Disclaimer: Although I'm sure Loki and Thor were adorable as kids, sadly, they are not mine. However! The plot is mine. And so is King Alfred, although he could never be as sexy as Chris Hemsworth because like OMG he really is a freaking god. ANYWHO, here's the story! Enjoy!
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Asgard
Thor happily snuggled under his covers, biding his mother a good night as she slipped out of the room after tucking him in. He'd had a long day, training with his father and studying with the royal tutor. Thor rolled his eyes at that one; he wasn't stupid, and he did rather well with his studies. He just didn't like the way the teacher treated him like, since he royal, he was an imcopetent fool.
Thor's training consisted of various breathing exercises to achieve successful meditation, and try to create small sounds of thunder. Although Thor knew he could do much more, but his father refused to let him push any limitations.
What limitatoins? Thor thought. I'm a god!
Even though it had been a long day, and Thor was very tired, he couldn't go to sleep. He felt like dancing, a tingling sensation spreading through his body and making him jittery. He only got this way when a storm approached. And he loved it when that happen. He could feel the power of the thunder, the precise strike of the lightening, and he wanted nothing more then to stand outside and absorb the energy it.
Thor forced his eyes closed and did his best to still his body, trying to block the feeling out.
Pretty soon, it was impossible. The storm had arrived, and raged over Asgard, putting everything it had into throwing strikes of lightening and making the loudest cracks of thunder it could manage, all the while dropping buckets of rain down.
Sleep was now impossible for the royal Asgaurdian.
Thor wiggled excitedly, body spazzing and squirming with every crack of thunder he heard and with every flash of light he saw through the thick curtains on his window.
A whimper broke through Thor's excitement, and he only paused momentarily before continuing with his thunder dance. A sob broke through next, effectively destroying the glee the took stock in his veins.
Thor climbed out of bed, peeking his tiny six year old head around the door frame. He cocked his head to the side, and he heard another sob, coming directly from his brother's room.
Was Loki hurt?
A feeling of dread weighed his body down, and he rushed across the hall in panic, pushing open the heavy wooden door, only to find his little brother curled up in the corner, clutching his green blanket and shrieking in horror with every sound that the storm made.
"Loki?" Thor whispered, closing the door behind him and slowly stepping closer. "What's wrong?"
Loki didn't answer, instead he scrambled to his feet and wrapped his tiny arms around Thor's large frame. "Make the storm go away, Thor!"
Loki was in hysterics, nails digging into Thor's back.
"Its only a storm, brother," Thor murmured, not understanding why Loki wasn't enjoying the storm like he was. "Come, I'll tuck you back in."
Loki allowed Thor to pick him up and place him in the bed, but protested loudly when Thor tried to leave. "Don't leave me!"
Thor hesitated, for he had never seen Loki look so vulnerable. Loki was usually strong, refusing to be put down by the children that were larger than him. If anything, Loki was braver them him. And smarter.
Yep. Definitely smarter.
"Thor," Loki pleaded, his green eyes wide and tears streaming down his face. "Don't leave me. You said you'd never leave me! Thor!"
Thor climbed up next to his brother. "There's nothing to be afraid of, brother. We are safe, as long as we stay on the inside."
"I don't like the thunder," Loki whimpered, eagerly accepting his brother's arm that had wrapped itself around Loki's shoulder. "Or lightening."
There was a pregnant pause, Loki flinching every time the thunder crackled, only finding comfort in his brother's arms.
Thor didn't know if he should feel offended that his brother hated thunder and lightening, which was what Thor was, basically, or if he should feel bad that his brother had something to fear in a place as safe as Asgard, a well guarded fortress.
Deciding they both needed a distraction, Loki because of his fear of storms and Thor because of his restrained urge to wiggle his entire body, Thor's eyes focused on a pile of board games and toys in the corner beside the dresser.
"Would you like to play a game Loki?"
Frigga, Thor and Loki's mother, rose early that morning, like she always did, and bustled about, allowing the maids to dress her and ate a hearty breakfast. She relished in the quiet, and decided that she'd have to ask Odin, her husband, to tire the boys out more often; it's much easier to keep the bags from under your eyes when your sons don't wake up at the crack of dawn, jumping on your bed.
