Twenty four hours later, Loki leaned back against the wall he was resting on and looked down at Farbauti. She was sleeping peacefully on the collection of furs they had salvaged. Looking around, Loki thought back on what had happened that had led them there.
Laufey had fallen for his plot, and Loki had led his birth father to Odin's chamber only to slay him there. The rest of the Jotunn guards followed shortly after and then Loki was standing over the scattered remains of the tyrant king, feeling triumphant. After that there was a rush of events falling one after the other. Frigga had embraced him, and then Thor was there and angry.
Apparently the idiot was mad at him for sending the Destroyer, and thus giving him a chance to win back his God-hood. The ungrateful brat. They had fought then, the battle only stopping when Odin had awoken and stepped between the two. Thor was made to stand down and Loki had willingly handed Gunganir over to Odin. It was when he passed the spear to Odin's hands that Loki noticed the newly awoken kings scrutinizing look. Loki fought to keep his face devoid of emotion so that Odin could not misread his expression. After Loki found himself in his rooms, his clothes in need of changing after the fight with Thor. Odin had told them to leave and that he would call for both his sons in an hours time. In that hour Loki stayed within his chambers, not daring to step outside his doors. All over the castle the servants and guards were buzzing with the news of Laufey's demise at the hands of the younger prince.
Loki waited for Farbauti to appear. He wondered if she knew yet, if the news had reached the kitchens and she had been forced not to react lest she give herself away. He wondered if she was upset with him, disappointed with him… proud of him. She had spoken of Laufey at length the night before, but she had not seemed to be very fond of him anymore. In fact she had talked about waiting for the tyrant to die. Surely she wouldn't be very upset with him…
That whole hour he waited, but she did not come. When he could delay no longer, Loki walked towards Odin's hall, a horrible weight had settled in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps she could not leave the kitchens without arising suspicion. He had never seen the witch light during the day, would it even work? Did she even know? He pushed those thoughts aside when he reached the doors to the hall. He could not dwell on such thoughts at the moment. Drawing himself up, Loki strode through the doors to the hall beyond.
Inside, he was greater with a disturbing scene. Clearly he had been left out of some discussion because everyone else was already there. Everyone being the King and Queen, Thor and his warrior friends. The former were giving him varying looks of displeasure and cruel mirth. Sif certainly looked like she was going to enjoy whatever was about to happen. Loki fought hard not to let it show how off balance he felt as he walked to the front of the dias before the King and kneeled. Frigga was to one side of Odin, Thor was on the other, facing Loki with a constipated look upon his face.
"Loki," Odin spoke, his voice echoing throughout the hall. He did not add Odin-son Loki noticed. No one else seemed to so he raised his eyes to the man he'd spent his life thinking as his father. Odin's face was as unreadable as usual, giving Loki no clue as to what was about to happen. "Loki, it has been brought to my attention your hostile actions while King. I have also learned of your traitorous movements before Thor's coronation. Before we continue, do you have anything to say in your defence?"
So thats what this was all about. No wonder Sif looked so gleeful. They all thought that Loki was about to get what they all thought he deserved. Well then, let us begin, he thought to himself. Standing up from his kneel, Loki put on a gaming smile. "I have nothing to say."
Thor's fury was practically a physical presence in the room. "You will not even deny it?" he raged.
Loki calmly turned his eyes towards Thor and tilted his head. "Will I deny the fact that I allowed three Frost Giants in to Asgard through secret pass-ways with the intent of having them killed by our defences and thereby interrupting your coronation? No, I will not. Why should I?"
"It is treason!" Thor shouted and Loki smirked and shook his head.
"And what else would you have had me do?" He asked, turning his attention back to the Allfather. "I could not simply tell you that Thor was not yet ready to be king. That he was too foolish and too eager to start a war. If I had, you would have simply brushed my words aside and assumed it was envy. No, I had to show you. And you can not deny that I was wrong."
"It is not a matter of proving a point Loki. You betrayed Asgard by allowing our enemies into the vault. You goaded your brother into venturing into Jotunheim and in doing so the war that was started that day is in part in your blame as well." Odin argued.
"That I will deny," Loki snapped. "I refuse to take any accountability for Thor's massive stupidity. I told him not to go, and when I could not stop him I sent a servant to get you. Even then, Laufey was prepared to let us walk away and Thor attacked over a simple jibe. I will admit to letting frost giants in to Asgard, but I refuse to be attributed to starting a war. A war that I stopped myself without the loss of a single Aesir might I remind you."
