Chapter 11

Farbauti instantly matched the unsheathed weapons of the guards with two blades, one as long as a horse's leg and the other scarcely surpassing his forearm. The frost giant was unnervingly tall and his musculature rippled under his grayed skin. He was outfitted with thin, coal-like metal armor on his arms, waist and chest. The former general had been dubbed "cruel striker" in wartime by his troops for good reason and this had since become the most common Asgardian term for him. The guards arranged themselves near the royal family members with their own weaponry. Several raised their swords as if to institute his place. The giant awarded the guards no mind despite their blatant attempt to appear formidable.

The giant cleared the space to his son in four rapid steps. Thor staggered away from Farbauti. He hurriedly rose to his scarce 6'6", refusing to remain low. Thor gaped as the giants faced each other; the resemblance in their profiles was unmistakable. Farbauti lent Loki his arm, leading him to stand with more momentum than his faltering body was prepared for. A sound of pain too high for Asgardian ears escaped him and Farbauti slowed. Loki struggled to place his feet and tried to draw a solid, controlled breath that would diminish the burning in his cheeks. Farbauti crouched to be at a like height instead of having his son at mid-chest. Loki exhaled as smoothly as he could manage, hopeful that Farbauti would somehow overlook his distress. This only served to make Farbauti edge nearer in suspicion. His birthsire was attentive and deducing, seldom tricked by his children. They locked eyes for a moment, Farbauti examining his flustered face with a parent's passion.

"Why is he injured?" Farbauti rumbled in an Asgardian dialect. He slid his swords together, deliberately producing a shrill note. Thor raised his dripping red hand and sodden sleeve without missing a beat.

"It was I." Thor answered, uninhibited by the giant's rancor. Loki winced.

"What have you made him vow to you?" Both blades settled on Thor, one above his heart and the other to his Adam's apple. A guard lengthened his arm to the giant. Farbauti exposed his teeth and scoffed. "Please. Place your limb where it may still obey you."

Loki laid a warm hand on his birthsire's flank, causing Farbauti to shiver. Farbauti was not sold on Loki's demeanor.

"We vowed no harm between to the two of us and the other's realm." Loki replied in his native tongue.

"What are the terms?" Farbauti asked tightly as Loki curled a second hand around his arm.

"There are no other binding terms." Loki lilted, continuing in Jotun. Farbauti let him cling, fearful that he would wound Loki by shaking him off. Loki figured this. "Lower your blades, sire. They are equally deadly from their sheaths."

"What are you playing at?" Farbauti growled. Loki made a clipping, pleading sound. The elder giant looked at him sternly. "I trust your judgment, child of mine." Farbauti had promised Laufey that he would not seek out war, but the austerity of the situation had changed since. The Asgardian had sealed his vow in blood. To break this vow would be both dishonorable and a grant for the Asgardian to seek recompense in the same vein.

"Do you want for war?" Farbauti offered. Loki paused, surveying the Asgardians.

"I do not wish it today." he said with conviction. Farbauti made a deep humming noise and looked up at Odin unkindly. The king had kept a pleasant distance.

"Farbauti." Odin acknowledged shortly, striding toward him.

"Allfather." Farbauti boomed. "You stand. But this time it is not you my steel seeks."

"Thor's actions are those of a boy. Treat them as such." Loki hissed at Odin's assured manner, the way he seemed to believe that his authority was divine, even over a king. In that moment, Loki was peevishly gleeful that Farbauti was here instead of Laufey. Farbauti was imposing in stature and his scar-flayed flesh. Farbauti was rarely spotted in any diplomatic setting; Laufey's aptitude for drawing compromises eclipsed Farbauti's tigerish demeanor. Where Laufey may have tolerated a condescending tone, Farbauti rejected the mere suggestion. Odin, accustomed to parlaying if a more political Jotun if at all, had overstepped from Farbauti's viewpoint.

"Do you take me for a fool? The boy who sent an army into Jotunheimr. The boy who clandestinely entered the realm of my absolute rule and killed my guards. The boy who assaulted all of my offspring and painted my temple with their blood. The boy who absconded with all of my children as beaten prisoners and murdered a Jotun in front of them. The boy would have killed my children with his bare hands." Farbauti laughed, a grating sound to the Asgardian ear. He stalked around the Asgardian king so that he had to pace in turn to match the giant's leer. "This boy is old enough to make a blood vow, I think he is old enough to be accountable, Allfather. How inconvenient for him with such crimes to his name."

"The others are royalty?" Thor stammered to no one in particular. "The two—"

"Do you understand, boy!?" Farbauti barked. Thor flinched. "What possessed you, Odinsson, in making a vow to the heir to my throne?" Farbauti asked with the deadliest of calms.

"Sire, it is done." Loki implored in Jotun.

"Loki, why have you done this?" Farbauti asked listlessly, turning from Odin.

"They would never have let me leave."

"You could have left in any waking moment, Loki. It is why we left the realm quiet." Farbauti asked, perturbed.

"Not with my brothers." Loki pressed. "You couldn't think I would risk them."

"I do not have anger with you, fire child. Hold you tongue." With that, he abandoned Loki's words and spoke in Asgardian.

"I will see that the Thor knows the consequences of his actions." Odin reassured. Farbauti sneered.

"I am the consequence, Allfather,"

"No." Odin said with unwarranted finality. "Not here."

"What would you have me do?" Thor questioned. The giant scowled at the prince. Odin lurched between them, uncertain of what the Jotun might do. Loki could tell that Farbauti had yet to decide. Undoubtedly, he wanted the prince's life. Farbauti desired the blood return, to mist their realm with red as Thor had the temple.

"Thor is a great warrior. Perhaps he can someday be of use to you in battle." Odin offered. Farbauti snorted and looked at Thor disdainfully.

"There is nothing I desire from you, boy. Odin speaks truth, you are a man in form but not in fact." He touched the tip of his blade to the center of Thor's chest. "Run along home, little princess, but know that you are in the debt of Jotunheimr. And more, at my mercy." Farbauti did not bother to wait for a reply.

"Loki, we're leaving." Farbauti said in impatient Jotun. Loki nodded and followed sluggishly, pain blossoming across his chest. He gave another high-pitched whine unique to the vocal arrangements of a Jotun. Farbauti growled, returning ad offering his arm. There was no ignoring the cracks of pain in Loki's breathing as he took a few steps.

"Going through the Bifrost could worsen his injuries." Heimdall boomed, voice toneless. Farbauti ground his teeth, perturbed by the risk of the jolting interrealm transport. Farbauti looked at his child and felt a pan of longing. Loki was a moment away from returning; he could see the uncertainty of his sire.

"I'll stay here and be certain I can pass through the Bifrost when I have recovered." Loki reasoned.

"They could not do you any harm," Farbauti said, largely for his own benefit. "They are not all fools. Are you sure?"

"I am. Tell Laufey that I will be swift." Loki offered the toiling giant. "Do not come back for me, I will follow after a time. It is bone and muscle that must be repaired."

"We'll see." Farbauti replied bitterly. "Open the Bifrost, gatekeeper."

The energy reverberated and the building creaked. Everything fell quiet in time, save for Loki's heart hammering against the shrapnel of his bones.

AN: My apologies for the wait. Please let me know what you think! Farbauti more authoritarian and assertive than Laufey. Loki's not ready to get into a battle of wills with his parent in this chapter. Edit as of 26th: Farbauti and Laufey are full-sized giants in this story, though I know it varies in the mythology. Other minor edits have been made to the text, but the overall meaning has not changed.