A/N: This came from a prompt that was requested of me from my friend Lithia Sunset. After getting her into Lokelsa, she asked me to write her a little oneshot for that. So, here it is. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the idea.
"MONSTER!" Ten-year-old Sif yelled, pulling her arms around herself as she tried to warm up. "You're always freezing everything, like some kind of Jotun. I wouldn't be surprised if you were one!" Eight-year-old Loki shied back, looking down at his hands in horror. It was getting worse, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't control the powers which he was born with. Ice.
"I'm not a Jotun!" he yelled back, as a small flurry began to build in the Asgardian summer. "I'm not!" She still shook with cold, her lips a slight tint of blue. "I'm sorry, Sif. I'll try to make it better..." he apologized, trying to come near her.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Sif shrieked, pulling away from him. "You'll make me colder, Accursed."
"Leave her alone, Freak." Twelve-year-old Fandral said, coming up to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Go away and bother someone else."
"But I want to play with you..." Loki whimpered, his voice cracking as tears began to build in his eyes. "Please, Sif, I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Just go away!" the golden haired girl replied. "I don't want to play with you anymore! You're getting worse, and worse, and worse! You'll turn Asgard into Jotunheim one day!"
"But—but—" Loki stuttered as Fandral grabbed Sif's hand, leading her away from him. "But Thor said—"
"Go away, Freak! You can't stop hurting Sif, so you can't play with us." Fandral interrupted, turning his back to the black-haired boy, and pulling Sif out of the newly-frosted garden. Loki followed them, but soon stopped as he heard them laughing without him. Loki ran to his favorite hiding place, his heart feeling the pain of rejection.
Looking around at his mothers roses, his eyes watered as he tried to thaw them out from the cold he had caused. It had always been this way, and no one could understand it. Whenever he was upset this would happen, and he couldn't figure out how to change it. It didn't make sense. Thor wasn't this way, Thor could control the weather, but no one called him 'freak'. No, they simply brushed it off and wondered what had made the Prince create a thunderstorm in the middle of a sunny day, and usually figured out how to make him happy once more. Thor wasn't sent away, he wasn't rejected by his friends... but then again, Thor didn't accidentally send icicles anyone's way when they hurt his feelings. A minor storm would be created, but nothing which would kill anyone.
"Loki?" Frigga's voice met his ears, and getting up from his hiding place, he ran to her, wrapping his arms around her middle, and crying into her waist. "Loki, what happened?" She asked, kneeling down to his height and taking him in her arms.
"Fandral said – he said I couldn't play with them after – after I accid—entally covered Sif's hand in frost. He c—called me a freak," Loki hiccuped. "And Sif called me a – a – a – monster!" He succumbed to sobs once more, crying into his mother's chest as she cradled him to her.
"They shouldn't have said that." she whispered to herself. She knew why Loki was the way he was, but she couldn't tell him, she couldn't give anyone cause to treat him any differently – even though he was already treated differently. "You're not a freak, or a monster." she comforted him, rubbing soothing circles on his back, his sobs decreasing. "You're just different, Loki. They don't understand that, but it is how you are."
"But I can't stop from hurting them." Loki replied with softer cries.
"Sure you can." Frigga cooed.
Loki shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "But... Thor doesn't hurt anyone!"
"Thor's powers aren't like yours." Frigga told him, wishing she could explain why it was that he was acting how he did. It would help him – yet, it would also terrify him, she knew. Monster wouldn't be the only thing he was called.
"I sent Volstagg to the healers, and I froze Thor!" Loki said. "I hurt Fandral all the time, too. And Sif!"
"Not on purpose." Frigga replied. "You just don't know how to control it, and once you learn how, then you won't have to worry about it."
"But I c—can't!" Loki cried, breaking down into sobs once more.
Frigga chuckled softly, kissing her son's head. "Yes, you can." she told him, smoothing back his hair. "I will teach you how..."
Years passed, and Loki soon learned to control the powers he was born with. Frigga had been right, and with time and practice he could reign in his furious flurries, and keep the ice within himself. Still, that did not stop what happened during that time, and he had resigned himself to never being accepted by Sif or Fandral. He was still called 'Freak', and kept to himself, staying in the library, and trying to keep his other side completely controlled.
