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Asgard
The day had been hectic.
Thor often dreaded the days in which his and Loki's agreement made him run the kingdom. In between meetings, councils, and the seemingly endless hours of paperwork that involved running Asgard, Thor would laugh at his younger self for genuinely believing that being a king would be something easy, pleasant even. Not that he did not want to do the work or help his people, but the last months had truly taught Thor how much he did not pay attention to the hours upon hours of class he had been given as a child.
Of course, that hasn't always been the case. Now that Odin is dead he remembers everything his father had not allowed him to remember about Hela while living. She would often indulge them, when asked nicely enough, about tagging along for lessons or teaching them her favourite things. He remembers clearly now; the lessons about pleasantries, about how to treat the people he was meeting with, even (if he is lucky enough) the lessons she gave them about basic economics and how the Kingdom's laws worked. Those memories, regardless of being more than a thousand years old, often help him more than what he remembers about his lessons after Hela's banishment.
The day had been hectic, and it was still not finished.
Fortunately for Thor, his last meeting, the one that he was currently heading too, was with Heimdall. The gatekeeper, regardless of being strict and stern, had been his advisor for the last arduous months. Teaching him what he had learned from Odin, correcting him when no one was looking, reminding him that he had people willing to help, the only thing Thor needed to do was ask.
He reached the Bifrost, having had a long enough walk across the bridge to calm down his nerves. The dome, as always, managed to take away Thor's breath. The intricate golden designs, the endless stretch of space expanding beyond the stainless windows, and the sense of grandeur had made Thor feel small for the past seven years in a way that it hadn't been able to do so in the past. Standing in the middle, eyes fixed on the stars, stood Heimdall.
"You are early," the Gatekeeper commented, "that's always a good habit, one your father didn't have."
Thor didn't acknowledge the comment, "How are you, Heimdall?"
"As usual," he answered, "maybe even better now that your brother has gone over to Vaneheim to smooth over the Suður Accords."
Thor chuckled, "Loki is a good politician."
"He is."
"And a good King."
"Yes," Heimdall agreed again, "it's quite a shame his reign is coming to an end."
"Maybe it shouldn't end," Thor offered. He had been thinking about bringing the proposition forward for a time now. Loki, regardless of all his faults, made for the wonderful King that Thor aspired to be. He was good with everything that Thor lacked practice in and outshined him in everything that Thor was good at. It was easy to forget that out of the two of them Thor had been the Crown Prince, not Loki.
"My Prince, if I may," Heimdall was now looking at him, and Thor extended his hands as if to say go ahead, "Loki turned out to be one of the best Kings Asgard has had in a long time. He took this world from one of its lowest points and raised it up. He did wonderful things for the people of Asgard, this is why they allowed him to rule over them after they found out who was behind the mask.
"Loki is a good politician. He is a good economist. He is a good strategist. He, however, is not as good a leader as you are. Loki can raise a nation from the ashes, he can fix the people's lives, but he will not reign as well when chaos is over. One of the things I have learned throughout the years is that it's harder to be the King of a peaceful kingdom than the ruler of one in chaos."
Thor thought about it for a few seconds. He knew Heimdall was downplaying Loki's abilities for Thor's sake, but he also knew that Asgard couldn't have two Kings for long. They would have to make a decision as to who would keep the throne, turning the other into their second in command. Thor had been worrying about that matter for weeks now, ever since Tyr had asked him when the King's Coronation was going to be. King, being singular.
"Do you think he would take it well?"
Heimdall turned his attention back to the stars, looking out for a few seconds. Thor guessed he was looking at the younger prince in his diplomatic mission. When he spoke again, he didn't turn back to Thor, "Would you give him responsibilities?
"Would you let him do work to help Asgard out? Would you let him go on the kinds of trips he is in right now? Would you let him take care of the rowdy politicians and the tough assemblies?"
"Of course," Thor answered without hesitation, "That is what Loki is good at."
"Then you shouldn't have a problem," Heimdall said, "Loki has never wanted power, only recognition."
There was a pause in the conversation. Thor imagined himself ruling over Asgard, sat on the throne with a golden staff on his right hand and Loki on his left. That image calmed him and set off another wave of anxiety.
"You could go to your sister if you are still worried about not being fit for the crown."
Thor let out a huff of breath, "I have been thinking about it. Hela is a formidable Queen."
"Formidable is quite the understatement," Heimdall said, "Hel was a mess before your sister made it rise from the ashes."
"She would have made a better Queen than Loki and myself combined."
"She would have if the Allfather had given her a chance. The more I learn about the Allfather, the more I wonder if that's the reason he cast her away."
Hel
Thor found Hela lounging in her room, reading a book while the maids around the palace cleaned and shined everything. Hela, like they all did, often allowed herself days off. Thor found that these days off came further apart from the days off of any King or Queen he had ever met. His sister only stayed put when the maids were cleaning the palace before an event, that or when her maid urged her to stop before she ended up passing out in the middle of a meeting.
