A/N: This is the first fic of two I wrote based off the fairytale of "The Princess Who Never Smiled". The final pairing will be the same, but the stories are different enough to warrant me publishing them separately.
Once upon a time in the frosty realm of Jotunheim, there lived the great and terrible King Laufey. He was known throughout his realm and beyond as a tall and ruthless giant with but one weakness: his eldest son, Loki Laufeyson. Prince Loki did not have his father's height or fearsome appearance, but he was a renowned beauty and a cunning and powerful sorcerer. In Jotunheim he was known as their finest treasure. In the other realms, he was known as a wily trickster who was never punished for the fear of the great King Laufey.
But while Prince Loki lived a life of privilege and pleasure, he no longer smiled or laughed. His beloved, the noble and fair Angrboða had perished and his three children had been dispersed throughout the nine realms. Thus, the prince remained hidden from view in his icy tower.
It hurt the king greatly to see his son and his realm without laughter and thought one day that perhaps his son ought to marry once more. And so, without delay, he sent out a royal decree across all nine realms, that anyone that could make the prince laugh would have his hand in marriage and the finest lands in all of Jotunheim that belonged to Prince Loki through his birthright and previous marriage.
Many royal suitors arrived during the first few weeks of the harsh winter believing that the task would be simple. After all, how difficult could it be to make a trickster, a being that thrived on mischief, to laugh? Surely the prince was simply tired of what little entertainment the frost giants could provide.
Weeks wore on and the winter grew more and more miserable, but no one could even make the prince to smile. Thus, all left in shame with curses that made them unable to meet public eye without laughter for months.
It was towards the end of the winter that Asgard's Bifrost activated to bring suitors from the golden kingdom. Many giants were wary of the Aesir, for not long ago, there had been a terrible war between their peoples.
The first to arrive was the crown prince, Thor. He strode confidently and alone to the palace of Jotunheim with his legendary hammer. When he arrived before King Laufey and Prince Loki, his sense of superiority immediately made him distasteful to the court. His sense of humour was even less pleasing when he enthusiastically waved his hammer and made the skies tremble while he told a tale of great adventure. Upon finishing his tale, he found that his audience was stifling laughter while the prince continued to look both bored and disgusted.
That evening back in Asgard was a terrible and stormy one as the prince returned, barely controlling his urge to smash his friends and court with Mjolnir if their gazes lingered too long on his newly acquired breasts.
The second of the Aesir was even less liked by the frost giants not just because he had only one hand, but because he was none other than Tyr, the god of war. It was insulting to see him dare step into King Laufey's court without a flicker of guilt or fear. Later, the mighty warrior will claim that he had consumed far too much mead before he arrived, but as he stood there before his hostile audience, he seemed to have no compunction to begin to retell a certain tale that he recently discovered to be a great favourite in Asgard: the capture and binding of the fearsome wolf Fenrir.
The next day, Prince Thor arrived at the Bifrost for his brother only to find a three-legged, wincing small pink dog whining piteously behind the stoic watcher Heimdall. Upon closer inspection, the healers discovered that the dog had been kicked rather viciously in the rear, and that, yes, it was indeed Tyr. No one on Asgard could find a spell to restore the war god.
Three days went by before Balder the Bright returned to Asgard's palace. He was the youngest of the three brothers and was of a calm, humble temperament. On most days, he would sit in the gardens, looking about him still in awe because he was only recently recognised as an Odinson after he'd been released from Hel. He did not resent the fact that his origins were kept a secret for so long and continued to look surprised when warriors bent their knee to him.
When Balder went to see his brothers, he was surprised to find Thor with a small three-legged dog. As Thor recounted his unfortunate adventure and what he knew of Tyr's, those present found it difficult not to laugh, despite the threatening weather caused by Thor's increasingly sour mood. By the time the tale was done, everyone but Balder and Tyr remained in the courtyard, soaked to the bone by the thunderstorm rolling over Asgard.
"I think I will go to Jotunheim and make amends," Balder said after a minute of silence.
His suggestion made small Tyr jump onto his skinny legs and thunderstorm overhead roared even louder as Thor's face darkened.
"You will do no such thing, brother!" Thor shouted.
"And why not?" Balder asked this with surprise. Unlike the other princes, he was born form a humble warrior's home and knew that it was always better to make amends with those wronged than to just ignore them.