Frigga taught him ways to control his emotions as well as his powers, and showing him how to be normal despite his natural ability. "There is no monster in you," she would say. "Unless you allow yourself to become one."
As it turned out, his power proved to be very useful. If his soup was too warm, for example, all he needed to do was cool it with his breath; or if his room was exceptionally warm, all he had to do was create a small storm within, bringing it to the temperature he preferred. Soon, he was able to play with other children who saw his power as more of a wonder than as a curse.
By the time he reached his majority, he was completely in control, allowing his power to be used only when needed. Yet, the nagging voices of his childhood always cast a shadow over him, constantly calling him 'monster', 'accursed', 'freak', and many others which he had been called. He would never truly be happy, no matter his mother's comfort, no matter his control. He was different than everyone else, and he would always be reminded whenever he woke to find his room covered in frost.
No matter what, he would never be totally accepted for who he was.
"Thor?" Loki called for his brother, the thunderstorm raging outside. "Where are you?"
"Leave me be, Loki." Thor growled out.
"Considering you're drowning Asgard, I don't think that's possible." Loki replied, following where he'd heard the voice to find Thor sulking in a corner. "Ah, there you are – oh dear, you look positively fierce." A flash of lightning punctuated his sentence, a long roll of thunder following. "As does the outside."
"It is not wise to be around me at this time, brother." Thor snarled.
Loki smirked, sitting down next to him anyway. "Is this about Arendelle?" he asked. "Because I think that father has a marvelous idea when it comes to visiting the realm."
"It has nothing to do with Arendelle." Thor replied. "It has to do with—never mind."
"Don't you mean it has to do with that girl you met that Father won't let you court? What was her name again?" Loki teased.
"It doesn't matter." Thor replied. "And now Father has arranged this trip to Arendelle to try to make me forget her."
"It just might work." Loki commented, earning a glare from his brother. "Sorry, that was probably out of line." Loki sighed, playing with a miniature blizzard in his hand as the storm still raged. "Still, I think that you're being a little childish about this."
Thor turned to him, his face darkened. "I'm childish?"
"Yes, you are." Loki replied flippantly. "Storming – quite literally – about some girl who Father and Mother see as unfit for you—"
"There is nothing wrong with Sigrid!" Thor boomed.
"Except of course that she only wants your title, yes I can see how they're wrong." Loki replied, suddenly finding himself thrown across the room by Thor's hammer. "Perhaps I shouldn't have said that." Thor gave a war cry, his hammer thrust in front of him as he prepared to shoot a lightning bolt at his brother. 'Uh-oh' Loki thought, quickly constructing an ice-wall to protect himself.
However, their fight was finished as Odin entered the room, the hammer flying out of Thor's hand, and the ice-wall melting. Both boys looked at their father, the storm outside suddenly diminishing as Thor's anger turned to shame and fear.
"Damn, I was looking forward to trying out my wall." Loki commented lightly, earning a quizzical glance from Thor before he suddenly burst out laughing.
Within hours they were underway to go to Arendelle...
"UGH!" Elsa gave a cry. "Don't feel!" She shouted to herself, the ice around her room continuing to grow spikes. "Don't feel it. Don't feel... don't feel..." she continued her mantra, trying to find a way to make the icicles around her melt.
"Elsa?" Anna called from the other side of the door. "Are you okay?" The thirteen-year-old asked.
Elsa turned back to the door, pain growing in her heart from the distance she had to force upon her poor sister. "I'm fine, Anna." she called back, holding her head in her hands.
There was a bit of silence before she could hear Anna sit down next to the door. "We have visitors, Elsa! For the first time in forever, it seems! It's a king, and a queen, and two princes! Oh, Elsa, I wish you could meet them, they're so different than us..." she continued on, completely unaware that her words were creating conflicting emotions in her sister. The icicles grew sharper.
"Just go away!" Elsa finally burst out, unable to control the pain which she felt. She wanted to be outside, to meet the royals face to face, and to enjoy them as much as Anna obviously was... but she couldn't.
"O—okay..." Anna's sadness seeped through the wood, stabbing Elsa in the heart once again. She hated herself, hated her powers. They had forced this upon her, this isolation. She hated it, she hated everything about it. She'd been stuck here for eight years, trapped like some kind of a wild animal, unable to break out of her cage.