Even then, she would insist on doing useful things, like going out to town to mingle with the dead or reading books that according to her could help later on. He closed the door when one of the maids snapped at him about making it harder to clean and was left alone with the older woman. That didn't bother him, he just started taking off the uncomfortable parts of his day wear and ended up with nothing but his loose pants and undershirt.
Hela didn't even look up, she only acknowledged him once he was lying on the bed beside her. She closed her book and turned towards him, making a face, "I was wondering how long it would take for one of you to show up. My flowers are close to dying."
Thor groaned, he knew he had forgotten something, "I'll tell Loki to bring some from Vaneheim. I believe he will be getting here tomorrow. We promised we'd be here for Alfablót."
"Has it been a long day?"
"Terribly," He answered, "formalities and meetings are killing me."
Hela huffed and said something along the words tell me about it before breaking into a story about how the living were starting to demand things from the dead now that the doors to Hel were open and it was more of a physical place than a realm out of time. Thor listened carefully, letting himself relax to the sound of his sister's voice and her stories. There was a moment in which Hela even started to run her fingers through his hair like she did when they were little kids.
"What did you do in the end?"
"What any reasonable ruler would have," Hela said, "I told them that the people of Hel would not pay unless they gave them something tangible in return."
"Did they agree?"
Hela nodded, "Of course they did. Now Hel has the most incredible silks to make dresses out off, and they have their money. Can you believe they were going to make my people pay for existing? They are not even alive!"
They both laughed and Thor, not for the first time, wondered what his life would have been if his sister had grown up with him. How many nights would they had stayed like this, laughing and telling stories? He looked at his sister only to find she had been looking at him, her blue eyes had been turning bluer by the day. What had started out the shade of sapphires was now almost as icy blue as his own. He remembered Heimdall's words and thought that apart from being a good Queen his sister would have also made a beautiful one.
"Sister, do you know why our father cast you out?"
Thor by now knew the reaction any mention of his father would bring on either of his siblings. Their noses would scrunch up, their eyes turning glassy and their shoulders tense. Only this time Hela's reaction was different. She let her shoulders drop, and she stopped running small circles on Thor scalp, "For years I didn't. I would always blame it on his hate towards me. But now that I see what he did with Asgard I realise that was not the reason why he cast me out."
"Then why?"
She shrugged, "He wanted his kingdom to move on. Wanted everyone to forget the carnage and war, to replace it with peace and growth. He wanted stability for his people, and he couldn't give it to them with me around."
"Or so he thought."
But Hela didn't back him up, she simply stared at him with a thousand different emotions in her face, "I won't ever stop hating him for taking everything that was mine, but the more I get to know him the more I begin to understand the reason behind the things he did."
"But Hela you were going to make a great Queen," Thor protested, "Father made a mistake."
"Odin had a tough choice to make, and in the end, he put his people over his family." Hela started moving her fingers through Thor's hair again, "For us, he made a mistake. He shaped our lives and doomed us to destinies that were not ours. But maybe for Asgard, it was the right choice, we will never truly know. All I know is that Odin was a good king."
"So you forgive him?"
"No," Hela stated, "Never. Even less with the two of you around to remind me of all he did. But I am beginning to understand him-- and so is Loki."
There was a light knock on the door. Hela raised her head and told the person knocking to come in. Three maids entered then, holding trays of food in their hands. They left the meals on the feet of Hela's bed, and without Thor needing to ask them, they picked up his armour and told him it would be washed and ready by the morning. Soon after they left Hela and Thor were left on the bed eating the delicious meal and talking.
Their laughter filled the room every once in a while, and their silences were due to them eating, not because of a lack of conversation topics. He told her about his day, his struggles, and in the end, she smiled and told him he was on the road to something great while waving a chicken leg around. Only then did Thor had the courage to ask her what he had meant to ask her from the beginning.
"Hela, were you a good Queen when you first started?"
The memory came rushing back to him like memories with his sister often did. They appeared like flashes of colour, light, and emotion-- overwhelming and reassuring at the same time. He saw himself cowering under the blankets after a particularly bad Seidr-induced nightmare, safely tucked under his sister's arm, and hoping she would take away all of his problems.
"Hela, did you get night terrors when you were my age?"
"Everyone who wishes to start using Seidr gets night terrors, Thor."
And to his previously asked question, Hela answered, quite possibly unknowing, "Everyone who wishes to be a King will have a rocky start, Thor."
For a second, emotion took over him, and he felt the tears threaten to fall. He couldn't quite put his finger on what caused it, but when he opened his mouth again he had to clear his throat to keep his voice from breaking, "Will you guide me if I choose to become King? Will you be there for me to teach me and correct me?"
"I was under the impression you knew that was going to happen," Hela didn't sound hurt, or offended; instead she sounded reassuring and kind.
"I just want to be as good as you are."
"Oh Thor," if not for the platters of food between them Hela would have reached over and hugged his brother, "I'll make sure you will turn out better."