And His Name Shall Be Called "Changeling"
Some years have passed. Loki is now the Asgardian equivalent of a human two-year-old, and Thor is at the level of human six-year-old.
Thor has a slight mishap, which distracts Frigga long enough for Odin to do a bit of magical investigation regarding his new son. It does not go exactly as planned.
"How is he?" Odin shifted nervously from one foot to the other, watching the healer tend his son.
"He will be fine, my King." Eir smiled reassuringly. "Especially once he learns that leaping from the top of a tree is something he should work up to."
Odin regarded his first-born, who was making a valiant effort to hold still as Eir did her work.
"I could have done it, Father!" Thor protested. "I will learn how to fly!"
Odin's attempt to suppress a smile was about as successful as Thor's attempt to hold still. "I have every confidence you will, Thor. But you must be patient. You have to grow much taller so you can fly safely."
Thor pondered his father's words, and continued to watch Eir.
The rustle of skirts indicated Frigga's presence, even before she spoke. In spite of the circumstances, Odin took the moment to appreciate his wife's grace and his queen's intensity.
Holding Loki to her, Frigga came to a stop next to Thor's bed. Thor looked up, relieved to see his mother, and also a bit afraid. She had that look, and it didn't usually go well for him.
"Thor Odinson, we have talked about this." Frigga drew herself up, and Thor remembered that her mother had been a giantess. "When you grow up to be a strong man, and have learned your lessons well, you may learn how to fly, if you are worthy of Mjolnir."
Thor nodded, and blinked back tears.
"Part of being worthy is being wise."
Thor nodded.
"And would you say that jumping from the top of a tree in the orchard before you can fly is a wise thing to do?"
Thor's eyes widened. "No, mother. It was not a wise thing to do."
Odin watched the exchange, covering his mouth with his sleeve and pretending to cough.
Frigga softened. "Good. You have learned an important lesson, and are now wiser than you were before."
Thor relaxed, and his mother leaned down and kissed his forehead. "You must learn to be patient, Thor. "
"I will, Mother. I have learned my lesson. I will be the most patient boy in the Nine Realms, and grow up to be the wisest man in the Nine Realms."
Odin was grateful to have Gungnir at his side, and took the opportunity to examine it very closely, so Thor could not see his father's face. Knowing the mood Frigga was in, he didn't dare try to cover his laughter with another coughing fit.
"Odin, I will stay here with Thor a while. Please take Loki and put him down for a nap."
Her husband nodded. Odin knew the King had meetings scheduled, and Odin also knew that tone in his wife's voice. The meetings could be rescheduled. Frigga's irritation could not.
Odin carefully took the baby from her, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I will tend to Loki."
"As for you, Thor," Odin gazed solemnly at his oldest son. "You are to stay right here until your mother says you are well enough to get up. Not one minute before."
Thor nodded. "Yes, Father."
"And don't even think of asking her if you can get up."
Thor nodded. He knew that both of his parents were very worried, and it was all his fault. The last thing he wanted to do was to worry them more. "Of course, Father."
Holding Loki to his chest, Odin left the healing room.
As worried as he had been about Thor, his oldest son's misadventures provided an opportunity for Odin to take care of something that had been on his mind since he brought Loki to Asgard. The child was rarely out of Frigga's sight, and Odin needed Loki to himself for a time. Holding the sleeping boy, Odin turned to go, not to Frigga's chambers, but to the Vault.
The guards quickly opened the door as Odin approached and wordlessly stepped into the Vault. The heavy doors closed firmly and quickly behind him.
Odin inspected the Vault regularly to ensure the continued presence of the collected treasures. While all of them were priceless objects, many were also incredibly powerful magical objects which, if wielded by unscrupulous users, could create havoc and destroy worlds.
As he walked the paths of the Vault, Odin mused on the most recent war with Jotunheim, which allowed Asgard to take possession of the Casket of Ancient Winters. He remembered Farbauti's face, angry and defiant, as Odin's guards sealed the chest which Odin had prepared to transport the Casket to Asgard. Not only had the Frost Giants suffered a terrible military defeat in their own land, their highest magic was being taken from them—a far more terrible defeat than merely losing a battle of armies.
