Loki sat in the bath big enough to fit five full grown men when a servant woman knocked on the door and promptly entered the bedroom. The doors to his room were large and gold, just like everything else in Ásgard, and his room and bath area were no different. From the doors you could see the entire bathtub, laid into the floor, in it's own open aired room directly across the bedroom. And the bedroom itself was mostly empty- Loki had not collected much from his few 'adventures' yet, but for an immensely large bed to the left and a wardrobe and full length mirror opposite of that. Loki swiveled his head to look at the woman as she stood by his bed with a small stack of clothes in hand.
"I have your clothes for the evening, Prince Loki." she said, keeping her head down.
"Fine," Loki called back to her, "leave them on the bed, I will dress myself."
"Of course, sir." The servant set the stack down and left the prince's bedroom.
Loki sighed and rubbed his wet hands on his face, massaging his temples. He had a headache- his father had been coaching him and his brother all day on feast etiquette. There was to be a large banquet in their honour that evening and it would be Thor and Loki's first social event. Apparently the official giving of the title of 'prince' was a big deal and everyone in Ásgard was expected to be there. Loki pulled himself out of the bath and let the warm evening air dry him as he went to the mirror and stared at his body. He looked at every inch of his skin fleetingly and the thought crossed his mind for just a moment, that no matter how presentable, how princely he made himself appear- they would only see his colours and trademark Jötun features.
Loki shook his head, trying to scatter the thoughts, and turned to the clothes on his bed. The outfit had been made specifically for that night- pale brown with gold trim, lightly patterned with filigree along the edges. The colours weren't entirely to his tastes- he preferred black and green with his gold, but his mother pleaded with him to humour his father and wear them just for the night. He was lucky to wear just the colours; Odin wanted him in traditional Ásgardian attire for the night he would reveal Loki to Ásgard. Loki had protested so profusely (threw a tantrum, Thor had called it) that the All Father gave in on the condition he wear the right colours.
Loki laughed to himself as he pulled his body length loincloth over his head. His father's naïveté astounded him- how could the All Father possibly believe that the servants and guards who worked in the palace would keep their promise to never speak of the Jötun living there for twenty years? And Loki had been outside the castle before (without his father's knowledge, of course) to meet the keeper of the Bifrost, Heimdal. He rather liked the man, though he would never let anyone know it. To Loki, the occasion of his father 'revealing' his Jötun son to the Áesir could be either most uncalamitous, or become an all out war- collectively accepting and ignoring him or driving him out. Odin knew there would be an uproar, but believed it would consist of cheers of acceptance, for who could question the rule of the mighty All Father, Odin?
Loki pulled on his leggings and gauntlets, checking that his sharp, black finger and toe nails were proper, just the way he liked. Now he was ready for the last piece of his attire- the crown. He moved to the dresser and stared at the thin gold metal sitting atop it. Odin requested the brothers design their crowns for the coronation, since he was not given the choice to make his own when he was made prince in his younger days, and so they had, though Loki didn't know what to expect for his brother's crown. They thought theirs up separately and didn't speak of them, saying they would reveal them to each other at the coronation. Loki had second thoughts about wearing his at all. Certainly he liked it, but he wondered if he should really be making such a statement the way he would with his crown. Wouldn't the guests be scared enough at just the sight of his oddly coloured skin and eyes? Disturbed enough by his Jötun clothes? He sighed and rubbed a finger over his lips in thought and jumped in surprise when there was a knock at his door. He smoothed down his clothes and turned away from his crown.
"Come." he said.
The door opened to reveal Frigga, looking the very definition of 'Queen.'
Loki deflated some at the sight of his mother. She came into the room and held her arms open to hug him and he gave in automatically. She hugged him and then held him at arms length, inspecting his appearance, though she hardly ever had any qualms about it. The Jötun appreciated that his mother touched his skin without a second thought. She didn't mind the intense cold nor the numb feeling her hands felt during the contact, but she made sure, as did he, that she didn't touch the underside of his hands. He remembered learning the hard way that he wasn't allowed to lay hands on anyone when he and Thor first practiced hand to hand combat on each other. Apparently choking his enemies would be very effective for Loki- Thor couldn't speak for a week because of the frostbite.
"You look like a prince, darling." She smiled.
Loki raised a fine eyebrow at her comment, "Don't I always look like a prince?"
