A/N: Congratulations! It seems that your wonderful reviews caused wild plot bunnies to appear in my brain. They used 'kill writer's block'. It was super effective. (pardon my stupid Pokémon reference, I'm a little crazy right now) Anyway, thank you for giving me the inspiration to write this in less than a day. Sorry to say there is less Loki/Sigyn, more Vali being an angry little boy in this story, but it was the only idea I had, so I went with it. I hope you like it. Please R&R.
WARNING: This story contains children arguing, children swearing, and a poorly written ending.
Trust
Loki Odinson, being a prince and a sorcerer, did not always have the time to look after his five children and with his wife newly made ambassador to Alfheim, she was often unable to watch over them as well. Fortunately, the three eldest of them could for the most part take care of themselves and so were put in charge of making sure their half-brothers didn't get into trouble. Honestly, it wasn't the best plan, considering there was still much stigma between the older and younger siblings, but Loki and Sigyn wanted the children to learn to be less dependent on adults and bond with each other, even if that meant taking the risk that something might happen to them while they weren't being watched over.
On one such occasion in which neither parent was around, the five wandered about the grounds of the royal palace. Passersby gave them small bows, which was novel to Fenrir, Hela, and Jörmungandr, considering they had never been treated like the children of a prince before. They liked it, but had no idea how hard their father had fought for it. The Aesir court did not receive their existence very well. In fact, neither did the Vanir court as they accused the man of being unfaithful to Sigyn, but it was groundless and just a petty excuse to voice their hatred of Loki. None the less, Odin allowed the three to remain with their father and decreed that they be treated like royalty just as the prince's legitimate sons were. Vali and Narfi remained silent on the matter, though Vali still found it difficult to trust them (Narfi was too kind and naïve not to). However, he did not complain about the triplets being in charge when their parents weren't around (this was mostly because, of them, he knew the palace best and so got to lead them around anyway).
"Lets go play hide and seek by the Valkyrie Fountain." Vali suggested to his siblings as they walked along the golden wall that surrounded the palace grounds. Hela grinned at this and agreed, but the others fervently shook their heads.
"We did that yesterday and besides, Hela always wins, so what is the point." Jörmungandr pointed out. At this, Vali shrugged and tried to think of something else they could do, when suddenly an idea struck him and he grinned up at the wall.
"We could go see what is outside."
"I agree!" Fenrir and Jörmungandr said in unison excitedly. Like Vali, they were eager to see more of Asgard. However, Hela and Narfi were hesitant. The girl could tell what the youngest of them wanted to say and so spoke up for him, knowing he was too soft spoken to do it himself.
"Brothers, I do not think father would approve. He told us we should not leave without him." she warned, earning her scowls from the others.
"Hush, Hela. Where is your sense of adventure?" Fenrir teased, his yellow-green eyes sparkling with childish excitement. Hela frowned at him, but he ignored her and turned back to the other boys. "The guards will not let us through the gate, so how will we get to the other side?"
"That is quite simple. We will just climb over the wall." Vali stated with a smirk. The others all raised their identical dark eyebrows at him and compelled him to elaborate. "Though through what method, I am unsure." At this, Hela laughed mockingly and shook her head.
"Sister, do you still remember that spider climbing spell mother taught you?" Jörmungandr asked after a long moment of looking pensive. The girl laughed again and shook her head.
"Oh, no, no, no. You are not going to rope me into this. I refuse to assist you in your death wish." At her last statement, she got confused looks, so she continued. "I will laugh uncontrollably at the sight of your cold bodies being carried out of father's study after he kills you for not listening."
"Odin's Beard! Lighten up, Hela! Father is not going to kill us. Besides, we do not have to tell him where we have been." Vali replied and the older boys swiftly agreed with him. The pale girl rolled her pearly eyes and sighed heavily.
"Very well. Give me your hands." The boys then proceed to place their hand on top of their sister's, well, all except Narfi. He looked at them anxiously, his blue-gray eyes filled with apprehension as they encouraged him to join them. Only after they told him he would be left alone if he didn't did he comply. Then Hela uttered a few words and silvery strands of magic curled around their fingers before sinking into their skin. "Now hurry. The spell will only last for ten minutes." she cautioned them and without further discussion, all five of them began to climb the enormous wall. When they got to the top, they paused for a moment to take in the scenery before them: a vast expanse of beautiful city. Then they began to climb down the other side. Vali was still only halfway down when the spell wore off and he let out a cry of panic as he fell. Fortunately, Jörmungandr reacted quickly enough to transform into an enormous snake and catch him.
"Are you alright, brother? You should try to be a little quicker in your climbing next time." Sadly, Vali did not take this as gratefully as he could have and pushed himself away from Jörmungandr when he returned to his normal form.
"I am fine. And do not call me that. I am not your brother." he snapped, blowing a lock of his long, black hair out of his eyes. The triplets frowned at him and he wrapped his arm around Narfi's shoulders.