Thor's face was flushed, but he could not deny Loki's words were true. Odin frowned. "Your slaying of Laufey is another matter Loki. You claim that you acted only to show me how unprepared Thor was for the crown, but your behaviour and actions proved that you were no more capable. In your short rule you sent the destroyer to Midgard where a small settlement was nearly eradicated. You attacked your friends and killed your brother. You attacked Heimdell so that you could bring Laufey to Asgard to kill me and then through trickery and deceit you killed him. These are not the actions of a king Loki, and you must see justice for them."
Loki did not even bother to hide his scowl. "So this is a trial then? May I inquire as to when they will be tried?" He gestured to Sif and the warriors three who looked shocked at his words. "And Heimdell of course."
"Do not try and blame your actions on other brother!" Thor growled.
"Heimdell attacked me." Loki stated, ignoring Thor completely. "I ordered him to not allow any travel throughout the bifrost, he ignored my order an allowed Thor's friends to travel to Midgard so that they may retrieve Thor despite the fact that you had banished him and despite me telling them that they could not. Is that not treason? Disobeying a direct order from two kings?" Loki did not pause to allow an answer, he pushed on. If he was going to be punished for his actions than he damn well was taking the rest of them with him if he could. "I confronted Heimdell, and as he would not follow my orders I removed him from his position. He then attacked me and I disabled him so that he might stand trial later and so that he could not interfere with my plans for Laufey."
"Your plans to lure Laufey into Asgard and away from his armies so that you could attack him once his back was turned." Odin finished, his face still stone like and unforgiving.
"I killed your enemy and ended the war that Thor had started. A war that would have killed thousand of Aesir and Jotunn's alike. I stopped that."
"Through trickery and lies!" Odin all but bellowed, his calm facade breaking at last. "You did not defeat Laufey in honourable battle, you attacked from behind, a cowards attack. This is not how a King of Asgard win's a war. This is not the way of Asgard!"
Loki went very still. "Well then," he said quietly, though all could hear him in the large hall. "I suppose thats appropriate considering that I'm not of Asgard."
By the movements of Thor and his friends, he knew that they had no idea what he was talking about. Frigga froze at his words, and Odin narrowed his one eye.
"Isn't this what you had in mind when you took me Allfather?" Loki asked, venom filling his voice as he let his anger get the better of him. He stood with his back straight and stared down Odin.
"Loki, what is this madness you speak of?" came Thor's brash voice.
"Just something I've recently discovered," Loki replied, his eyes never leaving Odin's. "Your father was kind enough to explain to me why when I was grabbed on Jotunheim by a frost giant, my arm turned blue rather than burn with frostbite. It would turn out that I am not your brother at all, or even an Aesir. After the final battle Odin took me from the temple along with the casket and disguised me as his son." Thor was making sounds of disbelief, and the warriors three were no better but Loki only had eyes for the king when he deliberately spoke his next words. "Of course during this tale of rescuing an abandoned infant he tactfully omitted the part where he had to cut down my mother to get to me, so I find myself doubting certain parts of his story."
The hand that was not holding Gungnir jerked, the only sign that Odin was drastically startled by this. "Who has told you this?" he demanded, no doubt already knowing the answer. There had ever only been three witnesses to that day, and Loki would have been to young to remember.
"My mother told me," Loki confirmed, ignoring the soft noise that Frigga made. "And considering your history of telling me half truths I find myself rather inclined to believe her."
"Loki-" Odin began but Loki cut him off.
"But what she did not now, and truthfully I can not understand, is why you took me. Spare me your false stories of sentiment and rescue of an unwanted babe, and tell me your true intentions. You told me yourself that you had planned to use me to create peace, and you can not expect me to believe that you thought to use an abandoned child for a political gain. If I was unwanted no one would have cared if you had me or not. But you did know who I was, what I was. Laufey's first born son and therefore the heir. Was it your hope to raise me in Asgard and when Laufey died to put me on the throne as a puppet king? Because I can think of no other reason-"
"ENOUGH!" Odin bellowed, cutting off Loki's rant and silencing the rest who where trying to understand what was going on. Loki nearly took a step beck from the glare the king was levelling at him, but he refused to be cowed. Not anymore. Even when Odin took a step forward, raising his spear in hand Loki did not move.