Odin remembered Farbauti's eyes, empty and hollow, mourning the loss of his wife and his newborn son. As a father, Odin pitied Farbauti, and had wanted to assure him that the young prince had survived; as a king, Odin distrusted Farbauti, and knew that doing so would only lead to further battles and bloodshed.
He dismissed thoughts of the other king, and came to a stop a few yards from the Casket. He watched as the light within it swirled slowly, listlessly, as though the energy it contained was bored by its captivity in the Vault.
He took a deep breath, and walked slowly towards the Casket.
Odin felt Loki stir in his arms, and looked down at his son, who was suddenly awake and looking at him with bright eyes unclouded by sleep.
Loki shifted in his father's arms, and reached towards the Casket.
Odin continued to walk slowly towards it.
The light in the Casket began to pulse, throbbing like the heart of someone seeing a long-lost loved one after prolonged separation.
Loki reached towards the Casket, a thread of green seidhr winding its way forward. As it reached the Casket, the thread turned blue.
Odin stopped in front of the Casket, and Loki put his hands on it.
The child did not shriek, neither from the cold, nor from the surge of energy. Silently, Loki held his hands on the Casket, and Odin watched in fascination as his son resumed the Frost Giant form he had been born with, born the son of Laufey and Farbauti.
Loki's hands glowed softly with blue seidhr energy, and he babbled at the Casket. He did not yet speak any language, and Odin wondered whether the child was attempting to speak the Aesir words he heard each day, or the Jotun language he had heard at birth.
Loki babbled, and the lights in the Casket swirled in a deliberate manner, responding to the child's voice.
Despite his deep interest in where Loki's magical bond with the Casket might lead, Odin also knew that unleashing a torrent of ice magic in the Vault—and the subsequent clean-up—was not what he had time to deal with today. He also did not relish the idea of having to explain it all to Frigga.
He gently lifted Loki's hands from the Casket. Loki frowned, and reached back towards it.
Odin caught Loki's hands to keep him from touching it. The blue seidhr still flowed from Loki's hands towards the casket.
"Mine!" Loki struggled in Odin's arms to regain contact with the Casket.
"Not yet, Loki." Odin wrapped the boy in his cloak, and slowly backed away from the Casket.
Loki continued to squirm and shift in Odin's arms. "Mine!"
The baby was frantic now, and Odin was surprised to find that he had to make real effort to keep Loki in his arms. "Not yet, Loki."
"Home!" Loki was fighting Odin to keep the seidhr connection with the Casket. "Home!"
"You're home, Loki. Here with your family." Odin held the child tighter. This was not what he had expected, and he was not entirely sure what to do about it.
"Mine!" The child growled, a sound Odin had never heard before. "Mine!"
Odin turned his back to the Casket, which was still pulsing with light. He hoped that losing sight of the Casket would calm Loki, or at least break the seidhr connection.
Loki did not calm down, but the blue threads immediately faded, and Loki began to resume his Aesir form. Odin sighed with more than a bit of relief.
"Mine!" Loki was crying and thrashing in Odin's arms. "Home!"
"Ssh, Loki, you're home. Here with Father, and Mother, and your brother Thor." Odin tried to bounce the child as he had seen Frigga do to comfort him, but that only agitated Loki more.
"Mine!" Loki stopped struggling, and curled up weeping on Odin's chest. "Home."
Odin carried the weeping child out of the vault.
Odin was relieved to find that Frigga's chambers were empty. He did not want to have to explain to his wife why he had delayed Loki's nap, and why Loki was a weeping bundle of fabric, rather than the peaceful little boy she had entrusted to Odin in the healing rooms.
Loki had stopped sobbing, although the tears continued to flow. Odin pulled a cloth from the basket next to Loki's daybed, and did his best to dry the tears as they fell.
Odin held Loki until the tears stopped, and it seemed the boy was asleep.
He carefully tucked the boy into his little bed.
Loki looked up at him, and in the quietest voice Odin had ever heard, said one word.
"Home."