Helena teleported to her brother's bedroom, finding him lying on his bed looking up at the ceiling in contemplative silence. Helena knew better than to interrupt his thinking so she just crawled up onto his bed and curled into a ball against his legs like a hound. She started thinking too as she stared at her brother's blanket, her mind racing through a million different topics at once.
What was going on with Thor? Was he okay? Were the Midgardians being kind to him? Was he causing trouble down there on Midgard? How about Loki? Did he have anything to do with any of this? He had been so happy when they were making their way to the weapons vault, had he been happy because his plan had prevented Thor from becoming king? Would Loki really lie to her about something that huge? Would he endanger Asgard like that? Was he even capable of bringing Jotuns into Asgard? Helena couldn't do it but did that mean Loki couldn't too since their powers seemed so evenly matched? And why in Odin's name did their skin turn blue?!
"Sister." Loki said after half an hour of silence. Helena could come up with no answers, just theories and ideas. She looked up at her brother, hoping he could answer a few of her questions. Loki looked down at her, sitting up a bit. "Let's focus on the blue skin first, shall we?" He said casually, as if they were discussing one of their plans for a prank. Helena nodded and sat up. Loki propped himself up against his pillows and stared at her as she watched him carefully, supporting her head with her hands. "Alright so what's your theory? You have one I assume?" He asked her.
Helena bit her lip and shook her head. "Brother it's not exactly a good theory. Or plausible for that matter." She told him, looking at the blanket. She started tracing patterns onto the blanket, never daring to look at her brother.
Loki nearly rolled his eyes at her. "Sister I'm just confirming my own thoughts." He explained and Helena looked up at him, still cautious about telling him in case he got mad. "If your mind found the same theory as mine then that makes the theory at least somewhat possible. Tell me your theory." He told her. Helena nodded reluctantly and rolled onto her back so that she was staring at the ceiling instead of him.
"There's only one thing that can touch a Frost Giant and not die and that's another Frost Giant." Helena said matter-of-factly. She glanced up at her brother and Loki nodded, telling her to go on. Helena bit her lip and looked at the ceiling again. "What if we're Frost Giants brother? That's the only way I explain the blue skin and the fact we didn't die touching that monster." She said, fear settling in her stomach along with a fair amount of nausea.
"I can't think of anything different." Loki told her simply, masking his horror at the idea with nonchalantness. Helena instantly wiggled up the bed until she was lying directly beside him. She looked over at him, silently asking him if it was even possible. Loki sighed sadly. "I'm sorry sister but it's perfectly plausible. We were told we were born right around the time father retrieved the Casket. No one ever told us where exactly we were born in the palace and mother has no pregnancy stories about us like she does with Thor." He said, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. He was treating this like a problem he had to solve, taking his emotions out of it so he could focus on the facts.
Helena grabbed one of Loki's pillows and shoved it over her face, pulling it down hard as if she was trying to suffocate herself. Loki looked at her sadly, feeling how upset she was. The idea that they could possibly be like those beasts, the idea that their family wasn't their family, the idea of having been lied to their whole lives was heartbreaking at best. Helena screamed into the pillow when she realized she couldn't suffocate herself, running out of breath quickly since she was muffling the scream with the pillow. Loki grabbed the pillow off of her face and chucked it across the room, not liking her basically trying to kill herself with the damnable thing. Helena looked at her brother angrily, not appreciating him snatching things from her hands.
"Don't give me that look Lena." Loki told her sternly. Helena rolled her eyes and simply grabbed another of his pillows, placing it on her face. She let it balance on her nose till it fell back, hitting her chin. Loki laughed at her then let out a loud heavy sigh. He had a plan to find out the truth but he didn't like it. "Sister, do not hate me for suggesting this." He begged her, knowing she probably wouldn't like it.
Helena glanced up at him before returning her attention to the pillow. "I won't hate you brother. It's impossible for me to hate you." She told him. She stared at the pillow angrily, wanting it to rest on her forehead instead of her chin so it wouldn't fall into her mouth as she spoke. Helena poked her tongue out and hit the pillow with it, sending it a half inch up into the air. It shifted backwards, landing on her forehead instead of her mouth. "Ugh that's gross." Helena said, making a face at the taste of the pillow. It tasted like fabric. Gross. "What do you suggest brother?" Helena asked, making another face as she made disgusted noises at the taste on her tongue.
Loki laughed at his sister's strangeness before sobering up once more. "Sister." He said softly though it begged for her attention. Helena instantly sighed and pushed the pillow off of her, sending it flying off the bed. She didn't want to talk about this anymore, didn't even want to think about it, but she knew she had to. Helena looked up at her brother expectantly, telling him to continue. "I think I know a way to confirm our theory." Loki informed her.
"Stop stalling brother." Helena snapped at him, sounding tired. Loki smiled a little, she knew him so well. "State your way." She ordered him.
Loki took a deep breath. "We can hold the Casket." He said quickly, releasing the breath as he did. Helena stared at him, shocked that he even suggest that. He knew the rule, do not touch the Casket. Father would be furious! "Think about it sister!" Loki said when he realized his sister was skeptical. "Why would father forbid us from touching it when we were allowed to touch the others? He must have known something will probably happen to us if we touched it so he forbade us from doing so. He forbade Thor too no doubt to dull our suspicions and because we'd throw fits if our brother got to do something we didn't." Loki told her.