"What are you talking about? Of course I am your brother."
"No, you are not. I do not know what magic you three use, but it is not father's magic and I doubt the mother you were referring to was mine because that was not her magic either." Vali turned away from them and began walking away, pulling Narfi with him.
"Oh, so that is how it is, then? Well, good luck. You will never make it back here on your own." Fenrir shot back.
"Narfi and I do not need to follow you around like a pair of lost little puppies. We can manage yourselves fine." Without another word, the two went off into the streets of Asgard alone. Many people gave them strange looks and some did double takes before giving them curt bows, but Vali paid little attention to this because he was too busy staring with curiosity at everything he saw. Narfi walked with him looking more nervous than ever and noticed all too readily the way people were looking at them. It scared him.
"Well, if it isn't Vali and Narfi Lokison. What are you two doing outside the palace walls?" a boy a little older than Vali said as a group of commoner children approached them in a small, otherwise empty street. "I thought Prince Loki's kids couldn't come out into the streets." The two dark haired boys ignored this and Vali whispered to Narfi to keep walking like nothing had happened. However, the commoner children were not about to leave them alone. "Look at them, ignoring us like we're not worth their time. Typical."
"What do you want with us?" Vali demanded, suddenly turning around, piercing emerald eyes narrowing at the boy speaking to them. The boy smirked and broke apart from his two friends to come closer.
"We wanna know why you've left your fancy little shelter. If you know what's good for you, you'll go home to your mother."
"We do not have to say anything to likes of you." With an air of superiority, the eight year old turned back around and started to walk off and Narfi quickly followed after giving the stranger children an apologetic glance.
"See? Look at them, running away. Cowards, both of them, just like Prince Loki." the commoner boy sneered to his friends. This hit a raw nerve with Vali and snapped back around, glaring him with an expression of pure loathing.
"Do not slander my father's name." the green eyed boy hissed, his fists clenching tightly. Narfi muttered to him to be careful and not pick a fight and they should probably be getting back to the wall now. They were outnumbered and the younger of the two brothers wasn't even any good at fighting. He was too nice to throw a punch and it didn't help that his opponents would be twice his age (being only six).
"What are you gonna do about it, coward? I was only speaking the truth. Everyone knows Prince Loki has no honor. He tells lies and tricks people to get what he wants." This was the last straw for Vali. Taking a step closer, he replied.
"Your mouth seems to be moving and making sound. Let me fix that for you." With this, he socked the other boy squarely in the jaw as hard as he could. While the blond was bent over, clutching his face, his two friends grabbed hold of Vali's arms and restrained him as he struggled to get in another swing. The boy wiped his mouth and looked at the blood on the back of his hand with a frown before looking back up at Vali and laughed.
"You're gonna pay for that, you little shit." he said through gritted teeth and punched the dark haired boy hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He was still struggling for breath when he received another blow, this time to the face and he could feel warm blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He took hit after hit with no time to say anything between gasps of pain and he was too frail in comparison to the others to be able to break free and fight back. Narfi seemed to be nowhere in sight and Vali could only hope he had gotten away and was finding help.
About five minutes later, after Vali had his arm broken, did anyone come to his aid. From the corner of his eye, he could see Fenrir and Jörmungandr, both looking livid.
"Wow, that is pathetic, beating up a kid who is smaller than you." Fenrir barked, finally attracting the commoners' attention.
"Well, if it isn't Loki's bastard sons. Come to get the smugness beaten out of you too?"
"Shall we break them?" Jörmungandr asked his triplet brother.
"How about just slightly maim? I do not want to get blood on my furs." Fenrir responded with a grin that revealed his unusually long canine teeth.
"Well, they did hurt our little brother, so I do not want to go easy on them, but I see your point. Slightly maim it is." Gasps of shock and horror escaped the commoner children's mouthes as Fenrir and Jörmungandr transformed themselves into a large wolf and snake. It took only a loud growl and hiss to make them let go of Vali and scramble away down the otherwise empty street. Vali fell to his hands and knees briefly before keeling over onto his side with a groan of pain. Suddenly, out of the shadows came Hela and Narfi and they rushed to Vali's side. They could see his face was covered in blood and his arm was twisted at a weird angle. Without even thinking, Narfi ripped a piece of green cloth from his sleeve and started wiping his brother's face. As he did so, tiny slivers of blue light radiated from the fabric and when he was done, Vali's face seemed as good as new except for his tired and pain stricken expression.
"Narfi, how did you do that?" Hela asked in amazement.
"I-I do not know...it just...happened." the six year old sputtered. Hela was prevented from questioning him further by Fenrir's sudden presence at Vali's side.
