly as much as before.
The fires had largely been extinguished, either by mortal hands or the rain I had called down upon them, but the scars remained.
Entire towns would need rebuilding.
Roads had been shattered.
Fields burned.
Thousands were dead.
And that was merely Albion.
The rest of the world had suffered just as greatly, if not worse.
There was much work still to be done.
The Sentinels remained.
Their Nexus remained.
Their creators had left behind a wound upon this world that would take years to truly heal.
And beyond even that, I had returned from Hell with questions of my own.
The Ancient One.
The strange passage of time.
The Lords of Hell themselves.
And whatever consequences our victory might eventually bring.
One crisis ending did not mean the world politely waited before presenting another.
Captain Rogers had been right about that.
I rested my hands upon the marble railing and released a quiet sigh.
Then I spoke.
"How long do you intend to stand there, Your Majesty?"
Silence answered me.
For perhaps three seconds.
"I had wondered how long you would permit me the courtesy of believing myself unnoticed."
The air beside one of the great marble pillars shimmered.
Green light washed over the empty space, peeling away an illusion layer by layer until the figure hidden beneath it finally revealed himself.
Loki Laufeyson leaned casually against the pillar.
He wore no helmet, though his familiar green-and-gold clothing immediately made his identity obvious. His black hair fell neatly across his shoulders, and that irritatingly pleased smile remained firmly upon his face.
"I had wondered whether Hell might have dulled your senses."
"While I can't deny that the recent series of events has left me in need of a bit of rest, it isn't yet to the point where I wouldn't notice someone standing before my throne," I said as I turned to look at him fully.
Loki let out a short, quiet laugh.
"I have no doubt of it. While I can't deny that it is somewhat grating to be so easily seen through, it also further demonstrates that you are far too noble to be a mere king of a small realm here in Midgard," he said, a little more serious than normal.
I shook my head and turned my gaze back toward Camelot outside. "I have no grand ambitions, Your Highness. I am perfectly happy with my own realm. Ruling the rest of Midgard... would be far more trouble than it is worth."
For a moment, the smile faded a little from Loki's face. "Indeed, humans are... truly masters of causing trouble, aren't they? Even I find myself somewhat impressed by how easily they seem to cause chaos."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "I find myself understanding why Father allowed Midgard so much independence."
"Finally starting to understand the burden of the crown?" I asked with a small smile.
"Yes," he sighed. "If not for Mother's help, I would indeed be greatly troubled. I envy you greatly, your knights, so capable and loyal. Within Asgard, it's hard to find someone even half as good; most are as thick-headed as Thor."
I couldn't resist letting out a small chuckle. "Don't forget that your Lord Thor got along well with many of my knights when he was living out his exile here."
Loki snorted lightly. "Indeed, I suppose a few of your knights do have a great deal in common with my foolish brother."
I let out a sigh; I had finally realized what Loki was doing, and I was thankful for it. He was truly not a bad regent; he could read a room and knew how to act, helping me feel better by bringing his little banter into a tense time.
Still, that was unlikely to be why he came here, merely to help distract me from my burdens.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? And without using the Bifrost at that?"
"Why, I came here to extend a warm welcome back. So, welcome home, Your Majesty," he said with a light bow and a smile.
The humour remained, but something sincere rested beneath it.
"Thank you."
"I had begun to wonder how long you intended to keep us all waiting."
I glanced sideways at him.
"I have already endured that accusation once today."
"Indeed, I can't help but wonder why you didn't think to invite us to help you? If nothing else, it would have kept my brother busy; you have no idea how annoying he has been over the past few weeks," he said, only half-joking.
He was, in fact, telling the truth.
If there was a fight to be had, Thor would be at the front of the line; being forced to sit back at home, unable to do anything, was close to torture for him.
"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Your Majesty; there is no grand reason. I simply didn't consider it. There was no need for further aid." I did wish I had a better reason, but it was the truth.
Loki wasn't disappointed or slighted by it at all.
If anything, he understood it all too well.
He, too, had never asked me for help when dealing with his own problems.
Despite the alliance between our realms, between Asgard and Camelot, and Albion as a whole, things were still not close enough for something like that.
