Sokki

Sokki smiled as she ran a hand over her baby - yes, he was a runt, but otherwise he was perfect. 'He's so cute, even Laufey has to think so. Hmm, I like Loki Laufeyson, it's so perfect. Yes, Loki, Prince of Jotunheim.' His skin was the right shade of white-blue, his eyes were a beautiful ruby-red and, rarity of rarities for Jotnar males, he had hair, black just like hers.

Her mate and Jotunheim's king, Laufey, clad in a black, ice-wolf kilt and arm guards, walked into the room. Laufey was very short for a Jotnar male at just over six and a half feet, while the rest were seven, eight or nine-feet tall. Still, Laufey hadn't ruled purely by brute force, simply because he wasn't strong enough to, so he'd had to settle for intelligence.

Laufey loomed over her bed and asked, his voice deep and cold as usual, "What is his name Sokki ?"

"Loki, it's the perfect combination of ours and no King has been named Loki before."

Laufey snarled to himself for some reason and then replied, "I suppose it will do, Sokki."

Happy, she got up and walked the clear, icy halls of Castle Jot or Castle Frost. The other frost-giants they passed bowed down without even a mention of her baby's smallness.

'I'm almost surprised that Laufey didn't mention it. Here he was worried of Loki's being too big and here he is being too small. Well, it can't be changed and he will just have to face the heat till he cools.'

They reached Loki's room and after she put him down in the ice-crib, she picked up a little ruby and held it over him. An absolutely tiny white-blue hand reached up for it, she giggled as when he touched it the ruby immediately covered in a thin layer of ice.

'If anything he'll be a champion of creating ice, according to his mother not even Laufey managed to coat it on the first try, that should make Laufey happy.'

Days passed as she doted over Loki, making his first kilt of white, ice-wolf fur, and, even then, he grew only a little bigger. She was in another part of the castle finishing up a different duty when a servant told her their enemies, the Asgardians led by their King Odin Allfather were attacking.

The Asgardians were cruel beings, who ruled the Nine Worlds by oppressive force and systemically crushing anyone who disagreed with them. She rushed, accompanied by quite a few guards to protect her and as the Asgardians stormed them many of their finest fell, towards Loki's room and burst into it.

'No ! No, no, no. This is wrong, this isn't right, he can't be gone. L-laufey must have taken him to protect him somewhere else. Laufey must have, he must have because I can't believe that my little Loki was killed. I refuse to believe that.'

Out the window she saw the great light burst that meant the Asgardians had left and sighed in relief. Anxiety made her race outside trying to find Laufey and Loki, one of the guards, Bjaar, pointed her towards the temple.

When she walked through the entrance tunnel and into the open aired worship area and saw the blue-stone altar smeared with blood her horrified scream echoed as Laufey's arms wrapped around her waist to stop her from running to it.

Laufey's voice was thick with grief, "I-I'm so s-sorry, Sokki, I-I couldn't stop Odin. Some of his warriors overpowered me and he ripped L-loki from me. He wouldn't stop laughing as I beggd him to leave Loki alone. He put Loki on the altar a-and started s-stabbing him with his spear. A-after h-he said, "You barbaric creatures don't deserve to have children.", before he stole Loki's body as a reminder of today and fled."

'I-I didn't think even the Allfather would be so terrific as to murder a child. Oh, Loki ! My p-poor baby, Loki. N-not e-even two weeks old and he's gone already.'

Sunk into the snow as she finished her sobbing, she glared up at where Asgard would be were it visible through the clouds, and shouted, "Do you hear me, Allfather ? I am Sokki Gunhildedottir, Queen of Jotunheim ! And I swear that you will pay for killing my son, if ever yours comes here know that he will die !"

For many nights she had nightmares of the white-haired, bearded and golden clad Allfather happily killing Loki as her son wailed in terror as she was helpless to stop it. As the years passed, she shut herself more and more in Loki's room, clutching the ruby and staring at it longingly. 'You would have been twenty winters today, my little Loki.'

There was a banging on the door and then Bjaar was shouting, "Queen Sokki, Queen Sokki ! The accursed Odinson is here and Laufey is fighting him !"

Energized for the first time in years, she broke the door in her haste to get into the hallway and finally outside. The great snow and rock fields seemed nothing now as she approached the clamor of battle near the precipice. Laufey and a blond Asgardian were exchanging blows as Jotnar and Asgardian watched.

One long black-haired male Asgardian, in green and black robes, with a spear, caught her eye, he was staring at the battle in half-disgused awe. Laufey tripped the Odinson with an ice spear, but before he could strike the final blow...that accursed light filled the precipice and the Allfather on an enormous, eight-legged horse loomed above them all.

