My beloved readers! I apologize for taking a few days to get this next chapter posted, but this is the week we take my first-born to college for his first year and it's been a very busy time. Alas, I know I won't be able to post for at least two more days while we are getting him settled, maybe three, so I hope this can tie you over until I return. And return I shall for we are nearly there! Thank you for your patience. I hope it was worth the wait!

The guards outside the throne room waited for the warriors to pass before closing the thunderous golden doors behind them, generating such an ominous echo that it felt as through their very fates were sealed as well.

Thor's breathing grew shallow as he watched his friends enter, his face already heating up with the thought of what was to come. To their credit, his friends were looking everywhere but right at him nor at the torture device that was before them in the middle of the room.

"What is this, Father?" Thor asked quietly. Odin ignored the question.

"I know you are continuing to heal, Fandral," Odin said. "You may take your rest over there." Hogan had been helping his friend to walk and turned to usher the still-hurting man in the direction his king had pointed, placing him gently upon the padded, black velvet chair that awaited him.

"You are to keep your eyes upon the events before you," Odin pointedly told Fandral who had, upon being seated, propped his elbow on the arm of the chair hoping to hide his face from the scene unfolding before him. But there was to be no hiding...at least not in that sense of the word.

"Uh, yes, my King," he responded, lowering both his hands awkwardly into his lap. Thor had never seen his overly confident friend so unsure of himself; it pained him to witness it now.

"Hogan, Volstagg, each of you is to stand on either side of the bench," Odin instructed. The pair looked at each other. "Yes, my King," they replied in unison, then carefully moved to comply.

"Lady Sif, you may remain where you stand," Odin addressed the lady warrior. She nodded her understanding. Did I not say we'd live to regret this, she thought to herself. "Yes, my King."

Thor looked at each of his friends who in turn tried their best to give him nonverbal support, but found it equally difficult to even silently acknowledge what was to befall the prince. Lady Sif, however, held his gaze as she wordlessly shared her belief that he could, as always, survive. He had always done so and he would do so now. Of course, those were usually life-or-death situations where she had been only too happy to fight by his side. He had even been captured and tortured by their enemy before while she and the three had been held in chains and forced to watch as yet another of countless villains had tried to claim Thor's loyal Mjolnir and his life as their prize. He had endured. They had endured. This would be no different. No. They would not be killed by awkwardness and humiliation today. This too they would conquer as a team. But, she confessed to herself, it might be quite some time before they are telling the story of this particular battle at the feasting table. They may even have to wait to tell this tale until after they have found their peace within the gates of Valhalla.

Sif's look of confidence was not lost on Thor. He appreciated her bravery in the face of any uncertain situation. Even now, he could tell she was trying to remind him that they are conquerors and normally he would agree. But this was not exactly a foe to conquer. It was more like a necessary evil to be tolerated — like something called "taxes" that he'd heard the Midgardians moaning about every year.

"I recognize that your group is short one penitent rebel," Odin said, immediately calling Loki back to Thor's mind. He wished he could check on his mischievous brother. "But I assure you he has already felt my displeasure and has been remanded to his chambers," Odin finished. Thor was glad for at least that one favor. And he vowed to likewise do his brother the additional favor of never telling him that part of Thor's punishment was listening to the punishment of his loyal brother. That would surely make things more complicated between them than it could sometimes already be.

"Let us get on with it," Odin said, pulling Thor's thoughts back into the sullen room he now found himself in. "You know your position, my son. And to help you, Hogan and Volstagg will see to it that you remain so."

The warriors looked wide-eyed at each other as their roles became clear. Thor closed his eyes and lowered his head briefly to summon the courage he needed to face down this added indignity. His friends would not only watch, they would hold him down while his father punished him like a child? Odin truly knew how to make him regret his actions. But he didn't bother to protest. He knew to do so would only add to what was to come and he needed this to be done as quickly as possible, for all their sakes.

"Yes, Father," Thor finally replied, inhaling his determination and straightening with resolve as he exhaled. He stepped slowly toward the bench, keeping his eyes on the device and his sorrowful friends in his periphery.

