Disclaimer: All recognizable characters from Marvel and Norse Mythology belong to their respective owners (i.e Stan Lee). I only own Alyss.
Chapter One: New Addition
Odin All-Father, king of Asgard, rode to the Observatory where Heimdall stood holding his golden sword. "You called for me, Heimdall?" He asked after dismounting Sleipnir, his eight legged horse.
"Yes, All-Father," The dark skinned gate keeper said. "It seems we have a visitor at the gates of Jotunheim,"
"Laufey?"
"No. It seems to be one of the giant wolves…and it has a child with her,"
"A child? You mean a cub?"
"No. I almost thought it was mortal but that is impossible,"
"But what would an Asgardian child be doing in Jotunheim?" The All-Father whispered then shook his head. "No matter. Open the gate,"
The keeper nodded and strode into the middle of the chamber to insert his sword into the slot, opening the gate. As lightening flew around the room and the Bifrost opened a passage to Jotunheim, Odin pondered Heimdall's words. How could a child have come to Jotunheim? Was there an Asgardian so malicious as to leave a child out in the cold? That sounded more like something a Frost Giant would do. Thought brought to mind his own sons, Thor and Loki. I wonder if I should… The thought was interrupted when a wolf stepped into the chamber. It was big, larger than a horse with snowy white fur and glowing yellow eyes. On its back was a sleeping child, like Heimdall had said. Odin stepped up to the wolf and reached to stroke the child's long hair but drew back in fear of waking her. He then turned to the wolf.
"Thank you for bringing her to me. I will watch over her," The King of Asgard carefully picked up the child and cradle her sleeping form to his chest.
Guard her well, King of Asgard. Such treasure mustn't be lost in the snow. The wolf said in a commanding but feminine voice before turning back and entering the Bifrost to go back to her frozen world. Odin watched on and nodded in acknowledgement of the wolf's words then left the Observatory.
Loki and Thor were walking through the halls of the palace.
"I wish you would join us, brother. It would be fun!" Thor grinned, the blond teenager trying to coax his more reserved brother to an outing with his friends.
Loki shook his head. "I'm sorry but a night of frolicking and making a fool of myself doesn't appeal to me. Besides, I have much work to be done,"
Thor sighed heavily. "Brother…all you ever do is work. If you would just loosen up a bit, maybe – "
"My lords," The boys turned to see a guard walking up to them. "Your father wishes to speak to you urgently,"
"What about?" Loki asked, confused.
"He says something has arrived and you two should see,"
The brother's nodded and left for their father's chamber. Thor burst in (as per usual) while Loki calmly but swiftly walked in.
"Father! What is…" Thor's speech stopped due to his jaw dropping. Loki came up from behind and his eyes grew wide at the sight. Odin was kneeling by his bed were a child lay. A girl no older than four of five with long dark brown hair and fair skin was fast asleep.
Loki was the first to break the silence. "Father? What is going on?"
Odin sighed and turned from the child to his sons. "Thor, Loki. You are my sons and you know I love you dearly, yes?"
Thor nodded. "Of course, Father," Loki twitched but nodded as well.
Odin nodded and smiled. "So I need you to understand that my love can never be diminished…no matter if another may also receive it,"
"Another?" Thor looked confused while Loki turned his now round green eyes to the girl.
"Father, you don't mean you're…"
"I must, Loki," Odin said gravely. "She was left all on her own. Where else can she go? No, she will stay here and live as a daughter of Odin,"
"But who is she? What is she?" Thor exclaimed.
Loki sighed in annoyance. "It's obvious that she's Asgardian, Thor. What else could she be?"
"And her name shall be Alyss," Odin said with an air of finality, looking down at a strange pendant of sorts.
"What is that, father?" Loki asked, stepping towards the king.
The all-father handed the talisman to his youngest son. "It was around her neck. Do you recognize this, Loki?"
Loki stepped closer and took the talisman, stepping closer to the bed while Thor stood where he was, shell-shocked. The younger brother turned the talisman over a few times in his hand. It was a stained-glass like pendant with crescents alternately surrounding each other, each a different shade of blue. The metal that held it all together was pewter and hung from a simple string of leather. If it weren't for the strange energy he could feel from the piece, Loki would've thought it might have been a mortal's family heirloom, passed down to this child.
As he bent a little closer to get a better look at the girl, she stirred. Her eyes fluttered opened and stared into Loki's green ones. He gasped to see they were different colors, one chocolate brown and the other sapphire blue.
"Ah, you're awake, little one," Odin said.
The girl's eyes shifted from Loki to Odin, who was smiling gently. Her eyes flitted between them all, including Thor who was slowly coming closer, and grew frightened. She shuffled away from them, utterly terrified.
"No, no, no, it's alright, dear," Odin said gently, holding his hands up to show he wasn't going to hurt her. "You're safe now,"
The girl just stared at them, curled up and frightened. Thor stood behind Loki and almost unconsciously, they both slowly reach a hand out to the girl. She squeaked and hid under the blanket. Both brothers drew back quickly, the confusion and surprising hurt in their eyes.
"It'll take time," Odin said, smiling sadly at his sons. "She's been through a lot it seems. Why you don't you spend some time on your own? I know this is a lot to take in,"
Thor nodded and left immediately. Loki, however, lagged behind, watching the girl with concern. She peeked from under the blanket, her mismatched eyes finding his before ducking back under. The dark haired teen frowned and followed his brother's lead out of the chambers.
Loki was in his study, trying to decipher a new spell when the door behind him burst open.
"I thought you were going out," he said, not flinching or bothering to turn around and see Thor stomp his way in.
"Canceled," The elder brother said simply as he paced around the room.
"The night air might clear your head," And get you to leave me alone.
"It won't," Thor paced for a time before speaking again. "What do we do?"
"What do you mean?" The question almost came out like a growl.
"The girl! Father expects us to accept this brat as family now but how! We don't know the first thing about her! Except that she's scared to death of us!"
Loki sighed, abandoning all attempts to get any work done while his loudmouth brother was in the room and turned to look at him. "I understand, brother, but there's nothing we can do. It only makes sense for Father to take her in,"
"But what if there's a reason she was abandoned in the first place? What if she's a trap from the Jotuns?"
"I doubt the Jotuns would be able to come up with such an ingenious plan, let alone get it past the front gate,"
"Then what? How did she get here?"
"I don't know and we won't know until she starts talking,"
Thor let out a frustrated growl and started pacing again. Loki sighed a shook his head. "Look, brother, there's no use worrying about it now. Just go out, have a good time and we'll deal with it tomorrow. That's all you can do,"
Thor pressed his lips together and nodded. "You're right, brother. I'm stressing myself too much. Thank you,"
Loki nodded as Thor left. Finally, peace. He thought as he turned back to his work. But soon enough, he himself couldn't concentrate on the spell as thoughts of the girl crept into his mind. Why was the girl so scared of them? And why did it bother him so much that she did? It was just a child, nothing more. A brat he and his brother would have to look out for, as expected by their father.
Loki let out a sigh of annoyance. This child wouldn't help things at all. No doubt that it would take away the attention he tried to receive from all those around him. It was getting bad enough that he'd be outshined by his older brother and now this little girl, this Alyss comes into the picture.
Already, after knowing the child for only a couple hours, Loki knew he wouldn't like her. Not one bit.
Author's Note: Hello! I really hope you enjoy this story. For those of you who've been reading Fate's Design, you'll recognize Alyss :) This is not meant to be a romance at all! The relationship between Loki and Alyss in this one is meant to be a brother/sister relationship, a particularly cute one at that ^^ Please review and tell me what you think! Enjoy!
TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!
