Thanks for dropping in!
This is a sequel to Always - my Thor-based fic. I'd recommend reading that first! (Found here. s/11228768/1/Always)
THIS story is a quasi-alternate version of the Avengers (1). Enjoy!
The half-mortal, half Jotun-hybrid girl padded into her parents' chambers quietly. She'd just seen her mother Chelsea in the dining hall. The woman was a Midgardian who had adapted and enjoyed an unnaturally long life since Odin brought her to live on Asgard as a child.
The girl's father, the youngest prince of Asgard, Loki, was on the balcony, leaning on the railing and staring out into the night sky. He appeared as he always had: tall, pale, and lean. Earlier in the day, Hella had seen him morph into a horrible monster. His skin had turned black and his eyes red, just like the terrifying pictures in the stories her aunt Sif read her. Frost Giants, they were called.
"Hella," her father said softly. He never had to look. He could always tell when Hella was trying to sneak.
"Father," she said quietly, lingering by the chaise. Though she was only six by Asgardian measure, she was wiser than other children her age. "I thought you would be lonely since you didn't come to dinner." Though the memory of his red eyes would surely give her nightmares, she knew he'd calm her.
Loki turned and smiled at the girl. "That's very thoughtful, my sweet girl. Come, a meteor shower will begin in a few moments. We've not seen one here on Asgard for ten years! I remember the last one before you were born. Your mother and I watched from our favorite spot outside the palace; down in the meadow by the lake."
Hella smiled and crept out to the balcony, mentally assuring herself that Father wasn't scary. "Will Mother come? She loves the stars."
Loki picked up the girl and set her on the railing, making sure to keep his hand on her shoulder lest she should lean too far forward. "Mother does love the stars. I'm certain she'll be watching from somewhere. You know she gets very tired with the babies growing in her belly."
Hella nodded. "Yes, especially two of them." She hummed to herself, then turned to Loki. "Will I ever meet the Midgardians who were there when I was born?"
Loki shrugged. "Who's to say? People have a way of coming into our lives when we least expect it, don't they? Perhaps when you're a little bigger you can travel the BiFrost."
Hella smiled. "Yes, Father. I should like that."
A large orange tiger prowled out to the balcony and sniffed at Loki's boots. Loki had conjured the beast as a gift for Chelsea before they were married. "H'lo, Tiger," Loki said, scratching the cat behind the ears. Tiger gave a growl of approval and jumped up so that his front paws rested on the railing beside Hella.
The girl petted Tiger and let herself drift away in thought. Her mouth scrunched to one side as she decided what to say next. "Are you still mad?"
Loki frowned. "What do you mean? I'm not mad at you."
When he didn't volunteer any explanation for his change in appearance from that afternoon, she decided to move past it. "I heard you and Grandfather yelling."
"I'm sorry about that," Loki said with a slight grimace. "You know we love each other. Sometimes families, especially royal ones, argue about how things should be done. Uncle Thor, too. At the end of the day, we're all better." He couldn't help but wonder in horror if Hella had seen his outburst.
On Svartalfheim Loki and Thor along with a few elite warriors had been putting down a rebellion. The rebels fought hard, but to no avail. Mjolnir flew this way and that from Thor's hand, smashing the enemy fighters to pieces. Thor's wife Sif smiled wickedly as her blades sang and cut through bodies. "Don't let them touch you!" a red-haired Asgardian named Volstag cried as he sank his axe into a rebel. "It burns!" He rubbed at his arm, which was steaming and blistering. "They're some sort of cursed Dark Elves." At that exact moment, an unusually tall rebel snatched Loki by the arm. Unlike Volstag, Loki's arm didn't burn, but instead turned a blackish blue hue; the color and patterning of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. A sinking feeling settled in his stomach and hadn't lifted since. Odin sat on his throne, looking pained. "You are my son." He'd dreaded this moment for Loki's entire life. Loki allowed his skin to morph into the form it had taken earlier. It felt natural. "What more than that?" He blinked his eyes back into focus, knowing they'd changed form as well. He clenched his fists and focused on keeping his magic energy contained. As Odin delved into the truth about Loki's childhood and upbringing, neither he nor his son noticed the little girl hiding behind the pillar. Loki had stormed from the hall, his head spinning. So he was a Jotun – a Frost Giant. His entire life had been a lie. He and his daughter were still heirs to a throne, but not the one they'd been raised to honor. Odin vowed that nothing would change, but how could it ever be the same?
"What am I?" Loki yelled. His voice echoed through the grand hall, the fury seeming to multiply.
"Yes, Princess?" Loki said, leaning on his elbows on the railing and looking over to the girl. She was beautiful with caramel skin and raven hair. Chelsea was from a Midgardian land called India, and Hella had inherited her looks. How can you tell a child they're bred of monsters? He began to see Odin's hesitation in telling Loki the truth. Now he faced the same choice: when, or if he should tell his daughter she wasn't of Asgard at all.
"Aren't you hungry?" Hella chimed. "Uncle Thor always says princes and princesses should eat so they can be big and strong. Is that why Uncle Thor is bigger than you? He never misses a meal." Hella studied her father in concern.
Laughing, Loki scooped the girl up in his arms. "He may be bigger, but do you think Uncle Thor's stronger than me? Look at these muscles!" He lifted Hella above his head and feigned fright. "Wait! Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm going to drop you!" He gasped and made his arms tremble. "Oh, no!"
Hella squealed. "No, Father!" She giggled and kicked her legs in the air. "You won't drop me!" This was her father, not the blue alien she'd seen this afternoon.
"Then who says Thor's stronger than me?" Loki let the girl fall so that she was riding on his shoulders. "Uncle Thor never carries Modi around. Maybe it's because he's not strong enough."
"Nuh-uh," Hella protested. "Modi's just a baby so he can't go all over like I can." She sat up straighter, enjoying her view from up so high. "Why does Modi get to be a king someday? I'm older than him. I've always wanted a crown like Mother's. I'd be a good queen, huh, Father?"
"If it were your fate, you would be. But Thor is the eldest. That means he gets to be king, and then his children after him." Loki looked upward toward his daughter. "You don't want to be a queen, anyway. They don't get to have any fun."
"Is that why Aunt Sif is grumpy so often? She doesn't want to be queen?"
Loki laughed aloud before he could stop himself. The pair forgot the afternoon's revelation as they headed toward the kitchens, laughing all the way.