"And with this you shall have no less than your brother," Odin called from behind him. "You shall bear the consequences of your rebelliousness directly upon your flesh."

Thor groaned quietly. Of course Odin would be sure to maximize his lesson. Why would Thor expect any less? The All-father would want to be sure to drive that lesson home because he was heir apparent, after all, and Odin wanted to ensure his successor understood the gravity of disobedient subjects who took matters into their own hands.

Stopping before the bench - with its rounded top that would make its bearer as comfortable as one could be on such a thing and tall, stout legs, keeping Thor from having to bend too far but tall enough so that even he could be lifted off the floor if positioned properly - Thor looked back at his father, pointlessly hoping that maybe there would be a reprieve, or, at the very least, a change of heart regarding having to shame himself by lowering his trousers before the room. Odin waited expectantly. Thor turned back to the task at hand, deciding to make quick work of it and casting himself across the bench before the realization of what he was doing truly sunk in.

He was not entirely unacquainted with this bench, mind you, but in the past it had only been his father who'd witnessed Thor's debasement as he had lain across it to endure the punishment warranted at that time. Having an audience was a new twist.

Hogan and Volstagg stepped closer to the bench once Thor was in place, each grasping a wrist with one hand and holding on to Thor's bicep with the other. They didn't expect him to try to escape. There was no need to be forceable about the restraint. Instead, it was their opportunity to show allegiance to their friend in the only form of support Odin would allow at the moment.

"Odinson," the All-father boomed. "You are here because you dared to break my commandment. You knew that the presence of any Asgardian upon the planet of Jotunheim was strictly forbidden and yet you took it upon yourself to go there anyway."

With the minutest shake of his head, Thor disagreed yet again but wisely remained silent.

"Do you understand the ramifications of your actions?"

"I do," Thor replied.

"Do you have anything you wish to say before your punishment commences?"

"Only that I contend that I acted for the good of Asgard. But I know it was in violation of your law."

Odin waited a beat and sighed. Not quite there yet. Maybe this would help.

"Very well," Odin said. "And what I do in return is for the good of my son, the future king of Asgard." He wasted no time laying the first stripe upon Thor's exposed flesh, using the same cropped, brown leather strap with multiple tassels that he had used on Loki. The effect was the same as well.

Thor stiffened when he felt the first blow. It had been quite some time since his father had felt the need to use this strap on him. He thought the last time might have been after one of the way too many times he had helped Loki to play one of way too many tricks on the council to alleviate their boredom in between glorious battles. Their misdeeds weren't always discovered, but when they were, Odin was typically the one to follow through on the punishment for said deeds. That blasted strap was one of the methods he'd use and Thor had forgotten the severity of its sting. But it all came flooding back to him why obedience was better than stubbornness.

Odin had graciously given Thor a moment to absorb that first blow, knowing he had not had to discipline his son in this manner in many a revolution of the Asgardian sun. But the moment had passed and he delivered the second blow with as much efficiency. Thor grimaced in pain, but uttered not a sound. The sons of Odin each seemed determined to prove their ability to withstand pain. Odin would show them both who had the greater ability to endure.

Another strike upon his flesh quickly followed by three more placed randomly across his reddening backside forced Thor to shut his eyes as if concentration could strengthen his will to stay mute. But the next stripe came just as quickly, with Thor's arms flexing in response as his hands curled into fists to stifle his desire to cry out. Hogan noticed the fist and maneuvered his hand into Thor's, willing him to grip his for much-needed support. Volstagg was always a sensitive soul and turned his head away upon hearing the grunts his friend was trying to contain.

As with Loki, Odin would not lecture. They had had their fight. They had taken their stances. Thor had even maintained that view when Odin gave him one last opportunity to admit his fault. There was no need to say anything more just yet. And like Loki, he would not give Thor the luxury of knowing how many stripes he would receive. It would be at Odin's discretion and energy level.