"The house of Odin has suffered enough from the hands of that trickster and I do not think the prince will enjoy seeing you alive and well." Thor was not known for his insights, but what he spoke of was true. While no one could prove it, it was rumoured that the mistletoe, which killed Balder, had come from the hand of Prince Loki. Those who believed such treachery had also spoken that the Jotun prince committed the crime because he could not bear the sight of someone as beautiful as he was. To Balder, though, it was all nonsense for he had never once set eyes upon Prince Loki.
Thus, ignoring Thor's protests and Tyr's weak tugs at his bootlaces, he spent the evening preparing for the trip.
The next day, Balder arrived in Jotunheim in his warmest clothing and without his armor or weapons. Upon entering the throne room of Jotunheim's palace, he bent his knee before King Laufey, never daring to raise his eyes until he was told to rise. His humility was new and it made the king hesitant to throw him out.
"I do not come for your son's hand, Laufeyking."
"Oh? Then why have you come, Odinson?"
"To make amends for my brothers' offences against your royal house and son. I wish to go into servitude for your house until Prince Loki smiles once more." King Laufey and his court laughed loudly at Balder's ridiculous response. How could a small áss, god or not, possibly be of use to the frost giants? As the son of another king, they could not kill or torture Balder and what more use did they have for him?
"What can you do? Surely you will not survive our cold and we do not need a servant as small as thee for cleaning or serving."
"Perhaps I can serve Prince Loki himself?" The suggestion was met with much mumbling from the court that continued until the prince himself appeared by his father's throne.
"I do not require such services, áss." Loki hissed, red eyes narrowing at the sight of one he had thought long dead. After Tyr's offensive performance, Prince Loki did not want to see another of the aesir for the next few centuries. Balder's presence was most unwelcome.
"Of course not, Prince Loki, but I wish for our respective countries to bear no ill will against one another. Surely I can be of some use as an apology for my brothers?" There was a hint of a plea in his voice that pleased the giants present, but Prince Loki continued to glare.
But before Prince Loki could speak again, there was a loud roar from outside of the palace. King Laufey and all those present instantly gathered around the prince, readying themselves for the intruders. Balder stood as well, recognising the singing of Mjolnir's swings. His heart sank as he listened to the chaos grow closer for now how could he possibly make amends for his brothers when the crown prince of Asgard was trying to break down the very doors of Jotunheim's palace?
"BROTHER!" Prince Thor's mighty yell was met with an exasperated sigh from Balder.
The frosty doors shattered a moment later and sent several large Jotnar guards sliding across the slippery throne room floor. Advancing quickly from the ruined doorway was a grim-faced Thor with Mjolnir in one hand and small Tyr growling in the other. Balder decided then that the time for talk was gone and threw himself forward to knock his brothers down before anymore damage could be done.
King Laufey and his court watched Balder grapple with Thor with curiosity as the small three-legged creature hobbled toward the gathered giants. No one was sure what to do at the moment as Aesir blood stained the palace floors. The king knew he should stop the two princes from their fight, but at the same time, he did not wish for anymore of his subjects to be hurt by Mjolnir or one of the princes. And what was he to do about the hopping, snarling dogling?
"...ha." The sound was so quiet that King Laufey almost missed it. The king turned quickly away from the fighting Aesir to find his beloved prince with one hand over his mouth, shaking. Shaking with suppressed laughter. The sight filled the king with much joy and dismay as well. Did that mean that Prince Balder was to marry his beloved son?
Troubled by the turn of events, King Laufey waved for his court to sit and gathered his laughing son in his arms as they watched the two Aesir beat each other senseless while a small pink dog barked desperately at the two from the sidelines.
The next day, once the healers had tended to Prince Thor and Prince Balder's wounds, King Laufey announced to Jotunheim and the other realms of Prince Loki's engagement with Prince Balder. The news was met with much jubilation in Asgard and premature speculation of just how beautiful the new royal couple's offspring would be.
Such speculations led to several prominent Aesir being changed into talking furniture and Prince Balder found himself begging his laughing betrothed nightly to restore the unfortuante gossipmongers. Those Aesir eventually returned to their normal selves within weeks, but it was not until a week after the royal wedding that Prince Loki finally relented and returned Tyr to his oafish warrior self.
And so Prince Balder and Prince Loki grew to love one another more and more over the centuries and never wanted for smiles or laughter.