Chapter 9

The king felt himself sit straighter, "I'm not some petty mortal you can cast inside your walls and forget about. Thor can not lead the people of Asgard. Not yet. With him as king even Hella will hide. Each realm will become consumed with war, and it will be on your hands. Billions of deaths. Worlds crumbling because of you," he spoke, "Do you really want to deal with the weight of that?"

The Doctor's face suddenly looked as if it had aged, "You remember me as a young man, Odin. You do not know of what I have gone through. The Time Lords are all gone. I am the last of my race. Do you know why?" his eyes flashed again, "I cast Gallifrey into a time lock. All of my race, all of the Daleks, forever fighting, forever dying. I sacrificed my own people to save the rest of the universe."

The king quickly regarded his son still silent in the corner. Not a single sound escaping his trembling body. A pity he could not stay. A magician with great skill perhaps, but a danger to his kingdom. Loki, his son. His monster… Odin took a deep breath, looking back at the Doctor.

"You take my deal, or you take me. It is your decision."

Loki felt himself sink even further back. His own father casting him aside for an exchange. A bet with a man he hardly knew. He was nothing to this man other than an item to be used. Hatred bubbled inside the prince as he tightly grabbed the arm of his chair. A large urge to kill this man where he sat, yet he stayed silent. Tears still rolling down his cheeks.

He leaned back, settling down again into the chair, wiping a hand across his face. Forcing the sadness back down deep inside, "The Tesseract is not yours to keep, Odin. And neither is this boy. He is a young man, able to make his own decisions. But, be as it may, if it does come to it, you do not want to start a war with me. You try to force Loki from these halls without his consent, there will be a reckoning."

The Time Lord sighed, the TARDIS flickering through his conscious, giving him help with his decision.

Finally, he leaned forward, rubbing his temples with his long fingers, "Very well, you may keep the Tesseract…for now. But," he held up a finger, "one toe out of line, I will have it back." The Doctor knew of Odin's famous 'naps' and he would be able to nab the relic then. Loki was of greater importance, a higher priority.

Unfortunately my co-author has come down with a bad strain of the flu, and is unable to continue at this moment. We will publish more in the future. Thank you for you understanding. I hope you enjoyed our prior chapters. If you have an idea that you'd like written please message me! I take commissions.

To be continued