"You still haven't explained why you didn't use the Bifrost to arrive, nor announce yourself, but instead snuck in for a secret meeting like this," I pointed out.
Loki sighed again. "I guess there is no getting anything past you. Indeed, I wished to meet you in private and ask if you require aid. As I said, my brother has long since wanted to lend his strength to Midgard, but without you requesting it, out of respect for the sovereignty of your realm, I had no choice but to stay out of it."
I nodded.
I understood what he was saying.
He was apologizing for not helping, explaining why... and while I would have liked the help, I couldn't fault him for not offering it.
The fault was my own, for never telling Agravain to request it should something happen.
Unable to find me as they were, Asgard had no way of knowing my intentions, so acting could have caused problems.
The wise choice was indeed to do nothing and offer help once I returned, or at least do nothing until they were sure my absence wasn't something I had faked to lure my enemies into a trap.
"So, you chose not to use the Bifrost to avoid alerting any spies or enemies?" I asked, even though I had guessed the answer.
"You see right through me once again, Your Majesty; that is indeed the idea," he said with a small smile. "There's no guarantee that we weren't being watched; the last thing we need is to let the world know the full might of Asgard is ready to intervene."
That was a good point. The Sentinels would no doubt know if the Bifrost were used, and that could indeed throw off any plans we might have worked on.
One could say much about Loki, but saying he was stupid wasn't one of them.
Quite the opposite.
He had always been clever, perhaps too clever for his own good at times, but sitting upon the throne of Asgard appeared to have tempered some of that cleverness with something far more valuable.
Wisdom.
Not enough that I would ever call him wise to his face, of course.
His ego hardly needed the assistance.
"So," I said after a moment, "you came here without announcing yourself because you wished to know whether I intended to ask Asgard for aid before anyone else learned that such aid was even being considered."
Loki smiled faintly.
"Something along those lines."
"And should I refuse?"
"Then I return home, Thor continues glaring at me across every meal, and Asgard remains out of Midgard's affairs."
"You make it sound as though Thor is the greater threat."
"Have you ever attempted to share a dining table with my brother when he believes himself unjustly denied a battle?"
I considered the question.
"Fair enough."
"I thought so."
The slight humour remained between us for another moment before I turned my attention back toward the distant lands beyond Camelot.
The situation had changed greatly with my return.
The Sentinels had withdrawn for now, but we already knew where their Nexus was located, knew that eventually we would have to strike it, and knew that once we did, there was every chance every remaining machine on the planet would rush to its defence.
With my return, and that of my forces, it wouldn't be difficult to break those defences; my Enforcement Knights alone could break them with relative ease.
Add in the Round Table and myself, and there would be no challenge at all, though there was the danger that rather than defend, they might go on the offensive.
An all-out suicide assault on some important location, to force us to either pull back and deal with it or accept a high cost for our victory.
And depending on the target, that could indeed be a difficult decision.
I wouldn't pull back unless Albion was attacked, but that wasn't true for the others, and while I could no doubt destroy the core, I couldn't be sure that physical destruction would end the threat.
So I needed either Stark or Reed, or, if possible, Phastos, but given that the Eternals remained unwilling to act, that was unlikely.
So as long as the Sentinels could exploit Stark's and Reed's weaknesses, they could indeed force an end to any assault.
Therefore, having another hidden force, able to act without delay anywhere we needed them, was indeed very tempting.
I quickly considered the situation and glanced at Loki, reading him as best I could.
"And, I suppose, arriving for the final battle would not harm Asgard's reputation."
Loki's smile widened by the smallest amount. "I would be a poor king if I failed to notice such fortunate consequences."
"Fortunate."
"Entirely incidental, naturally."
"Naturally."
Leave it to Loki to always have some secret motive, but his fishing for glory and prestige didn't interfere with my own goals, so I nodded.
"Your Majesty, Regent King of Asgard," I began, "Albion requests the aid of Asgard in bringing the Sentinel war to its conclusion. Should Asgard be willing, I would welcome its warriors beside my own during the assault upon the Nexus."
Loki bowed his head.
"On behalf of Asgard, I accept."
(End of chapter)
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