A laugh snapped out of Frigga's throat, "No. You and Thor always look to be a couple of ruffians- running about the palace calling each other names and rolling around in the dirt after a fight!" She took a deep breath and smiled softly, "Tonight, you and your brother become real princes; someone that all of Ásgard can look up to."
Loki only stared at his mother and said, "But I am not a real prince."
Frigga sighed sadly and ran her hands down the Jötun's arms. "I will tell you something, but after the feast, and maybe you will find it important, maybe not. But I want you to be in good spirits tonight, enjoy yourself."
Loki pursed his lips and nodded and she smiled at him. She noticed the crown on his dresser, went to it and picked it up gently. She inspected it and turned to Loki, still with the smile on her face. She held it out to him and he was reluctant to take it, she noticed of course.
"Not thinking of showing up without it are you?"
Loki trained his face to be straight, "Of course not."
She tilted her head and hummed, "Mmhm."
He sighed and took it from her. "Don't you think this will be too-"
"No. It will be just fine. You are a prince of Ásgard, Loki, and to not wear your crown on this important day will light the thought that you don't belong here, but you do. You do belong here with us." She looked down at the metal held loosely in her sons hand, "I like your choice." She said, referring to the long protrusions from the front of the crown. "Very bold, yet sleek. Maybe a little threatening even. Perhaps Áesir need to know you mean business?" She moved back to the doors of Loki's chambers, leaving him with her words and she only stopped to tell him they would be ready in a few minutes, and then she closed the door behind her.
Loki turned away and clicked his tongue. He fidgeted with the crown and stared at the floor for a moment before looking in the mirror and placing the band on his head. The gold gleamed under the setting sun and the corner of his lips lifted, he really did like it. He reached up to the tip of the protrusions and pricked his finger it. Yes, the horns suited him well. He took in his more forbiding stature and nodded to himself that he was ready, and made his way out to the banquet hall.
He met Thor on his way to the coronation and the overly muscular blonde slapped his brother on the back, a big grin plastered on his face. Loki held his hands up to his forehead head just under the horned crown,
"Thor, please, I have the worst headache."
"Ha! You'll soon forget about all your aches when you have drank a stein of mead with father and me."
Loki pursed his lips, "You know I detest ale- it is so foul." He thought back to the first time he and Thor had drunk and shivered; it had been a night he wished he didn't remember.
"But you must drink with me to celebrate our official title as Prince!" He looked at Loki with large wet eyes, "Please, brother- one drink?"
The Jötun gave an exasperated exhale, "As you wish. One-" he held up a thin finger between them, "one drink." He glanced at his older brothers hair and turned to face forward, waiting to be let into the banquet hall when their father announced them. Still facing front, after a moment of silence he shook his head and had to ask.
"What is that on your head?"
"Feathers, wings really." Thor replied, not missing a beat, knowing his brother would have to comment on it. Thor's silver crown also wrapped over the top of his forehead but was swept up over his ears to form outstretched wings.
"Why? Why do you have metal wings on-"
"What is wrong with wings? You don't like-"
"I did not say that I did not like them, I am merely questioning your choice to have them on your crown."
"Because I like them." Thor said simply and turned to Loki with a smile on his lips.
Loki cocked his head and asked flatly, "Do you think yourself a great eagle, Thor?"
"No, but-"
"Eagles do not like thunder and lightning."
"Why do you protest so much to my feathers?"
Loki turned forward again and Thor followed suit. Both being quiet for a second.
"I do not wish you to look a fool on our first feast." The Jötun finally said and Thor turned again to face his younger sibling,
"So you don't like them!"
Loki scoffed but the blonde continued, "I do not think I need to mention how you will look at the feast, you goat."
Loki growled at the mention of his horns, he knew his brother would have something to say, "We can't all be as gorgeous as you, Thor."
Frigga suddenly stepped out of the hall and smiled at them, "Almost ready."
The young men took deep breaths to prepare themselves and Loki ran a hand over his hair, making sure it was smooth, and Thor adjusted his crotch. Loki rolled his eyes when he saw him do this.
'Always the gentleman.' he thought.
Frigga heard a cue from the All Father on the other side of the doors and she nodded to them- any second now. Thor quickly nudged Loki in the side.
"You know I do not mean it, right? I like your horns- they're... well they're something else." He almost chuckled, but miraculously held it in.
Loki chuckled instead and nodded, "I know, brother. And your feathers are... acceptable."
