A Fate Unkind
"Am I cursed?"
Vali arched his brows in the face of his brother's ridiculous question, all the while his thumbs ran reassuring circles over Nari's faintly blue hands.
"No, what nonsense is that? You're just cold."
"M'not..." Nari sniffed. It was a warm spring night, and what cooling breezes it brought were held off in the great hall by the fires and many bodies, heated by drink and merriment. It was impossible to be cold. Yet Nari had dashed among the legs of drunken adults to latch onto Vali, whimpering and strangely blue-ish. Vali left the hall as quickly as possible, his baby brother in his arms, and returned to their wing of the palace.
It was late and most of the servants were enjoying the feast, so there were no stares or questions asked as Vali carried his brother into their private sitting room and started a fire with a flick of his hand. He sat Nari on the couch opposite the fireplace and looked him over carefully. In the dim light, he could barely make out the strange discoloration and began to wonder if he ever saw it.
Vali ran his fingers slowly down Nari's arm, searching for any signs of enchantment or wayward magic. He found none (his father was so much better at this, but he was gone) and watched in fascination as the skin returned to its original color in the wake of his touch. Weird.
He smiled and pat his brother on the head in reassurance. "Perhaps you have a bit of the shape changing about you, like Father. What a thought!"
Nari looked neither relieved or happy at that thought and sat staring at his hands dejectedly. "I don't want to be like Father..." he muttered, head dropping, "he was bad. Magic makes you bad..."
Vali sat back on his haunches in shock. His own brother... But Nari was young, and easily influenced by the words of others. He had to fix this.
"Our father wasn't evil, Nari. I have magic, am I bad?"
Nari shook his head, barely looking at his elder brother. "No."
"You see? Magic doesn't..."
"But you will be."
With four softly spoken words, Nari stabbed Vali through the chest. Vali jumped back from him, nearly landing in the fire. A part of him wished he had.
"I don't need to hear that, not from you!" Vali snarled, his voice strangled with a thickening throat. "And how dare you listen to what those fools say about our father! How dare you..."
Loki wasn't evil, he wasn't! And neither was Vali, his son. His son who was far too old to be bursting into tears on the floor of their home, but he did it anyway.
Little arms wrapped around his neck and hugged tight. Nari sniffled in his ear, soaking Vali's shoulder.
"I don't want you to be bad. Then you'll go away."
He'd never been able to stay mad at his brother. The situation was so ridiculous that Vali couldn't help but snicker a little. "Then I won't be. I'll stay with you and keep you safe forever. Even when you're grown and trying to bed women, there I'll be and you'll think me the worst big brother ever."
Nari giggled. "Promise?"
"I promise."