Guess who survived finals? Woot woot! (Well. By some definitions of survive. I'm dead inside.)

Anyways, here's an update. Up front I want to say that this story follows the basic storyline of Frozen, but with slight shifts in terms of character motivations and cultural backgrounds.

Also, if you're wondering (from the icon), Loki in Elsa's dress doesn't actually appear. My friend drew that and I just couldn't resist.

elevatortonowhere tumblr com/post/69935346524/elevatortonowhere-the-cold-never-bothered-me

Enjoy!

It was not the wind on his face—brought about from the speed at which his father (father?) drove the sleight—that bothered Loki. It was the fact that he should be feeling it a lot more than he should. There was supposed to be a chill in the air, judging by the way his mother's nose and cheeks had turned red in the lamplight. But to him, there was no chill, just the roaring as it passed by his ears. And that, more than anything, frightened him.

His hands lay idly in his lap, covered with thick gloves to hide the blueness that still marked his flesh. He tried to avert his eyes, tried not to think about that. But turning his head to any side didn't help any. The frost that trailed silently behind their sleigh, the fierce worry in Odin's eye, the terror in his mother's, and Thor…Thor hadn't stirred, hadn't made a sound. He lay bundled in Frigga's arms more silent than he had ever imagined his brother, who did not quiet even in his sleep, capable of.

Several times he tried to speak, but for the first time in his young life found the words dried up, dying in his throat before they even reached his lips. And so he sat in silence as they road through the dark hills and forests with nothing but the not-chill wind for company.

After what seemed an eternity they broke through the forest, the trees replaced by rocks and shrubs as the coastal lands gave way to the foothills. There were paths to take the sleigh onwards to the high mountain, where the ice men and the hunters made their homes; however, Odin did not take this path. Instead, he continued straight into the foothills, until the land became impassable due to its crags rocks.

"We'll walk from here," he said, getting to his feet and sweeping Thor into his arms to allow Frigga to stand. Without another word he strode off into the foothills, expecting the others to follow. Frigga did so without hesitation, and Loki only a heartbeat after, feeling more and more out of place in the shadows they cast.

Between the light cast by the auroras overhead and the lantern that Frigga held aloft, they managed to descend into the treacherous almost-valley while avoiding the many pits and traps. What Odin hoped to find though, Loki could not guess, because so far as he could tell there was no sign of life aside from the plants that swayed in the low breeze.

At long last, their trek ended in a bowl-like fixture at the lowest point in the area, with steppes carving the way naturally to its center. Boulders littered the ground in every direction, and without a second though Odin strode forward clutching Thor in his arms.

"I seek an audience with the Mountain King," he said loudly, into the thin air. There was a pause, as though he expected something to happen. Loki held his breath, counting one second….then two….then—

"There is not king of the mountain," came a voice from directly behind them. However, it was not the gruff voice of the mountain king or any that they had imagined his kin, but the soft tones of a young girl. With a start and a turn, they saw that they were being addressed by a young girl wearing seemingly outlandish clothing, who stood atop one of the nearest boulders, watching them keenly. She did not look terribly different from the other girls Loki had met, albeit briefly, with brown hair cut a little unevenly and similarly brown eyes that seemed to take in all the light around her. "But it was you kind that saw to that."

For a moment, all seemed at a loss as to what to say, but Frigga was the first to recover her voice. She turned to the child full-on with a maternal smile that put them all a little more at ease. "I have heard rumor of you. The ghost child of the mountains."

"I am the spirit that guards this place," replied the girl without fear, "I am the protector."

"I have no doubt you are its protector," Odin spoke up, "But you are human, by all accounts. Please, we mean no harm here. I am King Odin of Asgard, and I come to find aid."

The girl seemed ready to say something more, but suddenly the rock beneath her feet shifted, startling her enough that she closed her mouth and instead slid to the ground as the rock got to its feet. In the place of what Loki had once thought to be a boulder was now a man, or very nearly so. His complexion was dark and craggy and clothing akin to those of the girl, but he stood only a little below the height of normal man. As the man uncurled and stood at his full height, the other boulders surrounding them followed suit, and in a moment they were surrounded by the stone-creatures. Loki watched in wide-eyed wonder until his eyes caught on the girl, who had taken shelter under the arm of the one whose back she'd been standing upon, glaring daggers at the lot of them.

"King Odin," said their leader with a bow, "You will have to forgive my daughter, Jane."

Odin raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the child. "Your daughter?"

"My foster daughter," he amended, "Her parents belonged to one of the human clans of the north. They were attacked by wolves two winters ago, and we did not arrive in time to save them."

"Jane Foster, is it then?" asked Odin, "And to whom do I address myself?"