"Hurry! Get him onto my back! We must not be found here." he urged in a soft growl, nudging Vali's head with his muzzle. Silently, Hela and Jörmungandr heaved the boy onto the wolf's back. "You too, Narfi." He gestured for the youngest among them to get on his back as well. With both of Sigyn's sons holding tightly to Fenrir's gray fur, they sped off to the golden wall of the palace. Hela cast her spell again and they scaled the wall easily. Once they were safely on the other side, they slowed down and snuck home, taking a back route through the gardens. Almost as soon as they were through the door of the tower, Lady Sigyn rushed up to them.
"I came back for the council meeting an hour ago and no one knew where you- Odin's Beard!" the woman stopped abruptly to exclaim as she caught sight of Vali, who looked bruised and beaten and his arm was still twisted at a weird angle. He was staring off into space like he was completely out of it from so much pain. "What happened?" she demanded of the others as she took her son into her arms and carried him to a nearby couch. As she examined him, Hela explained.
"We left the palace. Vali and Narfi went off alone. They ran into some mean children and they beat up Vali, but Fenrir and Jörmungandr scared them away." She paused and winced at Vali's cry of pain when Sigyn straightened his arm. "We came back as soon as we could."
"You should never have gone in the first place." the mother scolded, casting the other children a stern look. "You are lucky to be alive." she told them all, employing Loki's method of lesson teaching.
"I am sorry, mother." Vali wheezed, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. He looked like he want to cry, but they all knew he wasn't going to in front of them.
"Hush, my child. It is alright. I have healed your wounds. We can talk about this later when your father comes home. Now you just need to go rest." Sigyn soothed, helping the boy sit up.
"Oh, please do not tell him!" Fenrir begged as he turned back to normal.
"No, there are no secrets in a family."
"But he will kill us!" he whined, eyes wide.
"No, he will not. Now go to your rooms." Understanding that this was final, the children went off to their rooms without further argument.
Upon seeing Loki return, Sigyn embraced him tightly and he kissed her when she asked him how his day had been. For a moment, he was smiling, but then he read into his wife's body language and frowned; it was in the way she held onto him, the slightly fast pace of her breathing barely audible. Something had happened. He could feel it.
"Tell me." he said in the most serious of tones. Sigyn then proceeded to divulge everything that the children had told her or that she had been able to deduce about what had happened with Vali. The more she told him, the further her husband's brow furrowed until finally he called forth a servant girl and asked her to send for his children.
"All of them, my lord?"
"All of them."
"Yes, my lord." Within ten minutes, all five of them were assembled in the common room, looking guiltily down at their feet.
"You are aware that I forbade you to leave without me accompanying you and now you have seen why. You are not yet old enough to handle the situations you would be forced to deal with outside these walls." Loki began. "Fortunately, none of you lost your lives, though you very well could have since such is a very real possibility when you engage in a fight." None of them said anything to this and simply continued to stare at the ground. "Vali, even common folk do not fight for no reason at all. Tell me what happened."
"They were sullying your name, father. It was a slight to not only your honor, but my own as well. I could not just let them get away with it." the boy explained softly, head still hung.
"Look at me, Vali." At this, he quickly looked up at Loki and their identical green eyes met. "Never let anyone provoke you into displaying your anger in such a vulgar and brutish way. Do not stoop to that level. If you wish to retaliate, use a different means. You were born with a brain and a tongue. You are capable of speech. Use the wit in your words to fight your battles, not the blade of a sword, for often the former is much sharper."
"I understand."
"Good. That will take you far." The prince gently patted his son's head to let him know that he was not angry with him. "That goes for all of you. I hope you have learned from what happened today and never make the same mistake twice."
"Yes, father." they each said. Loki grinned and nodded to them.
"Hurry now and prepare yourselves for dinner." At this, they scampered off looking significantly less sullen. Sigyn came to stand next to the prince as their children left the room, smiling.
"I think you handled that rather well. You shared some excellent pieces of wisdom." she commented. He wrapped his arm around her waist and laughed. "You know, earlier, they were afraid that you were going to kill them."
"They do not realize that I was once very much like them. They are lucky not to have to learn such wisdom the hard way as I did." Inside, he was eternally grateful to the Fates that his son, or indeed any of his beloved children, had not been taken from him this day.
At the dinner table, Vali came to sit between Narfi and Fenrir, much to Fenrir's surprise and the elder boy gave him a quizzical look.
"I am sorry for what I said...brother. I should have been more trusting." Vali confessed and Fenrir instantly understood what this was about. "Thank you...for saving me."
"Think nothing of it. Besides, if it is any consolation, Lady Sigyn is a much better mother than my real one." This made the younger boy smile and for the rest of the meal, Vali and Fenrir talked excitedly to each other and came to be not only close brothers, but also good friends.
A/N: So yeah...I'm hoping to feature Thor in the next story and I have a few ideas as to how to do that. I want it to be funny because this story was sort of depressingly serious. As always, if you have any suggestions/prompts for me, please do share them. All reviews I receive are put toward the "T.Z.'s Confidence Fund", which works to make better stories, faster. Contributions are tax deductible. All stories are made possible by reviewers like you. Thank you. ~T.Z.