Chapter 1
There were so many questions he wanted to ask. So many things he had to say. But his mouth wouldn’t move. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare. The monster held his arm and everything went quiet around. He could hear his brother yelling, provoking. Mocking them for having stoped the fight. He had not yet seen, but Loki had no illusions that he could hide it from him.
Even if he thought it was possible, he couldn’t seem to remove the monsters hand, he couldn’t move. His brain still processing the blue that spread through his body like poison. He knew the moment his brother saw it. For a second, complete silence. Then he saw Laufey move. Coming closer, and closer. Was he going to kill him? He very well could, especially now since he still didn’t seem able to even force his chest to expand. Much less move away from him. The monster king stared. And he could only stare back idiotically.
Then as he followed his approach, he saw a flash of light to his left and the Jotun still gripping his arm was gone and then Thor was right there in front of him. Blocking Laufey’s way to him. He didn’t look at Loki but yelled for the king to stop. He did. And the silence was back. He looked back at his arm, the blue was fading. The same way it came. Slowly. And then his skin was as white as it had always been.
Very slowly, almost skeptical… the king asked looking at Loki, or his white skin that was still in process of returning, “who would this little one be..?”
Then Loki realized, he actually had never introduced himself, unlike Thor who was so brass the fact that he was a spoiled prince was unmistakable. For all the king knew, he might as well be just another companion. Perhaps it would be better to keep it that way… it seemed like his brain was coming back. But it was already too late. Thor was already speaking. He didn’t look at him at all while he said, loudly and clearly
“This is Loki, Son of Odin. Prince of Asgard and the nine. My brother. Show some respect”.
Though Loki was almost sure he was holding back a grimace. Others wouldn’t be able to tell. He sounded so certain of his words. He was sure he fooled everyone. Except that he knew his brother. He knew that face since had been born. His mother always said that he’d been brought into this world straight into his brother’s side. They were inseparable as children. Knowing his brother’s tells, every twitch, it was essential so they could carry out the mess they got down to when they were younger. Whenever Thor hesitated, Loki could always tell. It was his signal to intervene, he’d always been the better liar. It got them out of trouble with their parents more than once… Now he wished he couldn’t notice.
Then his heart jumped to his throat again. The monster chuckles, almost incredulous. “A jotun as a prince of Asgard?” Then he focuses his gaze on Loki again, “now this is interesting… why would the Allfather who slaughtered hundreds of us, raise one as a prince? As his son?”
- “My brother is no jotun beast!” Thor yelled, furious.
“Isn’t he..? Come little prince, let me see your marks”
He advanced and Thor threw himself at him. At once, all the previously static jotun moved, some blocking his brother’s way while the others… And it was only then that Loki remembered his brother’s friends. He looked around and could see them being cornered, pushed away by the beasts. He had forgotten about them, they too saw his strange change. This was unreal. His brother was right, he was no jotun, no monster. It must have been some magic, or a curse, his shape shifting adapting, trying desperately to protect him from frostbite. Yes, that made sense… He turned and came face to face with Laufey. When did he...? He needed to snap out of it, he could feel his body fighting the shock, he backed away but he had missed his chance, a huge blue hand grabbed him by back of the head, wrapping his fingers all the way around, the tips almost met in front of his eyes. He tried to fight it. His body finally seeming to come back to him, but he couldn’t get away. And then again, his body went suddenly ice cold and the blue started to reappear, that horrible, disgusting color, he wanted to claw his skin open… then he caught Laufey’s eyes. He was looking shocked. His ruby eyes like lasers on his forehead, his mouth dropped just enough that Loki was sure what he saw left him speechless.
Just then came a light so bright that it turned everything white, the sound of the bifröst as loud as an explosion. Still the monster king didn’t release him. Just turned to look at the newly arrived Allfather. He was accompanied by a small group of einherjar and sitting on top of sleipnir. He looked angry, and almost a bit scared. Loki looked at his father, he wanted to be back home, he wanted to never have come to this frozen hell. He wanted the beast king to release him, his skin to be normal again and, and to forget about this whole trip.
“Father!” Thor yelled.
“Quiet!” He answered without even looking at him. He turned his eye to the jotun king holding his second son’s head in his huge hand. Conscious of the danger. It would take the king very little effort to kill him.
“Laufey, release my son now and I might be inclined to believe the jotun who just invaded our vault weren’t sent by you”.
“Allfather, you think me stupid? Do you think I have gone blind? This one I have right here is anything but yours. I’d recognize those marks anywhere.”
“Don’t do this any worse Laufey, let my son go”
“First tell me why. Why would YOU, who brutally ended the life of so many during the war, why would you take one into your house, disguise his nature and raise him as an Aesir? As yours?”
“I will not ask again. Unhand my son or face another war!”
“Do you expect me to ignore the fact that this is actually MY son you call yours?”
And, what..? Loki fought to free himself, he had so far held still out of cautiousness, but at hearing that, he could no longer.
“He was abandoned! A small crying baby, days old, desperate and hungry. Dying…”
“Of course he was! There is no space for runts in war. He was too vulnerable, small, weak. The best thing we could do for him was to give him back to Ymir. Perhaps if there hadn’t been a war…but there was. My people needed a strong heir, a symbol of strength! You think we leave children to die for fun?!”
And Loki, he couldn’t, he couldn’t hear this, it was not real. It was not him they were talking about. He didn’t care if the monster crushed his head any more. He took out a dagger and pushed it into the jotun’s arm. It hissed and released him. Loki fell to the ice. He didn’t have the strength to even stand. His whole body felt lethargic. The world was going too fast for him to catch up. Then two einherjar were just there. Grabbing him under one arm each and helping him stand. They didn’t let go of his arms though. They started pulling him along closer to the group of Aesir.
“Don’t continue this Odin. Leave him here. Whatever your purpose for him, whatever plans you have, he belongs to Jotunheimr.”
“Stay away from trouble Laufey” Now he could hear the Allfather’s voice right next to him. When did the guards get him there? “You gave him away. Forget about this. Whatever his origin, he is of Asgard. And we shall keep our peace”.
The last thing Loki saw of Jotunheimr was King Laufey’s hate filled eyes, then the bifröst came down and they were gone.