The doors suddenly opened wide and the boys heard the All Father finish his long speech-
"-the Princes of Ásgard!"
And an uproar of cheers and claps followed the conclusion of his speech and the unveiling of the All Father's sons.
Frigga stood behind her boys and, when she saw they had not moved, pushed them forward into the lights of the hall. Thor moved first after the push and was all a-smiles, lifting his meaty hands to wave at the crowd. Thor stepped close to the platform on which the throne sat and Odin laid on him a small smile.
Loki stepped out behind him and in his ears he still heard the thunderous clapping, but mixed amongst the cheers were whispers and mumbles at the sight of him. His heart sank the tiniest fraction. He knew this would happen and it was certainly better than he expected but he had still hoped, deep inside the back of his mind, that the Ásgardians would surprise him and maybe even cheer harder than they had for Thor. Hoped that they would look past his appearance and assume he was just like them; trusting the All Father's judgement. Loki stitched a weak smile on his face and moved to stand near Thor. At least his head didn't throb as bad as it had when they first stepped into the room. They stood near their father with their shining crowns and the King raised a hand to gesture to them.
"Thor and Loki Odinson!"
The cheers erupted again and Loki tried to hold back a grimace. He only wanted to sit and eat and try to get through the night. Odin stood and the boys thought he was going to announce the commencement of the feast, but instead stepped down from the throne and walked into the crowd of smiling Áesir, shaking hands and nodding periodically.
Thor and Loki shifted uncomfortably, glancing at each other and the crowd, unsure of what they should do. And then their mother was behind them again,
"This is where you greet everyone. Follow your father's example," she whispered to them, "be friendly and remember their faces, who they are, thank everyone for coming- they came for you." She pushed them forward again, a little gentler this time.
They took a few steps and the people in the front of the crowd noticed them come. Thor held Loki's arm and grinned at him nervously,
"Stay by my side, prince Loki."
Loki scoffed and rolled his eyes but smiled all the same and they walked up to the group. Frigga stepped up to guests as well, jumping into her usual greetings. Many women gathered around her and they gossiped. The crowd parted slightly for the brothers and watched them curiously. The boys managed some smiles to offer and they found themselves by Odin's side again. When in doubt, stick with dad.
Odin saw a man across the way and said man grinned and hustled to him.
"Hávard! Hávard, how are you?" Odin beamed at the man and slapped him on the shoulder much like Thor did with others. Hávard was a tall, thin man with a small, pointy black mustache and his dark brown hair was swept back over his scalp.
"My King," the man said, "I am honored you would have me with you at the coronation of your sons. It is a proud day for Ásgard."
"It is, it is!" Odin agreed and he waved his sons over to meet the man. "My sons, this is Hávard Starkson, the High Defender of Ásgard." He looked towards Thor, "He is the man who made your weapon's creation possible."
Thor thought of his hammer, Mjolnir, which he left in his room since he could call it to him, and looked at Hávard in surprise. This frail looking man had figured out how to make his prized weapon?
"That is astounding!" Thor beamed at the man, "Well, I thank you- I do not know where I would be without my hammer."
"Yes, well, I may have designed it, but only the finest dwarven craftsmen could have pulled it off! But I thank you- I am happy it is your companion."
Loki stepped closer to them, keeping a shoulder hidden behind Thor's, he didn't want to leave himself open to the stranger.
"You must have quite the intelligence to arrange the makings of such a powerful piece." He offered. Loki was intrigued by the man's smarts, but had an inkling of doubt within him because even though this Starkson claimed such brilliance, it sounded like he could not make his creations work without outside assistance. To Loki, you weren't truly an inventor, weren't truly a craftsman, if you couldn't put to work your creations as well as just design them.
Hávard took Loki in, and let his eyes linger on the long golden horns on his forehead before smiling, "I like to think so, yes. I thank you for the recognition, Prince Loki- not many say it."
Odin laughed and addressed him again, "Where is your boy, Hávard?"
Hávard looked dismayed and stammered, "I am sorry, my lord, but he could not make it. He left on a hunt that he apparently deemed more important than dining with his king; I could not get him to come to his senses."
Loki's eyes squinted at the man as he apologized all over himself about his absent son- he was lying, Loki surmised.
Odin either didn't notice the signs or didn't care enough to call him on it and just chuckled, shoving a large hand onto the smaller man's shoulder, "I understand- boys will be boys. You should have seen how hard it was to get these two to be at their own coronations tonight!"
