The skirmish in a small village outside of the city had not gone as planned at all. The thieves were being aided by a sorcerer. Sif, Fandral, Hogan, and Volstagg have all sustained mortal injuries. Thor managed to dispatch the remaining thieves as Loki squared off with a man he'd never seen before. Loki was unhappy to find that the man actually possessed some measure of talent. Thor turns to rush the sorcerer, flinging Mjolnir at his head.

"NO YOU FOOL!" Loki shouts at Thor, but it is too late. The sorcerer hurls a red magical ball of death at Thor. Loki conjures a shield and flings it in his brother's direction, only managing to partially protect him. Thor takes an indirect hit and crumples to the ground. Fear and fury ignites inside Loki's heart and the darkest most horrific spell Loki can think of springs from his fingers. The sorcerer screams as blisters break out on his skin, his eyes start to hemorrhage blood, and his whole body swells slightly before popping like a giant blood balloon. He'd boiled alive from the inside out. Loki collapses to the ground from exhaustion. The last thing he sees before passing out is the sight of Asgardian soldiers on horseback coming to their aid.

"…..Loki…Loki my sweet boy. Open your eyes my son." Frigga says with her eyes full of tears. Out of all of them he was the only one to come out of the conflict unscathed. Sif almost died, twice. Fandral, Hogan, and Volstagg all lost a lot of blood and will need several days of bed rest. Thor is still in some sort of magic induced coma. The healers fear for him the most as they are not sure when or if he will come around.

"Thor…." Loki mutters. Everything hurts. Even his hair hurts. There is a reason the spell he used is considered a last resort. The cost on his body was great.

"What happened to your brother Loki? Anything you can tell the healers would be of great help."

"He tried to kill Thor with a cursing spell. I deflected most of it." Loki says realizing she would only ask this if Thor is still alive.

"A cursing spell? What kind of cursing spell?" Frigga asks.

"The kind that kills both the target and their immediate blood relatives. You, Father, and I almost all died along with him."

"Bless you my son. You have saved the family and the kingdom. Thor sleeps. The healers are trying to revive him. You need sleep and rest. When you are well enough, if Thor still slumbers, I want you to try to revive him." Frigga says. Loki nods and closes his eyes again. It does not take long for sleep to take him.

XxXxXxXxXx

The coronation is on hold. Thor was to be crowned next week but now, it is uncertain if that will happen at all. The official proclamation that Thor would be the heir had weighed heavy on Loki, making him bitter and full of resentment. These last few years he and Thor had grown further apart as their competition for the throne drove a wedge between them. Loki thought that he hated Thor. He'd even gone so far as to come up with a plan to ruin his coronation. But for a bright shining terrifying moment Loki felt something besides contempt in his heart for his stupid big brother, and all his bitterness is now gone.

It has been three days and Loki and the healers are no closer to reviving Thor. Loki had pulled out an old tome on magical accidents and other maladies but could not find one matching Thor's predicament. It is late at night. The healers have all gone and the palace is quiet. Even Frigga has given up her vigil for the day and gone to bed. Loki is alone with his brother's motionless body.

"Stupid oaf." Loki says to the darkness. Loki would give anything to hear the idiot's bright and cheerful voice in this moment. He is met only with silence. Loki gets into the bed and curls up next Thor's body and cries himself to sleep.

"Loki! Loki wake up!" Frigga says urgently shaking her son's arm.

"Mmmph, What?"

"It's Thor. His eyes are open." She says. Loki jumps up to look at him. Indeed his eyes are open.

"Is he responsive?"

"Not yet. He hasn't spoken. He barely blinks." She says. Loki studies his brother's face. Thor eyes look blank and distant. He is clearly unaware of his surroundings. A feeling of terrible dread curls in Loki's gut. What if Thor stays like this? Odin comes to look upon his son and it is clear to Loki that his father shares the same concern.