"Don't feel... don't feel..." she continued to tell herself. The side door to her room opened, and she looked over to see her mother walk in.
"Oh, Elsa." the Queen mourned inwardly, her eyes taking in everything around her. The icicles made it difficult to maneuver the room, causing her trip once or twice as she made her way to her daughter. "What's wrong?"
"I can't control it... it's getting stronger every year and I can't stop it from happening." Elsa confessed her fear. "What happens when the ice makes its way outside of this room? What happens when I can't keep it in any longer?"
The Queen smiled sadly. "It's alright, Elsa." she tried to reach for her daughter, only to have Elsa pull back.
"No!" Elsa cried. "I'll hurt you." She said softly, wrapping her arms around herself and retreating to her bed, allowing her mother to go to the chair by the unlit fireplace. "I heard that we have visitors?"
"Yes." her mother replied. "I'm afraid they were unavoidable. Your father dare not refuse a visit from Asgard... I only hope that it will be their last."
"Because of me." Elsa finished for her mother. "I'm the reason why this kingdom has to remain in solitude."
"Elsa..." the Queen trailed off. "We're only trying to protect you."
"I know." Elsa replied. "Do they know I exist?"
The Queen nodded. "Anna spilled the beans, so to speak." she revealed. "The two princes remind her of you, I'm afraid, and she couldn't help but start talking about you."
Elsa scoffed. "She doesn't even know me." she said sadly, looking out the window. "Is there a reason you came to see me?"
"Anna told me you had sent her away, and that she heard you grunting in pain or something." the Queen replied, coming as close to her daughter as she dared. "Oh, Elsa..." she trailed off, the tears forming in her eyes.
"You should go, mom." Elsa whispered, she didn't like to see her mother cry.
The Queen nodded, leaving the way she came – Elsa sobbed.
Loki wandered the halls of the palace, enjoying his time away from Thor. Apparently they hadn't actually been invited to Arendelle, and therefore his brother had been tirading because he realized just how far Odin was willing to go to make him forget Sigrid back in Asgard. Therefore, Loki was enjoying the time to himself, away from everyone else as they sorted just what they were going to do regarding relations between the two realms.
He had been watching the servants all day, finding it interesting that there seemed to be a hidden system of hallways which they regularly disappeared down... usually with trays. Apparently there was someone else in the palace who was secretly being kept alive, and being of a curious nature, Loki found a servant with a tray who entered the walls of the palace.
Careful to stay out of sight and sound, Loki trailed the older cook down said corridor, wondering just where it was that the hallway would end. After a few minutes, the cook stopped in front of a door, knocking lightly. "Your Highness?" she called through the wood. "I have your lunch."
"Leave it there, Hilda." a voice came through the door. "Thank you."
"Very well, Your Highness." Hilda replied, placing the tray down next to the door, and with a longing glance, turning away. Loki quickly stepped into a branching corridor to keep out of sight of the woman, allowing her to pass completely ignorant of his presence. Then, when the coast was clear, Loki stepped back out, watching the door for the royal who would emerge.
He didn't have to wait long before the door creaked open, a young woman with pale blonde hair peering out to make sure 'Hilda' was gone. She looked down at the tray, then at her bare hands. "Don't feel..." she whispered to herself. "Just reach down and grab the tray. What can go wrong?" Loki watched as she bent down, hands touching the metal of the tray with trepidation, breath held in concern. With fascination, he watched her touch the tray, pulling away sharply as it was suddenly covered in a thin sheet of ice. "No!" she whimpered, ducking inside her room.
Loki took the opportunity to walk up to the door, picking up the tray in his own hands. He was surprised to find another who seemed to have the same power he did, and his surprise stoked his curiosity. Standing in the doorway, tray in hands, he awaited her return. She opened the door again, her crystalline eyes wide in fear as she took in his figure standing there.
"Wh—who are you?" Elsa stuttered, her mental chant running quickly in reminder.
"I am Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard... and you are?" Loki replied, using what little magic Frigga had taught him to keep her food warm.
"Princess Elsa of Arendelle." Elsa replied, remembering what Anna said about the visiting royals.
Loki bowed slightly. "I would bow properly, but I'm afraid I am unable with this tray." he told her. "May I come in?"