The two men shared a hearty laugh and the boys merely chuckled. Other guests shuffled in close to the King, silently asking for his attention and he gave it, nodding a goodbye to Starkson. Loki spotted his mother on the other side of the crowd and went to her, shrugging off the warm hand that rested on his shoulder as he left.
Frigga saw her blue skinned son walk through the crowd to her and the ladies near her noticed her distraction and quieted their gossip. She leaned toward him and touched her cheek to his, greeting him with a loving smile. Then she looked towards the women surrounding her and saw they were all completely silent, taking in every piece of her son's body and princely crown. They had most likely never seen a Jötun so close, if they'd seen one at all. Loki glanced at Frigga from the corner of his eye and she opened her mouth to speak but closed it when he raised a hand to silence her. He let the silence ride out for another few seconds more until he made a sudden, jolting step forward and shouted,
"Boo!"
The front line of ladies all jumped and screamed in fright, one woman even gave him the pleasure of fainting mid-scream. Loki threw his head back and laughed loudly- his mother was right, the horns made him seem more threatening. Frigga elbowed him in the side and tried to give him a stern look of reprimand, but her smile showed through anyway.
His laughter died down, "Haha! Oh, I am sorry ladies- just a little bit of fun." He smiled wide, the lines around his mouth deepening, showing his delight from scaring the wits out of his mother's friends. Frigga wrapped a hand around her son's freezing cold arm and squeezed it gently.
"I'm sorry my dears, my Loki is something of a trickster- do not mind him."
"Oh, and he is charming!" called a voice from the group.
Loki raised his brows at the woman who pushed her way to the front. A tanned woman with enormously long, curly blonde hair appeared through the crowd of other women. She wore a low cut, flowing dress that framed her breasts, and gold and jeweled rings on her fingers; thin white gold filaments weaving through her hair.
"Freyja! I am so happy you could make it to the coronation." The Queen declared and the two women came together and touched cheeks.
"Oh, my Queen, I would not miss this for all the realms! I see I made it in time for the show as well." Freyja laughed breathily and motioned to the women who still looked a little pale from their scare. She looked expectantly at Loki and raked her eyes over him.
Loki shifted his vision back and forth between Freyja and his mother for a moment before he realized she was waiting for an introduction.
"Oh," he stammered, "Loki, madame." He made to give the beautiful woman a bow and froze when she gasped.
"No, no my dear Prince-" she swiftly moved closer to him, "Greet a lady like this." And she leaned into his body and cupped her hands over the backs of his shoulders where his tunic and gauntlets didn't meet. She grazed her cheek against his and, as she drew away, lightly scraped her fingernails over his skin- feeling the ridges of his Jötun markings.
Loki's headache surged back to life when he tried to wrap his head around all the signals this woman had just sent him. He glanced at Frigga again and by the way her eyebrows were raised to her hairline, he knew it wasn't just him who thought the exchange was very obvious. Loki opened his mouth, though he was unsure of what he would say; at a loss for words for once in his life, but he was rescued from what would surely be an awkward conversation by the booming of the All Father's voice.
"Let us feast!" He shouted, and everyone cheered.
Loki had looked back at Freyja and smiled apologetically as he backed away, wanting to get to the table and as far away from the woman as he could. The look on her face made his heartbeat speed up- her pale green eyes half-lidded and teeth pulling the corner of her plump bottom lip in. She was truly beautiful- one of the few women Loki thought to be so (apart from his mother) and the looks and touches she just gave him scared him to death.
The food had been set out on the tables as they all mingled and it sent aromas throughout the hall. Three long tables took up most of the space and everyone gathered round, trying to decide where they would sit as they waited for the King and royal family to sit first. Odin stood at the head of the middle table, Thor on his left and Frigga and then Loki on his right. The seating arrangement had been discussed beforehand and Odin declared that he would never sit at a table where his wife couldn't be on his right hand. Loki hadn't minded in the least, preferring to be near his mother.
Odin had given the nod to sit and he and Frigga seated themselves in their tall backed chairs easily. Immediately after, the princes began to sit and, in an instant of boredom, Loki made a low hand gesture- laying his palm flat and sweeping it to the side. He watched Thor idly as the blonde went to sit heavily and missed the chair that suddenly moved away, falling to the floor and making an unmanly yelp on the way down.