There was another whip of the leather and another and another until Odin was now finding a steady, non-stop rhythm. Lady Sif hugged herself as if she was feeling the welts growing upon her own body. She lowered her head in sympathy. "Cast not thine eyes upon the floor, Lady Sif." Odin had stopped a brief moment to reprimand her. "This is for thine good as well." She lifted her head, determination painting her face anew, her lips pressed together to force her tongue to stay silent. It was the single tear that had slipped down her cheek that betrayed her own feelings of regret ensuring that Odin's intention to teach them all by employing corporal punishment on his son was indeed working.

Thor had begun to huff, grateful for even the briefest moment of relief when Odin was speaking to Sif. He knew he needed to release his sorrow if he had any hope of bringing this infernal spanking to an end, but the warrior in him was not yet ready to concede.

Odin returned to his task. The tassels of the strap hotly licked and seared Thor's thighs, prompting the warrior prince to try to shrink from the pain. Volstagg gripped Thor's arm tighter in support. Fandral pressed back into his seat wishing to disappear as he heard the first of Thor's more audible cries.

With Thor's resolve finally starting to break, Odin laid into him even more. Renewed energy shot through his body as he hefted his arm for another round of relentless slaps and stings of the individual sinewy straps. The leather landed across Thor's hot skin, first on one cheek, then the other, then across them both before Odin would work his way down to Thor's thighs and back up again. He refused to be predictable. The pace was random; the placement of the strap was random; the force would vary from the lightest, quickest snaps to the most contact Odin could get by stepping closer to his now visibly shaking son.

The tears had begun before the yelps of pain, and Thor had finally decided that it no longer mattered who was in the room. He gripped Hogan's hand in gratitude, the grunts turning to outright yelps as Odin kept up his pace. Sif could take no more and turned her back, her shoulders heaving in her own misery. Odin allowed it.

"It is my hope that the pain of my lesson is finding its way to your heart, Thor," Odin said as the straps rained down on Thor's naked behind yet again. "It is important to me that you understand the mistakes that have been made and it is my will to deter you from making such errors again."

"Yes! Yes, Father!" Thor cried out. "I do! I do understand," he breathed as Odin took the moment to still his hand.

He looked skeptically at Thor's back as the prince laid miserably over the bench, catching his breath from the force of the cries that were being snatched from him by the sheer strength of the strap. "You were so certain before of the morality of your calling, Thor. Why should I think you have learned the error of your ways so soon?"

"I...I...I recognize that you have seen more than I have, my father," Thor began, aggravated by the blasted sniffling that he could not seem to curtail due to the position he was in. But he knew that was the point as well. "I may have been rash when I decided to seek vengeance," Thor admitted.

"May have?" Odin replied, releasing yet another torrent of the hellfire that followed the lash of the painful leather. Thor cried out with each strike, regret growing within him as he decided that defying his father had not been worth the pain he was now enduring and causing his friends to endure as well. He shook as he lifted his head to look upon Fandral who now could only bury his face in his hands. Odin slammed the whip upon Thor's deeply red rear again and Thor grunted in response as he looked over to Sif whose back greeted him in dismay. He could take no more. He could inflict no more on his friends.

"Father," Thor cried out. "Father, please no more." Odin paused a moment before lowering his raised hand and stepping back.

"I am listening, my son."

"I am...truly sorry," Thor confessed. "I am sorry I disregarded your mandate. I am sorry I endangered my friends and my brother. I am sorry I did not listen to you and I caused you to have to take these measures in order that I may hear you."

"These are wise words, my son. So now you have learned what I needed to teach?"

Thor sighed. "I cannot bear to see my friends in pain," he whispered. "I know you mean for me to see they are just a representation of the people you intend for me to rule one day. I have taken it to heart. I assure you, Father."

Odin sighed deeply. There would be only one way to be certain what his son was saying was true and that was to give him the time to prove it. "Very well," he said. "But first, five more for good measure." He stepped behind a nearby column, leaving behind the tortuous leather strap.