A week goes by with no change. Odin weeps for his beloved boy as he makes a decision he never thought he'd have to. He is going to name Loki his heir. Thor is no longer fit and looks to never recover. Odin's own heart is heavy with grief. It would have been better if Thor had died, but this lingering non-life, it is worse somehow. Living in a state of perpetual hope that something will change is draining on the soul. Odin can feel the Odinsleep coming to claim him soon. Death is not far away and he has delayed the inevitable long enough. He should have passed the throne to Thor years ago. If he had his son might still be alive and whole, not this vegetative lump laying unblinking in the healing wing.

Odin summons Loki for an official audience. When the guards come to the healing hall Loki has to school his features to keep from crying openly. He knows what is coming. He wanted to become king, but not like this. The bitterness returns, but it comes from a very different source. Loki would gladly give up the throne and live the rest of his life in Thor's shadow just to have his big stupid brother back. Not that he would ever admit this, however.

The announcement is made before the court and the people weep openly. They know renaming Loki as the heir means there is no hope for Thor. Another week goes by with no change. The preparations for Thor's coronation are augmented slightly. Thor's colors are removed and replaced by Loki's green. Frigga, Loki, and Odin all visit Thor daily. Frigga has taken to having her sewing circles and tea times in the healing wing by Thor's bed. He continues to stare into space, saying nothing and acknowledging no one. Her heart breaks anew every morning at the sight of him.

The day of Loki's coronation comes. The celebration is subdued and has the atmosphere of a funeral. The people cheer politely for Loki, but he knows he is not the king that they desire. Odin declares Loki King and crowns him. After the ceremony, Odin takes up vigil next to Thor. He has the time now. He can linger here as long as he wants.

Loki dives into his new duties as king. The schedule is grueling and the endless meetings with his new advisors and nobles clamoring to suck up to the new monarch tax his time and patience. At the end of the day, when it is late, Loki finds his way to the healing hall to curl up next to his brother if only for a few minutes.

A couple months pass and Odin falls into the Odinsleep. Three days in, Odin's breath gives out. Frigga's wales of grief are heard throughout the kingdom. These are dark times for Asgard. The funeral is held and Odin's boat is set aflame before turning into stardust and floating up into the heavens. Thor is unchanged.

Loki knows that he needs to marry soon. He needs an heir. If anything were to happen to him the throne would fall to some distant cousin from Vanaheim that knows nothing of Asgards ways. It would plunge the kingdom into chaos. But Loki's heart is heavy, and he is not in any shape to woo a woman. He drags his feet. He has suffered too much to hurry such a thing as love. Perhaps when his mother is a little more recovered she can choose a wife for him. He's never been very sentimental and so long as she fulfills her purpose he cares little if he likes her or not.

Sif and the Warriors Three visit Thor regularly. They each die a little inside every time they see their friend and his blank expression. They are losing hope. It has been six months since the incident. Loki still finds his way to the healing hall every night to curl up next to his brother. If he should fall asleep and spend the entire night there, the healers say nothing when he wakes the following morning.

After a particularly taxing day with his council Loki comes to the healing hall antagonized and needing an outlet. He misses exchanging verbal barbs with his brother. He misses insulting his intelligence and seeing his warm smile. He misses the sound of his voice.

"SAY SOMETHING!" Loki yells. He slaps Thor hard in the face but gets no reaction from him. He might as well have slapped a brick wall. Loki lets out a feral cry of frustration and agony. He can't take it anymore. He can't take seeing his brother like this…this….shell. It is not life, it is not living. Loki picks up a pillow from off the bed. His stomach turns sick with the thought of what he must do. He pushes Thor all the way back on the mattress and hover over him.

"Say something please. Please say something brother. Please." Tears are flowing freely from Loki's eyes. Again Thor does nothing. Loki pushes the pillow over Thor's face and presses down to smother him. The seconds tick by when suddenly Loki feels his body flying across the room. The protective shield spell Loki had hurled at him all those months ago was still in effect. It protected Thor from Loki's smothering attempt. When Loki gets back up on his feet he sees Thor sitting up and looking around.

"I'm thirsty." Thor says.