It was early in the morning when Loki blearily opened his eyes a sliver, disturbed by a faint yelling from the halls just outside of his chambers. He lifted his head from the pillow just a fraction to listen to the noise.
"Hammer!"
Loki rolled his eyes and laid his head back on the pillows right before the doors to the room swung open and an enraged Thor barreled inside.
"Loki!" He shouted and Loki hoisted himself up on his arms lazily. He looked at his brother coming close and he grimaced and held a hand up to shield his vision.
"Ugh, Thor-"
"Where is Mjölnir?"
"-put some clothes on!" Loki made sure his hand blocked out the lower half of his brother's body. It would seem Thor had just awoken and found the great hammer, Mjölnir, missing and wasted no time trying to recover it. Thor slept in the nude.
"Never mind my appearance, trickster," Thor glared at his younger brother from his place at the edge of the bed. Loki tilted his head and raised his eyebrows in disbelief at the nickname.
"Where have you hidden her? She is precious to-"
"Gods, my eyes!" Loki dragged on.
"Tell me!"
"I haven't taken it!" he shouted at Thor and dropped his hand from his eyes and turned his head away. "Have you checked your bath-"
"Mjölnir does not accompany me in the bath."
"It used to."
"Well, not anymore!"
The brothers huffed at each other with angry eyes until Loki flipped back the thin-furred covers of his bed and waved a hand down his body to dress himself with his sorcery. He didn't feel like taking the time to dress the normal way after being woken up so rudely. He combed his fingers through his hair when he turned back to Thor, who stood with his fists on his hips, still completely unashamed of his nudity. Loki sighed.
"I will find out what happened to Mjölnir; I'm sure Heimdal has seen it."
Thor smiled, his anger gone completely.
"Thank you, brother."
Loki made his way out of the bedroom and saw two servant girls pass. They looked in as they walked and blushed furiously at the sight of Thor's butt cheeks.
A few minutes later, a pale skinned man walked down the rainbow bridge; black hair slicked back over his scalp, and dressed in leather and metal with hints of forest green fabric peeking out in places. He stopped a few feet from another man who stood straight and still, looking very intimidating. The gleaming gold armor he wore reflected off his dark brown skin.
"To Jötunheim again?" The dark man asked, not moving his golden-orange eyes.
The pale man smiled wide, "You always see through me, Heimdal, only you."
Heimdal nodded almost imperceptibly, "It is my job to see anything and everything, Prince Loki."
"Yes, well," Loki kicked gently at the glowing plating of the bridge, "Thor threw his fit about his precious hammer and now instead of pleasing me by futilely searching for it, he commands me to bring it back to him. If he only knew where I put it! Ha!" He laughed at the thought of his brothers expression if he had said he opened the bifrost to Jötunheim and oh so delicately tossed Mjölnir down into the wasteland. He told himself that just imagining it was worth the trouble.
Loki smiled at the guardian and strode past him into the gate of the observatory, his new coat tails flapping out behind him. Heimdal followed the prince into the gates and, stepping up the stairs of the platform in the centre, unlocked the portal.
Loki flashed onto solid ground after only a second and he almost lost his balance. When he traveled through the bifrost he felt as though he wasn't in his body, he never got used to it and loved the rush he felt afterwards when he recognized the sensation.
Looking out across the landscape of ice and snow, Loki sighed- blistering cold winds and thick snow flew over the landscape. He began his trek and almost smiled into the weather; it was a dry cold so refreshing, sometimes Loki felt stifled even in the lightest heat in Ásgard.
From this long distance he could see the huge spires of ice that made up the capital city of Jötunheim. It looked like a black forest: dark and forbidden. He'd never been to the capital before, never spoken to King Laufey, nor even seen him. He supposed it would have happened sometime; knew that subconsciously he would show up with the curiosity of his king father urging him on. That must have been what brought about this prank: Throw Mjölnir at Jötunheim and when Thor threw his fit and demanded its return he could easily seek out the king himself. Just to ask if he had noticed a hammer lying about, of course.
As he leaned into the wind and made his way forward, Loki clenched his fists and looked down at them when he didn't feel the pain that usually occurred. For a second he was startled when he saw the white skin and clear nails but then he chuckled to himself and remembered that he changed his appearance for the trip. When he had made way for the bifrost, Loki had thought of leaving his looks as they were- showing up at King Laufey's feet just as blue as he was. But what kind of commotion would that cause, he wondered. A Jötun claiming to reside in Ásgard, in the palace as the All Father's son no less? He didn't think it would fare well for him.
Finally begging Amora to teach him the Elvish language herself, he learned and mastered the shapeshifting seiðas. Amora even let him keep the book that had taught him. He remembered testing out appearances after mastering the transformation and made two favourite looks which he decided he would put to use. Amora had been right- when Loki was capable of changing his appearance, he did just that and stayed in it for long periods of time. It was taking the royal family some time to get used to; Frigga nearly screamed and called for the guards when he showed up in her room, blue eyed, pale tanned skin, and curly reddish hair on his scalp and chin. That was his second favourite appearance. His first, and the one he wore now consisted of eyes now a pale green, an homage to Freyja because he saw her eyes as strikingly stunning and they kept his attention whenever he and her interacted, and pale white skin. He kept his hair the same black and slick because it was comfortable. He conjured himself the proper princely attire albeit still black and green (his colours of choice, as he always wore) and left his crown at home as well. Now that he was in the correct clothes,as the All Father would say, he didn't mind it so much- they were made to his specifications (i.e. the pants were looser than the norm, even after all these years he still found the style too crotch restricting).
