04: Childhood

"Good night," said Frigga before closing the door of Loki's and Thor's chamber and bringing darkness to the room.

As she disappeared, a grin formed on Thor's face. He then jumped toward Loki, and before Loki could defend himself, he hugged him tightly and closed his eyes.

Loki let out a small sigh of resignation and also closed his eyes, falling into Hypnos' gentle arms.

—(Line break)—

Asgard was a magnificent place, filled with glittering buildings and majestic animals. It was a kingdom that ruled over many realms and had an army capable of easily conquering worlds.

And today was a special day for them because, for the first time in a few years, snow had fallen from the sky; the white snow now covered the gold, bringing out an interesting sight of Asgard.

As soon as he woke up, Thor ran outside to play in the snow. He walked on the thick snow on the ground, thinking about all he could do. In the forest, various animals were out watching the white horizon with peaceful gazes.

Thor extended his arms in a T-pose and faced the wind, thinking about freedom. However, as he was enjoying that moment, coldness passed through his body, especially his neck.

It was Loki; he had thrown a snowball at him.

"Cold! " screamed Thor, shaking his entire body, trying to remove the snow that had seeped through his clothes.

Thor looked sideways. Who had done this? Till his eyes found a figure carefully hidden behind a tree. An assassin? No, worse!

"Loki!" he yelled with rage, before rushing toward him. His hands went down to the snow, making a snowball.

*Splash* Another snowball found Thor and tried to deter him from coming toward Loki.

"Don't you dare dodge it, Loki!" he screamed, a wide grin on his face. He then threw it at Loki, who hid behind the tree, thus not being hit by the snowball.

"You need to learn to aim," told him Loki with a cheeky smile on his face and his eyes glistening with excitement.

"And you need to become faster!" retorted Thor before sprinting at his brother with unnatural speed. Loki's eyes widened in surprise. Thor held him in his arms and jumped to the ground.

A cheery laugh escaped Thor's mouth, while Loki looked at him with a fake hurt expression. "Don't drag me in with you!"

Loki's hand then trailed down to the ground. He took a handful of snow and threw it all at Thor's face as if it was a cake.

And so, the day began, like almost all others, with Thor and Loki fighting over childish things.

—(Line break)—

"Where is it?" whispered Thor with frustration. His hands passed by everything on his shelf before throwing them away. Soon a panoply of clothes and other things were on the ground, almost making a new mountain on Asgard.

"Where?" He punched the wall in his room, making a dent in it. Abruptly, his door opened, and his mother walked in, her eyes looking at the condition of his room with frustration.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her arms crossed.

"I can't find it?" yelled Thor, tears trailing down his cheeks.

"You can't find what?" asked Frigga, while beginning to look at him.

"I can't find the bracelet you gave me as a present!" answered Thor, gripping one of his clothes and making it into a ball before throwing it at the ground.

"Oh, dear…" she chuckled before looking at his arm and saying, "It is on your wrist."

Thor's eyes trembled in surprise. He let out a sigh of relief.

Thor froze, thinking about why he did not notice it. He was sure that he had already looked at his wrist, till the realization hit him.

"Loki!" he screamed. He swore he heard a provoking laughter.

"Now, clean that room!" told him Frigga.

"Why can't the maids to it?" asked Thor, looking scared at the mountain of things to put back.

"Because you're the one who made an unnecessary chaos in that room. You need to learn consequences, young man." Responded Frigga, walking out of the room with heavy steps.

"But it's Loki's fault," cried out Thor in despair.

—(Line break)—

The high pitch of cluttery rang in the dining room. Four people sat near a long table. It had been a few days since all of them could dine together. On the table were many golden plates with different delices.

The four were eating those gourmandize with a joyous atmosphere, till Thor and Loki's fork touched the other's fork.

On one of the plates, there was only one thing left.

Both looked at each other with a glare before rushing in, trying to take the last part of the meat.

In under a second, Thor already had the meat in his mouth, a cheeky grin on his lips.

—(Line break)—

Thor walked in a green field, his steps resonating with happiness. Life was good. He had a loving brother and spring had just graced Asgard.

As he strolled around, he saw a sword lying on the ground, under the shade of a thick tree. Thor smiled. Maybe with this, he could finally learn swordsmanship and prove his worth to his father.

He looked sideways. There was no one. After confirming this fact, he walked toward the sword and picked it up.

The sword was glistening with cleanness. The iron was like a mirror showing Thor his childish, cute face. The sword looked classic, with no extra unnecessary details or symbols.

He placed both of his hands on the handle and took a deep breath. He had no idea what to do, except swing it. He tried to search in his memory what the guards did for training, but there was nothing he could do right now.

Thor swung it for the first time and water fell on himself. His shiny blond hair became wet. His clothes became heavier, and his happiness faded away.

"Ahhhh! Loki!" he screamed, thinking that maybe his brother was not that lovely.

A chuckle resonated in the depth of the lush field.