Of course, after realizing it was the afternoon, she got a little worried.
Frigga only heard the sounds of her heels clicking against the stone floor as she peeked inside Thor's living quarters. Only...they were empty.
"Thor?"
His bed was unmade, and his room was unusually clean. Several articles of clothing were strewn across the floor, the wooden hangers dented from Thor's lack of strength control. Frigga began to panic, knowing fully well that Thor would never leave the castle without an escort unless he was trailing after Loki,.
She raced into Loki's room, finding it empty as well. The same applied here; clothes were everywhere, and several toys were scattered across the ground.
"Loki?"
She wasted no time running around the castle, not caring if they help saw their queen sweaty and flustered, pulling open doors and tipping over crates and barrels.
"Thor? Loki?"
No answer. Her heart clenched, the pain almost sending her doubling over. She was in hysterics, and snapped at the maid that came to her aid.
"Your highness, are you-"
"Where are they?!" Her hands wrapped around the young girl's throat, wringing her neck. "Where are my sons!"
"I...don't know what...you mean, Your Highness," the young girl rasped, legs dangling almost three feet off the ground. "I've been in the kitchen all day."
Frigga release the girl, apologized for her rash and unruly behaviour, then sprinted to the throne room, no longer caring that she just barged into a very important meeting with several other kings of different realms and countries.
"Frigga?" Odin frowned, never having seen his wife look so panicked and red in the face. "Where have you-"
"They're gone!" Frigga wailed, hands dragging through her hair, pulling a few strands out, sobbing uncontrollably.
The other kings murmured among themselves, some rising, almost walking to Frigga to offer aid to such a beautiful, distressed woman.
"Frigga?" Odin's voice was suddenly very low, dangerous. "What do you mean?"
Frigga cried, "The boys are gone! I have looked everywhere!"
All hell broke loose.
Thor and Loki had spent the entire night, and most of the early morning, playing with the toys in Loki's room. When they'd gotten bored of that, they'd donned warmer clothes and treked around the castle, sneaking desserts out of the high cabinets, Thor holding Loki up.
"What do you see?" Thor whispered up to his brother. "Anything good?"
Loki grinned down at him, fears forgotten as the storm gradually died down, and held out a large jar of cookies. "Everything good."
They spent the next thirty minutes or so stuffing their faces with cookies, pies, and various custards, then drank some of the ale they knew they weren't supposed to touch.
The storm died down, and Thor felt exhaustion take over his body, but was quickly revived with a sugar rush.
"Let's go outside!" Thor said excitedly, pulling himself over the edge of the windowsill. He stared down at the tree below, confident that he could make it if he jumped, and land on the grass unharmed. Loki wasn't so sure, since he knew fully well that Thor was the one with the big muscles. "The thunder has stopped! We can play in the rain!"
Loki hesitated, biting his bottom pink lip.
"I don't know," Loki whispered. "We aren't supposed to go outside without Mommy or a guard, and I-"
"Where's the old Loki?" Thor teased, looking awfully close to jumping out the window with or without Loki. "We won't tell them. We'll be back before they even wake up."
Loki didn't want to be left behind when another storm could come through- because, yes, its happened- so he climbed on Thor's back, and clamped his mouth shut as Thor jumped four stories down into the tree.
I'm alive! He thought, surprised. I thought Thor was going to kill us for sure!
Together, they scampered off into the cover of the woods, the castle disappearing from sight.
"WHAT?!"
Odin was not a cruel person, or at least that's what he'd like to think. However, when provoked, he would not hesitate to bring the wrath of Odinson down on anyone he see fit for that severe form of punishment. And now, as his wife stood before him, claiming that their son's, only six and four, had just vanished from the castle, the castle grounds, and pretty much the entire kingdom of Asgard.
Frigga whimpered, gripping the skirt of her dress.
"Odin," She whispered. "I want them home."
"Odin?"
Odin's head snapped toward the other kings in the room, almost having forgotten that they were there. King Alfred rose to his feet, frowning. "Do you mean to tell me that two...two...children were able to bypass the guards?"
