Little Lost Girl

"You are hereby forbidden from all forms of participation in the upcoming tournaments. No competing, no betting, no attendance, and no attending celebrations before or after."

Loki set his jaw and asked, "For how long am I to be punished?"

The Allfather looked down upon his son and saw the defiance in his eyes. He was sorely tempted to knock him off of his high horse with a longer sentence, but he opted to keep the time agreed upon by the council. "Until such time that the Lady Sif's hair grows back to its original length."

Loki's unapologetic attitude immediately vanished in favor of incredulity. "That's a rather imprecise sentence."

"You gave her a rather imprecise haircut."

Several weeks later, and still licking his wounds, Loki found himself almost alone in the palace. The only people who were not at the stadium grounds watching the tournament were old, disinterested scholars and the few servants and guards who managed to pick the short straws and had to stay behind to work.

The raucous cheering echoed in some of the larger halls closer to the stadium, causing Loki to avoid the south eastern wing entirely. Instead he kept himself busy with doing odd jobs here and there, magical ones of course.

In an effort to appear humble, he had taken to being on his best behavior, always helping around the palace and refraining from any trickery. This morning alone already found him using his brewing skills to assist the potion making in the healing wing, developing a rather ingenious fly trap for the kitchens, and creating a more efficient method by which to catalogue and search for books in the royal library. The last one didn't really use his magical talents, but it had been by some magic that the grand master archivist had allowed him to fiddle with the old system.

As he wandered down the corridor to his next job in the indoor garden, Loki saw a somewhat familiar figure at the other end.

Barely a moment after their eyes locked, short, little legs came scurrying towards him. Her curly, auburn hair and gigantic smile told Loki everything he needed to know at that moment.

She was Volstagg's child.

"Prince Loki!" she yelled as same came barrelling down the hall. The resemblance to her father in that instant was uncanny.

"Yes?" he inquired as she came to a stop. What was her name again? Gerda? Yes, that sounded right.

Her voice proved as boisterous as her father's and her words came out in a rush. "I can't find my da! I had to go to the ladies' room and he said he'd be right back 'cause he was gonna get us snacks but he isn't. I've looked and looked but I can't find him anywhere!"

Loki did not realise there was something he absolutely did not want to do today until this very moment. This was it.

"Have you tried the kitchens?"

"Aye."

"The dining hall?"

A nod.

"The feasting hall?"

Another nod.

"The grand feasting hall?"

At her third nod, Loki briefly contemplated if there were any other hall, room, or chamber where the Voluptuous Volstagg might find food. Finding none, he simply said, "I'm sure he's somewhere in the palace. Try the kitchens again."

"But I told you he isn't there!"

Whether it was by his magic or some innate paternal sense, Loki could see the child's emotional state was dissolving quickly.

He bent down on one knee and placed his hands on her small shoulders.

"Look, Gerda, your father is probably looking for you right now. Did he tell you to stay near the ladies' room?"

"Yes."

Loki wondered what went on in a child's head. Logic simply escaped them.

"Then why did you not stay there?"

"I waited and waited and he never came back," she cried.

"He most likely got distracted by all of the food. You probably just missed him as you went looking."

"Can you help me find him? Please, Prince Loki?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw a guard heading down the corridor doing his rounds.

"I have a better idea. How about I have a guard accompany you. He can take you all over the palace and find your missing father."

Loki stood and motioned the guard over.

"But Da says to never go with strangers!"

Loki resolved to have a chat with Volstagg about what he was teaching his child as she would not even go to a palace guard for assistance.

"He's a guard, not a stranger. You can trust him."

He also wanted to add, "Am I not a stranger as well? We have only ever met once." He managed to refrain from making that comment.

But Gerda was steadfast in her wish for Loki to help her. "But you have magic. You can find him easier."

"Gerda, I -"

Loki looked up to see two servants wandering down the hall chatting animatedly. Why were there so many people in this particular wing of a rather empty palace? He really did not want an audience to this, him with a soon to be even more upset child. Unfortunately, he recognized one of the servants to be a very gossipy chambermaid. Loki really did not need more bad words circling the kingdom.

With a sigh, he conceded, "Fine. I'll help you find your father."

Gerda latched herself onto Loki's leg and squealed, "Thank you, Loki!"

He gave the two servants an awkward smile as they quickly walked passed with amused looks on their faces, knowing that they would immediately start talking about him once they turned the corner.

He tried to pry Gerda off of him. "Kindly remove yourself or I'll turn you into something unpleasant."

The threat only earned him a bout of giggling, though thankfully she did let go.

