Discovery
Kysa smiled as she completed packing all her things for school into her large trunk. There were still a couple of weeks until school began, but she thought it would be best to keep everything in one place if she wasn’t using it. It would make it easier to pack, without one big rush. Instead of needing to gather everything, she would just need to add her other clothes and non-school books to the trunk. It had been two days since the trip to Diagon Alley, and apparently tomorrow afternoon, they would be joined by her Aunt Jane and her two cousins, Aaric and Amdis. Aaric was one and a half years younger than her, but he didn’t look nine and a half. He took after his father, so he was the tallest of the children his age on Asgard already; he had his father’s blonde hair and his mothers’ brown eyes. He looked to be her age, actually, and it was a common mistake to people on Midgard, who often mistook him as the older of the two. Especially when Amdis was with them. Amdis was almost the carbon copy of a younger Jane, except with her father’s blonde hair and blue eyes. She was six years old, and always wanted to be with her older brother and cousin. Not that they minded most of the time, they were both fiercely protective of her.
Kysa was looking forward to seeing them both again. They hadn’t been separated long, they never were, but she really had missed their company. Being away at school for months at a time was going to prove difficult for them all. That was for sure.
The door to the room opened and she looked up from where she was sat, cross legged on the floor in-front of her trunk to see her dad.
“Hey dad, what is it?” She asked him.
He closed the door and sat down on the bed. “Come sit by me, Kysa.” He sighed. Something was really bothering him. So, she did what he asked and sat beside him on the bed. “You know I love you dearly.”
“Of course I do dad.”
“Then promise me that you will keep that in mind through what I have to say.”
She frowned in confusion, but nodded. “I promise dad.”
“I told you that your mother was Sigyn, and that was the truth. What I did not tell you was that while she and I were still betrothed, she broke off the engagement in favour of becoming mortal. She became a mortal child and grew up again on Midgard, as Lily Evans and then learnt the magic of mortal witches and wizards.”
“But then, how am I-”
“I am getting to that part. She married a man named James Potter and had two children. Twins, a boy and a girl.”
What he was working up to saying was clear in her mind, and she shook her head. “No. No.” She said, looking at the wall. “It can’t be. I’m your daughter.” She had to be! She wasn't mortal for one. She had to be his daughter. How else was she Æsir?
Loki knelt in front of her. “Yes you are. This changes nothing. I promise you that. Because when Sigyn gave you up, and I took you in, I did not just give you my name, and rename you, I blood adopted you. Why do you think I stopped you reading any further on the subject when you found that book in the library?” He pulled up his sleeve and then her own, to show the small scars on the side of both their wrists. One in the shape of the rune ‘Hagalz’, or disruption, another in the shape of the rune ‘Gebo’ or partnership and a final scar, in the shape of the rune ‘Perth’, initiation. “The next page described the cuts needed to be made on both the adoptive parent and the child before the blood that stems from the wounds is allowed to mix while the right incantations are intoned, leaving behind scars. ‘Hagalz’, to disrupt the original bloodline in order for the new parent or parents to take that position, ‘Gebo’ to form the connection, and ‘Perth’ to fully initiate the child into the bloodline. And then, there is the slight addition to the ritual.” He moved her wrist so the back of her hand was facing upwards, as was his, revealing the rune ‘Eithwaz’, defence. “This was something I thought over before I began the ritual. To strengthen it. To protect it. No one can break it now. The story of that one adoption being broken, and the child taken back was true, and I would not take that chance.” Loki placed a hand on his daughter’s cheek. “You are my daughter, in every way that matters. So I altered the ritual, just slightly. But the change was big enough. Even if they broke any or all of these four runes, the adoption is permanently sealed in your blood. And it only strengthened with time. When you were younger, I could see features in you that were not of me or Sigyn. But you have grown out of them. There is not a trace of James Potter in you. And I even saw him and his son two days ago in the Alley to be able to compare you with them.”
“When?” She asked quickly.
“When we went in to buy your uniform, he and Hadrian were there, paying. They were not there long. Why do you think I tried so hard to convince you to go to Salem?”
“So I wouldn’t find out?” Her tone was bitter.
“No, I would have told you soon anyway. The original forms that Sigyn tried to get me to sign, for adoption, had the adoption ending when you were eleven. I may have changed it to a permanent adoption without her realising, with the help of magic of course.”
“Why did they give me up?”
He sighed. “I really wish you did not have to know this, but I know what it is like, to learn your life is not what you thought… they wanted to concentrate on training and protecting Hadrian.”
“They abandoned me in favour of him?” Her voice broke and tears welled up in her eyes. “WHY?!”
“I do not understand it myself either.”
“They thought that they could just give me up, and then take me back when they only had to look after me during the holidays?”
“I tried to convince you to not go to Hogwarts because I knew they would try something. They would try to take you away from me. Even in the robe shop, I heard James Potter telling his son that you would be with them at Christmas.”
She shook her head. “He thinks he can just become my father again? Well he’s not. And he’s never going to be," her voice then softened from venomous, "he didn’t raise me.” She moved forwards and rested her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapping round his neck.
Loki picked her up, and sat back on the bed. “You will always be my daughter, no matter what happens. Remember that,” he sighed. “Do you still wish to go to Hogwarts?”