Loki laughed so suddenly he choked on his own saliva; he hadn't expected Thor's fall to be so funny. Thor gripped the edge of the table and popped his head up, one hand on his winged crown to straighten it,
"Loki!" He warned.
As he righted his chair and sat in it, Loki quieted his choking laughter to a chuckle.
"It's not my fault you cannot sit properly, brother."
All the other guests had moved to find seats when Thor took his tumble to the floor and didn't see his embarrassment. As Thor made himself comfortable in his seat, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder,
"What happened, Thor- eat so much you couldn't stand any longer? The feast has yet to even begin!"
Thor looked up into a thick face covered from scalp to chin in red hair.
"Volstagg!" Thor boomed with a grin. The burly prince rose from his seat and wrapped his arms over the redhead's shoulders and slapped him heartily on the back. Volstagg chortled and returned the gesture, and drew away when another young man appeared.
Platinum hair swept back and the makings of a small mustache on his lip. "Ah, I bet he saw the great and lovely Freyja and felt his knees go weak!"
Loki rolled his eyes at the comment and spoke up before Thor could get to it, "Thor has yet to lay eyes on such a beautiful lady. It was I who had the privilege, Fandral."
Fandral raised his eyebrows at Loki- impressed.
"Oh, your brother is a regular heart smasher among women, Thor."
Thor's smile widened when he heard the sweet voice from behind him and he turned to see a fair skinned woman with long black hair. She held a small modest smile and it bent into a grin when Thor greeted her and the young man behind her.
"Sif! Hogun!" He clenched them both in a bear hug and Loki felt a twinge of jealousy in his heart; by the gods, he wished he could have friends like Thor's.
"Well, indeed my brother is, Lady Sif. Just now he made a gaggle of women swoon as he walked up to greet them!" The group of friends laughed and Loki stood from his chair,
"My dear brother exaggerates in a way to make me feel better," he smirked, trying to play off his annoyance as charm. "As you can see," he swept a long thin hand down his front from the tips of his golden horns and down, "I hardly cause ladies to swoon so much as scream in terror. My name is Loki." He bowed graciously to her and Sif bowed back with a small embarrassed smile. The boys gave each other looks with raised brows. Fandral fanned a hand at his own face and silently swooned, mocking Loki's gentlemanly ways, which made the Jötun scowl. None of the boys noticed his disdain and went to take their chosen seats- Sif on Thor's immediate left and Fandral next to her, and then Hogun and Volstagg across the table on Loki's right.
All the guests had taken their seats and the hall was filled with talk and laughter. Thor and his male friends, who just named themselves 'the warriors three', joked and told their own versions of the adventures they'd had growing up.
They recounted how they met Sif- hearing what sounded like cries from a lady in distress in the forest, the boys rushed towards the noise in hopes to save a fair lady. And a fair maiden they found! Drenched in sweat and clutching a giant broad sword, hacking away at crudely made sparring dummies. The men had stood at the edge of the clearing, panting in their exertion to find the 'damsel in distress' and stared in amazement. Never before had they seen a woman with a weapon in her grip before. Apparently, they had discovered, she came to the clearing secretly and trained; longing to be a warrior like her father, but knew that he would deny her the training to be so. The boys instantly liked her and they trained with her, enjoying her sass and eagerness.
Everyone laughed and and Loki was impressed to find a lady wanting to fight for herself, instead of leaving it to the men. She worked hard and was already becoming the finest warrior of the group.
Servants arrived at their sides with jugs of wine and when Loki waved them away from his cup, Thor chastised him.
"Brother, you must drink with me! You promised me at least one."
Loki conceded with slumped shoulders, the hope that Thor would have forgotten his words dashed.
"I made no such promise, but fine- a drink." A servant filled Loki's cup and he delicately held it up to Thor's to cling them together in a toast to themselves. Thor threw his back his wine and exhaled the expressive sound of a refreshing drink. He watched his younger brother sip at his own cup and the blonde flashed him large wet eyes.
"Drink with me, Loki!" He whined. Loki sighed and with slight hesitation, swallowed the entirety of his cup. The Jötun grimaced at the dryness of his mouth and the sudden, intense heat down his throat and Thor quietly laughed and grinned at his brother. The blonde prince dashed his goblet to the ground and cried for another and one more was immediately supplied. Loki took a deep breath and prepared himself for a long night.