Still giggling, Gerda asked, "You wouldn't really turn me into a toad, would you?"

"I might. Though when did I say I'd turn you into a toad? I just said I'd turn you into something unpleasant."

"I don't like toads," she simply said with a serious shake of her head.

Again, her leaps in logic went completely over his head.

"Come on. Let's find your father before I turn myself into a toad."

After a minute or so of blessed silence, Gerda piped up, "Why aren't you at the tournament? Everyone else is there."

"Seen one, seen them all."

"How can you see them all if you've only seen one?"

"Magic," he said, exaggerating the word and with a little wave of his hands. This answer seemed to appease her.

It did not prove an end to her questions though. "Who's your favorite fighter?"

Loki sighed. "I don't know. Thor, I guess."

"Mine too! He's really good."

"Hn."

"Da is really good fighter too. Do you fight?"

"Once in a while."

"I don't wanna be warrior like Da."

Knowing she would eventually just tell him, Loki humored her and asked, "What do you want to be then?"

"A unicorn."

It was nearly fifteen minutes at this point and they were no closer to finding Volstagg.

"Perhaps he is already at the tourney field," he suggested.

"He can't 'cause I got the tickets!" She pulled out their two red and white tickets from a pocket in her trousers.

"Of course you do," Loki said whilst taking a moment to gaze at the ceiling, wondering if the Norns wished to punish him separately for his crime against Sif.

While Loki pondered at what to do next, Gerda's mood took a nosedive and she began to panic.

"Do you think something happened to Da? What if he doesn't come back? What if he's hurt?"

He was not much of a caretaker to begin with, but he truly did not think he could handle a crying child at this moment.

He knelt down once more, re-placing his hands on her shoulders and looking directly in her eyes. He suddenly realized the familiarity of his actions both now and earlier as they mirrored those of his mother whenever he or Thor had been upset as children. It must be subconscious, he reasoned.

"Look, your da- father," Loki corrected. "Your father is completely safe. It is a big palace, aye. But he knows it well and he will not be gone forever. We will find him."

"You promise?" she asked, still unsure.

With his most authoritative and royal voice, he replied, "I, Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard and its territories across the Nine Realms, General of the Asgardian Naval Forces, and Master Sorcerer to the Crown, do solemnly swear to find-"

"Gerda!"

Both Loki and Gerda whipped their heads around to see Volstagg, dripping wet and covered in mud standing at the opposite end of the golden hall.

"Da!" she cried happily and bounded towards him. Volstagg immediately picked his daughter up and wrapped her in a bear hug that muddied her clothes.

Leaning back from the embrace, Gerda exclaimed, "We were looking for you, Da. We searched the whole palace and couldn't find you."

"Well I wasn't in the palace, sweetheart."

Turning from his daughter, Volstagg aimed his next words at Loki, who had quietly approached the reunited family.

"I was in a swamp!"

"A swamp- Oh...," Loki trailed off, realization dawning.

"Aye, a swamp," Volstagg repeated angrily. "I was in the kitchens getting food and the next thing I know, I'm being transported to a bloody swamp!"

Gerda clapped a hand over her mouth and almost inaudibly uttered, "Da said a bad word."

Volstagg's temper lessened and he quickly apologized. "Sorry, Gerd."

Loki took the opportunity to interject before the other man could get riled up again. "I had no idea my portal could transport anything larger than a blueberry. It was meant to get rid of flies from the kitchen. Just a one way-"

"Oh I know it's only one way! It took me nearly twenty minutes for Heimdall to rescue me because he was at the blood-, he was at the tournament."

Backstepping as to make his escape, Loki pressed his hands together and said, "My sincerest apologies, good Volstagg. But now you're back, you have your daughter, and there are still plenty of matches to watch at the tournament. Good day."

He made to pivot on heel, but unfortunately, the heavyset warrior was not finished with the prince just yet.

"What were you doing with my daughter in the first place? No tricks I hope."

Loki inwardly cringed. It was only because of his recent wrong against Sif that Volstagg treated him with such distrust. Their friend group had been rather neatly divided against him since the incident.

Gerda thankfully chose that moment to speak up. "He was helping me find you, Da."

Volstagg looked him up and down then let out a short, "Hmph."

With his daughter still in his arms, the third member of the Warriors Three turned and headed down to the stadium, seemingly unconcerned he was still covered in mud.

Once again alone, Loki took a moment to reflect on the last twenty minutes. With a nod and a click of his tongue, he turned in the direction to take him to the kitchens. He had a portal to redo.

Thank you, AsgardGuardian for your kind reviews :)