“I’m not going to let them get in the way of my learning. And I hear the library there is huge.”
Loki chuckled. “You most certainly are my daughter.” He said. “There is no doubting that attitude to books.”
They were silent for a while before; “Do you really think they’ll try something?”
“I do not doubt it.” He replied.
“They won’t succeed, will they?” There was a slight tremble in her voice.
“No. They will not. If anything happens, I will find out, and I will set it straight in any way that I can. I promised you years ago that I would protect you, and I always will. Even from the Potters.” Loki said. “And I will not be the only one coming to your aid if anything happens. You know that.”
“You’re sure that there’s no way they can purge the adoption- like in that story?”
“Positive. The final rune bound the ritual. I know it has never been done before, but I know I got this right.”
They said nothing for a while, and soon Loki realised that Kysa was asleep. He stood carefully, Kysa cradled in his arms and with magic he pulled back the bed covers. He placed her in the bed and tucked her in. There were tear tracks running down her cheeks, so he brushed them away. Loki bent down and kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, little one. Everything will be fine.”
He left the room and closed the door carefully behind him. Thor was the only one there, the others having gone out.
“You told her?” Thor asked.
“What gave it away?”
“The angry shout.” he answered.
“She deserved to know.”
“Is she still going to Hogwarts?”
“Yes.”
“Why, brother? You could easily have talked her into going to Salem, or another of the schools on Midgard.”
“I know. I do not want her near them, I know they will try something, but at the same time, I want them to see what they lost. I want them to see everything they missed out on and to hurt for even thinking of abandoning her by seeing how happy she is as my daughter.” His voice was cold and anger flashed in his eyes. “How they could even think of it… I never understood why. Even though I won from that deal, I want to know why. Finding out the truth hurt her. And I will make them pay for that.”
Thor sighed heavily. “I understand brother. She is a wonderful child. You raised her well. I too am both glad Sigyn and her husband gave Kysa up and angry at them. But might it not be wiser to keep her out of their reach?”
“Why? It is not as if they would be successful.”
“Kysa has a grandmother and an aunt, yes, but she is getting to the age where she will need a mother. If Sigyn-”
“I hardly doubt she will look at Sigyn like that. She abandoned her. I told Kysa the full truth.”
“Loki, you have done well raising her on your own this far, but she will soon be a teenager. And she will be within Sigyn’s reach at Hogwarts. Sigyn may have abandoned her, but she is still her mother. Who else will she have to turn to as she goes through teenage life?”
“There will be teachers there and older girls. And she can always write a letter to mother, or Jane, or even Natasha or Pepper.” Loki said. “What is all this talk of her needing a mother now Thor? You have not brought the subject up since I first adopted her.”
“I am just worried about her. And about you, Loki.”
“Me? Why would you-”
“You have not had a serious relationship since Sigyn. If you ask me, the trouble really started when she left. That hurt you more than you let on, and the trouble you caused only really ended when you adopted Kysa. Perhaps it is time you start looking for someone else. Someone who you can love and be loved by in return. Someone who can, at the same time, step into the role of mother for Kysa.”
Loki shook his head. “I don’t know where you are getting these ideas from Thor. I do not need to look for a wife! And Kysa has plenty of female influences to look up too.”
“Look up too. She has role models, not a mother.” Thor said. “And I know I am not the only one to worry about this.”
“Did Mother put you up to this?”
“She is worried about you. And so is father. They worry about both of you.” Thor admitted.
“Just stop, Thor. If I find a woman I could marry, then I will marry her, but if I do not, then that is the end of the matter.”
Thor sighed and nodded and left the conversation at that.
Kysa launched herself at Aaric and Amdis as they both came through the door, and gave them both tight hugs.
“We missed you cousin!” Aaric laughed.
“I missed you too!” She replied, and laughed when Amdis didn’t release her and held tight to her around her waist.
Jane smiled at them, and moved past them and into the room where she kissed her husband in greeting, before saying hello to the others.
“What did you get in the mortal wizarding shopping area Kysa?” Amdis asked her, her blue eyes shining with curiosity.
“It’s all in my room. Come on, I’ll show you what I’ve got.”
“Did you get this wand you required to cast your spells?” Aaric asked as they headed for Kysa’s room.
She nodded. “Yes. It has got the core of a Kitsune tail hair coated in the blood of Fenrir, encased in Elder Wood.”
They closed the bedroom door behind them and left the adults to it while they caught up.
“It’s been so boring without you here for the most part!”
“So this Alley was fun?” Amdis asked. “Did you meet anyone who you will be going to school with?”
“Two. I met a boy named Draco Malfoy and a girl named Hermione Granger, and both will be in the same year as me, though I am not sure whether I will get on with the young Malfoy. He seemed to be weary around me until his mother assured him that I was not one of the ‘muggleborns’. I believe he is one of those who believe that if you’re lineage is not magical then you should not be allowed to learn magic. That is not someone I would wish to associate with. But, I guess time will tell. He may yet change.”
“And this Hermione Granger?”
“She seemed nice enough and she seemed to share my want to learn.”
“Another bookworm.” Aaric rolled his eyes. Kysa slapped him over the back of his head, before opening her trunk.