Snarled as she formed a knife and threw it with all her strength, "Murderer ! Murderer !"

The Allfather looked confused as he deflected her knife down into the precipice.

'How dare he look confused when he knows what he did ! I suppose it was all in a day's killing for him and Loki didn't stand out.'

Glared after him as the Asgardians gathered around the giant horse and that damned light came down to pull him out of her easy reach. Vengence denied, she went back to Loki's room blinking away fury fueled tears. A day, at most, passed until Bjaar knocked on the door-frame, "Queen Sokki, King Laufey wants to talk to you in the throne room. He says it's urgent, that it is about...Loki."

The throne room was clear ice centered along the aisle were columns, as crystals and ice spikes dotted the walls, while the throne itself was a block of beautifully carved, gem-like, ice. Stood in front of Laufey, who sat on the throne, with his back to her was the long black-haired, green and black clad Asgardian.

Slowly, the Asgardian turned to look at her, a scrap of white, ice wolf pelt clutched in a pale-skinned hand. Impulsively, she walked up to scrutinize him, despite the odd skin and eye-color, despite the fact that they were larger than she'd dreamed of them ever getting, she knew those features.

Her delighted scream of, "Loki !", echoed off the walls as she rushed to embrace him. As soon as she did - his skin faded to white-blue and his eyes darkened to, that oh so familiar and beautiful, dark-ruby. "You're alive, oh, my baby's alive ! B-but how ? I thought it was just a rumour that there was a witch in Asgard."

Hesitantly, Loki hugged her back before she pulled away to smooth his hair back. 'He'll always be more on the side of beautiful than handsome, but I don't care. He's alive and he's so big too for how small he was !'

Loki's voice was soft in tone and equally hesitant, "H-hello M-mother. Frigga is a witch, she taught me how to make illusions, how to do magic."

"She made us think you were dead ! She made us think that the Allfather killed you. My poor boy, kidnapped by those...those things that think they're so much better than us. B-but you're home now, yes ?"

Loki's gaze drifted around the room, "I don't know, Mother, I am in a good position where I am. Odin doesn't know that I know what he did to me, so I am still a ruling Prince of Asgard. I can let you and the others in, we can kill Odin once and for all. When he's not expecting it I'll let you in during Thor's coronation and you can get the Casket back."

A blur of time until they - herself, Bjaar and Laufey, among others, were sneaking up on and freezing the great metal thing that blocked their way. Laufey picked up the Casket and they turned to head back the way they had come. Just after they entered the hall Odin in his golden armour and Loki in his Asgardian illusion and robes came running in.

Laufey stopped and so did they, he nodded, "Come home with us, Loki, you don't deserve to be living with liars."

Loki glared at Laufey, "Why don't you tell Mother the truth about me, Father ? Go on, tell her why she really couldn't find me when she looked for me."

She turned to stare at her mate in confusion, "Laufey ? What does he mean, "The truth.", what truth ?"

Laufey snarled, "Shut up, it was nothing."

It was Odin who spoke, "Queen Sokki as Laufey will not tell you what happened, I feel that I should. When I found Loki, he was in the temple all alone laying on the altar. It is my belief that because Loki was a runt, Laufey didn't want him as heir and so abandoned him and planned to blame it on my people and I when you would have found him dead."

The words refused to sink in until she saw that Laufey was glaring pure hatred at Odin...and Loki, "Y-you lied to me ! To me of all Jotnar, to your own mate. I should have known what you truly felt when you snarled at him. You would have murdered our son and blamed an innocent, if arrogant, people, just so you could finally kill the Allfather ! Laufey Bergelmirson, you don't deserve the title King of Jotunheim !"

Despite what had just been said and because she had always loved him it shocked her when without warning Laufey stabbed her. As she fell to the floor Bjaar gave an angry roar and sliced Laufey's head off.

Seconds later, Loki crouched beside her, and taking her hand also placed the remnants of his only kilt in it, without his illusion.

Odin moved to her other side as the pain became almost unbearable. 'This was wrong, I was wrong to blame him when I should have suspected Laufey all along. I need to apologize.'

"A-allfather, I-I want to apologize."

The old Asgardian shook his head, "No, you do not need to, Sokki. If I had been lied to about someone killing Thor when he was, but a child I would have reacted the same way. You only did what you thought was right until the truth came to light. There will be no more war with Jotunheim because of Laufey's actions."

This got a bitter smile from her long-lost son, "It seems like you truly did, and would have, cared for me. I would have loved to know you as my mother...good-bye, Mother, this was far too short."

Managed a nod and, "Good-bye, my son...my little Prince Loki.", before everything went black.