Perhaps saying that to the king's face wasn't the best idea,
Alfred soon found himself pinned against a wall, a hand closing around his throat. His legs dangled two feet off the ground, and his eyes widened, for he'd never seen the All Father move so fast before.
"Odin!" Frigga cried frantically. "We must find them!"
Loki trailed after Thor, refusing to let go of his blanket, even when he tripped and stumbled through the dark forests. The storm had vanished, but rain still drizzled down onto the land. Thor slowly to allow Loki to catch up, but then gripped the younger boy's arm and tugged him along.
"Quickly, brother!" Thor hissed in excitement. "We are almost there! You'll be the first person to see this place, besides myself, of course."
Warmth spread through Loki's body, pleased that he'd been given the honor of seeing one of Thor's hiding places before any of the other children did. Loki had always been the odd child, never having many friends until that faithful day when Thor dragged him outside and showed him how to play hide and seek and tag.
"No one else has been there?" Loki whispered. "Not even Sif, your girlfriend?"
Thor's back muscled tensed, and Loki grinned. He knew many people expected the two friends, Sif and Thor, to become betrothed in the future, but even as children they knew they'd only go to the point of best friends, and no farther.
Thor smacked a few branches out the way, then cheered in triumph. They had reached a large clearing, a waterfall taking up the center and much of the back, hosting a cave that lead into the mountains. The water was clear, so clear that it sparkled and shimmered in the moonlight. the grass was an unnatural shade of green, so bright it glowed, even under the shadows of the trees.
Loki gasped.
Thor smiled, stepping forward, sighing contently at the feel of the soft grass on his bare feet.
"Come, brother!" Thor exclaimed. "I want to go exploring!"
Frigga rode on her horse, Black Warrior, calling out every few feet or so, ignoring the pitying looks of the guards as they, Odin, and the other kings dashed across the forests of Asgard.
"Thor!"
"Frigga, we need to-"
"Loki!"
"Your Majesty, perhaps we may-"
"Oh, hold your tongue!"
"Frigga!" Odin paled, appalled at his wife's behavior. "They are only trying to help. You are overreacting, dear."
"Then you did not love them as I did!"
Frigga rode off, leaving a heart broken Odin behind.
"Thor!" Loki yelled. "Look what I found!"
Loki stood inside the water fall behind the water, peering inside of a dark, mysterious cave that leaked. Loki pressed himself against the wall, afraid to fall into the water, for he could not swim yet; his lessons had been postponed due to the upcoming cold season.
"Its magnificent!" Thor whispered in awe, following Loki into the cave, forgetting that the sun would rise in a few hours. "What do you think we'll find in here? Treasure?"
"Mother will be quite pleased at the jewels we will bring her," Loki agreed, touching the silk walls of the cavern. "Do you...what's the sound?"
They paused, listening intently.
In the distance, music played, and the tinkling of bells bounced off the walls.
Loki bounded off, Thor racing behind him, both of them slipping and sliding on the wet floors. They ran for what seemed like hours. The cave never ended, and even though they were tired, they refused to give up, the tinkling bells and music getting louder with each step they took until it almost busted their ears drums.
Finally, the collapsed at an opening, sunlight streaming through.
"How peculiar," Thor murmured. "It was still dark when we left...right?"
"Right," Loki agreed weakly, not really believing his words. "We were only gone a few minutes."
They stared at each for a few moments, then glanced back at the sunlight.
"You go first," Loki urged.
"What!" Thor snapped. "Why me?"
"You will go first because you dragged me here and you're the oldest, making you responsible."
Thor grunted, by slowing climbed down the opening, giving Loki a, "Stay right here", look. Loki stood there, anxious at Thor's disappearance and instantly regretting making his older brother go first. When Thor did not come back up, Loki began to panic.
"Oh no," He moaned, tugging at his blanket which he had tied around his waist. "I'll have to tell Mother that I-"
"Tell Mother what, Loki?"
"Thor!" Loki hugged his brother, relaxing. "I thought you dead!"
"You musn't worry about such nonsense, brother," Thor said. "But come! I have found something extraordinary!"
Loki followed his brother down, his eyes almost popping out of his head. He and his brother towered over tiny people with wings, and the tiny people with wings stared up at him in turn, murmuring amongst themselves, and beating their wings.
