Hidden in Shadow

The Ceremony

Some parts of this chapter are borrowed from the Thor script found on the ISDB. Some parts are from memory and may not be exactly right. Characters arent mine, except Saga and she is altered from Norse Mythology. Hope you like it! :-)

Sif and the Warriors Three stand waiting before the crowded throne room. Loki and Frigga enter arm in arm. Saga watches with bated breath as Loki takes his place at head of the throne room. With a blast of a horn the crowd falls silent, watching the doors, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the future king of Asgard.

After what seems like an age Odin looks at Loki. "Where is he?"

Loki shrugs. "He said he'd be along."

Sif shakes her head "He wants to make an entrance."

The doors suddenly fly open and the tall muscular prince strides cockily into the throne room. The crowd cheers loudly as Thor makes his way across the hall. Saga slips in and quietly takes her place behind the queen. Sif glances back at her and gives her a disapproving look.

Thor finishes stirring up the crowd, then reaches the front of the room, kneels on one knee before his mother and father. Thor winks up at her. Frigga casts him an admonishing glance. Odin strikes Gungnir upon the ground with a deafening BOOM. The crowd falls silent. Odin speaks with quiet, effortless authority. He raises Gungnir before him

"Gungnir. Its aim is true, its power strong. With it I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms since the time of the Great Beginning. And though the day has come for a new King to wield his own weapon -- that duty remains the same. Thor Odinson, my heir, my first-born. So long entrusted with this mighty hammer, Mjolnir. Forged in the heart of a dying star, its power has no equal -- as a weapon, to destroy, or as a tool, to build. It is a fit companion for a King."

Saga shivers as a chill runs down her spine. She quickly scans the room but nothing seems out of place. She turns her attention back to the ceremony.

"Today I entrust you with the greatest honor in all the Nine Realms. The sacred throne of Asgard. I have sacrificed much to achieve peace. So, too, must a new generation sacrifice to maintain that peace. Responsibility, duty, honor. These are not merely virtues to which we must aspire. They are essential to every soldier and to every King."

Visions of ice, frozen Einherjar, and columns of fire flash in Saga's mind. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. Fandral gives her a questioning look from across the room. He catches her eye as she looks up, she smiles and nods to him. He grins and returns his attention to the proceedings.

"Thor Odinson, do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to preserve the peace?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and pledge yourself only to the good of all the Realms?"

"I swear."

"Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you-"

Saga's eyes lock on the king as he suddenly stops speaking. Her heart pounding and her pulse racing. Her eyes dart to Loki. Was this what she had feared? Had he really done it?

"Frost giants..."

Thor races from the hall alongside his father and brother. Sif and the Warriors Three rush to the queens side. "We must get you to safety my queen." Says Sif as she quickly surveys the unsettled crowd. Fandral and Sif lead Frigga and Saga from the throne room and down the hallway to the queen's chambers.

Saga walks out onto the balcony and closes her eyes. She focuses on Thor and Loki and the world around her melts away. She finds herself standing at the top of the stairs in the weapons vault. Odin, Thor, and Loki stand at the opposite end of the room surveying the damage.

"All is well?! They broke into the weapons vault! If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics..."

"But they didn't."

"I want to know why..."

"I have a truce with Laufey, the Jotun King."

"He just broke your truce!"

"And what action would you take?"

"March into Jotunheim as you once did, teach them a lesson, break their spirits so they'll never dare try to cross our borders again!"

"You're thinking only as a warrior!"

"This was an act of war!"

"It was the act of but a few, doomed to fail."

"They got this far! As King of Asgard, I would-"

"But you are not King! Not yet."

Saga sighs and shakes her head. Things did not look good. She opens her eyes and looks out over the city, silently cursing herself for letting this happen.