Helena shook her head, sitting up. "Theories, brother. All of this is just theories!" She said, looking at him. Her eyes were wider than usual and fearful, she didn't want to test anything. All she wanted was to erase all that had happened since Loki came to get them for the coronation. If she could do that her life would be bliss.
"Then let's test it sister!" Loki said. Helena shook her head and started crawling off the bed but Loki grabbed her arm, stopping her. Helena didn't turn though, knowing Loki's puppy dog look would win he over instantly. "You have to want to know the truth too, Lena. I know you and you hate to leave a mystery unsolved. Please, do this with me." He begged her.
Helena sighed and turned around, looking at Loki's puppy dog face and giving up completely on arguing. "I want to know the truth." She admitted, nodding as she did. Loki grinned smugly at her and Helena rolled her eyes at him, slipping out of his grip as she did. She got up and stretched. "We're not testing it for two days though, alright? With everything's that happened today I don't feel like doing anything else for a while." She told him.
"Of course little sister. We can meet in here tomorrow after lunch when everyone's going about their business." Loki told her. Helena nodded, shooting him a look that took him a bit to read. She seemed to want to ask him something and yet she seemed afraid of the answer he might give her. "They made you doubt me, didn't they?" Loki asked knowingly.
"Who?" Helena asked innocently, turning away. She looked at her sleeves as if they were the most interesting things in the world and plucked at them. She had swapped her armor for casual wear on their way to the lounge, not wanting to be in the bloodstained metal anymore.
Loki let out a sound somewhere between annoyance and amusement. "Oh like you don't know." He said sarcastically, angrily. Helena shifted awkwardly, feeling his eyes burning into her back. "Lady Sif, the woman who doesn't trust me as far as she can throw me, and the Warriors Three who tolerated me because they were friends with our brother. They've decided that I must have something to do with the Frost Giants getting in, haven't they? And they accused me in front of you, the fools." Loki said, venom in his voice.
Helena remained silent, sensing one of her brother's rare fits coming on. Loki knew her silence was a confirmation and he growled, furious. He got up off the bed and began pacing the room, glaring so fiercely at the floor that he could have burned a hole in it. Helena reached up and grabbed the silver heart hanging from her necklace, the one thing besides Loki and Thor that could calm her nerves. It was a gift from Loki though so maybe it counted technically as Loki calming her.
"I can't believe they'd accuse me of such a thing in front of you!" Loki shouted, surprising Helena. She looked over at her twin in confusion, she had expected him to be furious at them for accusing him of bringing Jotuns into Asgard. Loki saw Helena's confused look and he stopped to face her, reading her thoughts. "I can see how they'd think it was me, Lena. The evidence seems to be pointing right at me!" He told her, sounding furious. Helena watched him sadly though she had to force back a smile. Loki couldn't have been the one who let in the Frost Giants; he'd never admit there was evidence against him otherwise. "But to accuse me in front of my own sister and actually expect her to agree with you is a crime!" Loki shouted.
"How do you know they expected me to agree?" Helena asked immediately, trying to distract him from his anger.
Loki stopped and stared at her, giving her an exasperated look. "It's them, Lena. They always expect people to agree with them when it comes to me." He told her.
Helena nodded absently, knowing all too well he was correct. She'd had to defend her twin many times when Sif and the Warriors Three started making comments behind Loki's back. They were oh so careful to not say something in front of Thor but they seemed to forget every time that Helena was just as protective of Loki and had a temper that rivaled Thor's. She could very clearly remember maiming Fandral once for calling her brother an "ignorant childish bastard."
A thought occurred to Loki and he turned to his sister, concern on his face. "You trust me though, don't you sister? Unlike them." Loki asked, watching his sister carefully. He didn't know how he'd react if she said she didn't. She was his twin, his beloved sister. The idea of her not trusting him hurt more than getting stab through the gut.
Helena turned to him, one eyebrow raised in disbelieving confusion. "Really brother? You must ask that?" She asked him. Loki shrugged nonchalantly before looking at her intently, obviously needing an answer. Helena rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest angrily. "Of course I trust you Loki! You are my brother for Odin's sake!" She said. Loki visibly relaxed and he grinned crookedly at Helena, overjoyed. Helena shook her head but smiled at him. "You confuse me Loki." She told him truthfully, still smiling.
"And you me, Lena." Loki told her cheerfully.
Helena shook her head again. "Whatever you say brother. I'm going to bed." She told him. Loki opened his arms, silently asking for a hug, and gave her a puppy look. Helena laughed and hugged her brother tightly. "See you tomorrow brother." Helena told him. Loki nodded and released her, giving her one last smile before she teleported from his room.
Loki sighed and made his way over to the pillow he'd thrown. He picked it up and dusted it off before tossing it back onto his bed, mentally fighting off the sense of foreboding he was feeling. It was taking over the anger he felt towards those ignorant warriors and clouding every thought running through his head. What would happen tomorrow? Was Loki's theory on the Casket correct or did Odin just seriously not want them touching it? Loki collapsed onto his bed and sighed, his mind conjuring up a million different scenarios of what was going to happen tomorrow.