"Loki, your words only betray how far your paranoia has grown. You have attacked your brother, brought harm to those you should have protected as king. And you seek to blame them for your actions." Loki kept his mouth shut, though his anger spiked at those words. Instead his eyes followed the tip of Odin's spear as it was angled down to point at him. "You have allowed yourself to be swayed by our enemy and can no longer be trusted. It is because of this that I am forced to punish you so."
Several things happened in the span of a few seconds. Loki caught Sif's triumphant grin, Thor's befuddlement and Frigga's inaction. Gungnir bucked back in Odin's grip as a burst of magic was fired from it. Loki himself tried to step to the side, knowing already that he would not be able to move in time. A shadow formed directly in front of him, and became solid just in time for the blast to hit it dead on. Farbauti flew backwards from the force of the blast directly into Loki's chest sending them both to the floor.
There was stillness in the hall for one long moment as everyone present tried to process what had just happened, and then Loki was sitting up and scrambling to Farbauti's side. At first Loki thought her dead, she was so still… but then she groaned and her face twisted as though in pain. And then, alarmingly, her pale face faded to blue. Loki paid no mind to the sounds of surprise and anger that suddenly filled the room, or the heavy thump of boots as guards spilled in. He didn't care that his hands were touching her bare arms, and that blue was creeping its way up his neck. His mother opened her eyes and looked at him as if confused. There didn't seem to be any more pain though as he checked for a wound.
The guards were moving in, Thor was shouting and things were about to come to a head, which is right about the time Loki usually made himself scarce. So, he pulled him mother into his arms and stood up, glaring at the Allfather with ruby eyes as he did so. Before the guards could grab him though, before Odin could strike again or Thor could reach him, Loki pulled the shadows of the room towards him and in a few whispered syllables he disappeared from Asgard.
He re-apeared in the opening of a cave, away from the wind and snow blowing outside. As soon as they were solid again, Farbauti was put back on her feet, though Loki stayed close by just in case.
"What did he do to you?" He asked urgently.
Farbauti frowned, her hand going to her temple as she tried to form a response. "My magic," she said finally. "He took my magic."
Loki frowned as she slowly got her bearings. "Why did you do that?"
He asked when she seemed to be more herself.
"What?"
"Why did you throw yourself in front of me if you did not even know what spell he had cast?"
Farbauti looked at him like he had said something remarkably dim-witted. "I thought he meant to kill you." She explained as though it were obvious.
Loki stared at her, gobsmacked. "And you still…"
His mother's face softened at his shock, and Farbauti brought a hand up to stroke his face once before looping her arms around his neck and pulling him into an embrace. Loki returned it, holding her close. Farbauti seemed content there, and Loki couldn't help but blurt out, "I killed Laufey,"
He didn't know if she knew yet, and it seemed important that he tell her. She had just been willing to die for him, he should return the courtesy by telling her of her murdered husband. He waited for her to tense in his arms, to push him away, to be angry with him. He did not expect her to let out a laugh.
"Yes, you did." Was her amused reply, as though he had told her that he had finished all of his supper.
Loki pulled away to watch her warily. "Why do you laugh?"
His mother did not even bother to hide her mirth. "I suppose it is funny, in a macabre sense. So many have tried to kill Laufey. Usurpers, traitors, and kin. Odin tried to send spies in to kill off his enemy; even I have tried to find a way. None could manage it though. And then along comes my Loki, who decides in a day that the best way to end the war would be to get rid of the ruler, and then within hours Laufey is dead." Farbauti's grin was wide and honest, and Loki could not find a single bar in her words. "I suppose, even though I love you and I know how smart and clever you are, sometimes I forget how very brilliant you can be. And then you do what everyone else had deemed impossible and I remember all over again."
Feeling vastly relieved, Loki tentatively returned her smile. "You are not angry then?"
Farbauti's answer was to hug him again. "No my darling. I am not mad at all. I told you before, I lost the man I loved to war. There was nothing left in Laufey for me to mourn."
When they parted, his mother glanced at the opening of the cave. "You brought us to Jotunheim." She stated, though he heard the underlying question.
"It seemed the best option. Odin can not follow us here without passing through Laufey's fortress.
"Are we to stay in this cave then?"
"I had not thought that far ahead. Please remember that I was rather worried about your continued health when I brought us here." He paused before quietly stating, "You did mention that when Laufey died, I would be next in line to the throne."
