Thor, clad in golden armor and a red cape, stormed down the corridor with his spear in hand. The attendants and chamberlains beside him lowered their heads and bent at the waist, not daring to look at their king's angry face.
When he reached a room, Thor took a deep breath, composed his expression, and gently pushed open the door.
But what he saw inside made him freeze.
Frigga was as gentle, beautiful, and radiant as ever. Yet strangely, she was holding a crocodile in her arms. Stranger still, the crocodile wore a white tutu around its waist and a freshly woven flower crown on its head.
Thor even saw a glimmer of tears in the crocodile's eyes.
Frigga smiled and asked, "What is it, Thor? Why have you come at this hour? Didn't you go play in the training grounds?"
Thor coughed twice and pressed his lips together, seeming unsure how to begin. Frigga stroked the crocodile's head, pointed to the sofa beside her, and said, "Sit down. What's troubling you this time? Don't tell me you fought with Sif again?"
"Not that." Thor shook his head. "Sif has been busy chasing down that Loki in a suit and beating him all the way from Asgard to Jotunheim. And Viking Loki has occupied the training grounds. They're holding some traditional Viking barrel-fighting contest, so I haven't had time to go."
Just as he said that, young Loki emerged from a nearby door carrying a stack of parchment. He handed it to Frigga, then said dejectedly, "My punishment copying."
Frigga accepted the parchment and said gently, "Don't let me catch you copying your homework again..."
That gentle tone made young Loki shudder. Even Thor leaned back slightly.
He still remembered how, when they were little, he and Loki had studied