"NO!" Elsa exclaimed in panic, shutting the door as much as she dared. "I mean, no you may not. Sorry, but... I'm not even supposed to see anyone."
"Such a beauty like yourself kept locked in a room?" Loki said. "In Midgard they would say you were a damsel in distress who needed to be rescued by a handsome prince. I happen to fit that criteria."
Elsa raised an elegant eyebrow. "Is that so?" she asked, still unused to interacting with anyone beyond her own family and a few tutors who were sworn to silence. "And how can you 'rescue' me, Prince of Asgard?"
"By allowing me to get you your food without it being frozen first." Loki replied simply, watching as she suddenly withdrew behind a wall of emotions. "Do not fear, I understand you completely."
"How can you?" she countered, reaching for the tray. "You really should go."
"You fear yourself... I know what that's like." Loki replied without batting an eyelash. "Shall I show you?"
"Show me what?" Elsa asked, her panic creating deadly spears of ice all along the corridor, one coming particularly close to Loki. He eyed the spear, quirking an eyebrow before forcing it back to nothingness, using one hand to create a sculpture of Elsa of ice. Her eyes looked up at him in surprise and hope. "You mean... I'm not..."
"The only one? No." Loki replied. "Then again, I am just as shocked as you. Never before have I met another with my abilities... it's quite a surprise. Now may I come in?"
Elsa slowly nodded, opening the door and allowing him past. The entire room was covered in a light, powdery snow, evidence that she was still concerned slightly by his presence. "I'm sorry it's so cold." she apologized to him as he cleared her table of any traces of cold, setting the tray down.
"Don't worry, I'm not bothered by cold, as it is my ability as well." Loki told her, pulling out her chair so she could sit. "Now, Your Highness, come eat your food before it gets... cold."
Slowly but surely, Elsa moved to take her seat, still wary of the man who seemed to have her powers. "You don't seem to have the same problem I do." she said. "How is that?"
"That's simple enough, I can control my powers. I don't fear them, and so they have no hold over me." he answered her, taking the seat opposite. "It's quite simple."
"Simple?" she repeated. "Eight years ago I nearly killed my sister because of my powers. Every year they grow in strength, so much so that I can't control them in any regard and have to be locked up here in my room, away from any contact outside of my parents. I can't see my sister, and if I do I worry what might happen to her – and you call that simple?"
A glint came into Loki's eyes as he could now see what Frigga saw in him all those years ago, when he had accidentally hurt Sif, had nearly blinded Thor, and almost killed Fandral. "Yes it is." he said more sternly, determined now that he would help this girl to control the abilities which she was born with – her gift. "If you like, I could teach you. It will not be easy, but it is possible to control it, and even overcome the most powerful of blizzards. It's really only one thing that does it, do you know what it is?"
She shook her head.
"Love." he answered. "My mother taught me how to control my powers by adding something which I never thought I'd be able to comprehend, and in doing it I was able to stop hurting others with my power, and instead bringing them happiness."
"Happiness?" Elsa repeated. "Through love? How could you possibly do that?"
"Would you like me to teach you?"
Elsa looked him over with a critical eye for a moment, the balances weighing themselves in her head. "Yes." she finally answered, giving him a curt nod of approval.
Loki smiled, finally happy he'd be able to help someone else with the same problem he had. "I am most honored, Your Highness." he said, giving her a proper bow. "But first, eat. Learning how to control your abilities is no good on an empty stomach."
Elsa couldn't help but smile in return, hope swelling in her heart that there might be a solution to her ever-growing problem.
For two months Loki sneaked to Elsa's quarters, giving her lessons in controlling her powers, and forming a bond between them. She looked up to him as a teacher, and someone who understood her; he looked at her as a friend who would never call him a monster.
By the time the Royals left Arendelle to return to Asgard, Elsa was capable of having complete hold on that which she feared the most, using her powers to try to help instead of hinder, and be able to be with her family who she had been separated from for so long. Anna and Elsa fixed their once-fractured relationship, mending all hurts which had been formed between them for eight years. When the King and Queen died two years following, and Elsa was crowned on her twenty-first birthday, there was no fear of what might happen to the kingdom, as Elsa was in full control of her powers, and had chosen not to hide behind her bedroom walls.
For Loki, he found himself a friend who would always understand what it was like to be considered a monster, and would never forget him as long as she lived.