"Fae!" Loki was stunned. He had heard the stories of such creatures, other beings that had lived on Asgard, but never thought they'd still be alive, be here! "Thor, brother, we have found fairies!"
Frigga was lost.
She hated to admit it, but she knew snapping at her husband and racing off wasn't one of her best ideas, seeing as how she didn't know the forest. She'd been living in the castle, after all, and she'd never had any reason to soil her pretty shoes with mud and animal droppings. But even she had to admit that nature was quite beautiful, the sun sitting in the perfect position that made everything below it shimmer.
Firgga was lost, hungry, tired, and in pain.
She'd lost her sons, possibly to other realms that did not particularly like Asgard or the Royal Family.
Frigga dismounted her horse and sat on the ground, and allowed tears to overcome her.
Thor was surprisingly graceful for a large child that he was, twirling and spinning as the fairies tugged on his hands and feet. Loki was easier for the fairies to guide, since he was smaller and lighter.
Fairies, boys and girls, were tiny little things, but their wings created a loud murmuring, and they chattered excitedly about their new friends that had come from the cave wall, a place where they'd never been allowed to cross.
The boys let out less than manly squeals and giggles. They'd been there for hours, and only when the fairies asked about their home did they realized that they'd been gone all night, and possibly all morning.
"Goodbye!" The tiny people tinkled about, spinning around and around the boys as they climbed back through the hole. "Come back! Dance! Come back! Dance!"
Thor and Loki, now letting the exhausting sinking in, just barely made it back to the waterfall, and almost slipped into the water. They settled onto the grass, Loki's blanket covering them both and Loki's head resting on Thor's stomach, and drifted off into sleep.
Frigga sat in the garden, emotionless. She'd been there for a few hours now, watching the sunset. Still no sign of Thor or Loki. The men had found her, and then after it started to get dark, they headed back to the castle, vowing to wake up bright and early to look tomorrow.
She once found solace in the pretty plants, often braiding them into her hair or tickling her boys with the daisies, or putting buttercups under their chins. Now, she hated the sight of them, for they held so many memories.
But she wouldn't allow herself to cry. No, she could not show weakness. She, afterall, was a queen, and queens must be brave for their subjects.
Frigga winced. She wondered how the people of Asgard would react when they heard of the boy's disappearance, a possible kidnapping that most likely involved their enemies, the Chitauri.
Frigga shuddered, pushing the image of the Mad Titan standing over her sweet, innocent children with his beady red eyes that glowed with hunger.
"Your Majesty!"
Frigga did not turn. What could be more important than her mourning? She'd have to fire that maid in the morning, when she had the energy.
"Queen Frigga! At the front gates! The children have-"
The servant didn't get to finish before the queen brushed past her, yanking off her heels on the way to run. Even though every royal member had physical exercise, she'd never run, not like this, where her heart pounded in her chest of her feet hit the stone pavement as speeds so fast she was sure she was almost flying.
She saw them, both boys hugging their father. Selfishly, she yanked them out of Odin's arms and crushed them to her body, not taking notice to her ripped dress with rose thorns on the remaining threads, or her bare, filthy feet.
"Oh!" She cried jubilantly. "My babies!"
"Mom!" Thor groaned, blushing.
Punishment ensued, of course. Thor had lost his training priveledges, and Loki was no longer allowed in the any library until his mother gave the okay.
Now, Thor and Loki sat in the gardens, with supervision, and poked around in the dirt, murmuring in low voices, speaking a language only their tongues could.
And from a distance, Odin watched, wondering where they had gone, and why they'd refused whisper what they'd discovered. From the looks on their faces, they obviously discovered something.
"Thor?" Loki whispered, not wanting the guards to hear. "Will...never mind. It is quite foolish of me to ask such."
"I am sure it is fine, brother," Thor replied.
"I...Will you stay with me during the storms?"
Thor smiled.
"Of course! That's what brother's are for."
"And...Thor?"
"Yes, brother?"
"Can...Can we go see the faires again?"
Thor chuckled, glanced at the guards, and whispered, "Perhaps we should look somewhere else. There's a whole forest out there..."