Loki worried over the authenticity of his newfound appearance when he realized he was already on the outskirts of the city. Around him towered the spires of thick ice, not quite as tall as the ones clustered in the centre of the city, where Loki knew the kings throne was, but they were still gigantic none the less. As the prince briskly walked through the city, he glanced about, nervous that he might attract a lot of attention even though he saw no frost giants. But that didn't mean they weren't there watching him already. A fleeting thought came to him when he looked up at one of the towers of ice that his thick and sharp nails were for climbing them: homes were built into the blocks and there were no ladders to get up and down. Accompanying that thought came a realization of slight fear when he remembered reading about Jötunheim's wildlife- large, tough, and savage.
It was then of course that he heard the faintest footfalls behind him and he stopped dead in his tracks, afraid to turn and see what would most likely devour him in one mouthful, but he did so anyways, very slowly. When he saw two very bulky Jötun guards instead of the beast he had expected, he blinked in surprise and almost sighed in relief. The men glared at him, clutching their weapons tight in their fists, looking near ready to attack. Loki would have continued to stand stock still if he hadn't remembered why they looked so ruffled- he didn't look like them. He had to wonder for a second if this whole thing was a terrible idea, surely they would run him through right now. But he hoped he still had a chance when he slowly raised his hands up beside him in a show of compliance.
"I seek an audience with King Laufey!" He told the guards in a strong voice, though he hardly felt that strong. Of course when he hadn't wanted to attract attention he apparently had. Word must have went out that an Ásgardian wandered the landscape and the guards were sent to collect him.
The men glanced at each other as they decided what they should do, and then they stood close to Loki's sides and lead him into the palace. They knew not to touch him, as he had come peacefully and so they didn't punish him with frost burns. Loki wondered for a moment if he would burn like an Anses under this glamour, because he knew he wouldn't if he looked like himself, but he didn't want to test the theory and blow his cover. As the guards marched forward, Loki followed silently with his head bowed, he felt as if he was being brought before Odin to receive punishment. Like the time he set fire to all the drapes in the castle after declaring he hated the new ones which were hung in his room. He wanted to chuckle at the thought, he had been so young, barely learning how to control the fire he held such an infatuation with. Well, they were rather ugly drapes.
When they entered the throne room, which was surprisingly much smaller in comparison to Ásgard's, more guards joined the ones at his sides and they circled behind him. It was a circular room, pillars standing at large intervals and ice crisscrossing in between them like gigantic spiderwebs. He noticed even more glowing red eyes above the arches in the dark corners. Apparently security of the king was a big deal in Jötunheim.
"What is your purpose here, Ásgardian?"
Loki finally turned his gaze towards the throne and for the first time looked into the eyes of his biological father. He had the sudden urge to blurt out his heritage but restrained himself. For a moment he almost forgot why he had come here and he stammered with his explanation and had to forcibly cut himself off and collect his thoughts before starting again. He was nervous and chastised himself for it- he was a prince! Even if the frost giant before him didn't know it, he would not make a fool of himself in front of this king, in front of his father. Not for a first impression anyway.
"I seek information on the whereabouts of a weapon."
Laufey's eyes narrowed as he wondered aloud, "The All Father sent you to mock me. Surely you know full well where the Casket is."
Loki wanted to slap himself, he had made one sentence to the King and already was deemed a fool. "No! No, sir, I ask about Mjölnir."
To this the Jötun King raised a brow his jaw set hard, "I, unlike the All Father, am no thief."
Apparently going about this formally was making Loki look like an idiot. He exhaled and raised his hands and let them fall again at his sides,
"I'm not saying you're a thief, I was going to say Prince Thor has lost his weapon and-"
"You came to me."
Loki pursed his lips in irritation, "He's sending me to every realm to find a trace of the hammer." He thought up his reasons for asking about Mjölnir on the way. He felt odd about lying to a king, he never lied to Odin, who he still considered his father though there was no blood shared. But he supposed even though this King was his blood, he didn't know him from Adam.
Laufey seemed satisfied and leaned back in the throne, arms out on the rests and knees spread apart. He stared at Loki and Loki returned it, looking a little more arrogant than he should. Laufey raised a hand to his face, one finger sticking out to rest over his lip in thought.
"I am in possession of Mjölnir." He said matter-of-factly and watched for Loki's reaction, all he got was a tensed jaw. "And it will cost the prince to have it returned. The hammer is quite a prize, and only one thing to me is worth more- Lady Freyja's hand." He saw Loki's eyebrows raise in surprise and continued, "Lady Freyja is the most beautiful woman in all the nine realms- even I cannot withstand her charms... as much as I try." He mumbled at the end and Loki understood completely as memories of Freyja's hands on him and his fleeting desire passed through his mind. "So, I will take her into my home and be done with it. That is my condition, no exceptions."
A new plan formed for Loki with Freyja brought into the fray and he almost laughed- oh, yes, he would enjoy this. He smiled at the king and made a slight bow,
"I believe this can be arranged. I will return with Lady Freyja in a fortnight in exchange for Mjölnir." He turned and left the palace, making the long walk back to Ásgard.
Ja, an update 5 months after I said I would when Nanowrimo was over. Life and other such excuses prevented updates.
