United

Chapter 13

Thor watched in horror as his brother was lead to the center of the town square, his head held down in shame, his features marred beyond recognizability from months of torture.

The king standing next to him was not one that the blonde recognized. He wore a black cloak with a hood that hid his face in shadows, but he wielded gungnir, and was the rightful king of Asgard, no matter how wrong it seemed.

"Prince Thor, you may do the honors."

Thor stared down in horror at the gleaming silver axe in his hands. Loki's sorrowful eyes met his, and his dirty raven-black hair fell down in front of his face in a desperate attempt to hide any emotion. The guards surrounding him forced him onto his knees, his hands bound behind his back with coarse rope.

"Thor....please...." He managed to choke out, his voice raw and raspy from lack of use.

Thor didn't know what he was doing. His legs were moving forward, and suddenly his mouth was moving as well, forming words on his lips.

"Loki Laufeyson of Jotunheim. For your crimes against the nine realms, you are sentenced to death."

Tears spilled down the trickster's cheeks as he abandoned all of his pride and resorted to pleading for his life. The hoarse begging fell on deaf ears as Thor raised the axe high above his head.

"May the gods have mercy on your soul." Thor said, before swinging the axe down in one fluid motion.

That was all it took.

One motion and his head was chopped clean off, blood pouring from his neck as his body slumped to the ground. Thor picked up the head of his brother and raised it high in the sky for the Asgardians to admire before having the guards take it away to be put on display. A few of the other guards dragged his body off and threw it carelessly into a cart, hauling it away to be disposed of.

"Loki the Wretched is dead!" Thor shouted, and the Asgardians joined him in the twisted chant.

Blood covered the stone execution block, and the thunderer dragged a hand across it, crimson liquid accumulating on his fingertips. He stared at the blood for a moment, satisfied, before walking back to his chambers to wash. The crowd dispersed, sorcerers of Asgard already working their magic to remove Loki from their memories and from the kingdom's entire history. Soon, no one would ever know of the fallen prince's existence, as it should be.

***
Thor say bolt upright in his bed and cried out in terror, breaking into a cold sweat. His dream was still fresh in his mind, burned into it like a brand.

Hearing his screams, Loki was up in an instant, taking off down the halls and rushing to Thor's room, barging in without permission.

"Thor?!"

The blonde shook violently, not knowing quite what to think, yet overly relieved that his brother was still alive.

"L....Loki...."

Loki rushed to his side and took his brother's hand when he reached out for him.

"Thor....are you alright? I heard you from down the hall and-"

"Just promise me that you're okay."

Loki cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What?"

Thor stared at him intently.

"I had a dream that you were executed....."

To his disbelief, the trickster smiled devilishly, and Thor began to notice cuts and bruises appearing on his face out of thin air.

"Why, that wasn't a dream at all, my dear brother! Welcome to cold, hard reality. In a perfect world, I never would have chosen execution over imprisonment. In a perfect world, we would fight side by side forever. But that's the thing, Thor. There is no version of reality where we both come out alive with our brotherly bond intact. I was always destined to betray you, and you are destined to fall for my lies and tricks over and over again, in a constant and cruel circle. Because this is the reality we live in. Hell is a paradise compared to the torture you will receive in the near future."

Thor shook his head, refusing to believe what his brother had said. Once the god of mischief had finished speaking, blood started trickling down his neck, an indentation in his skin growing deeper and deeper until his head had fallen completely off. It landed in Thor's hands and the thunderer backed up against the headboard, repulsed, afraid, and horrified. The last expression plastered on Loki's face was one of betrayal.

The words that Loki had spoken lingered in his mind as he stared at the lifeless and bloody head in front of him. He must have stared for hours, when suddenly, the head's soulless eyes flickered open.

"Trust my rage." The head whispered, before returning to its previous state.
***
It wasn't until the next morning that Thor realized it had all been a dream. He didn't eat breakfast, and refused to talk to Loki, who was beginning to grow upset. Both Brunnhilde and Thor has been ignoring him. Defeated, he stalked off to his room and stayed there the rest of the day, reading and wondering what he could have possibly done wrong.

It would be a very long time before Thor discovered that he had been drugged in his sleep by a H.O.P.E. agent, and that a very dark future awaited him.