Farbauti turned to look at him, all traces of humour gone. "Is that what you want Loki?"
Loki remembered Odin telling him that he and Thor were both born to be kings. He had never particularly wanted the throne though. It was hard to imagine yourself the ruler of a people that barely tolerated you at the best of times. "I do not know what I want." He whispered honestly.
"That is alright Loki. We have time. The people of Jotunheim do not even know their King is dead yet. You do not have to decide anything yet." She reached forward and took his hand. "Come with me, there is something I have always wanted to show you."
Loki willingly followed her out into the snow. At first it seemed to be blinding, but then his red eyes became used to it, and he could see though the billowing snow towards the mountains and landscape beyond. He felt a little like a child, being led by the hand by his mother, but the contact was needed to keep him Jotunn so that he would not freeze to death. They traveled on foot for a length of time, and Farbauti filled the silence with stories of the places and ruins they passed by. When they reached the side of a strange looking mountain, she led him into a crevice in the side. When they were so far in that Loki had to hold a small flame in his hand to light their way Farbauti began examining the walls. Whatever she was looking for she found, because she drew with her fingers several unfamiliar runes and the ice of the wall melted away to reveal a hall. Hesitantly Loki followed when she tugged him in. The air inside was cold but stale, as though no one had opened that door in a very long time. The walked towards what must have been the centre of the mountain itself when the walls became less ragged and more smooth. And then suddenly the hallway ended, and opened up into an enormous cavern. Light reflected through the ice above somehow so that he could see what was before him. It wasn't a mountain at all but an enormous building of some sort. Pillars stretched up all the way to the ceiling miles above, supporting the many floors and stairs that he could see. On the farthest wall, light had somehow made its way through the ice that encased the building, and lit the window. It was as beautiful as it was enormous. It reminded Loki of a stained glass window, only the pattern was of a snowflake. It was the main source of light, and once Loki's eyes adjusted, he saw the true beauty and the purpose of the building.
Books. More books than he could ever hope to read. The building was a library he realized, and it was as big as a mountain! Farbauti smiled at his obvious wonderment, and began to show him around. They were alone she assured him. There were only a handful of Jotunn who would know how to open the seal for the door, and half of them were dead now. So they explored freely as she told him of how there were four more libraries the same size on Jotunheim. They found some old furs that were somehow preserved and made a temporary campsite when they grew tired. They stacked books around them, flipping through for spells and history. Some of the books spoke of the old magic, magic that Odin would have learned from so Loki searched for a spell that would return his mothers magic to her.
They read until the light went away and Loki became to tired to maintain the small flames he had conjured. Then they lounged in the dark on their furs and spoke on deep subjects. Things like wether or not Loki planned to ever return to Asgard. "We have time," Farbauti told him when he said that he did not seem himself going back.
Loki did not have a response to that, and his mother understood. "All that has ever mattered to me most was that you were happy." She told him with a hand on his arm. "Whatever you decide to do, do it because you wish to do it. Asgard has no need for you, and Jotunheim will always get by. What is most important is that you will be happy."
Hours later, Loki could still not sleep despite his exhaustion. Farbauti slept on the furs beside him and he thought over her words. Truthfully, he felt that it would be a while before he began to miss Asgard. The events of the last couple days had poisoned any good memories he had. At least that is how he felt at the moment. He was smart enough to know that those feeling may blunt in time, but for the moment his heart hurt to think on it.
Jotunheim was another matter. Two days ago if someone had offered to make him king of the frost giants, he would have sneered and made a cutting remark about brutes and savage monsters. But now, after hearing the history of Jotunheim from his mother, from spending a day entrenched in its history, he found himself hesitating on the thought.
Being King of Asgard was never and will never be his goal. Why bother wanting to rule over a people who didn't like him and he didn't like in return. Equally unappealing was the idea of being King of a frozen wasteland, his subjects made up of monsters and beasts. But to be the King that saved Jotunheim, the King that brought back the libraries, the culture and life. To go down in history as one who took a broken realm and returned it to its bright and former glory, well… he guessed that's worth a look.
Thank you for everyone who read this and reviewed! I loved writing this and it was a fun exercise in coming up with alternate histories! I Don't think there will be sequel, in case you were wondering, really its kind of better leaving it here. I hope you enjoyed reading this short fic! Now I must get back to writing all my other stories! Including my next lost boys story!