"Father! Please! No!" Thor pleaded, for he knew "good measure" meant that the remaining five would come not by strap but by paddle, and a sizeable one at that. He was certain Loki had not tasted Odin's paddle this time. Odin usually reserved that for whichever of his two children he deemed the ringleader of whatever debacle had resulted in Odin's physical chastisement. Thor wasn't sure how he missed that vile implement in the room.

Odin resumed his position behind Thor. Hogan and Volstagg gasped in surprise as he lifted the long wooden apparatus. They hadn't seen it either.

For Odin, there was no more time to waste. It was time to finish this punishment and get on with their lives. With each well-placed and carefully timed smack, Thor allowed himself to cry out. No need to pretend. Everyone knew that paddle could pack a wallop that could bring Surtur to his fiery knees.

Thor gave in to his tears as the last of the five smacks hit home. Odin dropped his arm, turned and walked the wide stairway up to his throne. He sat upon his royal seat to rest, bringing the paddle also to rest across his lap.

"Help him up," he ordered the warriors. They eagerly did so. Lady Sif only turned her head slightly over her shoulder to be sure it was really over. "Fandral," Volstagg loudly whispered. "I think you may have the best seat in the house right now and Thor really needs it."

"No, no," Thor protested, with more of the damned sniffling. "Stay. Please stay, my brother." Thor released Volstagg's arm, choosing to allow Hogan to continue helping to bear his weight while he reached down to grasp his trousers and pull them up before Sif turned fully around again.

"It's OK," he said with a hiss as the material made painful contact with his skin. "It's OK, Fandral. You need it more than I. I will be ok." Thor gave Hogan a small, grateful pump of his still-grasped hand before letting go to stand fully on his own. "It's OK," he assured his friend again before Hogan was willing to step back.

Thor grimaced again as he turned to face his father. "Thank you for your discipline and your mercy, Father," he said humbly. Odin nodded in reply.

"Guards!" Odin called. The great, golden doors slowly creaked open in reply. "Take him," he pointed to Fandral, "back to the healing room. Take them," he pointed to the other warriors, "back to their chambers. You will remain there tonight. We shall see what the morning brings."

The four warriors lightly pounded a closed fist to their hearts, the three who were standing taking a slight bow, before they were escorted out. The doors closed with a silent thud.

"Your chambers also await you, my son," Odin said. "Until I decide otherwise."

"Of course, Father," Thor replied with a slight bow of his own before carefully turning to make his way back to his own sanctuary, which right now he sorely missed. Thor exhaled in relief that he had found his way to the other side of this discipline session. It was worse than he had remembered. It was surely longer than it had been before, but his father, in past times, had been seeking a quick lesson to some very childish exploits on the parts of him and his brother. They hurt, but something about this one was different. Thor guessed it was because of Odin's determination to shape him into a king. The consequences were therefore greater, the need for discipline even more dire than before.

Thor grasped the waist of his trousers as he entered the hallway back toward his chambers. The material was indeed very painful against what felt like raw flesh. He'd have to go without anything tonight when he slept, he was sure of that.

Rounding the corner, he saw the guards in their places on either side of Loki's door and he wondered if he should stop to check on his suffering sibling. Being slighter than Thor, that strap would surely have brought him to a place of humility in no time.

He paused a moment in front of the doors when suddenly Loki threw them open, slamming into the unexpected brother-shaped statue with a grunt.

"Loki?" Thor said in confusion, his pain dispelled the moment he noticed his brother's angry face. "What is wrong?"

"Where is Odin?" Loki demanded, his green eyes dancing wildly as he searched the otherwise empty hallway.

"Father? He's in the throne room. Loki? Loki? What is the matter, brother?"

"Brother," Loki scoffed, brushing past Thor as Frigga emerged from Loki's room with a deep sigh.

"Mother, what is going on? What is wrong with Loki?"

Frigga's pained face cast out all of Thor's worry about what he had just experienced. That was now a millenia ago. "Please. Tell me, Mother. What has happened?"

"The truth, my son," she answered sadly. "It has brought devastation to your brother's heart."