"Thor..." she murmured softly, her eyes dark with the expression that flickered across his face, the way the clouds darkened overhead. Giving into the impulsive urge, she rose on tiptoes, throwing her arms about his wide shoulders, hugging him tightly.

"No. No, it's not right at all," she agreed with him, burying her face against his shoulder. "It is cruel and unfair and it should not be. But it is what it is. He did this for you. He thinks... He is protecting you. He believes that this is his purpose. You will be king, Thor. The people love you, they always have. They are your people. They have never been fond of Loki the way they have of you, for reasons I have never understood. Nor him, I suspect, but that does not change them. In this, he has a purpose, he has aided you as you asked him to. I can see his meaning, though I like it not. Bringing it to light now... everything he endured for it would be meaningless."