" Selvig of the Jotnar of the Valley," the stone man bowed deeply, "We welcome you, King Odin, as we do not with any others of your kind, as we are indebted to you. To what honor do we have of this audience?"

"I have a request," he replied, lowering himself so that Selvig could see the child he had cradled in his arms. For a moment, Selvig bent over Thor, before extending a hand and allowing a light to well up between his outstretched palm and Thor's unmoving face.

"How can this be?" he asked after a moment, "This is the Ice Magic of the Jotnar of the North Mountain, nearly identical to King Laufey's. But that clan was wiped out during the rebellion and purge." Selvig seemed deeply troubled for a moment before turning his eyes to Odin once more. "Have they returned to seek revenge?"

"No," replied Odin, who then turned to glance back at Loki, who hid in the shadows of his parents. "Loki, would you come here a moment." Slowly, his heart freezing in his chest, Loki strode forward to meet his father and the jotun. "Would you remove your gloves?"

Slowly, mechanically, as though he watched a stranger do so, he tugged the cloth that hid his hands from sight, horrified to see that the deep blue coloration remained. Now he could see that there were also raised markings that had not been there before, and he looked over them in sick fascination, like a bug he'd caught in the garden. Around him he could hear the murmuring, although he could not tell whether it was for good or ill.

"You are not the only to have fostered another's child," Odin said, and suddenly Loki's eyes snapped to his father, confusion and then horror flooding his mind. "I introduce to you my son, Prince Loki of Asgard."

"Those are the markings of Laufey," said Selvig at length, "How did this come to be?"

"It was at the end of the purge, when my father, King Bor, was killed in that last battle and before I ascended to the throne. I fought in that battle as well, and I walked among the carnage and saw that day the legacy that I was to lead, thinking that the jotnar truly were the monsters I was raised to think they were. But as I walked among the corpses, I heard the cry of a child."

"An infant had been abandoned in the midst of the battle, too small for the tribes of the North Mountain, small even for a human child." Odin paused, glancing down at Loki with a warmth that made some of the fear inside him thaw, just a little bit. "When I held my son for the first time, I saw the world as I never had before and resolved to change the mindless hatred that exists between us. As I've watched my boy grow I have wondered time and time again who the monsters of that bloody conflict truly were."

"All played a part," Selvig countered, looking Loki over, "He is powerful, to hold onto that form reflexively. Is this the first you've seen of his other powers?"

"Yes," Odin replied, "We did not know they had taken another form until tonight."

"My boy, would you please tell me what happened?" asked Selvig, meeting the boy's fearful green eyes, "You needn't be worried, what happened here wasn't your fault."

"It was…Thor had a nightmare. And I…I wanted to do a magic trick to cheer him up." Suddenly Loki's eyes were brimming with tears that he tried to force down and away, but failing completely. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't mean to."

"Of course you didn't," Selvig replied, laying a reassuring hand on the child's shoulder, "You love your brother, don't you?" Loki nodded, the tears still leaking as he tried hard to blink them away.

"Is Thor going to die?" he squeaked at length, the fear and heaviness of the question bringing the tears anew.

"Of course not. You've simply given him a brain freeze."

Loki wrinkled his nose. "Like when you eat too much snow?"

"Exactly that," Selvig paused, placing a hand on Thor's forehead, "It was a lucky thing, though, that you did not strike his heart. A frozen heart is nearly impossible to thaw, but the mind…well, the mind can be persuaded." There was a pause as light again welled up beneath the stone man's hand. "The easiest way to go about this is to seal away the memories of Prince Loki's power."

"He'll forget me?"

"Not you. Just what you are, and what you can do." Selvig smiled. "But don't worry. I'll leave the fun." The light faded, and Thor relaxed and let out a long sigh. In an instant, Frigga was there, holding her boy and checking him. Already, Loki could see the color returning to his cheeks, and he felt the relief welling up. "He needs to rest now."

"Thank you," Odin said, sincerity resounding in his voice. "Thank you so very much."

"No, it is merely repaying a debt," replied Selvig, "It was you who outlawed the hunts and did not drive us further from our heartland. For that, my tribe is in your debt."

The small family turned to go, but before they had a chance Selvig had a hand on Loki's shoulder once more.

"Prince Loki," he said, voice low and urgent, "There is something you must know. I can see that your family loves you, but know that the rest of the world will not echo that sentiment. There are too many poisoned years of blood for them to not look at you and see the monsters they tell their children of at night. You have the potential to change that, and your powers could do much good…but they will also bring fear, and hatred."

"He has nothing to fear," Frigga said suddenly, "We will protect him."

"And when you cannot?"

"By that time," she replied with a sharp smile, "It is they who will need protection from him."